Chapter 24

Alexander pulled up the food delivery app on his phone and handed it to Zoey, telling her to order whatever she wanted.

Zoey just shrugged and said, "I'm good with anything; you pick."

Alexander took the phone back and nodded.

His long, attractive fingers tapped a few times on the screen, then he looked up and casually asked, "How about some hot cocoa?"

Zoey replied, "Never had it; plain water's fine."

Alexander's eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously? Don't all girls drink it every day?"

Zoey, confused, said, "I've just never tried hot cocoa; what's the big deal? I like plain water. Hot cocoa's pricey and not exactly healthy. Why spend money to feel crappy?"

Alexander went quiet.

Zoey just didn't see the point in spending a lot of money just to quench her thirst.

Alexander didn't push the topic and continued ordering food quietly.

He picked out some of her favorite dishes from their recent meals together and added two cups of hot cocoa for Zoey to try.

She thought it was expensive, so she didn't buy it. Since he bought it, she shouldn't mind, right?

Worried Zoey might not drink it, he also ordered two bottles of water.

The delivery guy had a tough time finding their location.

Alexander talked to him over the phone, giving directions, and they finally met up.

When Alexander got back to the car with a big bag of food, the car was soon filled with the delicious aroma.

"All set, let's eat," Alexander said, opening the food containers and handing Zoey her utensils.

Zoey didn't hold back and started eating right away.

She ate quickly, without any grace.

Alexander couldn't understand how she could eat so much.

Seeing him not eating, Zoey looked up and asked, "Why are you staring at me? Aren't you eating?"

"Yeah," Alexander said, picking up his utensils and starting to eat.

When Zoey had almost finished eating, Alexander carefully took out the hot cocoa he had bought for her.

He handed it to Zoey, "I got this for you."

Zoey felt a strange emotion she couldn't quite identify.

She took the hot cocoa from him and took a sip.

"It's pretty good; thanks for the meal," she said. Then she thought, 'No wonder it's so expensive.'

"It's nothing. We're colleagues; we should look out for each other," Alexander said. He found that he enjoyed her compliments more than he expected. He must be crazy!

After a while, both of them were full and slumped back in their seats.

Zoey felt a bit sleepy and wanted to close her eyes for a while.

She wanted to rest up and deal with things in the morning.

Alexander, in the driver's seat, couldn't sit still. He flipped through the case files repeatedly, looking for clues.

After a while, he got sleepy and took out his phone to find a nearby hotel for both of them.

He was surprised to find that the drive from here to downtown, and then from downtown to Pleasantville Apartments, took a full hour.

An idea suddenly popped into his head. He muttered, "If Lawrence drives out every weekend, how does he get back?"

They had almost worn out the surveillance tapes looking for Lawrence, but there was no footage of him returning to the apartment complex.

Zoey, though her eyes were closed, was also thinking about what Alexander had said.

The next second, she answered, "That's because he never came back."

Alexander asked, "You mean, besides Lawrence, there's someone else?"

Zoey was now uncertain; these were merely her conjectures. She slowly opened her eyes and said, "Do you recall passing a neighborhood closest to the suburbs?"

Alexander instantly got it. "Looks like we have more work tomorrow."

All night, they took turns keeping watch of the car, afraid that the evidence they had found would disappear.

At dawn, Robert finally arrived!

Robert came to their car window and knocked on the door.

Alexander and Zoey, having stayed up all night, looked tired as they rolled down the window to greet Robert, "Officer Davis, you're here."

Robert said, "Yes, the tech team has started working. You two must be exhausted; go get some rest."

Alexander and Zoey had more important things to do than rest. Zoey said, "We'll check the nearby apartment complex first, then we'll go back!"

Robert agreed, "Alright, call if you need help."

"Okay, I think Zoey and I can handle it," Alexander said, as it was just checking some surveillance footage.

After talking to Alexander, Robert went back to the warehouse.

Alexander and Zoey drove the car closer to the city. Since it was morning, there were many food vendors on the street.

They bought some food to fill their stomachs and headed to the apartment complex they had passed by earlier to check the surveillance.

But as soon as they arrived, the security guard stopped them. "Sorry, you're not residents here; please register."

Alexander parked the car and walked to the security office. Then he showed his badge and easily got the surveillance footage.

Zoey wanted information on all the residents, but the security guard said, "Officer, we've done all we can. Resident information is private, and without a warrant, we can't give it to you. We're just employees; we can't risk it."

Zoey thought this apartment complex was pretty good; it was at least better than Pleasantville Apartments.

If they found any clues in the future, they might get what they needed from the security office, making the investigation easier.

"Alright, thanks for your cooperation." Alexander understood. They didn't have solid evidence; otherwise, they wouldn't be here looking for it.

After more than an hour, Alexander and Zoey returned to the precinct.

Charles saw them and excitedly approached, "We found it! This suspicious car's movements match Lawrence's almost exactly! It goes back on Friday nights and comes out on Sunday nights."