Page 2

     Karen's mother was always happy to watch Sarah while Karen went to work.  They lived in Denver's Capitol Hill area, but Karen worked in Boulder.  It was easy to drop Sarah off, saving the cost of a baby-sitter.

     "Are you feeling all right?" her mother asked, taking Sarah from Karen's arms.

     "Yes, Mother."  Karen tried to smile as her mother cooed at Sarah.

     "You're sure?"

     Her half-smile faded and Karen took a deep breath so as not to snap something she might regret.  "Positive."

     "You don't look okay."

     "I didn't sleep much last night."

     "Why not?"

     "Oh, I had a nightmare.  I thought I heard a woman talking to Sarah over the nursery monitor, but when I checked her room there was no one there.  I think the monitor is defective."

     Her mother smiled.  "I read an article about those monitors. It said that most of them operate on the same frequency.  If someone else at your apartment complex has one, you were probably listening in on theirs."

     Karen nodded.  That was exactly the sort of rational explanation she needed.  She breathed easier and even managed a smile.  "Thanks Mom."  She hugged her, then looked at her watch. "I'd better get moving or I'll be late."

#

     Two in the morning arrived with the thrashing of heavy metal guitars.  Karen opened her eyes and glanced at the clock.  Some people have no sense of decency.  She turned over and pulled the pillow over her head, trying in vain to drown out the noise.  The song went on incessantly for six minutes, but it felt like hours. After a moment of silence the assault was renewed with another song that sounded just like the first.

     The noise awoke Sarah, who began crying.  Karen sat up and stared at the monitor, then at the wall.  She couldn't take it. She summoned her courage and pounded on the wall.  "Turn that down!" she yelled.  "Some of us have to work in the morning!"

     Sarah cried louder, as if she were in competition with both Karen and the thrash metal.

     The noise continued, so Karen pounded again, harder.  Finally they relented.  She could still feel the thrumming through the wall, still hear the music, but at least it wasn't at a level that would give her headaches for a week.

     She sighed and prepared to go quiet Sarah, who still screamed in the next room.

     "I'm here now," the voice on the monitor whispered.

     Sarah quit screaming.

     "Everything's all right."

     Karen almost jumped out of bed.  Then she shook her head and laughed at herself.  The couple downstairs had a baby, but just to be safe, Karen decided to check on Sarah.

     She walked down the hall and opened the door a crack.  Light from the hallway spilled in, drawing a line toward the crib.  Karen clicked the light on, saw that no one was there.  She took a moment to kiss Sarah, then left, turning out the lights.

     On a whim, she pulled on her bathrobe and went downstairs. She needed to assure herself that her monitor was indeed picking up her neighbors' voices.  She knocked on their door.  Waited. Knocked again.

     The door opened and a man peeked out.  He wore boxer shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt.  His hair was unkempt and his eyes half-closed.  "Who are you?" he asked.

     "I live upstairs and--"

     "Do you know what time it is, lady?"

     "Yes, I'm sorry about that, it's just that--"

     "Can't it wait?  We're trying to sleep here."

     "I know, but I was wondering if you have one of those nursery monitors for your baby."

     "You wondered that at two in the friggin' morning?  Jesus." He ran a hand over his face.  "No, we don't have one of those stupid monitors, okay?"

     "You don't?"

     "That's right.  Now get lost."  He closed the door.

     Karen stood there shaking her head for a moment.  She walked upstairs in a daze.  When she stepped into her bedroom, she heard the voice whispering from the monitor.  "I'm here with you, Sarah."

     Karen's heart almost stopped.  She felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach.  She tried to draw a breath, but no air would come.

     "I'd like to take you away from here," the voice said.  "A baby needs a good mother.  I could be your     "Don't worry.  Everything is going to be all right."

mother.  You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

     Sarah giggled.

     "Sarah!" Karen screamed, finally finding her voice. Adrenaline surged to her muscles and she raced back to the baby's room.  There was no one there that she could see or hear.  Maybe she was losing her mind.  She grabbed Sarah and hurried back to her room.

     Could it be Mark trying to scare her back to him?  It seemed unlikely, yet the voice had called Sarah by name.  There had to be a rational explanation.  Too much stress, that's it.  She stared at the monitor, but it remained silent.  There was only dead air.

MORE>>