Chapter 29-Wednesday, 3:36PM

The noises around Herb puzzled him as he came to. There should have been street sounds, the wind blowing, outside noises. What he heard was monitors beeping, hushed voices, every once in a while a garbled intercom message. Where was he?

The chief attempted to open his eyes. Bright lights made him shut them again, shut them tight. The throbbing in his head. He groaned.

“Sir?” A voice nearby. “Chief? Can you hear me?”

Herb heard the voice. He tried to form a response, but no words would come together to make a sentence. All he could manage on such short notice was another moan.

“Doctor!” It was the voice again. The word spoken brought everything back to Herb. He’d been in an accident. His phone was gone. He had work to do and he was, he surmised, in the hospital.

He tried opening his eyes again. This time the pain was more bearable, the light less daunting. A figure came into focus, then another. The first he recognized right off. It was Linda, a worried look spread across her face. The second, a tall asparagus, looked familiar, but Herb, as fuzzy as his brain was, couldn’t quite place him.

“Hello, Herb.” The asparagus spoke with a thick, Hungarian accent. “I’m Dr. Sparga. Do you know where you are?”

Herb looked around. The words came slowly, but they came. “I’m in a hospital room.”

“Yes, yes. That’s good,” Dr. Sparga said. “Do you know why you are here?”

Herb nodded. “I was in an accident. I was just coming into town when I was hit.”

“That’s right,” the doctor affirmed. “Your car rolled several times and came to rest upside down in Mayor Redman Park. That’s what the StalkAid folks said. Your injuries fit that scenario.”

“I need to get out of here.” Herb stumbled over his words, but he got them out. “I have to stop those stalkers.”

“Chief.” It was Linda. “Everyone’s working overtime on that case. You don’t have to worry about it. You just rest. Get better.”

What she said would’ve made sense to anyone but Herb. He was a stubborn man.

“No,” he said. “I need to be at the station.” He tried to sit up. The pain hit him again, full force, and he dropped back to his pillow. “I have to help.”

He was obviously not in any condition to offer the help he so desperately wanted to give. Frustrated, he closed his eyes again.

“What did you call about, Linda?” Herb asked in a weak voice. “I saw I’d missed a call from you and two from Tru before my phone sailed out the window.”

The chief heard Linda responding to his question, but the blackness was returning. Her words made no sense. Something about Sally and a file. He passed out trying to make out what it meant.