Chapter 760: Chapter 762: Prison Riot
Bob took a deep breath and seriously replied:
"We have also discussed this question, and the conclusion we reached is that the murderer most likely used food or drinking water to poison Vireness."
Luo An raised his eyebrows and then asked:
"Do you have any suspects?"
Bob glanced through the window at the female agent standing on the far left and said:
"Under Vireness’s arrangement, Susan is in charge of our investigation team’s daily meals; she is responsible for purchasing and handling all of our food and drinking water these past few days."
Luo An’s expression remained the same:
"Do you suspect Agent Susan has poisoned her?"
"No, on the contrary, Agent Susan is the only one I can be certain has no issues."
Bob shook his head and solemnly answered:
"Exactly because Susan is responsible for purchasing and handling our food, that’s why I’m certain the poisoner is definitely not her."
Bob’s reasoning was simple, if he were Susan, he would never act within his own area of responsibility.
With Vireness poisoned, Susan—who was responsible for the food—was already the prime suspect; she wouldn’t be that foolish.
"Of course, I also don’t rule out another possibility."
At the end, Bob spread his hands and said with a wry smile:
"Susan played a double bluff, and the real person who poisoned is indeed her, but she made us feel it’s not her."
Luo An smiled and did not pick up on Bob’s words. After a brief conversation, Luo An asked Bob to leave and let another agent enter the room.
Over the next two hours, Luo An talked briefly with the other three agents about their experiences over the past few days, each of their job responsibilities, and their suspected individuals.
Like Bob, these three agents were also not sure who the real poisoner was, but all believed it certainly wasn’t Agent Susan.
The last to walk into the room was Agent Susan. As soon as she sat down, Luo An cut to the chase and said:
"Whom do you suspect?"
Agent Susan, about thirty years old and of an ordinary-looking Caucasian female appearance with some freckles on her face, responded to Luo An’s question with a wry smile and said:
"I’m sorry, Group Leader Greenwood, I don’t have any suspects."
"Is that so?"
Luo An closed the file folder, smiled, and teased:
"But they all feel that you are somewhat suspicious."
"Indeed, if we go by the duties assigned by Chief Vireness, I am very much a suspect."
Agent Susan rubbed her face helplessly and said in a muffled voice:
"But the person who poisoned is really not me. I don’t have any direct evidence to prove it, but this matter truly isn’t my doing."
Ding-a-ling—
Luo An’s eyebrows twitched, just as he was about to speak, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
He took out his phone, saw that the caller was Reesi, his expression shifted slightly, and he pressed the answer button:
"It’s me, Luo An, what’s going on over there..."
Before Luo An could finish, Reesi’s voice came through the phone, sounding very anxious:
"Luo An! The prison where ’Blue-eyed Roy’ was being held has experienced a riot! When I arrived here, the local police had already sent people to suppress it!
The prisoners inside have cut off all contact with the outside world, and no one knows what the situation inside the prison is like now!
But the sound of gunfire has been continuous; I suspect the situation inside is probably quite bad!"
"Prison riot?!"
Hearing this word, Luo An’s expression instantly darkened, he stood up abruptly and walked out, asking as he went:
"Reesi, how are you now?"
"I... am very safe. The local police brought me to the side, not letting me enter the prison to see the situation."
Reesi sounded somewhat displeased on the other end of the phone, and Luo An instantly understood her meaning.
Upon considering some factors, the local police placed Reesi under "house arrest" for her "personal safety", effectively isolating her from this matter.
"It’s fine, just take good care of your own safety."
Luo An’s expression remained unchanged; he did not instruct Reesi to try to forcibly break into the investigation, but added:
"Pay close attention to the details of the scene."
"Understood."
Reesi also understood the implication behind Luo An’s words and ended the call after a brief exchange.
When the agents saw Luo An storm out less than five minutes into the interrogation of Agent Susan, Mona, Bob, and several other agents were all taken aback, then gathered around:
"What happened?"
"Nothing much, I will contact Mr. Clement later to arrange a few days off for everyone."
Luo An waved his hand and said no more, made a phone call to Mr. Clement in front of everyone, reassured the agents for a moment, asking them to wait quietly, and then led Mona out of the area.
Following Luo An’s directions, Mona drove straight west toward New York. Entering onto the highway, she turned and asked:
"Luo An, who is the poisoner? Have you found out?"
"Not among these five agents. The actual culprit is someone else."
Luo An quickly scrolled through the contacts on his phone and gave a brief reply.
Since entering the abandoned warehouse, Luo An had been using his "emotional perception."
During that time, he not only did not detect any animosity or murderous intent towards himself and Mona from any agent, but throughout the interrogation, the agents answered everything asked of them honestly without lying.
Mona was stunned for a moment, then furrowed her brows and said:
"The poisoner isn’t one of them? How is that possible?"
"Don’t misunderstand, I’m just saying that these five aren’t the ones who actively poisoned Vireness."
Luo An found Chenier’s number and called, while waiting, he said to Mona:
"Maybe someone used the hand of one of those five to poison Vireness, but they themselves don’t know. This possibility still exists, and we can’t rule it out yet."
Mona’s brows furrowed even more tightly, but Chenier had already answered the call, so Luo An stopped explaining to Mona and instead said into the phone:
"Chenier, how are things with Winslow?"
"All is well, we have secured Vireness’s notes."
Chenier’s relaxed voice came from the other end of the phone, then asked:
"Any new tasks?"
"You need to go to Prison Guard Danny’s house immediately."
Luo An briefly described the call from Reesi and the prison riot situation, and said in a grave tone:
"There is an old mother at Danny’s house. Go protect her quickly; she is very likely the next target of the killer!"
The expression of Chenier on the other end of the phone turned solemn, and Winslow, who was standing next to Chenier, had a slight change in expression, asking:
"Luo An, do you think this prison riot was specifically targeting Prison Guard Danny?"
"Not certain, but it’s possible."
Luo An chuckled coldly and countered:
"Prison riots aren’t common; the timing this time is too coincidental, isn’t it?"
Winslow’s face darkened, and Chenier, with a serious expression, said:
"Understood, we’re departing now."
"Good, be very careful, and call for backup immediately if anything seems off."
After giving simple instructions, Luo An hung up and then made another call to the SWAT team, requesting immediate dispatch to the prison.
Once communication was finished, Luo An hung up, sank into thought in the passenger seat, and Mona who was driving swallowed, hesitated for a few seconds, and spoke softly:
"Luo An, this case..."
"Silencing, poisoning, prison riot."
Luo An’s lips curled up, and a hint of coldness flickered in his eyes:
"The person behind this case is too intriguing."