Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Luke felt that profiling skills might be helpful for the investigation of this case, although it had a touch of last-minute cramming, learning was always better than not learning.

Just in case it was needed.

...

"Ding-a-ling..."

The next morning at eight o'clock, a ringtone from his cell phone woke Luke up.

Luke picked up the phone and saw it was a call from Susan.

"Captain, what's the matter?"

"Someone is suspected of cyanide poisoning again, you need to get to the scene immediately."

"Where?"

"Virginia Mountain, south slope."

"Got it, I'm on my way."

...

Half an hour later.

In a new Toyota Camry.

Xiao Hei drove and asked, "How is it? My car isn't bad, right?"

Luke leaned back, "If you like it, that's good."

"Luke, are you free any night recently?"

"What's up?"

"Julian wants to invite you over for dinner at my place."

"Why?"

"Because of you, Julian and I were able to get back together; Julian is really grateful and wants to thank you in person."

"A family dinner?"

"Sort of."

"Buddy, there's no need to make it so formal; we're partners. It's all part of the job."

"I said that, but Julian insists on having you for dinner."

"Do you want me to go?"

"Of course, we're best partners, and I'd like to formally introduce you to my family."

"Then let's wait for a day when we're not busy."

"That's settled then."

"Should I bring a gift?"

"Of course, the pricier the better."

Luke "..."

The two drove to Virginia Mountain, south slope.

The scene of the incident was quite remote. Fortunately, there were police cars around, and a police line had been set up; otherwise, it would have been hard to find.

There were six patrol officers guarding the site. Luke showed his badge and said to one of them, "I am the Deputy Captain Luke from the Robbery and Murder Department. What's the situation here?"

"We received a report that someone was injured on the mountain. When we arrived, we found a male victim dead and a female victim injured.

The female victim has already been transported by ambulance. The male victim's body is just ahead. According to the doctor, both are suspected of cyanide poisoning. The man had a stronger dose and died instantly.

The woman's symptoms were milder, and with timely medical attention, there was hope."

"Do you know their names?"

"I don't know the male victim's name. The woman is Jennifer Kimbo."

"What about the person who reported it?"

"By the time we arrived at the scene, the reporter had already left."

Luke nodded, walked over to the male victim's body, and examined it. The victim was a white male in his twenties, wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, sports shorts, and sneakers, and his condition was consistent with the characteristics of cyanide poisoning.

Not far from the male victim, there was a Wilson brand mineral water bottle scattered.

Luke picked up the mineral water bottle and inspected it, indeed finding a spot that looked like a needle hole. The situation at the scene could almost certainly determine this as the fourth victim of the poisoning case.

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

"Tonya Hospital, it's the closest one from here."

Since there was still a survivor, a living person definitely knew more than a dead one, so the scene was left to the technical team and the forensic doctor.

A few minutes later, Luke and Xiao Hei arrived at Tonya Hospital.

The hospital wasn't very large. After asking at the reception, Luke found the doctor who was in charge of treating the injured woman, Jennifer Kimbo.

The doctor was a white man in his forties with a big beard, looking somewhat stern.

Luke asked, "Hello, I'm from LAPD. Are you the emergency doctor for Jennifer Kimbo?"

"Yes, just call me Oston."

"Doctor Oston, how is Jennifer's condition now?"

"She's out of danger for now, still under observation."

"Was she poisoned by cyanide?"

"Yes, but the symptoms were relatively mild."

Luke was puzzled. If both had drunk the water, why had the man died on the spot, while Jennifer's poisoning was less severe?

Dr. Oston seemed to read Luke's mind and said, "The cyanide did not enter Jennifer's body through respiration or the gastrointestinal tract; it was skin contact and thus the symptoms weren't as severe."

Skin contact? If it was through hand contact, could it have been intentional poisoning? With this suspicion, Luke pressed, "Which part of Jennifer's skin came into contact with cyanide?"

"Private area."

"Private area?"

Dr. Oston nodded, "Yes, exactly where you're thinking."

Luke was stunned for a moment, "Why would that area come into contact with cyanide?"

"You'll have to ask her that," Dr. Oston shrugged. "I'll go check on her condition. If she can be visited, I'll let you know."

"Hehe..." Little Black chuckled.

Luke glared at him, "We're investigating a case here, this is a hospital, what's there to laugh about?"

Little Black straightened his expression and said seriously, "I know what happened." Seemingly afraid that Luke wouldn't believe him, Little Black added, "I know why one died and the other was injured."

"Let's hear it."

"A young couple in love had arranged to go hiking in the morning.

Mornings are when hormones surge the most, and while hiking, they found themselves in a secluded area with no one around.

They naturally embraced, shared a kiss, and played poker.

The man, tired from the exercise, definitely needed to hydrate.

The woman, wanting to stay clean, washed herself.

The one who drank the water died straight away.

The one who washed absorbed some of the cyanide through the skin and was poisoned."

Although Little Black's explanation sounded far-fetched, it oddly made sense.

Luke felt that this possibility was not unwarranted.

"How did you guess that?"

"A talk from experience." Little Black showed a slightly despondent expression.

Luke "..."

Dr. Oston returned and informed them that they could visit.

The two of them put on shoe covers and entered the hospital room, seeing a young black woman lying on the bed, looking somewhat haggard.

"Hello, Jennifer. I am Detective Marcus from the Robbery and Murder Department, and this is Deputy Luke. We'd like to ask you a few questions."

"How is Ronnie… has he been saved?" Jennifer's voice was weak, but it did not hinder normal communication.

"The Ronnie you mentioned, is he the white man who was poisoned with you?"

"Yes, how is he?"

"I'm sorry, he has passed away."

"Wuu wuu..." The woman started crying.

Little Black handed her a few tissues, asking with concern, "What was your relationship with Ronnie?"

"We often met while exercising in the morning, and later became friends; he was a really good man, very caring towards me..."

Luke cut to the chase, "How were the two of you poisoned?"

"We... Ronnie took a sip of mineral water, and I used the mineral water to wash myself. Then soon after, he collapsed, having difficulty breathing and convulsing, and then I also began to feel unwell.

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

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

"I... we played poker, we liked each other, we were attracted to each other... It was our first time, I didn't expect... wuu wuu..."

Luke wasn't in a hurry, ready to wait until she stopped crying before continuing the questions. Judging by their relationship description, she wouldn't cry for long.

As expected, after a while, Jennifer's crying ceased.

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

"It was..." Jennifer hesitated.

Luke kept staring at her, leaving Jennifer no escape, "I bought the mineral water."

"Where did you buy it?"

"At the Shanyuan supermarket right below my apartment."

Luke slightly furrowed his brows, "Are you certain it was purchased? Not taken from somewhere else?"

"I bought it yesterday, two bottles in total, just for hiking." Jennifer's tone was helpless and sad, "I had no idea the water was poisoned, nor did I expect it to kill Ronnie.

Deputy Luke, this is the supermarket's issue, it has nothing to do with me."

Luke's expression grew more somber, this was different from his earlier conjecture.

He had originally thought that the bottle containing cyanide might also have come from the subway station.

If Jennifer was not lying, then besides the subway station, other places could potentially be involved in the poisoning.

If that were the case, the case could be more serious than he had initially thought…