Chapter65

Rita sighed, she knew there was no way she could send him away. He was here to stay and once he made up his mind about something, there was no going back. "Oh goody! That's great. We can all have breakfast together then", her mother said, drawing out a chair. She took the pot of tea, pouring a healthy portion into Edmundo's cup. She poured some for herself and the two fell into talking. Rita was grateful for this because she didn't have it in her to join in a pointless conversation about elites and those in authority. All she was concerned about is her health and finding Rodrigo. The rest didn't matter to her. "What do you say about that Rita, you've been awfully quiet", her mother said. "I'm not following your conversation", Rita said, point blank. Her mother chuckled, no doubt trying to douse the awkward atmosphere. Rita cared less about what she did. The conversation could get as awkward as possible and she wouldn't blink an eye. "Your mother and I were just discussing about the Colonel's daughter who got married over the weekend", Edmundo grinned. "I really don't care about that. The Colonel's daughter could get married to whoever she wants, why do you guys even bother about all these", Rita said. The look on their faces was priceless and Rita wished she had a camera to capture the moment and laugh over it whenever she got bored. "We are concerned because you would also be getting married very soon so we need to be in the know", her mother seethed. Rita was fed up, she couldn't sit there and listen to their worthless stories. She stood up from her chair, giving them a tight smile. "I have some things to attend to", she said. "You're always busy", her mother said, giving her the stink eye. "That's because I have a job mother". "Dinner in my house tomorrow?", Edmundo said. "Were you deaf when I told you I had work to do. No, I won't have dinner with you", she said, finally walking away. Deep down, she couldn't wait to get out of the house when all the investigations in her office have been concluded. "Mateo's birthday is in three days", Theresa said over the phone the next day. Rita settled on her work chair at home, clutching her phone to her ear. She was gradually getting to the end of her workload and she could afford to relax when she was done. "Ohh, why didn't you inform me earlier", Rita said. "I know... I should have done that, I didn't want to disturb you knowing you'll be swamped with work", Theresa sighed. "You know I'll never be too busy to help you out. You've been there for me Theresa even in times when I didn't expect it", Rita said. "Now, you're making me teary. Okay, so you can still help me. I'm totally swamped with everything, the food, presents. I don't even know where to begin", Theresa whined. "Okay... Okay, I'm coming over", Rita laughed. "You're a life saver. But don't forget to come with Ramirez, I can't risk your life unnecessarily". "Sure, I'll come with him", Rita laughed. "Whew... Thank you, see you later", Theresa said before cutting the call. Rita dialled Ramirez's number, informing him about her visit to Theresa's house. He affirmed that he would be there soon. Rita cut the call, throwing on some loose clothes. Soon, Ramirez called to inform her he was downstairs. Rita made her way downstairs, bypassing her parents who were chatting in the living room. "How are you Ramirez?", Rita smiled, climbing into the SUV. "I'm doing quite alright, thank you ma'am", he said. As Ramirez drove towards her house, Rita replied texts from different clients she had postponed their messages. One particular message drew her attention, it was a message from an unknown number telling her not to trust the people she called friends. "Ramirez, can you pull over for a minute", Rita mumbled. Ramirez did that immediately as he parked by the side of the road. He stared at her through the rear view mirror, wondering why she gave that order. "Is there a problem ma'am?",he said with a worried look in his eyes. "Yes, look at this", Rita said, handing him her phone. He read through the message and she could tell that he was a bit worried about the content of the message. "When did you receive this?",he asked. "I don't know. There were a lot of messages on my phone but I ignored them and decided to reply some of it today only to see this", she said. "Please check the date", he said, handing her back her phone. "It was three days ago, the day of the attack", she shuddered. Ramirez nodded, a grim expression on his face. Rita could tell that his mind was working furiously, trying to piece everything together. "I'll forward the message to my phone then show the cops. They should be able to take it up from there", he said. "Okay, thank you. Please, let's go", Rita said. Ramirez nodded before pulling into the road. As he drove towards Theresa's house, her mind was on the message. There was no doubt that this message was related to the attack, something she found uncomfortable. They got to Theresa's house soon. A big monster truck was parked inside the garage and Rita could tell that Marco was around. "Should I wait for you ma'am?", Ramirez asked, bringing the car to a stop. "No, you can go. When I'm about leaving, I'll give you a call", she said, walking towards the house. When she got to the double doors, she pressed the doorbell as she waited for an answer from within. Soon, the door opened to reveal the muscular face of Marco. He smiled upon seeing her, giving her a side hug. "It's been a long time I saw you", Rita smiled, walking into the house. "Ahh... I know, work and business takes me all around the world", he chuckled. "How is business by the way?", Rita smiled. "Fine carà, we can't complain", he smiled.