Chapter 17: Found a Lead

The meeting continued in the conference room of the XXX Crime Investigation Office.

"Are the results of the autopsy of Peter Blake and Jorge Arison out?", Erick asked.

" Just like what the doctor said who examined Jorge Arison, he was poisoned. It was Batrachotixin also known as BTX. It is an extremely powerful neurotoxin. It is a steroidal akaloid produced by poison dart frogs, an endangered species native to Latin America."

"Just 0.2 grams are enough to kill a human. The toxin causes arrhythmias and ventricular fibrillation in heart muscles, resulting in a cardiovascular arrest and causes death within a minute."Rose read the autopsy report submitted to her.

"On the other hand, Peter Blake obviously died because of the deeply incised injury on his front neck caused by the dagger or in short, the cause of death was cutthroat. However, aside from the cause of Peter's death, the result shows that he underwent severe physical torture. Several cuts and bruises could be seen on his entire body."

"And lastly, I also got nothing suspicious with the CCTV footage," Rose added. Everyone sighed in frustration.

"As usual for the professional killer, Catseye left no marks and fingerprints at the crime scene," April commented.

"How is your interview with the guests and people present that night? Have you found any suspicious person?" Jason followed up a question.

"Nothing unusual. They were all saying that it was a lively banquet. Everyone was having fun. The security was very tight around the vicinity."

"They also wondered how the culprit was able to get inside the mansion. They were all shocked when they found out what happened that night." June shared with them the result of their investigation.

"I am wondering if everyone was enjoying the party, why is it Jorge went to his room with Peter Blake? Were they having a business conversation? Why does it have to be in that room?" Carl shared his thoughts.

" Oh right! I remember some guests had mentioned that some little commotion happened. A waitress had tripped her ankle and accidentally poured down lady's drinks on Jorge's suit making him leave and go upstairs to change his clothes." Bryan said.

"Selena said to us also that her father told her on the phone that he got an upset stomach and was doing some business when she asked him why he was taking so long and didn't come down immediately after changing his suites."

"Maybe the business he was talking to is with Peter Blake. She said Jorge and Peter were friends," April commented as she connected her information to Bryan's statement.

"Oops... one of the guards said that the people they didn't check upon entering the mansion were Peter Blake and his bodyguard because they were already familiar with Peter," June added.

"Wait! There is something suspicious about that. Have you interviewed the waitress who spilled the wine in Jorge's suit? How about the bodyguard of Peter who came together with him, have you met him also?" Erick said immediately as he realized something was off with the information.

June and Bryan glanced with one another then shook their head. " We haven't interviewed all of them yet, especially those two." June was the one who answered. The conference room was enveloped with silence. Everyone was having a deep thought.

"That's it. We found the clue! We have a lead now. Good job guys! We must meet these two persons and interrogate them." Erick blurted out suddenly.

The mood in the conference room changed and became livelier upon hearing this.

Finally, after so many days of being blind, they finally made some progress. It seemed like they were finally able to connect some dots and solve the puzzle little by little.

After a while, Bryan's phone rang. He excused himself to answer the call. Five minutes passed and Bryan came back to the conference room. He was rushing in and seemed like he got something important to tell them.

Everyone focused their attention on Bryan who just came back in and looked at him curiously.

"Chief new information just came in from Officer Kim! According to his assistant, Peter was missing for two days. They were searching for him after he disappeared one night in his Club."

"They were surprised when they heard the news that Peter attended the Birthday Banquet of Selena Arison and was killed in the Mansion together with Jorge Arison."

Bryan informed them. Everyone was stupefied upon hearing this. All of them were thinking the same speculation in mind.

'So there is a possibility that Catseye is the one who is responsible for Peter's disappearance and he might be the one who tortured him.' 

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Meanwhile, another group was also talking about catching Catseye.

Black Shadow, James Arison, and his right-hand man were having a conversation at the Skull Gang main headquarter.

"Boss we've searched everywhere, including the areas near our warehouse but she was nowhere to be found." James' right-hand man named Spike reported to them.

"I was impressed. How could she escape that far with those injuries? When she fled, there are just three possibilities I could come up with last night."

"First, with those injuries, you might be able to catch her."

"Second, if she was able to avoid you from catching her for hiding perfectly she might be dead right now because of severe blood loss."

"And lastly if you could not catch her or could not see her dead body, therefore, someone helped her." Black Shadow commented.

"Since the first two statements did not happen then it must be the third one," he added.

"Gather our men and dispatch them. Tell them to search and find the nearest hospitals in the area and find out if there is a woman who was hospitalized with gunshot and stab wound last night. Report to me as soon as possible when you find her." James ordered to Spike.

"Copy boss." Spike left quickly to do the task.

"Do you think she will go to the hospital? What if she contacted her accomplice to save her?" Black Shadow asked him

"Just like you said, I think there were two possibilities, either her accomplice saved her or a stranger saved her and brought her to the nearest hospital."

"Remember, she was badly injured as you said. There's no harm in trying to search in the hospitals. It wouldn't happen if you just did your job well in capturing her. She was already in your grasp but still, she was able to slip away. Tsk Tsk Tsk."

James said to him mockingly.

Black Shadow chuckled and smiled sheepishly

"Haha! Sorry... Yeah, I admit it was my fault. I was just a man mesmerized by a beauty in front of me. How could I not be distracted? I was really shocked. If I catch her again, I will make sure not to lose her again. If you would allow me, I want to tame that devil."

"What does she look like? Are you sure that what you have seen is a woman?" James frowned with his reaction and asked him curiously.

"Yes, she is definitely a woman, a beautiful but a dangerous one." Black Shadow smirked as he remembered her face with those enchanting cold dark eyes.