Chapter 30
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." yelled Martin from inside. "What could be so urgent?" he murmured, as he opened the door.
"Step back Sir!"
"Escuse me?"
"Step back!" repeated the officer firmly and Martin did as he asked, letting in the investigators who quickly disappeared in the various places of the house...
"Would you tell me finally what is going on?"
"We have a search warrant Sir," he handed the paper. "And now, tell me where the First Lady is!"
"Who?... The First Lady?!" asked Martin surprised. "Why not ask for Elvis or the Dalai Lama?"
"..."
"I mean are you kidding me?"
"No, Sir. We're looking for the First Lady, who is missing."
"Oh... sorry. I don't watch too much TV lately," remarked Martin. "But may I ask why do you think she is HERE?"
"Because she disappeared with your son."
"Oh, in this case I really hope you will find them."
"..."
"That damn boy hasn't been able to visit me for years now! He always just promises... I'm living alone in this big house and he is simply too busy to see his own father! Can you imagine that?" Martin started to feel the role.
"Well..."
"I have to spend even Christmas alone. Every father has the right for his own son on Christmas, and I was a good one, so I really don't understand why he is doing this to me, I..."
"I think my collage just called me."
"... Sorry?"
"My collage just called me, excuse me..."
"But I didn't hear anything, hey..." Martin cried after him, but the officer hurried away. As he remained alone, he just continued murmuring... keeping up the appearances... while his brain worked on hundred percent. He checked in mind all the things he hid or moved away, then suddenly something came to his mind... her earring. He found it in their bedroom on the floor, but forgot to pick it up, because that damn phone was ringing...
OOOOOOOO
Meanwhile in the sanatorium...
"I think you should put that down soon..." remarked Pete kindly, looking her Nutella covered face as she was eating her breakfast.
"But it's so good... I can't stop eating it."
"I know, I just don't want you to feel sick later."
"Okay, I think you're right." she sighed, putting down her spoon. "Maybe I ate enough."
"Yeah, it really seems so..." he pointed to her face with a wide smile.
"Gosh, I didn't realize it." she chuckled, "Then I have to wash my face... so could you put this away for me?" she asked, handed him the Nutella jar.
"Yes, of course... Wow!"
"What is it?" she asked from the bathroom.
"You ate more than a pound of Nutella."
"A pound? And is that too much?"
"If you're feeling okay not, but..."
"You know," she said as she poked her head out with a smile. "I think you should finally decide what you want."
"How you mean that?"
"It's simple... you want me to eat or not?" she asked sweetly.
"Of course I want you to eat Sarah." he said, almost laughing. "I just don't want you to be sick."
"I know, I know..." she sat into his lap, stroking his face lovingly. "I'm just teasing you."
"You're incorrigible, you know that?"
"Yes of course, but that's how you love me."
"... So true." he whispered with shining eyes, kissing her fondly.
OOOOOOO
"Excuse me... how long does it even take?" asked Martin a bit impatiently, as he stepped into the guest room upstairs.
"Until it's necessary Sir." answered the man firmly and continued the checking process with the bathroom.
"I see..." he remarked, taking a few steps inside. "But approximately?"
"We're almost finished with the first floor Sir."
"Fine... I do not want to hurry this whole thing you know, because I know it's very important for the whole country... just my TV show starts soon," he said and stepped to the bathroom door, while the man just continued what he was doing. "It seems, you guys are pretty thorough, what would have been useful at the renovations," he tried to chat continually.
"..."
"I mean most craftsman are quite negligent you know."
"Well, we try to do the best job we can."
"Then you should check the toilet tank also," he suggested, trying to get closer to the bed.
"The toilet tank?" turned back the man with disbelief.
"Yeah, I saw in TV that it's a good hiding place," he smiled. "Sorry, it was just an idea..." added Martin and as the man turned back, he started to search for the earring.
"... I think you should wait downstairs Sir."
"Of course, but do you really think she is here in the bathroom? It's not that small, you know, but still..." he joked and turned around, then he fell onto the floor theatrically, right onto the earring. "Aah!" he hissed in pain.
"You okay Sir?" rushed out the man, trying to help him up.
"Yes... yes, of course. Just my knees don't always work." remarked Martin painfully, while smartly hid the earring into his pocket.
"Someone will help you with the stairs Sir."
"Oh, thank you. That's very kind... really." he said as another man came in and helped him to get down.
As the police finally left the house and fortunately didn't find anything, Martin sat down and immediately poured a well deserved double whiskey to relax...
OOOOOOOO
Pete sighed with relief as he read his father's message. It was so reassuring to know that everything is fine at home, but still there was another problem, what if the police will continue the investigation at the sanatorium... So after the message, he sneaked out of their room - leaving a sleeping Sarah behind - to take a look around from the roof. The sanatorium was quite a tall building, so he could see the whole town from the roof. As he reached the top, he had just seen the receding red and blue lights, which meant they are just leaving the town behind...
"Gosh, Pete... where have you been?" asked Sarah as she woke up by the sound of door closing. "Did something happen?"
"No... don't worry, everything is fine." smiled Pete.
"But what were you doing outside?"
"I just got you some lunch," he said kindly and lifted the tray up. "See?"
"Oh..." her eyes were smiling. "But we have quite a few things in the box, you shouldn't have risk it."
"I know, but I just wanted you to have some real food... something hot and nutritious."
"You're so sweet," she melted. "... thank you."
"And what is more, I have good news."
"Oh, really? What is it?"
"Phil left me a message, so it seems they won't come to check on you."
"That's fantastic, but... but why? I mean not that I would be sad about that, just..."
"There were some more important happenings, so they have no time for these kind of things now."
"Oh, okay... So that means we can go back to the house, right?"
"Yeah of course, but only at night as we came."
"That's okay, actually I quite like in here. So then... come on, sit next to me." she patted the bed happily, and they spent the rest of the day with chatting and cuddling.
As they arrived back to the house, Sarah immediately went upstairs to refresh herself a bit, but looking around she found something strange...
"What happened upstairs?" she asked from Martin as she went back to the kitchen. "Everything is packed away..."
To be continued...