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*
Charlie saw Will and Doctor Whitmore enter the lobby of the building, seeing only disappointment on their faces.
“No luck,” Doctor Whitmore said. “The storage areas are empty.”
“I couldn’t find any trace of her in the communal rooms and the dining hall,” Will said, his voice increasingly sounding more concerned. “What about you, Charlie?”
Charlie just shook his head, slowly.
“Have you called the Buford police?” Doctor Whitmore asked.
“Yes,” said Charlie. “Sam is coming up in a car right now. But they don’t exactly have a large pool of manpower.”
“Could we get some of the orderlies to help?” Will asked.
“We might struggle,” Doctor Whitmore said. “We’ve had a few call ins from staff tonight, we’re undermanned. In any case, where would we look?”
Charlie turned to the doors leading outside into the darkness. “Maybe it’s like you said, Doc. She went for a walk, but something happened. I’m not waiting any longer.”
Charlie felt a wave of desperation wash over him. He rushed toward the doors and headed out into the cold night.
The weather was damp and cold, and the grounds of Elmwood smelled of rotten leaves.
“Wait, Charlie,” Will said, running up behind him. “I don’t want you getting hurt, either.”
“What if there was more than one killer, Will?” Charlie said, his voice breaking slightly with the frustration.
“Another killer?” Doctor Whitmore scuffed. “But Logan Saldana is our man.”
“Maybe,” Charlie thought out loud. “But what if we got it wrong and Valerie’s run afoul of the killer?”
“That doesn’t bear thinking,” Will said. “Let’s start searching, but together, not separated in the dark.”
Charlie agreed, reluctantly.
They searched the woods and the forests surrounding Elmwood, calling out Valerie’s name as they went, but there was no reply.
As Charlie plunged through the trees, he desperately hoped that their search would be in vain. That he would find his friend safe and sound again soon, just like always. But deep down inside him, Charlie knew it wouldn’t happen this time. Something terrible had happened to Valerie at Elmwood.
“This is hopeless,” Doctor Whitmore said. “I can hardly see a thing out here.”
Charlie stood for a moment. “I might be able to call the Bureau.”
“And ask for what?” Will inquired.
“I might be able to get a ping on Valerie’s phone from a nearby phone mast,” he said.
“But didn’t you say that it was off?” Doctor Whitmore asked, sounding a little breathless.
“Yes,” Charlie said. “But even when a phone is off, sometimes the tech guys can get a location, if we’re lucky.”
Charlie took out his phone.
“Wait!” Will said. “What’s that on the ground?”
Will moved to a patch of leaves nearby. He leaned down and retrieved something familiar.
“It’s Valerie’s phone,” he explained. “How did it get here? We just passed this spot a second ago.”