Fifty Nine

CHAPTER 59

New York City police station.

Nicholas took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. He did not get much information from his four witnesses. Now, there was only one witness left in front of him. Nicholas really expected a lot from that girl.

But this time, he would not be interrogating her alone. Alicia had arrived and was now sitting with him in the white dominated room.

"So, how do you know Natalie?" Nicholas began.

"I don't really know her," said Christina, the last witness Nicholas had. "I asked her out because I thought she was friendly enough with the other participants."

"Was there anything suspicious about her while you were talking?"

Then Christina shook her head. "But...," she frowned; appearing to be thinking. "Our conversation was interrupted when I told her that I had a serious illness and had been admitted to Golden Hospital for a long time." Christina looked at Nicholas and then Alicia in turn. "She suddenly raised her tone and left me. She really disliked that hospital, I guess."

Christina's words made Nicholas immediately chuckle. He turned to Alicia who still seemed to be calm as usual. "Alicia, is there anything you want to ask Miss Christina?" asked Nicholas.

Making Christina immediately turn to Alicia. And the cold gaze of those blue eyes greeted her. It gave Christina a nervous sensation that slowly spread throughout her body.

"What did you guys talk about that day that she got upset?" Alicia's voice was cold, adding to Christina's concern.

"Ti-nothing, I was just saying that I've had a heart defect since I was a child and he suddenly got angry," she said honestly. "Shouldn't I be the one angry that she's being rude to me?"

Seeing Alicia not stop staring at her coldly, Nicholas decided to end the interrogation session with Miss Christina. "All right, Miss Christina. I think you can leave now." Nicholas and the woman got up from their seats. "Thank you for taking part in the interrogation so cooperatively." The two shook hands before the woman walked out of the room.

Afterward, Nicholas sat back down and looked at Alicia. "You'd better be careful with that look, Alicia. That woman seems very frightened when she sees you," he said and chuckled. "By the way, what did you find out after reading today's investigation report and seeing the last witness?"

Alicia gave a quick shrug of her shoulders. "Most likely the victim was severely traumatized by something related to the hospital. Could she also be suffering from a heart defect like that woman?" Then she gave a short mutter. "My advice now is that you should double-check her work history as a nurse. I think everything comes from there."

"What about the rest of the theater members?"

Alicia shook her head. "You can check that later. Seeing the perpetrator kill the victim in her own clothes shows that there was no initial intent to kill," she said seriously. "I think the victim and the perpetrator had met and talked about something that provoked the murder itself."

Then Nicholas opened his notebook. "The victim had never worn stockings before. What do you think caused her to suddenly use them?"

"I think there are many factors. But usually, women will wear special and unusual clothes when going to a party or planning to go on a first date. Isn't that right?"

The twenty-five-year-old detective just nodded his head in agreement. Until suddenly the next case flashed through his mind. "Ah, Alicia, I asked you to help me investigate the massacre case that--"

"Oh, well.  what about the victim?" Alicia cut in enthusiastically.

Nicholas scratched the nape of his neck awkwardly. "Do you really want to know. I mean... Aren't you worried that...,"

"I've decided to help you," Alicia said flatly. "After all, we made a deal, didn't we?"

Nicholas's bright brown irises widened instantly. About that deal... "Oh, sure. So, Noel has examined the autopsy results of the victims at the murder scene." Nicholas took a piece of paper from his desk and handed it to Alicia. "There were ten victims. Nine were only slightly injured and one was killed," he said.

"Did he die because he was shot?"

But Nicholas shook his head. "Unfortunately not. The autopsy revealed that the victim died from cyanide in his heart."

Alicia's eyes rounded in disbelief. "Cyanide? Potassium cyanide?"

"The corpse was red in color, the victim's lung edema was also found to be swollen. And to prove that the victim died from exposure to poison, the forensic doctor has tested the victim's blood and urine at the toxicology laboratory and the results came out positive for cyanide," Nicholas explained. Which made Alicia frown in disbelief. "There were no gunshot wounds or injuries from sharp objects on the victim's body."

"So, the victim was intentionally poisoned and left to die in the middle of the murder?" Alicia chuckled. "Manipulating him into a massacre victim for an act of terror and covering up the fact that he was a murder victim?"

Nicholas nodded quickly.

"This is crazy!" Alicia exclaimed.

"The victim's name is Rich Greek, age forty-five and he was found dead in the massacre," Nicholas informed her. "According to witnesses, the victim was having a meeting with some of his business colleagues at the Sunshine Cafe."

"I guess that place is quite crowded and luxurious," Alicia muttered. "There must be a lot of surveillance cameras around."

"Yes, that's what I thought," Nicholas replied. But then he shook his head in despair. "But the cameras were broken during the massacre. We couldn't even see the license plate of the perpetrator's car."

The dark-haired girl massaged her temples. "So the shooting was also planned," she said in an annoyed tone. "Why does that villain suddenly remind me of someone? It's starting to drive me crazy."

Alicia got up from the chair and grabbed her gray tote bag.

"Where are you going?" asked Nicholas quickly.

"I think I've helped you enough, Nic," Alicia replied coldly. "You just need to check the hospital where the first victim worked and find evidence there."

"But..." Nicholas got up and gave Alicia a worried look. "What about the second victim, Rich Greek?" He looked right and left, trying to reason with Alicia to stay. "Besides, it's already dark outside. I'll take you home."

But Alicia only gave a short snort. "About Rich, look for a connection between him and the first victim. I'm sure they weren't killed for no good reason," she ordered. "So now my job is done."

"I can take you," Nicholas held back again, this time he even grabbed Alicia's wrist which was wrapped in many suede bracelets and pulled her close. "The streets are not a safe place for a girl like you, Alicia."

"Ace would be angry with me if he knew I was with you."

But the young detective only tightened her hand and drew closer to Alicia. So that the vanilla scent that always clung to Alicia's body was inhaled quickly into Nicholas' nose. It brought back old memories between them at that narrow distance. Then Nicholas said,

"And Ace would lose control if he knew that you were in danger." []