After resting at home with Neil for a day, Zoe was determined to go to work that evening, despite Neil's objections. Zoe didn't want to take leave so soon after starting his new job, and he was anxious to find out what had happened to the man from the previous night. In his fear and haste, he had only glimpsed the man curled up motionless in the alley.
Despite Zoe's insistence, Neil reluctantly drove him to the Night bar. Zoe arrived early, and because of his injuries, Neil didn’t let him use his bike but drove him directly to the bar. As Zoe walked in, he heard the lively chatter among the female servers about the man who had died in the dark alley. Neil went to the bar where Roger was sitting, while Zoe bowed to the owner and went straight inside to prepare for work.
Roger glanced at Zoe, puzzled, and asked Neil, “What happened to his head?”
“He had an accident,” Neil replied, taking a seat.
“Oh dear,” Roger exclaimed in surprise. “Is he okay?”
“It’s nothing serious, just a minor head injury,” Neil said.
Roger thought for a moment. “When did the accident happen?”
“Last night, on the way back from the bar,” Neil explained.
Roger sighed. “It’s fortunate Zoe is okay. Also, last night, someone died in the alley behind the bar.”
“Someone died?” Neil’s eyes widened in surprise. “Behind this bar?”
Roger nodded. “Yes. This morning, while I was at home, the police came. Someone had called the station to report a body behind the bar.
They asked me what time I went home last night and if I knew anything about it.” Roger took a sip from his water glass and continued, “I told them I didn’t know anything. I was drunk and got home around two o'clock, and the staff can confirm that. They said they need everyone in the bar to gather at six tonight for the police to question them. Since the body was found not far from here, the coroner estimated the time of death to be around two or three in the morning, which coincides with when the bar closed. So, the police want to know if anyone saw anything unusual around here when they left.”
Neil was about to say something when the glass door of the bar opened, and two tall men in police uniforms walked in. Neil and Roger turned to face them. The first was Detective Brian Smith, Neil’s colleague and partner at the Wales City Police Department.
He was a young, handsome man in a formal police uniform, his serious face framed by deep-set eyes with cold, pale blue irises. The other man, slimmer and slightly younger than Brian, was clearly a rookie with little experience.
Brian smiled at Neil. “What are you doing here? Investigating too?”
“No,” Neil replied, “I’m just bringing a friend to work.” He nodded and smiled at the rookie beside Brian, then pointed to Roger. “The owner here is a good friend of mine.”
“Ah, I see,” Brian said with a smile to Roger. “It’s easier to talk when we know each other.”
Brian turned to Roger. “Mr. Roger, could you call all the staff out so we can ask them some questions about the body found behind the bar?”
Roger forced a strained smile. “Of course, Officer. We are always ready to cooperate; it’s our duty as responsible citizens.”
Apart from Neil, Roger had never liked the police much. In his view, they were adept at pretending to be concerned to gain the trust of the gullible, always saying how they could do everything for the safety of the public. Yet, when people were in trouble or in danger, it was difficult to get any help from them.
Calls for assistance often resulted in nothing more than a recorded message: “This is the Wales City Police Department. Please describe the problem you are facing, leave your address and phone number, and we will send the nearest officer to assist you.”
One could only wait. If lucky, someone might arrive within thirty minutes; if unlucky, the victim might already be dead by the time the police arrived. Roger's father had been a victim of this neglect when robbers broke into their home and severely injured him. Despite his desperate call for help, by the time the police arrived, Roger’s father had already passed away. This was why Roger harbored such disdain for the police.
Briefly responding to the officer, Roger hurried inside to call out all the bar staff. Zoe was the last to emerge. His gaze was fixed on only one person, Neil, who was the only one who looked at him from start to finish.
Neil’s gentle eyes and slight smile gave Zoe the strength to overcome his psychological barrier of fear, especially as he worried about being discovered as the murderer of the unfortunate man.
Zoe managed a small smile back at Neil, then shifted his gaze to the two officers standing nearby. He looked at the liquor shelf behind the bar, leaned against the counter, took a deep breath, and exhaled. Zoe tried hard not to think about what happened the previous night, but his hands still clenched tightly, sweating coldly.
The last time his anger led to Finn’s death when he was pushed to his limits, and now it had happened again with the drunken man. But this time, he couldn’t let it happen again. For his future and his life, he couldn’t end up back in that dark prison. Most importantly, he couldn’t let Neil be disappointed in him or see him as a cold-blooded murderer using his sinister powers to kill and feed on souls.
No matter how much the world might despise, fear, or loathe him, Zoe didn’t care. But for Neil, he didn’t want to be seen as something monstrous, a killer using his powers to destroy lives and consume souls.