The Devilish Assassin Meets The Angelic Detective

'This necklace… it looks familiar. No… not just familiar. It looks the same with the necklace I gave to Elle before.'

It was impossible for Erick not to recognize the necklace since he was the one who bought it for Elle. The necklace on the screen looked exactly the same as the one he gave to her.

'Is this just a coincidence? Elle lost her necklace some time ago. And now Catseye also has this kind of necklace. She also lost it and Black Shadow found it. But how?'

There were lots of questions running in Erick's mind right now. He continued reading Marie's report. According to her Black Shadow also tried to trace Catseye by searching the jewelry store selling this kind of necklace. But with no avail, he got nothing.

The frown on Erick's face deepened after reading that report.

'If that was the case then it was expected he wouldn't find anything in ordinary jewelry stores. If my assumption is right then this necklace can only be found at the store selling safety items and equipment for protection.'

Erick was very silent and serious. Bryan noticed the changes in his expression. He smiled at the thought that Erick would always be a hundred percent focus when it comes to their work. Just a while ago he saw the bright mood of Erick and now it turned 180 degrees.

Bryan knew that once Erick became like this one thing was for sure: he was thinking hard and analyzing things.

However Erick was somehow feeling shaken right now. For unknown reasons, he felt uneasy and very nervous. He should be happy for getting this important clue but he didn't know why he was worried and troubled.

He felt a little bit scared for what was about to unfold before him.

'There is only one way to find out. I should visit the store where I bought the necklace.'

"Chief, what should we do about this? How do we start to investigate this?"

Bryan's sudden question snapped Erick out his deep thoughts. He gazed up blankly at him. Bryan gave him a confused look.

"Chief? What's wrong?" Bryan asked him again as he noticed that something was off about him.

Erick shook his head."Nothing. What did you just say a while ago?" 

"I said what shall we do about this?" Bryan said as he pointed out the necklace on his computer screen.

Erick paused for a moment, contemplating what he would tell Bryan. He was waiting for his order.

"Try to search and contact jewelry stores. Find out if they could recognize this necklace." Erick simply said, not looking into Bryan's eyes.

"But Black Shadow already did that and he didn't find anything. Do you think he missed out on anything during his search?" Bryan said unsure if that was the right thing to do now.

Erick was having conflicting emotions right now. He knew Bryan had a point but as of now he couldn't tell him what's on his mind right now. He needed to confirm it first.

Erick stood up and faced Bryan as he put his hand on his shoulder.

"Just do that for now. I will also personally look into this. I have to go somewhere." Erick smiled faintly at him before he left the headquarters.

Bryan just watched Erick as his figure vanished in his line of sight. 'Why is it he is suddenly acting weird.' he thought to himself. In the end, Bryan just followed Erick's instruction.

Meanwhile, Erick was now heading to a certain store at the City Z. He couldn't explain what he was feeling right now. He reached the store and was about to enter when he suddenly halted. There was a glint of hesitation in his eyes.

Seconds later, he inhaled deeply and started to walk inside the store. He was able to gather his thoughts and find his courage to face no matter what the answer he would find out today.

The store manager greeted Erick with a bright smile the moment he saw him. He was very familiar with the detective. They had known each other for a long time. 

"Chief Lee, welcome. It's been a long time since I last saw you. You are becoming more handsome. How are you?" The manager was delighted to see Erick.

"Hello Mr. Mo. I am doing fine." Erick greeted him politely. 

The store manager was short and chubby. He was in his mid-40s. He approached Erick and invited him to sit down on a bench inside the store. There were no customers at that time.

"Are you here to buy safety equipment? Or do you want to order again a personalized one?" Mr. Mo asked him directly. 

The store manager knew that Erick would always buy things every time he visited the store. He was very fond of him, that's why he always assisted him personally when he was buying items.

"Sorry Mr. Mo but I am not here to buy items for now. Can I borrow a few minutes of your time? There is something I want to ask and confirm."

"Oh, is that so? Sure… I will be at your service, Chief Lee. So how can I help you? What do you want to know?" Mr. Mo asked him eagerly. 

Erick picked up his phone and showed him a picture. It was a necklace.

"Mr. Mo do you remember this necklace? I bought this in this store several months ago." Erick asked him.

Mr. Mo studied the necklace in the picture. After a while he recognized it and he nodded at Erick to confirm it.

"Yes, I remember this. Of course, it is a personalized item that I made myself. I am the one who recommended this to you so I would never forget this. Why are you asking me about this necklace?" Mr. Mo gave him a questioning look.

"Is there another customer aside from me who bought this necklace?" Erick was anticipating his answer as he stared at him intently.

Mr. Mo paused for a moment, thinking about it. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked up to meet Erick's eyes.

"I couldn't remember other customers who bought this necklace aside from you. Hehe besides, we only had one design for this. Remember, this is a personalized item. However other customers bought different necklaces with the same function like this one."

When he heard that, Erick's heart tightened. A mix of emotions flashed in his eyes as he looked down.

"D-Do you mean… t-that there is no possibility that there are two or more necklaces with the same design as this?" Erick asked him again just to confirm it.

"Yes. This is a unique item." Mr. Mo said with certainty.

After hearing that Erick felt that his energy was drained. His expression darkened and he fell silent on his spot. 

Sensing the gloomy expression of Erick, Mr. Mo asked him with concern: "Are you okay, Chief Lee? You don't look well."

Erick just nodded at him absentmindedly. After a while, he thanked the store manager for his time before he bade him goodbye. Without wasting any more time, he went back to the headquarters.

When Erick entered their headquarters, his team noticed his sullen expression. They couldn't help themselves but wonder what happened to him. So the team urged Bryan to speak with their Chief.

When Bryan entered his office he saw Erick leaning on his chair. He lifted a hand to massage the stress between his brows. 

Erick laughed grimly as he said "It couldn't be…"

"What is it? What is weighing in your mind right now, Chief Lee?" Bryan asked him as he was worried about him.

Instead of answering his question, Erick asked Bryan something about Elle.

"The night when I was injured, Elle visited the hospital right? She was there with you right?"

Bryan was taken aback by his sudden question. He was puzzled why Erick was asking him about Elle right now. 'Is there something wrong with the husband and wife? Are they fighting?' he asked himself.

"Yes, Chief. She went there as soon as she received my call." Bryan replied.

"Is there something unusual with her that time?" Erick asked him again. He was really serious at this moment.

"Nothing that I think of. She was very worried about you. She even asked me who did that to you."

"What?! So did you tell her anything?"

"Uhmm, sorry Erick. She was crying in front of me and she was insisting to know what happened to you. I know it is our protocol not to disclose information about our operation to civilians but I ended up telling her everything." Bryan was feeling so guilty right now.

"So she knew about Reaper?" Erick's voice became more stern.

"Y-Yes." Bryan became nervous. He didn't know why but he felt like he was being interrogated by Erick. And Erick's aura was frightening even though he looked calm outside.

"What did she do after?" 

"She left the hospital for a while to go home and pack up some of your clothes."

"How long… she was out before she returned to the hospital?"

"I don't know how many hours exactly. My mind was so occupied by you that night. Why are you asking me this?"

Erick didn't answer him. He waved his hand as he dismissed Bryan. "I want to be alone right now," he mumbled in a low voice.

Bryan was dumbfounded. He had no idea what Erick was thinking. He just sighed in defeat before he left his office.

Erick slammed his eyes shut. His mind could not help but flash Elle's beautiful face. He raised his hand as he clutched on his chest. He felt suffocated.

"Elle... It couldn't be… it couldn't be… it couldn't be... you!" Erick mumbled, repeating those words like a mantra. A warm liquid already flowed down from the corner of his eyes.