"We are once again at a dead end." Daniel ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "This is fucking messed up. What are we going to do now?"
Elise didn't reply. Her thoughts kept going back to the twins and their expressions. Since she now knew why they were targeting her, she became cautious. But she couldn't brush off the sense of foreboding in her. It gripped her tight, refusing to let go.
It was only when Kai patted her shoulder that she broke out of the reverie.
"Elise, where are you lost?"
"I'm just thinking." Elise gave a perfunctory reply. "Any updates from the site of the explosion?"
"Not yet. The fatalities number is quite large. So, it's taking some time."
"Hmm." Elise nodded and thought of the next step. They had searched Craig's properties and there found nothing significant for the case. But they did find evidence of the illegal activities the man was involved in and crimes he had committed.
In a way, the search had brought more work for them as they now had to handle the cases of illegal activities and crimes.
"Have you spoken to Rowen Andrews?"
"He was not in the city last night. He should have returned by now." Derek looked at his watch.
"What are waiting for then? Let's go." Elise commanded and the team proceeded to meet Rowen Andrews, the second suspect on their list.
"Hello, Officers. Please take your seats." Rowen gestured towards the couch while he remained seated. "How may I help you?"
Daniel once again took the lead while Elise watched the man before her silently. Something about the man seemed off. Although he was not as charming as the Sephyr twins, she could see the appeal and understood why ladies flocked to him despite being in his late thirties. He carried himself like a king and every action of his was performed with such elegance and class that it made people respect him automatically.
But not Elise. She felt nothing for him. Instead, she found the man fake. It was as if he was trying to hide his true self from the world and was intentionally making him look noble and mighty. Moreover, his temperament screamed of wickedness.
Unlike the twins who made her uneasy and wary, the man before her made her feel repulsive. Elise couldn't fathom why she was having such beliefs about him. Although it was not the first time she was meeting him, this was, however, the first time she was watching him in such proximity.
Elise frowned, her thoughts distracted to some other place for a moment. She recalled a piece of news she had read in the newspaper when she was still a student.
A lady had accused Rowen of molesting her. Since the man was a well-known businessman, the news caught eyeballs instantly. However, within an hour after she filed a complaint against him, the lady took back the case and she was in turn filed with the charges of maligning Rowen and blackmailing him.
At that time, no one had delved deeper into the matter. But now that she thought about it, she felt the case to be quite bizarre. 'Did Rowen really molest the lady?' She thought and observed the man with squinted eyes.
Her focus was not on the conversation. Instead, she was studying discreetly. His body language, his style and sense of speaking, his behavior, his temperature, and his expressions - she observed all of them.
Rowen was nothing like the twins. He gave off wicked vibes only subtly here and there, while the twins didn't hide their wickedness even once. All of a sudden, Elise found the twins better than Rowen. At least, she didn't have to keep suspecting their intentions. They were outright manipulating them, she knew it.
However, with Rowen, it was difficult to say anything. He was too closed and if not for her brilliant observant skills, she'd have missed his barely noticeable strange expression. Although they were fleeting, she still caught on to the change in his expression.
Rowen's eyes quivered. It was obvious that he was stunned, although he made sure to hide it perfectly. Elise was damn sure that none of the other men had noticed it. But she had and she instantly focused on their conversation. This might be their breakpoint.
"I agree that Craig and I had friction and were hostile to each other. But it was limited to only work matters. We never mixed our private and professional lives. I agree that we had a dispute when we competed for a tender. It doesn't mean I killed him." Rowen stated calmly. There was no fluctuation in his tone or on his face.
"Moreover, I haven't seen him in a long time, nor have I spoken to him. As for the warehouse explosion, I am a good citizen. I don't kill people, let alone plan an explosion." Rowen explained and Elise noticed that his eyes had trembled slightly twice.
'Lies. He is lying to us.' Elise deduced. She was helpless in front of the twins. They were masters at deception. Even if they were lying, she couldn't find any changes in their body language, not even their eyes.
But Rowen was not that adept at hiding his emotions. Although he was good, it was not to the point of deceiving someone excellent at reading people.
'Have we been focusing on the wrong people all along?' She wondered. 'Since his eyes quivered twice, there was a high chance that two of the statements he had given just then were lies.
'Which among them are lies?' She wondered and recalled all that he had just said.
"May we ask where you were yesterday night, Mr. Andrews?" Elise finally asked a question, bringing everyone's attention to her.
Rowen's lips curved up and he eyed her up and down and Elise's demeanor changed instantly. Although the man didn't show it, Elise felt his gaze to be lecherous, and once again, the case of the sexual assault surfaced in her mind.
Elise compared Rowen's gaze with the twins and realized how vastly different they were. While the Sephyr twins looked at her with admiration and ...fascination with hints of desire, Rowen, however, looked at her as if she was a sex object. The twins had never degraded or treated her as if she were an object, unlike Rowen.
Elise was livid and it took her a lot of willpower to storm out of her seat and break his jaw. Her fury was completely different than the anger she had for the twins. Taking deep breaths, she controlled herself while she waited for his reply.
"I had a party to attend in Nowra. You can check with the organizers if you want."
Rowen's reply was flawless to others. But to Elise, it was the most flawed answer. He had given away more than he was asked and that in itself was something to think about.
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The next chapter has been updated in discord.