Two Hundred and fourty six

Chapter 246

"Chief Nicholas!"

The voice broke Nicholas and Alicia's focus. Especially when they both found Hendrick waving and walking towards them.

There was nothing Nicholas could do when Hendrick finally joined the same table as him. Nicholas had to act casual so that Hendrick wouldn't get suspicious.

"Hello, Alicia. You're here too. Are you guys on a date?"

Alicia and Nicholas exchanged glances. Without saying anything, Alicia could tell right away that she had to keep her mouth shut. She had to keep her secret so Hendrick wouldn't get suspicious.

Nicholas answered immediately. "We were hanging out around here, and decided to pay a visit to Fast Coffee." He looked at Alicia, giving her the code to nod her head. Alicia obeyed, she did Nicholas' covert request. "What are you doing in the office, Hendrick?"

"I'm just finishing up the report for Jason's case, the testimony from Mrs. Winchester yesterday will be included in the written report. That's a big clue."

Nicholas nodded in agreement. "You're right. It's important information, you should write it down in the notes." Nicholas silently assessed Hendrick's demeanor. "Would you like to order something?"

"No, Chief." Hendrick grinned. He looked at Alicia who was busy stirring the hot cappuccino with a small spoon, before finally turning back to Nicholas. "In that case, I'll leave you two alone. I'm afraid I'll be interrupting your time."

Without being asked, Hendrick immediately stood up from his place and looked at the two people in the seats in turn.

"See you soon, Chief."

And Nicholas nodded his head in reply to Hendrick's words.

After Hendrick left the table, Alicia and Nicholas exchanged glances. They were watching Hendrick's movements. It started with Hendrick leaving Nicholas' table, then he walked to the cashier, ordered a drink, waited for him nearby and took the order while paying. Hendrick didn't even look at Nicholas' table again before he finally left Fast Coffee.

"He showed up at the wrong time," Alicia muttered, taking her order.

Nicholas nodded his head. Looking at the closed door after Hendrick's departure, Nicholas replied to Alicia.

"I can't believe that he would betray us." Nicholas spluttered. "He was one of the senior detectives, he should have been a role model. It's a shame that he abused his position and power like that."

Alicia looked around, the Fast Coffee crowd was starting to fill up. But the tables around Alicia and Nicholas' table were still unfilled. It looked like they could still talk about the cases there.

"So, we should add Anna Parker to the list of people involved in my parents' deaths. Ace, Anna and Ace's mom, Angela."

Nicholas nodded in agreement. He took a sip of his coffee that was starting to warm up, and added his assumption. "Your mother may be related to Anna, but your mother is not related to Ace and Ace's mother, they don't know each other personally. But Felix said, before Wilson Blake was hospitalized, Golden Group had submitted a collab proposal to Alpha Company but your mom turned it down. Your mom may know Wilson Blake, but does she know Ace and even Ace's mother who has been living in England for a long time?"

"The reason Ace killed our friends was because he was afraid that I would find out about his plan to kill me. But in the end, Ace didn't kill me, and neither did his father. If Wilson Blake failed to kill me in the past, why didn't he do it when he had the chance?"

Again, Nicholas nodded in agreement. "It's like a missing piece. We should be looking for this missing piece in order to put the puzzle together and solve the case."

"But how? How to connect Anna, Ace, Angela, Wilson Blake, and my parents?"

The two of them were stuck in silence for a few moments. Both were busy with their own thoughts. Their heads were filled with expectations and possibilities.

Alicia mumbled for a long time, before finally saying, "What was the purpose of these people being killed? Why did Ace kill Jason, Jill and his daughter? Ace would kill to cover up something, just like the past. But what was Ace so afraid of that he would kill Jason, Jill and her daughter?"

Before Nicholas could answer, the ringing of the cell phone in the man's coat pocket caught his attention. Nicholas picked up the phone, it was Noel.

"Yes, Noel?"

[...]

"I'll be right there!"

Click.

The call was switched off. Nicholas immediately saw Alicia, she was staring frantically while informing. "The police found Jason's family."

Alicia's eyes widened. "I'll come with you." She stood up, preparing to leave, but Nicholas held Alicia's hand and made the girl turn around. "What else is it, Nick?"

"You have to promise me."

"Promise?"

"Don't go near the police line. You will stay in the car until I come to you. Understood?"

"Alright, I promise."

They both immediately got into the car. According to the maps given by Noel, Nicholas finally arrived near an artificial waterfall tour owned by a private company on the outskirts of the city.

Nicholas said to Alicia. "You wait here. I'll check on them."

Alicia felt uncomfortable, she knew something bad had just happened, but Alicia nodded her head and said, "Okay, Nick. Come back and see me when you're done."

After saying that, Nicholas left his car. He ran to enter the building. It was a tourist attraction of a private company, Mega Water. It was an artificial waterfall and there were several water pools around it.

Nicholas immediately grabbed his head when he found the bodies of a woman and two boys hugging each other inside a box. Noel stood nearby, taking some pictures with the office camera. Noel noticed Nicholas' presence, their eyes met as Noel finally shook his head.

It was a code that Nicholas understood. Nicholas looked around, before finally approaching Noel. The ambulance sirens broke their attention and Noel muttered, "The body will be moved soon. The forensics team has finished their examination, Nick."

"This really is the most complicated case I've ever come across," Nicholas said, before he moved closer to the bodies he found. "Ace... did you do this?"