The three of them headed towards where Earl’s body was found. There was the yellow tape that prevented the crime scene from becoming contaminated. Investigators were in paper suits collecting pieces of evidence. The body was lying sideways. There was no obvious external injury. Around him were no suspicious objects or murder weapons. Earl’s eyes were despairing and hollow as if a black hole was dragging people down into an abyss. Larsen felt strong revulsion when looking at the corpse while Hines calmly wore a paper suit and walked into the crime scene.
“Even though the cooler temperature of the night slows down the rigor mortis, factors like low body fat and muscle mass can speed up this process. From the complete stiffness of the body, we can tell that the victim died approximately 8-12 hours ago. From the pooling of the blood in the corpse, the body is most likely not moved so this is indeed the correct location of death,” Hines murmured as he bent down and observed the corpse thoroughly.
“The body had no injuries on the outside so it is likely to be poisoning. The darkening skin on the soles of the Earl’s palms are signs of exposure to arsenic,” Mr. Wade added.
“Are you saying Earl is poisoned by arsenic?” Larsen asked with confusion.
Mr. Wade ignored him and he walked straight toward a police officer.
“We meet again, Mr. Wade. How are…” the police officer greeted politely.
“Can you tell your men to secure and examine this restaurant?” Mr. Wade interrupted as he hastily wrote the address on a lined paper, “Make sure that they do not wash the dishes yet… and find if there are any remains of arsenic on the tableware.”
“May I ask you guys how is this restaurant related to the case?” The police officer questioned in a puzzled tone.
“The last time we saw Earl was at yesterday’s dinner at that restaurant. Many people from their company came to dinner. Maybe we could find some clues through their testimonies. Besides, there is a possibility that someone murdered him at that dinner since he probably died shortly afterward,” Larsen explained.
“Okay. So can you give me the list of names that had dinner with the victim? We will separate them and ask them some questions,” the police officer suggested.
Mr. Wade handed some name cards to the police. He wrote a list of names including Mr. Blackwell, Quinn, Jane (lawyer), Bedford (father of Quinn), and their own names. Also, Mr. Wade wrote Mrs. Vance (wife of Bedford), Jessica, Lucas, Eli which are all workers in Mr. Blackwell’s company who also came to the dinner. He handed the list to the police officer and told him to send Earl’s body to autopsy after crime scene evidence had been collected.
The police secured the restaurant and investigators started examining the tableware. Mr. Wade’s team arrived at that flashy restaurant afterward.
“We have found signs of arsenic in a teacup. The saliva trace in the teacup matches the victim’s, we can certify that this is the cup he drank from,” one investigator reported as he held the teacup with his gloved hand.
“The autopsy report came out and they found a trace of arsenic in his digestive tract. They also estimated that the victim’s death was 10 hours ago,” a police officer informed, “We have investigated all the people at the dinner separately. They all said that Earl walked back alone and they did not expect such a thing to happen. However, they mentioned there were some conflicts between the victim and his colleagues. We have searched their personal belongings and there was nothing suspicious.”
All the people who came to that dinner were called back to the restaurant. Mr. Blackwell knitted his brows as he frequently glanced at his watch. He was feeling a little impatient for being held for so long.
“The death time was 10 hours ago, which was the hour right after we all left. There was also poison found in the cup that he drank from. This means that he was murdered by someone that added arsenic in his teacup during dinner. Therefore, all people that were present at that dinner with Earl have the suspicion of murder,” Mr. Hines muttered as his scanned Mr. Black and the others with wariness.
Mr. Wade suggested them to reconstruct the scene of that dinner. They gathered around a table and sat in the exact same seats as before. Beside the empty seat where Earl sat were Jessica and Mr. Black.
“The poison could not be added in the tea because we all drank it. It could only be separately placed in Earl’s teacup. Since the victims’ cup was the only cup that was found with arsenic, how did the murderer poison the correct person? We need to find out when arsenic was added and using what method.” Hines muttered.
“It was Jessica that poured the tea. She could add arsenic in one of the cups and hand it to Mr. Earl. The person with the most contact with Earl’s teacup was Jessica,” Mr. Blackwell suspected as he glimpsed at Jessica.
Jessica felt frustrated but Mr. Blackwell was her boss. She spoke in a pleading tone, “Mr. Blackwell, I just passed the cups down in order. You were the one who changed the order of the cups and passed cups to the detective agency people first. You could have placed arsenic in a teacup ahead of time. Because you know which cup contained arsenic, you just need to arrange the cups that each person gets so that Earl would get the cup with poison.”
“I passed the cups to them first because they were guests!” Mr. Black shouted with irritation.
Jessica remained silent since she recognized her words riled her boss. She turned her head to the side and avoided eye contact with him. Covering her forehead with her hand, Jessica regretted accusing and arguing with him.
“It would be such a high risk to do so because the teacup with poison can accidentally end up in another person’s hands. Also, intentionally giving the victim a specific cup is easy to fail and get exposed,” The police stood aside and added.
Mr. Wade was quiet all that time and rested his head on his hands. His eyes were not paying attention to all the rumpus, in fact, it wandered off as if they were considering something.
“Then how was he poisoned?” Larsen questioned in a muddled and anxious tone.
Mr. Wade replied as he grinned a little mockingly, “The victim wasn’t even poisoned by the arsenic in his teacup,”
Everyone was astonished and stared at him blankly.
“When I shook his hand I already noticed he had symptoms of arsenic poisoning. That was before he even had a chance to touch the teacup. I observed that he had mees’ lines (white bands) on his fingernails. His nails were discolored and cracked, which were typically associated with arsenic poisoning,” Mr. Wade explained.
“So Earl was poisoned by arsenic before he drank the tea?” Larsen frowned and asked.
Mr. Wade slightly nodded and added on, “He could have consumed a small quantity of arsenic over long terms. Arsenic will accumulate in his body and eventually lead to his death.”
“But what if that was just a result of arsenic in the daily drinking water. He could still be mainly poisoned by the great amount arsenic in his cup. Our investigators found poison in that cup and you could not deny that fact, Mr. Wade,” the police officer doubted.
“Arsenic in water does not occur in our area so there must be a man-made side of it. If the murderer is in one of us, that move would have been completely unnecessary. He could just use his or her usual way to poison Earl slowly, poisoning him during this dinner would just result in suspicion on the murderer,” Mr. Wade refuted calmly.
“What are you trying to express?” The police officer asked eagerly as he leaned forward.
“We have found Earl’s corpse in the morning, the murderer had sufficient time to go back to the restaurant and added arsenic in his cup. He or she intended to disguise the murder as a case that was a result of that dinner. Even though we are not certain why, we now have a clearer range of where the murderer would be. Not only the people that came to that dinner but also people close to him. They would have a greater chance of gaining the trust of Earl and have more contact opportunities to poison him,” Mr. Wade explained.
“Okay. So we need to start investigating the people that have a close relationship with him. Great thanks to your advice, Mr. Wade! We will be leaving soon and we’ll inform you if we have found more information. See you later!” the police officer responded as he took off his hat and grinned at Mr. Wade.
The police officer and his people gradually left. Larsen suggested that they should also return to their detective agency. The three of them waved goodbye to Mr. Blackwell and others and strolled back to the car.
They were back at their detective agency. Larsen’s cheeks flushed as his mind felt overloaded. He found it hard to sort out his thinking. On the other hand, Mr. Wade was fascinated by this case. His eyes were completely focused, revealing a tint of eagerness. His hands were placed in his pockets as he walked rapidly back and forth around the room. Soon, Mr. Wade grabbed the phone and dialed the police officer’s number. Hines sat quietly on the couch as he glimpsed up from his book.
“Hello…Mr. Wade…What is it?” the police officer’s voice came through the telephone.
“Can you give me the victim’s home address? We will head over there and investigate for some clues,” Mr. Wade replied.
“Okay. His address is… According to our investigation, he is single and lives by himself, the only person that is related to him is a distant relative. Looks like the only person that would have a relationship with him is the employees in their company. Our team will also investigate his house afterward,” The police officer agreed and added.
Mr. Wade took out his mini notebook and wrote down the address.
“Let’s head to the victim’s house, we still have a lot to investigate,” Mr. Wade spoke in an impatient tone as he swiftly put his coat on.
“But we just came back,” Larsen complained.
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