No Return

39

The manager arrived at Tony’s room only a few moments after they did, and pulled an electronic keycard out of her pocket. But before she slipped it into the lock, she knocked.

“Motel management.”

No response.

She put the key into the slot, then turned the knob and pushed the door open. “Hello, motel management.”

Wes craned his neck so he could see around her, but the room was dark.

“Hello?” the woman said again.

She flipped on the light switch and took a step into the room, Alison, Anna, and Wes crowding in behind her.

“Tony?” Alison said.

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s here,” the manager said.

The bed was made and the room was neat.

“Has housekeeping come in yet?” Wes asked.

“I checked that before I came over,” the woman said. “They haven’t done this room yet.”

Wes could feel a chill in his spine.

“Tony?” Anna called out.

She stepped around the manager and headed toward the bathroom.

“I’m not sure you should be in here,” the woman told her.

“Tony?” Anna said. She disappeared into the bathroom, but stepped back out a moment later. “Not there.”

“Does it look like anything’s missing?” Wes asked.

Anna pointed at the bag sitting by the desk. “His suitcase is still here.”

“His hiking boots, too,” Alison added.

“Wes.” Anna was standing next to the bed, looking down at the nightstand.

Wes moved out from behind the manager. “What is it?”

She reached down and picked something up.

“You shouldn’t touch anything,” the manager chimed. “That’s not your property.”

Anna looked at the object for a moment, then held it out so they could all see.

It was a cellphone.

“Tony’s?” Wes asked.

“Looks like it,” she said. “Hold on.” She fiddled with it for a few seconds, then glanced at Alison. “Try calling him again.”

Alison pulled out her mobile and made the call. There was a delay of three seconds, then the phone in Anna’s hand started ringing.

“Oh, God,” Alison said.

“Doesn’t mean anything,” Wes said. “Just that he went to the bar without it.”

“But he wouldn’t have left it here all day, too. He’s supposed to be on call. Even on the days off.”

She was right. Being a PA for Close to Home meant being available 24/7.

“Your friend isn’t here,” the manager said, moving toward the door. “I think we should all leave.”

Wes nodded. “Thanks for letting us check.”

Anna joined them, still holding the phone.

“I think you should leave that here,” the woman said.

“We’ll give it to our friend as soon as we see him,” Wes promised.

The manager didn’t look happy, but she made no further protest as she ushered them out, then closed the door and left.

“This is not good,” Alison said, her eyes darting every few seconds back to Tony’s door. “He wouldn’t have left his phone.”

Anna was looking down at the cell and pushing a series of buttons. “He only made two calls yesterday, and received one. All Dione, so work related.”

Alison let out an exasperated breath. “I’m telling you, something is seriously wrong.”

“Maybe we should call the police,” Anna suggested.

Wes thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. That’s probably a good idea.”

The officer who answered the call put Wes through to a familiar voice.

“Detective Stevens.”

“Hello, Detective. It’s Wes Stewart. The man whose motel room was-”

“I know who you are, Mr. Stewart. Did you find something else missing?”

“I’m not calling about the break-in.”

A pause. “Okay. What can I do for you?”

“A colleague of ours, Tony Hall, he’s missing.”

“How long?”

“The last time anyone saw him was around one a.m.”

“So just about twelve hours ago.”

Anna and Alison were both watching Wes, concerned.

“Yes. He hasn’t been back to his room, and he left his-”

“Are there any signs of trouble?” Stevens asked.

“Not exactly, but he left his cellphone behind and he’s supposed to be on call all day.”

Both women nodded in agreement.

“How old is he?”

“I don’t know.” Wes glanced at Alison. “He’s probably about twenty-four.”

“Twenty-three,” Alison said, correcting him.

“Twenty-three,” Wes told the detective.

“Where was he last seen?”

“Delta Sierra.”

“The bar?”

“Yes.”

A pause. “I’ll note that you called,” the detective said. “If he’s still missing tomorrow, call me back, but for now I wouldn’t worry about it. He’s probably just sleeping it off somewhere.”

“But what if something bad has happened?”

The line was quiet for a moment. “Have you considered the fact that this friend of yours might be responsible for breaking in to your room?”

“What?”

“It’s a possibility, isn’t it?”

“You can’t be serious.”

“You can call me in the morning if he’s still missing,” Stevens said, then hung up.

Wes held the phone to his ear for a moment longer, surprised at how the conversation had gone. When he lowered it, Alison immediately asked, “What happened?”

“You’re not going to believe this. He suggested that Tony might be responsible for breaking into my room.”

“Are you kidding me?” Alison said.

“That’s ridiculous,” Anna said. “No way it was Tony.”

“Of course it wasn’t,” Wes agreed.

“Are they at least going to look for him?” Anna asked.

Wes shook his head. “The detective said he wouldn’t do anything until the morning.”

“But what if Tony’s in trouble?” Alison blurted out. “Tomorrow might be too late!”

“Unless we have evidence that something’s wrong, I don’t think they’ll do anything yet.”

“What about his cellphone?” she asked incredulously. “That’s evidence!”

“It is,” Anna said, her tone calmer than Alison’s. “But it’s really only evidence that he doesn’t have it with him.”

“So we’re just supposed to sit around and do nothing?” Alison threw her arm out in frustration, but she misjudged her position, and her fingers rapped loudly against Tony’s window.

The noise reverberated through the empty courtyard, silencing all three of them.

Alison’s shoulders dropped. “Sorry.”

“We’re all upset,” Anna said.

Wes hesitated, then said, “It probably won’t do any good, but we could look around for him ourselves.”

Alison’s face brightened. “That’s a great idea.”

As they were exiting the courtyard and heading to the parking lot, Wes’s cell rang.

Alison looked at him as he pulled it out. He knew she was hoping it was Tony, but the name on the display was DIONE. He shook his head, and tapped ACCEPT.

“Finally,” Dione said. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. Your phone was off.”

“Yeah, I know. Sorry.”

“Did you get the hard drive?”

“No.”

“I was afraid of that.” She paused. “Okay, I’ll get one on my way out of town. Probably means I won’t-”

“We’ve got another problem,” he interrupted her. “Tony’s missing.” He gave her a quick update.

“Jesus, Wes. Maybe I should head up there right now.”

“That’s up to you,” he said. “But I doubt there’s much more you could be doing.”

She let out a frustrated groan. “Call me the second he turns up.”

“Will do.”

He hung up and looked at the other two.

“Let’s go.”