She patrolled the entire roof area and found a section where several air conditioners were bolted down, with a maze of various ducts running in and out. She knew she had found as good a hiding area as she could get and, removing her gown, she focused on her cat and Shifted. Back in cat form, she immediately began to feel much better! Gone were the various minor aches and pains, along with that really bad headache. She could think clearly again, no longer groggy from medication. Her system was able to purge whatever residue remained and she padded around for several minutes, feeling the exhilaration of being whole once again. Herself, albeit as a cat. So be it. Then, feeling able to think clearly, she settled down to ponder all that had happened and consider what she should do next, going forward. She realized she had asked that Doctor Walker to call her Mom and so she hoped her return back home was finally going to happen, sometime soon!
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Doctor Walker and Nurse Gladys were still talking to Officer Williams in the staff lounge when their beepers both went off. They each quickly checked in and learned Missy was not in her room. She was gone! All the tubes and wires had been removed and she was simply missing. There had been some beeping at the nurse’s station alerting them the monitors were no longer properly connected but when they checked in on Missy to fix that, they found she’d vanished. She should have been practically in a coma due to all the medication she was getting, not to mention her severe head injury. Everyone was concerned someone had to have grabbed her and wheeled her out on a gurney or in a wheelchair. But, no one could recall seeing either of those.
The hospital went on full alert with Officer Williams working with the hospital security personnel. All entrances and exits were immediately blocked off and all video surveillance footage of these areas and the parking areas was examined. More local policemen arrived and a thorough search was begun. Floor by floor, every area was carefully searched. But, no one really thought to give the roof a thorough check. One policeman did actually step out and give the roof area a cursory look. But, he did not see Missy, nestled down in the maze of ductwork, taking a nap. They were all looking more for a bed or wheelchair or something which a body might be hidden within, as well as for some stranger who might have kidnapped her. They weren’t really checking just for her all by herself.
After several frustrating hours with no clues and no Missy, the police had to give up the search although they continued to monitor and keep watch on all entrances and exits. Officer Williams with a couple of other officers remained at the hospital to oversee this activity, but little hope remained that she would be found. They believed she’d somehow been abducted. Doctor Walker and Gladys were very upset but could not really blame any of the nurses or other hospital staff members who were on duty at the time. Another mystery, added to the already long list of strange things they had come to learn about Missy.
Then, the Stratton family whom Missy had saved, along with their close friend Senator Maxwell, chose that evening to pay a visit and ask about her. They were not expecting to actually see or visit her, as they knew she was in the ICU. But, they did want to hear an update and were hoping to learn when an actual visit might be possible, so they could thank her for what she had done. It didn’t take them long, with the Senator right there with them, to learn all about Missy. First, that she was now missing and then how she was this girl who had apparently been kidnapped while at soccer camp in New Hampshire two years earlier. How, because of that suspected kidnapping, the FBI investigators were on their way to the hospital and would surely be taking over once they arrived.
Senator Maxwell remembered hearing all about that case and was astonished to learn she had turned up down here, in such a strange way. Missy’s case had been a big story in Massachusetts back then and was probably going to be an even bigger story now. He wanted to be updated on any news concerning the hospital’s search for her and to be alerted when the FBI arrived.
Chapter Nine
Early morning, pre-dawn Aug 28
Meanwhile, Missy stretched and got up, once again padding across the roof top. She had noticed the policeman who had earlier walked out and looked around, but since he had quickly gone back inside, she had not bothered to move. She had been enjoying herself, thinking about finally going home, back to her family and back to her life as a human. And, she had napped. Now, she felt she needed to get up and get going. And, she was ravenous! It was time to find some food, before she could consider any other actions.
She Changed back to human form and put the hospital gown back on, since she had nothing else to wear. Tying the ties, she then went back inside and looked down the stairwell. She could tell by the smell of food which had been cooked that the kitchen was down on the lowest level, and she quietly made her way down the stairs. At each floor, she stopped to let her senses tell her what was happening and whether any others were about to come out into the stairwell. But, it was now late at night and no one seemed interested in taking the stairs. She was able to reach the bottom level and find her way to the kitchen, without meeting anyone.
Once in the kitchen, she went to the refrigerator and found where a whole chicken had been cooked and then put away for the next day. This was exactly what she needed, and she brought the chicken over to a nearby table and sat down to enjoy her meal. This was actually her first meal in human form in more than two years! She was starved and the cooked chicken was delicious!
No feeding tubes for Missy! She actually smiled at the thought and knew she would probably be finding a few hospital folks who would be angry with her. But, she had to survive as she knew best, relying on her own instincts for what was needed. She really had not figured out yet just what she would be able to say to everyone. She knew she absolutely could not explain about being able to Shift into her cat form. That would definitely cause her many problems, all unknown, and her instincts were very strong about fearing the unknown.
At the same time, she realized how her having helped rescue that family from their car would probably mean folks would not get too angry with her. She was actually looking forward to seeing that little girl again. She wanted to assure herself the girl was really all right and didn’t experience anything which was too traumatic. First the car crash and then the explosion. The little girl surely would have been very scared while all those things had been happening.
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As luck would have it, Missy was just finishing her meal when she noticed someone else was coming towards the kitchen. Oh, well! She knew she shouldn’t keep herself hidden away any longer; she needed to finally start talking to people. So, she made no attempt to sneak away but just sat there as a woman walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. Missy hadn’t bothered with the light earlier since she could see in the dark just fine.
When the woman noticed Missy, calmly sitting there at the table with a plate full of chicken bones in front of her, she screamed! It was just so unexpected. But, she quickly realized Missy might be the missing girl the entire hospital had been searching for all night. She said, “Oh, I’m so sorry but you startled me! The light wasn’t on and I had no idea anyone was in here. Why are you down here anyway? Aren’t you the girl everyone is looking for? I think I heard her name was Missy.”
“Well, my name is Missy. But, I didn’t know anyone was looking for me. I was hungry and come in here to get something to eat.”
The woman introduced herself saying, “I’m Helena and I work in Maternity. But I know they’ve been searching for you. Weren’t you in the ICU? That’s the Intensive Care Unit on level three, for folks who are really sick or injured.”
Missy replied, “I don’t know what my room was called but it was on the third floor. I guess I can go back up there, now that I’ve finished eating.”
Helena knew it was best to have folks come down to the kitchen rather than letting Missy go wandering off anywhere. She had never seen such an intensive search effort at the hospital before and, without knowing any details about this girl, she knew to have her stay righ
t where she was. Waving at Missy to just stay seated, she walked over to a nearby wall phone and called the main office. Quickly, she explained about finding a girl named Missy there in the kitchen and was told to just stay right there and not let Missy make a move.
Not long after that several people all crowded into the kitchen at once. There were even a couple of policemen. Missy recognized Doctor Walker along with that nurse she’d seen in her room earlier; they both came up to her before any of the others. The nurse turned to wave everyone else back so the doctor could sit down with Missy alone. Doctor Walker looked at her closely and asked, “Are you really okay, Missy? You’re not supposed to be out of bed. What are you doing down here? Are you all alone or did anyone else come down here with you?”
Missy answered, “I was starving and had to get something to eat. I came down here by myself and I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to raid the refrigerator like this, but I was so hungry! Yesterday, when I asked you to let me get up, you wouldn’t help me and instead you gave me that shot to make me sleepy. I really hated all those tubes and wires and being tied up in bed the way I was.”
Doctor Walker was of course very concerned about her patient -- even though it was a huge relief to see Missy sitting there, apparently safe -- so she wanted to make sure Missy’s head injury wouldn’t suddenly cause some secondary trauma. Brain damage was tricky and it was still very possible things could quickly take a turn for the worse. She then noticed the plate in front of Missy and asked, “What have you had to eat, there, Missy? Was there some leftover chicken? How much have you had? It’s best to go slow at first …”
Missy interrupted, “Yes, there was this chicken in the refrigerator and I ate it. It was really good, too! I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to.” She wanted to admit what she’d done and take full responsibility.
“How much chicken was there?”
“Err … I guess it was, you know, a chicken.” Missy pointed to all the bones on the plate in front of her.
“Are you saying you ate a whole chicken? Not just a couple pieces, but the whole entire chicken?” Doctor Walker asked, looking at all the bones with a shocked expression. But she quickly recovered and went on to explain, “We try to keep track of what our patients are eating, so it’s important that you tell me how many pieces you had, Missy.”
“Um, yes, I have to say it was the whole chicken. But, that did fill me up. Mostly. I’m not hungry anymore.” Missy then gave her a big smile.
Doctor Walker really didn’t know what to think about this astonishing news but it had been a long day and an even longer night, filled with far more than she’d wanted to cope with. So, not wanting to play detective, she didn’t ask where Missy had been for the past several hours or how she’d managed to eat an entire chicken. Instead, she decided to just get Missy settled back into a room. She chatted with her for a little while longer, just making conversation, and was really amazed at how alert and fully awake Missy was now.
It was pretty obvious Missy didn’t belong in the ICU anymore. But, the doctor couldn’t understand how Missy had made such a remarkable recovery. She examined the side of Missy’s head, where her injury had been, and there now was much less swelling. And, Missy really seemed quite coherent. So, she turned around to the others standing there and she started giving everyone directions.
Missy was to be given a private room and there would be a policeman staying outside in the hallway. This should be just a normal room since there wouldn’t be any machines or IV tubes or anything else like that. Oh, and be sure it had a nice TV! Missy was going to stay for observation for at least another couple of days. Also, there were some FBI folks who were coming to talk to her later. And, of course, Missy’s mother was expected sometime soon. So, once they got Missy settled, everyone was to get back to their normal routine.
Chapter Ten
Morning Aug 28
Things did settle down after that. Missy went to her new room, where things were nicely set up for her and which included a TV with a remote. As she hadn’t watched any TV in over two years, this was fascinating and she promised she would stay right there. She did circle everything on the menu for each of her meals. Doctor Walker had approved her now having whatever she wanted to eat and she wanted to take full advantage of that. So, she settled in, played with the remote, watched some TV and enjoyed a delicious breakfast once the morning finally came. After eating everything which was brought in, she then went right to sleep.
Outside her room, a policeman kept watch and made certain the only ones going into her room were the assigned nurses. Everyone else had to be cleared by either Officer Williams or Doctor Walker. Officer Williams had coordinated all procedures with the hospital staff and with Doctor Walker. He had stayed on at the hospital, as did both Doctor Walker and Nurse Gladys, who each did finally manage to take a nap and get a little sleep themselves.
Because of all the activity when the exits had been blocked and every room had been searched, there were a lot of doctors and nurses who now wanted to hear what all the fuss had been about. Word had leaked out and there were some reporters outside the hospital who were also asking questions. Therefore, an internal memo was issued that explained there had been a mix-up which resulted in the alert, but everything was now fine and under control. There would continue to be a police detail providing added security, but this was only expected to be for a day or two. Since it was well known that Senator Maxwell was visiting, due to the press conference he’d given the day before, this arrangement seemed normal and routine.
For the general public, a general statement was issued explaining that Missy had finally been identified and that she was now conscious, out of the ICU and resting comfortably. Because she was only fifteen, her name was being withheld and no further details were being shared. Her mother was expected to arrive later that day, so perhaps more details would be released then. Thus, finally, things really did settle down.
Then, just before noon, Robert Ulrey arrived with Susan Donavan, another agent from the FBI. Susan had not worked on Missy’s case before but had worked for several years in the Special Victims Unit and was very experienced. She was fifty-two and looked more like a school teacher than an FBI agent. She was out of the Washington D.C. office and had just been assigned as an added resource the night before, right after there’d been some communication to the FBI headquarters from Senator Maxwell’s office.
Missy’s mother Julia had been the one to call Robert the day before, once she’d learned Missy was supposedly in some hospital down in Virginia. Could he go down there and make sure she was really safe?
He had assured her he would drop everything and rush right down there. Then he’d called the hospital and had his office call ahead to the Roanoke police. A security detail at the hospital was requested, to watch Missy’s room until he could get there. He also had asked his office to send him whatever local news reports there might be about the accident on Blue Ridge Parkway. He’d download these to his laptop to read the articles and watch the videos later. He then went home to pack, bringing Missy’s file with him.
Later, he received the call from the hospital about the ongoing search for Missy who had disappeared from her room. This was very disturbing news! Shortly after that, his boss called and explained about the contact from Senator Maxwell’s office. And, since the airlines had no direct flights into Roanoke, he was booked on a flight to Washington D.C. He was to stay in a hotel there at the airport that night and meet up with Special Agent Donavan who was going with him. He was going to need her help, with the added responsibility from these new developments combined with the high visibility this case was now getting. The two of them were booked on the first flight out the next morning and they should be able to get to the hospital by noon.
After flying down and checking into his hotel, he had called and briefed Susan Donavan with all that he’d learned about the case. She had read the files and already knew most of it by the time he’d called; they both were then anxious to
meet Missy, if only she could be found. They had discussed various items they hoped she could tell them about: what had she been through, was there a kidnapper, was there more than one person involved, how had she escaped, was she traumatized, would she be willing to testify, were there other victims, what could they learn about any other criminal activity and many other questions they hoped to find answers to.
When the good news was delivered early the next day that Missy was actually okay, it came as a great relief. They learned she’d been located in the kitchen without any kidnapper involved or anything else suspicious going on and there now was a police detail watching her room as well as all the hospital entrances.
Robert called Missy’s mother right away to make sure she knew. She had gone through a sleepless night and was overjoyed to learn Missy was not only safe, but was now awake and no longer in the ICU. She was scheduled to arrive mid afternoon and would see him then.
The flight into Roanoke was very pleasant, as it seemed the long lost Missy was really going to be going home to her family. During the flight, Robert and Susan also got to watch the news coverage and read all the stories about the rescue which had resulted in Missy being brought to the hospital. They naturally had some questions about all of that but since the accident on the parkway was not an FBI matter they wouldn’t really have to investigate any of those details. Finally, they reviewed the need to keep Senator Maxwell in the loop. They had both worked other cases over the years where it was necessary to provide briefings to various high ranking officials and politicians, so this was merely business as usual for them.
Thus, they were pretty well prepared when they arrived at the hospital and were glad to find both Officer Williams and Doctor Walker waiting for them. They were given an office to work out of plus a dedicated conference room they could use. As first priority, they reviewed all the security arrangements and were pleased that Officer Williams would stay on as liaison. While they would now be taking charge of things, the cooperation from the local police was needed and appreciated. Their main concern was making sure no one who might be after Missy could get to her.
Missy the Werecat Page 5
