America: The Gear-Up Detective

Saturday, 6 p.m.

Seven hours have passed since Tessa died from poisoning.

Murder and Robbery Division, meeting room.

The surveillance footage from the coffee shop was playing on the projector screen.

Rhodes also took this opportunity to record some important segments using [Scan].

The video, edited by José, is seven minutes long.

It includes Emily entering the store, ordering food, and waiting for Tessa and Luna to arrive.

The scene playing right now is Tessa drinking iced coffee. Tessa, who just came in from outside, is covered in sweat and keeps fanning her forehead with her hand, trying to cool down.

Upon entering the store, I went straight to the semi-circular sofa seat that Emily had reserved. After exchanging a few words with Emily, I picked up my iced coffee and took a big gulp.

She then spoke to Emily and Luna, and from the subsequent transcripts, it can be inferred that Tessa must have noticed something strange about the coffee at this point, which explains why she didn't smell anything odd about it.

She had just come in and hadn't calmed down yet when she picked up the cup and started drinking. At that moment, a normal person would instinctively hold their breath. The other two were too far away to smell the strange coffee smell.

About a minute later, Tessa started to feel dizzy, and then Rhodes witnessed what happened next.

Having read this far, everyone should now have a clear understanding of the basic facts of the case.

Connor looked at everyone with a slightly stern expression and said in a serious tone, "This matter has already caused quite a stir."

There were too many people present at the time, and many of them posted what happened on social media.

No reporters have received news of Tessa's death yet.

But I reckon by tomorrow at the latest, those reporters who pounce on us like sharks smelling blood when they hear news will be shoving microphones into our mouths!

After a pause, Connor continued, "Because there was no direct evidence of suspicion, Emily and Luna have left the police station."

Now it's our turn to shine! Everyone, please share your thoughts.

The group carefully examined the printed materials.

Hank spoke first, "The staff's statements and surveillance video show that Emily arrived an hour before the other two."

Have you found the cause?

Evan flipped through the transcript, then switched the surveillance video on the projector to the moment Emily had just entered the store, before saying:

According to Emily, she was bored staying in the hotel alone, so she came here early to make some preparations.

"Does that include ordering Tessa an iced coffee an hour early? An hour ago, the ice would have melted into water."

Rod looked at Emily, who had just entered the store and was eagerly ordering food in the surveillance footage, and questioned her.

They then fast-forwarded the surveillance video and froze it on one particular scene.

Shortly after the coffee was served, Emily placed her shopping bag on the table in a cleverly positioned spot, facing the security camera, which conveniently blocked the iced coffee being served to Tessa and also concealed most of her upper body.

Emily then glanced at the monitor several times and reached under the table, as if looking for something, but her movements were unclear.

Rod continued, "Is it possible that she did this intentionally to block the surveillance cameras?"

"Did they take advantage of this moment to pour something containing cyanide into the coffee?"

This action is indeed suspicious, but if Emily insists on explaining it, she could say it was unintentional, that she didn't notice the camera and just placed it there casually.

This can only serve as a reason for police suspicion, not as direct evidence.

Seeing that this approach was blocked, Evan asked Rhodes, "Have you made any new discoveries regarding Nicholas's side?"

Rhodes thought for a moment, then said slowly:

"His behavior was strange."

He didn't seem very surprised by Tessa's death, nor was he very sad.

But didn't José also find out? He and Emily were having an affair.

Do you think it's possible that these two conspired to kill Tessa?

Everyone was considering this possibility.

As the husband, Nicholas is second only to Emily, who was present at the crime scene and acted suspiciously.

Unfortunately, these two were also having an affair.

If you say there's no possibility of collusion, even a dog wouldn't believe it.

The problem is, there is no evidence.

Everyone was deep in thought, and the case seemed to have reached a stalemate.

Meanwhile, Rhodes secretly activated the [Virtual Imaging] skill.

In Rhodes's view, he was no longer in a serious conference room, but in a slightly noisy coffee shop.

Based on surveillance video, subsequent statements, and what he saw at the time, all the details unfolded before Rhodes' eyes from the moment Emily entered the hotel.

Rhode replayed everything quickly, watching it carefully as his mental attributes slowly diminished.

again and again.

Finally, Rhodes noticed a detail.

Emily's outfit today!

She was wearing a red short-sleeved T-shirt that had no pockets.

In other words, if Emily really wanted to poison someone, then the cyanide must have been in the pocket of the tight jeans she was wearing!

Skinny jeans, especially women's styles, are made very tight to accentuate the figure. Even if cyanide is contained in a tightly sealed package, traces will still be left inside the pockets.

Furthermore, there were no obvious marks on Emily's trouser pockets, indicating that the contents of the cyanide were very thin, at most a small sealed bag.

Such traces can be easily detected by the Department of Forensic Science.

Emily didn't have a chance to throw away the packaging at the time, and was later taken back to the police station by Rod. Because there was no evidence to identify her as a suspect, she was not thoroughly searched, but she still didn't have a chance to throw away the packaging.

Rod recalled another detail: when he was taking Emily's statement at the coffee shop, her hands were always intentionally or unintentionally in or pressing on her pants pockets!

Rhodes checked it repeatedly from various angles.

Throughout the entire process, only Emily had the time and space to poison the coffee.

Inside the meeting room.

People are still discussing it.

Rod opened his eyes and tapped on the table.

"I think I've made a discovery..."

Then, Rod shared his guess.

Hank immediately replied, "Yes, that's very likely!"

"We should apply for a search warrant. There are sufficient reasons to suspect her now, and we can fully confirm that she is the prime suspect," Evan added.

There are only three scenarios in which Emily's hotel room can be searched: one is if a search warrant is available, another is if Emily herself consents to the search, and the last is if the police have reason to believe that relevant evidence is being destroyed, or if Emily is in danger in her hotel apartment.

Connor stated that they would take a two-pronged approach.

"Rhodes and Hank, go directly to Emily and tell her that you suspect items that may have contained cyanide may be being destroyed."

Jose, contact Emily and try to get her consent for the search.

I will also apply to the judge for a search warrant.

We need to act now. Nearly three hours have passed since she left the police station, and we must hurry!

Jackson and Evan, you two investigate Nicholas's recent activities. Emily wanted to poison someone, so who got the cyanide from? This is a very important clue, and it seems only Nicholas has the opportunity.