One Hundred and eighty five

CHAPTER 185

The noise from the house next to Alicia's flat made Alicia, who was asleep on the sofa, wake up. She blinked a few times, before waking up and seeing that Nicholas was asleep on the other side of the sofa. They were under the same blanket, but sleeping in different directions.

"You should understand!"

The loud voice came from outside, Alicia recognized it as a familiar voice. It was Mrs. Thompson. Alicia raised her neck, trying to peer through the window. But the silhouette of the old woman was not clearly visible. Alicia then lowered her legs from the sofa, wanting to see who Mrs. Thompson was talking to.

But that small movement managed to startle Nicholas. He had had a rough day and had not slept well. Nicholas woke up and looked around frantically. "What's wrong, Alicia?"

"Fuck you!"

The voice outside made Alicia and Nicholas both round their eyes, especially because after the shout, they heard the sound of tires squealing. It was an impromptu brake. And other noises that signaled danger made Alicia and Nicholas swift to find the source.

They both then left the living room, making their way to the door. The commotion on the side of the road had already attracted people's attention. When the door opened, the sight before them took them both by surprise.

"Mrs. Thompson!"

Alicia shouted, then ran over to Mrs. Thompson who was lying in the middle of the road. Nicholas ran behind Alicia, he looked at the car that had just left leaving the old lady alone.

"Shit!"

Mrs. Thompson had just been hit by someone. The car was black, but Nicholas had trouble seeing the license plate on the back of the car because of the fast pace. Nicholas was helping Alicia, Alicia was helping Mrs. Thompson to get up.

People were swarming around like flies, none of them dared to touch Mrs. Thompson apart from Alicia and Nicholas. Nicholas picked up Mrs. Thompson and carried her into the house. He laid the old Mrs. Thompson down on the sofa, where her son who had just returned from the hospital was also lying.

Alicia and Nicholas exchanged glances. Alicia then took over, she sat next to Mrs. Thompson after getting a glass of mineral water from the dispenser. "Are you all right, Mrs. Thompson?"

The old woman with the red scarf nodded slowly. Mrs. Thompson looked at Alicia, then at Nicholas, before gently stroking her knees that had hit the asphalt moments ago. "My legs hurt from hitting the road. But I'm fine."

Nicholas, who was standing in front of the two women, spoke up, "What happened? Did the person in the car hit you?"

"Yes, he did," Mrs. Thompson said, frowning as she tried to recall what happened. "I was cleaning up the front yard, and the car was there. It looks like it's been there since last night."

Alicia and Nicholas furrowed their brows. "It's been there since last night? How do you know?" asked Alicia.

"I took out the garbage last night, and I went out for the second time to take my son, Erick, for some fresh air before going to bed. But the black car was still there."

Nicholas then continued his curiosity. "So, what caused the commotion?"

"When I was cleaning the front yard, my water accidentally hit the car and it made the car owner very angry. I didn't know he would be that angry, so I apologized to him."

Mrs. Thompson sighed tiredly, then looked at Erick who was sleeping beside her with sadness. "I'm an old woman taking care of my son, my son is sick. Why would someone be so mean like that?"

Alicia immediately responded to Mrs. Thompson's words. "You have to calm down. Do you know who the car belongs to?"

"No, but he was a man. He was wearing a hat, so you wouldn't be able to see his face from the side."

Alicia exchanged glances with Nicholas as Mrs. Thompson recounted the disturbing events. The atmosphere in the room was tense, the weight of the situation growing. They knew that they had to unravel the mystery behind the black car and its mysterious, angry owner.

Nicholas took charge, his eyes narrowed with determination. "We have to find out who this person is and why he reacted so violently. No one should harm an old woman like that."

Alicia nodded in agreement. They decided to check the surroundings for clues about the owner of the black car. By the time they came out of Mrs. Thompson's apartment, the streets around them were already bustling with gossiping neighbors, exchanging theories about the hit-and-run incident.

Amidst the whispers and speculation, they discovered that the car had been seen around the neighborhood for the past few days, raising suspicions. It was clear that there was more to it than just a random encounter.

Nicholas found a parking ticket that had fallen under the car, if it followed the last place the car had been parked. None of the names on the ticket matched the residents of the area. It seemed like the car didn't belong to a local. It was a foreign name. Someone from outside the area had just done a sneak peek, was this structured?

"Nick!"

Nicholas turned around, then smiled for Alicia. Alicia snapped to attention and ruffled her feathers, looking around, she asked, "Did you find any clues? I asked a few people, but no one recognized the name."

"It looks like the owner of the black car doesn't live here," Nicholas said. He finally sighed, "I think we should go back home and clean up, we haven't even showered or brushed our teeth when we spoke to Mrs. Thompson. Once we're done, I'll start checking the CCTV cameras around here."

Alicia nodded in agreement, she smiled widely and returned Nicholas' words with enthusiasm. "You're right. Mrs. Thompson might faint if we talk to her again without cleaning our teeth."

"Let's go inside the house!"