Chapter 326 - Progress Or Standstill?

Officer Liang sat quietly in her office and looked at the information she had in front of her. A moment ago, she had seen Steven, Avaleigh, and Emerson out of the building. Of course, they left through the back door since there were too many paparazzi outside, but just because they left, it didn't mean her work was done. She was only just getting started...

Officer Ceci Liang had been in the Hong Kong police for many years, but this was the first time she encountered a case that involved an international celebrity so she wasn't used to all the media coverage. With all paparazzi outside, she was expecting to sleep at the office that night.

With a sigh, she looked at the photos of Avaleigh's father and scratched her head. Since the man followed Avaleigh all the way from Korea, the first thing she could do was check his travel records. So, she called the immigration office for help.

"Can you run a check on a suspect for me. When did he arrive in Hong Kong and what was the address that he said he was staying in?" she said over the phone.

The man on the other end did a quick check through their database and replied, "Mr. Song arrived 3 days ago from Seoul, Korea and his address in Hong Kong is listed as a hostel in Temple St. But..."

The man paused.

"But, what?" Officer Liang asked.

"But, it says here that he already caught a flight back to Seoul at 6:45pm this evening and it seems as though he booked it last minute because his originally intended length of stay was 1 week. The flight should be landing in Seoul at any moment now," the man replied.

"Seoul?" Officer Liang exclaimed. 

The man was definitely suspicious! Why was he returning all of a sudden? There was only one reason: if he crossed the borders back into Korea, he would be on Korean soil and she would have no jurisdiction there.

Officer Liang furrowed her brows and hung up the phone. All she could do at that moment was gather more evidence to prove that the man was the murderer and hopefully request for extradition back to Hong Kong.

But first, she knew that Avaleigh was stressed by the information she had learned that day, so she gave the woman a phone call to notify her that her father had returned to Seoul and that she was safe in Hong Kong. "I suggest you stay in Hong Kong until we can prove whether your father is innocent or not. He is currently our main suspect and we don't know what his motive is. Who's to say that you're not his next target. If you return to Korea now, you will be walking into a lion's den and we won't be able to protect you."

Avaleigh nodded her head even though she still believed her father would never hurt her. If he had the intention to hurt her, he wouldn't have stalked her for so long without doing anything. However, if he really killed Mimi, then he wasn't as harmless as she thought.

Emerson saw the frown on Avaleigh's face and knew she was upset. "You can stay here for as long as you want," he offered. "My apartment is practically empty most of the time. You can sleep in my bed and I will go back to The Peak to sleep."

Avaleigh shook her head, "I can't do that...What do you get out of it?"

She didn't want to take advantage of Emerson's kindness.

Emerson looked at the huge feast on the dining table. They had just finished reheating everything and his stomach was grumbling. He picked up a piece of grilled pork belly and placed it in his mouth with satisfaction. Even though the chef that worked at his home was a professional, it did not compare to eating something cooked by the person he liked. 

"Cook dinner for me," Emerson replied after he took a few more bites of food.

"Huh?" Avaleigh looked at the man in confusion. What did he mean? Didn't she already cook this dinner for him?

"Cook dinner for me every night and that can be your rent," Emerson smiled as he scooped some rice into his mouth.

Avaleigh watched as the man devoured the food she cooked and quickly nodded her head. If she was going to accept his help, this was the least she could do in return.

...

The next few days past with a lot of questions up in the air. Forensics swept the entire scene of Mimi's murder and found a whole heap of fingerprints around the suite. But, nothing was out of the ordinary; apart from Mimi and Avaleigh, there were only prints from the cleaners and hotel staff who all had alibis. They also examined the blood in the room and there was nothing strange there either. They had no other suspects, but they didn't have conclusive evidence to extradite a person from Korea either, so the case was at a standstill.

Meanwhile, in Boracay, Halia and the others continued to relax at the resort and on the beach like nothing had happened. But, in the back of their heads, they waited for the place to be raided at any time. Halia had provided sufficient evidence to Trisha and she expected them to take action quickly, but only 3 days later did she receive a response from the woman: "Interpol in the Philippines contacted the authorities in Boracay and they have decided to raid the place at 7pm tonight. Leave your key card in an envelope for Jon Mercado and drop it off at the lobby so they have access. Someone will be there to pick it up. After that, I suggest you leave the Philippines just to be safe."

Halia showed the message to the others and they all agreed to book a flight out as soon as possible. 

"But, where do we go? I don't want to return to Hong Kong so soon. We're supposed to be on our honeymoon," Natalie frowned.

Just as she said this, Jackson suddenly received a phone call from Emerson, "Bro, I need your help! It's urgent! Do you want to continue your honeymoon in Korea?"