Ethan, Miles, and Lucas were sitting at an outdoor table at a small street-side diner.
The bustling pedestrian area was packed with restaurants that had set up tables right on the sidewalk, and the three of them, dressed in plain clothes, blended in perfectly with the crowd.
Although they seemed to be deeply engaged in their meal and conversation, occasionally picking up food and putting it into their mouths, their eyes were constantly scanning the passersby.
As time ticked by, Miles checked his phone and noticed they were already ten minutes past the scheduled time for their meet.
He picked up a piece of boiled corn from the table, stuffed it into his mouth, and said with a coded undertone, "Man, why is this corn so tough? Could it be spoiled?" hinting at the possibility that their suspect might have gotten wind of them.
Lucas, keeping his face expressionless, also grabbed a piece of corn, tasted it, and meaningfully added, "It's not spoiled. Just undercooked, I guess. We shouldn't have rushed the chef earlier!" implying that they should keep their cool and wait a bit longer.
"Speaking of which," Lucas started, pretending to strike up a casual conversation with Ethan to maintain their cover as ordinary tourists, "do you guys know where the best corn is from..."
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence as a pungent, acrid smell hit his nose.
Ethan caught the scent at the same time. They both discreetly glanced at a man who had just walked past Lucas—a middle-aged, skinny man dressed in a construction uniform.
Without missing a beat, Ethan nodded subtly at Lucas and continued the conversation, "Bro, of course, I know."
"The best corn? Has to be from Iowa!"
"Recently heard Iowa's corn is ripe too. Should be hitting the tables here in Gotham soon, just don't know when they'll call the farmers to harvest it."
Miles, sitting on the edge, hadn't caught the burning acidic smell.
But he quickly caught on through Ethan's seemingly casual corn talk, which was actually signaling the appearance of their suspect and advising not to make a move yet. Among the people who had just passed by, one was their suspect.
Without any hesitation, Miles tossed the remainder of his corn, pretending to have finished eating, and stood up pulling out his phone.
"Boss, let's settle the bill."
"How much do we owe?"
Although Miles didn't have the knack for spotting the suspect.
He was quick when it came to paying, always ready to flash the cash.
As the man in the yellow construction outfit walked away, Ethan stretched lazily, a guise for pressing his micro earpiece, and whispered with certainty, "Target's appeared."
"Dressed in yellow construction gear, about 5 feet 7 inches tall, you can distinctly smell the burn of heroin residue on him."
"I suggest..."
"Let's hold off for now, wait for another fish to swim into the net."
Ethan's words also rang in both Lucas and Miles' ears.
To prevent any mishaps, Lucas also pressed his micro earpiece and then issued a more precise command.
"Jack, Daniel."
"The fish is swimming your way, just tail him and keep the comms open."
As soon as he finished, Jack's gruff voice came through, low and steady.
"Situation update."
"The fish just tossed a cigarette pack into the bushes right by the exit of the pedestrian street parking lot, then blended back into the crowd to leave."
"Right now, Daniel and I are keeping our distance but following. This guy's not slipping away."
"We'll wait for the other fish to show up."
"Then Daniel and I will close the net!"
It was clear.
Everyone involved in this operation was a seasoned detective.
They knew all too well...
If they nabbed the seller now, they'd likely spook the buyer.
After all.
Using a cigarette pack for the transaction was a bold move.
It clearly indicated.
The buyer and seller were probably in real-time communication, waiting for the buyer to show up before making simultaneous arrests was the best move!
Lucas stood up, grabbed the car keys from the table, and said, "Let's go."
"Wait in the car."
"The bushes where Jack mentioned the cigarette pack was thrown are right next to the parking lot exit. We'll stake out there!"
...
Two minutes later.
The three were back in their car.
Their eyes were fixed on the bushes near the exit, with several other plainclothes officers hidden nearby.
Ready to make an arrest on command.
The wait felt particularly excruciating and prolonged.
Lucas turned to Ethan, curious, and asked, "Ethan."
"Can you tell me."
"What exactly made you lock onto the suspect so quickly?"
"Since I was facing away from the crowd, I only caught that distinct burning acidic smell, didn't even see the guy. How did you figure it out so fast?"
At this, Miles, who had been intently watching the front, perked up and chimed in, "Yeah, Ethan, how did you know?"
"I didn't even catch that acidic smell, and you had already pegged the suspect. I'm starting to wonder..."
"Did we even take the same detective courses?"
Ethan squinted towards the front, shrugged casually, and replied, "The burning acidic smell is a giveaway, a clear sign of heroin use."
"As for identifying the guy in the construction outfit."
"It was pretty straightforward."
"First off, the city center pedestrian street is a well-established commercial and tourist spot,there are no construction sites nearby, and it's the middle of working hours."
"If he had an emergency that brought him here, I would have seen panic or haste in his eyes. But there was none of that."
"Just nervousness and unease, constantly looking around as if afraid of being spotted."
"And most crucially..."
"His construction outfit didn't have a single spot of dirt or dust."
"It's the afternoon,if he didn't have time to change, coming to such a crowded place in his work clothes, wouldn't there be some trace on him?"
"There's only one possibility."
"That is..."
"He didn't go to work at all. Wearing that outfit was just a cover."
"Putting it all together proves."
"The seller knew he smelled of acid, so he wore the construction outfit to mask the smell and to draw less attention to himself."
"After all."
"People see workers all the time and wouldn't think twice about it."
With that.
Ethan seemed to recall a similar case they had simulated, his lips curving slightly, "Actually."
"This seller is full of holes."
"The best disguise would have been to dress as a sanitation worker, carrying a bag of recyclables to mask his own smell."
"Throw the heroin-laced cigarette pack next to a trash can while pretending to pick up bottles, and let the buyer pick it up."
"In that case."
"Even if we had many more officers around, it would be tough to catch him."
This revelation.
Caused Lucas's eyes to flicker.
What kind of talent was this?
In such a short time, Ethan had thought through so many details and immediately identified the suspect.
What was even more astonishing...
He could even devise a more perfect method of committing the crime!
Disguising as a sanitation worker?
Using a trash bag to cover his own smell was beyond imagination!
Sitting in the back, Miles.
Had his mouth agape, involuntarily gasping, "Ethan, aren't you exaggerating a bit?"
"Thinking of the best criminal method in just a moment?"
"Lucky you're just a rookie detective now, otherwise, I'd suspect you'd make the perfect criminal!"
Ethan just laughed it off.
At that moment.
A hushed voice suddenly came through the earpieces of the three in the car.
"The other fish has appeared!!!"