I take my bike back to the hospital, with Higgins trailing behind on his. I head straight for the staff room, jogging to get there faster. I open the door and quickly scan the room for Leslie Garland, hoping his smug little face would show up. To my disappointment, he wasn't there. Higgins and I split up and circle the room. I examine the desk at the back of the room. Carefully I lift up magazines and files, the occasional letter here and there. Nothing.
"There is no sign of him anywhere." I exclaim as Higgins approaches me.
"Not quite sir. I found this." he hands me an envelope. It was sealed with wax, the hospital logo imprinted in red. I turn it over.
"It's addressed to you sir." Higgins says. I look at him then open the letter. It was typewritten, but obviously was meant to scare me.
"Did you think you could win this battle? This is all part of my plan. Little Thomas will be mine soon enough." I read through clenched teeth. I crumple it up and throw it at the wall.
"Sir, is everything alright?" Higgins asks cautiously. I take a breath and pick up and unravel the letter. Being angry wasn't helping anybody. I needed to focus on this case, for Thomas' sake.
"Sorry for that outburst constable. This case is affecting more than I should allow."
"Sir I understand how your feeling." I look over at Higgins in surprise.
"Really constable?" he nods, avoiding eye contact. He probably didn't want to talk about it, but to my surprise he takes a deep breath and continues,
"When Ruth was first pregnant, we were so excited. We bought everything, redecorated the room. It was all premature. Four months into her pregnancy, she lost the baby. To this day she still blames herself for it. Now she never lets Roger Junior out of her sight for a moment."
"Constable I had no idea."
"We never told anyone about it."
"I don't know what to say."
"I think we should just focus on the case." he finished looking down at his shoes.
I don't press him further into the discussion. I could tell it hurt him to talk about it. I take a deep breath and return to the letter.
"He clearly knew we were going to look here for him. We have to assume that he is either gone or waiting somewhere in the hospital. Julia has an appointment so we should check that floor for him."
"But sir, what if he went back to his home?"
"I doubt he will Henry. He knows we are looking for him so why would he return to the first place we would look?"
He nods and looks around the room. He walks over to a sheet of paper on the wall. He runs his finger over it, reading the content carefully.
"Sir. Dr. Ogden would be in room ten on the second floor based on this directory."
"Let's get a move on then." I say folding the letter and tucking it into my pocket. We quickly leave the room and head for the stairs.
People watch us on our way up the stairs. I couldn't blame them. A couple of coppers running up the stairs of a hospital is not something one sees every day. I could hear indecipherable whispers between nurse patient and sharp glances pierced through me. I just smile and tip my hat. Nothing else could be said.
We reach the top and Henry takes a right down the corridor. Numbers on doors cross my vision as I walk, but I only stop when I see the number ten. I slow my pace and stop at the door. I raise my hand to knock but the door opens before I have a chance to.
"William!" Julia says surprised. She was still in her wheelchair but a different nurse had come to watch her.
"Julia. How are you faring? Wheres Thomas? Did you se-"
"I'm fine. Constable Crabtree is looking after Thomas. Why do you ask?"
"We have reason to believe Leslie Garland is still in the building."
She looks at me, then turns around to the nurse.
"We have to get back to Thomas." she says. The nurse nods and starts pushing her down the hall, Higgins and myself trailing behind. We enter the room and Crabtree is standing there holding Thomas. Seeing Julia he gives her Thomas without a word.
"Sorry Doctor, he was whimpering and I thought-"
"It's okay George. Did anyone else come into this room?"
"No ma'am. I was the only one in here."
"Thank god." she says holding Thomas close to her.
The constable tips his helmet and starts for the door.
"Oh, congratulations. He is quite handsome."
Me and Julia smile at each other. George leaves the room and the nurse helps Julia move from the wheelchair to the bed. She was still holding onto Thomas, keeping a constant eye on him. The nurse left the wheelchair by the bed and on her way out she handed me a file. I flipped through it while Julia started to feed Thomas again. I finished reading the file and put it on a chair. Everything seemed to be in order; Julia and Thomas were healthy and that was all that mattered.
"William Thomas opened his eyes!" Julia exclaimed from the bed.
I walked over and sat down beside her. She had fixed her smock and was starting to burp him. I looked down at him and smiled. He had big blue eyes like his mother and I had just noticed his dark brown hair.
"Can I take him for a bit?" I asked.
She nods and hands him to me. I hold him carefully in my arms, rocking him softly. I continued to admire his blue eyes.
"Welcome to the world little Thomas." I say to him looking back at Julia. "I promise to protect you, and your mother, no matter what. We love you very much." I finish. Julia nods.
"Julia you should get some rest. It is going to be a long night." I say.
"I will. Just after we put Thomas to bed."
I give Thomas back to her and start to prepare the bassinet. I could spend a night with my wife and child. The inspector would understand.
