Page 7 of Dustin
I turn the knob of the door, and to my utter surprise, it opens.
“What the fuck?” I say to myself.
I take slow, hesitant steps into the room, my eyes peeled for threats. I look around for Madison, but she’s not there. Her clothes are scattered over the bed, and I recognize her suitcase, but she is nowhere in sight.
I grab my phone to call her number again. It’s still switched off.
Fuck!
Different scenarios pop up in my head. She could have been kidnapped or what. If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself.
I head back downstairs to the hotel lobby and approach the receptionist.
“Hi, have you seen this woman? She checked in for me earlier?” I question pulling up a picture of Madison and myself that, for some reason, is on my phone.
I’m not sure why I never deleted it, and now is not the time to overanalyze that.
“Yes, she did the check-in. She went up to the room,” the receptionist replies.
“Yes, but did she come down at any point?”
The woman ponders that for a minute.
“Yes, she did. I think I saw her leave about an hour ago. There was a man with her.”
My blood turns cold.
“What man?” I question.
“I didn’t see his face. He was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses.”
The man could have been anybody. He could also have been dangerous. Maybe Madison was threatened into leaving.
My worry rises to an all-time high. I immediately dial Sam’s number.
“Dude, in case you aren’t aware, there’s something called time difference. We aren’t in the same time zone anymore,” Sam says grumpily as soon as the call connects.
“We have a problem, and I need you to do me a favor right now,” I tell him, ignoring his comment.
I hear the sound of sheets rustling, and I’m guessing he’s standing up. Hopefully heading towards his laptop.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“Madison’s missing.”
Sam’s quiet for two seconds.
“Shit,” he finally says, and almost immediately, I hear the clicking of his keyboard. “Explain,” he says while he continues typing away.
“I literally just got here. I checked her room in the hotel, and it looked like it’s been ransacked. Clothes were scattered everywhere, and I couldn’t find her. Her phone is off.”
Sam curses.
“Yeah, I can see that now. Listen Dustin, her last traceable location before her phone went off is the D.C. airport. Either she switched it off, or it died before she boarded the plane.”
“What does that mean?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“It means I can’t find her. You’re going to have to look around. Ask anybody if they’ve seen her. You need to find her, and you need to find her fast.”
