Chapter 3 - An Unexpected Accomplice

"That means the culprit has been lurking around the victim's house. That was how he was able to get in when the victim was trying to call the police'',Stephanie added

"I just got the CCTV footage of the hotel. The culprit entered the hotel as a deliveryman too"

"He must have been watching them for quite awhile before making his move",Ray uttered

'' were you able to trace his scooter bike ?'',Scott asked

"No. The scooter wasn't registered",replied Frank

"The scooter must have been caught on one of the surveillance cameras around the area. You should check well",Scott said

"That's the strangest part"

"Both times the culprit committed murder, the scooter wasn't caught on any surveillance camera around the area",Frank retorted

"Could he be living in the same area with the victim ?", Stephanie asked in confusion

"No,That would only make sense if all his victims were murdered in the same area"

"The culprit is meticulous"

"He planned everything well including his escape route. We must be missing something here",Scott said

"Then, what should we do now ?",Frank asked

"You and Ray should keep watching the footage"

"I and Stephanie meet with the owner of the chicken restaurant",Scott said as he got up and Stephanie followed him

"Why did he always leave with Stephanie ?"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking ?" Frank asked

"Yes,It's probably because she's better than you" Ray added

"Gosh...are you kidding me ?"

"Then , what about you ?" Frank asked

"Of course I have to stay here to keep an eye on you",he replied grinning

Stephanie stopped the car as soon as they arrived at the chicken restaurant. They both alighted from the car and realized that the restaurant has been closed down

''how long has this restaurant been closed ?'',Scott asked a passerby

"Oh ! This place has been out of business for almost two months",replied the passerby as he was leaving in a hurry

"Huh, the restaurant has been out of business for that long"

"could the owner be the culprit ?",Stephanie wondered

"let's find out the owner's address'',said Scott as he was dialing a number

He called Frank and asked him to look into the owner's address. Frank called back later and told him the address.

They drove out of the area immediately and went to the restaurant owner's place. Scott and Stephanie carefully looked around the place before they finally rang the doorbell. The owner came out to meet them five minutes later

''May i know who you are ?",asked Mr Simon , a man in his 50's

"We're detectives from New York city police department",said Stephanie as she showed her I.D to Mr Simon

"oh. so, what're the police doing here ?'',Mr Simon asked inquisitively

"We have some questions for you regarding a case we're working on. Your cooperation is of utmost important to us , please help us out",replied Scott

"Alright. let's talk inside'' uttered the man as he led the way in

They entered the living room and the man offered them seats.

"you can go ahead with your questions now" Mr Simon said

"Mr Simon, how long has your chicken restaurant been closed ?",asked Scott

"hmm.....it's been almost two months now" he replied

''Oh, Does anyone else has access to your restaurant ?'',asked Scott

''Yes, there is someone else. It's my son.",replied Mr Simon

''Ugh.So, where's your son right now?'',Scott enquired

''He ran away from home two months ago '',he replied

"That must be the reason why you close down your restaurant",Stephanie added

"Yes....i've been trying to find him but to no avail'',the man cried out

''We'll try our best in finding him'',Scott assured him

"Thank you, detectives'' he said while trying to get on his knees but Scott stopped him

''Can you show us some of his photos ?" asked Stephanie

"i would like to show his photos to you but he packed out the photos'' he replied while wiping tears off his face

"oh.....i see'',replied Stephanie

"can you show us your son's room ?'',Scott demanded

"Of course. Please follow me '',Mr Simon said

He showed them his son's room and walked away. Scott and Stephanie carefully looked around the room. Scott bent down and touched the floor. Then, he smelled his hand

They walked out of the room later and Scott dropped his number telling the man to call him if he was able find his son before they do''

They got out of the place and returned to the station

"Did you look into what I told you ?",Scott asked immediately he walked in

"Yes, we did. we checked the CCTV footages of the surveillance camera around the restaurant but the owner of the restaurant was the only one that went into the restaurant a month ago",replied Frank

"don't you notice anything weird at Mr Simon's place ?" Stephanie asked curiously

"Of course, I did"

"There are lots of things that just don't fit in"

"He claimed his son had ran away from home but he doesn't even have a photo of his son",Scott said

"if he doesn't have a photo of his son, how would he be able to find him ?'',Ray asked in confusion

"He intentionally hide the photos from us",Scott replied

''What !",exclaimed Frank

"If he hid the photos from us like you claimed, doesn't that make him an accomplice ?'',enquired Stephanie

"Yes,that would make him an accomplice'',replied Scott

"Are you sure about this,sir ?. We might be barking up the wrong tree",she asked

'' i think she has a point'',added Ray

''You should listen to me then"

"While checking his son's room , I realized the room was recently cleaned"

"Also, we passed by the kitchen when going to the son's room and I realized dirty dishes are too much for a person living alone"

"Do you remember how long the man took before he came out and answered us ?",Scott asked as he faced Stephanie

"That's right.he took almost five minutes before coming out'',replied Stephanie

"So, he cleaned the room and hid all the photos within five minutes ?",asked Frank

"Yes'' replied Scott

"but it's impossible for him to do all that within five minutes",Ray said

"Of course , it's not possible. But it's possible if he did it with his son",added Scott

"We were fooled by that old man",Stephanie said

"No, we just played along with him"

"Let's stakeout at his place , i'm sure we'll be able to get the two of them'',said Scott

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