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CHAPTER THIRTY
Charlie didn’t knock, he just twisted the handle on the door and walked straight into Doctor Whitmore’s office. Will rushed in behind him.
The doctor seemed startled from behind his desk. “Can I help you, Charlie? Will?”
“Valerie is missing,” Charlie said in a somber voice. “And we can’t get ahold of her.”
“Oh, Dear. That is a worry. Perhaps she went for a walk and turned her phone off?”
“Her phone isn’t off,” Charlie said, taking out his phone and dialing the number.
Will stood, watchful and considering.
But Valerie’s phone didn’t even ring out anymore.
“It went straight to voicemail,” shared Charlie, looking at Will with a worried expression.
“I wouldn’t worry, gentlemen,” the doctor said jovially. “Valerie has probably had a couple of drinks to celebrate, fallen asleep somewhere and her phone battery has run out. I’m sure she’ll awake tomorrow with a terrible hangover.”
The doctor laughed.
But Will and Charlie were not laughing.
“Valerie always keeps her phone well charged,” Will said.
“If it’s off,” mused Charlie. “It’s either broken or someone turned it off deliberately.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” the doctor said standing up. “But if it would help, I’d be happy to look for her with you?”
Charlie looked at Will. The two of them had no idea what to make of this situation, but they knew that something was very wrong with Valerie’s disappearance.
They agreed and followed Doctor Whitmore as he left the office and headed into the hallway outside.
“Should we split up?” the doctor asked. “I can cover the storage area at the back of the building, and perhaps Will could check the communal areas, and you the patient rooms, Charlie?”
“Why didn’t you tell us about D Tunnel?” Charlie asked, not responding to the doctor’s suggestion.
“What tunnel?” The doctor looked surprised and then a little flustered.
“The one that leads from the basement of this building to the residential area,” Charlie replied. “You know, the one we could have walked through instead of being caught in the pouring rain the other night.”
“That old thing? I didn’t think it was important. You know, half the time it’s cluttered with equipment, so I didn’t think it would be viable for us to use.” The doctor brushed it off like it was nothing.
“The tunnel is empty,” Will said.
“It must have just slipped my mind,” Doctor Whitmore said. “Does it matter?”
“A tunnel that runs from the two buildings? A tunnel the killer could have used if he wanted to reach the patient building without being detected?” Charlie said, his tone as grim and serious as his expression. “Yeah, I’d say that was important.”
“I’m very sorry,” the doctor said. “It’s all been a bit of a shock these last few days. I think I need a vacation.” He let out a laugh.
Charlie felt unease at that laugh, and for the first time, he noticed a slight mischievous look in the doctor’s eyes. More than that, a buried frustration.
But Charlie was too busy to think of that for now. He had to find Valerie and make sure that she was okay.
“Okay, let’s split up,” Charlie said. “Meet back in the lobby in 15 minutes. If we haven’t found Valerie, we’ll have to call in for some outside help.”
The three men went their separate ways, but in Charlie’s gut, he knew they wouldn’t find Valerie.