One Hundred and seventy four

CHAPTER 174

Nicholas and Noel sat in a coffee shop called Fast Coffee. It was a kind of mid-to-high-end shop, which served coffee as their main menu. The two men sat across from each other. Accompanied by a hot americano and macchiatto, Nicholas and Noel sat down to rest their minds.

"I don't know where to start," Noel said after taking a sip of his coffee, which was steaming hot from the surface. Noel bit her lip, then looked around. "Everyone's getting ready for Christmas, the two of us... oh, and the guys on our team, we're stuck with the death of a stranger. Do you think we can have gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate with melted marshmallows on Christmas, Nick?"

Nicholas sighed. If Noel was bored, tired, dizzy, what about Nicholas? The man looked like he was going to explode. But all he said was, "My head is about to explode. I can't think of a Christmas present to give Alicia. My head is filled with dead strangers. Tragic. Terrible."

"We can't focus on Ace if the murders keep happening, Nick. We need to focus on one case," Noel said, trying to make a suggestion.

Noel's hands tapped on the surface of the table, she was trying to think of a way to get out of this problem as quickly as possible. Their time was limited, their territory was vast but the team was getting tired and they were losing a lot of people by Christmas.

"The team is starting to lose morale from overwork, this has never happened before," Noel continued to inform.

Nicholas then took out his cell phone which kept ringing inside his coat. He gave Noel the code to take a call, so their conversation needed to be paused.

"Hello, Hendrick?"

[...]

"That's great, thank you."

The chat was very short and Nicholas didn't say much. That made Noel curious, so he immediately opened his mouth and asked, "Hendrick gave you any information?"

"Hendrick has discovered the identity of the man's body," Nicholas said without taking his face off the phone. For a few seconds, Nicholas was busy scrolling through the phone screen, before he finally noticed Noel who sat looking at him curiously. "That man is Jason Abraham. A pawn shop owner in New York City. He is an American. Forty years old, he recently divorced his wife and left behind two sons. They used to live in England."

"England?" Noel raised one eyebrow. "You must have the same thoughts as me."

Nicholas nodded in agreement. He placed the phone inside his coat, then quickly picked up the cup in front of him. The air was cold, so his throat needed something hot. He sighed contentedly, then continued, "This must all be connected to Ace."

"Did Hendrick find out all about Jason's identity?"

"Looks like Hendrick just found that information." Nicholas took out his cell phone again and sent Hendrick a message. "I'll ask."

Noel pointed at Nicholas' cell phone. "If he tells us the location of Jason's house, you'd better tell Hendrick that we're going there to check."

"Okay. Eh?" Nicholas frowned. "You gave orders to your boss?"

"No, I'm not. It was just a suggestion." Noel widened his smile guilelessly, then took a sip of the coffee in front of him.

"That sucks."

Nicholas placed his phone on the table and not long after, a notification appeared on the screen. After checking the contents of the message, Nicholas raised his phone again in the air. He said, "We have Jason's home address, it's his pawn shop, he lives there. Want to come over and have a look?"

"Damn, you sound like a traveler who wants to take a vacation." Noel drank the coffee in her cup, then scanned the surroundings. "This is good coffee. it looks like I'll be coming often, considering it's almost every day we come to the hospital to bring in a new body."

Nicholas hissed, signaling Noel not to speak too loudly. His bleary brown eyes scanned the surroundings. Some people were busy with their coffee. A few more were also ordering food for lunch.

"You can't talk about 'corpses' in the middle of people enjoying their lunch," Nicholas said, also in a whisper. He didn't want the conversation to be overheard.

Noel laughed, then pointed at Nicholas. "What else can we talk about, Nick? Our lives only revolve around someone's life and death. Every day, we take care of other people's crimes. We help others, shouldn't we be proud?"

Nicholas' eyes rolled, he crossed his arms over his chest. The hot steam from the coffee had disappeared, giving way to cold coffee due to the air around them. Nicholas' breathing was noticeable, even though the shop had heaters installed. He said, "You sound sentimental. It's like the last time you spoke to Alicia. Do you have a problem with me?"

"Hahaha, no. I'm just tired. I wanted to visit my niece for Christmas, but I'm stuck with this asshole killer who kills people regardless of... whether it's Christmas or not," Noel said, speaking fast without pausing. Noel leaned his back against the top of the chair then looked around, "looks like everyone is going to have a nice Christmas, Nick."

Nicholas looked at Noel, before he finally stood up. Tightening his coat, the man who had earned the title of 'Chief' said, "We'd better get out of here before your feelings get mellow, and the atmosphere between us turns into an 80s telenovela romance drama."

As Noel got out of his chair, he pulled on a brown coat that was almost the same color as Nicholas'. "You're ruining my mood for coffee, Nick."

"It's not me, it's Jason. Just blame him, blame Jason, why did he die in the days leading up to Christmas," Nicholas said, then walked away with a laugh that echoed in Noel's ears.

From behind, Noel could hear Nicholas' mocking laughter. And he had no choice but to follow Nicholas in the days leading up to Christmas, even though his heart didn't want to do that.