Whistles of delight graced the halls of the recovery ward at St. Jaimson Hospital. Some of the nurses and doctors on staff gave way to whispers and chuckles as the tall and sturdy Captain Wells made his way down with confidence as though he knew the path as well as the employees that worked there. It had become routine now for him to visit there and every time he did, he brought a fresh bouquet of flowers for the awaiting recipient.
Richard had become quite close with Marcie in the weeks that followed her rescue. It was safe to say that they had become quite good friends. Richard had made a stop at the desk of the recovery ward to check in with the nurse.
"Hello Captain. Here for Miss Bromley again?" The nurse asked as she passed him the visitors log. Richard grinned as he signed the log as usual.
"Of course! The doctor mentioned that she should be well enough to be discharged today. I'll be taking her back to her home once the doc gives her the final all clear." This was certainly a day he had been looking forward to. Marcie of course was not completely better yet. For some reason, her body was barely reacting to healing potions and magic and her natural recovery has been unusually slow.
Apparently this is an issue she has had for the past two years after a previous accident had left her in her crippled state and because of the way the world had twisted to the benefit of hunters and big corporations, normal citizens had become gradually left behind. There were very few health care options for them now so surgery for her spine was of course way outside of her financial abilities.
Richard continued down the short hall to the room where his friend had been waiting. With the sun shining, he thought it was a good day to get discharged. His smile faded however, upon approaching Marcie's room. A group of nurses and security officers were moving in and out of the room constantly with panicked looks in their eyes.
Richards' strides quickened until he reached the room. Something was wrong. As he peered into Marcie's room, a security guard was asking a nurse questions. Next to them lay an empty bed.
"What's going on?" Asked Richard. His first thought was that Marcie was just somewhere in the hospital getting tests done, but the nurses were nervous. One of the nurses entered the room as he asked his question and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Miss Bromley is missing…" The nurse whispered in his direction. "When the nurses arrived this morning to bring her breakfast and check on her, she wasn't there and her bed looked disheveled."
Richard glanced at the bed with the blanket and sheets pulled half off with a large amount of it on the floor. The vase of flowers he had brought her yesterday had also been missing. He nodded to the nurse and began to inspect the room. The security guard had called out to him to stop his intrusion but the nurses jumped in at his behest. Richard had much more keen senses and investigative skills than a regular security guard being a Captain in a hunters guild.
A small pool of water on the floor caught his attention. What was the water doing on the floor? When he looked closer, he found a small shard of broken glass right next to the foot of the bed.
"This is from one of the flower vases…" A vase shattered and was half-hazardly cleaned up. Richard started to search the room more vigorously, making sure to look in all the trash cans. In one, he found the broken vase and flowers, one of the pieces had a slight discoloration to it on the edge.
"Nurse, I need a plastic bag. Quickly please." He called. One of the nurses in the room nodded and rushed out, returning only moments later with a small bag. "Will this do?" She asked.
Richard nodded in appreciation and very carefully flipped the bag inside-out, using it to grab the shard of glass. This piece had someone's blood on it. As carefully as he could, he flipped the bag back, securing the glass inside and sealed it.
"I'm going to be taking this to a forensics lab to analyze. We'll find out who's blood this is." Richard's face contorted in his frustration. "There is a strong possibility that Miss Bromley was abducted…"
The nurse cupped her gasp in her hands as to oppress her shock. "How could this have happened? Why?" She cried. The nurse couldn't fathom something like this happening in her workplace. This was supposed to be a safe place for people.
Richard wasted no time heading out of the hospital and onto the case. He felt the urgency for answers rise from the bottom of his gut. A casual walking gait had turned into a half-jog as he found his car in the underground parking. First stop was to the police. He couldn't keep calm, knowing that she could be in danger again. "Where are you Marcie…"