The sleep lab was the first place that Elmer went. He didn't know
why exactly he chose to check there first. Maybe it was because it was the
first place he had wanted to run when he heard the news about Lona but....
"Dad!" he called as he rushed in, sighing with relief when he spotted his father, Hook and Chris. Surely they would be able to help him figure out what in the world was going on.
"There you are." Louis frowned as he looked up from checking in the drawers and saw his son standing there. "We need to have a long talk about what you've been doing to Lona lately!"
Elmer started to back out of the room, his father's look worrying him more than a little. He forced himself to take control, though, to not give in to the fear and to flee. Something was very, very wrong here.
This entire thing with Lona made no sense at all and with her car still here... Something had happened to her. He just knew that something had happened to her. What if she needed help? He couldn't run away just because he was afraid of being yelled at for a bit.
"Louis." Hook walked over, laying a hand on the older doctor's shoulder to try to calm him. Yelling at Elmer was only going to make things worse at this point. "Elmer, what do you need? If you're just wanting to see if we know where Lona is...."
"I was just out in the parking lot." Elmer wanted to just grab them and drag them up there. Something serious had to be wrong, he knew it had to be. He forced himself to try to explain the situation rationally,
though. "I was just out in the parking lot." he repeated once more.
"Lona's car is still there. Why would her car be in the parking lot of she resigned?"
Chris, Hook and Louis looked at each other for a moment. Okay,
they had all agreed that there was definately something odd about Lona's supposed resignation but the fact that her car was there still, that was more than a little odd.
"Show us what you found, Elmer." Hook said as he started out of the lab, waving at the younger doctor to lead the way.
A little bit later, he four doctors were in the parking lot,
staring at Lona's car in confusion.
"I don't understand this." Chris said slowly as she peered into the driver's side window of the car. "Everything looks normal." She shook her head as she peered once more through the window. She wasn't sure how she was expecting the car to look if Lona had really resigned but shouldn't there be some sort of sign of what happened?
Hook reached out, pulling at the passenger door. "It's locked here." He said, looking around as he spoke. no sign of any sort of struggle, any marks to signal that something unusual had happened. Did that mean that Lona had never made her way to her car or... "Does anyone have any idea when the last time was that someone saw Lona?"
"I saw her last night." Elmer said with a worried look. "She wanted me to drop by the lab this morning. She had an experiment in mind that she wanted to talk to me about this morning." A rather panicked look was growing in Elmer's eyes as he spoke. "She wouldn't have done that if she was planning to resign!' he shook his head frantically, trying to make the notion that he must have done something to Lona to make her decide to flee, go away.
Hook, Chris and Louis looked at each other for a moment as Elmer's words sunk in. If Lona had been planning to meet Elmer this morning then what in the world was going on now? Why would she just....
"Let's go talk to Jesse again. I want to get another look at that resignation letter. Something doesn't sound right about this." Hook told the others as they started back towards the hospital once more. As they walked, he moved back to Elmer's side. The younger doctor was looking totally shell shocked and acted like he was moving about while still half asleep. Hook reached out, gently patting his shoulder. "It'll be okay,
Elmer. We'll figure out what happened to Lona."
A little bit later, the group was crowded into Jesse's office. "I don't understand this at all," Jesse said as Hook checked the note once more. "Why would Dr. Massingale's care still be in the parking lot if she turned in her resignation last night?"
"You didn't see her when she turned this in?" Hook asked as he looked up.
"No, it was on my desk when I came in this morning. Why?" Jesse asked.
"Name's typed, not signed. Anyone could have done it." Hook passed the note over so that Chris and Louis could check it out as well.
Elmer peered over his father's shoulder, ignoring the impatient noise his dad made. Something about the typing on the note.... "That's wrong." He said slowly. "They typing, it doesn't look like what Lona usually uses. It's too...." He didn't exactly know how to describe the difference but he certainly knew enough to tell that there was one. "She couldn't have written that."
Hook looked at Elmer cautiously. Okay, he knew that Elmer was more than a little upset about Lona's sudden disappearance and might just be seeing some things that weren't really there but.... Elmer was the only one of them that would probably be in a position to know any small differences, though. Hook figured he had to take a chance and assume that he might be right. He reached out, snagging the phone on Jesse's desk.
"I'm calling the police and seeing about getting someone over here to check this out. Something's not right about this entire situation."
"Dad!" he called as he rushed in, sighing with relief when he spotted his father, Hook and Chris. Surely they would be able to help him figure out what in the world was going on.
"There you are." Louis frowned as he looked up from checking in the drawers and saw his son standing there. "We need to have a long talk about what you've been doing to Lona lately!"
Elmer started to back out of the room, his father's look worrying him more than a little. He forced himself to take control, though, to not give in to the fear and to flee. Something was very, very wrong here.
This entire thing with Lona made no sense at all and with her car still here... Something had happened to her. He just knew that something had happened to her. What if she needed help? He couldn't run away just because he was afraid of being yelled at for a bit.
"Louis." Hook walked over, laying a hand on the older doctor's shoulder to try to calm him. Yelling at Elmer was only going to make things worse at this point. "Elmer, what do you need? If you're just wanting to see if we know where Lona is...."
"I was just out in the parking lot." Elmer wanted to just grab them and drag them up there. Something serious had to be wrong, he knew it had to be. He forced himself to try to explain the situation rationally,
though. "I was just out in the parking lot." he repeated once more.
"Lona's car is still there. Why would her car be in the parking lot of she resigned?"
Chris, Hook and Louis looked at each other for a moment. Okay,
they had all agreed that there was definately something odd about Lona's supposed resignation but the fact that her car was there still, that was more than a little odd.
"Show us what you found, Elmer." Hook said as he started out of the lab, waving at the younger doctor to lead the way.
A little bit later, he four doctors were in the parking lot,
staring at Lona's car in confusion.
"I don't understand this." Chris said slowly as she peered into the driver's side window of the car. "Everything looks normal." She shook her head as she peered once more through the window. She wasn't sure how she was expecting the car to look if Lona had really resigned but shouldn't there be some sort of sign of what happened?
Hook reached out, pulling at the passenger door. "It's locked here." He said, looking around as he spoke. no sign of any sort of struggle, any marks to signal that something unusual had happened. Did that mean that Lona had never made her way to her car or... "Does anyone have any idea when the last time was that someone saw Lona?"
"I saw her last night." Elmer said with a worried look. "She wanted me to drop by the lab this morning. She had an experiment in mind that she wanted to talk to me about this morning." A rather panicked look was growing in Elmer's eyes as he spoke. "She wouldn't have done that if she was planning to resign!' he shook his head frantically, trying to make the notion that he must have done something to Lona to make her decide to flee, go away.
Hook, Chris and Louis looked at each other for a moment as Elmer's words sunk in. If Lona had been planning to meet Elmer this morning then what in the world was going on now? Why would she just....
"Let's go talk to Jesse again. I want to get another look at that resignation letter. Something doesn't sound right about this." Hook told the others as they started back towards the hospital once more. As they walked, he moved back to Elmer's side. The younger doctor was looking totally shell shocked and acted like he was moving about while still half asleep. Hook reached out, gently patting his shoulder. "It'll be okay,
Elmer. We'll figure out what happened to Lona."
A little bit later, the group was crowded into Jesse's office. "I don't understand this at all," Jesse said as Hook checked the note once more. "Why would Dr. Massingale's care still be in the parking lot if she turned in her resignation last night?"
"You didn't see her when she turned this in?" Hook asked as he looked up.
"No, it was on my desk when I came in this morning. Why?" Jesse asked.
"Name's typed, not signed. Anyone could have done it." Hook passed the note over so that Chris and Louis could check it out as well.
Elmer peered over his father's shoulder, ignoring the impatient noise his dad made. Something about the typing on the note.... "That's wrong." He said slowly. "They typing, it doesn't look like what Lona usually uses. It's too...." He didn't exactly know how to describe the difference but he certainly knew enough to tell that there was one. "She couldn't have written that."
Hook looked at Elmer cautiously. Okay, he knew that Elmer was more than a little upset about Lona's sudden disappearance and might just be seeing some things that weren't really there but.... Elmer was the only one of them that would probably be in a position to know any small differences, though. Hook figured he had to take a chance and assume that he might be right. He reached out, snagging the phone on Jesse's desk.
"I'm calling the police and seeing about getting someone over here to check this out. Something's not right about this entire situation."