Chapter 32

Rita drove towards the address Camille gave her and ended up in a quaint neighborhood. The houses were modern size and Rita felt more at home here than in her rich neighborhood. She still hadn't found Rodrigo and every minute without knowing where he was made her heart jolt.

She soon got to the house where Camille lived and smiled at how perfect it looked. The house was painted a cool blue. The steps leading to the house was filled with purple hibiscus, giving it a grand look. Rita parked her car, the latest Mercedes Benz beside the house as she walked towards the house.

Rita felt so many stares on her and she could tell that the people of this neighborhood didn't get so many visitors. She stepped on the front porch, ringing the doorbell. Soon, she heard footsteps come closer and soon, Camille appeared at the door, holding a mug of coffee.

"Welcome Rita, good morning", she greeted.

Rita smiled as she hugged the woman. Camille ushered her into the living room, offering her a seat. Rita looked around and smiled at how comfortable it looked. There were pictures hanging on the wall, pictures of Rodrigo and his Sophia and pictures of Camille and the children.

She also noticed that in all of this, Rodrigo's father was missing which further proved that Camille had a reason why she was hiding her children from him.

"Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?", She asked.

"Tea please", Rita said.

Camille nodded as she made her way towards a door that led to the kitchen. Rita couldn't help her inquisitiveness as she walked towards the photographs. She picked one up, staring at the little boy who grinned widely into the camera. Her heart swelled, knowing that it was Rodrigo. He looked so small and innocent and Rita predicted his age to be between five or six.

"Where are you?", she whispered.

A lone tear slid down her eyes but she quickly dabbed it. She didn't want Camille to know that she was crying. She didn't want to give her the impression that all hope was lost as regards finding him.

"Here dear", Camille said.

Rita placed the photograph back to where it was as she faced Camille, giving her a small smile. She took the cup of tea from her before going over to her seat.

"I'll just be quick with this so we can be on our way", Rita said.

"Okay. When I left your office yesterday, I made a list of all of Rodrigo's friends. He didn't really have a lot of friends just two who were close to him", Camille said.

"That's good. When we're done with the Mart, we could go see them. I'm sure they'll have an idea of where Rodrigo might be", Rita said.

"Yes, I'm sure they would", Camille said.

Soon, Rita was done and they left. Rita drove off towards the Mart, hoping within her that they got a favorable answer.

When they got there, Rita walked straight into the reception. The Mart had little to no customers since it was pretty early.

"Miss Anderson", the receptionist said.

He had a surprised look in his eyes. For the first time in a long while, Rita was glad that her name held so much importance. The receptionist was a young man probably in his teens and she knew that seeing her would be the topic of discussion between him and his friends for weeks to come.

"Hello, good morning. Please, I'll like to see the head of this place", she said politely.

The boy was startled for a bit, a confused expression on his face as his eyes darted between her and Camille.

"Sure, I'll see if he can see any visitors", he said.

"He must. Tell him Lawrence Anderson's daughter, Rita is here to see him. I'm sure he'll want to see me", she said.

Even though she wasn't comfortable using her father's name, she had to if she wanted to get her information fast.

"Very well", the boy said as he made his way into an inner office.

"I could never have managed that", Camille chuckled.

"You can if you know the right words to use", Rita said.

The boy soon came back, informing them that the manager was ready to see them. Rita nodded, walking towards the door the boy pointed at.

They soon got to the office. The office was quaint with a little table and chair that sat in the middle. The manager was a middle aged man with a balding head and an overgrown mustache.

He stood up at once when Rita walked in. He shook her hands as he offered a seat to them. Rita sat with Camille by her side. She looked round the office, impressed by the records that showed the Mart's credibility. She was convinced that she could get her answers here but she hoped that the manager would be cooperative.

"Good morning Miss Anderson, it's an honour to have you here. I'm Harold", the manager said.

"Thank you Harold. This is Mrs Campbell", Rita said.

Harold nodded, giving Camille a warm smile. Rita quickly thought about ways she could present their issue to him. She knew what she was about to ask him might be difficult but there was nothing a little amount of money couldn't change.

"We are here in connection of a missing person", Rita said.

There was a light frown of Harold's face but he remained quiet, waiting to hear the rest of what she wanted to say.

"He was last seen about a week ago walking into the Mart to get some things and that was the last time he was seen. Now Harold, what I'm about to request might be a little difficult but I assure you that you'll be generously compensated if you help me and also if you keep this issue between us", Rita said.

For some time, Harold remained quiet. He didn't know what her request could be but the offer of compensation was really sweet and he'll be a fool not to accept it.

"Okay, let's hear it", he said.

"Good. I'm sure this Mart has a CCTV footage of every person who comes in and goes out daily. I'll like to have access to the footage of a week ago to know what really happened. Like I said before, you'll be adequately compensated", she said.

"Please, you have to help us. The person in question is my son, we've been looking everywhere for him", Camille said.

Rita took her hands, giving her a gentle squeeze, silently reassuring her that everything would be fine.

"Okay, I'll do it. But please know that this is against the Mart's policies but because of the gravity of the issue, I'm ready to help" he said, finally.

"Thank you, you won't regret this. Please send one of your workers to my office on Monday for your reward", Rita said.

"Thank you ma'am. Please, give me a minute while I go to the records department to fetch the tape", he said, rising to his feet.

Rita nodded as she watched him leave. She was glad that they weren't turned out immediately, this just proved that they would get their answers soon.