America: The Gear-Up Detective

Tessa's body has been sent to the autopsy room, and the forensic science department can conduct an autopsy as soon as possible, provided her parents agree.

After all, the concentration of cyanide in the blood will gradually decrease over time.

Normally, when a daughter suffers such a tragedy, the parents would usually agree to an autopsy in order to catch the murderer.

But Rod forgot that they were of Indian descent.

"You disagree with an autopsy? Why?"

Rod looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, dressed in a suit and with curly hair, with a puzzled expression.

"This is our belief! The deceased are gone, and preserving their body is the most basic respect we can show them."

At most... since the coffee killed her, then checking her stomach should suffice!

Looking at Tessa's father, who was gesticulating wildly and expressing his intense emotions, he seemed to love his daughter very much.

But Rod sometimes just couldn't understand the thought process of these Indians. If you also want to find the murderer, why not let the forensic doctor conduct a full autopsy?

Is faith really more important than finding the murderer who killed your daughter?

Rod tried to persuade her for a while, but Tessa's father insisted on only checking her stomach.

Left with no other option, Rod could only notify the forensic department.

Since today is Saturday, we won't get the exact forensic report until Monday.

Rod and Hank begin to contact Tessa's husband, Nicholas.

……

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Westwood Borough, 10884 Webbine Avenue.

The company where Nicholas works is primarily engaged in the refining of high-purity chemicals.

From this perspective, Nicholas is indeed highly suspicious, as he would have had easy access to cyanide, a highly toxic substance.

A black Ford Explorer slowly pulled up in front of a low-rise building with a slightly old exterior.

The buildings near Weyburn Ave were all built in the 1950s and are mostly low-rise buildings with three stories.

Just as Rod and Hank were about to get out of the car, Hank's phone rang.

The caller ID showed He Sai.

"Hey, Hank."

We just received an anonymous tip that Tessa's husband, Nicholas, was at the coffee shop yesterday and handed a black bag to a coffee shop employee.

We are still checking the surveillance footage to confirm, but we wanted to let you know in advance.

Hank hung up the phone and looked at Rod. "I hope you can catch another big fish."

Rod shrugged. "Based on my limited experience in handling cases, anonymous reports are generally not credible."

Can you verify the whistleblower's identity?

"Jose said the call went directly to the dispatch center, and the caller used a voice changer. After saying a lot of things, the caller hung up before the dispatcher could ask any questions."

The two walked straight into the building and showed their identification to the receptionist. Led by the staff, they found Nicholas.

At this moment, Nicholas was wearing a white lab coat and black-rimmed glasses, and his naturally curly black hair highlighted his Indian heritage.

He was operating a piece of equipment in the lab that Rhodes couldn't understand when he heard the receptionist calling him from outside the door, at which point he stopped.

Rhodes looked at Nicholas, who was calm with a slight weariness on his face. Rhodes said to him, "I am Detective Rhodes of the Murder and Robbery Division, and this is Detective Hank."

Please find a quiet room; we need to ask you something.

Nicholas didn't seem very surprised. After a slight pause, he led Rod and Hank toward a room not far away.

The three of them took their seats.

Rhodes spoke first: "First of all, it is with great regret that I inform you that your wife, Tessa Ryan, passed away this afternoon due to poisoning."

Nicholas paused, slightly surprised, then asked, "Poisoned?"

But Rhodes couldn't tell whether he was surprised by his wife's death or by the fact that she had died from poisoning.

"Officer, this joke isn't funny at all."

"Before that, I'd like to ask, where were you at this time yesterday?"

"You suspect me of murdering my wife?"

Rod and Hank didn't answer, they just looked at Nicholas.

After a brief silence, Nicholas finally spoke, "I spent the whole day yesterday in the lab doing experiments, and the building's surveillance cameras and attendance records can attest to that."

"But we received an anonymous tip that you gave a black garbage bag containing some kind of unidentified item to a coffee shop employee yesterday afternoon?"

"Impossible! I have no idea about any black garbage bags. I've already said I haven't even stepped out of this building!"

Seeing that Nicholas was getting agitated, Hank asked at the opportune moment:

"You don't seem surprised at all?"

"What?"

"We are neither surprised that we came to find you, nor surprised by the passing of your wife."

"No, you've misunderstood... I'm just naturally less emotional. Actually, I'm very sad and surprised."

My husband and I have a good relationship, so I don't know how to express my emotions.

At this moment, Nicholas finally choked up a little.

"So do you know who your wife is going to go with today and where she's going?" Rod pressed.

"Of course, Emily made an appointment with her to visit the nearby UCLA."

They were classmates, both graduated from UCLA, and hadn't seen each other for a long time.

Emily hadn't been back to Los Angeles in a long time, so I specially invited her to go back and visit with me.

"Are they on good terms?"

This was supposed to be a routine inquiry, but Nicholas fell silent.

"What's wrong?"

Nicholas sighed, then crossed his arms and placed them on the table, slowly saying:

Actually, their relationship was pretty good before.

But two years ago, they seemed to have stopped seeing each other.

Tessa always seemed a little nervous and awkward whenever Emily was mentioned.

During the few times they met over the past two years, Tessa was always afraid to meet Emily alone and always had someone accompany her.

Sometimes it's me, sometimes it's Luna.

After a pause, Nicholas lowered his head slightly and said in a deep voice, "If we really have to suspect someone, I think Emily is more likely to be the culprit!"

This contradicts the intelligence that Rod and Hank currently possess.

Both Emily's and Luna's testimonies indicated that Tessa had a very good relationship with them, a friendship that lasted for nearly ten years.

But now, a different version is being heard from Tessa's husband, Nicholas.

What exactly happened between Tessa and Emily?

Who is lying?

Instead of taking Nicholas back to the police station, Rod first checked the surveillance footage of the company building.

The surveillance footage at the building entrance only shows Nicholas entering in the morning and leaving at night, and his image was also captured by the surveillance cameras in front of the laboratory where he works.

This does indeed rule out Nicholas as a suspect.

"But who made that anonymous tip-off call?"

The two went downstairs, preparing to drive away, when Hank asked, puzzled.

"Who knows? I've already said anonymous whistleblowing is unreliable."

The two had just gotten into the car when Hank's phone rang again.

"Hey Hank, where are you guys?"

"We just finished questioning Nicholas, and we can preliminarily rule him out as a suspect, as he has an alibi."

Jose's slightly curious voice came from the other end of the phone: "That's exactly what I was thinking. The coffee shop's security cameras didn't capture him either."

However, we made other discoveries.

We investigated Emily's itinerary in Los Angeles over the past few days and found that a week ago, she and Nicholas entered and exited a hotel together.

Hotel records show they stayed in the same room and didn't check out until two days later.

Rod listened to the sound from Hank's phone speaker, and when he heard this sentence, he exchanged a glance with Hank.

"???"