Chapter 312 - Stalker

A couple of hours later, Officer Liang approached Emerson, Albert, and Jimmy with a folder. "We compared the prints from the envelope with Miss Song's fingerprints and they were a perfect match," she said with a smile.

She then handed the bag containing the envelope back to Albert and looked at Emerson.

"Thank you for your help today."

Emerson nodded. He wasn't helping her, he was simply helping Avaleigh. "Is Miss Song free to go?" he asked.

Officer Liang smiled and nodded her head just as another officer walked Avaleigh into the room.

Avaleigh looked completely exhausted, but she was still as beautiful as ever. As soon as the taxi driver saw her, he was shocked. Even though he was her alibi, this was the first time he had seen her without her mask and he recognized her straight away.

"Aren't you Avaleigh Song from Macaron?" he exclaimed.

Avaleigh glanced at the taxi driver. He looked slightly familiar but she had no idea who he was.

Albert tugged on Emerson's arm, "Am I seeing things?"

Emerson shook his head, "No, you're right. The person that was in your taxi last night was Avaleigh Song from Macaron."

Albert's eyes lit up, "I can't believe it! I'm a huge fan. I wanted to go to your concert but I had to work at night so I couldn't go. Can I get your autograph?"

Avaleigh looked at Emerson with confusion.

"This is Albert Yang, he was your taxi driver last night. Thanks to Mr. Wu, we found him and he served as your alibi. You are now free to go," Officer Liang explained.

Avaleigh looked at Emerson thankfully. He had helped her again. After she saw him that morning, she thought he had already left since he was a busy man with an entire casino to look after. Who knew he had spent this time helping her clear her name. Without another thought, she ran up to the man and hugged him.

Emerson was a little taken aback by this. 

"Thank you," Avaleigh whispered beside his ear.

Albert watched the two and smiled. The man was handsome and the woman was beautiful; they looked like the perfect match. He knew there was more to these two than just a simple dinner. But, he respected their privacy.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he turned towards the doorway, "I guess I'll get going."

But, Avaleigh suddenly looked at him and said, "Do you have a paper and pen?"

Albert looked at the woman and quickly understood what she was thinking. She was giving him the autograph he asked for.

He quickly borrowed a pen from one of the officers, handed Avaleigh the envelope that she had previously given him and watched with anticipation as she signed her autograph on it.

Albert was ecstatic. He never expected that the woman he thought was a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e was actually one of his idols. Even though he had an overactive imagination, this wasn't something he had ever considered. The disguise suddenly made sense.

Holding onto the autograph, he left the building with a huge smile on his face. Wait 'til his wife saw this, she would be so jealous.

Unlike Albert, Emerson and Avaleigh couldn't leave through the front door. Even though the police tried their best to contain the case, word had gotten out about the murder at Royal Sunset Hotel and everyone was speculating what had happened so reporters were waiting outside the police headquarters to see what information they could get. So, Emerson and Avaleigh left through the underground carpark.

Of course, the reporters had no idea that Albert was involved in the case, so they did not question him when he walked out. But, one particular reporter had a sharp eye and spotted the autograph in Albert's hands. 

As soon as Albert turned a corner, the reporter dragged him behind a tree and covered his mouth. Gesturing for him to be quiet, he slowly pulled out his ID and said, "I am a reporter from Entertainment Daily. My name is, Steven Zhe. I noticed the autograph in your hand and I just wanted to confirm that Avaleigh Song is OK."

The man then slowly removed his hand so Albert could talk.

Albert was wary as he looked at the man's ID. He knew how immoral reporters could be and he didn't want to cause trouble for Avaleigh, so he simply said, "I don't know what you're talking about," and walked off.

But, the man grabbed onto his arm and held him back, "I heard someone was murdered at the Royal Sunset Hotel. I just want to make sure Avaleigh Song is still alive. Was she the victim?"

Albert looked at the man like he was crazy. What made this guy think Avaleigh was dead? She was alive and well. But, he respected Avaleigh's privacy and insisted on not saying a word, so he brushed the man away and walked off.

Steven held onto his camera nervously. This morning, while he was looking through some photos he took of Macaron, he had noticed something strange. At first, he dismissed it and thought he was being paranoid. But, when he heard someone was murdered at Royal Sunset Hotel and that it had something to do with Macaron, he had a bad gut feeling about it and rushed to the police headquarters to see what information he could get.

He wasn't just a nosy reporter that wanted the next big story. He was genuinely concerned. Because, in the photos he saw that morning...it appeared as though...Avaleigh Song had a stalker...

He even searched through old photos in his database and saw the same man standing in the background of her photos from the past.

If someone was murdered at Royal Sunset Hotel, was it Avaleigh? And if so, was she murdered by this stalker? But, he didn't want to jump to conclusions, nor did he want the police to suspect him. If they looked at his photos, they would discover that he was outside Avaleigh's room for most of the night and he didn't leave until midnight. Would that somehow incriminate him? What if he got blamed for the murder?

Feeling a little fl.u.s.tered, Steven picked up his phone and made a phone call, "Oliver...your girlfriend is from Interpol, right? I need some help with something."