Runaway ~ TUA

Chapter 10

Taya stood beside Allison in the hospital room the potential suspect for what happened at the restaurant was in. She felt awkward standing in a random strangers hospital room.

"Who are you?", Mr. Luntz asked, his voice was hoarse.

The man was pretty beat up, he had many cuts and bruises all over his face.

"I'm Sargeant Cheddar, and these are... these are my associates", Sergeant Cheddar introduced, "Just have a couple of questions for you." Taya and Allison stood there quietly, listening to what the two other men were saying.

"Am I in trouble?", Mr. Luntz asked.

"No trouble, nothing like that", Sergeant reassured, "I just... I just wanted to ask you about the accident in the Bearskin Tavern parking lot last night."

"You're a cop", the other man sighed, "You gotta protect me no matter what, right?"

"It's my sworn duty", Cheddar replied honestly.

"It was no accident", the man said.

"What do you mean?"

"This guy... hired us to start a fight. He wanted us to rough him up in front of his boyfriend. He paid real good, upfront", Mr. Luntz explained, "We got drunk. Took it a little too far. Started to hassle the boy, too." By now, Allison was at the foot of the hospital bed the man was lying in, Taya stayed where she was, looking at him as he continued.

"And then all hell broke loose", he told us.

"The guy who paid you, what did he look like?", Allison asked him, "Brown hair, light scruff, slight build?" Allison described Harold, Sergeant Cheddar looked at her like she had two heads.

"Yeah. Yeah that's him", Mr. Luntz answered, confirming Allison's suspicions.

"Well, that's a... a really good guess", Cheddar began and Allison pulled out Viktor's book and showed the man the back of the book which had Viktor's headshot on it.

"Is this the boyfriend?", she asked as she showed him the photo.

"Hey, just a moment", Cheddar interjected as he pulled Allison to the side, not paying any attention towards Taya, he closed a curtain behind him, Taya could hear their hushed voices but she couldn't make out what they were saying.

A few minutes later the curtain opened again.

"Answer the lady's question. Is this the boyfriend?", Cheddar asked as they approached Mr. Luntz's bed, before the man could answer the nurse interjected from the door.

"Sorry, but the doctor's ordered some more tests. You're gonna have to ask him questions later", she explained, Allison had a look of frustration on her face as she left the room, followed by Taya and Sargeant Cheddar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taya sat on a chair in the hallway of the hospital while her mom and Sargeant Cheddar chatted away. The teenager had zoned out, daydreaming about who knows what.She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the nurse talking with Allison and the cop. Apparently Mr. Luntz had disappeared and Viktor was here in the hospital with Harold this morning while her and Allison were at the cabin.

Taya got up to follow her mom but Cheddar stopped them.

"Hold on, we got a missing vic, and this guy could be dangerous. I need you both to stay here", he explained before he began to walk away from the duo. Once he was out of sight Allison and Taya left anyway.

~~~~~

By the time the two of them had pulled up to the cabin it was beginning to get dark. Allison parked the car and she and Taya got out quickly, the wind was blowing and Taya heard the sound of the violin being played.