Chapter 308 - Number One Suspect

Emerson quickly jumped up to look for his phone. He had to send the woman a reply and let her know that he was looking forward to dinner with her before she changed her mind and backed out. After all, women were unpredictable.

But, just as he picked up his phone, he noticed he had 5 missed calls. It was from an unknown number and they had been trying to contact him since 3am that morning. It wasn't often that he received calls at such an odd hour of the day. Who was it? Why were they calling so early in the morning? Was it something urgent?

With a puzzled expression, Emerson pressed on the number and returned the call. He had a feeling it was important.

Soon, a female voice answered, "Hello, Officer Liang speaking."

Emerson's eyes opened wide when he heard this greeting. Officer? Why was an officer calling him? "Hi, Officer Liang. My name is Emerson Wu, I received 5 missed calls from you this morning."

The woman on the other end quickly glanced at the number on her phone and grabbed a piece of paper in front of her that had the same number scribbled on it.

"Mr. Wu! I'm glad you called. I am a detective from the homicide department of the Hong Kong Police Force. We need you to come down to the police headquarters right away," the woman said with urgency.

Emerson furrowed his brows. Why were the Hong Kong police looking for him? Was it something to do with his mother? But, she was already behind bars, what was so urgent that they called him at 3am in the morning? Most importantly, why was the homicide department calling him?

Wasn't the homicide department in charge of murders...?

"May I ask what happened?" Emerson asked with confusion.

"I can't explain everything on the phone. Just come down here and you will understand," Officer Liang replied.

Emerson didn't know what was going on, but he agreed and quickly hung up the phone. He was an upstanding citizen so he was naturally happy to cooperate. But, he had a bad feeling about this.

He immediately changed into a pair of dark blue business pants and a white collared shirt and hurried out to his car where his driver was waiting.

"Good morning, President, would you like to go to the AsiaWorld-Expo or the casino first today?" the young driver asked.

Emerson shook his head, "To the police headquarters."

The young driver looked at his boss in surprise and quickly jumped into the driver's seat. Why was Emerson going there?

Soon, the car pulled up outside the police headquarters and Emerson stepped out. 

He then walked up to the reception desk and told them he was there to see Officer Liang from the homicide department. 

The women at the reception desk glanced at each other like they knew something and quickly called Officer Liang.

A short moment later, a young woman in a gray suit walked out to greet him, "Mr. Wu, I'm glad you're here. Follow me."

Without questioning the woman, Emerson quickly followed.

As the woman hurried down a corridor, she began to explain, "We were called into the Royal Sunset Hotel this morning just after 1am."

Emerson listened curiously. Royal Sunset Hotel? That was where Macaron and their manager was staying. Did this have something to do with them?

"A young woman was unfortunately found murdered in her hotel room..." Officer Liang said softly.

Emerson felt his steps slow down a little when he heard this. A murder? A young woman? What did this have to do with him? Did he...know the victim?

At that moment, his heart sank as a thought crossed his mind. 1am. was Avaleigh back at the hotel at that time? Did something happen to her?

With a slightly trembling voice, he asked, "Why am I here?"

Officer Liang calmly continued, "There was another person at the scene of the crime...When we arrived, she was sitting on the floor with blood all over her hands...so she naturally became the number one suspect..."

"We brought her in and sat her inside one of our interrogation rooms. But, she hasn't said a thing except...your name..."

"My name?" Emerson asked in surprise as Officer Liang stopped outside a door.

The woman then turned the handle and stepped inside. Emerson hesitated for a second before he followed her. A moment later, a familiar face came into view.

Inside a sealed room, behind a one-way mirror, Avaleigh sat quietly with her head down staring at her hands. Her hands were still stained by blood, but it had now dried.

Even though there had been a murder and the situation was serious, Emerson couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

"She's been sitting like that since we brought her in. Her manager and other group members have already filed police reports, but she has refused to speak. Supposedly, she and the victim were on bad terms with each other," Officer Liang said.

Emerson looked at the officer and asked, "What's the victim's name?"

Officer Liang stared into Emerson's eyes and replied, "Mimi Chen..."

Emerson's eyes opened wide in shock. He then glanced at Avaleigh again, "Can I speak to her?"

"Please..." Officer Liang said as she led him to another door.

She then entered the interrogation room with Emerson.

Emerson slowly approached the woman with a worried expression on his face. What had happened? There was no way he would believe that this woman was a murderer.

"Ava?" he called out gently as he sat down opposite her.

When she heard the man's familiar voice, Avaleigh lifted her eyes for the first time since she arrived at the police headquarters and her lips began to quiver, "Emerson..."

Officer Liang stepped closer, but kept a fair distance to not frighten the woman.

"Ava, everything will be alright. Can you tell me what happened?" Emerson asked in a comforting voice.

Avaleigh stared into Emerson's eyes like she had finally found someone she could trust and started speaking.

"Mi...Mimi's dead..." she replied as tears began to seep out of her eyes. "The police think I killed her..."

Earlier on, a couple of officers had tried to force her to speak and their interrogation methods were a bit intimidating.

"Don't worry, I'm here now. Tell me what happened," Emerson said comfortingly.

Avaleigh nodded her head and slowly started talking, "Mimi's door was open when I got back to the hotel, so I went in to check on her...I called her name a few times but she didn't respond so I went to look for her in her bedroom. That was when I saw her lying face down on the bed. But, something didn't seem right, so I flipped her over..."

Avaleigh then paused and looked down at her hands. "There was blood everywhere..."

At that moment, Officer Liang stepped forward and asked, "So, you're saying she was dead when you arrived?"

Avaleigh glanced at the woman with tears in her eyes and nodded her head.