Sixty

CHAPTER 60

For two days Alicia couldn't stop thinking about the cases Nicholas was handling. The way the perpetrators killed their victims reminded her of memories from her past. Couldn't what was happening now be related to those bad times?

Alicia is currently sitting on a bench in the campus park alone, contemplating everything. The absence of the lecturer in her last class gives her more time to think about it all in peace.

But the series of murders in the past, Alicia can no longer avoid.

The first victim, Natalie Heele, manages to remind her of a male student named James Portman who was killed on the first day of her move. The second victim, Rich Greek, was treated the same way as Elena Sanders who died from cyanide poisoning. The names of the victims in her past and how they died before Alicia's eyes, made her almost lose her mind now.

Was it Amanda again?

"No way," she thought. The girl named Amanda who was determined to be the mastermind of all the murders in her past was now in prison. Spending the rest of her life atoning for her own crimes.

But the more she thought about it, the less Alicia understood.

"Alicia," greeted someone familiar.

It was Mrs. Karenina Portman, one of Alicia's lecturers.

"Mrs. Portman?" Alicia gasped. But a moment later, the dark-haired girl moved. Making room for the woman who always rolled her hair back to sit next to her. "Please have a seat, ma'am."

And Mrs. Portman smiled as usual before sitting down next to Alicia. "How was your day, Alicia?" she asked softly. "I heard Mr. Smith couldn't make it because he had an accident on the way."

"Really?" Alicia's blue irises widened in disbelief. "Then how is he doing now?"

But the woman wearing a red blouse and a black knee-length skirt reached for Alicia's fingers and grasped them. "He's fine, just has a few minor injuries and is likely to recover shortly." Mrs. Portman smiled again and gently patted the back of Alicia's hand. "I'm worried about you. You've been daydreaming a lot lately, Alicia. Is something bothering you?"

Alicia mumbled softly before shaking her head. "I'm fine, ma'am."

"But your eyes don't say so," Mrs. Portman guessed. "There's an indecision there. And from the dim corners of your eyes, I can also see that you're worried about something."

"I..." Alicia bowed her head, as if refusing to tell her lecturer much.

"Whatever you're dealing with, you know that everything will be okay in the end, right?" Mrs. Portman smiled again. She then got up from the chair. "Don't think about it too much, you'll get sick, Alicia."

"Yes, Mrs. Portman," Alicia said.

And the twenty-seven-year-old woman walked away after her. Leaving Alicia back in the lonely company of the garden.

"Damn. Those memories of the past are suddenly surfacing and bothering me again." Alicia sighed in frustration. "Why is this happening again? Why does this all feel like de javu?!" She got up from her chair and walked to the south corridor, heading towards Brittany's last class.

Her best friend's last class would end in five minutes and it wasn't a problem if she had to wait. After all, Ace hadn't contacted her since yesterday either. Where was that guy anyway?

"Alicia?" Brittany walked straight up to Alicia who had been standing waiting for her. "Are you waiting for me?"

"Yes. I have something to say," she said hesitantly.

And as if she understood that Alicia didn't want this conversation to be overheard by anyone, Brittany hurriedly led Alicia away from the crowd and sat back down on a lawn chair. "I was planning on going to the movies with Luke after class. It's lucky you came to me before I left," Brittany said with a giggle. "By the way, this thing you're talking about must be something serious, right? Because Alicia Perth wouldn't have bothered to come to me if it was just a trivial matter."

The blue-eyed girl then took a deep breath before explaining, "Well, lately I've been feeling guilty about someone for refusing to help her. But I feel even worse after helping him."

"That's weird." Brittany furrowed her brow in disbelief. "We'll always feel better after helping someone, not the other way around. Am I right?"

"He made me remember again...," Alicia bit her lower lip anxiously. "All the series of deaths I've witnessed in the past."

But Brittany didn't react the way Alicia had imagined. Instead, the chubby-cheeked girl was calm and relaxed as she listened to Alicia's story. "Does this... have something to do with Nicholas?" Brittany asked.

Alicia's brow furrowed deeply. "How do you know?"

Then Brittany snorted in amusement. "I already knew when I saw you two talking at the ice cream parlor. You're like a guardian angel for Nicholas and I think he'll always come back because he needs you, Alicia." She then crossed her arms over her chest. "But what if Ace finds out?"

"Nic and I made a deal about that. I'll help him and he'll keep his mouth shut from Ace," Alicia explained. But a moment later, Alicia's expression suddenly became confused. "But after helping Nicholas, this case just reminded me of all those bad things, Britt."

"Don't push yourself, Alicia." Brittany gently rubbed her best friend's right arm. "You can ask to stop if you can't." It made Alicia look straight at Brittany now. "I'm glad you want to help Nic, but I don't want the case to put you in danger."

"Britt..."

"Seeing you almost die from that wire was the worst thing I've ever seen in my life," Brittany said softly. "I don't want... my best friend in danger, ever again."

And Brittany's words touched Alicia's heart. She smiled and hugged Brittany tightly. "Thank you for taking care of me, Britt." Then Alicia tightened the embrace between the friends afterwards. "But the case that Nicholas is now facing is really bothering me."

Suddenly, Brittany was very curious now. "It seems like a very serious case."

"Did you know about the massacre downtown a few days ago?" Brittany nodded quickly. "The victim didn't die from being shot, but from having cyanide in his body."

The blonde-haired girl immediately shuddered in horror. "God, that reminds me of Elena." She then leaned toward Alicia. "So what now? What are your plans?"

"I think I'll keep helping Nicholas," Alicia said.

"What if Ace finds out?" Brittany rolled her eyes lazily. "He'll go crazy just because of that. Wouldn't he?"

And Alicia nodded in agreement. "You're right. But maybe, if we keep our mouths shut in front of Ace, we can hide it. What do you think? After all, I just need to help Nicholas dictate the chronology until he finds solid evidence and then I'll stop."

"It sounds easy, but it's not really convincing," Brittany said honestly.

"Come on, Britt. I just need to know what the motive was and what the modus operandi was in this case," Alicia pleaded. "I need to be sure of one thing."

"Is... is this all Amanda's doing?"

And Alicia's blue eyes looked deep into Brittany's brown irises. "That's what I need to make sure of in this case, Britt." She took Brittany's hand and held it tightly. "So please, help me keep this a secret from Ace. Can you do that for me and Nic, Britt?" []