Find Luiz
Find Luiz
Anton had commissioned the police force, adding to their finding in order to get their aid in securing every camera from the surrounding area.
They mean to find Luiz in no time!
"Here is the video of Luiz trying to hail a cab," said Hanxi, pointing to one monitor.
"Yes, but later on, the buss covered Luiz's view," said one police officer, pointing to another screen. "So we don't really know if Luiz took the taxi or the bus!"
A hiss left Anton's lips. He had found out that the bus had met into an accident, falling into the river Arno while making its way across the city. It was a tragic accident that Anton had missed learning due to the wedding preparations.
There were casualties, including people that remain missing, suspected to have ridden on the bus.
"It doesn't fucking make sense for him to take the bus!" Anton pointed out. "He was leaving with several pieces of luggage!"
"I agree! Knowing my son, he would not ride a bus under such circumstances," said Carlos Moreno. "besides, he left more than three hours before his flight. He had enough time!"
"Then, let us look into the taxi company," said Hanxi. They could figure out the name of the Taxi but not sadly, not the plates. The best angle, capturing Luiz leaving his apartment was from across the street.
"One thing is for sure, it did not seem like he made it to the airport," suggested the police. "We had all our men go through an entire two days of surveillance, but we found no sign of Luiz."
Thankfully, the taxi they suspected that Luiz rode on had a distinct mark. When they reached out to the operator, they gave feedback just within the day.
It was in the afternoon that Hanxi and Anton met with the driver of the taxi and showed them a picture of Luiz. The driver was invited to the police station and was presented with the same video of his taxi.
The taxi driver frowned and said, "this was last week?"
"Yes, sir. Can you remember this young man get inside your taxi?" Anton asked the driver.
"Please, try to remember," pleaded Hanxi.
"I beg you. I need to find my son," said Carlos.
The three of them practically took over the interrogation with the police, merely ensuring everything was all under control.
"Good sirs, it's - it's not that I am not trying, but you do realize, I have many customers day and night." The driver's forehead furrowed, thinking deep, about the location of the street. "Actually, I might have remembered something."
"I picked up a girl with black hair, coming from uptown and she was headed this way. I guess the reason why I could not forget was how she had asked me to take three turns around the block. And then - she asked a man to join him in the car, right after we came back here on that spot," told the driver.
"They seem to know each other and the man was in a hurry. I committed to bring them to the airport, but in the middle of my drive, the man suddenly fell unconscious," the driver added. "I brought them to the hospital instead!"
"Hospital?" Anton repeated. "Which hospital?"
"Mr. please try to remember. Did the man had several pieces of luggage?" Hanxi asked.
"Um... yes, he had several bags," admitted the driver.
"Was it him?" Carlos pointed out Luiz's picture.
Sadly, however, the driver merely sighed. He said, "That might be him. I'm sorry, I wish I could be more of a help."
"So which hospital was it?" Carlos repeated Anton's earlier query.
"It was the north district hospital," said the driver. "but - strange though... we did not go to the back. Just the side of the hospital and some staff was already waiting for them."
"You mean, you did not stop at the entrance, nor the emergency room?" Hanxi probed, frowning altogether.
The driver nodded and said, "Yes."
"Didn't that seemed odd to you?" Hanxi asked.
"It was.... now that you mentioned it." The driver scratched his head and added, "It did not cross my mind back then."
"Did you have your camera turned on from the car?" The police asked.
The driver looked down and said, "As part of the customer's privacy, we sometimes turn it off. The girl who rode first specifically requested to turn off the camera."
Following a slam on the table, Anton muttered, "Great! Just great!"
In the next two days, Anton, Hanxi, and Carlos were putting the pieces together.
The hospital did not have a record of Luiz Moreno being admitted that day he went missing. Coincidentally, the establishment from one side of the hospital did not have any cameras pointing in the same direction.
Needless to say, it was a dead end.
In the days that followed, Anton coordinated with the media, putting Luiz's photo on TV and in print media. They had already turned desperate to search for Luiz and Anton was already starting to feel uneasy.
It was the same kind of uneasiness he felt with Andrea went missing.
After just two days, a witness came forward. It was a middle-aged couple who came forward and were part of the bus accident.
From the police station. The woman with blonde hair said, "I thought the young man's photo was familiar and so we realized, he may be the one who saved me and my husband. It - it might be him!"
"When the bus fell into the water, many struggled to get out, smashing the windows - others trying to open the door so they could swim up," explained the woman. "I saw that young man was one of those who managed to open the back door and with the water filling up the bus, he helped me and my husband get out."
"I - I did not know what happened next but when everyone was gathered, I did not see this same man," told the lady.
"No! No!" Screamed Carlos! "Not my Luiz! No!"
Tears easily fall down Carlos Moreno's face, fearing the worst for his son.
Yet, despite the witnesses who came about, Anton still could not believe it! It just was not logical for Luiz to take the bus!
Anton felt the people they had talked to were all unsure, and it was understandable. People easily forget the faces of whom they interact within their daily lives, not unless they were important. Like him, he cared not for people he would meet at the mall or would come across on the streets.
To Anton, the possibility is still endless.
As he aided in calming down Carlos, he said, "Maybe... it was just someone who looks like him. Carlos, we will not stop until we find Luiz."
From the other side of the table, Hanxi also nodded and said, "I agree. Let's not lose hope, Carlos."
Carlos Moreno never cried so much in his life. He had lost his other son shortly after birth, and now, Luiz was nowhere to be found. He was truly scared, scared for his wife, for Nari, and for Luiz's children.
With a loud howl, he screamed, "Luiz! Where are you, son? Where are you?"