Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

"It was me who found it."

"Where did you find it?"

"In the subway. I was taking the subway to work today and saw a Visen brand mineral water carton in the subway passageway with a note 'Free for the taking' on it. When I walked over, I saw there were eight bottles of mineral water in the carton.

I thought someone was performing a charitable act, so I took two bottles and put them in my bag to drink during work."

"Who would have thought that they were actually poisoned!" Mario exclaimed, fiercely clutching his forehead,

"This isn't my fault, I didn't expect the mineral water to be poisoned, I'm not the killer, I'm not... please don't arrest me.

I am a good person."

Adams had died, and regardless of Mario's difficulties, he had to bear some responsibility. Luke, however, was more concerned about the mineral water carton he mentioned.

Luke asked, "How many bottles could that mineral water carton hold in total?"

"About twelve bottles, I think."

"Did you also drink one of the bottles?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't it affect you?"

"I don't know."

If a carton of mineral water had a total of 12 bottles, and Mario saw eight when he found it, there were two possibilities: either the carton originally had 12 bottles and four had been taken before Mario took his, or the carton only had eight bottles to begin with.

Additionally, according to Mario, he took two bottles, and he drank one without issue, meaning his bottle had no chlorides.

Luke boldly speculated that the bottle with chlorides wasn't the only one; there could be more bottles in that carton that had been tampered with chlorides.

It could be one, or it could be two, or three... even up to 11 bottles.

Calculating using a probability of 50%, it's more likely there were four to six bottles.

This means there could be even more victims.

Just then, several vehicles arrived at the courtyard entrance.

Reid led a team to the scene, alongside personnel from the technical and forensic departments.

Luke shared the information he had gathered with Reid, who looked grave, obviously realizing the seriousness of the issue.

Luke found two bottles of mineral water in Mario's backpack and indeed discovered residual chlorides in one of the bottles, confirming his hypothesis.

The 'killer' had been found, but the danger was not alleviated; it only made everyone more concerned.

The carton suspected to contain chlorides-laced mineral water was like a time bomb, potentially able to kill more people at any moment.

To prevent more poisonings, Luke led a team with Mario in custody to the subway station where the mineral water carton was found.

Upon arriving at the location described by Mario, they indeed found a Visen brand mineral water carton with two bottles still inside. Technicians present conducted tests and found a bottle containing a highly poisonous chloride.

This evidence somewhat proved the truth of Mario's statement, meaning at least four other bottles of mineral water had been taken by others!

Luke immediately notified the staff at the subway station, asking them to broadcast about this situation, warning passengers to be cautious and not to drink water from unknown sources.

Afterward, Luke reported this to Reid, leaving the decision of whether to hold a press conference up to Reid.

The investigation focused on two aspects, first to apprehend whoever was responsible for the poisoned mineral water.

The second, to quickly locate anyone who took the water and warn them not to drink it.

The investigation took two primary approaches, the first was to check the subway surveillance.

The second was canvassing.

The team split up to investigate.

Soon, the surveillance footage identified a suspect; a man seen near the water carton holding a Visen brand mineral water.

Deputy and Jackson were in charge of the pursuit.

The deputy, experienced and observant, guessed that the man might be a homeless person based on his attire and behavior.

Through camera tracking, they located the general area of the homeless man. After searching nearby, they indeed found the man suspected of taking the water, but they only found a body.

The homeless man was already dead in his tent, with three bottles of Visen brand mineral water scattered around him.

He was the second victim of the poisoned mineral water case.

The severity of the case escalated once more.

At this point, between one and five bottles of potentially toxic mineral water were still unaccounted for.

Luke's observational skills were extraordinary, and he also participated in checking the surveillance footage.

During the scrutiny, he noticed a suspicious-looking young boy.

He was a Caucasian boy, appearing to be around twelve or thirteen years old, holding a carton in his arms with a single-strap bag on his back. Luke zoomed in on the video to see that the carton was labeled with water, marked with the word 'Visen.'

Luke hit the space bar, suspecting that this boy could likely be the one who placed the water in the subway.

The surveillance was located at the northeast exit of the subway, and the time was 8:45 AM.

Then, Luke informed others about this situation, asking additional team members to also check surveillance footage related to this boy.

Soon, the police traced the boy's movements within the subway.

At 8:42 AM, he was seen entering the subway at the northeast exit with a carton. Around 8:45 AM, he placed the carton in a corner of the subway station.

At 8:47 AM, the boy reappeared in the subway surveillance without the carton, only carrying a single-strap bag. At 8:49 AM, he left the subway through the northeast exit again.