Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

"I really didn't do it.

I saw that news, but it really has nothing to do with me. I've admitted to the Cafira brand red wine poisoning case. You can't keep slinging mud at me. I really have nothing to do with the mineral water poisoning case."

"Have you ever bought Visen brand mineral water?"

"No."

"Have you ever placed poisoned mineral water in the subway station?"

"I really haven't."

"Do you know who poisoned the Visen brand mineral water?"

"I don't know."

Luke asked several questions in a row, but didn't see any signs of lying in the other person's expressions.

Could the other party really be unrelated to the Visen brand mineral water poisoning case?

Could his own speculation be wrong, and these two poisoning cases just happened to occur in the same location, close in time, with similar methods?

Coincidence isn't impossible, but the probability is really low.

Many coincidences are just missing the deeper connections and patterns.

Luke calmed down to think. Assuming his speculation was correct, and these two poisoning cases were indeed related, assuming Jin Xiuhui wasn't lying and she had nothing to do with the mineral water poisoning case.

So where's the connection between these two cases?

Shanyuan Supermarket.

Suddenly, Luke thought of something and asked abruptly, "You said earlier that you placed three bottles of poisoned red wine in Jiangnan Supermarket?"

"Yes."

"Did you leave any fingerprints?"

"No, I always wore gloves."

Now, that was a problem. According to Rocky, he had stolen two cases of Cafira red wine from Jiangnan Supermarket. Shanyuan Supermarket owner Osmon had also bought two cases of Cafira red wine. Each case had six bottles, making a total of twelve bottles.

Of those, Shanyuan Supermarket sold six bottles of red wine. There were six left in the warehouse. Luke had them tested, and the remaining six bottles hadn't been poisoned and didn't show any signs of tampering with the packaging.

If Jin Xiuhui wasn't lying, then Shanyuan Supermarket should have sold three bottles of poisoned red wine, but only two customers came forward.

Why hadn't the other person who bought the red wine come forward?

Luke guessed that there were two likely possibilities. The first, the person drank it, had a stomachache, but didn't suspect the red wine, thinking it was something unclean they ate.

The second possibility, the red wine hadn't been drunk yet.

These were the likely scenarios under normal circumstances, but there was also an abnormal possibility.

The third red wine poisoning victim, due to some special reason, didn't seek compensation from Shanyuan Supermarket.

Luke continued to speculate boldly.

This victim was connected to the red wine poisoning case, also a Shanyuan Supermarket customer. Moreover, through that poisoned bottle of red wine, they could infer the mode and method of poisoning.

The time, location, and method all matched up.

He fit the profile of the Poisoner.

Afterward, Luke started reviewing the surveillance footage from Shanyuan Supermarket, looking for other customers who bought Cafira brand red wine.

After some investigation, a total of four people had bought Cafira brand red wine.

Temporarily excluding the two poisoned customers, that left two other customers.

One of them was a black man in his thirties, who, in addition to the red wine, had bought a number of daily necessities.

The other customer was a Korean woman around twenty years old who bought only one bottle of red wine.

Luke enlarged the facial images of the two customers and didn't recognize them. They were not involved in the case.

Luke and his team members examined the footage from Shanyuan Supermarket carefully and didn't find anything abnormal about these two people.

Could he have guessed wrong?

...

After work.

Luke was invited to have dinner at Little Black's house.

He had thought that capturing Jin Xiuhui would also solve the poisoning case, but it turned out there was a twist.

However, they had already made plans the night before, and Little Black had already informed Julian in advance, so it wasn't good to change now.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Luke and Little Black arrived at Little Black's house.

Luke looked at the light in the window, "Marcus, how are you feeling now?"

"Uh... how do I put it?

Not bad.

I used to come home to an empty place, but now there's a warmth of a home, kind of like when I used to live with my mom.

I've lost some freedom, but it's very cozy.

I really enjoy this feeling."

"Good." As a partner, Luke was one of the people who knew Little Black best, and was able to see his investment and change.

Little Black opened the door and called out, "Hey, baby, we're back."

Julian came out of the kitchen, wearing a red apron, exchanged cheek kisses with Little Black, and greeted Luke, "Deputy Captain Luke, I'm very pleased you could come.

We've met before, and Marcus often talks about you, but this is the first time we meet as friends."

"That's right, though we haven't met much, I often hear Marcus talk about you, and I feel like we're already very familiar friends. Just call me Luke."

Little Black patted Luke on the shoulder and said to Julian, "You don't need to be so formal. Luke's my partner. Just be casual."

Luke handed over a bottle of red wine, "Julian, this is for you."

"Thank you." Julian took the red wine and glanced at it, "Vsite, this brand of red wine is good, I really like it."

Little Black made a 'yea' gesture, whispering, "That's my doing."

"OK, you guys sit for a bit, dinner will be ready in just a moment." Julian said then went back into the kitchen to continue his work.

Luke sat down on the couch, glanced at Julian who was busy in the kitchen, "Marcus, looks like you've got a good standing at home."

"Of course, Julian knows I have a hard job, and she always lets me rest when I come home. She's a very considerate woman."