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"The Roacherian Effect" A novel by John C. Delavan
Chapter Sixteen
Bert decided to check in on Patti just to see how she was doing and make sure everything was okay at Skipper's place. From his car phone he called Skipper's home number. It was seven-forty-five in the evening but there was no answer. He decided to call again in the morning or reach her at work.
The next morning there was still no answer so he called her office. "Hello. This is Bert Johnson. Is Patti there?"
Patti's secretary had heard Patti talk about Skipper's friend Bert, though they had never met. "Oh, Mr. Johnson." Jean was alarmed. "Patti was scheduled for a deposition this morning in the office but she hasn't shown up. She's never done anything like this before, it isn't like her. I've been calling everywhere trying to find her."
Now it was Bert's turn to be worried but he didn't let her know. "I'm sure it's just some mix-up. I'll run over to Skipper's house. She probably just turned off the alarm and overslept."
"Will you be sure to have her call me?"
"Of course. Don't worry. I'm sure everything's fine." Bert sounded reassuring. Then he told his secretary to cancel his schedule for the rest of the morning and headed down to Laguna Beach.
He arrived at Skipper's house just after ten hoping to find Patti had simply overslept after unplugging the phone. What he found was far more sinister. The front door was standing ajar and a drinking glass was broken on the flagstone just inside, surrounded by a sticky spattering of what looked like spilled orange juice.
Patti's designer sweat suit was lying on the floor a few feet away with a typewritten note on top. Bert bent down and carefully picked it up by one corner. "Mason go home. Stop investigation or Patti White dies." From the condition of the sticky mess left by the orange juice he guessed this had all happened the night before. Guilt swept over him like a tidal wave.
Bert crumpled the note and dropped it into his pocket as he pulled out his cellular phone and dialed 911. As he waited for the police to arrive he called the number Skipper had given him in Japan.