CHAPTER 50

Mr. Cruz arrived thirty minutes after Angelo’s call. By that time, Gabriel was already fuming. He hated waiting, almost as much as he hated inaction. Being subjected to both brought out the worst in him. It was no surprise when he dragged the PI into the room the moment he came through the door.

“What can you tell us about Arthur,” Gabriel asked without preamble.

“I’d already given his file to your brother,” Mr. Cruz replied. The resemblance between this man and his former client was uncanny. Had he not looked a little older than Angelo, he would’ve thought they were twins. Yet, this man was more dangerous. His aura of violence was well hidden beneath a veneer of respectability.

“It’s not enough!” Gabriel said, stomping away from the PI.

“We need to know if there’s anywhere else he could go,” interjected Angelo.

“Well, I didn’t do a thorough investigation on him since my main focus was Ms. Castillejos,” the PI replied. Surprise flashed in the PI's eyes when he saw the controversial woman sitting on an armchair. Still, he didn't comment on her presence as Gabriel and Matthew did.

“Is there any way we could check?” Miguel said.

“Let me look up my notes for a bit. There might be something I had not included in the report. Some trivial matter I thought unimportant at the time.”

Angelo had half expected the man to dig into his backpack for a bulky, tattered notebook. But the PI slipped his hand into his front pocket and took out his smartphone instead.

“I have most of my rough notes in here. They’re bits and pieces of information I‘d gathered while shadowing a subject. It’s less conspicuous than jotting them down in a notebook," he said, chuckling. "Even if people noticed me, they'd think I was playing a game or browsing the net,” Mr. Cruz explained.

Smart man, Angelo thought. No one would even bat an eye at seeing the man hunched over his phone. Especially since he gave off the vibe of a nerdy college student rather than a sleuth.

“This is taking too long!” Gabriel snarled, stopping in his pacing to glare at the PI.

“Let him do his thing, Gab. He might turn up something we haven’t thought of,” Miguel said, shoving a can of beer into Gabriel’s hand. “Drink up, it’ll calm your nerves.”

“I’d need something stronger than this to calm my nerves,” Gabriel muttered, taking a sip just the same.

Only then did he notice how his hands were shaking. Miguel was right. He was fast turning into a nervous wreck. He needed to be in total control–calm, collected, and rational. He couldn’t afford to give in to his fears. Now, more than ever, he needed to be his cold, calculating self. He needed the one who never let his emotions get in the way or the better of him.

But, how could he? This was no business dilemma he could skid over. No trivial financial riddle he could gamble on. This was Louisa! This was about his whole world, his entire future, his very life. And never before had he ever felt so helpless.

“Wait! You said Arthur used to look after Tio Ramon’s horses,” Gabriel said, turning to Matthew.

“Yes, he did,” Matthew replied.

“Did he stay at the hacienda?”

“No, he said he was renting a house near the hacienda.”

“Did you ever go there?”

“No, I don’t think any of us ever did.”

“Here it is! This was something I didn’t think was relevant the time I wrote up the report about Arthur Cummings,” said Mr. Cruz. All eyes immediately turned to him.

“Well, what is it?” Gabriel asked.

“I once followed Mr. Cummings into the Tagaytay area. But since he went to the casino, I dismissed it and didn’t give it much thought. I already knew he was a gambler."

“But now…. what?” Angelo asked.

“Mr. Cummings had business with the Almedrezes before, he would be quite familiar with the area. It would be easy for him to tail Ms. Almendrez if she took the usual roads. He could even position himself somewhere he could intercept her.”

“Yes! That’s a big possibility. But beside the point now, isn’t it? What we need to know is where he could’ve taken her,” Matthew said, worry and exhaustion written on his face.

“Wait, Matthew. Mr. Cruz has a point there. Arthur would not risk taking Louisa anywhere he wasn’t familiar with. They would be somewhere near the hacienda,” Gabriel said. A nod from the PI assured him he was on the right track.

“Okay, but still the question is where?” Matthew replied.

“He rented a house before. He could've done the same now,” Miguel said, glancing at the detective who was smiling and nodding at him.

“Then, we need to find a house that has been recently rented out,” Angelo said.

“Why a house? Why not an apartment?” asked Matthew.

“Because he would need complete privacy. He couldn’t risk getting seen with a kicking and spitting hellcat, could he?” Angelo said, a slight grin tugging at the corners of his mouth despite his worry. Louie would never go down quietly. She would fight Arthur, tooth-and-nail, up to the very end. Then, a ghastly thought chilled him. The look in his eldest brother’s eyes told him they shared the same apprehension.

“Unless, of course, he had the gall to drug Louie and carried her into the said apartment. Then there would be no kicking and spitting at all.”

There was an instant explosion of expletives, grunts, and exaggerated moans. Matthew got dagger looks for giving voice to something they all feared. They all preferred the spitting hellcat to the drugged ragdoll. As long as Louisa had her wits about her, she had a fighting chance.

“What? I wouldn’t put it past him. He could have, you know,” Matthew said, cowering beneath the glares of the other men.

“Alright! Let’s not dwell on it, please?” Gabriel bellowed. He didn't want to give in to the demons playing inside his head. And Matthew was making it difficult with his words of doom.

“We need to set a time frame to narrow down our search,” Mr. Cruz said, his fingers flying over his smartphone.

“Isabella, when did Arthur get here? Did you fly in together?” Miguel said, turning to the lone woman in the room.

“Yes, we did,” Isabella croaked.

“So, that would be, when? A month ago?”

Isabella nodded, cursing the man she thought was the answer to her prayers. Before she was through with him, she would make sure he would be the one praying for mercy.

After a couple of minutes, and a few more furious tapping on his device, the PI announced, “There you go! I found two possibilities. Both are within the vicinity of the hacienda.”

“We’d have to split up into two groups. We need to check out both places at the same time,” Gabriel said as he downed the rest of his beer and crushed it with one hand. "We need a map, Miguel.”

“No need to, I’ve already downloaded the maps you’ll need, I’ll bluetooth them to you,” Mr. Cruz said. Gabriel and Angelo took out their phones and gave them to the PI.

“Shouldn’t we notify the police first?” Miguel asked.

“As a professional, I would say yes. I’m duty-bound to stop you from doing any illegal activities, like breaking and entering. But as a friend, I would say we do not have the time to go through all the legalese we would encounter at the police station. As with all kidnappings, time is always of the essence,” the PI replied. After a few more seconds, he gave back the phones to Gabriel and Angelo.

“I presume you would have no difficulty finding those places as the area is well-known to both of you?” Mr. Cruz said.

“Actually, I’ve been gone for quite a while and do not remember much of these landmarks,” Gabriel admitted.

“I’ll go with you,” Matthew said.

“Miguel and I will go together,” said Angelo. “Mr. Cruz, thank you for your help tonight, I’ll get in touch with you as soon as everything is resolved.”

“I’m not going anywhere, my good man. I’m going with you, too. You’ll need a professional at the helm in case things get a little hairy,” the PI replied.

Angelo nodded. He couldn’t argue with that. They’re not sure what Arthur’s capable of but he could assume he would not be putty in their hands. Things could get dangerous fast. And they would need all the help they could get.

As the men discussed their individual assignments, Isabella walked up to them. “I have a suggestion,” she said in an unwavering voice.

“Please, Isabella. We’re running out of time. We’ve got everything figured out,” Gabriel said, his irritation evident.

“You don’t know Arthur. He could be a very dangerous man,” Isabella said.

No one argued the point. Arthur was an unknown element, and unknown elements were always dangerous.

“Okay. What's your suggestion?” Angelo said.

Isabella replied with an almost angelic smile.