Jen005 - Missing

Jenna, sipping coffee in the appartment...

Sunday morning.

Jenna was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping her morning coffee, gazing at the miserable weather outside.

The apartment was warm and cosy, but she was tired and irritable.  She wasn’t a morning person – never had been, never would be.

Still, at least she didn't have to go to work - thank God!  The prospect of trudging around the cold wet streets in her police uniform was horribly unappealing.  She shivered at the thought and held her mug close to her chest.

It was 9:32 A.M. according to the digital clock on the cooker.

Brendan hadn’t surfaced yet; which was unlike him.  He was usually up early, pottering around... being noisy while she was trying to sleep!

But he was probably awake, she decided.  He was probably lying on his bed reading a complicated book about medicine or 'diagnostic techniques' or something.

A smiled flickered on her face.  She had an idea...

She picked up her mobile phone and knocked out a quick text message: “Morning lazy.  U gettin up 2day?”

She hit the send key, and a few seconds later two muffled beeps emanated from the direction of Brendan’s room.

She smiled and took another sip of coffee, anticipating the sound of his footsteps as he climbed out of bed.

But there was no sound.

She waited a while, gazing at the rainy day outside.  Autumn had been hanging on by its fingernails for weeks, but clearly winter had now taken over; the days were getting shorter, and colder and darker.  The wind was picking up, gusting through the trees.

There was still no sound from Brendan's room.

Was he still asleep?  Well, he wouldn’t be for long...

She padded out of the kitchen and moseyed along the hallway.  The apartment was still and quiet.  The floorboards creaked softly under her feet.

She stopped outside Brendan's room and leaned her ear close to the door, listening for the sounds of his sleepy breathing.

But she couldn’t hear anything.

She pressed her ear closer to the door and held her breath.  She still couldn’t hear anything.

He must be awake!

Gently, she pushed the door open and poked her head inside, grinning mischievously.  If he was still asleep she’d give him a shock... she’d creep up on him, and...

But the bed was empty.  He wasn’t there!

She pushed the door open fully and stared at the empty sheets.

“Brendan?” she called, speculatively, “Brendan, you here?”

No answer.

She turned and stepped across the hallway, into the bathroom.

“Brendan?”

He wasn’t in there either.

Concern was replacing confusion.  Her heart rate was rising.  Where the hell was he?

“Brendan?  Brendan?!”

She jogged into the lounge, then her own bedroom, then back into Brendan’s.

He wasn’t in the apartment!

“BRENDAN?”

No answer.

She caught herself panicking and took a deep breath.  Maybe he’d gone out for a walk?  That was definitely possible.  Maybe he’d woken up early – as usual – and gone out for a long walk... maybe... but it just didn’t feel right.  He was always so thoughtful.  He would have a left a note, or made sure he got back before she woke.  This wasn’t like him at all!

Glancing around the room, she noticed his phone on the bedside table; and his wallet.

Why would he have gone out without his wallet?  Or his phone?

Her face turned white and she suddenly felt nauseous.  Something was wrong.  She could feel it.  Something bad had happened!