Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 |
"Tell me about the dream," Turlough asked as he cleaned up the table.
"Not much to tell, really. It was like all the others I've been having. I was in this empty white room. Sort of like the TARDIS, but without the familiar sounds." Tegan shuddered. "Nobody was there. And I got the feeling that no one knew where I was or cared that I was gone. It's odd that I've had the same dream for the last three nights." Tegan was ready to go but still had fifteen minutes before she had to leave. She stretched out on the kitchen chair then stood up. "Oh, thanks for making breakfast. I usually just have coffee."
"No wonder your sleeping habits are so poor, you are probably suffering from malnutrition, too." Turlough followed Tegan to the small living room and sat next to her on the couch. "Of course, it's probably all due to the stress of the upcoming nuptials. I don't blame you there. I'm not sure that I'll ever be ready for marriage."
Tegan looked at Turlough. "Still avoiding that girl -- what's her name?"
"Juras. I think I've finally convinced her to look elsewhere." Turlough looked uncomfortable and decided to change the subject. "So what's this Greg person like? Is he gorgeous like me, or a real dog?"
Tegan pinched him on the arm. "I think you got those mixed up. He's cute and more importantly, he's very sweet. I think my marrying him is the best decision I've ever made in my life."
Turlough smiled. "Good. I think things will work out beautifully. I can zip forward a few years to see if they do, if you'd like."
"No way! You are incorrigible, Turlough!" Tegan got up and put on her coat. "I promised Greg I'd be there by 9, so I should go now. Don't forget to check on Mrs. Mettleson. Oh, and I probably won't be here for supper. I'm sure you can look after yourself." She kissed him on the cheek and left the apartment.
Liz was sitting in an office at the airport. The coffee here was lousy, so she was merely pretending to drink it while she watched Burke grill the last of the officials.
"You do realize you are now missing three of your employees. This is getting to be an epidemic, you know?"
Mr. Neevers was the personnel director for the airport and was looking worried. "Believe me, Inspector, we are aware. It's flu season too, and we're already short staffed. And with the loss of Captain Reynolds, we've had to actually cancel a few flights. Brit Air was not happy with that at all. He's never missed a day of work. What's worse, his car is here. They found it in the staff lot."
"So it says in my notes here. Had Reynolds complained to any of his co-workers about his job here? I seem to recall there was talk of a strike a few months ago. Maybe he's making a stand or something." Burke was pacing the room as he questioned Neevers. This was making Neevers more nervous and was getting on Liz's nerves as well.
"No! The pilot's union just negotiated a raise for all their members. Reynolds was happy about that. You can ask his co-pilot when he returns from the States. Look, I've told you everything that I know. Can I go now?"
Burke didn't look up as he nodded. Just as Neevers was about to leave, Burke said, "Oh, just one more thing. Did Captain Reynolds drink?"
Neevers stopped at the doorway. "Not before a flight, he didn't. No good pilot would." He waited for his dismissal.
"Thank you, Neevers, that will be all." The personnel director left the office quickly, before Burke could slip another question in.
"Very good, Columbo. So when do you pull out your cigar and tell us how the murderer dun it?" Liz stood up to throw away her coffee.
"You know, I love doing that. Always catches people off-guard. Shame it doesn't work as well for me as it does on TV. So what do you think? Forensics says the car was actually driven in today. Where the hell did he go?"
"Well that's the big question, isn't it? His body hasn't been located yet, not one of his colleagues have seen him, and he hasn't contacted his wife, either." Liz stared awhile at the trash can, trying to think of the obvious question that was playing on her mind. "Wait a second. Were the cars of the other two missing persons also here? Has that been checked out?"
"Hang on, I'll check." Burke left the office to confer with one of the policeman standing outside the door. He returned a short minute later. "No other cars unaccounted for, it seems. Could be these disappearances are unrelated."
"I'm sorry, but I don't buy that. Maybe they parked in the main lots, or maybe they take public transport. Let's find out, shall we. Before anyone else turns up missing."
Turlough was dozing on the couch. He'd already helped Mrs. Mettleson and fixed her radio, radiator, and curling iron. She promised him lunch and fed him plenty of tea and biscuits before he'd left. He was enjoying the quiet of the apartment. No vidphones, no people bursting in with problems, no politicians with over-emphasized disasters. Just peace and quiet. And a ringing phone. Turlough grimaced. So much for solitude.
"Hello, Jovanka residence. Turlough, the butler, here. Madame can't make it to the phone, but if you leave your name and number, I'll be sure to tell her you called."
There was a moment of silence on the phone. Then a male voice said, "Who the hell is this?"
"Well, if you were taking notes the first time, you'd find that I am Turlough. And who might you be?"
"I'm Greg Canning, Tegan's fiancè. And I still don't know who you are. How are you in her apartment? And where is she, anyway?"
"Ah, you're Greg. Funny, you don't sound as sweet as she makes you out to be. But then, phones have a way of distorting a person's voice. I'm an old friend of Tegan's. She's like my older sister. Her folks have me call them 'mom' and 'dad.' Is that enough of a reference for you?"
Turlough wasn't too impressed by this future husband of Tegan's, then he was struck by something the man had said. "What do you mean, where is she? She's gone to see you." Turlough looked at the clock. It was 9:30. Tegan left at 8:10. She said it only took 20 minutes to get to his place.
"She's not here. When did she leave?"
"Over an hour ago. Um, traffic wouldn't delay her that much, would it?" Turlough found himself rapping his knuckles on the coffee table. He sat on his free hand to stop it.
"No, it wouldn't. You stay right there. I'm coming over."
Turlough heard the other phone click off and so he hung up. He tried to rationalize her lateness, but he was still worried about her.
Liz Shaw hung up the phone. "Well, Cindy Taylor's mother says that Cindy always takes the bus to work. So she may have arrived at the airport. I have the bus number, so we might see if any of the bus drivers remember seeing her get off." Liz looked down at her notes. "She's very worried about her daughter, you know. We have to find her."
Burke sat down across from Liz. "Well, we're doing what we can. Todd Zimmerman drove to work, his wife said. I've got the license number and description of his car and several policemen are looking for it in the main lots. Employees are not supposed to park in the main lots, but some do if they're running late. If these people did all arrive here, where'd they go? I know this place is huge, but surely one of them would have been seen by now. They've checked every loo, baggage compartment, even in the planes being serviced. No sign of any of them. This is well weird."
Liz smiled. "It's a good thing that PROBE is on the case, then. Come on, let's see if we can't find some decent coffee in this place. I need my caffeine boost." Liz and Burke left the office they had seconded to their cause and made their way to the concourse.
The knock on the door was urgent. Turlough debated taking his time to answer, but then thought better of it. Tegan might be in trouble. Turlough answered the door to see a rather harried but handsome man. Turlough gestured for Canning to come into the room. "You didn't pass by any accidents on your way here, did you?"
"No, the roads were fine and Tegan's car wasn't broken down or anything. Look, why are you even here? How do I know you didn't do something to her." Greg was pacing the room, and kept looking at Turlough with scorn.
"Tegan is my friend. She's the closest thing I have to family." Turlough looked seriously at Canning. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Besides, there's probably a simple explanation for her disappearance. Maybe she went to a store on her way to your place and got held up in a line?" Turlough looked at Canning as he moved around the room. "And please stop pacing. You're wearing out the carpet. Believe me, the landlord is very cheap and this carpet isn't very resilient because of it."
Greg stopped pacing and stared at Turlough. "How can you be so flippant? Tegan is not 'held up in line' somewhere. Her car didn't break down or run out of gas. She is missing! And you're cracking jokes!"
"At least I'm not over-reacting. If something has happened to Tegan, which I highly doubt, she will not be helped by panic. Now is it possible she went somewhere on her way to your place? Maybe she left something at work last night since she was so tired."
Greg stopped pacing for a minute. "Look, I probably seem like a madman right now. It's just that I have this funny feeling ... She's been late before, but only ever for a few minutes. She's over an hour late, and that's not like her. And it didn't help that her phone was answered by a complete stranger."
Turlough nodded. "That's the first reasonable thing you've said since we've met. Look, why don't you go back to your place in case she was simply held up. I'll call the police in a half hour to ask if there's been an accident and tell them that Tegan is missing. That way if you simply passed her, we don't have to panic the authorities, and if something has happened to her, we'll still be dealing with it in a reasonable amount of time. Call me if she's there. I'll call you after I've called the police."
Greg seemed drained as he nodded in agreement. He smiled weakly as he left the apartment. Turlough sighed as he slumped on the sofa. He wished he felt as calm as he sounded.
Airport food had to be the absolute worst food in the universe, Liz thought as she looked at the remaining three-quarters of her sandwich. Burke had, of course, eaten two sandwiches and was eyeing hers. Liz slid the plate over to him as she took a sip of her iced tea.
"Where the hell could they be hiding?" Burke asked around his mouthful of sandwich.
"They must no longer be on airport property. We could be dealing with a serial kidnapper who fancies airport employees. Or worse." Liz looked up as a young woman from the airport's personnel office came over to their table. She took the papers that were handed to her and read them. "Well, how's this for a growing coincidence. One of the local constabularies has reported another missing airport employee. She's been gone only three hours it seems. Name's Tegan Jovanka."
"Sounds Scandinavian. What's she do then?"
"Scandinavian?" Liz looked back at the papers. "Well, she works for a small commuter company called Canning Air. Was on her way to a friend's house but never arrived. Her brother called the local police, and since we sent all the local boys a request for anything connected to airport personnel, they've directed it to us." Liz handed the papers to Burke. "I'm going to call her brother and find out what her car looked like and where she normally parked. You coming?" Liz got up and headed to the personnel office. Burke absently nodded as he stood, still reading the report.
"There was something unusual you missed in this report, Dr. Shaw."
"Oh really? What was that Inspector Burke?"
"You said her brother called in her disappearance? Says in the attached personnel file here that Tegan Jovanka has no siblings."
Liz stopped and looked back at Burke. "Curiouser and curiouser." Turlough had returned from lunch with Mrs. Mettleson and looked to see if anyone had left a message on the answering machine. There had been none.
The TV didn't prove distracting enough, so he turned it off and sat on the couch. He was starting to get that annoying "What would I do if I were the Doctor..." feeling again and that was worrisome. He stared at the wedding dress catalogue on the coffee table for fifteen minutes when his revelry was broken by the phone. "Jovanka residence," he said simply.
"Um, hello. Is there a Turlough Jovanka there?" the female voice asked.
Turlough thought for a few seconds before he recalled telling the police he was Tegan's brother. "Yes, this is he. Who is this?"
"I'm Dr. Elizabeth Shaw. I'm assisting the police on a matter concerning Heathrow and wanted to ask you a few questions about your sister. Can you help?"
"Oh, I thought this was about my report on her being missing. Have they found anything out yet?" Turlough sat on the couch. Why was a doctor assisting them and what was going on with Heathrow?
"No, we haven't yet. Though we are keeping our eyes open for her. We need to know first if her car is here. Could you give us the make and number and maybe tell us where she normally parked?"
"Um, sure." Turlough described Tegan's car and where he'd seen her park it in the past. He was even able to recall her license number without looking it up. "So you think she went to Heathrow? She's off today, you know. She was going to her boyfriend's house."
"Well, right now, we don't know what to think. Thank you for that information. We'll look for the car and keep you posted."
After the phone call, Turlough was more worried than before. He didn't know much about Earth police procedures, but he was certain that they didn't entail doctors on missing person cases, especially if the person has only been gone a few hours. He decided against calling Greg with this information. No reason for him to worry as well.
"One thing is for sure, the man isn't her brother. I don't even think his name is Turlough Jovanka. He seemed confused when I asked for that person." Liz was talking to Burke after getting off the phone.
"Well, maybe this one isn't related to the others. Maybe this one is just some sicko who coincidentally attacked an airport employee. Should we send a car round to question him?"
Liz shook her head. "He seemed concerned for her safety. If we don't find her car on the property, then we'll send a squad car around. He might just be a lover..."
Burke grunted. "All right, we'll wait."
Tegan was hopping alongside her mummy and daddy at the department store. As she went by one display, she saw the prettiest doll. She walked over to it. "Oh mummy! She's so pretty! Can I have her?" she asked. Tegan turned around. Her parents weren't there anymore. She looked around in a panic. They weren't anywhere to be seen. She was alone! The store was HUGE - she'd never been anywhere so big, and now she was all alone in this HUGE store. "MUMMY!" she screamed. "DADDY!" She held on to the dolly and began to cry. Where was everyone?
Tegan opened her eyes and looked around. There was nothing there. She sank to the floor and sobbed. Where was everyone?
Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 |