Eigthy Four

CHAPTER 84

New York City police station.

"None of the fingerprint samples matched the victim."

Nicholas sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. His brown eyes searched the large man who was now sitting with his hands cuffed.

In the small room, Nicholas was confronted by Jill - the perpetrator who had become the talk of the town - and Noel who accompanied her.

Nicholas then threw the sheets of paper that Noel had just given him onto the table. "How come your fingerprints aren't there?" he asked sarcastically. "Are you a ghost or something?"

But Jill chose to stay silent. The black-eyed man with the oriental face now looked down in surrender.

"Now answer my question correctly," Nicholas ordered. "Did you kill them all?"

Which made Jill look up; staring at the detective with a cold expression. "I told you, I killed them all," he said in what sounded like a mumble. Then he dropped his head again, looking down at the worn brown shoes he was wearing.

"Why did you kill people you didn't know well? What's your motive?"

Then Jill hissed sarcastically. "Should we have a reason for that?" Her eyes stared wide at Nicholas; displeased. "I hate them all because they're arrogant."

But both Nicholas and Noel frowned, not understanding.

"They look down on me just because I'm a beggar," Jill snapped in a high tone of voice. "If only you had seen when those people kicked me and abused me with hurtful words. I think you would understand."

"But how did you kill them all? Not even your fingerprints were there?" The bright brown-eyed detective leaned toward Jill. "You're just getting paid to do this, aren't you? To lie like this?"

Now their gazes met. The meaningful look Jill threw at Nicholas did nothing. Only silence finally settled over the small room.

"You'd better tell me everything before the judge gives you a harsh punishment," Nicholas threatened.

Then a scornful chuckle escaped the mouth of the big man. He also shook his head slowly. "Even if it's a death penalty, I'm ready to accept it," he said dismissively. "You wouldn't know how miserable I am living alone in this cruel world, Detective."

Nicholas clenched his fists tightly. His jaw hardened as a knowing grin appeared at the corners of Jill's lips.

"Our time is up. We'd better get going, Detective," Noel suggested, understanding that his coworker was desperately trying to contain his irritation.

The blonde detective quickly cleared up the sheets of paper that were lying randomly on the table due to Nicholas' earlier actions. "Come, Detective. We must prepare, the judgment will be announced soon."

And hearing that, Nicholas couldn't do much. He got up from his chair and walked towards the door. He looked once more at Jill's face, before he crossed the doorway. But again all he got was the figure of a crazy killer who disappointed his expectations.

He was accepting the fact that Jill was the culprit and not Ace had, to some extent, upset Nicholas.

First, his curiosity is insatiable about Ace's whereabouts at every scene. Secondly, Alicia's trust may now be completely lost to him. Now, how could he accept it?

His only hope now is a very strong piece of evidence and a matching fingerprint.

But where can Nicholas find them? []

***

Ace's House, New York.

Alicia immediately dropped down and hid underneath Ace's bed as soon as she heard the increasingly distinct sound of footsteps outside. The hurried footsteps sounded closer and closer as the lanky girl tried to cram her whole body under there.

It was clear that Alicia's heart was beating faster than usual, as the sheet containing Mrs. Portman's DNA test results had been accidentally carried away by her.

Alicia wasn't usually afraid. But this time, the apprehension inside her chest was at an all-time high. Especially when she saw the footsteps that stopped at the doorway, from the trendy black loafers, Alicia could immediately tell that they belonged to Ace. It was Ace who was standing there.

Slowly, the long legs wrapped in jogger pants stepped into the room. "Why was the door open? I thought I closed it earlier," muttered Ace, which only made Alicia more nervous.

What if Ace knew she was there? She didn't intend to find the truth in such a complicated situation.

Then Ace's cell phone rang. The familiar tone that Alicia often heard whenever the two of them met.

"Yes? What's wrong?" Ace said to the person on the other end.

Meanwhile, the girl who had been struggling to bend her legs under the bed was trying to catch her breath and eavesdrop on the conversation.

"I told you, delete all my records on that site, you idiot," he swore in a high tone. "If someone finds my IP, not only will I be dragged into a case in the present, but they'll also drag me back in time."

Alicia furrowed her brow. Questions like what website and what case Ace was talking about with someone on the other side of the world immediately popped into Alicia's head.

So what was her boyfriend involved with?

Should Alicia trust her intuition now?

"Those people deserve to die, but I'm going to let someone live," Ace said with a short chuckle at the end of his sentence. "Because I've come to depend on them."

Alicia bit her lip in annoyance. Could it be that Ace was referring to her? Could it be that her lover also intended to kill her?

Then there was a knock on the door from outside which made Alicia turn her face warily to the source of the sound. From her slender legs wrapped in high heels, it was clear that she was a woman.

"What's wrong?" asked Ace.

"We saw someone enter the house, sir," the woman said.

Which, of course, made Alicia even more anxious. She covered her own mouth, trying to keep the swear words out of her mouth.

"How can that be?!" exclaimed Ace in panic. "Let's split up and find that person!"

What happened next was that Ace waltzed away with the woman Alicia knew as a servant in the mansion. The only thing she could think of now was how to get out of the house without anyone noticing.

Then cautiously, Alicia got out from under the bed and peeked over the side of the bed. The door to Ace's room was still open. There's a chance, she thought. Although she knew it wouldn't be easy to get through the main room without anyone noticing.

Then the black-haired girl scanned the surroundings and her blue eyes looked straight at the window.

"I'd better jump out of the window and run from the side of the house," she thought.

She then hurriedly got up and folded the sheet of paper she had been holding into a very small piece, which she then tucked into her underwear. Instead of being prepared in case she was caught and searched.

Just as Alicia's feet were about to rise to the edge of the large window in front of her, something caught her eye.

Something like a pile of photographs had fallen on the corner of the nightstand.

Alicia hesitated for a moment before jumping up and grabbing the photos. She looked at them carefully until she realized something.

"Why does Ace keep all the photos of the murder victims in the dormitory, too?" Alicia took a deep breath. "So... you're really involved after all." []