What They Left Behind
When Gennie called Ben on Sunday, he didn’t answer. She decided she would call him later when he came home from work. On Sundays, the restaurant closed early and he arrived home from work at about nine o’clock but when she called him again, he still wasn’t home. She was worried. She called Malcolm and Colleen, hoping they would know where Ben was.
“Hello?” Malcolm answered.
“Hi,” she said, “it’s Gennie. I know it’s awfully late to call, but I was wondering…is Ben over there?”
“No,” Malcolm replied, “why?”
“Well, I haven’t been able to get a hold of him. Did you see him this weekend?”
“No, not at all.”
“When’s the last time you saw him?”
“It was Thursday night, around this time. Honestly, I don’t know what got into him. He showed up at our door just reeking of alcohol. He asked me if I had five bucks he could borrow. I told him if it was to buy something to drink, then absolutely not. He was really angry when I said that. He called me a cheap SOB and slammed the door in my face. I saw him get into his car and take off like he was drag racer.”
“Oh, god…” Gennie said. She rubbed her forehead.
“Don’t worry,” Malcolm replied. “I’m sure he’s all right. Do you want me to go to his apartment?”
“Okay,” Gennie said. “I’ll meet you there.” She was hoping he was simply passed out in bed or just refusing to answer the phone.
About thirty minutes later, she arrived at Ben’s apartment. Malcolm was at the front door pressing the buzzer but no one answered. Gennie put her old apartment key into the lock and opened it. They went up the four flights of stairs. Since they doubted Ben would open the door if they knocked, Gennie unlocked it.
“Ben?” she called out into the darkened apartment, but only silence answered.
“He must be passed out,” Malcolm said. “I’ll check out the bedroom.”
“Is he there?” Gennie asked him when he entered it.
“No,” Malcolm replied.
I’ll check the bathroom,” Gennie said.
He wasn’t in the bathroom either. The place looked exactly like it did when she last saw him. Gennie felt the panic rising in her chest. She could hardly breathe.
Malcolm looked concerned for her. “Why don’t we check out the restaurant?” he asked. “He might have went back there.”
“Okay,” Gennie replied.
They went to the restaurant. He wasn’t there either. The few people that were left to clean up hadn’t seen him for a few days and they were worried about him too.
“Where could he be?” Gennie said. She was frantic now.
“There’s one more person who might know,” Malcolm said. “Do you know where Val is?”
“Well, she still has her old apartment. It’s right behind the restaurant.”
“Maybe he’s there or at the very least, she saw him lately.”
“It’s a long shot,” Gennie said. “They aren’t exactly on the best of terms right now.”
“Do you want to go there anyway?”
“It wouldn’t hurt.”
They found the entrance to Val’s apartment building. Gennie felt anxious as Malcolm rang the buzzer.
“I’ll be right down,” Val’s voice on the intercom said.
“Hello,” Gennie said, as Val opened the main apartment door.
Val seemed very surprised. “Hello, Gennie,” she replied. “What brings you over here?”
“We’re looking for Ben,” Malcolm said. “Neither of us has seen him lately. We were wondering if he was here.”
“No, I haven’t seen him and I don’t care to,” Val said sharply. “I imagine he’s probably got his butt in jail right now for public drunkenness or doing something else stupid.”
“So, do you think he’s at the police station, then?” Malcolm asked.
“I don’t know, but he might be.”
“Thanks, Val,” Gennie said. “That was a huge help.”
Next, they visited the nearest police station, which was next to the freeway.
“Is there a Benjamin Perrin?” Gennie asked the receptionist.
She checked the roster.
“No,” the receptionist said. “Are you trying to find him?”
“Yes, we haven’t seen him in several days.”
“Would you like to file a missing person report?”
“Yes, please,” Gennie said.
Malcolm filled out the one page form.
“What you want to do next,” the receptionist said, “is go to all the hospitals in the area and ask if there’s someone by that name there. He may have gotten hurt and perhaps they have been unable to contact you.”
“Good idea,” Malcolm replied. “We’ll do that next.”
They spent the whole night going from hospital to hospital. No one had anyone checked in by that name. Finally, they arrived at the hospital in Walnut Creek, about twenty-five miles northeast of San Francisco.
“There’s no one here by that name,” the emergency room receptionist said.
Gennie was about to burst into tears.
“All right,” Malcolm said, sighing heavily. “We’ll keep looking for him. Come on, Gennie.”
They were just about to step outside when the receptionist ran up to them.
“Sir! Miss! I was just told he might be here.”
Even though it was five o’clock in the morning and Gennie hadn’t had any sleep for more than twenty-four hours, she suddenly felt alert.
“We have a John Doe here who was involved in an accident with a tractor trailer on Route 24. Would you like to see if it’s him?”
“Sure,” Malcolm said.
Gennie was hoping it wasn’t. If he collided with a truck, he probably was in very bad shape, if not on death’s door. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her it probably was him, though.
“Okay, I’ll have a nurse take you up to his room.”
The walk up to the room where John Doe lay was the longest walk of Gennie’s life. Malcolm held her hand the whole time.
The nurse led them to the ICU. “He’s in here,” she whispered. “Try to be as quiet as you can. There’s three other patients in here and they’re all asleep.”
Gennie and Malcolm nodded.
She pointed out John Doe’s bed. “Tell me if you think that’s him. We need to get some information from both of you.”
A privacy curtain partially blocked the bed. Gennie and Malcolm had to get closer in order to see him.
Gennie was shocked at the man’s condition. His entire face, except for his eyes, was bandaged. There was a large tube going into his mouth. A small bit of his light brown hair was sticking out.
“It looks like his hair, but I don’t think it’s him,” Gennie said.
The nurse pulled the curtain aside a few inches.
“Is this your brother?” she asked Gennie.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
“He was wearing a watch at the time of the accident. We have it in a safe right now. I can get it out and show it to you if you want.”
“Please do,” Gennie said.
The nurse left the room and two minutes later returned with the watch.
“It’s pretty sharp looking,” the nurse commented. “I wonder where he got it.”
Gennie recognized the watch with its black wristband, blue face and silver roman numerals right away. She bought it for him on their birthday.
“Goddamn it,” Malcolm said.
Tears ran down Gennie’s cheeks.
“It’s got to be him,” Malcolm replied.
“It isn’t,” Gennie said.
“I know this must be hard on both of you,” the nurse said, “but at least he’s still alive.”
“That’s not my brother!” Gennie shouted.
“Shh…people are sleeping here,” Malcolm said.
“I don’t care!”
Before
Malcolm could say anything else, Gennie walked out of the room. She was convinced Ben was not in that bed. He was out there and was perfectly fine.
She would find him and bring him home.
Chapter 44: October 24