The Devilish Assassin Meets The Angelic Detective

*** At XXX Investigation Headquarters ***

When the four men arrived in the afternoon, April and Rose immediately gathered them and informed them about the happenings that transpired just this morning.

Of course, Erick and Aliyah, or rather Elle became their topic. The ladies told the boys about the interaction and the exchange of arguments between the two.

Rose: " Chief Lee went back to being a loner. His expression right now is like a blank paper. No hint of emotions at all, just like a robot. "

Carl: " Finding the proof of Elle's death was really shocking for our Chief. He finds it hard to accept it completely. "

Bryan: " All this time, he was still hoping that she's alive. I can't imagine the pain he is going through right now. "

Allen: " Sigh! What can we do to help him? "

Everyone shook their heads. They had no idea.

April: " Aliyah dropped by this morning."

June: "So how is it? How did Erick react?"

The two ladies sighed deeply, having grave expressions on their faces.

Rose: "Chief Lee, acted very cold towards her."

June: "Huh? Is that true?"

The ladies just nodded to confirm it. The four men fell silent.

April: "Aliyah was surprised to see Chief Lee in the office so she asked him why he's here. Then Erick responded to her with a cold voice 'I should be the one asking you that! Why are you here?"

Carl: "..."

June: "..."

Allen: "..."

Bryan: "..."

Rose: " That's so unlikely of him, right?"

The men just nodded in agreement.

April: " We felt that Aliyah was a little bit hurt by his cold treatment but she just endured it. She said sorry and explained why she asked that question. "

Rose: " Aliyah just said that she thought Erick would be late because he did the surveillance operation last night. "

Carl: " I think that's not the only reason why Miss Aliyah asked Chief Lee why he's here. "

June: "Huh? Why do you think so? What's the other reason?"

His colleagues looked at him intently, anticipating his answer.

Carl: " Miss Aliyah came last night during our Surveillance Operation at Samuel Sy's compound. "

Everyone was startled to hear that, asking themselves what she was doing there.

June: "So… what happened next?"

Carl: " She said she wanted to accompany me during the surveillance operation because she thought I was alone. I refused her. Then I told her that Chief Lee went home because he was not feeling well. So I think the reason Miss Aliyah asked Erick why he's here in the office is that she is thinking that Erick should be staying at home and resting."

April: " So Chief Lee was sick. And Aliyah knew. Now I get it why there was a hint of worry and concern in her voice when she asked him that. "

Rose: "Oh, she's so thoughtful. Too bad Chief Lee didn't know it."

Bryan: "So what Miss Aliyah did next?"

Carl: "She just said okay then she left."

Little did they know, Erick heard half of their conversations, especially the last portion.

Erick furrowed his brows, "Aliyah knew that I was sick last night. "

Then a light gleam flickered through Erick's eyes. His gut feeling was telling him something.

"Last night… could it be…" Erick mumbled, lots of speculation running in his mind right now.

Erick moved away from his office door, avoiding being caught by his colleagues that he was eavesdropping on their conversation.

On the other hand, his team continued their discussion.

Carl: "Do you think Miss Aliyah's presence is making it more difficult for Chief Lee to move on? After all, she still looks like Elle."

June: " I agree. I am also wondering. Should we stop collaborating with Aliyah's team regarding this case? "

April: " That's not a good idea. I trust Chief Lee. He would get over this. Besides, he can still work with her professionally. So we don't need to worry about that. "

Allen: "Then why don't we consult Chief Lee if he is okay or not about working with Miss Ross?"

After saying that, they averted their gaze to Bryan since he was the only person who could bring this up to Erick.

Bryan: "Hey! DON'T GIVE ME THAT KIND OF LOOK!"

**********

Erick felt uneasy. Something was troubling his mind again. He couldn't erase Aliyah's upset expression in his mind.

'Was she upset because I'd still come to work despite the fact that I was so sick last night?'

For an unknown reason, he felt guilty about her. If she was Elle, Elle would also do the same. She would be mad and upset with him. 

He remembered how Elle threatened him before for not allowing him to go to work for another month unless he would fully recover. Thinking about that, Erick decided to go home early and rest.

When he arrived home, he saw his parents talking in the living room. His mom stood up immediately upon seeing him. She approached him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Son, it's a miracle. You went home so early." Sarah blurted out cheerfully.

"I decided to work from home for today, Mom. Besides, both you and Dad are here. I should make time for both of you." Erick said to her softly.

"Good decision, son." Raymond approached him and tapped his back.

Erick's lips stretched into a smile but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Dad, Mom, I will just go to my study. Just call me if you need anything." Erick kissed his Mom's forehead and nodded at his Dad before he left them in the living room.

Erick sat down in his study for several minutes, not doing anything. He was just staring blankly at the wall.

After a while, he decided to pick up some doc.u.ments inside his drawer. The doc.u.ments were all about Catseye's Case two years ago.

He decided to re-read it all over again, trying to find some clue about the Skull Gang and the Dark Knight Organization. 

After running through it, Erick separated the reports about the cases involving Jefferson Gong, Carlo Vello, and Diego De Dios. He posted the photos taken for the report in his corkboard and whiteboard.