— Hey guys? Is anyone there?
Durval took a quick look inside Heitor and Melinda’s kitchen. It was empty. He walked slowly down the hallway, limping and leaning on his cane due to his casted leg. It was quite strange. He had just heard the two of them looking for Heitor’s cigar box a little while ago. And now this? How could they have vanished like that inside their own house? Durval passed by the open door of the lavatory. No one there either.
— Heitor? Don’t scare me, old man. My heart can’t take it at this age…
The hallway was getting darker as Durval advanced. It must have been past six, and Durval wanted to get home soon. He was worried about Dolores being alone there.
At the end of the hallway, there were three doors, two closed and one open. Surely the bedrooms, and the third door should lead to the backyard behind the house. Durval approached the open door and looked inside. It was the couple’s bedroom. There was a perfectly made bed, a wardrobe on one wall, and on the other, a dresser with several picture frames. Durval caught a glimpse of photos of Heitor and Melinda in Paris and New York. The window was open, but the room was dim as night was falling. Durval felt a gentle breeze on his face coming through the window.
The second door at the end of the hallway was closed, but there was light on inside that shone from underneath.
— Heitor? Melinda? Are you there?
Durval gently knocked with his knuckles on the door. Nothing.
The round wooden doorknob was a bit loose in the lock. Durval turned it carefully and opened the door.
It was a kind of library, with floor-to-ceiling shelves crammed with books and a desk in the center of the room. The light from a banker-style lamp with a green glass shade was on, illuminating an open cigar box on the table. But no sign of Heitor or Melinda.
Durval left the office and headed for the back door of the hallway. He pulled the doorknob, but the door didn’t open. He tried turning the key in the lock and noticed it wasn’t locked. Then he saw that there was a latch fastened at the top of the door. He opened the latch and finally the door. It led to the backyard. A wooden staircase descended diagonally into a garage. A vehicle was covered with a black tarp. It was impossible to tell the brand or model, but it looked like a large car.
Durval looked around without going down the stairs and saw the wall that led to his own backyard further ahead.
He decided he had enough of that. If the two, Heitor and Melinda, were playing hide and seek with him, he didn’t have time for that. He closed the door and walked firmly down the hallway back to the living room. He wanted to get home at once.
It was then that he realized. The living room door was locked.
Episode LII continues in the next edition.
JOSÉ GASPAR
Filmmaker and writer
www.historiasdooutromundo.com