The Left-Handed Truth Chapter 21

Chapter 21:My fiancée.

“Sure. Credit card, please.”

I handed over my card and she ran it through, passed me a plastic keycard and gave me directions to the room. It was on the ground floor near the rear.

“Shouldn’t get too much noise from the traffic back there,” she said.

“Thanks. Can you tell me where the hospital is?”

“Two blocks over that way,” she said, pointing. “You can’t miss it.”

“Thanks, again,” I said, heading back to my car.

It took me no time at all to move into the room and hang up a couple of shirts and a pair of pants. The rest, except for my toilet kit, could stay in the bag. I debated driving over to the hospital to see if I could find out anything, but assumed correctly that there would be no one on the reception or admittance area with the exception of emergency and they would be very unlikely to offer any information.

I was on the edge of despair at that point and knew I had to get some rest before I did myself more harm than good. Tomorrow morning would be soon enough to begin my search for Nicole.

I didn’t expect to sleep, but at some point, exhaustion overcame me and I fell into a restless slumber, waking several times with a start. I gave up at six in the morning and showered, shaved, and dressed for the day. First stop would be the motel office for some directions and whatever information I could get about the explosion.

The attendant was an older man, and I wondered if he might be the husband of the woman who was on the night desk.

“Good morning, can you tell me where I can find a decent breakfast in town?”

“Sure, The Swordfish, it’s back along Center Drive here about a half mile on your left.”

“Thanks. Have you heard anything about the explosion? How many dead or injured?”

“Oh, yeah, heck, it nearly knocked me and the wife down it was so loud. Blew out a bunch of windows on Center Drive too. They’re not saying much yet, but we know at least four people were killed. Never had anything like that in this town. Some folks are sayin’ it was a gas leak … some others think it was dynamite. Nobody’s talking though. Strange, too. They didn’t take a lot of people to the hospital. Just the really bad hurt people. I don’t know what they did with the rest. Strange, like I say.”

It was strange.

“How many people do you figure were in the building when it blew up?”

“Can’t say. Been quite a crowd around there in the last month or so. Bunch of strangers we’d never seen before. I’d bet there was more than thirty, though. The fire department knocked most of the building down to get at the fire and search the rubble. Don’t think they’ve found anyone though. There was no one around the place last night.”

I shook my head, wondering what it all meant.

“Thanks. I’ll head up to the Swordfish, then to the hospital. I’m looking for someone who might have been in the building when it blew.”

“Say, that’s a shame. I hope they’re all right. Was it kinfolk?”

“My fiancée.”

“Oh … well … now that’s hard. Well, I wish you luck. I hope she’s maybe one of the lucky ones.”

“Yeah, me too. Thanks again,” I said and headed out the door.

So the fire department knocked down some of the building. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked. Be optimistic, I told myself. She might not even have been in the building when it blew. No … that didn’t make sense. She would have called me or her parents to let us know she was safe.

Or would she? If she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone where she was, she couldn’t very well tell them she was okay, could she? Sure she could. She could call me. I knew where she was. Even if she couldn’t get me, she could check in with her parents without saying anything about the explosion. Round and round I went, and where I stopped I did not know.

Breakfast at the Swordfish was good and it was plentiful. The last meal I’d kept down was the night before last and I was very hungry. Two coffee refills later and I pushed myself away from the counter and put a ten on the check, still leaving a healthy tip. I walked to the car, dreading my next stop, the hospital.

“No sir, we don’t have anyone named Carlisle here.”

“Is it possible she was brought in with the explosion victims yesterday?”

“No sir, they’ve all been identified.”

“I understand at least four people were killed. How would I go about finding out if my fiancée was one of them?”

“You’d have to check with the County Coroner’s office. That’s in Gloucester. I doubt they’ll be able to tell you much if anything. You usually have to get a court order unless you are next of kin identifying a body. You should talk to the police department. Maybe they can help you. I’m sorry, I can’t do anything more for you.”

“I understand. Thank you for your help all the same,” I said quietly as I walked out of the hospital lobby and toward the parking lot.

I drove back to the site of the explosion and noticed some people on the property. A couple of them were dressed in suits, and I wondered if they were F.B.I. or another federal agency. I found a parking spot and walked over the tape. The smell of smoke and whatever had burned up were still strong in the nostrils. I waited patiently to get the attention of one of the men in the dark suits. When one of them looked my way, I waved to get his attention. He saw me and walked carefully through the rubble.

“Hi, I’m Will Travers and I’m looking for my fiancée, Nicole Carlisle. I checked at the hospital and she’s not there. Can you help me?”

“I doubt it,” he said. “We’re just getting a handle on what happened. Did your fiancée work in this building?”

“No … well, not normally. She was here on a project with the federal government.”

His eyes immediately narrowed and his eyebrows rose.

“What did you say your name was?”

“Will Travers.”

“Do you have some identification, Mr. Travers.”

“Yeah … here,” I said, offering my press credentials.

“You’re a long way from home, Mr. Travers. When did you get here?”

“I heard about the explosion yesterday afternoon and drove to Detroit to catch a plane to Boston. I got here about ten-thirty last night.”

“Do you know what you fiancée was doing in this building?”

“Uhhm, before I answer that, can I see some identification, please?” I was stalling, trying to get some cooperation from the man and not become a suspect.