By now it was mid afternoon. Grace and Will still hadn't seen or heard from Jack. "This must be a new record for him," Grace quipped, but starting to become concerned. Will was worried, too. Even if he had stayed with someone, he would have returned by now. Something must be horribly wrong. They checked his apartment once more to make sure he hadn't come back and decided to look for him. They took a cab to the club and located the manager.
"He left here around one-thirty this morning - alone. That's all I know," the owner shrugged.
Will and Grace were disappointed but at least they had a starting point now. They knew Jack was alive and well a little over twelve hours ago. They backtracked towards the apartment. As they passed the fateful alley, something caught Will's eye. He walked over, stooped down and picked up the object. Will gave a little cry.
"What is it, Will?" Grace wanted to know.
"Jack's wallet…the one I gave him on his last birthday!" Will exclaimed.
"How do you know? It's empty," Grace said.
"That's just why I know," Will replied, but he knew the diamond patterned billfold well.
Then they noticed the blood stains on the ground nearby.
"Oh my God!" Grace shrieked. "Call the police, Will!" she demanded. Will flipped out his cell phone.
At the store, Norma selected some soap, shampoo, and a few other grooming items. She saw the wet shaving gear would be less expensive, but it would probably be easier for her guest to manage with the electric. She and started back to the mission happily looking around when she passed the club again. She wasn't one for clubbing herself, especially a gay cabaret, and her mind was on more urgent matters. The club's placard not even registering on her. She hurried towards the mission and was almost knocked over by Will and Grace who came barging out of the alley, just as Norma came abreast of it.
"Oops, so sorry, miss," Will apologized.
"Quite all right…quite," the rattled social worker muttered as she continued on her way as Will and Grace waited for the patrol car to arrive, none of the parties knowing the common bond they shared.
Norma arrived back at the soup kitchen that was now almost deserted, just a few stragglers munching on the sandwiches. She found Jack, dozing on the cot in the back room. Not wanting to disturb him, she placed the bag on the chair a quietly left. She had to start getting ready for the dinner crowd.
The police car pulled up to the curb as Grace and Will descended on the cop speaking at once, trying to tell their story. The officer just held up his hand as if motioning for them to put a cork in it. They fell silent. "One at a time, please," he ordered. They both began babbling again. Sighing, the cop pointed to Will. "You explain."
Will quickly told of Jack missing, the blood in the alley and the empty wallet.
The cop was less than sympathetic. "Mister, if we spent our time looking for missing people or investigating every blood stain on the sidewalk and empty wallet found, why that wouldn't leave any time for…" he trailed off, then quickly added, "coffee and doughnuts," as he slid back into the patrol car and zoomed off.
They would have the luck to get a Chief Wiggum style cop covering that beat and not one of the many dedicated and trustworthy officers of the city's force. Will and Grace saw that if they wanted to find their friend, they were going to have to do it themselves.
"Damn!" Will ejaculated. Why didn't I get Jack a GPS implant instead of a wallet?"