Seventy Four

CHAPTER 74

Town Square, New York.

"Mrs. Portman can't be pregnant!"

Alicia's scream seems to have attracted quite a bit of attention, as several people passing by the Town Square theater turned to her with curious looks.

Nicholas was no different. The handsome detective, who was wearing a denim shirt and chinos, exhaled in exasperation. "The forensic doctor has performed an autopsy and the victim was found to be two months pregnant," he informed.

"But... Mrs. Portman never looked like a pregnant woman," Alicia argued incredulously. "She couldn't have been pregnant, Nic."

Feeling tired of explaining, Nicholas finally preferred to show Mrs. Portman's autopsy results to the dark-haired girl. "You can check it yourself."

And just as quickly, Alicia grabbed the sheet of paper from the young detective. On the paper were Mrs. Portman's photograph and the forensic results stating that the victim was one hundred percent positive for pregnancy. That immediately made Alicia's head spin violently. "This..."

Nicholas pulled back the paper and hurriedly put it in his pants pocket. "I brought it because you're not a trusting person," he said sarcastically. "Now the thing is, why did she have to be killed in the same location and in the same way as Natalie Heele?" Nicholas massaged his forehead lightly. "Are they also related?"

Alicia then fell silent. Trying to relax her nerves that had been strained by the reality she had to accept about her lecturer, while Nicholas continued to speak in front of her.

"Oh yes, by the way, Mrs. Veronica doesn't seem to know anything about her husband's death," Nicholas said. "But Rose also hasn't opened up about the possibility that she knows who exactly told her to do that."

But as if not interested in discussing anything else, Alicia let out a long sigh and folded her arms across her chest. "How did she die so quickly?" Her blue eyes, which had been scanning the crime scene, now turned to Nicholas. "I think the perpetrator only had an hour to execute his victim. Because Mrs. Portman left the building after an hour of the show and someone reported her death, minutes before the first audience member passed through the alley and found her body."

The handsome detective nodded in agreement. "Yes. I think he organized everything well."

Their eyes then met. With an uncertain look, Alicia muttered, "Could it be the same person who killed Natalie or Rich?" she asked cautiously.

After a few seconds, Nicholas responded. "I'm not sure." He shook his head in despair. "As of now, we haven't even found any connection between the first victim and the second victim."

Then all of a sudden, Nicholas' cell phone rang and startled them both.

"Noel," he announced. "Hopefully he's got some important information." A moment later, Nicholas immediately took the call and listened carefully to the information his coworker was giving him. From the enthusiastic look on his face, it seemed that the detective had just gotten some good news.

But bored of waiting, Alicia chose to return to surveying the scene, which was now protected by a police line. Perhaps she could find something that could be used as evidence there. Instead, her intuition described scene after scene of what the perpetrator might have done during the incident.

In her vision, she saw Mrs. Portman being gagged and pulled into the narrow alley. Just to be sure, Alicia looked up and around the place and found that the lights had been broken.

"So he broke the lights," Alicia thought. "Is there someone who might have heard that?"

Then Nicholas came over and tapped the dark-haired girl on the shoulder. He smiled as Alicia turned and looked at him. "Noel managed to find the evidence."

And of course, Alicia immediately furrowed her brow in disbelief. "What?"

"Yes. The stocking that the perpetrator most likely used to kill Natalie and Mrs. Portman was found ten kilometers from this location," Nicholas said. "He will immediately take it to the hospital for lab tests and fingerprinting. Are you coming with me to the hospital, Alicia?"

"Oh, sure," Alicia replied quickly. "Let's hurry!"

***

The hospital corridor was not a good place for Alicia. Because the memories of her past seemed to be drawn back and the sight of the victims was not something worth remembering.

However, what else could it be?

While waiting for Noel to come out of the lab room, Alicia and Nicholas could only wait in the corridor with a sense of hope. At least if the stocking was indeed the evidence they were looking for, shouldn't they be able to move faster to find the culprit?

Then not long after, Noel came out with the evidence wrapped in plastic in his hand. And hurriedly the two of them approached Noel.

"How did it go?" Nicholas asked matter-of-factly.

Noel nodded and explained, "The results match. But we had trouble finding the perpetrator's fingerprints on the stocking." Noel then shuddered. "It looks like the perpetrator is really reliable and has planned everything in a structured way."

Again Alicia and Nicholas could only sigh in frustration. They had failed to find any hope in their first piece of evidence.

Then Noel cleared his throat softly, "But the good news is that we found a connection between Miss Heele and Mr. Greek," he said.

"What?!" exclaimed Alicia and Nicholas almost simultaneously. Then Nicholas replied, "How do you mean, Noel?"

The blond-haired man then looked at Alicia and Nicholas in turn before continuing, "We found some bills belonging to Natalie Heele in Mr. Greek's office. After confirming with his assistant, Rose, she also confirmed the expenses that Mr. Greek gives Natalie in cash every month."

"Did Rose know that they were related?"

"I think Mr. Greek deliberately covered up all the expenses in Natalie Heele's name so that no one would notice," Noel said. "Including Rose or his own wife."

"Mrs. Veronica must have known about her husband's affair all along," Alicia concluded. "She's avoiding questions about Natalie, because she doesn't want to get involved. We can tell that from the change in attitude you've been telling me about, Nic."

"All right. What if we interrogate him one more time?"

"He won't confess," Alicia said quickly. "I have a way. But can you keep him from leaving the country?"

Noel and Nicholas exchanged glances. Before they finally agreed and nodded in agreement. "He's a witness, so maybe we can hold him for a few days," Nicholas said.

"Good." Alicia then looked at Noel and Nicholas in turn. "Also, have you gotten any information on how and where the perpetrator got the cyanide?"

"Our Cyber Police are investigating dark sites that might still be active and trading the stuff there," Noel replied straightforwardly. "Hopefully the results of the report will come out quickly."

And the second after that, they were silent and contemplating this case for a while. Finally, the lanky girl opened her voice. "By the way, have you checked the theater center's VVIP guest list on the day Mrs. Portman died?"

"Our team is looking into it," Nicholas said. "What is it, Alicia?"

The girl named Alicia Perth gave a short mumble and explained, "Before she left the theater center, I think someone contacted her. I could see from his anxious expression that they were discussing something urgent and he seemed to be in a hurry." Alicia then looked at Noel and then at Nicholas in turn. "Did you check his call history?"

But then, only silence penetrated the atmosphere around them. Noel even looked confused when Alicia looked at him.

"What's wrong, Noel?" Alicia asked curiously. "Why are you so quiet?"

"About that," Noel scratched the nape of her neck awkwardly. "The victim's cell phone and other valuables were declared missing at the scene."

"What?!" []