Chapter 144: The One and The Same (1/2)

I tapped my finger against the ground.

”Do you think he orchestrated it?” I found myself saying.

”How so?” he demanded.

”I just… I thought it was strange that I got the tickets on the day of the show. Everyone kept saying how they booked weeks and months in advance and I got two tickets at market price on the day of the show… from a third-party seller.” I looked at the letters. ”He was watching us and somehow knew you were interested. Maybe he wanted to get a closer glance at you and ended up seeing me. And he got interested.”

”Possible. What else?”

”He thinks we have some sort of romantic connection. I just don't know how he got this idea.” That freaked me out the most.

”It means that none of us are in harm,” Sebastian told me firmly. ”Now, we have a clue on our hands. We can find him. He came to our doorstep several times.”

I could see that he was trying to recall his face. ”Do you remember how he looked?”

He nodded vaguely. ”Partially. But the restaurant that he worked for… they would remember,” he assured.

But the world didn't stop for us to figure out the mystery. We changed and drove to the office. On the way there, I called the restaurant.

”Hi, I am one of your customers and was wondering if you could give me information on one of your delivery partners,” I spoke softly into the phone. I tried to sound reliable.

”Information on our delivery person? I'm sorry ma'am, I can't give you that information. Might I ask what this is about?” The other person said. ”I could call the manager if you want.”

I thought about it for a second. ”Thank you. Can you please hand the phone to the manager? I need this information urgently.” I couldn't say that this was part of the investigation because we didn't have solid proof that there was even an accomplice in the first place. Therefore, this I would have to ask about as a civilian.

I heard whispering on the other side and finally, someone cleared their throat and spoke.

”Hello?” it was a female.

”Hi, I am a regular customer of your business. I needed some information about a delivery person who has been coming to our house for some time,” I repeated.

She asked for my information and I gave her Sebastian and my name and our address. She went silent for a second.

”What seems to be the problem?” she asked, more silent than before.

”I received some weird parcels from him. My neighbor recognized who he was. I was wondering if I could talk to him or have a way to contact him.”

”I apologize if he was rude or made you uncomfortable.” Another pause. ”But he quit the job a few days ago. He didn't even give a notice period and said he was moving away,” she explained in a frantic.

”Please don't apologize on his behalf. I am not going to hold your establishment accountable for something he did. I just want his information. Can you give me a name, his contact information, and any address that you have on him?” I asked finally.

”I can give you his name but not the contact information,” he said quietly.

”Right,” I agreed. ”What is his name?”

”Uh, his name is Nicholas Burton,” she said finally.

I paused. ”Are you sure?” I couldn't help but whisper.

”Yes. I have his information, too. It checked out, ma'am.”

”Thank you. Thanks a lot. I appreciate your help.” I hung up and turned to Sebastian.

”What's his name?” Sebastian asked. ”But I can see that it is not his real name from your expression.” He grew worried.

”Nicholas Burton,” I said.

He sucked in a deep breath. ”And she was absolutely sure…” he trailed off. ”Nicholas Burton is dead. He killed himself and we found his body. So, someone is using his identity to contact you.” He tapped his finger on the steering wheel.

”I think we can do something about this,” he said finally. ”We will submit the letter to forensics, get a report signing off that it is the same person as the McCain case and get a search done it. We can look at all the footage the restaurant has. The traffic cameras. Everything. He will be caught on something or the other.”

I highly doubted it.

We arrived at the station and made our way in. The greetings were many and everyone seemed to smile at me.

”How was the conference?” Nash asked me when I entered.

”It was enlightening,” I told him glumly.

Nash looked puzzled. ”It couldn't have been more enlightening than the information I am about to give you,” he prompted.