I'm afraid House and Cameron are still stuck.

Chapter 51.

House and Cameron had been stuck for an hour. Few cars passed them, and none stopped.

"I'm walking that way." Cameron pointed down the road in the direction they'd been driving. "We know it's at least three miles back to the last town we drove through. Maybe the next town is closer."

House rummaged in the car door pockets. "Maybe there's a map."

"We depend too much on our phones these days, to contact people and know where we are."

He stood up again, his hands empty. "I'm surprised no one stopped for you. Maybe if I hadn't been here."

"People are too wary of strangers." She pointed to the car. "You can stay here, sit in the car, listen to the radio or something. There are a couple of cans of beer in the cooler."

He studied her. "You brought beer."

"See you as soon as possible." She took off down the road. Every time a car came by, she held out her thumb. They still didn't stop. After half a mile, she spotted a house. With a sigh of relief, she marched up to the door and knocked.

A woman answered. "Not interested."

"Then why did you open the door? Listen, we broke down about half a mile down the road." Cameron pointed. "No signal, so we couldn't call anyone." She showed her phone. "May I use your phone?"

"I let you in to do that, and your partner follows, you rob me blind and beat me up."

Cameron held out her credentials. "I'm a doctor, on my way to someone who needs my services. Do I really look like a break-in specialist?"

"Well, you hear about these home invasions and you worry. C'mon in." The woman stood back. "I'm Amy. Amy Wolcott."

Cameron studied the woman as she accompanied her to the kitchen and an old-fashioned wallphone. "Do you know a mechanic in a nearby town?"

"Nearest town's Salisbury, oh, 'bout ten mile or so."

"That's a pretty big city. Got a phone directory?"

"Not for Salisbury," Amy said.

Cameron glanced at her phone again, turned it on, shook her head. "I can't access Google to find one." She didn't have to think long. "Do you have a car? Can you drive me at least far enough so I can get a signal?"

Amy set her mouth in a line and squinted at Cameron. "You sure you're not tryin' to rob me?"

"I promise. We really did breakdown back that way, and I need a mechanic to go back there with me."

With her lips set in a line, the woman nodded and led the way to an old Chevy parked at the side of the house. "Get in," she said, opening the doors.

She drove for five miles to a gas station at the beginning of a small stretch of stores and houses. "Luke can help you. This is as far as I go."

Cameron smiled as she got out of the car. "Thanks, Amy. Safe trip back."

"What could happen between here and my house?"


Chatterji drove up from Snow Hill to spend the day with the team. They planned to talk more about their cases. With snacks and drinks they settled in the family room of the team house.

"As much as I'd like to think it's as simple as them all being males, House had to have some other medical idea," Jacobs said, and Chatterji nodded in agreement.

"We've been over this fifteen times and found few commonalities." Magnani ran a hand over his face. "I vote for accepting that explanation for what House said and moving on to diagnose each of our patients."

"I have a question for you three," Chatterji said. "Has your patient ever shown sensitivity to light?"

"Well yes, but only today," Magnani said.

"Ever been extremely thirsty?"

"Has yours?"

"Yes. I'm going to test him for juvenile diabetes, even though he doesn't show the usual signs."

Simpson nodded. "That's not what's wrong with our patient, though. Certainly not the juvenile part and probably not the diabetes part."

"Was yours thirsty today or before this?" Magnani asked. "Couldn't that have been his medication or the dry air in the hospital?"

"That's what I thought at first, but he says he was afraid to ask for something to drink before." She smiled. "He's a very shy kid."

"Well, our patient is hardly shy. In fact, I'd say he was aggressive," Magnani said.

Simpson smirked. "More like aggravating."

"So where does that leave us?" Magnani asked.

"With too many conflicting symptoms. Honestly, I'd like to think about something else." Jacob's leaned back.

"We could talk about the election," Simpson said. "Except Anaya doesn't live here and would probably find it boring."

"How about the party next weekend?" Chatterji suggested. "Heather, what are you going to wear?"

Magnani groaned. "Women and clothes."


Wilson and Jessica decided to pay a surprise visit to House and Cameron's new house. They drove out Harbor Road and turned at the sign for their lane, not that they couldn't already see the house. It stood out in the middle of the wide-open field.

Jess hesitated after she exited the car. "I hope we don't interrupt them in the middle of… well, you know." The color in her cheeks intensified.

"What if we do?" Wilson shrugged. "House never worried about that with me or anyone else."

They strolled to the door and knocked, but there wasn't any answer. "Where could they be?" Jessica asked.

Wilson shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe they don't want to answer the door."

They waited a few minutes then knocked again. Still nothing.

"They weren't at the diner earlier and now they're not here." Wilson looked around. "Let's go home and see if they're working on House's new office."

"Do you really think so?"

He shook his head. "But I'm sure we can find something to do there if they aren't."

"I like the way you think, doctor." She smiled.

They drove back to Hanbury Street. There were no signs of House and Cameron on the ground floor, but they weren't looking for them anymore.


After lunch, Hadley rode along as Anita returned to Steve's car in Snow Hill. It was still where she left it.

"Now I'm starting to worry. This is a residential area." Anita indicated the two-story apartment buildings all around them. "The only reason he'd be here would be to check where Lori lived. That couldn't have taken long, so why hasn't he returned to his car?"

"Do you want to look inside it?"

Anita nodded. "Stay here." They'd parked three car-lengths behind it.

"Signal if you need my help."

"Yeah." Anita was already out of the car and sprinted toward Steve's. She glanced through the driver's side window but nothing was there nothing on any of the seats or the floor. She took in a breath and let it out, pulled on a pair of plastic gloves then moved around to the trunk. With her lock picks, she opened it and breathed a sigh of relief when that, too, was empty.

She closed the trunk and returned to the driver's door, pulled on the handle, and it opened. Surprised, she slipped inside and opened the glove box, pulling out the owner's manual, a tire gauge, and an insurance card made out to Steven Holder. The console between the driver's and passenger's seats held a flashlight and a few quarters.

She got out, attempted to lock the car but couldn't without a key-fob, and returned to Hadley. "We should go check his room at the motel."

"If there was a problem, the cleaning crew would have reported it to Zach." Hadley had caught some of her partner's anxiety.

"You mean a body. No, I don't think so. I just want to know if there's any indication that Steve's been there the last couple of days." Anita grimaced. "After that we find out who's seen him and where he has been."


Cameron followed the hammering to the work area of the garage. A young, tow-headed man bent over an engine, pulled from a nearby car. "Luke?"

He turned, wiped his hands on a towel at his waist and said, "Yeah, I'm Luke." His overalls were stained with grease.

"My friend and I broke down about six or seven miles down the road." She half-turned to point. "We need a mechanic."

He seemed to mull that over. "You walk seven miles?"

"Amy drove me the last five." She realized she probably should have paid her for her trouble.

"Amy, huh?" Luke seemed surprised. "Where'd she skedaddle to?"

"Back home she said."

"Guess, since I'm the only mechanic in these parts, she was right to bring you here." Luke glanced at the engine he'd been working on. "Guess that's not going anywhere. Let me get my tools."

They got into his Ford pickup and drove back to House and the car.

While Luke immediately went to the car to find out why it died, House asked Cameron, "Where'd you find this hayseed?"

"This mechanic was working on an engine in his shop. I had to walk miles, then convince a woman to drive me even more miles to the hamlet where he was."

"Any signal there?"

She chuckled. "I didn't even think to check. But Luke will have us rolling again before long and we can drive to Salisbury or Baltimore where we'll have strong signals." Then she studied him. "And what do you need a signal for, now that we have a mechanic."

An hour later, Luke shook his head. "I don't know what's wrong."

Cameron and House exchanged glances. "I'd hate to leave it here on the side of the road. You couldn't tow it somewhere, could you?" she asked.

""Fraid not. Don't have a truck that'll tow it. I can take you to Salisbury. Buddy of mine there, he might be able to help."

"I'll go this time," House said.

But Luke said he'd send someone.

House and Cameron just nodded, got into their car and settled in for a long wait. Their idea for a restful ride in the country hadn't played out the way they thought.


Anita and Hadley stopped at the office before knocking on Steve's motel room door. Zach smiled at them. "What can I do for you, ladies?"

"Have you seen Steve in the last couple of days?"

Zach shook his head. "He paid for a week in advance."

"What about the cleaning people? Has he slept in his room?"

"You'd have to ask them. They should still be cleaning the rooms. Maria would know."

They left in search of Maria. They found one of the cleaning people in the first room, and she said the head housekeeper should be toward the other end of the row of rooms, near the diner.

As they passed Steve's room they knocked, not expecting anyone to be there. They'd been right.

Maria saw them approach. "Are you looking for me?"

"Yes. Has Steve Holder slept at the motel the last couple of nights? He's the man in room six."

"The friend of the man who was killed?" She seemed to think. "Not last night, but I think he was here the night before."

"Can I look in his room?" Anita had initially stayed at the motel when she came to Shelby, so Maria knew her, but to further convince her, Anita took out her badge.

"Of course." The housekeeper removed a pile of keycards from her uniform pocket and led the way back to room six. She opened the door. "Pull the door closed when you're finished." She flashed a smile.

The bed was neatly made, thanks to the cleaning staff. Nothing in the trash cans. Steve's suitcase was still there, but he'd taken his laptop. The bathroom counter held his toothbrush and razor, a few toiletries, all neatly lined up.

"Nothing here," Hadley said.

"Hmmm." Anita ran a hand under the mattress, finding nothing.

Finally satisfied they wouldn't find anything, Anita pulled down the lever on the door as someone unlocked it.