The Door Into Summer
Chapter 19It was nine o'clock by the time Jeff got to St. Basil's to see Stu. He didn't know exactly what he was going to say, but he knew he couldn't say it over the phone. Instead he drove to the hospital, even though that was the last thing he wanted to do. It had already been one of the more dreadful evenings of Jeff's life and he'd rather be sitting at home with his shoes off and a huge glass of scotch in his hands, but he was on his way to see his partner instead.
He wasn't sure what had gone wrong – none of them were. Except the very thing they'd had no contingency plan for . . . Rachel wasn't in the motel room. And evidently Mr. Ames's daughter was either a whole lot brighter or a whole lot luckier than any of them gave her credit for being. They scoured the area; there was absolutely no sign of her. The manager insisted he hadn't seen her all day. Every one of the motel guests said the same thing. Gil posted a uniformed officer outside the room and hoped to catch a lucky break. Kookie went back to Dino's and muttered to himself all night about 'treacherous females.' And Jeff drove to St. Basil's.
He stood outside the door to room 342 for almost five minutes. From that distance it appeared Stu was asleep, and the last thing Jeff wanted to do was wake him. Finally he ratcheted up his courage and walked in. Stu would be upset, of that he was certain. But how Stu demonstrated his anger, disappointment or pure disgust was something of which Jeff had no inkling.
"Stu," Jeff whispered.
"Does that mean it didn't go according to plan?" was the astute question asked by the man in the hospital bed.
"Guess you're not sleeping after all."
"Wishful thinking. Tell me," Stuart said softly.
"There was no trouble with Don. Kookie and I picked him up at work; Gil arrested him and we drove to the motel – The Starlight. We got the room key from Waverly and Kookie went in with me to get the girl. Only she wasn't there. There was evidence she'd been there – the shower had been used recently. But there was no sign of her. We checked with the manager and all the motel guests; no one admitted to seeing her all day. Gil sent for patrolmen to search the grounds and the general area, but there was no trace of her by that time. He left an officer posted at the door just in case, but wherever she went, she seems to have disappeared into thin air."
Stu sighed heavily. No matter what had happened, there was no use being upset; Rachel was long gone by now. It was just his luck to be confined to a hospital bed at that very moment. There was only one way around that, and Stu was determined to make it happen as quickly as possible. He pushed the buzzer for the nurse. A nurse appeared almost immediately. "Do you need something, Mr. Bailey?"
Jeff had been so worried about Stu's response to his news that he really hadn't noticed anything when he first got there – but he noticed things now. The bandages wrapped around Stu's head were gone, replaced by a small square of gauze right above the hairline . . . obviously where the stitches had been taken. And his hands were, for the most part, similarly unwrapped. There were small scabs and bruises, and what looked like fading cigarette burns. Not a pretty picture but well on their way to healing. All in all, a definite improvement over the last time Jeff had seen his partner. Stu answered the nurse's question with one of his own. "Is Dr. Doerner still in the hospital?"
"Yes, he is. Why?"
Jeff knew what was coming, and was well aware that there was practically no force on Earth powerful enough to stop it. No matter who tried. "Send for him, now. I'm leaving the hospital tonight with my partner."
The nurse looked askance at poor Jeff. "It wasn't my idea," he explained.
"Is he serious?"
"I'm right here, nurse," Stu interrupted, "and my hearing is not the issue. Send for Dr. Doerner now, or I shall walk out of this hospital without consulting him. Please."
Jeff chuckled softly. Stuart had tacked a 'please' on to the end of his demand, a new approach for him. The nurse hurried from the room, probably to send for a psychiatrist, and Jeff was momentarily left alone with Stu. "You promised you wouldn't do this again. It would make a lesser man feel incompetent."
"You're far from incompetent; I couldn't have a brighter partner. It's just that I . . . I, um, I . . . "
"Have to be there?" Jeff supplied. "I don't need a supervisor, you know. Or a daddy. And we appear to be even in the 'I can't apprehend a sixteen-year-old' department."
"Ouch." Stu's pain wasn't physical, nor was Jeff's. Without intending to, the men had stepped all over each other's feelings. "I didn't mean . . . " Stu began.
"I know, neither did I," Jeff finished. "I think this case has gotten to both of us."
"Agreed."
Before anything further could be said, Dr. Doerner came bustling into the room. "What's this I hear . . . "
"You heard right, Doctor. Either release me or I'll leave on my own." Stu had that 'you really don't want to argue with me' look in his eyes. Doerner looked to Jeff, who shrugged.
"He's serious, Doctor. And there's nothing either one of us can do about it."
The doctor hung his head. It had been a long, difficult day for him as well, and he didn't have the strength to argue. "I will release you, against my better judgment, if you'll promise to come back in a week and let me make sure everything is going the way it's supposed to. Agreed?"
"I can do that," Stu agreed.
"You can help him get dressed, Mr. Spencer, and I'll write his discharge. Nurse Carisi can wheel him downstairs while you pull your car up front. I don't want him walking any more than necessary for the next few days. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Jeff replied, and saluted smartly.
I won't miss this, thought the doctor. He walked back into the hall to give the order for a wheelchair, closing the door behind him.
"Come on, brother Jeff, help me get dressed so we can get out of here," Stu pleaded gleefully.
Jeff sighed as the vision he'd had of shoes off and scotch in hand slowly faded from his mind. It was going to be a long night.
XXXXXXXX
"Hey, Kookie," Larry the bartender called out the door of Dino's. "Telephone."
Kookie came running, wondering who would be calling him at this hour. "Hello?" he answered hopefully.
"Kookie, it's Jeff. Don't ask me to explain it now. Just get over to Stu's apartment as fast as you can." The phone went dead before he had a chance to breathe, much less reply. He didn't know what had happened, but he hung up the receiver and ran back outside.
"Jimmie, take over," Kookie yelled as he jumped in his hot rod. He raced down Sunset Boulevard and was in the parking lot of the Sunset de Ville Apartments in less than ten minutes. Jeff's car was parked next to the sidewalk and held two passengers – Jeff and Stu?
Jeff got out quickly and met Kookie at the passenger's door. "Help me get him in, would you?"
"Dad, what goes?" Kookie asked, but Stu just grinned at him. "What are they doin' releasing you at this time of night?"
The two men got Stu out of the front seat of Jeff's convertible and up on his feet. He could walk, slowly, but he was steadier with his arms around the shoulders of his friends. Up the sidewalk and into the vestibule, then through the doors into the lobby. The elevator doors stood open, and in just a minute they were on their way to the third floor. Stu glanced down the hallway to his door and murmured, "I never knew my apartment was so far away."
"Come on, pal, just a few feet. Here, Kookie, take his keys and get his front door open."
Kookie did as instructed and Jeff helped Stu shamble down the last few feet. Once inside, Spencer deposited his friend on one couch and collapsed on the other one. Kookie closed and locked the front door and went to where his two mentors' sat. He glanced at Jeff first. "Vodka gimlet, dad?"
"Oh, we're way past that."
"Scotch, dad?"
"A big one," came the reply. Home or not, Jeff slipped his shoes off and put his feet up on the table.
"Dad?" came the second question, aimed at Stu.
"Me, too," Stuart answered as Jeff shook his head no.
"Antibiotics. Give him club soda."
"Spoilsport."
Kookie poured himself a small scotch and soda and sat down next to Jeff. "Feet hurt?" the carhop asked.
"Yes, and hauling my partner around this late at night hasn't helped any. I should be at home in bed asleep. Or passed out on my couch."
Stu looked at his two friends. "I think we need to discuss how we're going to find Rachel."
"Now? No. My brain is fried. It will wait until tomorrow when we're all sharp as little thumbtacks."
Stu shot a look at his partner that Jeff missed. "Then either get up and go home or go sleep in the guest room."
"Do I have that choice?" Kookie asked.
"NO!" Jeff and Stu both answered at the same time.
Kookie finished his drink and took the glass to the kitchen. "I'm going home. Catch you both tomorrow."
"Night."
"Goodnight."
Jeff moaned as he slipped his shoes on. "I'm going to move the car. I'll be right back."
Stu nodded and watched his partner go out the front door and lock it. He really is a good guy, Stuart thought. I couldn't have asked for a better man to be partners with. I'll have to remind him of that when he comes back in. Unfortunately, when Jeff returned Stu had fallen asleep on the couch. The younger P.I. decided he should be close in case Stu needed anything during the night and slipped off his shoes once again, then stretched out on the other couch. Tomorrow, as Scarlet O'Hara is reported to have said, would be another day.