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Chapter 2

I was at the Starlight Cafe, munching on my chocolate muffin. Seated near the window, I stared outside blankly while waiting for Argus Gregore's arrival.

A cough from behind disrupted my daydream and I turned around to see a young man, maybe around my age, with dark brown curly hair and green eyes. He wore a casual shirt and ripped jeans. His eyes surveyed me questioningly.

"Argus Gregore?" I confirmed. He nodded. I stood up, shook his hand and motioned him to sit down next to me.

"You want to order something before we start?" I asked.

"It's okay, I already ordered when I entered. And I'm sorry I arrived a bit late. I had to ask my friend to pick me up as my car is not in a good state right now," he said with an apologetic smile.

"No problem. At least you didn't refuse to see me, unlike some people," I muttered with a scowl as I thought of yesterday.

Argus let out a bitter laugh and said, "Let me guess, Dr Martinez?"

I nodded and took out my phone and put on the recorder. "I'm guessing you've met him already."

"I met him on the second day of my brother's disappearance and he said he cannot waste his time enlightening everyone on the case. He told me to contact the police for any questions I have and not to bother him. He seems too busy for anything apart from his job," he said with a scoff.

"Did you meet with your brother prior to his disappearance?"

"Uhm, no," he coughed out and took a sip of water before he continued. "I visited him a few times in jail some years ago. But then, I went to Italy and decided to live there. Since then, I never met up with him again. Though I intended to see him again when he was out."

"According to you, do you really think your brother escaped? His sentence was to end in a month anyway."

"There could still be a possibility," he confessed.

After some more questions, I sighed. Argus Gregore was of no help in all seriousness. He knew nothing on the subject since he had been in Italy for a while. We just kept circling on the same point.

"What is your age?" I asked after a pause.

Argus was startled from the out-of-subject question but still replied, "Twenty two." Oh, he's young.

"You work?"

"I'm working some part-time jobs back in Italy," he said as he looked at me in a puzzled way, probably wondering where I was going with these questions.

"You went to university?"

"No, I don't have enough money. Why are you asking all these questions? I thought we were supposed to talk about my brother," he said, now being defensive as I probed deeper.

"Chill. It's all connected. From what I got out of the information I have, you were under the guardianship of your brother since the age of thirteen, after your parents' death. Your brother was twenty back then. Five years after, he was arrested on the charge of assault on his then girlfriend. Anyway, my question is, how close are you two?" I asked in a curious tone.

Argus pondered over the question a bit and after a few minutes of silence replied, "We are just as close as any other brothers. He was busy most of the time though, having to earn to support us both."

"Did you intend on reuniting with him after he finished his sentence?"

"Yes," Argus started in a hesitant tone, "but I would return to Italy where I'm residing currently. My brother would have more likely remained here."

Ending the recording, I stood up as he followed along. "This is it for now. If you have anything important to say, you can contact me," I said to him as he nodded. We shook hands and both of us left. Well, me much later. I wanted more cake.

☆☆☆

After I left the cafe, I went straight away to the law firm. I checked in Attorney Kim's office but he wasn't present there. I looked around to see whose help I could ask. Even Eliyah was not here today. She must have accompanied Mr Cortez in the trial.

Just then I saw Mr Lawson enter the building. The Managing Partner of the firm. The right person. I approached him with a bright smile. "Good morning, Mr Lawson."

"Good morning, Haelyn. How are you today?" He asked warmly.

"Very fine, except for one small trouble that you could be able to help me with, if I may ask that is," I asked, chuckling nervously.

He laughed and motioned me to follow him to his office. I released a breath of relief and followed.

"Tell me, what do you need?" Mr Lawson asked after settling in his chair.

"Just one phone call, sir. I've had trouble getting an appointment with Dr Martinez from the Wellsworth Hospital. I wanted to talk to him before going to the hospital's legal department. Since you are well known around here, I hoped you could arrange for me to get some minutes with him," I pleaded.

I knew that doctor wouldn't concede to me alone. If someone with more power and connections did so, then he wouldn't have much choice, I thought smugly.

"So only one call?" Mr Lawson confirmed. I nodded eagerly with my hands clasped together in a pleading manner.

"Give me a minute," he said. I waited as he called some people and spoke a bit. After a few minutes, he ended the call. "Well, that Dr Martinez seems like a tough person to convince. He agreed to spare you five minutes only in an hour. Is that okay with you?"

I mentally rolled my eyes. Dr Martinez really thought his time is golden. I'll show him. He won't get rid of me easily.

Putting on a smile, I replied, "Works for me, Sir. Thank you very much. Have a nice day."

I arrived fifteen minutes early at the hospital. I got my papers and questions ready. I cracked my knuckles, sat down and waited.

If someone saw my face, they'd think I was getting ready for a fire rap battle. Five minutes. That's all I had. And that's all I needed to defeat him. I grinned evilly.

A man with a cast around his arm sat across me, probably a patient. He was giving me a weird stare. I guess it was because I was grinning to myself. What can I say, though? As someone who's in the legal field, I was so used to engaging in mental arguments which was reflected onto my real expressions.

Finally, I saw Dr Martinez pass by, thoroughly ignoring me as he entered his office. Anyway, I had to make my presence known. I walked up to his door and knocked. I heard him say come in.

I opened the door and before he could say anything, I grinned widely and said, "Hello again, Sir. I tried to make an appointment and I got one. Will I have my five minutes?"

He stared at me for some seconds and finally said, "Only five minutes. Let's get this over with. What are your questions?"

Well, look at his guts. He did not even ask me to take a seat. You onion-eyed barnacle!

"I want to know some things about Argan Gregore. You operated on him. Was he alright after? When was the last time anybody saw him? Do you believe he escaped? Isn't there security in each corner here? Wasn't his room guarded as well since he was a prisoner?" I looked at him expectantly. I hoped he would not stall with his answers because I had only five minutes.

"He was stable but unconscious. I checked on him three hours before his disappearance. Since he was unconscious, there was no reason to have guards here. He probably escaped though, if he regained consciousness," he remarked.

"Does the hospital have cameras installed in patients' rooms?"

"No hospitals do this due to patient privacy."

"Do you have camera surveillance records of the entrance and exit then?"

"We already checked."

"Well, can I recheck?"

"You need special permission in order to get your hands on that," he grumbled snobbishly.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Well I am going to ask the hospital's legal team for it then," I said calmly, with a nonchalant shrug.

"Your time is up." Dr Martinez said suddenly. What? So quick! I couldn't lose the battle!

"Don't you care that your hospital let loose a prisoner who is potentially dangerous?" I said as I got up slowly. Maybe I could finish the interview before I reached the door.

"I did my job as a doctor by saving him, Miss Carter. Guarding him is not my responsibility, nor is the protection of the public. I believe the police are doing their job searching for him. And can you please stop this slow moonwalk of yours and get out quickly? I don't have all the time of the world for you."

"If you get additional information, you can contact-"

"No."

I let out an irritated scream mentally and got out. I closed the door a bit loudly for effect.

No one was really helping me with my report making. Since the police were already investigating about it, should I stop pretending to be a detective and let them do their job while I wait?

☆☆☆

As I sat at my desk with papers scattered, I thought about what to do as I had my head pressed by both hands on the table. Ideas, ideas, where are you?

I slammed head on my desk. The police were so bad at their job! It's been a week already. How come they haven't found Argan Gregore yet?

But then, here I was, clueless about what to do. I sucked at my job as well.

Then the idea came. I snapped my fingers. Contacts. In the legal field, contacts mattered a lot. Ronan Carter was one of my best close contacts. Working in the police and as a detective for thirty years, he had established an honourable reputation for himself across the country and even abroad. His contacts could be of some help to me, I hoped. I took my phone and called.

"Dad? I need help!" I asked as soon as the call connected.

"Wow, no hello, no how are you, nothing? I feel so used," I heard a teasing voice on the other end.

"Hello! How are you? I bet you're fine. I need help," I replied with a grin.

"Yes. I am fine. How could I be of any help? I'm at work right now."

"Perfect. Can you contact Officer Philip, and tell him to call Mr Flynn, and for Mr Flynn to call Mr Duncan and for Mr Duncan to contact the Eastern police station, and relay the message that I request the past week's CCTV footage of the Wellsworth Hospital?"

There was a long pause and I heard a big sigh.

"Am I your slave?"

"It's a favour. I'll repay you whenever you want. Does a bag of brownies work for now?"

"Okay, deal."

"Thanks! Talk to you later. Love you, bye."

I headed to the nearest police station where Mr Duncan worked. Because of their search for the supposedly escaped prisoner, they had got hold of the CCTV footage to check the records from the day that Argan 'escaped'. And because the CCTV footage was apparently too precious, they asked me to come to check, instead of them sending it.

I entered Mr Duncan's office. He was occupied with some files and without looking up, gestured for me to sit down. "Hello, sir. You got the video footage?"

"Here, they are on this laptop," he said pushing a laptop towards me, "You can check them yourself but you are not allowed to transfer it to any of your electronic devices."

So I started viewing the CCTV footage. I sat there for almost two hours, skipping some parts and trying to memorise as much as I can. The entrance area was too obvious for someone to escape and as I thought, there was no sign of anyone suspicious walking out from there.

I checked the exit area's records. No one seemed suspicious enough. There were doctors leaving, doctors arriving, some probably doctor's assistants or male nurses transferring a dead body onto an ambulance-

Wait, wait! Wouldn't that be an astounding escaping idea?

But then, the medical team would have noticed if he escaped after. I was overthinking. Unless they took him for a ghost.

In this world where everything was possible, we should not let any suppositions slip away. When Mr Duncan wasn't looking, I snapped a few pictures of the scene. It'll suffice. Then I checked the rest of the footage for any other similar possibilities.

☆☆☆

I arrived at the hospital for the third time. I was becoming very familiar with it. And right now, of course, paying a visit to Dr Martinez was out of question. I didn't want to risk getting kicked out by security guards.

I walked inside, and then just stood in the middle. I liked wandering into places without a plan.

I walked past the reception area, getting an 'again?' look from the receptionist. I smiled and walked past her. I continued walking, looking around about who to ask, and what to ask. Just then, I saw a nurse walk out of a patient's room holding some writing board.

"Excuse me!" I called out as she was passing by me. She looked up in my direction surprised, and wondering who I am.

"Hello, I'm Haelyn Carter," I said showing my work ID, "I am currently making a report on the last week's disappearance issue. Can I ask you a question? It won't take time."

"Sure. If it helps," she said offering a smile. Thank God, not all people were Martinez style here.

I took out my phone and showed her the photos I took from the CCTV footage.

"Do you know these people? Are they employees of the hospital? Doctors, assistants, or nurses?"

The nurse took my phone and zoomed in to see well as she scrunched up her nose in concentration. "I may have seen one of the men here, a male nurse I think. But the other, no. I never saw him. Still, I'm not sure because this seems a bit blurry."

"And can I get to see the record of patients who sign out of the hospital or the ones that passed away here?"

"I don't have access to the records and I don't think you'll be allowed to as well. But I would recommend you to ask the administration department and see if they can help," she said offering to guide me there.

When we arrived at the desk, I again introduced myself and showed my ID while the nurse left to continue with her work. I wished to see the papers and records kept beside the man to whom I was explaining my situation. I was firmly refused to have a look at any of their data records considering me being a petty paralegal, not that he mentioned that part, but at this point, I'm already used to it.

"But by any chance, was there any deceased patients that were taken out the day that prisoner escaped? I'm not asking for any name or other details, just a confirmation of yes or no," I asked the man who was now on his computer.

"No, none that day," he confirmed, after browsing a while on the computer. I thanked him and left.

But my eyes didn't deceive me. I did see a dead body.

A/N:
Thank you for continuing to read my book.

Lots of love,
Celestia.

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