Missing

I hadn’t heard from RNBPL while I was on the road but I didn’t think much of that.  When I got to room 712 and my key didn’t work, I didn’t think much of that.  I figured the magic caffeine buzz had started to annoy her and she moved on.  I saw her Ford Transit in the parking lot but I didn’t think too much of that.  Probably around somewhere.

I was in the parking lot trying to peek through the tinted windows to see if she was passed out drunk in the back when I saw a woman in the lobby on her phone.  She had that furtive look that people do when they want to look casual and accomplish the opposite.  She saw me see her.  That seemed to frighten her.

I headed for the lobby and she quick-walked into the hallway.  I ran around to the side of the hotel to try and intercept her but she never came out.  I figured she had to have a vehicle there so I hung around the parking lot for a couple hours until the police came to roust me.

I told them that I was worried about my friend that seemed to be missing.  They told me that the hotel manager had called because I was dealing drugs in her parking lot.  I told them they could search the shit out of me and they wouldn’t find anything. 

When interacting with the police, what you have to keep in mind is that everyone lies to them constantly.  If they’ve been called out because someone says you’re a problem, it’s hard to get them to think about something else as the problem.  They assume that you’re trying to deflect from whatever wrong thing you’re doing.  Because that’s what it always is.

Talking to the cops is like calling customer service.  You have to accept going in that it’s going to be a long frustrating process where very little of what you say is going to be heard.  You have to pledge to not lose your temper because that erases whatever tiny amount of progress you’ve made and you have to start all over again.

It didn’t help my “not a drug dealer” story when they looked her up and found out that she had been busted for possession several times.  In the end, they had me fill out a missing person report which is probably about as useful as turning on the Bat-Signal. 

They told me I couldn’t hang around in the parking lot so I got drove off and found a secluded spot to do my finding spell.