Seventy Seven

CHAPTER 77

Golden University, New York.

"Milles said that she saw someone stalking Mrs. Portman that night."

Alicia gulped and crossed her arms over her chest as soon as she heard Brittany's words. "So someone's been following her all this time," Alicia said. " His movements were well-planned."

Brittany took a sip of her vanilla latte, which was still steaming hot, before continuing, "But who would dare follow her on campus? You know that our campus has high security, right?"

Alicia gave a short mumble. Brittany was right, she thought. "Maybe he's using someone on campus." She then looked at Brittany; asking for approval. "Someone who can get in and out without being suspected. His face and fingerprints are also recognized on the security system."

"Could it be the staff and faculty?" Brittany then shook her head in despair. "If so, there are a lot of possibilities. We have dozens of faculty and staff on campus that we can't possibly check individually, Alicia."

And the dark-haired girl nodded in agreement. "You're right again this time, Britt."

Since fifteen minutes ago, Alicia and Brittany had been sitting in a corner of the campus cafeteria. Coincidentally, their last class ended at the same time today. So the two decided to relax for a while while discussing Mrs. Portman's death which was still a mystery.

"Maybe it's a camouflage theory," Alicia guessed suddenly. Which made Brittany frown instantly. "It would be more difficult to observe the victim if the distance is too great. But the perpetrator might be wearing a camouflage to make his move easier and avoid being suspected by others."

"You mean, he's undercover?" Brittany asked. "But into who?"

Yes. Who does the perpetrator become when camouflaged?

But before she could answer her own question, Nicholas suddenly appeared and startled Alicia.

"N--nic?"

"Hi, Nic!" greeted Brittany, who seemed nonplussed by the young detective's presence. She even pointed confidently to the chair next to Alicia. "You can sit there," she invited.

Alicia naturally glared at Brittany for her action, which Nicholas immediately noticed. But instead of trying to avoid her, he smiled a little and hurriedly sat down next to Alicia. "Hello, Alicia," he greeted casually.

But deep inside Alicia's mind, she was really bothered by Nicholas' sudden presence. The girl couldn't even stop staring at Brittany with her blue irises right now.

She finally turned to Nicholas. "Hello... Nic?" her voice sounded awkward now.

"So, Nicholas is here because I asked him to take me shopping," Brittany explained without prompting. She then smiled mischievously at Alicia. "He was so excited when he found out you were with me."

Alicia then smiled awkwardly. "But I'm not going shopping with you, am I?" Her blue eyes then looked at Brittany and then at Nicholas in turn.

Meanwhile, Brittany and Nicholas just gave each other a surprised look. Which clearly made Alicia even more mischievous.

"Calm down, Alicia," Nicholas said in his deep voice. He then looked at the thin girl with a serious look. "You don't have to come with us. But instead, I have some questions to ask you directly."

The blue bead pondered for a moment. And it was only seconds later that Alicia understood that the atmosphere between them had suddenly turned serious. "What is it, Nic?" She gave Brittany a quick glance. "You seem to be very serious."

The twenty-five-year-old man who had been a detective for quite some time finally let out a long sigh. Because after this, Alicia would probably look at him in another way;a way Nicholas had never expected. "What would you think... if Ace was involved in Mrs. Portman's murder?" he asked carefully.

There was silence. Maybe a few seconds, until Alicia snorted in amusement and said, "What? Can you rephrase your question, Nic?" She then gave a short laugh and looked at Brittany. "I guess I was out of focus and misheard you just now. Right, Britt?"

But Brittany didn't dare react at all. She chose to remain silent with a look that Alicia did not understand. And turned to Nicholas immediately afterwards.

"Alicia, Ace might be involved in this case," Nicholas said again.

"No way!" interrupted Alicia quickly. She looked straight into Nicholas' bright brown irises. "You have to be careful what you say, Nic."

"But I mean it--"

"I said no!"

Nicholas sighed harshly and rubbed his temples in frustration. "You have to listen to me first, Alicia!" he snapped.

Which made the atmosphere between them even more tense. Several pairs of eyes sitting around them also briefly saw the commotion that Alicia and Nicholas made, before they finally returned to their respective activities and ignored the dispute just now.

Alicia then chose to look away, staring at her half-filled caramel ice cup without interest.

"Alicia, give me a chance to speak," Nicholas pleaded in a softer voice than before. "Just once. Please?" this time hopefully.

Although it was hard, Alicia finally let out her breath and agreed to Nicholas' request. "I'll give you three minutes to explain."

Nicholas smiled with relief and glanced at Brittany who was also watching him. "Look, according to the records obtained by Noel. Ace was one of the VVIP guests present on the day the first victim died--"

Alicia turned her head quickly. "You mean, Natalie Heele?"

The handsome detective immediately agreed. His firm jaw with a perfectly shaped nose made Nicholas' charm undeniable despite his serious look right now. "Then he was also at the Rich Greek colleague meeting that took place at Sunshine Cafe," he continued.

The words that came out of Nicholas' mouth about Ace were probably true. But Alicia couldn't just shut up and justify Nicholas' accusations without any defense. After all, Ace was her boyfriend. "So you think maybe Ace is the suspect?"

"Maybe Ace is related to the victims," Nicholas corrected.

"Ace couldn't have known them, Nic," Alicia argued. She then turned to Brittany. "You don't think Ace is a suspect either, do you, Britt?"

But the chubby-cheeked girl immediately had a confused look on her face. She bit her lip and mumbled. "I... I guess...,"

"Just because you're close to Nicholas, doesn't mean you have to always agree with him, Britt!" Alicia screeched in disapproval.

"Hey! Why are you yelling at me?" snapped Brittany. "Maybe Nicholas is right about Ace."

But Alicia quickly shook her head. "No, Britt." She looked at Brittany and Nicholas in turn. "You two were witnesses when Ace saved me from a killer years ago. How can someone who saved me from a killer be a killer now?" Alicia gave a short snort and got up from the chair. "You've got to be kidding me."

She was about to leave; leaving the chaos unfolding before her. But Nicholas also got up and restrained her hand, so that the bird tattoo that had been there for a long time could be seen clearly now. "If you want to defend him, make sure that he was with you when the murder took place, Alicia."

Their eyes met, but Alicia silenced her own mouth. Not a single word was about to slip from her lips to argue. She remained silent and gazed deeply into the luminous brown irises.

Nicholas then added, "I will lead you to the truth. So promise not to hate me when that day comes, Alicia." []