Georgie Girl Ch. 13-15

"No. None at all. Some of the big operators have been here, but their systems don't fit what these people need. Too big and too expensive. The ranches are too far apart to pool their resources as well. This looks like a real land of opportunity for us."

"Good work, Georgette. Do you really have to go to Montana?"

"Yeah. The people in Boise said they were in the same boat up there as the Idaho ranchers were. We might as well do this properly and get as much information as we can. It will help us make good decision in the end."

"You're right," I admitted. "I've decided to drive up to Coeur d'Alene a little earlier than planned. I'll be finished my exams and I can meet you there. I don't want to be apart from you one hour longer than necessary."

"That's what I wanted to hear," she said with a happy note. "What about Kevin?"

"He's flying up the day before the wedding, then heading over to Pueblo to visit with his friend, Charlie. He's still using up those airline passes. He seems to have an unlimited supply of them."

"If I can get back early, we can have three weeks to ourselves," she suggested. "Something like a honeymoon before the wedding."

"I'm in favor of that. I'll be there waiting for you," I promised.

We signed off and I had a smile on my face as I thought about our being together before the wedding. That would be worth the wait.

Chapter 15 Poof

We talked daily for the next two days of Georgette's trip. She pushed hard the first day and stayed over in Butte. The next day she made the shorter trip to Great Falls and settled in there as her base to do interviews. It was a Tuesday night when I didn't receive a call from her. The motel desk said she was still registered there but wasn't answering her phone.

I made the assumption that she was busy and hadn't come back to the motel yet. I knew she planned to drive out of the city to various ranches to interview the owners. Some of those drives could be quite lengthy. It was the first time she hadn't called, so I wasn't alarmed ... yet.

"Are you sure she didn't come back to her room last night?" I asked the clerk later the next day. It was the second successive day Georgette hadn't phoned. In addition, my messages left on her cell phone went unanswered.

"Yes sir. The maid reported that the room hadn't been touched since she had made it up the day before."

Now I was worried. What had happened to her? I began to suspect it might be something bad.

"Can you tell me if her laptop was in the room?" I asked. Perhaps she had an itinerary on her calendar.

"No, but I'll check right away. Just hold on, please."

I could hear her put down the phone and I waited impatiently until she returned what seemed like several minutes later.

"Yes, there's a laptop on the desk. All her clothes are still hanging in the closet and her bathroom things are still here."

"Has she had any visitors to her room?"

"Not that I know of, but her room is in the back, so I wouldn't necessarily know if she did or not."

"Okay, thank you for your help. You have my name and my number. If you hear anything or she returns, please have her or you contact me right away."

"Yes, I'll do that. Good luck," the woman said, sounding somewhat vague.

I put the phone down and headed next door to see Thomas and Sarah.

I had never failed to knock before entering, but at that moment I was sorely tempted. I waited anxiously for someone to answer before Thomas opened the door and greeted me.

"Hi, John. What can we do for you?"

"Georgette's missing," I blurted out without thinking.

The look of alarm on his face was immediate. "What do you mean, missing?"

"Just that," I said, entering their home. "She didn't call last night and when I called the motel this evening, she hadn't slept in her bed and all her clothes and toiletries, as well as her laptop were in the room.

"I've left several messages on her cell phone, but she hasn't answered any of them. Most of the time, I get a message about not being in a service area."

"This doesn't sound good. Where is she?"

"Her motel is in Great Falls, Montana, but I know she was branching out from there to talk to various ranchers. I don't have a specific itinerary for her, but it may be on her laptop. I'm going to head up there and see if I can find her."

"Find who?" I heard Sarah ask as she entered the room.

"John says Georgette isn't answering her cell phone and hasn't been back to her room since yesterday morning."

"Oh no, not again," Sarah cried with a look of anguish.

"Calm down, dear," Thomas said reassuringly. "I'm sure there's an explanation for her absence. Cell phone coverage can be very spotty in that area. Let's not panic."

"I'm going to fly up to Great Falls and see if I can locate her if she doesn't show up tomorrow morning," I said.

"What about contacting the police?" Thomas asked.

"I'll do that tomorrow morning as well. I don't know the license number of her rental, but I'm sure Avis in Boise can get that information. I'll try and get it tonight."

"Oh, Thomas, we aren't going to have to go through this all over again, are we?"

"This isn't Brad, Sarah. This is something different. If she doesn't contact John or us by tomorrow morning, I'm going with John to look for her."

"Thanks, Thomas," I said. "I could use a cool head if we're going to search for her. I'm hoping we'll get some direction from her laptop."

He nodded. "In the meantime, let's call Avis and see what information we can get on her rental."

I got the 1-800 number for Avis and told them what we were looking for. It took a couple of minutes to convince the night operator that this was a missing person who had rented one of their vehicles and we needed to know the license number and vehicle description. It took confirmation by Thomas, but at last we got the information out of the reluctant young woman. Georgette was driving a dark blue 2011 Chev Traverse, all wheel drive. We noted the Idaho license number and thanked the person in the Avis office for their help.

I was a bundle of nerves and not thinking as clearly as I should. Thomas was once again a leveling influence, something both Sarah and I needed at that moment.

I looked up flights on my laptop from SFO to Great Falls and was stymied almost immediately. The routing was from San Francisco to Seattle to Great Falls via Alaska Air. Worse, it took forever.

"I can't get a quick flight to Great Falls," I told Thomas. "It doesn't matter whether we go from Oakland, or through Portland, Seattle or Boise, it takes forever."

"Okay, calm down, John," Thomas said quietly. "We'll figure something out. Let me make a couple of phone calls."

I tried like hell to calm myself down, but between Sarah and me, we were a pair of very uptight people.

"What about your exams?" Sarah asked, obviously trying to get her mind off her missing daughter.

"They aren't important any more. I can write them later or whenever. Delaying them isn't the big thing in my life right now. Finding Georgette is."

She nodded, not arguing with me. I had no idea if and when I could write those three remaining exams, but they were the least of my worries. Like Sarah, finding Georgette was uppermost in my mind.

Thomas reappeared about twenty minutes later.

"If we haven't had contact with Georgette by ten tomorrow morning, I've arranged for a plane at Hayward Executive Airport to be on standby to take us directly to Great Falls."

"Oh, good," I sighed in relief. Hayward was just across the San Mateo Bridge and a half hour from our home. "Thank you, Thomas. That's a big relief."

He nodded and held Sarah to comfort her and calm her down. At least we would be on our way to doing something by noon tomorrow if we didn't hear from Georgette.

I didn't sleep for more than an hour at a time that night. I couldn't stop wondering and worrying about where my fiancée was and what might have happened to her. Luckily, it was almost summer and the nights weren't freezing any more, even on the high plains. If she had car trouble and got lost somewhere, she could survive the elements. Then I remembered the Avis rep said she had GPS in her rental, so that should keep her from getting lost. Something else had happened to her.

I got up at six o'clock the next morning, realizing I wasn't going to get any more sleep. I was tempted to call the Montana Highway Patrol, but decided to wait until eight o'clock when there was more likely to be a full complement of staff on duty. I shuffled into the kitchen and put the coffee on, then had an immediate change of heart. I had found the highway patrol phone number on the Internet and punched in the number.

"Hello, my name is John Smith and I'd like to report a missing person."

"How long has this person been missing, sir?" an efficient woman's voice responded.

"Two days. She was staying at the Grasslands Motel in Great Falls. She left there two days ago to do some research on a project and hasn't been heard from since. I've tried to contact her on her cell phone, but there is no response."

"Was she expected to return to the motel?"

"Yes. She checked in with me every night, telling me about her day."

"What is the name of the person who is missing?"

"Georgette Fulton. She's my fiancée."

"I assume she was driving a vehicle. Can you give me a description?"

"Yes. It's a dark blue Chev Traverse, rented from Avis in Boise," I continued, giving her the license number.

"Can you describe Ms. Fulton?"

"Five-foot-ten, one-hundred-and-fifty pounds, age thirty, blonde hair, blue eyes."

"Does she have any scars, tattoos or piercings?"

"No ... nothing at all."

"Do you know what she was wearing at the time she disappeared?"

"No, but she would likely have been wearing jeans and a polo shirt with a short leather jacket if it was cool."

"What was the purpose of her visit?"

"She was interviewing ranchers about water quality, doing research for me and our company."

"Is it possible she is visiting friends or is lost?"

"No ... she has no friends that I know of in Montana and the rental has a GPS, so I don't see how she could be lost."

"Has she ever done anything like this before ... I mean ... gone off on her own without notifying you or relatives?"

"No."

"Very well, sir. I'll put out a notification to all units to be on the lookout for a dark blue 2011 Chevrolet Traverse with Idaho plates. Can you give me a number where you can be reached?"

I gave her both my cell number and the home phone number as well has Thomas and Sarah's number.

"Call us on our cell phones at any time, day or night. Mr. Fulton and I will be flying to Great Falls today to help look for her. We'll check in with your office there."

"Very well, sir. Please do that."

"Thank you," I finished, hanging up. At least they took it seriously, I thought.

I felt a slight sense of relief that at I had done something rather than just wait to see what happened, but I wouldn't be satisfied until Thomas and I were on the ground in Montana and actively looking for her.

I'd barely had my first sip of coffee when the phone rang. I grabbed it, thinking perhaps it might Georgette or the highway patrol calling back.

"Hello?"

"It's me, John," Thomas said. "I guessed you would be up early."

"Yes. I just got off the phone with the Montana Highway Patrol and reported Georgette missing. They have all her details now and are letting all their units know what to look for."

"I'm sure they will check with the hospitals," Thomas said. "Have you called the motel yet?"

"No. I'll do that right now. Coffee's on here, why don't you come over."

"Be right there," he said, hanging up.

I called the Grasslands Motel and had them connect me to Georgette's room. I let it ring six or seven times before I was sure she wasn't in. When the clerk came back on to tell me the obvious, I once again asked her to check the room.

"I can't leave the desk, sir. I'm the only one on right now."

"Can you have someone in housekeeping check the room to see if it has been used? The woman staying there has been reported missing to the highway patrol. We need to know if she used the room last night."

"I'll try sir. It's still early. The housekeeping staff is just arriving."

"Just have somebody ... anybody ... check the room. Please!"

"Okay, I'll find someone. Call me back in a few minutes, I'm busy with checkouts now."

"All right. I'll call back in twenty minutes," I agreed, hanging up once more.

I looked up at the clock and saw that it was six-thirty. That would be seven-thirty, Mountain Time. I walked to the front door when I heard a short knock and let Thomas in. He looked like I felt, haggard.

"You didn't get much sleep either, I guess," I said.

He shook his head. "Sarah didn't either. She's not taking this very well. I can't blame her after what we've been through with Brad. I'm just wondering what we can do that we haven't done?"

"I called the motel again to see if the room has been used since we checked yesterday. I'm sure it hasn't but I thought I'd better check anyway."

Thomas nodded in agreement.

"Can we leave earlier for Great Falls?" I asked.

"Let me check," he said, pulling out his iPhone and searching for a number. Finding it, he pressed the screen and waited.

"Gerry, it's Thomas Fulton. Is there any way we can advance our flight to Great Falls?"

(pause)

"As soon as possible. We can be at Hayward in an hour."

(pause)

"Great, we'll see you at nine o'clock. Thanks, Gerry. I owe you."

He clicked off.

"Get packed, John. We need to be out of here in forty-five minutes. We'll take my car. You call the motel back and I'll check on getting a car rental. We might as well stay in the same motel as Georgette, so when you talk to them, get us a room."

"Right. Thanks, Thomas. The waiting is worse than the knowing."

"It always is," he said. It was the voice of experience. He headed back to his unit, presumably to pack and let Sarah know our plans.

The motel finally confirmed that the room hadn't been used since we last called yesterday. With a room and a vehicle booked, we made our way to the Hayward Executive Airport and a waiting plane. I was pleased to see it was a jet, cutting our flight time back quite a bit. With luck we would be there just after noon, Mountain Time.

I had never flown in a private jet before, but my mind wasn't on the luxury and exclusiveness of the aircraft, it was on Georgette. I had imagined a dozen different scenarios last night as I lay in bed. Was she alive or dead? Had some madman taken her hostage? Had she had an accident and couldn't communicate with anyone? Was she in a hospital somewhere, unable to talk?

The one thing about a private jet was its speed. We lifted off from Hayward just after nine that morning and our flying time was a little less than two hours. No scheduled airline could match that. We would have almost a half day to search for Georgette.

I don't think Thomas and I said ten words to each other as we flew to Great Falls. Both of us were lost in our thoughts, wondering what had happened to our precious Georgette. Would we be able to find her? I could see the lines of worry on his face and I was sure mine must have shown the same. There was some self-serve coffee and pastries at the rear of the cabin and when I remembered that I hadn't had any breakfast, I helped myself, with Thomas doing so as well. Anything to keep us from dwelling on the situation.

Our landing in Great Falls was right on time and the rental vehicle, a Ford Expedition, was ready and waiting for us at the private terminal. We headed directly for the Grasslands Motel and checked in, showing our identification and asking to see Georgette's room.

I knew almost right away that no one had been here. I could see a light layer of dust on her open laptop screen. I awoke it and looked at what she had last been doing. We were in luck. It was her itinerary for two days earlier. The only problem was, although we knew who she was going to see, we didn't know where they were to be found.

Georgette had a memory stick and I found it in her bag. I downloaded the itinerary to it and stuck it in my pocket.

"We can show this to the highway patrol and maybe they can find out who these people are and where they are located."

We dropped our bags in the room we had rented, jumped in the Expedition, dialed in the highway patrol office location on the GPS and took off, Thomas driving toward our first destination. We were greeted by Sergeant David Kranowski when we identified ourselves.

"Yes, we've checked the hospitals and clinics within a fifty mile radius and there's no report of anyone identified or otherwise matching her description," the sergeant said. "We have notified all units to be on the lookout, but nothing so far. I've got someone coming in who's familiar with the ranches in the outlying area and I'm sure he can help identify where Ms. Fulton's appointments might lead her. At least we'd be looking in the right direction."

"That's great," I said. "When do you expect him?"

"He's driving in from Helena, so he'll be a little over an hour yet."

I looked at Thomas and said, "I haven't eaten anything except that Danish on the plane. We might as well have a lunch instead of pacing around waiting for this guy to arrive."

"Agreed. I'm satisfied the highway patrol is doing everything it should be doing, so now it's just a matter of seeing what we can learn about her travel plans."

The sergeant recommended a restaurant just down the street from their office and we took off on foot toward it. I could feel some of the tension had diminished when we talked to the officer, but I was still pretty uptight about the whole situation and I could see that Thomas was as well.

It was another case of eating and having no distinct memory of what I had ordered or eaten. We were both completely distracted.

"I've been thinking, John. We might hire a helicopter to conduct an air search if this guy who's coming to help us with her itinerary can identify the places she planned to go. It can cover a lot more ground than we can in the rental."

"I'm for anything that speeds this up. She's been gone for two days. Who knows if she's injured or what. I bet the highway patrol has a helicopter too. Maybe we can get them to use it as well. Maybe plan our search with them."

Thomas nodded. "That's what I was thinking too. Come on, let's get back to the station. The guy they're expecting should be along about now."

I realize the police have procedures that they have to follow and that they can't have civilians interfering with their work, but it didn't take long for Thomas and me to get frustrated with the roadblocks they were putting up in front of us.

"I don't want you flying around in the search area when we have professionals trained to do exactly that," the sergeant said firmly. "We know what to look for and we know where we should look. If you want to do a ground search, go ahead. But forget about hiring a helicopter or a plane right now. We'll have two units up in the designated areas. That airspace will be off limits to you. If and when we discontinue the search, you're free to do your own."

"What do you mean, discontinue the search?" I asked, now alarmed.

"We'll make every reasonable effort to find Ms. Fulton. But it has a time limit when all the possible options have been exhausted. They don't go on forever."

"How long is the time limit?" Thomas immediately asked.

"In this case, the air search will probably continue for the balance of the week. Likely four days. After that, it will probably be discontinued in favor of ground searching unless we get a tip or a lead. The picture of Ms. Fulton and a photo of the SUV will be broadcast on all the local TV stations during their news starting today for two days. With some luck, someone may have seen her or the vehicle and we can follow up from there."