Chapter 258: The Fisherman

Sophia frowned, "Is Samuel's poisoning related to devil's weed?"

Alan nodded, "It seems so."

Sophia doubted, "That's impossible. How could that thing appear here?"

Alan was surprised, "You know about this thing?"

Sophia smiled, "How could I not know? This thing first appeared in Sherlock Holmes stories."

"In 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes', there's a story called 'Devil's weed', which tells of a nephew who, to inherit his uncle's estate, throws a hallucinogenic plant called 'Devil's weed' into his uncle's bedroom fireplace, causing him to hallucinate and eventually die of fright."

"This 'Devil's weed' is a hallucinogenic plant, and its hallucinogenic effects have been confirmed in African Devil's weed." She interpreted.

Alan sighed, "Reading a lot is really beneficial. When I first heard the name, I was stunned and couldn't believe such a thing existed in the world."

Sophia asked, "You've heard of it before?"

Alan nodded, "There have been a few cases in the past two years. According to our investigation, these criminals had a common trait: they had some mental issues. Later, medical teams found a toxin in their bodies, which was eventually identified as a component of Devil's weed."

"Of course, there were other components as well. Combined, they formed a drug that, when ingested, could relax the nerves and make one defenseless, similar to a hallucinogen."

Sophia thought for a moment, "If I'm not mistaken, this must have been researched by Jade."

At that moment, Alan received a call. After hanging up, he looked at Sophia.

"Your guess is correct. We found some items in the abandoned room, and they contained these substances."

Hearing this, Sophia's expression turned serious.

If that was the case, their hypnosis back then must have been caused by accidentally ingesting this drug. But how did Jade administer it?

She only remembered drinking two glasses of water, but the water sets had been checked and found to contain nothing. How did Jade poison them?

"By the way, there's one more thing I need to tell you." Alan continued, "The forensic team found traces of the drug under Jade's fingernails."

"Fingernails?" Sophia instantly understood everything.

When Jade poured water, the water in the jug was fine. She must have added the drug from her fingernails into the first glass, and simply rinsed the second glass with water to wash away the drug residue.

Jade was definitely something else.

Sophia sat there and remarked, "The forensic team is quite efficient."

Alan replied, "A top-notch forensic team is extraordinary."

Sophia was curious, "A top-notch forensic team is investigating this case?"

Alan smiled, "It's Samuel's father. He found out about this and came to find the truth for Samuel. Jade's autopsy was done by him."

Sophia's mind conjured up the image of the bald man with glasses, always chasing after James and questioning him.

Alan stood up, "After we finish eating, everyone should go back. I need to go to the police station to report the situation."

"Do you want to come with me? After all, you are more familiar with the situation here." He added before he left.

James stood up and replied coldly, "No need."

He turned and walked to his motorcycle, with Sophia following him.

Alan waved goodbye, "See you next time. Actually, it might be best to avoid running into you for a little while. Every time we cross paths, it seems to spell trouble."

Sophia smiled, patted James, and James started the motorcycle and quickly left.

At that moment, a man walked out from a nearby corner. He was wearing glasses and had a bald head. He walked to the table and sat next to Alan.

"Alan, based on your recent interactions, have you discovered anything? Did he mention investigating that old case?"

Alan shook his head, "No, he's my classmate. I know the whereabouts of his family. How could he be the missing child from back then? Robert, are you mistaken?"

Robert looked into the distance with deep eyes, "I hope I'm mistaken, but he looks too much like him."

Alan was curious, "Robert, why are you investigating this?"

Robert replied, "Because it relates to a very important case with wide implications."

Alan was puzzled, "But you're about to retire."

Robert responded seriously, "You don't understand. Just keep observing and let me know if you uncover anything."

Alan nodded in agreement.

Robert turned to leave, but suddenly turned back and asked, "Did you ever meet his parents in college?"

Alan thought for a moment, "I met his mother."

After a brief moment of silence, Robert stood still before resuming his walk. Alan looked in the direction James had left and muttered, "I hope you're not in trouble."

James took Sophia home. They checked the surroundings, but this time found nothing. The area was very quiet, even the building across the street was shrouded in darkness.

He escorted her to the door once more. Sophia couldn't help but find it odd. Wasn't he worried about being watched?

Those people had been monitoring his every move.

He shouldn't have come here.

But Sophia didn't ask. After she went inside, James left. She lay on her bed, deep in thought.

At that time, on the night sea, a fishing boat was casting its net. According to radar, there was a large school of fish beneath the boat, so the captain immediately ordered the net to be cast.

A huge funnel-like net was thrown into the water.

The captain rubbed his hands and instructed, "Deploy a sonar device to drive away marine mammals. We don't need those."

After everything was set, the fishing boat began to move forward.

Soon, their net caught a large school of fish. The captain was very excited, "Quick, pull up the net. We're going to make a fortune."

The winch pulled the net up, and soon a huge net surfaced, filled with struggling fish splashing water.

But as the net was pulled up, a metal barrel fell out of it. A fisherman went to check, only to be so startled that he collapsed to the ground in fear.