Fatal Cure. Chapter 26. EPILOGUE
26
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1
LATER THAT DAY
Angela slept much longer than she’d planned. When she awoke around four-thirty, she was surprised to hear that David had neither returned nor called. She felt a pang of concern, but dismissed it. But as the time crept toward five, her concern grew with each passing minute.
Angela finally picked up the phone and called Green Mountain National Bank. But she only got a recording that told her the bank’s hours were nine to four-thirty. Frustrated, Angela hung up. She wondered why David hadn’t called on his portable phone. It wasn’t like him. He’d surely know she’d start worrying if he were late.
Next Angela called Bartlet Community Hospital. She asked to be connected to the front information desk, then inquired there about David. She was told that Dr. Wilson had not been seen all day.
Finally Angela tried their home in Bartlet. There wasn’t any other place she could think to try. But after letting the phone ring ten times, she gave up.
Replacing the receiver for the third time, Angela wondered if David had decided to play sleuth after all. The possibility only made her more concerned.
Angela went to the kitchen and asked her mother-in-law if she would mind if she borrowed the car.
“Of course not,” Jeannie answered. “Where are you going?”
“Back to Bartlet,” Angela said. “I left some things in the house.”
“I want to go too,” Nikki said.
“I think you’d better stay here,” Angela said.
“No,” Nikki said. “I’m coming.”
Angela forced herself to smile at Jeannie before going over to Nikki. She took her daughter by the arm and walked her into the next room.
“Nikki, I want you to stay here,” Angela said.
“I’m scared to stay here by myself,” Nikki said. She broke into tears.
Angela was stymied. She much preferred that Nikki stay with her grandmother, yet she didn’t have time to argue with the child. Nor did she want to explain to her mother-in-law why Nikki would be better off staying. In the end, Angela gave in.
It was close to six by the time Angela and Nikki entered Bartlet. It was still light out, but night would follow soon. Some of the cars already had their headlights on.
Angela only had a sketchy plan of what to do, and it mostly involved hunting for the Volvo. The first location she wanted to search was the bank, and as she neared the institution she saw Barton Sherwood and Harold Traynor walking toward the town green. Angela pulled over to the curb and jumped out. She told Nikki to wait in the car.
“Excuse me,” Angela said as she caught up with the two men.
Sherwood and Traynor turned.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” Angela said. “I’m looking for my husband.”
“I have no idea where your husband is,” Sherwood said irritably. “He missed our appointment this afternoon. He didn’t even phone.”
“I’m sorry,” Angela said.
Sherwood touched the brim of his cap, and he and Traynor moved off.
Angela dashed back to the car. Now she was convinced that something bad had happened.
“Where’s Daddy?” Nikki questioned.
“I wish I knew,” Angela said. She made a rapid U-turn in the middle of Main Street that sent the car’s wheels screeching.
Nikki reached out and steadied herself against the dash. She’d sensed that her mother was upset, and now she was certain.
“Everything will be all right,” Angela told Nikki.
Angela sped to their house, hoping to see the Volvo parked near the back door. Maybe David had gone there by now. But as she pulled into the driveway, she was immediately disappointed. There was no Volvo.
Angela jerked to a stop next to the house. A quick glance told her it was just as they had left it, but she wanted to be sure.
“Stay in the car,” she told Nikki. “I’ll just be a second.”
Angela went inside and called for David, but there was no answer. Taking a quick run through the house, she checked to see if the master bed had been disturbed. It hadn’t. On her way back down the stairs Angela spotted the shotgun. She snatched it up and checked the magazine. There were four shells in it.