Chapter 18 - Dinner With A Killer

After hearing from the police chief that they didn't get any information from the first victim's mother, Halia was disappointed but she continued with her investigation.

The next stop, was the nearby University. Peking University was famous for its medical degree and PUH was where they trained all their future doctors and nurses.

The third victim was actually from Peking University, but they never tied it to PUH because she studied IT, not medicine, and the IT building was on the other end of the University.

Suddenly, someone ran up behind Halia and cried out, "Oh my God, Halia, why did you leave without saying anything last night?"

Halia turned around.

It was Dr. Su.

"I'm sorry, there was an emergency at home," Halia replied.

"We were so worried about you, especially Isaac. When we realized you hadn't returned for a while, he went to look for you?"

"Isaac?"

"Did you see him? We assumed you guys left together since he never came back."

Halia paused for a second realizing what may have happened. Was Isaac the one that took her to the hotel?

Was he the one she kissed?

"What are you doing here?" Halia asked, changing the subject before she started to blush again.

"I'm a guest lecturer. I come here a few times every semester," Dr. Su smiled. "What about you?"

"I...uh..." Halia didn't know how to respond. She couldn't tell him she was investigating a murder.

"She's here with me, I used to study here, so I wanted to go for a walk down memory lane and show her around my old campus," Eric quickly stepped in and explained.

"You are...?"

"I am Halia's boyfriend."

Halia glared at Eric, but played along.

"Yes, he's a doctor as well."

Dr. Su smiled and shook Eric's hand, "Nice to meet you. Anyway, I'd love to stick around, but I have a lecture to get to. I'll see you back at the hospital."

As Dr. Su walked away, Halia noticed a bunch of girls looking at him and whispering to each other. Out of curiosity, she walked closer to see what they were talking about.

"He's so handsome. I never knew a brain surgeon could look like that."

"It's no wonder that Angel had a huge crush on him. It was a shame that she never got to confess to him."

"I miss her, we used to run over here from the IT department just to get a glance of him together. Now, she's no longer with us."

"I hope her murderer gets caught soon. It's already been over a month since she died."

The girls got teary and started to comfort each other.

Halia looked at Eric, "Angel was the name of the third victim...I guess she did have a connection with the emergency ward of PUH..."

At that moment, Halia suddenly received a phone call. The name 'Isaac' popped up on her screen and her heart immediately began to race.

"Uh...Isaac...hi," she answered, trying to remain composed.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

Feeling better? Was he referring to last night? Did he see her in her 'drugged' state so he carried her out of the bar? Was he the one that wiped her with a warm towel and wrapped her in a blanket?

"Umm...yes, much better," Halia replied.

"Errr...are you free tonight? Would you like to have dinner together?"

Halia paused for a moment. Was he asking her on a date? A couple days before she was about to throw him into an interrogation room?

"Sure," Halia replied, feeling a little guilty.

Deep down, she wanted to believe that this man was innocent, but she still had no proof. If he was the one that took her to a hotel room last night, was he the one that drugged her? He did buy her a drink; it would have been easy for him to spike it if he wanted to.

Suddenly, a frightening thought came to her mind: if the police hadn't arrived, would he have killed her?

After she hung up the phone, she looked at Eric, "I'm going to dinner with Isaac tonight. I think there's a huge possibility that he might be the killer."

"I'll come with you," Eric quickly offered.

"Just stay close and watch over me. If I look like I'm in trouble, immediately call the chief."

Eric nodded.

...

That evening, Halia met Isaac at a fancy steak restaurant in the middle of town. She had gone home to change before she came back out and was now wearing a short black dress that ended just above her knee. It hugged tightly to her body, accentuating her curves, but she covered it up with a coat; the coat that was left behind for her the night before.

As she walked into the restaurant, Isaac stood up to pull out a chair for her. He then ordered two of the restaurant's famous steak.

"You look warm," he commented.

Halia blushed. Was he hinting that his coat was keeping her warm?

"I'm glad that you're looking much better today. You seemed really drunk last night," Issac said with a worried expression.

Halia looked at the man opposite her, "It was strange, I don't remember drinking that much."

"You had four drinks, that's a lot for a girl," he replied.

Halia was a strong drinker. On a good day, she could drink 10 shots and her head would only feel a little dizzy.

So, she stared straight into the man's eyes and said, "I think my drink was spiked, did you do it?"