One hundred and eighty three

CHAPTER 183

"Why do you think Hendrick did that, Nick?"

For the past half hour, Noel and Nicholas had been sitting in the car. They were enjoying the hot coffee they had bought at the Fast Coffee shop while they waited for the rain. They couldn't go back to the police station and look at Hendrick with suspicion on their faces. Noel and Nicholas both needed time to compose themselves, for what one of their colleagues in the division had done.

"Actually... I was going to quit field duty after solving the explosion at Alicia's parents' house."

Not answering Noel's question, Noel pulled out her coffee cup, which was steaming hot. The heat from the coffee didn't last long as the air was so cold, they had to finish the caffeine quickly or else they would lose the thrill of enjoying real coffee.

But this situation was too difficult to accept and Noel couldn't enjoy his coffee properly.

"But as we can see, this case is more complicated than what we know. There are big people involved in it, even our teammates are meddling in this big crime." Nicholas said it with such a disappointed tone, he didn't know how to react to the situation in front of him. "Hendrick has more information than us, but whose side is he on now?"

"Come on, Nick. You sound really frustrated."

Noel was confused and stressed at first, but seeing Nicholas start to lose his temper made Noel realize that Nicholas' burden was heavier than his own.

Nicholas let out a long sigh, he turned the wheel onto a bigger road. The time on his watch pointed to midnight, but New York City was a city that never died. Even when Nicholas drove through the streets of the suburbs, they would find many people filling the nightlife centers in the midst of this inclement weather.

Many men need the warmth of a woman in the bedroom.

But Nicholas and Noel were caught up in the problem that kept them dealing with the bad weather outdoors.

"I'm sure Hendrick has his reasons. He's been with the police for so long, he can't have lost his empathy," Noel said, trying to comfort Nicholas.

From the look on his face, Noel could tell that Nicholas really wasn't in the mood to talk about Hendrick.

"He manipulated the footage, but forgot to replace it until today. He just wanted to get rid of the footage on the day of the incident, trying to shift our focus to other cases so he wouldn't be blamed for Ace's disappearance from prison."

"I agree with that," Noel said, sipping the coffee in his hand.

Nicholas had slowed down the speed of the car so that they could talk at a leisurely pace. He wanted to kill time, buy himself some time so that when he got to the police station, he would be feeling much better and less emotional towards Hendrick.

Nicholas' car came to an abrupt halt just as Noel finished sighing contentedly over his coffee. Noel looked around in confusion.

"Why did you stop here?"

Nicholas sighed, "I forgot the way to your house. Should we turn around?"

Noel mumbled, trying to understand Nicholas' situation. He then finished the coffee in his hand and nodded. "Yeah, you should turn around and go home. We don't need to meet Hendrick today. Let the rest of the team go home and prepare for their Christmas."

Nicholas looked at Noel, and Noel nodded his head.

****

After dropping Noel off at home, Nicholas turned the wheel and headed back to Alicia's flat. He planned to take Alicia to set up the Christmas tree at her house, along with Emma and Alan, ah and Emma's gingerbread cookies. Emma must be busy right now, preparing and that, various things to make their Christmas more colorful.

But a voice from Nicholas' cell phone, made the man pull over to pick up the call.

"Yes, Peter? What are you calling me about at this time of night?"

[I've found the information you need, Chief! Jill's daughter, and Jason's son are apparently in the same hospital].

The information made Nicholas round his eyes with enthusiasm, he slammed on the brakes and stopped the car.

Nicholas tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his heart racing with a mixture of anticipation and worry. Peter's revelation had just opened a new door in the convoluted case they were facing.

"What? Are you sure about this, Peter?" Nicholas asked, trying to ascertain the accuracy of the information.

[I've double-checked, Chief. The hospital records show that the two children were admitted at the same time. This is too much of a coincidence," Peter replied, his voice filled with urgency.

"Can we see Jason's son, or his mother? She's still at the hospital, isn't she?" Nicholas asked impatiently.

Meanwhile, Peter, who was on the other side, seemed to think for a moment. Nicholas guessed that Peter must be checking his long notes. [From the hospital, I found information that Jason's son was taken home by his mother a week ago. Or, about a day before Jason received VVIP guests at his pawn shop."]

Nicholas mumbled, trying to digest the information first. He then said, "Can you send me your information via my email? I want to check their medical history, and the records of their departure from the hospital. Kuras aini is really the same pattern."

[Sure, Chief! I'll send it to you right away.]

"You're working so hard, you should go home and prepare for Christmas with your family."

[Ah, about that. My family is not in New York, Chief.]

Nicholas rolled his eyes lazily, although Peter could not see him from the other side. He still nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Peter."

[You're welcome, Chief.]

Nicholas could not ignore the importance of this discovery. The relationship between Jill's daughter and Jason's son could reveal the hidden layers of the mystery they were dealing with. He thanked Peter for the information and hung up, his mind racing with possibilities.