The Driver

"This was the place," Noah said as he stopped his car at a pedestrian crossing. As it was new year's day, the streets were still lively and there were drunk people around.

"I was here that day because I had dropped off a car for Lucas Lee nearby," Noah explained.

"I was waiting at this crossing when Delilah came out of nowhere and started stumbling across the street. At that moment, an engine growled and clearly heard a car speeding toward her. I immediately rushed forward and pulled her back, just as the car zoomed by. Because she fell, I was focused on helping her up and did not get a proper look at the car, but it was definitely black. When I lifted my head, I saw a black Mercedes turn the corner just up ahead and I recognized the number plate. It was Lucas Lee's car. The same one that I had dropped off for him," Noah explained.

Maya furrowed her brows and looked around, "Did you report this to the police? Why didn't they check the CCTV footage in the area?"

"I did tell them, but since the car never actually hurt Delilah, and witnesses said she was at fault for crossing illegally, the police did not believe that the driver did anything wrong, so they did not launch an investigation. After all, drunk people stumble onto the streets all the time in Vegas. She was actually lucky that she didn't cause an accident," Noah frowned.

Maya narrowed her eyes as she scanned the area. Since she wasn't a police officer, she had no right to access the CCTV cameras. However, her eyes suddenly paused on a convenience store across the road and started walking toward it.

"Where are you going?" Noah asked.

Maya peered hopefully into the convenience store and smiled. "He's here," she said without answering Noah's question.

A couple of years ago, Maya had helped this convenience store with an advertising campaign and she had worked directly with the owner. Although he was fairly well off and owned a few stores around Vegas and LA, he was a stingy man that was careful with his money and often worked behind the counter whenever he could, just to save some money on wages. On a public holiday like today, it was no surprise that he was manning one of his busiest stores.

Walking inside, Maya waved her hand and revealed a friendly smile, "Mr. Carson, how have you been?"

Noah watched quietly as the woman greeted the man and started chatting to him about his business and how much money he had made over the past couple of years. She then easily persuaded him to show them his security camera footage from the day of Delilah's accident.

[Wow, that was easy!]

When the man started playing the footage, Noah realized the camera pointed directly at the crossing!

As they stood there and watched the footage, they saw the crossing turn red and some pedestrians waiting for the light to change. Then, just as Noah described, Delilah suddenly squeezed her way to the front and started crossing before it was safe to do so.

Maya concentrated as she watched her sister stumble to the middle of the crossing. Even though she knew the outcome, it still made her anxious watching it. Her sister could have seriously died that day, whether by accident or on purpose.

Suddenly, she noticed a figure run out after her. It was Noah! He was glancing to the left in horror as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. At that moment, a black car sped past, just missing Delilah by an inch.

Maya rewinded the footage and watched it again. From the store, they couldn't see the number plate on the car, but it was definitely a black Mercedes like Noah had suspected. Noah nodded his head, "I knew it! It's definitely Lucas Lee!"

However, Maya did not jump to conclusions like he did. Rewinding the footage again, she slowly watched it, frame by frame, and eventually paused. Pointing at the front window, she furrowed her brows and leaned forward to take a better look. "Is that an earring?" she asked. In the driver's seat of the car, there was a figure dressed in black with a black cap on their head. Their face couldn't be seen, and even their hair wasn't visible, but Maya did notice something dangling from the driver's ear.

She played the video again and saw it sway slightly. Feeling oddly relieved, she clapped her hands together and smiled, "It's not Lucas Lee. The driver was a woman!"

Noah looked at the footage in disbelief and shook his head, "No, it can't be. I definitely saw Lucas Lee's car driving away from the scene. It was definitely him!"

Maya looked at the man uncomfortably. Why was he so adamant that it was Lucas Lee even though this footage clearly proved it wasn't him? Was Delilah right about this man being paranoid?"

But the man suddenly slammed his hands on the table and yelled, "Wait! He hired her! He must have hired her!"

Maya glanced at the footage again. Although it sounded slightly ridiculous, she had indeed met two women that Lucas hired the previous day. Did he also hire a woman to run her sister down? Was that why he doubted whether she was 'real'?

Leaving the convenience store, she still had a million uncertainties in her mind. Noah didn't appear to be lying, but Lucas didn't appear to be a killer either. Who could she trust?

Just as she was deep in thought, a ringtone suddenly snapped her back to reality. She shook her head, reached into her handbag, and pulled out her phone. By this time, it was almost 3am in the morning. Who was calling her at this time?

Glancing at the caller ID, she realized it was her sister. [Delilah? Shouldn't she be sleeping?]

Picking up, she heard her sister squeal excitedly on the other end, "Maya! You need to help me! Don't believe a word that Noah said. I just received a message from Lucas. He said that he wants to meet later today! You need to go!"