Hospital security guards were called, and a search of Promise Falls General was initiated.

Albert was not only hoping they’d find Brian quickly, but that they would find him before Constance came back.

Things did not work out the way he’d hoped.

When Constance returned to the ER with Monica trailing after her, she spotted her husband standing in a hallway and said, “How is he? How’s Brian?”

“I don’t . . . I don’t know where he is right now,” he admitted.

“What’s going on? Have they moved him to a proper room?”

Albert shook his head.

“I don’t think so. Now, I don’t want you having a fit about what I’m about to say, but—”

“Good God, what’s happened?” Constance asked.

“They don’t know where he is.”

Constance, wide-eyed, said, “They’ve lost Brian?”

“No, it’s not that. It looks like he left.”

Monica said, “Oh, shit.”

Constance said, “You let him walk out of here?”

“I didn’t let him walk out. When I came back, he was gone.”

“We only left him for a minute,” Constance said. “He must have walked right past you.” She looked at the ceiling. “This is unbelievable. While you’re here, you should have your eyes checked.”

“Maybe,” Monica said, “he went outside for some fresh air. Maybe he took a walk around the block.”

“I’ve looked,” Albert said. “I’ve looked all over. I think he just walked out.”

“You’re hopeless,” Constance said.

“He can’t have gotten far,” Albert said, trying to put the best face on things. “He doesn’t have a car, he’s got no money. Unless he managed to call a friend to come and get him, he must have left on foot.”

“We should split up,” Monica said. “Let’s go home first. We’ll each take a car and see if we can find him. And who knows, maybe that’s where he is.”

“At least someone is thinking,” Constance said.

They got in the car and went back to the house. Constance ran inside, hoping her son would be there, but he was not.

Monica said she would get in her Beetle and search the streets around the hospital. Constance would check Brian’s apartment and Knight’s. That left the car detailing shop to be checked by Albert.

Ten minutes later, he was there. He parked and ran inside. They knew him here. This was, not surprisingly, where he brought his pickup to have it washed. Whenever Brian was on duty, he’d hit the hot wax button without charging his dad for it.

When he entered the office, a heavyset man behind the cash looked up and said, “Hey! Where the hell’s Brian been? I’ve been calling him for two days!”

“Hi, Len,” said Albert. “Brian’s in the hospital. Well, he’s supposed to be in the hospital, but—”

“Oh, shit, no, what happened?”