Twenty One

CHAPTER 21

Ace Blake's room.

Ace allowed everyone to sit near the bed, watching Luke who was preparing with his laptop on his lap. Luke was indeed a technology expert, he was Ace's trusted hacker. So far, Luke's skills have helped him a lot for his personal needs. But this time, Luke knew that the problem they were facing was not just a small one.

Ace lent him his super-expensive laptop to support their planned hacking action. They then sat in a circle with Luke as the centerpiece. And Nicholas immediately gave Luke the link he found at the scene of Elena's death.

Luke looked serious with the laptop in front of him. His eyes stared straight, while his forehead frowned seriously. Usually, they would play video games to pass the time. But what they were dealing with this time was a case of someone's death. No games, no fun.

Ace pulled the chair in the corner of the room closer to Luke, he stared at the screen and asked, "How? Were you able to break into the dark site's server security?"

"I'm trying," Luke said.

Nicholas suddenly replied, "I will arrest you for this hack if you don't get in."

Hearing Nicholas' serious-sounding words, made everyone in the room turn their heads quickly. People looked at Nicholas with a come-on-what-are-you-serious and you're-so-annoying expression. So Nicholas was sensitized and came to his defense. Nicholas shrugged and said, "You guys know that hacking is in the law, right?"

"Must you discuss the law in this situation, Detective?" asked Ace irritably. Nicholas couldn't see the situation at all! Very annoying.

"I got it!" Luke suddenly shouted enthusiastically.

Luke looked at the people around him with a happy expression - hoping that one of them would congratulate him or something - but they didn't respond. They just looked at Luke with flat faces. It made Luke lower the smile on his lips and snort in annoyance.

"What are you guys doing? Can you at least pretend to be happy to appreciate my work?"

Brittany who was sitting next to Luke immediately shook his head. She spoke casually. "You just logged in. Even a child can do that," she said irritably. "Quick, do your job properly, Luke!"

Luke replied to Britt with an annoyed snort. "You guys aren't having much fun, are you," he grumbled for a moment before returning to the web system in front of him. "If it wasn't for that detective threatening me, I wouldn't have done anything."

"Stop complaining, you're not a kid," Nicholas said, then tapped Luke hard on the shoulder.

Luke grunted in annoyance that his success was not appreciated at all. But he refocused on his main objective there.

While Luke was busy tearing apart the security system of the forbidden site through software and some coding system that no one understood, Brittany grabbed a can of soda and a packet of potato chips from the mini kitchen in Ace's room. See? This is the privilleage of a school CEO's son. She has a mini kitchen with a fridge and a coffee machine in her room. The facilities in Ace's room can really spoil anyone who is in it. It was only natural that Luke would take her at her word to experience that privillege as well.

"Speaking of Elena's death, I feel weird without her. Even though she was annoying, she was still my role model. Her fashion sense is so classy and I've always admired her," Brittany said as she walked back to her place. "Who would kill her?"

Alicia smiled wryly. "Elena thought otherwise. She thought you were her rival, Britt," Alicia said frankly.

Brittany sat back and started munching on her potato chips. "She misjudged me."

Nicholas opened the email that had just arrived on his cell phone and gave a deep frown as he read the investigation report into Elena's death. "From my observations, the culprit seems to know the victim very well and knows the ins and outs of this dormitory. It can be seen from his quick movements and leaving no trace," he said suddenly. Making the others turn their heads curiously. "Do I have to check five hundred people at once to catch him?"

"That's a crazy idea, Nic." Brittany took a quick sip of her soda and looked at Alicia and Nicholas--who were in front of her--alternately. "But I really can't imagine what it must be like to be Jake. He must be in total shock," Britt said with concern.

"Yeah, you're right, Britt." Ace interrupted. "Looking back, Jake was always involved in every death case, um, I mean, he was always in contact with the victims." Ace turned her face towards the cell phone in her hand. He was playing the latest game on his phone while waiting for Luke to do his job. "Jake was the first to find James' body, and now it's his girlfriend who's turned into a corpse."

Nicholas squinted his eyes suspiciously. "Wait, wait, this kid has a point." He straightened up and looked at the four of them in turn. "The victims were connected within a fairly narrow circle of friends. This means that the perpetrator is probably one of the victim's closest friends."

Britt rolled her eyes lazily. "But who, Nic?! Everyone in this dorm knows that Elena is an influential student. Only someone with a lot of guts would do this, of course."

Ace scratched the nape of his neck awkwardly. "Okay, maybe this is a very serious matter now." He put his cell phone into his pants pocket. "Anyone could be the culprit. But who do you think is the person who has big balls and secret associations with drug dealers or people from this dark site?!"

Ace's words just now managed to make everyone in his room shudder in horror. Tension showed on their faces. Ace was right. They seemed to be dealing with someone who was an expert in his field. It could be seen from the execution that left no trace and was so neat.

For some time, only silence pierced the atmosphere around them. No one dared to open their voices because in the end, they were busy with their own speculations.

Suddenly, Luke shifted his sitting position. He leaned forward and stared at the laptop screen that had been resting on his thighs with a serious expression. "I think I found something," he said mysteriously.