After Nie Yan and her companions left, Fang Rui and his team held a brief case analysis meeting.
"There are no fingerprints on the ice box, so we can't prove that Lu Tian ever touched it. There's no surveillance on the yacht either, so video evidence is impossible..." Zhang muttered, "We have no way to prove that Lu Tian was the one who poisoned them!"
"Lu Tian must have had some container or packaging for the poison when she brought it onto the yacht," Mu Mian said. "But since the yacht was out at sea, she would have thrown it overboard, letting the evidence sink to the bottom of the ocean."
Everyone fell silent.
Although they had figured out the poisoning method and deduced who the culprit was, they couldn't find any evidence to incriminate the perpetrator.
Fang Rui said, "Can we start by investigating the source of the poison? Lu Tian is from a rural area. Would they have any special channels to buy rat poison?"
Zhang's eyes lit up, "That makes sense!"
After the meeting, Fang Rui had originally planned to go to Lu Tian's rural hometown with Zhang, but Mu Mian beat him to it, saying, "Can I go with you? I know quite a bit about poisons."
"Sure."
Lu Tian's hometown was far away. It took nearly four hours of driving to reach the entrance of their village.
The village was mostly populated by elderly people, with few young residents. Fang Rui bought a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of water at a small shop at the village entrance, then started chatting with the shopkeeper.
"Shopkeeper, I heard there's an internet celebrity from your village. Do you know her?"
"Internet celebrity? How could we have one in a place like this?" The shopkeeper suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Come to think of it, we actually do! It's that girl from the Lu family. I heard she makes quite a bit of money. But the way she makes money is a bit vulgar!"
"How is it vulgar?"
"Well, she dresses up all fancy and makes videos every day. Lots of men like her. But this child has always been pretty since she was little. Otherwise, her uncle wouldn't have..." The shopkeeper suddenly stopped, as if remembering something.
"Shopkeeper, being an internet celebrity is a legitimate job now. You shouldn't judge them with prejudice," Fang Rui guessed what he was about to say - Lu Tian had likely been molested by her uncle when she was young.
"Everyone in the village says so. Even her mother scolds her for being improper. It's not just me saying this."
Fang Rui decided not to continue this topic. "Shopkeeper, do you know where I can buy rat poison? I have a lot of rats at home and want to get rid of them."
"Yes, I have some right here!" The shopkeeper took out several rat glue traps. "These work really well. Do you want to buy some?"
"I'm looking for rat poison, the really strong kind."
"We don't have that. The government doesn't allow the sale of those. It's illegal!"
"Do you know where I could buy some?" Fang Rui offered the shopkeeper a cigarette.
"You probably can't buy it anywhere now. It's not available anywhere!" The shopkeeper lit the cigarette and took a puff before continuing, "About ten or fifteen years ago, there was a chemical factory in the next village that produced rat poison. But then the government banned its production, right? It's probably not available anymore."
"Did anyone from your village work at that chemical factory?"
"Many did. That Lu family girl I mentioned earlier actually accidentally ate some rat poison when she was little. Luckily it was discovered early, and they made her drink a bowl of manure water to make her vomit it out. Otherwise, she would have died."
Fang Rui and Mu Mian exchanged a glance. The poison Lu Tian accidentally ingested back then was very likely to have been the same rat poison they were investigating.
"Shopkeeper, thank you. You can keep this pack of cigarettes!"
"Aren't you going to smoke them yourself?"
"I don't smoke!"
The shopkeeper laughed, thinking this person was quite strange to buy cigarettes without smoking.
Lu Tian's family home was a two-story old-style building. The house was dilapidated, with the surface lime corroded away, exposing the bricks underneath.
The courtyard wasn't paved with cement and looked uneven and potholed.
Fang Rui found it strange. Given Lu Tian's income, her parents shouldn't be living in such a rundown house. However, Lu Tian probably hated her parents and likely wouldn't spend money on them even if she earned a lot.
Lu's Mother looked confused when she saw Fang Rui at the door, not recognizing him. "Who are you? What are you doing at my house?"
"We're from the police station. We suspect you have a highly toxic rat poison called tetramine in your home," Mu Mian looked at Lu's Mother with a serious expression. "Please hand it over immediately, or you'll face legal consequences."
Lu's Mother looked utterly bewildered. "What tetramine? Where would we have such a thing? Who told you this?" She suddenly walked to the gate, put her hands on her hips, and shouted towards the entrance, "Which one of you gossips has been making false reports? Where would we get such a toxic substance?"
Mu Mian took out her phone and played a video recording. The background was a courtroom, where Lu's Mother was testifying that Lu Tian had been molested by a relative when she was young and had once attempted suicide by eating rat poison.
"I... I did say that. What's the problem?" Lu's Mother stammered.
"Do you still have any rat poison at home?" Fang Rui asked.
"Rat poison? Are you here to collect it?" Lu's Mother suddenly realized. "We do have a small packet, it's been here for over ten years."
"Can you find it and give it to us?"
Lu's Mother went into a storage room filled with various items. As soon as the door opened, dust particles floated in the air.
"Auntie, just tell me where it is, and I'll get it myself," Fang Rui put on gloves, then said to Mu Mian, "Mu Mian, you take photos of the evidence from the side."
"Alright."
Lu's Mother pointed to a dust-covered box on top of a cabinet.
Fang Rui was about to take it down when Mu Mian stopped him, "Fang Rui, there are handprints on the box. Don't disturb them."
"I see them."
Fang Rui first photographed the two faint handprints on the box, then carefully lifted the box down, avoiding the prints.
The box was about half a meter long, not very big, but it was full of various items, including expired pesticides and different plant seeds.
Lu's Mother pointed to a yellow paper package and said, "That's the rat poison. It's been over ten years, I don't know if it's expired. I never dared to throw it away carelessly, afraid it might poison someone else's chickens or ducks."
While all the other items were covered in dust, the yellow paper package was clean, clearly indicating that someone had recently opened it and taken something out.
"Has Lu Tian been home recently?"
"She hasn't been back for a while," Lu's Mother sighed. "This child hates me to death. But I had no choice. If I didn't testify, that lawyer would have sent my son to jail. He's my only son. I had to testify."
"When was the last time she came home?"
"I think it was in July, July 12th. She suddenly came back that day, didn't even stay overnight. She just packed some things and left. I don't even know why she came back."
"Auntie, we need to take this box with us."
"Go ahead and take it!"
It was already 10 PM when Fang Rui drove back to the city. Mu Mian had been sleeping soundly but was woken up by the voice prompt at the highway toll station.
Mu Mian perked up a bit, "Fang Rui, let's go back to the station when we get back. I want to run a toxicology test on the substances inside."
"Mu Mian, it's already 10 PM." Fang Rui couldn't understand why Mu Mian was so eager to work. She had been exhausted earlier, but now she was suddenly full of energy.
"But I'm not tired. I feel very awake now."
"I'm very tired!"
Mu Mian looked at Fang Rui for a moment before deciding to compromise, "Alright, but you have to get up early tomorrow!"
"..."
