Frequent Traveller (Cathy Dixon #1) (12 page)

"Well, that's kinda how it looks," said the flustered Andy waving his arms.

Terry looked at Cathy. His facial expression told her he was ready to exercise his authority as General Manager, to the fullest extent.

"I don't think MoonStar Corporate has rules for this. But, I will make a precedent. I will start and I will make sure that corporate follows suit." He paused as though evaluating the severity of his actions. "I'll have HR prepare Adam's termination papers. I won't let this hotel chain or all the hard work I've put into this property be brought down by some punk who has too much time on his hands."

Cathy nodded. "I'll check if legal would like to pursue criminal charges as well."

Very few General Managers could claim a lack of fondness for the property they ran. Most viewed it as a child they raised. Blood, sweat and tears marked every substantial effort put into making the property outshine others. Anyone who tried to belittle this effort or take away this 'child' was in for a losing battle.

Even if Adam had started this as a joke, this was the point where the fun times came to a stop, responsibility began and it became someone else's turn to laugh.

GUARAPARI, BRAZIL

January 2009

Espirito Santo which literally translates to "Holy Spirit" signifies the state’s Christian roots. Espirito Santo is located on the southeastern corner of Brazil and is a blend of many different cultures. It is predominantly influenced by the Portuguese who had arrived sometime in the later 1500s, although it has received cultural influences from the Italians, Germans, Spanish and Africans. Early recordings showed that locals addressed the Portuguese as "Capixabas". This had different meanings in some dialects but generally meant "corn hair” which addressed the blonde hair of the Portuguese.

For centuries, economic boom resulted from agricultural growth in sugarcane fields and coffee. However, in the late nineteenth century when the state suffered severe food shortages, throngs of farmers deserted their fields in pursuit of the gold rush. In recent years, 45% of the state's economy relies on income derived from year round tourism.

With a vast coastline, almost every food outlet boasts a gastronomical feast for seafood lovers alongside other famous Brazilian dishes such as Caruru which is a rich combination of okra, onion, shrimp and toasted nuts; Feijoada, a bean and meat favourite; Tutu de Feijao, a paste of beans and cassava flour; Moqueca Capixaba, a combination of slow-cooked fish, tomato, onion and garlic topped with cilantro and yet another local favourite Chourico, which is spicy sausages. Numerous varieties of the Brazilian Cachaca, a native home made liquor are also found here.

Tucked beneath these layers of rustic tourist charm, is Guarapari. It is a small coastal town located within Espirito Santo. Also a highly popular tourist destination, it is well-known for its black sand beaches. Guarapari is draped with a scenic background that includes architecturally astounding chapels, a theatre, old town houses and colourful street markets.

It was way past dinner time when Cathy walked through the multi-coloured lobby of MoonStar Guarapari. She thought of having a quick meal at the buffet counter before going up to her room to face the chore of year-end reports. One of the more popular MoonStar properties for family holidays, the lobby was a great hit with children of all ages.

Its walls were lined with main characters from various Disney movies while the entire open space of the lobby was filled with various toys and gadgets for them to enjoy. Even as they neared the main entrance of the resort, colourful monkey bars, tunnels and bowling pins welcomed and entertained them, as their parents finished checking-in or made payment when checking out. With at least ten children playing in the lobby at any given time, noise was a force the MoonStar associates dealt with well.

However, a different kind of scream pierced the air that evening. A young mother pointed at a little girl no more than six years old. She was almost hysterical and her husband held her back from lunging at the MoonStar associates that were gathered in the area. As Cathy neared and made sense of the conversation, she felt as though someone had reached in and wrenched her guts.

"This is not my child! My daughter's hair is dark brown not black. Larissa's hair had a pink band ... this is not my child!"

"Madam, we understand that a mix-up has occurred. We'll ... please just sit down and we'll get your daughter," came the desperate voice of Front Office Associate Assistant, Luka.

Cathy followed him to the back of the counter and waited as he scurried about looking for the Front Office Manager, Matheus. A soft spoken twenty-two year old, Luka's eyes darted in fear as he assessed the situation before him. It took a long five minutes before Matheus showed up. He was perturbed at being dragged away from his dinner but became more fearful than angry when he heard the sequence of events.

For the past four days, Martin and Sophia Cooper went shopping at 10:00 a.m. and left their six year old daughter Larissa with Front Office's nanny service. It was a complimentary service for all guests and operated daily from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. This allowed parents to sip up a little of the island's nightlife.

On most days, the nanny service was handled by three licensed child care givers. Each of them was assigned to no more than five children at a time. But with only thirty guest rooms occupied and with overall occupancy at its lowest, two of these ladies were on leave. The third had called in sick. The supervisor on duty made the decision that Front Office Associate Nela would take charge of Larissa for the rest of the day.

She could do this while she attended to her regular duties at the Mangaba Children's Club. This was a centre where kids could play board or video games, meet other children their age but the club's rules specified that the children had to be supervised by their parents at all times.

With so few guests during the rainy season from October to January, Nela was not expected to have any problems with one extra child in her care. All went well, till the Mangaba closed at 4:00 p.m. and Nela went to chat with a new associate. She took Larissa for a walk to the pool bar. Nela claimed that Larissa never left her sight and was given a jigsaw puzzle while the two associates 'bonded'. They were later joined by a third associate who had finished her duty.

However, she did admit that the place had started crowding with other kids as the poolside barbecue started at 7:00 p.m. An hour later, she reached for the girl dressed in a lime green t-shirt and brought her back to the lobby. This was when she realized she had brought the wrong child and the mother had started to scream.

When they went back to the pool area to look for Larissa, she was nowhere to be seen and Mindy, the little girl Nela had with her casually mentioned that it was her first day at MoonStar Guarapari. She also stated that her parents' names were Rick and Ally but that was unhelpful information. Those could be abbreviations for numerous other names. Additionally, the resort had no couple registered under those names.

Luka took a deep breath as he finished with Matheus who was ready to strangle anyone who walked into his path at the moment.

"Take the parents to their room and have someone sit with them. They're causing a scene in the lobby and there's no way of calming them down. In the meantime, we'll organise a search party. Look for Larissa at the pool area again. Someone must have seen her. I'll inform the boss as well ..."

No General Manager of any property enjoyed interruptions after working hours but with such a disastrous situation getting worse at every corner, Matheus knew he needed to inform his boss.

"Cathy?" he prompted as he saw her shaking her head.

"I was just thinking, what if she ran through the lobby and out towards the night market? I could go talk to the mother and ask her for a picture, that we could use to distribute," Cathy suggested.

She was fully aware of the fact that so much time had passed from the last time the girl had been seen. Anything could have happened to the child. Too many scenarios played in Cathy's head as she reached the Coopers' guest room.

Front Office Associate Manuela was already seated there. She was busy on the phone receiving further instructions. Other guests needed to be called and asked if they had seen Larissa in other parts of the hotel. She shook her head as Cathy walked in, signalling that "all was still not well" with the Coopers. Cathy nodded. Nobody expected anything different.

With his nose pressed tightly against the glass, Martin Cooper leaned against the window. At the sound of another person entering the room, he turned with hope and expectation. However, from Cathy's expression, he knew there was no news. He returned to his position at the window.

"For the first time since we've been here, I've just realised how big the island actually is. And if it's big to me imagine how big it would look to Risa ... We were supposed to go ...," his voice cracked as he looked up at the ceiling.

"My wife's lying down. I gave her a Valium. I think all this has been too much for her. I don't even ... I feel like all this is a dream," he sat down on the couch and sobbed.

Cathy sat opposite him as Manuela went to make him a cup of tea. She squeezed his shoulder but knew there was no possible consolation she could offer in a situation like this.

She spoke softly and did her best to comfort the wretched grief he felt, "Mr. Cooper, we are going to go look for Larissa at the night market area and I was wondering if you had a recent picture of her ... something we could show others?"

"A picture? Why, of course ... I'll send it via bluetooth to your mobile."

He grabbed his mobile phone off the coffee table and showed Cathy a picture of Larissa laughing as she stood with an ice-cream cone at the resort's lobby.

"I think that's the best picture. It's got all of her." His voice was gentle as he traced the outline of the smiling little girl.

"Tell me honestly, I'm not mad at the resort but did that girl .. Neela ... Nela have anything to do with this? Did she do something to Risa on purpose?"

"Mr. Cooper, I'll completely understand it even if you are angry, but no. Admittedly, Nela was negligent and should have paid better attention but she didn't forcefully do anything to Risa. We have another child sitting in the lobby with no parents and you don't have your daughter. I'd really like to think it was a horrid mix up. It’s the scariest of situations but we are doing our very best to get the word out. Chances are Mindy's parents did the same thing Nela did. They only noticed the colour of the t-shirt and bundled her off but we'll keep looking and until we find her ..," Cathy's voice trailed off.

She was uncertain if the situation seemed as simple as it looked. Worried about making a promise she had no way of keeping, she looked down at her hands.

Martin nodded. "Yes, anyone could have made that mistake. Sophia and I could have done it too. It's just that the things you hear these days. And it's been so long ... if it was the wrong girl, they must have noticed by now," his voice was pleading and he walked back to stand by the window.

"I'm going to go downstairs and start circulating the picture via mobile and emails. We'll also do as many printouts as we can."

Cathy left the room but paid more attention to the carpet fibres on the floor than any of her surroundings. Losing a child because of someone else's negligence and carelessness would leave anyone tormented. Cathy could find no words to describe the emotions the Coopers were experiencing.

Other guests at the hotel heard of what happened and approached the front desk. They offered their assistance to search for Larissa. Other departments sent their off-duty associates to assist with the search as well. Four associates took turns going to each room on every floor to ask if anyone had seen the child. It was past 9:00 p.m. now, approximately five hours since Larissa was last seen. Inside Matheus' office, Nela paced and cried. She was worried about losing her job but she knew that asking such a question at a time like this was truly in bad taste.

Some of the night market vendors also distributed Larissa's picture and were willing to help with the search at the beach area. In the midst of all this, Mindy was fast asleep now. Her parents had never claimed her even after associates had asked people at the poolside barbecue, where she was supposedly found.

Cathy walked the entire stretch of the night market area. She came back and sat down for a breather at the Front Office sitting area. She watched Mindy in blissful sleep unaware of the panic and strained emotions around her. The unfolding drama to everyone else was an adventure for the little one.

As the hours wore on, it was well past midnight and the lobby was still a flurry of activity. Refreshments were offered in a corner of the Rio Lounge as more people headed out to the beach area looking for Larissa. Cathy watched as people from all walks of life came together, irrelevant of rank or origin to search for a little girl. Even as Security handed out pictures to guests arriving back from a night out, a young couple was seen rushing towards the check-in counter.

The man carried a large bundle in his arms and they both looked visibly upset. From across the lobby, Cathy watched expectantly and walked quickly towards them.