Early in the morning of the second day,
Samantha sat in the office of Captain Barrens.
“Samantha, I wish I had more to tell you,
but facts are pretty sketchy. The time frame fits, but there were two trains
out that day. Captain Rowe is not on the list of dead in that wreck. All but
two were identified, those two were burned beyond recognition, and can’t be
identified. Many others were injured,
taken to a hospital. I could find no names of those men, or what happened to
them. Captain Rowe did not show up at headquarters to pick up his orders,
they’re still there. We can only assume, or actually hope, that he went to the
hospital with an injury of some sort, but we haven’t been able to get any
information yet about what became of those men. We’re still trying. Be patient,
though I know that’s hard for you. Come back tomorrow. Hopefully, I can tell
you more then.”
“Thank you so much, Captain Barrens. I
really appreciate all your help.” Samantha smiled, and walked out. Then she
cried. Her heart was broken.
One more long night for Samantha.
“Samantha, I’m afraid this will be my
final report from this end. Every soldier is accounted for, except for three.
The two badly burned and unidentified, and one injured soldier who went to the
hospital with a head injury. They never got an identification of him, he was
out of his head. No chance of finding anything out by his clothing, most of his
clothes were torn off and destroyed in the wreck. Seems he just got up, dressed
in clothes he found in the hospital in the middle of the night, and walked
right out of that hospital. He was never found. As it stands, we can do no more
from this end. I’m so sorry.”
Sam fell apart. She could not stand up,
her legs would not hold her. Captain Barrens found a couch she could lie on for
a while, until she was able to go home. Only one chance in three Jeff was still
alive. Most likely, the searchers had no idea what he looked like. But Samantha
did. Samantha would go to that hospital, and start there. On her way home, she
diverted to the train station to buy a ticket on the next train out to Ohio.
*
Samantha’s train would be leaving late
afternoon the next day. She spent the morning sewing up loose ends with the
business. Fortunately, she had dependable employees to turn the business over
to. No telling when she would be back. She did know she would exhaust every
possibility of finding Jeff, alive or dead, before her return.
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