52 - Samantha

     After eating a bite, Samantha retired to her room. Again, she had a lot more planning to do. Tomorrow after work, she would go to the constable’s office and talk to him.  Maybe he could direct her to a private detective of some sort who could help. She could offer a reward, get posters printed. Contact the army. Other ideas were rolling through her head. Late that night, she again fell into a troubled sleep. Nightmares about Jeff returned.

     The next morning, Samantha felt very sick at her stomach. But she had made a deal with Mrs. George, and she must keep her word. She swept and mopped all morning. When she was finished, though she was very tired, she felt some better.

     After a quick lunch, Samantha went to the Constable’s office. She explained her situation, and Jeff’s.

    “ Miss Samantha, I have had a report of a stranger, walking the streets. Mostly during the day. Nobody seems to know anything about him. A time or two, he was spotted eating out of the waste from a restaurant. We did have a report from the army a good while back about a missing soldier from the train wreck, and they send a couple of men down to search. But they found nothing. It was a while after they left that the stranger showed up on the streets. I’ve been keeping an eye out, but I never could find him. I don’t have any idea where he sleeps. The last report I got was over a week ago. I don’t have a deputy, so the time I can spend looking for him is limited, unless he commits a crime or something.”

     “Thank you, sir. I appreciate any help you can give me. Could you possibly direct me to an investigator I could hire? Also, how about a print shop that could print posters for me, offering a reward for information? Above all else, I want to make it clear he is not dangerous, and a good man, who just got a head injury in the train wreck, and seems to have not recovered. He’s the man I just married, and I will be at the hospital during the mornings and at nights. He seems to have shown back up there once, maybe twice. Please let me know if you can help me in any way. I will be here until this man is found. Thank you again. I will check back with you regularly.”

     Samantha was directed to a retired soldier who sometimes works as a detective part time, Jackson Cox. The constable was also able to put her in contact with a print shop. Once she had all these arrangements made with the printer and the detective, she continued to spend her afternoons walking the streets, but that was getting harder and harder. She was usually sick in the mornings, and by early afternoon she was usually very tired.

     She talked to her friend Caylie, the nurse, about this. Caylie  smiled at her.

     “Samantha, you are most likely pregnant.”