CHAPTER 184
The sound of knocking on the door made Alicia, who was playing social media, look away. She looked at the round wall clock on the wall, it was one o'clock in the morning. Who was visiting so early? Alicia turned off her phone, trying to keep it in the pocket of her red pajamas. She eyed the door warily when the sound returned.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Alicia tried to grab the pepper spray from the table, she had prepared it in case Ace came in unannounced. She then got up from the sofa and, pointing the pepper spray towards the front, made her way to the door.
Alicia's hand was already on the doorknob, and she opened the door in front of her.
"Nick?"
Alicia's tense face changed quickly. She breathed a sigh of relief and clutched her chest. "You almost surprised me, Nick." Alicia's blue eyes looked around, Nicholas had come alone. "Why are you here so early?"
But Nicholas did not answer. His eyes were blank. His mind seemed to be occupied by something Alicia didn't know. Nicholas just stood there staring at her, all the words he wanted to say stuck in his mouth.
Alicia sympathized. She pulled Nicholas by the arm and led him inside. "We should go inside, it's getting cold outside."
Nicholas seemed to lose his focus, he just walked along with the flow with his mind blank. Seeing her boyfriend behaving strangely, Alicia helped Nicholas, taking off Nicholas' wet coat and hanging it on a hanger in the corner of the room.
"Sit down. I'll make you a hot drink," Alicia said, as she ran at lightning speed to the kitchen, while Nicholas sat in the living room.
While stirring the hot tea in the cup, Alicia also checked the snacks in the cabinet. Alicia picked up a biscuit and brought it along with the hot tea she had made for Nicholas. She placed the drinks on the table, and then sat down next to Nicholas.
"You can drink this, Nick."
Nicholas sighed, Alicia listening. "Thank you for the drink."
"Is something wrong, Nick?"
Nicholas pursed his lips after swallowing the brown liquid in the cup. He put the cup down on the table, then looked at Alicia. With a tired look on his face, Nicholas explained, "I don't think I can buy you a Christmas present this year."
Alicia's eyebrows raised, she looked at him curiously. "That's... not a big deal to me."
"But I feel guilty. This was supposed to be our first Christmas," Nicholas said, he held his head, ruffling his hair in frustration while shouting. "Argh! This case almost made me explode."
Alicia listened carefully to Nicholas' complaints. She didn't comment, or judge.
"You know, Hendrick, my friend, he works in prison security. But the day Ace left the prison, Hendrick was manipulating the surveillance cameras, he gave false testimony and now I don't know which side Hendrick is on. Will he choose me, or will he choose Ace," Nicholas said, then he wiped his face. Alicia patted her boyfriend's shoulder lightly, but he said nothing. Meanwhile, Nicholas lowered his hand from his face, then looked at Alicia who was sitting beside him. "This is a tough case, there are many people involved. And, I can't determine who is really a friend, and who is on the other side."
"The murder case and the explosion must have one common thread, Nick." Alicia tried to help, she tried to tell what she knew. "Let's assume that all these people are related to Ace. Maybe you'll be able to find him if you just focus on Ace. The murders will keep happening to create a distraction, you'll be busy and unable to find Ace's missing whereabouts. You need to focus your mind on one goal."
Nicholas stared into his tea, contemplating Alicia's words. The weight of the investigation and the mysterious actions of those around him affected his normally calm demeanor. Alicia could see the struggle in his eyes and decided to be his crutch.
"Nick, you're not alone in this," Alicia assured him as she placed her hand on Nick's shoulder. "We'll overcome this together. Ace can't hide forever, and we'll uncover the truth behind this whole mess."
Nicholas managed a faint smile, appreciating Alicia's support. "You're right. I can't let this case consume me. But it's not just about Ace; there's something bigger at play here, something I can't guess at."
Alicia pondered for a moment before suggesting, "Maybe it's time to revisit the crime scene, re-examine the evidence. There may be patterns or clues that we've missed. And regarding your friend Hendrick, we need to find out which side he's on. Maybe he can provide important information."
Nicholas nodded, feeling a new determination. "You're brilliant, Alicia. Let's start with the crime scene. I need your perspective on this. Can we talk about something like this at two in the morning?"
Alicia laughed, she found it absurd. Yet here the two of them were, sitting together on the living room sofa, with a warm cup of tea in front of them, talking about someone else's death.
"You have a rather macabre sense of humor, Nick. Who would want to discuss someone else's death at two in the morning like this?"
Nicholas finally smiled, his face not as stiff as before. He was feeling much better.
"So, where should we start? You come and complain about Hendrick, can I know what really happened with Hendrick?"
"I felt something was off when we all checked the crime scene, Jason's pawn shop, the body of the man you found in the river. He was the owner of the pawn shop by the way, but Hendrick kept ordering Peter, our junior, around, as if he was avoiding the scene."
Alicia's brows furrowed. "And, what's your plan now?"
As they delved into planning their next move, little did they know that the shadows of deceit were closing in around them. Unbeknownst to Nicholas, a mysterious figure was monitoring their conversation from a distance.
CHAPTER 275 Nicholas drove the car as fast as he could. He cut through the streets knowing that Alicia was in danger and needed to be rescued immediately. At this moment, Nicholas deliberately did not turn on the siren in his car to avoid things that threatened Alicia. Arriving at Alicia's house, Nicholas could see a suspicious car near Rick and his mother's house. Nicholas' eyebrows furrowed and he slowed down the car. While looking around, Nicholas tried to think of a plan. Until finally, Nicholas stopped his car right behind the suspicious car. Nicholas got out of the car, but his gaze remained wary. He took out his gun and pointed it downwards as he walked into Alicia's yard. He realized that Alicia's door was unlocked even though the lights were off. Just as Nicholas entered Alicia's house, a punch landed from behind. But Nicholas was strong enough to withstand it, so the man immediately turned around and pointed the gun at Ace. But Ace was also ready to shoot Nicholas in the
CHAPTER 274Nicholas observed the change in Selena's expression from a different room. She stood up and hugged herself while frowning."She keeps bringing up Glen. It's starting to worry me," Nicholas muttered.While on the other side, Noel began to open the folder given by Nicholas. There were several sheets of paper inside. They were reports done by Peter and that surprised Noel. He peered into the folder."I didn't know Nicholas would give me this much work." Noel's complaint was heard by Nicholas in a different room, but Nicholas ignored it and chose to focus on Selena. Noel looked at Selena then smiled and put the papers on the table. "I don't want to read all the writing on this paper. So, what can you give me to get me to get you out of prison?""I... I didn't kill anyone."Noel waved her hands in the air, she seemed to look down on the opponent. "That's a very standard thing. Do you have any evidence? Everyone in that base camp is dead, none of them can give you testimony. So
CHAPTER 273Glen looked up, he hadn't finished his fries yet. "Are you leaving now, Uncle? Are you going to see my mom?"Nicholas mumbled for a while, before finally nodding his head. "I'm going to take care of some work and meet with your mother. Is there anything you want to say to her?"Glen's face grew more enthusiastic as he finished the fries in his mouth and looked thoughtful. He looked around before finally seeing Nicholas again. Raising his index finger in the air, Glen said, "I want you to tell my mom that I miss her a lot. I want some chocolate candy from Uncle Chuck's shop! They have the best chocolate in town and I want to try it."Now, it was Nicholas' turn to raise his eyebrows enthusiastically. "Do you know Uncle Chuck's?""My friends in class talk about it, but I don't know. I just heard about it and wanted to try the chocolate candies they have."Nicholas nodded his head. He smiled widely and rubbed the top of Glen's head in relief. At least, the boy still had some e
CHAPTER 272Nicholas dropped Alicia off in front of Alpha Company's office, while he continued on his way to the daycare. He got out of his car, with a bag of fries from Mcd. Nicholas walked in and was met by Lim Sara.Lim Sara, who was working, greeted Nicholas politely. "Good morning, Detective. Have you come to pick up Glen?"A small mumble was heard from Nicholas. He finally explained the situation to Sara. "Um, well, the police still have to check a few things from Mrs. Selena. It may take some time, can Glen stay here a little longer?"Lim Sara looked worried. The woman with her beautiful hair coils mumbled, before nodding and replying, "Of course, Detective. But it seems like Glen is worried about his mother, he's asked about her several times and I can only say that she's at work." Sara turned around, then showed Glen who was sitting alone in the corner of the study room. "Because he stays here alone, without the other children, he thinks that his mother is angry.""Has Glen e
CHAPTER 271Alicia leaned on Nicholas' shoulder, she let the blanket cover their bodies on the sofa. After a night of sleeping together, Alicia woke up first. She took a deep breath and woke Nicholas up."Nick?"While shaking Nicholas' hand, Alicia tried to get her lover to wake up. And after a while, Nicholas did wake up."Um, good morning, Alicia." Nicholas adjusted his sitting position, he then blinked his eyes and began to speak. "How did you sleep last night?"Alicia mumbled. Letting go of the blanket covering her body, she hugged herself. "I got a good sleep because of you. But can't you just relax like this? You said you were going to check on Selena again today?""Yes, there will be a cross-examination. Noel will try to provoke her with psychological techniques," Nicholas said. He looked ahead, then moistened his dry lips. "I wonder to what extent Selena knows information about Ace. If Selena can tell the police about the steps Ace is taking, it would be great for all of us."
CHAPTER 270Nicholas put on an apron, before grabbing a cutting board and knife. He took out the onions, garlic and chili peppers. Skillfully, Nicholas began to chop the ingredients into small pieces, and then he heated the oil in the wok. He prepared to put in all the ingredients, and after the smell of onions was there, Nicholas put in the minced meat that he took from the refrigerator. His big hands started moving here and there quickly. He was like a professional chef. Sautéing, putting in spices and making everything better.Besides cooking the meat, Nicholas also prepared two loaves of bread on a plate. He placed the meat onto the bread, then garnished it with lettuce, tomato and some sauce on top.Nicholas patted his palms when he was done. He took off the apron, put it back on the table and started to prepare the two plates of food for the dining table. It was raining outside, and Alicia was still covering herself with a blanket on the sofa.It looked like Alicia was completel