Sixty Nine

CHAPTER 69

Sunshine Cafe, New York.

Nicholas' forehead couldn't stop wrinkling in surprise as his eyes clearly saw scene after scene appearing on the monitor in the Sunshine Cafe manager's room right now.

The cafe manager, Mrs. Donn, had finally agreed to the detective's request to view the CCTV footage in order to be considered as a cooperative citizen in assisting the investigation into the death of one of her patrons on the day of the Town Square massacre a few days back.

Mr. Donn also explained to Nicholas that the man named Rich Greek came alone before his five colleagues followed and sat with him. He also added that all the food and drinks they ordered were checked for quality before being served on the table.

"Do you still remember what food or drinks they ordered that day?" asked Nicholas.

Mr. Donn quickly nodded his head. "Mr. Greek's secretary ordered the same food for them. Salmon pasta and americanos."

"They had a pasta with a cup of coffee?" Nicholas stared at Mr. Donn in disbelief. But the heavyset man in his gray suit immediately agreed with the detective. "Doesn't this sound strange?"

"Not long after, we started hearing gunshots from outside and patrons were running out of the cafe," he explained. Her eyes also wandered, as if drawn back to that horrible day. "The sound was so big, it really startled our customers and made them run in fear."

Nicholas then nodded in understanding. "Was there anything strange while he was waiting for his colleagues here?" he asked curiously.

But Mr. Donn shook his head. "I don't think so. He just seemed very happy when he came to this place." He then gave a quick shrug of his shoulders. "Mr. Greek looks like he just won the million dollar lottery."

Very happy, like he had just won the million dollar lottery.

Nicholas then began to think, maybe Rich Greek had just done something that pleased him before he came to this place to the point that others realized that he was happy that day.

But what did he get before coming to this place?

"Is there anything else we can do for you, detective?" asked Mr. Donn.

And Nicholas, who had been lost in reverie, seemed to gasp a little at Mr. Donn's voice just now. But the tall man hurriedly replied, "I don't think so. Thank you for helping me check the CCTV footage." Then he left the manager's room after greeting and saying goodbye politely.

The tanned black-haired man who had long been a detective then continued on his way to his silver sedan that was neatly parked in the courtyard outside the cafe. Alicia was already standing there waiting for him.

"How was it?" Alicia asked as Nicholas reached her.

"You were right about that man. Rich Greek was sitting with his coworkers at our place earlier and it was the coffee that was the solvent for the dangerous poison," Nicholas explained. He then girded his loins and scowled in annoyance. "No one else was suspicious during the meeting."

"Are you sure you didn't miss anything, Nic?"

"I saw the waitress walking to the table." Nicholas rubbed his chin slowly. "There was no one, except...," his words trailed off as Nicholas remembered something. "That woman."

"That woman?" Alicia raised one curious eyebrow. "Who?"

"I saw a woman approach the waitress, they probably talked for about thirty seconds before the food finally reached the table." But Nicholas just turned his head and sighed in frustration. "Damn! But I can't see her face clearly because she seems to be wearing a hat on the screen."

The sharp-nosed detective seemed really annoyed now. But the girl in front of him had a different reaction. Alicia crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Nicholas casually. "How could you miss such an important thing, Nic?" she said with a short, sarcastic snort.

"Ah!" He massaged his temples lightly before looking back at Alicia. "Who was that woman in the black hat?"

"Why do you need to be confused?"

Nicholas furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?" Why would Alicia ask something that she should already know the answer to? It was clear that Nicholas was very confused now, because he could not clearly see who the woman in the black hat caught on the CCTV camera was. Then, why was Alicia still asking? "I'm certainly confused because I can't figure out who the woman in the black hat was, who probably put the cyanide in their coffee, Alicia. Why are you still asking?"

"You haven't come to your senses yet." Alicia shook her head in disbelief. "At that meeting, there was only one woman there. The woman who could organize the meeting, order what they would eat and drink and of course, the woman who had the right to stand up and help the waitress serve cups of coffee to them all." As if realizing something, Nicholas widened his eyes in disbelief. "That lady must also know which cups to serve her special guests... Rich Greek."

"Miss Rose!" Nicholas said the name in one breath.

That woman was Rose... Rich Greek's personal secretary. The name that suddenly came to Nicholas' mind.

"That woman planned everything," Alicia said.

Yes, she had. Nicholas also realized it only now.

The woman named Rose had never been able to attend invitations to investigate cases for various reasons and the bright brown-eyed detective cursed himself for not being aware of it for some time.

"Can you see her now?" Alicia asked hopefully. "If I'm being honest, you just missed our key witness, Nic."

"I'll try to contact her," said Nicholas. He hurriedly dialed the number Rose had left for him during the crime scene examination and tried calling her several times.

It seemed like two or three times Nicholas tried, but still the secretary did not answer his calls. It seemed like she was deliberately avoiding the detective's calls.

"She's not answering her calls." Nicholas sighed harshly. "What now?"

Then the black-haired girl shrugged her shoulders lazily. "Let's find the answer at their house," Alicia suggested. "You know where their house is, don't you?"

***

A large, modern-style mansion greeted Alicia and Nicholas. The tall black gates with a burly guard standing by made it clear to anyone passing by that the house was owned by someone important in the city. No kidding, a black doberman dog was also roaming around.

Nicholas's bright brown eyes also spotted two surveillance cameras at the corner of the mansion's entrance gate. Super tight security.

As soon as Alicia and Nicholas got out of the silver sedan, a black Ford pulled up in front of them. And shortly after, a familiar female figure emerged from the passenger seat.

"Detective Nicholas Gray?" The woman's voice sounded low and intimidating. Giving the impression of veiled dislike. "You've come at the right time."

Then the guard wearing all black in front of the mansion made a small dash towards them. "Great lady," greeted the guard politely. "You're home early today."

And the woman who Nicholas knew to be Veronica Smith simply flashed a smile at them all. "I had a feeling a special guest was coming and my hunch about that turned out to be correct," she said with sarcasm. He then looked at Nicholas and Alicia in turn before turning back to the guard. "These two are the detectives who will be inspecting the house. So make sure you and the others are nice to them."

Veronica then shook her long hair back as she walked into the mansion. Meanwhile, another man who had just gotten out of the car with Veronica's luxury bag, hurriedly ran behind her.

Alicia snorted with amusement. "That woman looks fine without her husband," she whispered to Nicholas. "Maybe your assessment of her was wrong from the start."

Nicholas took a deep breath and stared at Veronica's retreating back with a worried look. "It looks like you were right. I have been deceived by her deliberately manipulated demeanor."

But, what did you do that for, Veronica? []