Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Luke and Blake again exited Alice's room together, just has they had done the night before. Blake couldn't help but worry if Alice was going to have another heart attack. He doubted very much if she could survive another one. Luke removed his hat and began scratching his mostly-bald head with a miffed look on his face. “Damn it, I was hoping there would be something here to give me a lead.” He said, returning his hat back to the top of his head.

“I don't know what to tell you, Luke. Looks like you've got your work cut out for you.” Blake was just as stumped as Luke was.

“The only thing I can't figure out is how the hell all of this was done in the pitch black darkness.”

“Yeah, me neither. I mean, just sex I could understand, but she said none of the men ever tripped or fell. And, how the hell did they manage to put an IUD in her or cut her like that? It would be like if I performed surgery in the middle of a power outage or something.”

“Something is definitely fishy about the whole thing.”

“You think she's lying?

“No, she wouldn't have a reason to. I don't think.”

“And what about what she said about everyone wearing glasses. I mean, a few people sure. But all of them?” Blake looked at Luke and they both stared at each other without really looking at the other at all. Both were deep in thought, until Luke made a sudden move. He slapped the Blake's back hard enough to send him reeling, but the smile across Luke's face told Blake that Luke had struck gold.

“In the Gulf, I served, you remember.” Luke was almost jumping with excitement. He didn't wait for Blake to respond. “On our night raids, we used night vision goggles. Even out in the fields, dark as sin Buddy, I tell yah! We could see just fine! That’s got to be it!”

“Okay, so is that your lead?”

“Of course it is! The only way a civilian could buy those gizmos would be at an army supply store. Yeah, there are lots of em, and I'm not sure where I should start looking, but at least its a start! Ha ha!” Luke was proud of himself for figuring that little mystery out so quickly. “If I start here in Maine and work my way out . . .Well, I always did figure she came from somewhere close by. Nobody could survive a beating like that and then last out in the waters for very long. Right?” Blake nodded his head, still trying to piece everything together.

Luke was already heading for the doors, too excited at the idea of cracking this case wide open. “I'll see you later buddy!” Luke shouted, waving to Dr. Hansen from the hall. Blake was excited too, he hoped that this was the clue Luke needed. Shaking his head, he made his way to the ER in search of Dr. Nuardi.

He wasn't in the ER, only a lone nurse sat at the intake desk by the ER entrance. She told Blake he could find Dr. Nuardi up in his office. All of the doctor's offices were in the same wing, so Blake made a pit stop at his own office first. He checked his mail and voice messages, making sure there was nothing of great importance before heading three doors down to Dr. Nuardi's office. The door was ajar, but Dr. Hansen decided to knock anyway. There was no response. Pushing the door open a little more, Dr. Hansen peaked his head in to see if maybe Dr. Nuardi had fallen asleep at his desk.

Papers and files were strewn everywhere, the desk lamp was on the floor cracked and broken. Its light still worked but was flickering off and on, making it hard for Blake to focus. Dr. Nuardi's chair had been upended, its casters sticking straight up in the air, and the book shelves that had once held numerous medical journals and anatomy references were now mostly bare. The books were everywhere around the room, some of them appeared to be torn. Dr. Hansen froze, he hadn't seen anyone in the wing since he arrived, but he still didn't know if the person responsible for this mess was still lurking somewhere in the shadows. Then he saw a shoe sticking out from behind Dr. Nuardi's desk.