79 Worries and Suspicions

It was already night when Grace decided to go home. She made sure that Alex was sound asleep when she left. Alex lost his appetite but after much prodding, she was able to convince him to take a few spoonfuls of rice and several sips of soup, as well as to take his medicines. Alex was such a baby when sick but she enjoyed taking care of him. It gave her distraction from the things that bothered her, especially the note that was slipped in her bag.

"Be careful, Grace. You should know your place, or else....."

The words kept repeating in Grace's head. It was clearly a threat but what Grace could not understand was why would anyone give her that note. It bothered her that she could hardly sleep the night before. She could not think of anyone she aggrieved that the person would be hurt enough to send her a threat. It was only with Tara and Cecilia that she had recent confrontation but she could not imagine they would take a revenge on her. They could not be offended enough to resort to such act. Besides, she reached out to the two about her dismissal from work but they were as cold and arrogant as before. She saw no hint of resentment from them.

So all that day, while tending to Alex's needs, Grace's mind switched back and forth between the threatening note and her termination from the camp. They happened together that they resulted to double sadness and disappointment. By noon, she was more restless until she thought of Alex. Thank God for Alex that she could have happy thoughts despite everything.

Once home, Grace was still restless. She missed being busy and unable to sleep, she switched on the TV and watched the late evening news. Once again, Estella's exclusive report about the second wave of outbreak was ran with additional details and clips. She could not help but wonder how things were in the camp.

"The medical team will be so busy right," Grace whispered to herself. "I hope Tara and Cecilia would be of much help. They are really not very helpful but I hope they changed, especially that the outbreak has gone worse."

Grace tried sleeping soundly that night but she could not help but asked herself: 'Could the two, particularly Tara, send the threat to her?'

Meanwhile, Estella also had her doubts and suspicions. Since the mysterious call last Sunday night, she was trying to convince herself that the esteemed Dr. Alvarado could not have done it. Yes, she and Sonny believed that the doctor had a vested interest in the outbreak, and even in the meteor crash earlier, which was to speed up the construction of his medical facility. But to cause the outbreak is something Estella had not thought about. It was a despicable act and an unacceptable one.

Sonny was also blown away when she told him about it. It was unthinkable. When they visited the isolation camp the other day, Estella was almost inclined to believe the mysterious call. The outbreak had worsened and seeing Dr. Alvarado in the camp seemed to confirm everything.

"It is Dr. Alvarado. He caused the outbreak."

Estella played the words in her head again. What exactly does it mean? Did the doctor infected some people and allowed it to spread? But the meteor crash was supposed to caused the outbreak? How were they connected? Or did the doctor ill-advise the mayor so that the isolation camp was improperly managed? They saw the chaos in the camp and based on their interviews, the second wave of outbreak must have originated from their. Besides, the camp was inadequately manned and Dr. Alvarado did not deny it. Was it only his involvement? Or much more?

"You're unusually silent," Sonny commented. "What's troubling you?"

"The mysterious call last Sunday night. Plus this second wave. I just felt they are connected."

The duo was driving to the police station. It was already night but when they decided to go home, their news division chief sent them a message telling them to drop by the police station and do a follow-up on a certain murder case three weeks ago. There was an update and their boss wanted to get the information first.

There was a commotion when they arrived at the police station. A woman was crying while a man who appeared to her husband patted her back to comfort her. Three police officers surround them and desperately gave them pieces of advice.

"Please find my son," the woman implored. "He is a good boy."

"Don't worry Ma'am," one of the policemen said. "We already assigned an officer who would look for him."

Estella and Sonny heard the conversation but kept their distance until the couple would leave, if not pacify. In their line of work, the two had encountered countless cases of missing person and they understood too well the grief it could cause.

"Our son had just recovered from his sickness," the father said, "so he could be in harm's way now."

"I can't comment on that while our investigation is still on-going. Please be assured that you will be notified if anything comes up."

The woman sobbed which made Estella sad. She approached her and hand her some napkins.

"O, thank you," Mrs. de Jesus said. "Sorry if we keep these men to ourselves. They should be accommodating you."

"It's okay," Estella answered. "We can wait. Right, Sonny?"

Sonny smiled and flashed a happy smile.

"If I am not mistaken," the father said, "you are Estella Bermudez - the reporter."

"O yes, you are really Estella," the mother agreed. "Please help us find our boy. He has been gone for more than a day"

"What's your son's name?"

"Jamie."

"Do you have picture of him?"

"Yes," the mother said and instantly rummaged her bag. "Here it is."

Estella accepted the picture and to her surprise, Jamie stared at her from the image....

"