“They weren’t running from the check.”
I was already moving.
The morning valet was different from the one who had worked the previous night, but Jett found him in the employee lounge.
“Did they say where they were going?”
“I’m coming with you.”
He frowned, thinking. “The man told me to bring their car fast. Then he called someone and said, ‘Call the hospital. Tell them we’re coming.'”
Jett grabbed his keys. “I’m coming with you.”
“No.”
“Laura, you don’t know who these people are.”
“That’s exactly why I have to go.”
This time, I wasn’t waiting for anyone.
For four months, I had waited—for the police to call, for strangers to recognize her photograph, for someone else to uncover the clue that would bring my mother home. Waiting had given me nothing but sleepless nights and unanswered questions.
I slipped the plastic bag into my pocket and headed for the door.
This time, I wasn’t waiting for anyone.
I reached the hospital in twelve minutes and ran from the parking lot with my mother’s ring clenched inside my fist.
At reception, a woman in blue scrubs looked up as I approached.
The receptionist studied the photograph.
“I’m searching for my mother.” I pulled a folded missing-person poster from my bag and flattened it on the desk. “Her name is Evelyn. She disappeared four months ago.”
The receptionist studied the photograph. “I’m sorry, but I can’t give out information about our patients.”
“Please.” I opened the plastic bag and showed her the ring. “She was wearing this when she vanished. Last night, two people dropped it at the restaurant where I work, and they came here afterward.”
The receptionist’s expression changed. She examined the poster again, then began typing.
Several agonizing seconds passed.
“What did the couple look like?”
I described them while she searched. Several agonizing seconds passed.
“We don’t have anyone registered under Evelyn,” she finally said.
Hope collapsed inside me.
Then she frowned at the screen. “Wait.”
Her fingers moved across the keyboard again.
My heart began pounding.
“An unidentified woman was admitted several weeks ago. She was brought in confused and unable to remember her name. She was transferred to our neurological unit for evaluation.”
My heart began pounding. “Does she look like the woman in that picture?”
“I can’t confirm that from here.” Her voice softened. “But the age and description are close.”
