Los Angeles Detective

8 bottles of mineral water and 3 lives.

Just from the scene of the crime, Luke ran three times today.

Tom's house was also blocked.

The technical team and the forensic team were understaffed and delayed.

Luke inspects the scene wearing gloves.

Judging from the available evidence, young Tom is likely to be the poisoner, and poisoning requires tools for committing crimes.

As long as the relevant crime tools and cyanide are found, the other party's suspicion of poisoning can be proved.

Luke carefully observed the mineral water bottle, and put the mineral water bottle under the sun. There was advertising paper on the outside of the mineral water bottle, and Luke faintly noticed that there seemed to be a small black spot on the inside of the advertising paper.

Luke cut the advertising paper with scissors, and found that the mineral water bottle had a bump the size of a pinhole, which was sealed with glue on the outside, and it was difficult to distinguish without careful observation.

Luke speculated that this pinhole was probably where the cyanide was injected, so that the cap would remain intact and the drinker would not be suspicious.

Hard to spot.

Subsequently, Luke began to search Tom's house, mainly looking for cyanide, syringes, glue...

However, Luke and others searched the house, but still did not find these items.

Hide it somewhere else?

If the other party is the real poisoner, what is the purpose?

And why did he commit suicide by taking poison?

Luke also found no suicide note at the scene.

There are many doubts, and it is difficult to explain based on the physical evidence at the scene.

Luke looked at Tom's mother, who looked sad, holding Tom's photo, sitting on the ground and crying silently...

At this time, Luke didn't want to disturb the other party, but the case was urgent, and no one knew whether the poisoner had placed 9 bottles of water or 12 bottles of water in the subway.

To avoid more victims, Luke must figure out what's going on with Tom.

"Ms. Lewis, please forgive me."

Mother Tom didn't respond, didn't even look at Luke.

"I know you're sad right now and I understand how you feel. Tom's young and he shouldn't just leave like this...

We are all sorry.

But the fact has happened, and all we can do is find Tom's murderer and avenge him.

Only in this way can he leave with peace of mind. "

Ms. Lewis looked up slowly. "Why did this happen? Why did Tom die? Why?"

"We don't know either, we're investigating."

"Liar, you must know, otherwise why would you come to my house?"

"As I said before, we are investigating a poisoning case. Tom has something to do with this case. We are here to investigate him. We didn't expect him to die."

"How did Tom die?"

"Although it has not been technically identified, I speculate that it is likely to be cyanide poisoning. Do you have similar items in your home?"

"I don't know what cyanide is at all? We have never stored poisonous things in our house. Why is my son involved in the poisoning case? How did you find him?"

If Luke wanted to get valuable clues from the other party, he had to gain the other party's trust first, and said, "We received a report this morning that there was a poisoning incident. According to the investigation, it was found that someone put poisonous mineral water in the subway station. We rushed to the subway station to check the surveillance, and found that Tom was carrying a box of mineral water into the subway.

We suspect that he may be the poisoner. "

"Impossible, Tom can't be the poisoner. Although he is a bit naughty, he is a good boy at heart, and he is only twelve years old this year. He doesn't understand anything, maybe he doesn't even know what cyanide is. How could it be poisoned with that kind of thing.

Besides, if he was the poisoner, why did he die himself? "

"That's right, that's where I suspect." Luke asked along the way, "Is there anything unusual about Tom recently, such as any troubles and troubles?"

"No."

"Has he had any suicidal tendencies before?"

"No! He is a very optimistic child. Although our family is not very rich, I have always taught him that people can be unsuccessful, but they cannot be unhappy.

He will never commit suicide, absolutely impossible. "

"Does Tom have any dangerous or anti-social friends?"

"Not as far as I know."

"Has Tom been living with you?"

"Yes."

"When was the last time you saw Tom?"

"Around eight o'clock this morning, I went out to do some errands and went shopping at the supermarket. I bought his favorite salmon. I originally planned to make salmon sushi for him... I bought some...

God, why are you so cruel! "

"What was Tom doing then?"

"He just got up and is eating breakfast."

"Did he say where he was going? Who was he going to see?"

"I was in a hurry this morning, so I didn't bother to ask. I was too careless."

"We found forty dollars in Tom's trouser pocket. Did you give it to him?"

"No, I only give him ten or twenty dollars each time, and he spends them quickly every time. There can't be that much money."

Judging from the question just now, Tom's mother didn't know much.

Luke also didn't find any sign that the other party was lying.

However, Tom's mother is now in great grief, and her mood fluctuates greatly. Even if she is lying, it is not easy to tell.

Although no clear clues were obtained, Luke still extracted some valuable clues from Tom's mother's words.

As the saying goes, no one knows a child better than a mother. Since Tom has been living with his mother, his mother should be one of the people who knows her best.

Now that Tom's mother says he is cheerful and unlikely to be suicidal, the chances of Tom committing suicide are much lower.

Assuming that Tom did not commit suicide, it proves that he did not know that the bottle of mineral water was poisonous.

He probably wasn't the real poisoner, thinking of the forty dollars in his trouser pocket.

Luke boldly speculated that the real poisoner hired Tom to put the mineral water box in the subway station in order to avoid being photographed by the surveillance in the subway station, and the forty dollars was a favor fee for Tom.

After putting down the mineral water tank, Tom took a bottle of mineral water and took it home to drink, and died after being poisoned.

According to Mario's description, there were eight bottles of mineral water in the box when he went to get the mineral water, plus the bottle that Tom took away, there should be at least nine bottles of mineral water.

But now the police have only investigated the whereabouts of eight bottles of mineral water. Tom took one bottle, Mario took two bottles, the homeless man took three bottles, and there are two bottles left in the box.

In other words, at least one bottle of suspected poisonous mineral water was taken away.

Or maybe four bottles...

Seven o'clock at night.

Robbery Murder Division conference room.

Susan called a meeting of the people.

Susan put a document on the projector with a serious expression, "According to the forensic examination, the three deceased all died of cyanide poisoning.

Judging from the time of death, the first deceased was a homeless man in the subway station. No identity document was found, and the real identity of the other party is temporarily unknown.

Construction worker Adams and young Tom died very close together, both around ten o'clock in the morning.

The three deceased died within a very short period of time after taking cyanide. Among them, Adams, a construction worker, fell from the roof and had some scratches on his body, and there were no signs of being tied up or abused.

No obvious injuries were found on the deceased Adams and Tom, and it is likely that they voluntarily drank mineral water containing cyanide. "

Susan changed another document and said, "The technical team surveyed the murder scene of the three deceased and the place where the mineral water bottles were thrown.

Only Tom's fingerprints were found on the mineral water box, but no fingerprints of the suspected poisoner were found on the mineral water bottle.

Poisoners are cunning. "

Jackson turned his pen around and asked, "Could the poisoner be that young Tom?"

Luke said, "I talked to Tom's mother. According to her, Tom is mentally normal, has no suicidal tendencies, and has no reason to retaliate against society. I prefer that he was just hired by real poisoners and was poisoned by real poisoners." Those who took advantage of it.

If Tom is not dead, we can still find clues to the real poisoner based on his confession, but Tom is dead, and it is difficult to investigate this clue. "

The deputy team said, "Since we can't find any clues about the poisoner, let's analyze the motive.

Judging from the existing evidence, the murderer may have two motives for poisoning. The first is to take revenge on the society and kill people randomly.

If so, the investigation will be a little more difficult.

The second case is vendetta.

The real target of the murderer is only one person, and the large-scale release of poisonous mineral water is just to cover up the real purpose of committing the crime.

Just like the homeless dead in the subway station, there are two types of homeless people, one is the one who has status, can receive social welfare, and actually lives pretty well.

The other is without identity, and the survival of this kind of homeless is the most difficult.

The tramp who was poisoned to death belongs to the second type. We interviewed the tramp in the surrounding area. He rarely communicated with other people. He only knew his name was Henry. He didn’t know where he came from or his past.

He's dead now, and there's not even anyone who can identify him.

Hypothetically, if someone wanted to kill Henry but didn't want to be caught by the police, it would be a good idea to put poisoned mineral water in places where he frequented.

Henry himself drank highly poisonous mineral water, and it was hard for anyone to think that it was a murder against him. "

"That's a good idea. We can start the investigation from the surrounding relationships of the three deceased." Susan nodded and continued, "In addition, according to Mario's confession, at least one bottle of suspected poisonous mineral water was taken away.

Luke, you are responsible for finding the whereabouts of this bottle of mineral water as soon as possible. "

"Okay, Captain."

...

night.

Luke got home, took a shower, and was refreshed.

Can't help but think of today's case.

This poisoning case made Luke's investigation a bit difficult, which was different from the previous investigations.

The poisoning case was more like a random crime. There was no direct connection between the three dead, and the only connection between them was the box of mineral water.

And the clue to the source of the box of mineral water was broken again.

There are traces to follow in previous cases, with motives, investigation directions and clues.

But this case is different. The police still don't know the suspect's motive for committing the crime, nor can they find any connection between the three deceased, or even a clear object of suspicion.

Confused.

Luke thought that he still had two profile cards, so he subconsciously used a profile card to quickly learn profiling skills.

Through the analysis of the modus operandi, scene layout, criminal characteristics, etc., the profiler outlines the criminal mentality of the criminal, so as to further predict his race, gender, age, occupational background, appearance characteristics, personality characteristics and even the next move. , narrow the scope of the investigation, and lock the identity of the suspect.

Luke felt that profiling skills might be helpful to the investigation of this case. Although it was a bit suspicious of cramming, it was better to learn than not to learn.

What if it comes in handy.

...

"Jingle Bell……"

At eight o'clock the next morning, Luke was woken up by a cell phone ringing.

Luke picked up his phone and saw it was Susan calling.

"Captain, what's the matter?"

"Another person is suspected of being poisoned by cyanide. You rush to the scene immediately to check."

"where?"

"Mount Virginia, South Slope."

"I see, let's go."

...

half an hour later.

A new Toyota Camry.

While driving, Xiao Hei asked, "How is it? My car is not bad."

Luke leaned back, "As long as you like it."

"Luke, which night do you have time lately?"

"What's wrong?"

"Julian would like to invite you to my house for dinner."

"Why?"

"It's because of you that Julian and I were able to get back together again. Julian is very grateful and wants to thank you in person."

"Is it a family dinner?"

"That's right."

"Man, there is no need to make it so formal, we are partners, and this is what I should do."

"I said it, but Julian insisted on taking you to dinner."

"Do you want me to go?"

"Of course, we are the best partners, and I also hope to officially introduce you to my family."

"Then let's wait until we are not busy."

"Then it's settled."

"Do I need to bring any presents?"

"Of course, the more expensive the better."

Luke "..."

The two drove to Mount Virginia, the south slope.

The scene of the crime was relatively remote, but fortunately there were police cars around and cordoned off, otherwise it would be hard to find.

There were six patrolmen guarding the scene. Luke showed his police badge and said to one of the patrolmen, "I am Luke, the deputy captain of the Robbery and Murder Division. What's going on at the scene?"

"We received a report that someone was injured on the hill, we went to the scene and found a male dead and a female injured.

The injured female has been pulled away by the ambulance, and the body of the deceased male is in front. According to the doctor, the two were suspected of being poisoned by cyanide, and the male was more toxic and died immediately.

The woman's symptoms are mild, and there is still hope for timely treatment. "

"Do you know their names?"

"The male deceased is unknown. The woman's name is Jennifer Jinbo."

"Where's the informant?"

"When we got to the scene, the informant had already left."

Luke nodded, and walked to the corpse of the deceased male to check. The deceased was a white man in his twenties, wearing a sleeveless T-shirt on the upper body, wearing sports shorts and sneakers underneath. The condition of the corpse was consistent with the characteristics of cyanide poisoning .

Not far from the dead male, there was also a Weisen brand mineral water bottle scattered around.

Luke picked up the mineral water bottle to check, and found a suspected pinhole. The situation at the scene can basically be concluded that this is the fourth victim of the poisoning case.

Luke stood up and asked, "Which hospital did the injured go to?"

"It's the nearest Tonya Hospital."

Since there are still survivors, the living must know more than the dead, so the technical team and the forensic doctor are responsible for the scene.

A few minutes later, Luke and Xiao Hei rushed to Tonya Hospital.

The hospital was small in scale. After Luke asked the front desk, he found the doctor who was in charge of treating the injured woman Jennifer Jinbo.

The doctor was a white man in his forties with a big beard and a serious expression.

Luke asked, "Hello, I'm lapd, are you the emergency doctor for Jennifer Jinbo?"

"Yes, just call me Auston."

"Doctor Alston, how is Jennifer doing now?"

"It's out of danger, and it's still under observation."

"Is she cyanide poisoning?"

"Yes, but the symptoms are mild."

Luke was a little puzzled, if both of them drank water, why the man died on the spot, but Jennifer was less poisoned.

Dr. Alston seemed to see Luke's thoughts, and said, "The cyanide did not enter Jennifer's body through breathing and stomach, but through skin contact, so the symptoms of poisoning will not be serious."

skin contact? If it was touched by hands, is it possible that it was poisoned? Holding this guess, Luke asked, "Which part of Jennifer's skin was exposed to cyanide?"

"Private parts."

"Private parts?"

Dr. Alston nodded, "That's right, it's the place you want."

Luke froze for a moment, "Why is that place exposed to cyanide?"

"Then you have to ask her." Dr. Alston shrugged. "I'll go and see how she's doing. If I can visit her, I'll let you know."

"Hey..." Xiao Hei let out a smirk.

Luke glared at him, "We're investigating, this is a hospital, what's so funny?"

Xiao Hei restrained his smile and said seriously, "I know what's going on." As if afraid that Luke would not believe it, Xiao Hei added, "I know why one of them died and the other was injured."

"Tell me."

"A pair of young people who love each other make an appointment to climb a mountain together in the morning.

In the morning, when the hormones were at their peak, the two crawled to a remote and deserted place.

Naturally, they hugged each other, kissed each other, and played poker.

Men who are tired from exercising must add water.

Women wash their bodies in order to be clean.

Those who drank the water died immediately.

The washed skin absorbed part of the cyanide and was poisoned. "

Although Xiao Hei's words sound unreliable, they still make sense.

Luke felt that this might not be the case.

"How did you guess that?"

"Talk from experience." Xiao Hei showed a little downcast color.

Luke "..."

Dr. Alston returned again and told the two they could visit.

The two put on their shoe covers and entered the ward. They saw a black woman in her early twenties lying on the bed with a haggard look.

"Hi Jennifer, I'm Detective Marcus from the Robbery and Murder Division. This is Deputy Luke. We want to ask you a few questions."

"How is Ronnie... have you revived him?" Jennifer's voice was a little weak, but it no longer affected normal communication.

"The Ronnie you're talking about is the white man who was poisoned with you?"

"Yes, how is he?"

"Sorry, he's dead."

"Woooo..." the woman cried.

Xiao Hei handed the other party a few tissues, and asked with concern, "What's your relationship with Ronnie?"

"We often met when we were exercising in the morning, and later became friends. He is very kind and takes good care of me..."

Luke cut to the chase, "How did you two get poisoned?"

"We... Ronnie took a sip of the mineral water, I washed myself in the mineral water, and then he fell down shortly thereafter, struggling to breathe and convulsing, and then I started to feel bad too.

It was the bottle of mineral water, and it was the bottle of mineral water that killed Ronnie. "

Luke pressed, "What happened before drinking the mineral water?"

"I... We played poker, we like each other, we are attracted to each other... This is the first time, I didn't expect... Woooo..."

Luke was not in a hurry, and was going to wait for her to stop crying before asking, how long she could cry by describing that the relationship between the two was not deep.

Sure enough, after a while, Jennifer stopped crying.

Luke pressed, "Where did that bottle of mineral water come from?"

"Yes..." Jennifer hesitated to speak.

Luke kept staring at each other, making it impossible for Jennifer to escape, "I bought the mineral water."

"where did you buy it?"

"It's in the Shanyuan Supermarket downstairs from my house."

Luke frowned slightly, "Are you sure you bought it? Not from other places?"

"I bought it yesterday, and I bought two bottles of water in total, just to use it when I was going to climb the mountain." Jennifer expressed helplessness and sadness in her tone, "I didn't expect the water to be poisonous, let alone poison Ronnie to death.

Deputy Luke, this is a problem with that supermarket, not mine. "

Luke's face was a little dignified, which was different from his previous guess.

He thought the bottle of cyanide-laced water must have come from the subway station as well.

If Jennifer hadn't lied, then besides the subway station, there are probably other poisoning locations.

If this is the case, the case is more serious than imagined...