Chapter 36

"Ma'am, someone is here to see you?", Yasmin said.

It seemed as if everyday she was at the office, everyone wanted to see her. Sometimes, Rita wished she could run away from everything and everyone but she knew that was impossible.

"Who is it?",she asked.

"A man named Francis but ma'am, I don't think you should send him up. For one, he's dressed shabbily and two, he looks like a deranged fellow", Yasmin whispered.

Rita sat up. That was the private investigator she hired to search for Rodrigo. The previous day, when she called him, she got no answer and she hoped that he had some answers available. She chuckled lightly at Yasmin's words. True, he dressed shabbily but Francis was smart. His brain worked better than the average human. He paid attention to details and had a keen eye for the tiniest flaw making him one of the most brilliant investigator she had ever employed.

"Please send him in", she smiled.

Rita paced about, curiosity eating at her. Soon, there was a knock on her door. She rushed to open it up to reveal the face or Francis. Rita chuckled because he indeed dressed shabbily and his full name of hair was unkempt.

"Francis", Rita smiled.

Francis was of medium height with a gentle exterior but Rita wasn't fooled. She knew that beneath all his charms, he was a gutter fighter. He was a man who had seen a lot of things, a man who feared nobody but above all, he was a man who believed in justice.

"Greetings ma'am", he said, tipping his hat.

"Oh, stop with all the formalities. You know quite well you can call me Rita, we've known each other for a very long time", Rita said.

She sat down on her chair as he took the other one opposite her. He placed his hat on the table, bringing out some papers from his side pocket.

"What have you got?", Rita asked.

"Nothing", Francis said.

He was always straight to the point. Rita stared at him like he had suddenly grown two heads. She couldn't believe he had found nothing after weeks of giving him the job.

"What do you mean nothing Francis, I don't understand", Rita said.

She had a look of confusion on her face as her heart raced, thinking the worse. She grinned her pen hard, nearly cracking it.

"Exactly what I said ma'am, nothing. In all my years as a private investigator, I've never seen a more difficult case. All the resources I used in finding the subject proved abortive, even the double agents I used reported back with a negative report. Ma'am, it seems as if the subject has gone off the surface of this Earth", he said.

Rita shook violently, holding on to her last piece of sanity. She had been so sure that Francis would be able to find Rodrigo since he was the best but it turned out that he couldn't. She hated to think what might have happened to him.

"But he can't be dead, I know it", Rita said.

"I'm not so certain about that ma'am. I really don't know why we weren't able to find him, I highly suspect somebody is behind this", Francis said.

"But who? Who could have done this to me", Rita croaked.

"Can you think of anyone who hated him?".

A sick feeling rose up at the feet of her stomach. Edmundo. But she waved the thought away. Even though Edmundo was a potential murderer, she knew he couldn't do something as petty as this. Rodrigo was too small for him and he prided himself in dealing with people of a high class.

"No, I can't think of anyone. Gosh! This is terrible, all my hopes were on you in finding him. What am I going to do now? There's really nothing left", Rita sobbed.

Francis handed her a tissue as she dabbed at her eyes. Everything wasn't going as planned and she was loosing the little hope she had left. Rodrigo was like her lifeline, a drug she constantly needed and now, he was going out of her reach.

"There's still something left. Please don't loose hope, I can assure you that we'll find the subject soon it's only a matter of time", he assured.

"Time is what we don't have. What if he's dead or worse hurt and bleeding somewhere", Rita said.

"I know your thoughts are all over the place but you need to calm down. We would find him, I can assure you that", he said, rising to his feet.

Rita watched him leave and she had a sick feeling that he left with all her hopes. She sighed, dumping the tissue into the waste basket. At that moment, she knew it was only a miracle that could bring him back.

She decided to call Theresa to give her the news. She waited for her to pick up as she cleaned the rougue tears that streamed down her eyes.

"Francis didn't find anything", she said.

"Oh dear, this is bad. I've been trying on my end too but I can't find anything but don't worry, I know we will. You need to have faith", Theresa sighed.

"I'll try. I'm going to Camille's house at the close of work today, I need to see how she's faring. I've been so swamped with work that I haven't had time to see her", Rita sighed.

"Okay, please be careful. You wouldn't want to get hurt in the midst of everything and I sure don't want Rodrigo to see you like that when he returns", Theresa chuckled.

Rita smiled, her friend just had a way of cheering her up even in the most bleakest situation. Rita loved her all the more for that.

"I will, thank you babe. I really appreciate all your help so far. Say hi to Marco for me", Rita said before cutting the call.

She rose up from her seat, deciding to grab a quick lunch at the bistro before coming back to the deal with the mountains of file that seemed to pile up more and more every minute. When she got there, she chose a table, at a corner far off from the entrance. She was going to be careful, she didn't know who are enemy was and there was no use exposing herself to the public.

"Good morning ma'am, what would you like to have", a waiter said.

If the young girl knew who she was, she did a great job of staying silent. Rita wasn't in the mood to greet or worse sign any autograph.

"Just some burger and a coke please", she said.

"Coming right up", the girl said, walking away.

Soon, her lunch was before her as she muched without any appetite. The only reason she has to eat was to keep her strength in her quest in finding Rodrigo.

She was done soon. She placed a wad of cash on the table, far more than the actual amount of the table. She left the bistro, walking the short distance towards the Anderson tower.

When she got there, Yasmin was as usual at the reception. She waved to her and watched her young receptionist beam as she waved back. Even with all the storm raging around her, she never failed to appreciate the people who worked tirelessly to support the organization.

Rita planned on treating all her workers to an expense paid trip to any country of their choice after everything she was going through died down. It was the little she could do to appreciate all their help so far.

In a world where seeing your loved ones again was not certain, this was the best way she could tell them she loved and cared for them.

It was a sacrifice she was willing to make, one that might put her raging heart at rest.