Chapter 71: The Search Begins II

Peter and Chris packed up all of their gear and loaded everything up in the truck. 

"So, how do we find her?" Chris asked.

"I'm not sure. They're definitely still in Costa Rica, and I'm almost certain Addicus' hideout should be on one of these islands, but there's no way we can search all of them, so we need more clues." Peter said.

"Then, how do we find more clues?" Chris asked again.

"We need to speak with someone who knows about Sharon and Addicus. Someone who knows about their history and has dealt with Addicus before and maybe they'll have some idea where he is holding her. And from what she's told me, only two people here in Costa Rica know about her past and are probably still alive. Her friends, Hector and Victoria." 

"And where do we find them?" Chris asked once more.

"Barrio Escalante, San Jose"

And the two of them drove off to the Bay, rented a speedboat and sailed off to find Sharon's friends, his only hope of finding her.

They made it to Barrio Escalante, and they stood right outside "**Imaginación**". It was exactly the way Sharon had described, Peter thought. They both went inside, but the shop was empty.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Peter called out, but no one answered. He noticed the connecting door leading to the living quarters was open and walked towards it and saw a man, furiously going through his luggage, like he was planning a last-minute trip.

"Sir?" Peter said to him.

Hector turned around, now noticing the two men standing in his shop.

"We're closed for the day. Please come back some other time," he said.

"We're not here to buy paintings. We're here about a woman. Are you Hector?" Peter asked him.

Hector quickly ran out to meet him, "Yes, I'm Hector," he said, "Do you have any news about my sister? Is that why you're here?"

"Your sister? You mean Victoria? What happened to her?"

"She's been missing for two days. But wait, how do you know her name?" Hector wondered.

"I know her name because I know Sharon."

"Who are you?" Hector asked.

"My name's Peter and this is my friend, Chris. I'm a friend of Sharon's, well more than a friend. She's been kidnapped by Addicus and by the looks of things, I'd say your sister was also taken by him."

"No! I thought he'd forgotten about us." Hector said.

"Addicus isn't so forgiving. God only knows what he plans to do with both of them, which is why we're here. We need to find them immediately and we need your help." Peter told Hector.

"How can I help? I'll do anything to get my sister back and to get Sharon away from that psycho."

"Do you have any idea at all of where he might be holding them here in the city?" 

Hector thought hard about it, but he just couldn't figure out where they could be. He had absolutely no idea.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know. I don't have the slightest clue where they could be," Hector said.

Peter stared at Chris with disappointment evident on both their faces.

"What do we do now?" Chris asked him.

"Hector? Do you remember where your sister was before she disappeared?" Peter asked.

"Yes, I do. Why?"

"I think it could give us an idea of how to find her and, at the same time, find Sharon. So tell me, where did she go?" Peter wanted to know.

"She went to our other shop to spend the day with her boyfriend. It was their first anniversary of being together and they had plans to go out," Hector informed.

"Your other shop? The one in Cristo Rey?" Peter asked.

"Yes, that one," Hector confirmed.

"And this boyfriend of hers, is his name Pedro?"

"Yes, it is. Wow! Sharon really did tell you about all of us," Hector stated.

"Yes, she did. You all were a big part of her life and she missed you all every single day she was apart from you."

"We need to speak to the boyfriend. He may have some useful information about the last place the girl was spotted." Chris said aloud to both men.

"I've already spoken to Pedro about it. He said that they spent the entire day with each other. They went to a restaurant and had some food and drinks and then, they went sightseeing on some of the islands," Hector mentioned.

"Islands? Which islands did they go to?" Peter asked. He was sure he was on the right track to find them. They had to be on an island, they just had to.

"It doesn't matter which island, because they came back, and he left her right outside the door," Hector said, and pointed at the door of the shop.

"What do you mean he left her right outside the door?" Chris asked and moved closer.

"I was in the shop cleaning up. I had instructed Pedro to bring her home himself and he did. They arrived together and stood right outside the door to say goodnight for the day. I saw him say goodbye and walk away. I told her through the door to lock up when she came inside and I went into the house. I waited for her, but she didn't come in. I got a bit worried that she wasn't in yet and I went back out, but she was gone and no one has seen her in two days," Hector finished his narration.

"That can only mean one thing," Chris began to say.

"She was kidnapped right outside the door of this shop before she was able to get inside." Peter finished saying.

"Someone must have seen something, must have seen when they took her and maybe also saw what direction they headed in," Peter said aloud.

"I've asked everyone all over the neighborhood if they saw anything but everyone claims not to have. Nobody knows what happened to her that night," Hector said.

Peter paced around the shop with his hands on his waist. There was something they were missing, there had to be but what was it?

Peter walked out of the shop and stood outside, looking around for any clue at all. It was already getting late and the streets were already filled with fewer people.

Peter then spotted a homeless person sitting in front of the next building, going through the trash.

"Hector? Come here!" Peter called him out and he and Chris went out of the shop.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Hector asked.

"I'm not sure yet. That man over there; is he always around here?" Peter asked and pointed at the homeless man.

"Yeah, that's Joe. He's always sitting around, watching everyone. Why do you ask?" 

"If anyone could have seen what happened the night your sister was kidnapped, it has to be him."