It turned out Morgan was in a great hurry.
Driving the Dodge Hellcat back to the old villa, Luo An had barely fallen asleep when Vireness called at 7:30 in the morning, allowing him to lead the team to deal with the murder case of the Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania.
Massachusetts, where Boston is located, is not far from Pennsylvania, with just New York State in between.
Awakened by Vireness's call, Luo An rubbed his somewhat messy hair and after regaining some clarity, he called the rest of the special investigation team and asked everyone to meet in Pennsylvania.
After a quick wash, Luo An left his room and pushed the door open into Mona's bedroom.
At this moment, Mona was sleeping on the desk, drooling quite a bit with a computer screen next to her flickering with a light blue page filled with content that Luo An couldn't quite understand. He picked her up and placed her on her bed.
Considering Mona's role in the investigation team and the fact that she had been staying up late every day for some time, Luo An did not wake her up, letting her rest well first.
After leaving Mona a note, Luo An packed up his things and caught a plane out of Boston first.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.
The city's strategic location is particularly advantageous, not only as an important gateway from the East Coast to the Midwestern states but also a significant port for both north-south and east-west trade, as well as a critical base for the sale of coal, oil, and steel on which the federation relies.
"Good afternoon, Luo An. Good afternoon, everyone."
In a hotel suite in the eastern part of Harrisburg, Reesi pushed open the door, greeted everyone, yawned hugely, and then threw her luggage aside and began to rest with her eyes closed on the sofa.
On the other side of the sofa, Winslow was full of energy. These days his life with his wife had been quite pleasant, and his complexion looked rosier than before, although he occasionally liked to hold his waist.
"What's the situation?"
Seeing Reesi sitting listlessly on the sofa, Winslow raised an eyebrow and asked,
"Have you been having overnight parties again?"
"No."
Mona rubbed her eyes, took a bag of coffee from Michelle to brew, and explained in a low voice:
"Simply that my sleep schedule has been a bit irregular lately. Luo An called just as I was getting ready to sleep."
Winslow looked speechless upon hearing this, and Chenier came over from the side, handed hot water to Reesi, and patted her on the shoulder saying,
"I suggest you take a good look at your health when you get the chance. The way you arrange your personal life has serious problems; it's not good for your body."
"I just got examined a few days ago."
Taking a sip of the brewed coffee, Reesi looked up and chuckled,
"The doctor said that apart from some unhealthy issues, everything else is fine."
"..."
Winslow and Chenier both went silent. Luo An came over, handed out several documents to the three of them, and said,
"After this case is over, you and Michelle live together for a few days and adjust your schedule properly."
"OK."
Reesi wanted to say something but eventually just nodded helplessly. Luo An, without further ado, exchanged a few pleasantries and then brought the topic back to the case.
"Everyone, from the clues we currently have, this is a case of poison murder."
At the forefront of the conference table, Luo An put up photos and information of the victims on the whiteboard and said solemnly,
"Besides Deputy Governor Whitmore, there have been eight other victims who died of poisoning.
Some of these people are company bosses, others are professional lawyers, with various identities.
There's also an infant just born less than two months ago, suffering from congenital heart disease; she was in one of those high-risk intensive care wards and also died of poisoning in this incident."
"Fu-k!"
"Son of a bitch!"
Seeing the photo of the infant, Winslow and Reesi immediately cursed, Chenier looked very upset, Michelle furrowed her brows, and asked,
"What was the poisonous substance that caused death? Have we found out?"
"That's what we're going to do next."
Luo An closed the folder and said:
"The medicines at the scene on the night of the incident were immediately collected and taken away, sent to the local FBI trace examination department for testing. Chenier, you go to the examination department to wait for and retrieve the test report.
Michelle, you go to the hospital to get the surveillance disks. Mona will remotely link to the hospital's networked surveillance later, but for those not connected to the internet, you'll need to use physical means to retrieve them."
"No problem."
Chenier and Michelle nodded in agreement, Reesi raised her hand and asked:
"What about me?"
"Reesi, Winslow, you'll come with me."
Luo An narrowed his eyes slightly, saying gravely:
"We will conduct an on-site visit to the hospital and investigate the surrounding area.
Since the killer used poison to kill nearly ten victims, there must be clues left by him in or around the hospital."
"OK!"
Winslow and Reesi nodded in understanding. Everyone quickly got ready and started to act according to the plan.
Because a Deputy Governor died in this case, a hospital in the center of Harrisburg was now surrounded by reporters, with flashing cameras making it hard to keep one's eyes open.
Upon arriving at the hospital and seeing this, Luo An silently drove the car to a distant parking lot and changed his clothes before starting the investigation.
Visitation investigations are always the most time-consuming work. Luo An, Winslow, and Reesi had only walked around the hospital when it was already 8 p.m.
They returned to the hotel suite. As Luo An pushed the door open, he found that Michelle was not alone—Mona was also there, so Luo An frowned and asked:
"When did you get here?"
"Around four in the afternoon."
Mona let out a light laugh, waved to Winslow and Reesi, and then said to Luo An:
"I came when I was well-rested, don't worry."
"OK."
Seeing Mona in good spirits and considering it was not convenient to speak much, Luo An didn't discuss this matter further.
Soon after, Chenier also returned to the hotel suite. Once everyone had arrived, Luo An began to lead the team in organizing the clues they had gathered.
"The report from the trace examination department is out."
First to stand was Chenier, who distributed the papers in her hand to everyone, explaining:
"The results show that Deputy Governor Whitmore and the other eight victims all died from cyanide poisoning.
Traces of cyanide were also found in the intravenous drip equipment they were using in their beds, and in no small quantity."
"Cyanide is white, soluble in water, and slightly smells like bitter almonds."
Looking at the test report in her hand, Reesi's expression grew grave as she said:
"But there are too many medicinal smells in the hospital, this slight almond scent would hardly be noticed.
Even if it were detected, many people wouldn't pay much attention and would likely assume it's the smell of some kind of medication."
"That's right."
Winslow, Mona, and Michelle nodded together. Luo An glanced at the content of the report and, after a few seconds of silence, turned his gaze towards Reesi, asking:
"This afternoon when we split up for the investigation, did you find anything?"
"Of course!"
Reesi nodded her head, stood up, and placed a somewhat blurry photo in the center of the table, saying:
"I learned from an ambulance driver at that hospital that when the Deputy Governor was admitted the day before yesterday, someone was on the side, secretly taking pictures..."
"That's right! I also found this!"
Reesi was in the middle of speaking when Michelle also stood up and pulled up a surveillance feed:
"I found this suspicious guy in the surveillance footage as well!"