But the next thing she knew she was being dragged from a deep sleep by the harsh buzzing call of the bedside telephone. Without stopping to think about her visitor status in the house, Lauren reached out and answered the phone, and the silence which greeted her brought her wide awake. How many times in the past weeks had she listened to the same overflowing silence on her own answering machine? The silence filled with someone’s angry presence. Again, no words were spoken and the telephone receiver at the other end was slammed down. This time however before the line was closed, Lauren thought she heard a ragged, angrily indrawn breath. Then a sharp click, silence and the dial tone buzzed again. Could this possibly be the same caller who’d haunted her days and nights, who’d woken her from sleep sometimes several times a night, and left only silence as his message? Lauren shivered, her heart thumping in her ears as she struggled for breath past the lump of fear in her throat. Who could possibly have this number, and know she was here?
