Chapter 20 - Alex Li

By the time Halia and Alex finished dinner, it was already 8pm. They decided to head over to the bar even though it was just the two of them because Halia insisted to go for a drink. After all, she wanted to see if she could find anything about what happened the other night.

Because the bar wasn't far away, Halia and Alex decided to walk. On the way, a little girl approached them to sell flowers.

"Hi, sir, would you like to buy some flowers for your girlfriend? I am trying to make money for my mommy's surgery. The doctors won't cure her unless I have money."

Alex looked at the little girl. There was an indescribable pity and pain in his eyes as he stood frozen in place. "All doctors care about is money. They think they're so good that they can even refuse to save a life. How could they be so cold hearted?"

Halia turned to look at her colleague. "Are you OK, Alex?" she asked.

As she looked at him, their eyes met. Halia realized she had never actually stared into this man's eyes...but they felt oddly familiar.

"I'll buy the biggest bunch you have," Alex offered the little girl.

The girl cheered and handed a bunch of flowers to Alex, "Thank you, your girlfriend will be very happy."

Alex gave the little girl some money and she skipped away in glee. He then held onto the flowers and looked at Halia.

"I know you already have a boyfriend, but here, take these as a gift," he said as he handed her the flowers.

Halia looked at the flowers. This scene felt very familiar. She slowly stretched out her hands to accept the flowers, but...Alex let go too early and the flowers dropped on the floor. The petals fell all over the floor.

Halia froze.

The memory of Sara rejecting a confession in front of the aquarium projection came to her mind. Last time she had this memory, she didn't see the man's face properly, but this time, as she looked up, she clearly saw who it was.

It was Alex!

...

Back at the police station, senior detective Murray Yang finally received a message from the first victim's mother.

It was a photo of her daughter's boyfriend.

The detective looked at the photo and frowned. He had done a background check on Dr. Isaac Yan and familiarized himself with him, but the man in the photo sent to him was not the same man. Was it just a coincidence that they had the same name? Or did someone steal Dr. Yan's identity?

There was only one way to find out. He immediately forwarded the photo to the colleague that was watching over Isaac Yan and told him, "Ask Dr. Yan if he knows the man in this photo."

The colleague did as told. He stepped out of his car and walked up to Isaac's apartment and knocked on the door.

It didn't take long for Isaac to open the door. As soon as he did, the detective introduced himself and Isaac quickly checked his credentials.

"I am detective, Connor Lin. I have a photo here. Can you please tell me if you know this man?" the young detective asked as he showed Isaac the photo on his phone.

Isaac looked at the photo and zoomed in closer. Finally, he replied, "Yes...that's a student nurse from our hospital..."

"I think his name is Alex...Yes, Alex Li."

...

"Oh no!" Alex cried as he bent down to pick up the flowers on the floor. "I'm so sorry."

Halia watched the man curiously.

"Alex, did you know Sara well?" she suddenly asked.

Alex stood up with the damaged flowers and looked at Halia, "She was just a colleague. We barely knew each other. Why do you ask?"

Halia looked at the man curiously. Why was he lying?

"Well, you said she confessed to Dr. Yan and got rejected by him, so I wanted to see if you knew anything else."

The man walked over to some bins and carefully unwrapped the damaged flowers. He then placed the plastic and paper in the recycle bin and the flowers in the other one. He even picked up some trash on the floor and placed them into the corresponding bins.

Halia began to get a weird vibe from the guy. Something wasn't right.

The man realized his actions were a little strange, so he turned and looked at Halia. "I'm sorry, I have slight OCD, I don't like it when things aren't tidy," he laughed.

Halia stared at the man as his laugh rang through her ears and she froze again.

This laugh. She had heard it before...