For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor
Daphne walked into the dining room as Martin finished his call, "Alright Bob, call me at this number if you get wind of anything."
Ronee put an arm around Daphne.
"Nothing yet Daphne," he told her. "But Seattle's best is on it and they won't back down for a minute."
"Where could he be?" she asked in anger.
"I'm calling Frasier."
"What is he going to do?" she snapped.
"Maybe he has an idea of where he might have gone at this time of night."
"Don't expect the worse, honey," Ronee tried to comfort her.
"How can I not", she snapped back, almost yelling. She went into the kitchen again.
Martin dialed and waited for Frasier to pick up. "Frase, hey son, I need you to wake up. Your brother never made it home last night. We're over here at his place with Daphne and she's going stir crazy."
"Alright dad, alright. What time is it?"
Martin checked his watch. "It's going on two thirty."
"Have you tried his cell?"
"We went over to his office and found his office unlocked with his cell phone and his wallet by the coat rack."
"Oh dear," Frasier's voice had dropped.
"We've also called Triple-A, my contacts down town and the hospitals. We're running out of options."
Daphne was screaming from the top of her lungs from the kitchen. "IF YOU KNOW WHERE MY HUSBAND IS, YOU HAD BETTER CALL ME BACK! I KNOW JUST WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE I CAN FIND YOU!"
"Ah, Frasier," Martin said in a lower voice. "I'll call you right back." He hung up the phone as Daphne came in from the kitchen weeping uncontrollably. "Daph, what the hell was that?"
She sat down on the couch between Martin and Ronee and sobbed like she was going to keep crying until there was nothing left of her. Finally, she handed the phone to Martin. "The last inbound call…on his cell…was just before midnight… it was a woman named Becky…I just left her a message… on her machine."
Martin took the phone from her and checked for the number. He used the house phone again. "Bob, it's me, Marty again. Could you run this number and send a car over there to see if my son might be over there. Thanks." He gave the number over the phone. "It appears to be someone with the first name of Becky." He then ended the call, "Thanks again Bob."
He turned to Daphne. "It's gotta be one of his patients."
Daphne nodded as she sobbed in Ronee's arms.
The phone rang. Frasier was calling back. "Dad, what the hell is going on?"
"He's missing Frasier. I was hoping you might have an idea where he might go in the middle of the night like this."
"To hell with that Dad, I'm catching the next flight out. You know as well as I that wild horses couldn't keep him from coming home every night."
"I didn't expect you to fly out here," Martin protested.
Frasier was sitting up in bed when he picked up his wrist watch to double check it against his alarm clock. "Listen, I won't be able to get a flight out until 6:30 or 7. So if he shows up and everything is okay, you can call me on my cell and I won't come. If you don't call before I board the plane, I will be on my way."
"Alright son, but do you think you might be able to point us in a direction to keep us from going completely mad over here?"
"Let me think." Frasier took a moment. "Try the phone book for all night cafes. Perhaps he may have headed to one of a coffee."
"Well, I found his coffee pot on at work. I don't think he went for coffee."
"Listen Dad, I'm going to jump in the shower and get some coffee myself. If I think of anything, I will call you right away."
"Thanks son."
Frasier hung up when Charlotte rolled over in bed.
"What is it? What's going on?"
"Niles didn't come home last night. No one knows where he is. I'm going to catch the next flight home."
Charlotte turned on the lamp next to the bed. "I'll help you pack."
"You don't have to do that; I can manage on my own."
"On your own? I'm going with you."
"Charlotte, you don't have to fly to Seattle with me."
"Hey, we're a team." She sat up, closer to him. "Don't you think we make a good team?"
He kissed her. "Of course I do."
David started crying. Martin jumped up to take care of him, but Daphne jumped up, insisting that she go care for him. She nearly stumbled and gasped for air. Martin and Ronee jumped to their feet. Martin went to catch her. "I'm alright," she managed to say without even looking their way. She got to the hallway and out of their view when she leaned against the wall and the tears fell. She just couldn't bring herself to tell them that she had just had another vision. This one was of Niles in a very dark place.
Martin redialed Becky's number, but the phone rang and rang until the answering machine picked up again. "This is Martin Crane. I am desperately looking for my son Niles Crane. If you have any information of his whereabouts, please give me a call." He left Niles' home number on the answering machine before hanging up.
In the room where David's crib was, she held onto him for dear life. She slumped in the corner with him…and they cried together.