The agent kept calling until Reyona picked it up.
After explaining everything to him, he asked her to wait for him on the stage and Reyona agreed.
She told Samantha to leave but the latter insisted on at least getting her aspirin and cold packs for her bruised hands before leaving.
Reyona agreed to avoid further argument.
She hardly had the breath for it anyway.
She was beginning to think that the mop had done some major damage inside her after all.
Not to mention the excruciating pain she was feeling from where she had hit her back against the sink.
In truth, she ached from head to toe, yet she knew it was not time to fold yet.
She had to see this through first.
"I am really worried about you," Samantha said as she came back from the pharmacy.
She popped the aspirin for her and held the cold pack to her knuckles.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital? You look like you need it. I could call Phil if you want…"
Reyona managed a pain-wracking smile as she said "Good God, no. He would be even more anxious than you are. I will go home soon. I just need to meet someone first. He will be here soon. I can already feel the aspirin kicking in. With some rest, I will be fine."
Samantha sighed as she gave her a worried look. "Do you need me to wait until the person gets here? I really don't think…"
"Go, I will be fine. I promise. I will give you a call later." she looked at her watch and realised that it was almost 5 pm anyway. "No need to go back to the office. Just go on home."
Samantha nodded as she reached for her bag.
Then she looked back at Reyona again as she asked "Are you sure?"
Reyona wrinkled her nose as she said "Of course, I am sure. When have I not been sure?" she smiled. "Go on. I am sorry for snapping at you the other time."
"It's nothing," Samantha said. Looked towards the door, as if she wished the person would arrive before she could leave.
Reyona didn't mind the pain this time as she smiled and said "Go on, Sam."
"Okay, okay. I am leaving. I will call you. Pick up and let me know you are fine."
"Yes, mom. Mind you, don't bother Phil about this. You know he would only worry."
The look on her face made Reyona know that she was spot on.
She would have informed Phil the moment she stepped out of that door. Then she would have two people worrying about her.
Samantha finally left and sagged against the chair.
She had been holding herself up rigidly just to reassure Samantha.
She cradled her stomach and swore under her breath.
That man had better get here soon, or she might leave after all.
Agent or not, she was not so certain that she could put on a brave face for much longer.
She gestured at one of the waitresses and asked "Are your CCTV cameras in good condition?"
The lady must have thought her questions weird because she could see the confusion on her face as she answered "Uhm, yes, yeah. They are."
"Including the ones in the restroom?" she asked simply.
She saw the lady's eyes widen slightly before she schooled her expression and said "No, there are no cameras in our restrooms, but the ones in the corridors are working."
"Yes, of course. Forgive me." Reyona said with an apologetic expression. "Do you have a control room here where the camera clips can be surveyed?"
"I can't answer that, ma'am. You will have to ask the manager, please." she looked at the cleared table in front of Reyona save for a glass of water and asked, "Would you like me to help you with anything else?"
"No, no. You have been very helpful. I am waiting for someone. Thank you."
The lady had not lied, but she did not say the whole truth either.
Yes, there were no cameras in the stalls, but there were two in the main area of the restroom. They were hidden cameras fixed to the knobs of two of the doors.
Reyona discovered the first one when she was trying to lock the door of the stall she stuffed Susan into.
The other was on another door on the other side.
Just enough to capture people entering and leaving through the main restroom door and some parts of the area too.
She thought it was clever. Not intrusive on people's privacy yet security-conscious.
Though she was sure most wouldn't agree with it if such should be known by the customer.
That must be why the waitress had been disconcerted when she mentioned it.
If there was anyone who would complain about it, that person was not going to be her.
Not when it would make things easier to explain.
She looked towards the door as she had been doing whenever she heard it open or close.
She knew the moment they entered.
Two men dressed in normal clothes.
One of them stocky and the other wiry and younger.
It was in the way they scanned the room.
The stocky man's eyes landed on her and Reyona raised her hand with a nod.
An expression she was too far to detect crossed his face as they headed towards her table.
"Hi," she said as they took the seats opposite her.
"It is you." the stocky man said as if reaffirming something.
"Yes, I called you," Reyona answered without so much as an expression on her face.
The younger agent nodded towards her as he said "Good evening, ma'am. I am Agent Ty."
The older man seemed to finally remember himself as he said "Sorry I didn't introduce myself, we spoke on the phone. I am Agent Stanilovoski. Steve if you want. I forgot my manners because I was surprised that you were the caller. You are Maxwell's wife."
Reyona simply breathed through her pain and anger as she said mildly "You know him."
"Oh, I do. We go way back."
"Good. Do you want to see the scene now? I think you can ask the manager for their clips too. I don't have the authority to. You do."
"Yes, yes, we will do that." Agent Stanilovoski said.
Even as he spoke, Agent Ty had already stood up and headed to the reception desk.
Reyona saw him flash his badge as he spoke to the receptionist with an affable smile on his face.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" Agent Stanislovoki asked.
"Yes, I am fine," Reyona said as she looked back at him, and she noticed that he was staring at her bruised knuckles and the pack.
"Yes, I am fine. Agent… I will just call you Steve." she said as she stood up and indicated that he should come with her.
"So if I got you clearly on the phone, you meant…."
Reyona explained everything to him again without any omission or mistake.
At this time, she was merely hanging on by the thread of sheer willpower.
Steve told her their men had already combed the neighbourhood even before they got to the restaurant.
Susan was nowhere to be found.
"Are you okay, ma'am? You look really pale," he asked her the second time.
"Yes, I am fine," Reyona said a bit breathily.
At first, she hesitated but then told him "I think he knows where she is."
"Who?" Steve asked curiously, and then he shook his head slightly as he realised what she meant. "Max? That is not… why do you think so, ma'am?"
Reyona explained what Susan said to him, and she could see the anger that darkened the man's face briefly before he curbed his expression and told her to be very careful.
"We think the d***s have made her very dangerous, so you need to look out for yourself out there, ma'am. I shouldn't tell you this, but I will, just so you can know the enormity of this."
"What is it?" Reyona asked with trepidation.
"That woman is a murder suspect and what happened here just confirmed that she had accomplices. I doubt she broke that lock herself. We will confirm that when we check the clips."
Murder? Reyona wondered in shock even as a part of her knew that the woman with the crazed eyes who was ready to gouge out her eyes and maybe even do worse, could be capable of such.
"Who?" she asked woodenly.
"A roommate at the centre", Steve said, as he looked at the layout of the restroom and noted something in his notebook.
In disbelief, Reyona asked what popped into her mind. "Does…does he know?"
Steve hesitated when he saw the look on her face.
That was enough answer for Reyona. She nodded and said, "Don't tell him about this."
When she saw the questioning look on Steve's face, she said "Tell him whatever you want, but not that I was here."
When he hesitated, she added "Please."
"Okay," Agent Stanilovoski said. "I will let you know how it goes."
Reyona nodded and turned to leave.
"They are ready for us." Agent Ty said as he came around the corner.