The Girl Who Couldn't Kill

Chapter 16-Prized Possession

"Noel, hey where were you yesterday?" No one in the group had seen Noel since the lockdown yesterday.

"Oh, good morning Ajax. I just went straight back to my dorm. It was too overwhelming." Noel looked exhausted, eyebags swallowing the area under his eye.

"Dude, text the group chat next time, everyone was freaking out."

"I am sorry, I'll do better next time. I didn't mean to scare you guys." Noel waved a hand. "I have to go to the library now to study for my chem test in the afternoon, I'll see you later."

"Okay, see you man, stay safe."

Although the school wasn't on lockdown anymore, half the people didn't show up to class today. Many parents were getting angry at the school council and NPA for taking it too slow to catch the killer. Many students were also withdrawing from the school temporarily until the killer is found and arrested. The whole education system in Taipei City was tense and the school was keeping everything too under-the-wraps.

As Ajax started to walk towards his lunch block in the student lounge, the announcement called his name.

God, what now?

He entered the principal's office ready to brace for what was coming. In the course of 30 seconds, he was sat down by Officer Hong, while Alice and another man in a black suit stood in the corner of the room, with a spiraled notebook in hand. Before Ajax could utter a word, a plastic bag filled with dirty cigarettes was thrown in front of him.

"Mr. Chang, do these look familiar to you?" Officer Hong boomed.

Ajax inspected the bag carefully. He recalled what Rory told him,

Apparently they were exchanging rolled-up paper and communicating through notes with Chrome.

He leaned back in his metal chair as if his back was sore and momentarily peeked through the small open area in the rolled papers. There it was, a microscopic edge of a piece of kraft paper sticking out just barely at the tip of the cigarette. Whatever the message conveyed, Ajax had to find a way to get his hands on it, but without revealing his valuable intel.

People like Officer Hong and the Criminal Bureau team don't pay attention to details like this, but rather pay unnecessary details to the person of suspicion and not the hard evidence. It is until after they deliver solid evidence for DNA testing, that the police realize these defects are hidden in plain sight.

"Yes. There are cigarettes in a plastic bag." He said plainly.

"Very clever, Mr. Chang, but no," she studied his face. "Have you been illegally dealing with cigarettes to other students?"

"No. I've never smoked or held a cigarette. I don't do stuff like that." He answered truthfully.

"Well, we have taken a further inspection of the video footage of you that night and found out that you were wearing the most peculiar clothing, any special reason?"

Ajax came up with the most teenager response he could manage. "I was seeing a girl." He almost choked. He couldn't risk losing his night job, he could be suspended, and worst case scenario, lose his whole scholarship.

"A girl?" Official Hong blinked. Even Alice coughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, her parents forbade her from dating so we met up at a late time so her friends don't notice." Ajax tried to blush and sound ashamed.

"Could this girl perhaps be Rory Peng?" Officers Hong's eyes flared as she was getting closer to the prize.

Ajax's heart started to race, "What? No. Rory has nothing to do with this, please don't involve her."

"Isn't weird that both you and Rory were present on the night of Connor's death?" The tension in the room began to close in on Ajax, his mind spinning.

What the hell? Rory was there when Connor died? This is bullshit, did Rory lie to him too? Ajax began to wonder if Rory had a motive to kill Connor since she admitted her dark fantasies were true. This overthinking started to overpower him until he felt betrayed and hopeless. He had started to like Rory a lot.

Rory had no right to be mad at him if she had been hiding information from him all along. Ajax was boiling with rage and confusion, he needed to confront Rory about this. But he had so many questions, it felt like his brain would explode before he couldn't leave this room.

Ajax regretted what he was about to say next. "I didn't know she was there."

Officer Hong was entertained, her eyes glowing like Ajax was a golden egg, waiting to be salvaged. "So the girl you were seeing wasn't Rory Peng?"

"Yes, it was someone else. Rory's presence had nothing to do with me. If you don't mind me saying, I would suggest you investigate her, she may be your new lead." Ajax hated himself for saying things about Rory in spite of his personal anger, but then again, this was the whole point of the interrogation; for people to react to emotional triggers and reveal evidence. He basically turned the suspect narrative to Rory without realizing it.

What he didn't realize was that his comment made him just as suspicious as Rory. More so like he was putting the blame on an innocent girl getting home from a study session in the library.

Just as Ajax was trying to regain his cool, Officer Hong asked, "You and Connor were in the same cohort class in grade 1/2 correct?"

"Yes. I was friends with him for a while but stopped talking to him in junior high." He told Alice the truth because he was tired of lying.

"Any reason?"

"We drifted but we had never fought. We had found new friends and started to talk to each other less," he said half-truthfully. Surely, Ajax wasn't completely happy with their situation. He had cared a lot for Connor's well-being and in return, he would often get insults and criticism. But it was true, Ajax hadn't held a grudge against Connor but rather the hopes he would change into a better person with time.

Officer Hong seemed to sense the hint of sincerity in his voice, she nodded to Alice and the man in the suit. "Thank you for your time, Ajax, you may leave now. We hope that you care of yourself and stay safe" A slight trail in her voice finally gave empathy to her words.

Ajax nodded and gave a weak smile out of politeness and left the room without turning his back.

Now, he really didn't know what or who to trust.