THE MISSING CHILD

Sal knew something was wrong as he looked out of the window and saw people gathered in front of a neighbor's house. Apparently, a child had gone missing and the mother was already panic-stricken. The Police were also there asking questions about the child, how he looked, what his name was, his height and so on.

Sal decided not to go outside and watch everything unfold through his tinted glass window. He could see them but they couldn't. During the conversations with the police, Sal overheard the child's name (Nelson). He had seen this kid a couple of times playing in his parents' driveway alone or with some friends sometimes. Nelson seemed like a cheerful and respectful boy, why would anyone want to take him??. This question played in Sal's mind for a little while before he decided to give up on it.
He had stopped working in the police department so he would leave the job for them to handle. Somehow he was sure Nelson would be found.
"The poor boy probably wandered off.... he'll be back", Sal said not talking to anyone in particular.

The next morning when he got a call from Harry; his former partner in the police department, he was surprised as well as delighted. Surprised because Nelson hasn't been found and they called him for help and delighted because he gets to work on a case after a long time.
"Hey Sally, long time no see" ...Harry said chuckling.
"Hello Harry, how have you been??" .... Sal replied, ignoring the nickname Harry had always called him.
Well, I've been here and there, up and grateful for life.... Harry said before going straight to the point. You and I know I haven't called just for catching up, we need you. Before Sal could object, Harry had started briefing him about the case and how they discovered he and Nelson stay in the same neighborhood and so on.

Sal couldn't refuse because he secretly wanted to work on the case. So after Harry hung up, Sal took his bath, put on a new outfit befitting of a police officer before he went across the street to the neighbor's house. He pressed the door bell as he got there,waiting for someone to open the door. He heard people laughing inside then suddenly stopped when they heard the doorbell ringing, he noticed something was off but couldn't say exactly what it was. It was Nelson's mother whose name was Amanda apparently who came to answer the door, he remembered seeing her the day before, she looked different now, she didn't look stressed out, her eyes were not swollen from crying all night, she was even better-looking than before.

"Hi..how can I help you" , she said looking at him suspiciously.
"My name is Sal... I was sent from the police department to investigate your son's disappearance", he replied.
Her countenance changed as though she had forgotten her son was missing and as he mentioned her son's disappearance somehow made her remember.
"Ohh please come in" , she said as she led him into a spacious living room filled with antique furniture. He met someone else sitting in the living room and he guessed it was Nelson's father, he didn't try to confirm though. They exchanged pleasantries and as he sat down, he scanned the room with his eyes. He noticed the family photos hanging on the wall didn't include Nelson and he was wondering why.
Amanda noticed and talked before he asked, she said she had taken down his photo and stored it away because looking at it was breaking her heart the more. Sal found it suspicious and asked to see the photos where it was stored away. All this while, the man sitting in living room who he later discovered was Nelson's step father didn't say anything or contribute much. He wasn't around when the occurrence happened.

As Amanda took Sal to the place she stored the photos, she was visibly frightened. She decided to speak out before they got there.... The truth is Nelson was actually adopted so I don't have his pictures just his baby ones, she said with her head bowed. Sal looked at her for a long time and said.... Let me see those pictures then. She showed him but he had no way of telling if it was truly Nelson or another random baby. He proceeded to asking her questions like when last she saw Nelson but she couldn't answer that properly too.
"Well.... that'll be all for now" , he said heading back to the living room. He told them that he'll be back before leaving the house.

When Sal got home, he couldn't help but ponder on what actually happened that day. He had his suspicions about them. He called Harry to give him updates. As Sal went to bed, he promised himself that he'll get to the bottom of the matter and find Nelson.
Sal yawned as he woke up and walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. While he was drinking, he noticed something going on outside at Nelson's house but he couldn't tell what it was from where he was so he decided to go across quickly without him being seen. As he got there, he noticed the some kind of packing going on.

He didn't think about his next move and barged into the house before they could try anything funny. Sal didn't meet anyone in the house. Apparently, they had spotted him and gone through the back door. He heard the car reversing and ran outside but before he reached they had gone far and he couldn't pursue them on foot. He went back into the house hoping to find something, anything that could help him, that's when he heard a sound of someone hitting the door forcefully. He traced the sound to the basement and opened the door.

Immediately he did, someone fell into his hands. He was shocked, could it be??. The person was tied up, he turned the person to take a good look, it was a small woman. She looked weak so he quickly rushed her to the hospital. After she woke up, he discovered that the woman was the real mother of Nelson and she had gone to the house that day to see him after contacting them beforehand that she would be visiting to see her child. Apparently, when she got there they had hidden Nelson away and refused to tell her where he was. They tied her up and hid her so she wouldn't go reporting to the police. The morning Sal found her, they had planned to abscond with her but couldn't because he had come into the house unannounced and so they left her.

Sal quickly informed the police about what was going on. Luckily, he had slipped a tracking device into the car before entering the house. The police flung into action and pursued them, they found them at the sea port trying to flee on a boat with a crying Nelson. Fortunately, the boat hadn't left yet. Nelson was rescued and both Amanda and Nelson's step father were arrested and taken to the police station for questioning.
Amanda claimed she loves her son and she had been with him since the beginning so she doesn't want anyone to take him and that's why she did what she did. Meanwhile, Nelson's stepfather said he didn't want to be part of it but he had to play along because he loved her. They were held in custody awaiting trial.

Sal took Nelson to the hospital to meet his biological mom. When his mom saw him, she couldn't help but shed tears because that would be the second time she would be seeing him. The first time was when she dropped him at the orphanage home. She held on to him tightly and he stood there not understanding what was going on.