Missing - Part Three
Chapter Three - Sobbing
The sun shone brightly in the room. Abby blinked open her eyes and it took a few moments to remember where she was. She was lying on a mattress on the stone cladded floor. The room was quite small, similar to a prison cell, and it was cold, so cold. Abby remembered the night before, when she had heard footsteps coming up behind her. The man who had abducted her had removed the blind covering her eyes and had ordered her to stand up. She had had difficulty in doing this as the sedative she had been givenhad still beenin her system. She had been led to this cell and the door had been locked behind her.
Abby sat up on the mattress and looked around at her surroundings. This was not an easy task as although her legs were not tied, her arms still were. The man had removed her jumper and she could see the vicious goose bumps gathering all over her arms. Abby still hadn't quite figured out why she was here. Last time she had been abducted to save the life of a gang banger. There had at least been a motive. This time all she had been told was "Why do people normally abduct young ladies". That statement had made her shiver. That statement normally indicated some sort of physical or sexual assault, but Abby had not been touched since she had been taken. The cream painted walls seemed to close in on her, and her head still throbbed from the sedative. Abby tried to get up from the mattress, to try and stretch her legs and get the circulation running through her body. Her first attempt was a bit wobbly, and she fell back down to the floor. Determination ran through Abby's body and she managed it on the third attempt. She walked towards the door and hesitated before trying the handle. Locked, of course. She placed her ear on the door in order to try and hear something, but silence greeted her. She paced around the room, and then heard the sound of somebody moving behind the door. She heard a key turning in the lock and looked up at the door. It creaked open slowly, and a man walked in carrying a tray of food.
The man placed the tray on the floor.
"Why are you doing this?" Abby asked, bravely.
"S'not for me to tell you miss" The man said. He was a different guy, Abby hadn't seen him before, but something told Abby that he wasn't like the others.
"Please, just tell me why I'm here, please" Abby pleaded with him. She even tried looking at him with her brown eyes.
"I really can't tell you anything, I'm sorry"
"You're sorry? I've been abducted, locked in a room, and you're sorry?" Abby whispered, but with a hint of anger.
"Look, you'll find out soon enough, somebodys coming to see you, that's all I'll say"
"You idiot! What did you tell her that for?" A voice shouted from behind the guy.
"Yo Boss! We got ourselves a little traitor here"The voiceshouted again.
The man that had abducted Abbythe night beforestormed into her room.
"Is that right Kris?" He said to the man Abby had been trying to coax information out of.
"No, Harry, she wouldn't leave me alone, kept pestering me" Kris whimpered back.
"Well, if you can't handle a chick, you can't handle the rest of this situation" Harry pulled out a gun and shot Kris twice in the head.
"No!" Abby screamed, and dropped to the floor.
"Get that out of here Bob" Harry said to the other guy and pointed to Kris's body. Bob dragged the body out of the room.
"Hey, chick, calm down" Harry said to Abby who was sobbing on the floor.
Abby looked up at him with tear stained cheeks.
"You expect me to calm down when you've just blasted an innocent kid in the head. It wasn't his fault, what was he like eighteen?"
"Twenty. He broke the rules. No information. But now he's split half the story, would you like to know why you're here?"
"Whatever"
"We have had some trouble from someone you know. He owes us money, and the only way we would get it back was to take something he cared about"
"Who?"
"Guy named Eric, your brother I believe"
"Eric? No, you must have the wrong guy, he's not in Chicago" Abby replied, her heart pounding.
"Oh, he's definitely the right guy. Crazy guy, with a crazy mother. We already took care of her, he wouldn't listen to us then, lets hope he cares about you more than her"
"What……what did you do to Maggie?" Abby whispered.
"Lets just say she's not with us on this planet anymore, I mean in physical terms, not mental" Harry laughed.
"You killed her?"
"That's what I just said didn't I?"
"YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU" Abby screamed and shouted.
"Hey! Calm down, calm down, I don't want to have to hurt you yet"
"You leave my brother out of this, I swear to God I'll kill you if you touch him" Abby was becoming hysterical.
"Alright lady, enoughs enough, time for a bit of peace" He pulled a syringe out of his pocket and stabbed it ferociously in Abby's leg. She tried to fight it, but she couldn't win this battle. Her eyes closed, and were full of horrible images.
COUNTY COOK GENERAL HOSPITAL, CHICAGO
Luka, Carter and Susan had waited until 11pm the night before, then had called the police. They had given a statement, and although the police said they could not do much before 24 hours had passed, they said they would start to look into Abbys disappearance. The trio had stayed in the staff room all night, waiting for news together, but no news had come. Now it was morning, and another day of tense waiting began.
Haleh walked into the staff room. She had been on all night and had just finished her shift.
"Guys, there's a police officer waiting by the desk. Wants to talk to you Dr Kovac, says it's important" Haleh said.
Luka got up from the couch where he had been sitting all night. He looked around the room, at Carter, then Susan and lastly Haleh. All wore the same expression, of tiredness, and worry.
"Thanks Haleh" Luka spoke softly, and exited the room.
"Officer?" Luka walked up the the policeman waiting by the desk.
"Mr Kovac, thank-you for coming. Is there somewhere we could talk in private?"
Luka's heart skipped a beat. It did not sound good.
"Is it Abby? Is she ok?"
"Sir, please, we need a room for this"
Luka looked around and saw Haleh coming out of the staff room.
"Sure, this way"
Luka led the officer into the staff room.
"Officer….."
"Grabble"
"Officer Grabble, this is Dr John Carter, and Dr Susan Lewis. They are both close acquaintances with Abby. I'd like them to be here"
"Sure. As you know we have been looking into the disappearance of Miss Abby Lockhart. This morning, officers in Minnesota discovered a body. It appears to be a Maggie Wyzinski, who we belive to be Miss Lockharts mother. We are not sure if the cases are related, but we found something else"
"What" Luka could barely speak.
" It was a note from whoever had killed Ms Wyzinski, stating that 'Eric should give himself up before his sister got involved"
"Oh my God, that's Abby's brother" Carter breathed out.
"We believe that Abby has been abducted by whoever did this to her mother, and whoever wants to get to Eric. I'm afraid that Abby is in serious danger, and we are co-ordinating our officers to try and find her as quickly as possible. We need somebody to appeal for Abby, and Mr Kovac, we would like you to do that"
"Of course, just find her, please"
"We are doing our best. I will arrange with the media for the appeal, and I will be in touch. In the meantime, we have stationed security here in the ER, and if you hear anything from Abby, you must let us know immediately. We will get her back"
The officer left the room and as the door shut, all that could be heard was the sound of sobbing. Sobbing for a friend, a colleague and a loved one.