Two Hundred and seventy two

CHAPTER 272

Nicholas dropped Alicia off in front of Alpha Company's office, while he continued on his way to the daycare. He got out of his car, with a bag of fries from Mcd. Nicholas walked in and was met by Lim Sara.

Lim Sara, who was working, greeted Nicholas politely. "Good morning, Detective. Have you come to pick up Glen?"

A small mumble was heard from Nicholas. He finally explained the situation to Sara. "Um, well, the police still have to check a few things from Mrs. Selena. It may take some time, can Glen stay here a little longer?"

Lim Sara looked worried. The woman with her beautiful hair coils mumbled, before nodding and replying, "Of course, Detective. But it seems like Glen is worried about his mother, he's asked about her several times and I can only say that she's at work." Sara turned around, then showed Glen who was sitting alone in the corner of the study room. "Because he stays here alone, without the other children, he thinks that his mother is angry."

"Has Glen ever been left to sleep over here before?"

"Um, a few weeks before Mrs. Selena got into trouble, she left Glen here, Glen stayed overnight and Mrs. Selena picked him up the next day."

Sara's explanation made Nicholas nod his head in understanding. He looked around and Glen was indeed alone in the classroom. He then cleared his throat and looked at Sara. "Can I talk to Glen?"

"Sure. I'll call him."

After a while, Sara came out of the classroom with Glen. Glen was a five-year-old boy. He was still too young to understand Selena, his mother's situation. Glen even bowed his head when he was confronted by Nicholas.

"Glen, this is Detective Nicholas. He wants to talk to you," Lim Sara said, the woman trying to start a conversation to get Glen to be braver. "This detective... is a friend of your mother. So he wants to say hello to you today. Say 'hi' to Detective Nicholas."

Slowly, Glen lifted his face. He looked at Nicholas doubtfully.

"Hi, Glen!" greeted Nicholas first, trying to be warm.

But Glen lowered his face again. He looked confused and scared.

Sara and Nicholas exchanged glances. They both looked confused by Glen's attitude of refusing to talk, but Sara hurriedly found a way. Sara's two thin hands rubbed Glen's shoulders lightly, Sara then said, "Glen, why do you look unenthused? Uncle Nicholas wants to see you today. Isn't there anything you want to ask him? He's a policeman, so he knows a lot of things. He knows about dinosaurs, planets, he knows about-"

"Does Uncle Nicholas know anything about my mom?"

Glen cut Sara off with something unexpected. Sara hadn't even had time to close her mouth, finishing her sentence because she was surprised by the question given by Glen. She really is an innocent child.

Nicholas swallowed, he exchanged glances with Sara and tried to smile at Glen. "Before we talk about that, would you like to eat these fries with Uncle Glen?" Nicholas raised one hand in the air, he shook it. "These are good fries."

Glen nodded in agreement. Then, Sara left Glen with Nicholas. Sara let Nicholas take his time. And Nicholas invited Glen to sit in the corner of the playroom, on the colorful chair on the outside.

Nicholas gave Glen the fries he had bought. "You can eat these while you ask me questions."

Glen looked confused at first, the boy seemed hesitant. Even though they had met at Selena's house before, Glen was still too young to understand everything. But Nicholas pushed the food away and gave Glen courage.

"Take it."

Glen accepted the plastic, and opened it slowly. While eating one potato after another, Nicholas tried to break the ice.

"By the way... you asked about your mom earlier. Do you miss her a lot?"

Glen looked at Nicholas sitting next to him and nodded. "Did my mom do anything bad? You're a cop, a detective, did my mom do anything bad that she had to deal with Uncle?"

Nicholas chuckled softly, he didn't want the atmosphere to become very tense. "Um, your mom didn't do anything bad. But there are some problems that I can't solve on my own, Glen. I need your mom's help. So, until I'm done with this problem, your mom will still help me and stay at the police station for a while."

"Until when will my mom be at the police station, Uncle Nicholas?"

"Nick. You can call me Uncle Nick." Nicholas smiled a little. He looked ahead as he crossed his legs. "I can't give you an exact time, but when your mom is done, she will come here to pick you up."

"Why don't you ask someone else to help you, Uncle?"

Nicholas looked thoughtful, he needed an answer that was quick, precise and easy for the children to understand. He then got an idea and smiled. "Because your mom is very smart. Only your mom can answer these questions, she can help me solve problems, while I can't."

Glen rounded his mouth. He looked amazed at the figure of his mother after listening to Nicholas' story. The boy nodded his head and continued, "My mom sounds cool."

"You're right. Your mom is cool. That's why you have to wait here until your mom gets home. Do you understand, Glen?"

The boy nodded and grabbed some fries from the plastic. He looked much better compared to when Nicholas first arrived. Nicholas' brown eyes scanned the surroundings and he met Sara who was watching from the front of the classroom. Sara smiled, as if giving him an admiring glance from a distance and Nicholas returned Sara's with a small smile on his gray lips.

For a few days at least, Glen wouldn't be worrying about his mother anymore. And Nicholas could focus on extracting as much information as possible from Selena at the police station.

"Glen, I think Uncle should go now."