Holding back the tears, Meryll leaned herself against the back of the door.
For the last minute, she hopes that Conrad will knock and will ask her to talk to him properly. She was confident that her boyfriend will not gonna let this misunderstanding come in between them. She knew that he loves her and he would be the first to find a way to settle their misunderstanding.
But all of her hopes turn into disappointment when she heard his footsteps away.
Everything seemed to be slowly deteriorating to her when she realized that Conrad was really serious in his words earlier.
Meryll sat on the floor in a daze. Her knees softened as her tears kept falling. What the hell is going on?
----------
Vicente Rodriguez handed the thick envelope he was holding to Jeff.
"I'll entrust the contents of that envelope to you. It's inside all the information I've gathered since the first day of my investigation into Siren's disappearance. You'll take care of that."
Jeff nodded in agreement with what his boss had said.
without a word it tapped him on the arm as a signal of its departure.
Jeff watched Vicente's back as he walked away. when it completely disappeared from his sight, he then turned around and left the airport.
----------
BEACH SIDE, CROATIA
Every gesture of the waitresses was lively as they serves their customers. They are already sweaty but they still smiled as the patrons of their small restaurant gave the order.
And because of the clear aura of the place, it seems that every costumer are also inhaling the light mood and also smiles back.
"Table 22 here's your order." One waitress laid on the table the order of the couple sitting there. "Two chicken nuggets, two tuna sandwiches and two medium size cola drinks." She states their ordered food.
"Alright, thank you." Smiling, they said.
Conrad entered the crowded restaurant and looked for a place where he could be seated.
The place was an open area and it facing the beach side, he thinks that the place is really ideal for relaxing while having snacks.
He saw an empty table for two next to the open veranda. He immediately approached there and then called one of the two waitresses who were serving.
"What's sir's order?" A woman with long red hair in a pony tail approached him. she was wearing a short skirt and a tight collard too. The first two buttons of her blouse were open from its collar, exposing her cleavage.
"What's your best seller sandwich here?" He asked.
"Chicken fillet sandwich with coleslaw salad in ranch sauce dressing." She answered him with a smile.
"Sounds good. Okay, give me one and for my drinks, just orange juice."
"Any addition, sir?"
"No thanks, thank you."
After getting his order, she turned herself back and walked over to the counter.
While waiting for the food he ordered, Conrad took his mobile phone out of the pocket of his polo shirt.
He immediately dialed James' phone number.
"Hey dude, how's the flight?" he asked as he answer his call.
"It's pretty good, I arrived safely here in Croatia." He replied, still paying attention to the sight inside the restaurant.
"Good. I'm sure you will enjoy your short vacation. I heard there are good beach spots there. And there are also many tourist spots within the city."
"Let's see if my vacation will be really good. You know I don't like crowded places. But here in Croatia, there are lots of people. Even in a small restaurant where I am now, the ambiance is very busy and people are in and out."
"Well I hate to say this but I think that's the effect of your gradual aging." James tried pulling a joke followed by his laughter.
"Look who's talking." He fought back with a joke.
James cleared his throat before speaking again.
"Oh, you should just enjoy your vacation there. Try to meet new people and try to make new friends. I'm sure there are many single ladies you will meet."
"Ladies, yes. But you know women, they are single whenever their boyfriend is not around."
"Oh c'mon dude not all women have that kind of personality."
"Maybe." He said with a shrug even though he wasn't facing him.
When he saw the waitress approaching him, he immediately said goodbye to the person he was talking to.
"Here's your order, sir. Enjoy your meal." She says still smiling. She winked at him before turning away.
He smiled as he shook his head. He just turned his attention to the food she delivered.
When he finished eating, he only paid the bill and left.
The hotel lounge he rents is just near that place, so it's hassle-free on transportation because it's just a walking distance.
He  probably walked about ten feet away from the restaurant when he reached into the pocket of his polo shirt. He forgot to call his Mother to let her know that he had arrived at the place.
But to his great surprise he could find nothing in his pocket.
He suddenly felt nervous so he dug into the pocket of his shorts. But his cellphone was also not there.
He immediately turned to the place where he had come from. It seemed like a lightning that draw in his mind as he remember that he laid it on the table after he had talked with James.
He moved quickly to go back to the restaurant.
But when he got there, the table he had  sat on was already cleaned. He immediately looked around to see where the dining crews were.
He did not fail. He saw in the distance a woman clearing the empty tables. She was still holding a rag and disinfectant spray and was busy doing the other empty seats.
Subconsciously, he studied the woman's appearance. Her short hair were dyed. The color of the highlights of her blonde hair seems like a rainbow.
She was also wearing the same top as the waitress before but its lower pair was not a skirt but a shorts and she had a belt at the waist on which various cleaning utensils were hung.
Reality come into his mind, being sure that she's the right person to ask if she may noticed his belongings since she's the only one who seemed to be in-charge of cleaning tables.
He's about to take a step towards her when she turn her head and look into his direction. He could only see her eyes because of the mask that is covering her nose and mouth. But her reaction is already visible just by her eyes looking back at him.
There was a streak of shock in the sparkle of her  eyes when their eyes meet. But that was only for a moment. She was the first one to take back her stares. She quickly picked up the sprayer as well as the rag and quickly turned around.
Conrad felt strange because of the woman's reaction. And because of that, his reflexes became fast, he walked after her.
"Miss, wait!" He called but the woman didn’t even turn around and just kept going through the counter into the back of the restaurant.
"Excuse me sir, what can we do for you?"  The woman asked as she approach him. Blocking his way to the kitchen. He looked at her and if he wasn't mistaken, she was also the waitress who had served him earlier.
"Miss, I just wanted to ask the waitress about something. The one who cleans the table." He said immediately.
"Ah, I'm sorry, sir, but do you know each other?"
"No, actually, I just want to ask her if she saw my cellphone that I left on the table earlier. She's the only one I saw cleaning the table, so maybe she knew about it or she had seen my phone."
"Are you sure you left your phone here, sir? Maybe you misplaced it somewhere else."
Conrad winced at what the woman said. Why does he feel like she's covering up her co -worker?
"Seriously? Miss, it just less than ten minutes since I got out of here earlier. I came back because I knew my cellphone was missing and I happen to left it here."
The woman pouted her lips as if she was thinking of what he said.
"Okay, hold on, sir, I'll just ask my co-worker if she noticed the cellphone you're talking about." She said before quickly turning away from him.
Conrad couldn't help but frown at what was happening. However, he just quietly waited for the woman to come back from behind the counter.
After a couple of minutes, the woman he asked came out. But she was not followed by another waitress. Smiling slightly as she approached him. That's why conrad frowned because of that.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but my co -worker said she didn't notice the cellphone on the table you occupied."She said being apologetic and somewhat confused.
"What? What are you saying here? I just left it and I'm sure of that where is she? Let her out and we two should talk or else I need to talk to your manager." He
streak his voice with a threatening sound.