It was just the second day on the job at Joe's Taxi for Salvatore Pizzo when he got the call to pick up a man in Hudson and take him to the Greyhound bus station in Tampa.

He picked up the man just around the corner from the murder scene Thursday night.

The streets nearby were still blocked off and full of police. Pizzo had no idea the suspect and the child who later sparked an Amber Alert were about to get into his cab. 

Pizzo asked Adam Matos what all the commotion was about. He said Matos just shrugged.

“I didn't think nothing of it. He was calm and cool,” he said.

Pizzo said the father and son were mostly silent during the trip. The boy spoke only once. The child told Matos he was thirsty and they stopped for chocolate milk.

“He was calm, cool and he wanted my soda because he saw my drink and he was thirsty,” Pizzo said.

Pizzo dropped Matos and the boy off at the bus station just after midnight.

He told the cabbie they were catching a bus to Fort Myers. Pizzo thought it was strange they didn't have any suitcases.

"It was $105. He paid cash,” he said.

Detectives say he asked about bus tickets to the Florida Keys but did not purchase any.

McKinly Hambrick was also at the bus station and saw the two walk outside.

“He was just standing right there pacing back and forth,” Hambrick said.

Something seemed wrong to Hambrick, especially with the young boy out so late.

“Extremely fatigued, the little boy. He was stumbling around, clearing his eyes and my compassion went to him,” he said.

McKinly asked if he could help. Matos wanted to know where he could find a hotel.

“He said, ‘I don't care what the cost is. I need to get my little boy in.’ So I look at the little boy, he was totally fatigued,” Hambrick said.

Hambrick pointed the way to the Floridan Hotel. Around the same time, back at the cab company, they were getting a call from Pasco sheriff's detectives.

The cab driver instantly recognized the pictures of the man and the boy who had just gotten out of his cab.

"Oh yeah, I could never miss that gentleman. He's got one of those looks you can't miss,” he said.

Detectives now knew Matos was at the bus stop in Tampa. 

When they arrived, they found Hambrick still there. He told them their suspect was at the Floridan Hotel.

A few hours and a clever ruse later, they had their suspect in custody.