"Sonny!" Elmer called as he saw his friend at the far end of the
hallway. Hook had decided that it would be better if they split up to
check the hospital and see if Lona might be there somewhere sick.
"Hey, Elmer. Where have you been?" Sonny asked. He really wanted to ask Elmer about the rumor that was circulating all over the hospital that Lona had resigned and left without a word but he didn't want to risk it. If it was true, he knew that Elmer wouldn't have taken the news well at all.
"Looking for Lona. Have you seen her anywhere this morning?"
Elmer asked anxiously. Hook and Chris were checking the ER and his dad had gone to check the lounges that Lona would have passed on her way out to her car. He tried to reassure himself that they would surely find her quickly now, but he couldn't force his worry away. What if something really bad had happened to her?
"Lona?" Okay, Elmer had brought her up. Did that mean that it would be okay to ask his friend what had happened? "You know, Elmer, I heard the weirdest rumor about Lona a little bit ago. Someone said that she resigned and left town. Do you know what's going on with that?" Sonny didn't want to think that Lona would just leave without a word but Elmer had been more than a little persistent in his pursuit of her and after the head incident....
"Some idiot practical joker left a note on Dr. James's desk saying she was resigning." Elmer said with an angry shake of his head. He wouldn't even let himself consider the possibility that the resignation letter could have actually been from Lona. If he let himself consider that, then he would have to also consider the fact that he might have driven her to leave and he couldn't deal with that. "Have you seen her anywhere? Her car's still out in the parking lot."
"Really?" Okay, if Lona's car was still there, then that definitely lent a bit of credibility to Elmer's statement about the resignation thing being some sort of joke. What sort of idiot would do something like that, though? They had to know that Lona would kill them when she found out about it. Suddenly, something occurred to him. If the resignation was a joke, then why hadn't Lona shown up this morning? "Wait,
if Lona didn't quit then where is she?"
"We don't know." Elmer had to fight not to cry as he said that.
The idea that Lona was missing was terrifying to him and his fear was increasing with each minute that passed without locating her. "Dr. Havens saw her last night and he said she looked kind of pale. We think she might have got sick or something."
Sonny nodded. The hospital was definitely big enough that if Lona had been feeling ill, she could have very well laid down somewhere to try to rest and no one would have seen her. "You checked the sleep lab,
right?"
"It was the first place that we looked. We checked her house too and Chris and Hook are checking the ER in case she went down there." Elmer could barely force himself to stay still as he talked to his friend. All he wanted was to get back to searching for Lona once more. The more time that passed without finding her.... What if she was really sick and needed help quickly?
"Yeah, the ER's packed. They definitely could have missed Lona if she dozed off or something in there," Sonny said with a shake of his head.
"Want me to help you look for her?"
"Could you? Please?" The more people that were looking for Lona,
the better the odds were that they would find her quickly and if she was really sick, well, then wouldn't it be better if she had lots of people there to tend to her?
"Okay, why don't I go downstairs and check some of the labs? If Lona wasn't feeling well, she might have went into one of them to rest for a bit and fell asleep or something." Sonny hoped this didn't show in his tone but a bit of a worry was starting to form in his head. If Lona had been sick, wouldn't she have called someone for help if it was bad? The only reason that he could think of for her not calling for help was if she wasn't able to, if she was dead. He didn't dare mention that possibility to Elmer though, knowing it would send his friend right over the edge to think about Lona dying.
After a moment, Sonny spoke once more. "Why don't you go and find Carrie, see if she'll check the ladies' rooms for you?" Okay, Carrie wasn't the person he would exactly want around in a crisis and if Lona was dead and they found her.... He shook his head as he thought of that,
trying to reassure himself that the very idea was ridiculous. Lona was likely fine and fast asleep in a lounge someplace.
Carrie. Would she be any actual help if Lona was really sick? It seemed like she spent most of her time on the floor in a faint. Someday,
someone was probably going to use her for a doorstop. Still, though, she could go into the ladies' rooms and he didn't dare, not unless he wanted the police to come out to investigate him instead of Lona's disappearance.
"I'll go find her. Thanks for the suggestion. I think." Elmer said after a pause.
"Maybe you better snag some smelling salts before you ask Carrie to help!" Sonny called with a laugh. "Don't worry, Elmer. We'll find her.
She's got to be around here someplace."
"Hey, Elmer. Where have you been?" Sonny asked. He really wanted to ask Elmer about the rumor that was circulating all over the hospital that Lona had resigned and left without a word but he didn't want to risk it. If it was true, he knew that Elmer wouldn't have taken the news well at all.
"Looking for Lona. Have you seen her anywhere this morning?"
Elmer asked anxiously. Hook and Chris were checking the ER and his dad had gone to check the lounges that Lona would have passed on her way out to her car. He tried to reassure himself that they would surely find her quickly now, but he couldn't force his worry away. What if something really bad had happened to her?
"Lona?" Okay, Elmer had brought her up. Did that mean that it would be okay to ask his friend what had happened? "You know, Elmer, I heard the weirdest rumor about Lona a little bit ago. Someone said that she resigned and left town. Do you know what's going on with that?" Sonny didn't want to think that Lona would just leave without a word but Elmer had been more than a little persistent in his pursuit of her and after the head incident....
"Some idiot practical joker left a note on Dr. James's desk saying she was resigning." Elmer said with an angry shake of his head. He wouldn't even let himself consider the possibility that the resignation letter could have actually been from Lona. If he let himself consider that, then he would have to also consider the fact that he might have driven her to leave and he couldn't deal with that. "Have you seen her anywhere? Her car's still out in the parking lot."
"Really?" Okay, if Lona's car was still there, then that definitely lent a bit of credibility to Elmer's statement about the resignation thing being some sort of joke. What sort of idiot would do something like that, though? They had to know that Lona would kill them when she found out about it. Suddenly, something occurred to him. If the resignation was a joke, then why hadn't Lona shown up this morning? "Wait,
if Lona didn't quit then where is she?"
"We don't know." Elmer had to fight not to cry as he said that.
The idea that Lona was missing was terrifying to him and his fear was increasing with each minute that passed without locating her. "Dr. Havens saw her last night and he said she looked kind of pale. We think she might have got sick or something."
Sonny nodded. The hospital was definitely big enough that if Lona had been feeling ill, she could have very well laid down somewhere to try to rest and no one would have seen her. "You checked the sleep lab,
right?"
"It was the first place that we looked. We checked her house too and Chris and Hook are checking the ER in case she went down there." Elmer could barely force himself to stay still as he talked to his friend. All he wanted was to get back to searching for Lona once more. The more time that passed without finding her.... What if she was really sick and needed help quickly?
"Yeah, the ER's packed. They definitely could have missed Lona if she dozed off or something in there," Sonny said with a shake of his head.
"Want me to help you look for her?"
"Could you? Please?" The more people that were looking for Lona,
the better the odds were that they would find her quickly and if she was really sick, well, then wouldn't it be better if she had lots of people there to tend to her?
"Okay, why don't I go downstairs and check some of the labs? If Lona wasn't feeling well, she might have went into one of them to rest for a bit and fell asleep or something." Sonny hoped this didn't show in his tone but a bit of a worry was starting to form in his head. If Lona had been sick, wouldn't she have called someone for help if it was bad? The only reason that he could think of for her not calling for help was if she wasn't able to, if she was dead. He didn't dare mention that possibility to Elmer though, knowing it would send his friend right over the edge to think about Lona dying.
After a moment, Sonny spoke once more. "Why don't you go and find Carrie, see if she'll check the ladies' rooms for you?" Okay, Carrie wasn't the person he would exactly want around in a crisis and if Lona was dead and they found her.... He shook his head as he thought of that,
trying to reassure himself that the very idea was ridiculous. Lona was likely fine and fast asleep in a lounge someplace.
Carrie. Would she be any actual help if Lona was really sick? It seemed like she spent most of her time on the floor in a faint. Someday,
someone was probably going to use her for a doorstop. Still, though, she could go into the ladies' rooms and he didn't dare, not unless he wanted the police to come out to investigate him instead of Lona's disappearance.
"I'll go find her. Thanks for the suggestion. I think." Elmer said after a pause.
"Maybe you better snag some smelling salts before you ask Carrie to help!" Sonny called with a laugh. "Don't worry, Elmer. We'll find her.
She's got to be around here someplace."