Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 322 Poisoning - The Bizarre and Tragic Murder

Chapter 324 Poisoning - The Bizarre and Tragic Murder

"It's clear the prisoner died from poisoning."

The cramped single-room rental room was filled with an unbearable stench of decay.

Donning a disposable protective suit, a mask, and shoe covers as usual, and using a plastic head covering to prevent hair from falling out, Ms. Joey opened the deceased's eyelids to check the pupils while explaining to the officers present, "Judging from the rigor mortis and body temperature, this person died approximately ten to twelve hours ago. In other words, he was poisoned last night."

The poisoner died from poisoning; is there a more ironic way to die?

The toxicologist closed the deceased's eyes, stood up, and faced the head of the investigation team, saying, "The reason we say this is clearly a poisoning is because the deceased's face is severely distorted and deformed..."

The paralytic dilation of the pupils and the disorganized state of the furniture and belongings in the room strongly suggest uncoordinated convulsions of the limbs, a typical symptom of muscle loss after acute poisoning. Secondly, the deceased had experienced nosebleeds and a purplish-black complexion before death, indicating that circulatory problems also occurred at the time of death.

"My initial assessment is that this death was caused by a combination of blood-circulating toxins or neurotoxins. However, to determine the specific type of toxin, we need to collect blood samples and analyze them in a laboratory. Of course, it would be even better if we could obtain the residual raw materials of the toxin directly."

"Miss Joey, is it possible that the toxin that killed this suspect is the same as the insecticide spray toxin detected in the discarded medical supplies?"

It's quite bizarre that two poisons were used in the same case. However, out of caution,

Despite feeling the chances were slim, the head of the search team still asked to confirm.

Joey chuckled through his mask.

"The poison used in those childish games is worlds apart from the poison that killed this person—it's like comparing heaven and earth, a difference even greater than that between a Wishiwashi and a Wailord. Based on my experience, this is clearly a highly potent poison concocted from the venom of one or more Poison-type Pokémon. Furthermore, the poisoner likely modified it specifically to target the human body to increase its lethality and success rate. The only problem right now is that we can't figure out how this deadly poison entered the victim's body. There didn't seem to be any food or containers used for ingestion at the scene; were they taken away by the poisoner who arrived later?"

"Finally, I have one more question to ask—do you have any other forensic doctors in your police station? After all, I'm not a professional in this field, and we need more people to carefully examine the deceased for any injection marks such as needle marks."

"Of course there's a forensic pathologist. We've already notified the coroner from the bureau; they're about a ten-minute drive away. But the sooner we start collecting evidence at the scene, the better. I'm really grateful for your help, Ms. Joey."

The officer sincerely thanked Miss Joey.

"Don't worry about it. Consider it an apology for the Poison Skull Frog's mistake back then. It was a moment of carelessness."

"I almost misled your search."

Joey shook her head in response, then casually asked, "Speaking of crime scene investigation, did Officer Jenny and the detective find anything?"

"This rental apartment was searched yesterday."

Officer Jenny's voice rang out behind the toxicology expert.

"The victim's suitcase and worktable showed signs of being ransacked. Someone took away all of the deceased's documents and electronic devices, as well as all the raw materials related to the insecticide spray toxin—in addition, there are no Poké Balls in the room now, which were likely also taken away by that uninvited guest."

"So, this deceased person might not necessarily be the real poisoner who planted the poison around Feiyun City, but rather a scapegoat killed by the actual perpetrator?"

The search team leader scrutinized the new criminal investigator, who was highly regarded by the chief, and asked with a frown.

"No, I don't think so," Officer Jenny replied decisively.

"The victim could not possibly be innocent. Previous investigations have clearly shown that although the deceased's identity is unknown, he did frequently travel to and from the vicinity of Feiyun City in the days leading up to the poisoning incident. Furthermore, the landlord of this rented house had already confirmed the suspect's appearance before the arrest operation began, confirming that it was indeed the deceased from this area. Therefore, I believe that the experimental equipment and empty syringes found here are undoubtedly the personal belongings of the poisoner—which means that the victim who rented the house from the beginning must be the real culprit in the poisoning cases around Feiyun City."

"Oh, have you found the empty syringes and the chemical reagents/blood?"

"Yes, some of them still had water stains. If tested, they would likely contain the same substance as the aerosol toxin. The person who ransacked the rental house didn't seem to be targeting this stuff."

"That makes sense. But the situation is now much more complicated."

The officer narrowed his eyes, nodded cautiously, but still pressed for more information, "So, have you considered the possibility that the deceased had a dispute with his accomplices, leading to his poisoning?"

Officer Jenny thought for a moment and analyzed logically, "This room was used by the deceased as a workshop for preparing poisons, but judging from the signs of habitation, it doesn't seem like two people lived there. Moreover, the investigation into the poisoning incident has only identified the deceased as the only suspicious and dangerous individual. If the deceased had a human accomplice, then this accomplice neither participated in the poisoning process nor in the act of distributing the poison. Although this possibility can be considered, it is still a bit low."

"I understand what you mean, it makes a lot of sense. To insist that the intruders who cleaned the scene were accomplices in the poisoning incident is indeed a bit far-fetched. The two cases cannot be so simply linked."

The officer was convinced by Officer Jenny's logic and nodded in agreement with an appreciative look on his face.

At this moment, Miss Joey, who had been silent for some time, suddenly spoke up, "Are you saying that the identity of this deceased person is still unknown?"

"Yes. This person rented the house using a false identity a month ago. Before that, his identity and whereabouts were completely unknown, as if this poisoner appeared out of thin air. We initially suspected that he might belong to Team Plasma, but poisoning elves without a purpose doesn't seem like something that organization would do. On the contrary, the poisoner who killed the poisoner seems more like someone from that side—"

The chief investigator looked at Joey: "Have you discovered any clues?"

"There aren't any clues," Miss Joey shrugged. "I've seen this person before. I wasn't sure because my memory was a bit hazy, but I took a moment to compare the photo while you were discussing the case, and it's definitely him."

The toxicology expert didn't lower her voice intentionally. As soon as she uttered those nonchalant words, everyone in the room except the deceased stared wide-eyed.

Ignoring everyone's reactions, Nurse Joy continued, "This guy's name is Servik. I saw him once at the Pokémon Hospital in Ridge City, more than ten years ago, before he disappeared from the medical field."

"Selvilik?"

The chief investigator repeated the rather long name, looking puzzled.

"Heh, not many people probably know this name now, even he himself has abandoned it. However, you may have heard of his nickname in the underworld."

Joey pointed down at the victim lying face down on the ground, his body a gruesome sight, and revealed the victim's name: "'Plague Scholar'."

Although Miss Joey spoke with great confidence, embarrassingly, no one reacted noticeably to this prestigious title, and the surroundings remained silent.

It wasn't until an old detective in the team mustered up his courage and hesitantly spoke up, "'Plague Scholar'? Could it be that poison dealer who caused trouble in Liyong City in the past?"

"Isn't he already dead?"

"It's obvious he's only dead now. Five years ago, he simply disappeared under an assumed name."

Joey glanced at the poisoned corpse on the ground and pointed it out with a touch of dark humor.

"About ten years ago, this 'Plague Scholar' was an attending physician at the Pokémon Hospital in Liyu City. I met him when I was interning at that hospital. I never expected that we would meet again in this way."

Miss Joy sighed, as if recalling her own teenage years, and continued her story with a sigh, "After I finished my internship, when this attending physician continued to work at the Elf Hospital in Liyong City, a very serious medical accident occurred—it was this accident that caused the original Dr. Selvilik to become the 'Plague Scholar,' a poison dealer in the underworld."

"Ah, could it be that incident!"

Miss Officer Jenny and the chief investigator both exclaimed in surprise.

As Miss Joy narrated, one important keyword after another came into the police officers' ears, and their memories were finally restored.

"I remember now, it's the case of Officer Jenny's promotion to local police chief in Liyong City!"

The officer belatedly realized what was happening and said, "At the time, there was a bad doctor who was troubled by an economic dispute. He happened to find that the other party in the dispute brought his Pokémon to the hospital for treatment. So, the doctor harbored a desire for revenge and secretly switched the size information of that Pokémon with other Pokémon. This caused the hospital to prescribe a hugely different dosage of medicine, which ultimately led to the Pokémon, which originally only had mild symptoms, dying during the operation."

"In the end, it was Officer Jenny from Liyong City who discovered the clues in this incident. With Miss Goth's lie detector skills, they perfectly reconstructed the whole story. Afterwards, Officer Jenny was promoted for her merits, and at the same time, she left behind the fearsome nickname 'The Shadow' in the underground criminal world."

"So, the bad doctor from back then was this Servilik?"

"I remember now! Although the case was eventually solved, the perpetrators were not punished by law."

Officer Jenny, a young and inexperienced trainee in Castelia City, said indignantly, "Back then, Pokémon rights weren't nearly as valued as they are today. Before a Pokémon underwent surgery, trainers mostly signed pre-operative agreements that exempted the doctor from all responsibility. Even if the trainer of the victimized Pokémon pursued the matter based on prescription issues, the responsibility for the Pokémon's death could only be attributed to the careless novice doctor who didn't check the dosage. In addition, the perpetrators acted discreetly, and apart from the indirect testimony obtained by my cousin through a lie detector test, the police couldn't find any further evidence. With so many unfavorable conditions for bringing a lawsuit, they had no choice but to let this unscrupulous doctor go unpunished."

"Yes, that's basically the incident."

Miss Joy nodded and continued, "After all this turmoil, although the 'Plague Scholar' escaped legal punishment, he ultimately could no longer continue to work in the medical field. So, he began to change his name and contact criminal forces in the Unova region. At first, he provided criminal consultations related to poisons to murderers and gangsters, but later he simply began to personally concoct and sell various types of poisons."

"Because of my profession, when I first entered this field, I often witnessed this 'plague scholar'..."

The poisoning incidents he caused... The number of humans and elves who died from his concoctions is at least dozens, if not hundreds. It was only during our investigation that we gradually uncovered this "plague scholar's" real name and past identity. However, in recent years, he's become much quieter. According to the police officers I've been working with, this might be related to the rise of Team Plasma. He was either secretly recruited by them or eliminated for his misdeeds against elves.

"However, this situation, where someone suddenly reappears after living in anonymity for ten years, causes a massive poisoning incident, and then is suddenly poisoned to death, is truly baffling."

"This is indeed a tricky case. To be honest, we still don't even know why this 'plague scholar' was spreading the poison on such a large scale."

Faced with one mystery after another, Officer Jenny sighed deeply.

The search team leader clutched his head in surrender, saying, "This is no longer a case that our team alone can solve. We need the chief—no, at least investigators from the Alliance headquarters—to get involved to have any chance of cracking this case."

Miss Joy then asked Officer Jenny curiously, "Speaking of which, Officer Jenny, what's your detective friend up to these days?"

"You asked about Azure? She seems to be on the phone with her boss at the agency. After all, with such a significant case within a case, she definitely needs to hear the opinion of the official detective."

"Yeah?"

Joy glanced at the junior member of the Officer Jenny family, her eyes darting around. Suddenly, she leaned close to Officer Jenny's ear and whispered, as if sharing some shady secret, "Speaking of legitimate detectives, I have a helpline that's been circulating among Officer Jennys in the Sinnoh region. I managed to get it from them during my journey to capture the Poison Frog. How about trying to get help?"

After a long silence, Officer Jenny politely declined, "Maybe not. I think that phone number is probably busy right now—."

At this moment, the police and forensic experts were unaware that, following the mysteries of the motive for poisoning, the poisoner's murder, and the theft from the crime scene, the arriving forensic experts and crime scene investigators would present them with yet another impossible, unsolvable, and unbelievable poisoning mystery—

There were no needle marks on the body of the "Plague Scholar" Servilik, nor any wounds that allowed the poison to enter the body directly.

Moreover, after the forensic pathologists completed the autopsy, they found absolutely no trace of the source of the toxin in the deceased's respiratory tract, throat, or stomach—a bizarre phenomenon that was unimaginable to both toxicologists and professional forensic doctors.

The deadly toxin seemed to appear out of thin air in the victim's blood, killing the notorious and wicked doctor in an unbelievable way.

It was like a deadly, poisonous curse that would haunt you and claim your life.