Hook listened with growing frustration to the police officer on the
other end of the line. "Ye, I understand that," he said slowly. "Yes, I
understand that she's a competent adult but..." He nodded slowly. "Yes,
we'll call back then if we haven't heard from her."
"What did they say?" Elmer demanded the second that Hook hung up the phone. Hook calling the police had made this definitely more real for him as well as more frightening. If the police were needed, didn't that mean that something bad had happened to Lona, that.... "When will they be here?"
"That's the problem." Hook shook his head as he recalled the conversation. "Since Lona's a competent adult and we don't really have anything here that's screaming foul play...."
"Foul play?" Elmer exclaimed, paling visibly when he heard that.
Foul play? Hook thought that someone had....
"Elmer, I don't know what to think at this point. I just know what the police told me. They said if there were no obvious signs of foul play...."
"Wait a minute. What about the car?" Chris asked. "If Lona left,
then why in the world is her car still here?"
"Tried to tell them that but they said she could have taken a cab or have been picked up by someone." Hook said with a shake of his head.
"They've obviously never tried to get a cab at this hospital,"
Chris muttered under her breath. She had been forced to call for a cab one night a few months ago while her car was in the shop and saying it was difficult would be putting the entire thing mildly. It seemed that many of the cabbies were more than slightly nervous about being anywhere near Kingdom Hospital, especially at night.
Hook grinned slightly at Chris before continuing. "There's the fact that Lona supposedly left a note too." Suddenly something occurred to him. "Wait a minute. How could she get in here to leave a note in the first place?" With Jesse gone for the night, wouldn't the person who left the note need a key to enter?
"The one of the earthquakes did something to the lock." Jesse said with a frown as he went over to his door and rattled the knob. "I've been trying to get Johnny up here to fix it. Someone keeps coming in every night and raiding my cupcake drawer. Horrible annoyance."
"So anyone could have came in and left the note." Hook said with a frustrated shake of his head. There had to be something here that they could take to the police to get them investigating. The more he thought about this, the stranger that it sounded to him.
Elmer and Louis were still looking at the note, trying to figure out what in the world was different about it from Lona's usual method of typing. The more Louis stared, the more that he thought that his son might be right about a difference but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.
"It's the font, I think." Elmer said slowly, not really sure that he had found the right difference but.... "This is all swirly, like it would be if someone wrote it by hand but Lona usually...."
"She usually uses something plain." Louis nodded, finally realizing what the difference in the note was. He shook his head as he looked down at the note. Lona was simple and fairly practical, especially on the job. He just couldn't see her using some sort of almost romantic looking font to type a resignation letter. "Hook, what did the police tell you about...."
"They said that if we didn't hear anything from her or find out where she is in three days, they'll be able to file a missing persons report but until then unless some more signs of foul play..." Hook said with a shake of his head.
"Three days?" Fear washed over Elmer as he heard that. Who knows what could have happened to Lona in three days? What if she was sick or hurt or... He felt himself starting to hyperventilate slightly. No! They had to find Lona now, before something....
"Calm down, Elmer. We're not going to just sit around waiting on the police, okay?" Hook said as he walked over, gently patting the younger doctor's shoulder to try to reassure him. The last thing that they needed on their hands at the moment was for Elmer to go hysterical on top of Lona's disappearance.
"Check around, see if you can find out who left this letter here."
Hook ordered Jesse before starting for the door. "Let's check the sleep lab again, see if there might be anything there that we missed the first time." How in the world could Lona have vanished into seemingly thin air from the middle of a busy hospital.
"You don't think we might need to have a little talk with Mrs.
Druse, do you?" Chris whispered.
"Maybe if we don't find something quick." Hook replied back in the same low tone. He couldn't believe that he was looking at possible supernatural reasons for this but....
Elmer had to fight back tears as he followed along behind Chris and Hook. Foul play. Those two words kept running through his head. No, if something had happened to Lona.... He would rather learn that she had just got sick of him than for something bad to have happened to her. Please just let her have got sick of putting up with him!
"Elmer, it's going to be alright." Louis said as he put an arm around his son's shoulders. Okay, he was a bit annoyed with Elmer still and concerned that his son might have done something to aggravate Lona into leaving but seeing Elmer looking that heartbroken, he couldn't help but want to reach out, to comfort him. "We'll find Lona and it will probably turn out that this entire thing was a big misunderstanding. Just try not to panic, okay?"
we'll call back then if we haven't heard from her."
"What did they say?" Elmer demanded the second that Hook hung up the phone. Hook calling the police had made this definitely more real for him as well as more frightening. If the police were needed, didn't that mean that something bad had happened to Lona, that.... "When will they be here?"
"That's the problem." Hook shook his head as he recalled the conversation. "Since Lona's a competent adult and we don't really have anything here that's screaming foul play...."
"Foul play?" Elmer exclaimed, paling visibly when he heard that.
Foul play? Hook thought that someone had....
"Elmer, I don't know what to think at this point. I just know what the police told me. They said if there were no obvious signs of foul play...."
"Wait a minute. What about the car?" Chris asked. "If Lona left,
then why in the world is her car still here?"
"Tried to tell them that but they said she could have taken a cab or have been picked up by someone." Hook said with a shake of his head.
"They've obviously never tried to get a cab at this hospital,"
Chris muttered under her breath. She had been forced to call for a cab one night a few months ago while her car was in the shop and saying it was difficult would be putting the entire thing mildly. It seemed that many of the cabbies were more than slightly nervous about being anywhere near Kingdom Hospital, especially at night.
Hook grinned slightly at Chris before continuing. "There's the fact that Lona supposedly left a note too." Suddenly something occurred to him. "Wait a minute. How could she get in here to leave a note in the first place?" With Jesse gone for the night, wouldn't the person who left the note need a key to enter?
"The one of the earthquakes did something to the lock." Jesse said with a frown as he went over to his door and rattled the knob. "I've been trying to get Johnny up here to fix it. Someone keeps coming in every night and raiding my cupcake drawer. Horrible annoyance."
"So anyone could have came in and left the note." Hook said with a frustrated shake of his head. There had to be something here that they could take to the police to get them investigating. The more he thought about this, the stranger that it sounded to him.
Elmer and Louis were still looking at the note, trying to figure out what in the world was different about it from Lona's usual method of typing. The more Louis stared, the more that he thought that his son might be right about a difference but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.
"It's the font, I think." Elmer said slowly, not really sure that he had found the right difference but.... "This is all swirly, like it would be if someone wrote it by hand but Lona usually...."
"She usually uses something plain." Louis nodded, finally realizing what the difference in the note was. He shook his head as he looked down at the note. Lona was simple and fairly practical, especially on the job. He just couldn't see her using some sort of almost romantic looking font to type a resignation letter. "Hook, what did the police tell you about...."
"They said that if we didn't hear anything from her or find out where she is in three days, they'll be able to file a missing persons report but until then unless some more signs of foul play..." Hook said with a shake of his head.
"Three days?" Fear washed over Elmer as he heard that. Who knows what could have happened to Lona in three days? What if she was sick or hurt or... He felt himself starting to hyperventilate slightly. No! They had to find Lona now, before something....
"Calm down, Elmer. We're not going to just sit around waiting on the police, okay?" Hook said as he walked over, gently patting the younger doctor's shoulder to try to reassure him. The last thing that they needed on their hands at the moment was for Elmer to go hysterical on top of Lona's disappearance.
"Check around, see if you can find out who left this letter here."
Hook ordered Jesse before starting for the door. "Let's check the sleep lab again, see if there might be anything there that we missed the first time." How in the world could Lona have vanished into seemingly thin air from the middle of a busy hospital.
"You don't think we might need to have a little talk with Mrs.
Druse, do you?" Chris whispered.
"Maybe if we don't find something quick." Hook replied back in the same low tone. He couldn't believe that he was looking at possible supernatural reasons for this but....
Elmer had to fight back tears as he followed along behind Chris and Hook. Foul play. Those two words kept running through his head. No, if something had happened to Lona.... He would rather learn that she had just got sick of him than for something bad to have happened to her. Please just let her have got sick of putting up with him!
"Elmer, it's going to be alright." Louis said as he put an arm around his son's shoulders. Okay, he was a bit annoyed with Elmer still and concerned that his son might have done something to aggravate Lona into leaving but seeing Elmer looking that heartbroken, he couldn't help but want to reach out, to comfort him. "We'll find Lona and it will probably turn out that this entire thing was a big misunderstanding. Just try not to panic, okay?"