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“Thanks so much.”
Bloodwork did not take fifteen minutes. They’d bring the phlebotomist to her. Five minutes, tops. I set the time on my phone. When it vibrated, I got up, paced, looked out the window at the parking lot. Sat down in a different chair—one where Cindy couldn’t see me, but where I could hear her. As soon as Cindy got a call, I stood, poked my head around the corner, held up my phone. “Hey, Jennifer just texted me—I’m going to walk this back, okay? Oh, sorry,” I said, pretending I had no idea she was on the phone.
Cindy waved me toward the bay doors and continued her conversation.
Piece of cake.
Discreetly, I looked into each of the bays to find Jennifer.
The first bay was empty. The second had a mom and a little kid who was crying as a doctor examined an arm that was clearly broken. Ouch. Been there, done that. Third bay was empty, but the bed was rumpled—someone had recently been here. Fourth and last bay had an elderly woman on monitors.
I rechecked the third bay, picked up the chart at the end of the bed.
White, Jennifer.
Maybe she was in the bathroom.
Except that her messenger bag wasn’t here.
An orderly walked by pushing a gurney. “Hey, sir,” I said, “my friend was brought in by ambulance, and the nurse said she’s supposed to be here.” I pointed to the bed.
“She may have gone for tests.”
“Can you check for me? Please? I’m really worried about her.”
“Name?”
“Jennifer White.”
“One sec.”
It took more than a second. When the orderly came back, he said, “She must have been assigned a room, but it’s not in the system yet.”
Her chart was still here; if she had been assigned a room, the chart would have gone with her.
She had bolted.
I thanked him, then walked out and spotted Jack and Tess in the lobby talking to the intake clerk. I caught Tess’s eye and motioned for them to follow me outside.
“She ran,” I said when they exited.
“She was in no condition,” Jack said. “I talked to the paramedics, who said she was still pretty out of it when they arrived.”
“Maybe then, but now she’s gone. Could have exaggerated her symptoms. Logan Monroe was confused and queasy for about five, ten minutes after he came around, then he was talking and walking just fine. She could have milked it to get out of the house, away from us, so she could disappear.”
“Why?” Jack asked.
“I should be asking you that,” I said. “I thought you wanted a partnership.”
“You haven’t agreed.”
“We already know what you’re doing,” Tess interjected. “You’re trying to prove Monroe is cheating on his wife. Jennifer isn’t married, he is. End of story.”
I shrugged. “I’ll find out what’s going on, you know that.”
Silence.
“Fine,” I said and opened the Jeep door. “Do it your way. I’ll do it mine.” I got into the driver’s seat.
