Eighty Two

CHAPTER 82

New York City police station.

"You have to accept the fact that the killer has been caught and I have nothing to do with this case. So, what else do you want, Detective?"

Nicholas took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily. The man was wearing a long maroon shirt, black pants and a black coat as he sat in front of Ace.

A piece of news startled Nicholas' fine morning. A man named Jill, suddenly came to the police station and confessed that he was a murderer.

The murderer of the case that Nicholas was handling. And all these events are completely beyond Nicholas' prediction as a detective who handles cases. It just didn't make sense.

Ace Blake was the first to see Nicholas as soon as the media broke the news. He gave Nicholas a dismissive look, giving him a look full of contempt to knock Nicholas down to the ground.

"You see? The murderer is now in front of your eyes."

But Nicholas snorted in amusement. "Just because he confessed to everything, doesn't mean you're not involved in this case." Nicholas gave Ace a probing look. "I heard that your mother was once seriously ill and almost died because someone harmed her. Don't you know who it was?"

The dark brown-haired man did not move. His eyes were still looking straight at Nicholas, though his mouth was suddenly reluctant to comment.

"You must really hate the person who almost killed your mother, don't you?" Nicholas urged again.

Ace knew very well that Nicholas was trying to provoke him. Instead of accusing without evidence, the young detective would have been happier if Ace was provoked by his own emotions.

"You know that the culprit is Natalie, right?" Nicholas leaned in;making a challenging gesture. He was trying to provoke. "The woman you killed in that narrow alley."

And what followed was the two exchanging hateful glances. No one made a sound until the door to Nicholas' room opened and Alicia, accompanied by Noel, stood there.

The slender girl looked at Nicholas and then at Ace with a cold glance. It was obvious that Alicia was not in the mood to talk to the two right now, if not for something urgent.

"This girl insisted on seeing you, Detective," Noel explained nervously. He looked uncomfortable with the situation before him.

Noel had of course told Alicia about Ace's arrival in Nicholas' room, but Alicia's insistence on entering also made him feel bad. So in the end, the young blonde detective was forced to accompany her into her senior's room.

"Leave her alone," Nicholas said to Noel. "Have a seat, Alicia."

And with that, Alicia sat down on the other sofa. Not with Ace or Nicholas. She sat between the two and looked at Nicholas sharply. Noel, on the other hand, decided to quickly leave the room and close the door rather than bothering to deal with what seemed to be a more personal matter there.

"Does your coming here have anything to do with the arrest of the perpetrator, Alicia?" asked Nicholas to the point.

"Yes," she replied straightforwardly. He glanced at Ace for a moment before turning back to the young detective. "Is that man the father of Mrs. Portman's child?"

Maybe Nicholas should have answered that question. But unfortunately, it wasn't. Instead, the answer came from the mouth of Ace, his lover. "Yes. He already admitted everything in the media. Didn't you watch the press conference?" Ace then turned his gaze to Alicia, so that they were staring at each other now. "Now is the perfect time for you to stop thinking about that woman and move on with your life, Alicia."

"But how can she admit to what she did so easily?" Alicia sounded incredulous at the news that had been making the rounds since this morning. "He obviously knew he'd be sentenced to life or even death, didn't he?"

"Then what do you care, Alicia?!" snapped Ace. "You've seen the culprit. Now what? Shouldn't that be more than enough for you to stop thinking about Mrs. Portman and start trusting me?!"

The blue-eyed girl gasped. She seemed to be surprised by Ace's sentimental attitude towards her.

Then Ace's gaze turned to Nicholas. "Whatever you try to do behind my back, don't you ever influence Alicia again," he told Nicholas as he got up from the sofa. "And one more thing... don't you ever try to pry into my past for your own personal gain, Detective."

The crowing feet stepped out of the room. From the look on his face, it was obvious that Ace was really annoyed. He didn't even turn his head when Alicia tried to call his name.

"Alicia?" Nicholas' tone sounded worried now. "Are you okay?"

Alicia looked up. Eyeing the hazel-eyed man who was now looking at her with concern. "I'm fine," she said half-heartedly. "But my intuition tells me that this is not the truth."

Then Nicholas let out a long breath. "That man named Jill is the culprit. He's confessed to everything he's done out of personal vendetta." Alicia was frowning now. "We were still investigating the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim when the news suddenly broke to the media."

"You mean... The Chief raised the status of the suspect without your knowledge?"

Nicholas nodded in agreement. "I guess he made a quick decision since the mob kept pressing him and the perpetrator had obviously confessed." He then shrugged his shoulders. "There's nothing we can do now."

"So what if that person isn't the real culprit?" Alicia asked. "What if he's just a diversion to get the case dismissed? Oh my God! Mrs. Portman should get justice here."

"But there's nothing we can do without clear evidence, Alicia." This time Nicholas sounded resigned. "You'd better go home and talk to Ace. Tell him that I apologize too."

"But--"

"Noel and I will do everything we can to investigate this case." She ended the conversation with a faint smile at the corner of her lips. "We'll make sure Mrs. Portman gets justice, Alicia." Although the detective knew, there was very little hope of realizing his words. []