Next to a supermarket in the East End of London, the vehicle slowly came to a stop, and the three people got out of the car one after another.
"Alva, are you sure that during the whole delivery process, you only stopped here?" Sebastian asked.
Alva was quite helpless. He had answered this question at least several times.
"Yes, Officer.
When delivering that takeout, I only had two orders. There was one order here, and another one at IKEA."
"Then, how long did you stop?"
"Very quickly. After I put the takeout outside the supermarket, I went back immediately."
Looking at Alva's simple and honest appearance, Sebastian was sure that this guy definitely wasn't lying.
So, he walked up to a tree beside the supermarket.
"Was your car parked here at that time?"
Alva nodded, "Yes."
Sebastian stood in front of the tree and looked at the supermarket less than ten meters away, doing some quick calculations.
"At this distance, even at a normal speed, it wouldn't take a minute for a round trip.
Plus, this guy said that he ran over there at that time. So, it should be less than 30 seconds.
That is to say, if the Ghost was here and wanted to open the packaging, inject the toxin, and then restore the packaging, he only had less than 30 seconds for the whole process.
This is impossible to achieve! So, how did he poison the food?"
While he was thinking, Lily had already sneaked around to the back of the tree and peeked out her little head furtively, as if she was playing hide-and-seek.
Seeing this, Sebastian rolled his eyes speechlessly.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and his eyes lit up.
Then, he took several big steps to the back of the tree and squatted down to look carefully.
"Ah!" Lily was startled and quickly ran away.
Sebastian naturally ignored Lily's reaction. All his attention was on the ground.
Sure enough, behind that tree, there was a faint trace on the ground. Although it wasn't obvious, he still noticed it.
"So that's how it is!" A smile appeared on his face. After standing up, he began to look around.
Half an hour passed, and he was slightly disappointed. He couldn't help but sigh secretly, "Ghost, you're really cautious."
Seeing that there was no more to be gained, he took Lily and Alva and returned to Scotland Yard.
Everyone didn't expect that not long after the meeting had ended, they were gathered in the conference room again.
Moreover, judging from Sebastian's expression, he seemed to be very happy. Everyone couldn't help but feel expectant.
When everyone was present, Sebastian got straight to the point, "I've already figured out how the Ghost poisoned the food."
"So quickly?" Alan exclaimed.
Sebastian smiled and projected a photo onto the screen.
In the photo, there was a supermarket, and next to the supermarket was a small forest.
He pointed at the screen with a laser pointer, "Here is where the Ghost poisoned the food.
The truth is just as Jack said. The takeout wasn't tampered with, and it wasn't poisoned on the way either because there wasn't enough time.
Look, at that time, the deliveryman parked the car beside this tree, then delivered the takeout outside the supermarket and immediately returned.
The whole process took less than 30 seconds, which was simply not enough time to poison the food. If someone tried to poison it forcibly, they would definitely be discovered.
So, the Ghost didn't poison the food here. Instead, he switched it here."
"Switched it?" Everyone was puzzled.
Sebastian nodded, "Yes, switched it. Only by switching it could there be enough time.
So, this is what happened that night.
When the deliveryman parked the car here by the tree and left, the Ghost who was hiding behind the tree lurked in the darkness and replaced the takeout in the delivery box with the one he had prepared in advance.
The whole process, if done quickly, could be completed in two or three seconds, silently.
And behind the tree, there are signs of trampling. Although he was wearing foot covers, the traces are still there, and there's no doubt about it."
So that's how it was. Everyone suddenly understood.
"But there's a problem. How did the Ghost confirm that the deliveryman would park the car there?" Jack frowned.
Everyone nodded. They all thought that what Jack said was right. The deliveryman's parking location was a random event. Who could be sure of it?
"Could it be that the deliveryman is the Ghost's accomplice?" Alan guessed.
Sebastian shook his head, "That guy is just a simple-minded fellow. He can't be an accomplice, and the Ghost wouldn't dare to use him.
Goodman should be able to explain this problem."
So, everyone looked at Goodman in unison.
"The Ghost is truly terrifying." Goodman first let out a sigh, and then began to explain:
"Maybe you don't know that many of people's behaviors, which seem random, are actually not. Many of them are inevitable. For example, when people suddenly hear someone scream, they will instinctively stop in their tracks.
For example, in the dark, when they see a light somewhere, they will instinctively approach it.
Most of the time, our behaviors are not under our control, and we will act according to our instincts.
Take a look at that road. Outside is the main road, and inside the forest, there is a tree that is obviously bigger near the roadside.
When the deliveryman wants to park the car, he will instinctively think of parking it beside the tree because it's safer, which is an instinctive reaction.
If you don't believe it, you can ask some deliverymen to go there and try it. They should all do the same."
"I see!" Thomas was amazed.
"That means that before taking action, the Ghost had already prepared an identical takeout, and then hid behind the tree, waiting for the deliveryman to park the car and quickly switch it.
I have to say, this method is really clever.
He ordered both takeouts, and everything was under his control. Although there seemed to be many unexpected situations, in fact, it was very reliable." Charles sighed.
James was concerned about other issues, "Are there any surveillance cameras near the forest?"
Sebastian shook his head, "There are surveillance cameras at the two intersections in the front and back, but there are none around the forest. Moreover, that area is well-connected, and there are a large number of people coming and going, so it's impossible to investigate."
"Since that's the case, doesn't it mean that we haven't really gained anything? Why do you look so happy?" Alan was puzzled.
Sebastian shook his head with a smile, "That's not how it should be said. Everyone, think back to the previous two cases.
Whether it was the case of John Wilson or the case of David Smith, the Ghost didn't get directly involved. He was outside the cases, like a god.
Even though we could get some clues, they were generally of little use, and we couldn't catch the Ghost with them at all.
To be honest, if he had always been like that, never getting involved in each crime and always staying out of it.
To say something discouraging, I didn't have any confidence in catching him at all, and I even thought it was impossible.
But this time is different. He got involved. Although he was still cautious and didn't leave us any flaws, he did get involved.
This means that he's not invincible. He will also get involved and take risks.
So, as long as we can spot every flaw, we will definitely be able to catch him. It's just a matter of time.
In my opinion, this gain is greater than any of the previous ones.
Because I see hope, and I also see the future. We will definitely win!"