Two Hundred and sixty two

CHAPTER 262

Noel took a step forward from where he was standing. He scanned the faces of women who looked much older than him and tried to ask again, "Are they customers at this boutique?"

"A few days ago, a fashionably dressed woman came here. She checked in, but seemed to be in a hurry. Perhaps she had ordered clothes and needed them right away, but the boutique was closed, so I intended to do her a favor by telling her that the boutique was closed and she could go check another day."

Nicholas and Noel exchanged glances. After a few pauses, Noel finally spoke again, "Then, was there anyone else looking for the owner of this boutique other than that woman?"

"Yes, it was a few days after that woman came. That man did the same thing. Looked around, and tried to open the door, but in the end, I had to tell him that the owner of this boutique doesn't exist." The woman tugged on her dog's leash, while the pitbull she was carrying twirled around her legs in a spoiled manner. "Before the two of them came and looked for the boutique owner, I saw the owner leave with a suitcase. Since she was carrying a suitcase, I thought she was going on vacation. She'll probably be gone for a long time, right?"

Nicholas and Noel could only remain silent after hearing the story of the strange woman and her dog.

The woman then asked, "Is the boutique owner .... making trouble?"

But Noel smiled and changed the subject. "No, he didn't. We just need to check some of the clothes we ordered. By the way, thank you for your information. We really appreciate it."

The woman smiled and adjusted her dog's leash position, before she finally said, "Alright. Good luck." and she left the two detectives.

"Judging from her manner of speaking, that woman must have been walking this way a lot." Nicholas muttered. "But, who were the woman and man looking for Selena before us?"

Noel looked around, she scanned the entire scene in front of her. "We need to find Selena's house. I mean, a place that she actually calls home."

Nicholas pursed his lips, he thought and tried to find a way. Then, an idea came to him. "If a woman just walking down the street can tell that Selena is the owner of this boutique, the vendors around here should know that too. We just need to check each and every one of them, one of the vendors here must know Selena well."

Noel also looked in the direction that Nicholas was looking at. If you noticed, Selena's boutique shop was side by side with other shops and vendors, it was an area filled with street vendors. There were many people there. One of them should know about Selena. And Noel cleared her throat, "So, where do we start?"

"Let's split up here. I'll start asking questions from here to the west, can you go there and ask the street vendors?"

It was the boss's order, how could Noel refuse?

"Okay. Let's split up here. We'll be back here in thirty minutes."

Nicholas nodded his head along. "I agree."

As Nicholas had decided, the two of them split up to look for information. Nicholas went from shop to shop asking if they knew Selena, the owner of the boutique on the Avenue. While Noel took a different route, he crossed the street, asking the street vendors who sold their wares on the side of the road. The vendors here did sell their goods without a place for several reasons. Usually, it was because the places they rented were too expensive, while the profit they made each day was uncertain.

So if Selena owns one of these places, it means Selena's boutique business is doing well. That was what Nicholas and Noel concluded.

They had been wandering around for almost fifteen minutes, but neither of them had gotten any helpful information. Until finally Nicholas' footsteps stopped in front of a daycare center, which was located next to the shops. Doubt rushed into his chest, Nicholas suddenly lost confidence in himself.

If the shops around the boutique didn't know about Selena, how could a daycare know Selena?

Nicholas looked ahead, about to leave the daycare center beside him. But Nicholas couldn't leave, he felt the need to resolve the curiosity in his chest. He took three breaths, and tried to approach the daycare center that was there.

A woman in a simple brown dress greeted him. "Hello, sir. Did you come to register your child?"

The question made Nicholas' face flush. He suddenly envisioned having a child with Alicia. But the sound of children running around made Nicholas refocus. He cleared his throat and diverted his thoughts. "Look, do you know about that boutique down the street. I wanted to ask, is it possible that you know the owner well?"

The woman gave a small smile. "What do you mean... Mrs. Selena?"

Nicholas' face turned enthusiastic. Both eyebrows were raised curiously. "You... know Selena?"

The woman nodded. "Of course. She leaves her son here every day. Glen. Mrs. Selena has a son named Glen, but he hasn't come for over a week now and it doesn't look like Mrs. Selena is opening her shop either." Nicholas listened intently. "We've tried to contact Madame Selena, but her phone is off. We think Glen and Mistress Selena are on vacation for some time."

Nicholas nodded his head. "Do you know Selena well, I mean... did she tell you anything strange before she and Glen didn't come here?"

"Strange?" The woman seemed to think for a moment, before finally starting to open her voice again. "Actually... there was nothing strange about Mrs. Selena. But for a few days, before she didn't come here, Mrs. Selena was often seen daydreaming. She seemed to be thinking about a lot of things and seemed stressed. This worried me, but I couldn't ask much."