One Hundred and Fourty six

CHAPTER 146

Their focus turned to Hendrick, who returned with a wealth of information. "I found a missing person's report similar to our victim's but covered in contradictions. The person's whereabouts seem to have been carefully erased. After some digging, it's Jill and her daughter."

The trio gathered again, maps lying on the table, tracing the topography of the coastal cliffs. "There's a remote area," Hendrick pointed, "rarely accessed, overlooking the beach. If the victim was thrown from there, it might explain the cut-off of access to a commonly visited tourist spot."

A shiver of revelation ran through Nicholas. "What if this isn't just a murder? What if this is a message?" The pieces seemed to align, painting a sinister picture of calculated manipulation.

Noel nodded, determination etched on his face. "Let's explore that side of the cliff. There might be something we're missing, a clue that connects everything."

Nicholas took a deep breath. He looked at his two partners in turn, then muttered. "So... it was Ace's work, huh?"

Noel let out a short sigh. "Jill was murdered, the day he was released by the police. He wasn't found guilty of the murder and was only put on probation for one year. But, how did Ace find Jill's house?"

"Did you know that he was murdered in his house?"

To answer that question, Noel just shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "I don't know, I'm just guessing. I thought in that cliff area... Jill would live. That's why Ace went there to see him, isn't it?"

"But his daughter was declared missing by the locals. Did Jill take his daughter out of the hospital?" Nicholas asked himself, remembering that recently, he and Alicia had met Jill's little daughter at the hospital. He then sighed softly, and looked at his two partners in turn. "Since we already know his identity and we know that he has no family other than his daughter, then we should autopsy him to find the cause of death before too long. The decomposition is already increasing, we'll have a hard time. I'll look for the little girl to see if she saw anything or... she really disappeared as her neighbors said about them."

Noel then nodded in agreement. "Hendrick and I will have the forensic doctor schedule an autopsy, we'll get everything ready."

"I'll go now," Nicholas said, to which Noel and Hendrick nodded in agreement.

They then asked for the autopsy process to be carried out immediately considering the condition of the man's corpse that had decomposed due to the water. The decomposition process of a corpse in water is slower when compared to the decomposition process of a corpse outdoors. This decomposition can obscure the time of death, or reveal the exact time.

Noel looked at Hendrick, Hendrick would move when Noel held him. "Hendrick?"

"Yes, Noel?" Hendrick turned around, raising both eyebrows curiously.

"Have you found any clues about Ace?"

Hendrick let out a long breath, he sounded quite frustrated with all the problems he had to deal with at the same time. "Not yet, sir. We've been following the escape routes the inmates might take if they escaped, but we haven't found anything. The prison officers on duty are getting punished. They were suspended because of this incident."

Noel looked thoughtful, and he sighed. "We need to find Ace if we want to solve this case."

"Isn't it too soon to conclude?"

****

The team faces a web of mysteries, each thread leading to more questions. As they dig deeper, echoes of the past interweave with the present, creating a complex web of events.

Nicholas, driven by a mixture of determination and concern, makes his way to the hospital, hoping to find a trace of Jill's missing daughter. His footsteps echo in the empty corridors as he approaches the pediatric ward. A glimmer of hope rose within him when he saw a familiar face-the nurse who took care of Jill's daughter on her last visit.

"Excuse me," Nicholas began, his voice a mix of urgency and anxiety. "I'm trying to find Jill's daughter. This is very important. Do you remember anything from that last visit? Any unusual behavior or people she might have mentioned?"

The nurse hesitated, a flash of realization crossing her face. "She was a quiet girl, more of a loner. But... now that you mention it, she seemed anxious during the last visit. She mentioned someone - a man, who she said was watching her and her father. I thought it was just a child's imagination, but..."

Nicholas' heart skipped a beat. "Did she say anything else? Names, or places they might have gone?"

The nurse shook her head, her brow furrowed in concern. "Sorry, that's all she mentioned. But she drew something..." She rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a child's sketch-a rough drawing of a cliff overlooking the sea, with a figure standing on its edge.

Nicholas stared at the sketch, a knot tightening in his stomach. The cliff felt very familiar, though he could not place it. With determination, he thanked the nurse and hurried off. He scanned the drawing once more, then touched the surface. "This cliff... leads to the sea, on this side... the beach. If the tide is high and the killer knows which way the wind will push the seawater, then... ah, I must go to that cliff right now!"

 Nicholas rushed out of the hospital, with a strong urge to keep going. His mind whirled with possibilities as he maneuvered through traffic towards the coastline. With every mile traveled, the weight of the situation pressed down on him urgency to find the missing girl increased.

The distant cliffs of the sketch burned into his memory, a silhouette against the backdrop of the setting sun. As he reached the coastal road, the sight of seagulls circling above the sheer cliffs struck a familiar chord. He parked his car hurriedly, the sound of crashing waves providing an ominous soundtrack to his thoughts. While walking on the rocky road, Nicholas made his way towards the edge of the cliff pictured in the sketch.