Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Lifetime Television
Chapter 2: MISSING
Lu slowly opened her eyes, trying to determine what had awakened her. She looked at the clock on the night stand beside the bed. 3:45am. As she began to drift off again, she was suddenly aware of knocking on the door.
"What the hell...?" Lu pulled herself out of bed and hurried into the living room as the loud knock came again.
"I'm coming, hold your horses." When she reached the door, she paused. "Who is it?"
"Police, ma'am. We'd like to talk to you, if we may." Lu looked through the peephole. Yes, it was indeed the police. Lu
opened the door.
"Can I help you Officer?" Lu asked.
"I'm Officer Willis, this is my partner Officer Kody. Are you Dr. Luisa Delgado?"
"Yeah, I'm Lu Delgado." Lu answered.
"And are you associated with a man named Jonas Ray?" Lu bit her lip. Something about the way he asked the question made her nervous. She nodded.
"Yeah, I know Jonas."
"May we come in for a moment?" Lu stood back and allowed them to enter the apartment.
"What's this all about, Officers?" Lu asked. Officer Brody Willis removed his cap, then glanced at his partner.
"Dr. Delgado, is it true that Mr. Ray was flying to Rio?" Lu nodded, unable to speak around the lump in her throat.
"Ma'am, you might like to sit down." Officer Liam Kody suggested.
"I'll stand, thank you." Lu said firmly, wishing the two officers would just get to the point of their early morning visit.
"Air traffic reports that they lost contact with Mr. Ray's plane yesterday afternoon(Monday). He never made it to Rio. When he didn't show up to where he was supposed to be, they contacted air traffic control as to his flight information. Air traffic reported that they had lost contact with him earlier in the afternoon." Officer Willis told her. Lu slowly shook her head, not wanting to believe that Jonas could be missing...or worse.
"No...there must be some mistake." She said. "He...Jonas can't be missing."
"We're sorry, Ma'am. We'll keep you posted on the investigation." After the two officers left, Lu closed the door and quickly locked it. She stood there for a moment, thinking about what the officers had said. "This can't be happening." She told herself. "Not again." Lu walked into her bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. She glanced over at the picture of her and Jonas that she kept beside her bed. Picking it up, she held it tightly against her chest as tears spilled down her cheeks. Lu sat there for what seemed like hours, barely moving at all, almost as if she were in a trance. The ringing of her alarm at 6am jolted her out of her trance-like-state.
Lu realized that she had been sitting on the edge of the bed in that state for almost two hours. Now, she knew she needed to get ready for work.
Lu went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Once inside the shower, with the water pouring down, Lu cried. And once she started she couldn't stop.
"Good morning, Lu." Lana greeted Lu when she walked into the clinic shortly before 8am. But one look at her told the receptionist that this was anything but a good morning for her friend. Her eyes were bloodshot, obviously from crying and lack of sleep. Lana hurried around the desk.
"My god, Lu. What's wrong? You don't look so good."
"Lana, I'll be in my office." Lu said, not answering Lana's question.
"Sure, Kid." Lana answered, staring after her as she walked down the hall towards her office. Something is definitely wrong here, she told herself. And I'm going to find out what it is. Lana walked down to Lu's office and opened the door, not bothering to knock.
"Lu, something is wrong. What is it? You look like you just lost your best friend."
"I think maybe I did, Lana." Lu said softly, not turning to face her friend, not wanting her to see her tears.
"What are you talking about, Lu?" Lana asked, concerned.
"Look, Lana. I can't talk about it right now. Okay?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll talk to you later." Lu nodded as Lana turned and left the office.
"Excuse me. We'd like to see Dr. Luisa Delgado, if we may." Lana glanced up to see two police officers standing at the desk.
"Yeah, sure. Follow me, Officers." Lana led them down the hall to Lu's office. Without knocking, Lana opened the door.
"Lu, there are two police officers here to see you."
"Thanks, Lana." Lana started to leave the office, but Lu stopped her.
"Lana, wait. Stay?" She asked hopefully.
"Sure, Lu." Lana studied Lu's face carefully. She didn't seem surprised to see these two police officers. Yes, something was most definitely wrong.
"Dr. Delgado, we are here with an update on the situation we spoke to you about earlier this morning." Lu nodded.
"And?" She asked, biting her lip while waiting for an answer, afraid of what that answer might be.
"The plane was found, but there was no sign of Mr. Ray. The pilot was dead. He was removed from the plane and an autopsy will be performed this afternoon to find the cause of death. I'm sorry, Ma'am. I wish we had some news about Mr. Ray." Unable to speak, Lu nodded.
"We'll keep in touch." Lu nodded again. After the two police officers had left, Lana turned to face Lu.
"Lu, what is going on? Where is Jonas? What happened? They talked to you earlier this morning? Lu..." Lu interrupted.
"He's missing, Lana. Jonas is missing. He...he never made it to Rio."
"Oh my god. No, Lu." Lu nodded.
"Lu, I'm going to clear your schedule for the remainder of the day. I think you should go home." Lu shook her head.
"I...I can't, Lana. I need to be here. My patients..."
"I know, I know. They need you." Lana interrupted. "But under the circumstances, I'm sure they would understand." Lu was just about to answer when her beeper went off. Lu glanced at it.
"I...I gotta go. It's the ER."
"But Lu..." Lana started, but Lu interrupted as she ran from her office.
"I said no, Lana." Lana stared after her. As usual, Lu was putting her patients first, not caring what she herself was going through. But Lana did care what her best friend was going through. And she would do anything she could to help her. And somehow, she needed to get Lu to take time off, at least until she knew the whereabouts of Jonas, the man she loved.
