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墨書 Inktalez
"Let's do it," Old Shao nodded.
The others exchanged glances, unsure of how to proceed.
At that moment, a Technical Staff member approached and said, "We found a clear thumbprint on the cabinet earlier. We're preparing to go back and compare it to see if this person has a criminal record."
Old Shao's eyes lit up. "You only found one?"
The technician nodded.
"Go ahead," Shao the Elder instructed.
When a person touches something, they inevitably leave fingerprints, and the duration that fingerprints remain varies depending on the material. For instance, if someone touches another person's skin, collecting such fingerprints is quite difficult. However, if that person touches plastic or metal, collecting fingerprints becomes much easier.
This is because the fingerprints left by a person consist of sweat, cholesterol, oils, proteins, and amino acids, which are challenging to collect clearly from human skin. Even on other surfaces, if too much time passes, the fingerprints will disappear.
However, before the fingerprints vanish, chemical methods can be used to analyze the proportions of chemicals in the fingerprint, indicating how long it has been there. On a metal cabinet like this one, it's normal for fingerprints to last up to a week. If we can determine when the fingerprint was left, we can ascertain whether it relates to the case.
This fingerprint could very well belong to the murderer.
It was a significant lead, but Jiang He did not share that sentiment.
Jiang He asked, "Did you find any fingerprints on the plush toys or the soccer ball?"
The Technical Staff replied, "Yes, but the prints are too chaotic—there are many overlapping prints from different people. Collecting those fingerprints is meaningless because there are too many overlaps; we can't identify anyone based on partial prints. But this time is different; this is a clear and complete fingerprint. Besides, if it wasn't the murderer, who else would leave this fingerprint?"
"Didn't Captain Li's fingerprint get left behind?" Jiang He inquired.
The Technical Staff shrugged. "Of course it did. Are you new to being a police officer? Since we can confirm it's Captain Li's fingerprint, it's considered a non-relevant print and has nothing to do with the case. Why would we collect it…"
"Are there no overlaps?" Jiang He asked again.
Jiang He’s relentless questioning was indeed somewhat annoying, but the Technical Staff understood that these individuals were connected to Old Shao, who was known for his eccentricity. If his subordinates weren’t strange, that would truly be odd.
The Technical Staff sighed in resignation. “There’s no overlap. This fingerprint was found on the upper part of the cabinet, while Captain Li’s fingerprints are concentrated on the lock. So, if this fingerprint doesn’t belong to the deceased, it’s highly likely that it belongs to the murderer.”
“Show me,” Jiang He said.
The Technical Staff led Jiang He to a cabinet nearby. This was not the Locker containing the body, but rather the Locker next to it, which held some specimens preserved in formalin. The door was currently open. The Technical Staff closed the door and pointed to a spot near the edge of the Locker.
Jiang He examined that area, which was about one meter seventy-eight centimeters high.
He extended his finger and compared it against the fingerprint. He tried with all five fingers of his left hand, then all five fingers of his right hand. To an observer, it looked as if Jiang He was performing a dance in front of the cabinet. He occasionally arched his back, stood on tiptoe, and placed one hand on his hip, appearing quite comical.
Captain Li and several detectives watched Jiang He, unable to suppress their amusement, but Old Shao understood what Jiang He was doing.
At that moment, Jiang He was simulating the crime scene—a sophisticated investigative technique. By putting himself in the shoes of both the murderer and the victim, he could understand what actions the murderer took and why they did so. This would greatly aid in reconstructing the murder scenario.
Thinking of this reminded Old Shao of a team member from twenty years ago—someone who didn’t need to simulate crimes; unfortunately…
Old Shao shook his head, pushing those old memories aside and asked, “Jiang He, what results did you simulate?”
Ignoring Old Shao’s question for a moment, Jiang He performed a few more movements before responding. “I just simulated from both the murderer’s and victim’s perspectives, but I still can’t make a high-probability inference. I can’t determine under what circumstances these individuals would leave fingerprints here; we need more information.”
“However,” Jiang He continued as he walked toward the door, “after examining the scene, I have a sixty percent probability that the basic murder process is like this.”
With that, Jiang He pulled Xu Yiman over and had her act as the Victim while he took on the role of the murderer.
The simulation began:
Xu Yiman pushed open the storage room door and walked in without looking back. She made her way to the spot where Jiang He had previously indicated the victim was attacked. This position was one meter away from the Locker. At that moment, Jiang He called out Xu Yiman’s name. She turned her head to look at the right-side entrance just as Jiang He swung his arm downwards and struck her on the head with his hand.
Jiang He exerted himself this time. Although he wouldn't injure Xu Yiman, it still hurt. Xu Yiman certainly didn't expect Jiang He to be serious with her, and in pain, she instinctively leaned forward. Fortunately, a nearby detective was quick enough to catch her.
Xu Yiman glared at Jiang He, "Are you crazy?"
But Jiang He paid no attention to her. He raised his head to look at the bloodstains on the ceiling.
With a snap of his fingers, seemingly disregarding Xu Yiman's pain, he said, "This is how it is! This storage room is in the shadows, and the door is on the right side. When the victim entered, he walked straight to the spot where Xu Yiman was just standing. At that moment, he heard a noise at the door and turned back to look from the right side."
"At that moment, the murderer struck the victim on the upper right side of his forehead with a blunt object, causing blood to gush from his head. The blood sprayed out towards the door, which is why we see blood splattered on the right wall and floor. More importantly, due to the impact, the victim leaned forward more intensely because of the wound on the upper right side, causing blood to spray even higher; that's why we see bloodstains on the ceiling."
Xu Yiman rubbed her head and said, "Next time, could you at least give me a warning? Do you know how close I was to passing out from pain?"
Jiang He shook his head. "If I had warned you in advance, you would have instinctively tried to dodge or raise your arm to block it. And I noticed there were no signs of broken bones in the victim's arms, which means he was struck just as suddenly as you were."
Old Shao nodded. "So, when the victim entered, he likely thought there was no one in the room or believed that this person couldn't possibly be a murderer."
Jiang He nodded in agreement. "I have a seventy percent probability that it's the former."
Then Jiang He continued, "And if you look at the floor, we all came in wearing shoe covers, so there are no footprints from us on the ground. But not only are there no footprints from us, there are also none from anyone else. The blood on the ground indicates that the murderer did not clean up any traces. It has been raining continuously lately, so I believe that the victim must have arrived before it started raining; otherwise, there would definitely be footprints left behind."
"And," Jiang He looked at the body seriously and said, "I have a seventy percent probability that he came in at night. First of all, he didn't notice the murderer. Secondly, the murderer's clothes must have been covered in a lot of blood; if they were white, many people would have noticed him on the street."
Jiang He grew more excited. "But we know it rained on the night of August 9th. Considering the time of death of the victim, which was around four to five o'clock—meaning that August 8th at night is most likely when it happened!"
"Right?" Jiang He looked at Xu Yiman, unable to tell if she was still angry with him.
Xu Yiman had a displeased expression. "Yes, the time of death for the victim was indeed on the night of August 8th; it matches with the autopsy results. However, we need an autopsy to determine the exact time."
"I have an eighty percent probability that the time of death is indeed August 8th," Jiang He stated confidently.
"Then who made that call?" At that moment, a weak voice came from the side; it was Captain Li's voice. "According to Song You's phone records, the last call was made by Zhuang Ziming at 11:10 AM on August 9th. But if Zhuang Ziming died on the night of August 8th, then that call..."
Old Shao and Jiang He answered almost simultaneously, "The murderer!"
Old Shao suddenly became a bit anxious. He spoke up, "On our way here, you already discovered the body and checked the house. Did you find Zhuang Ziming's phone?"
Captain Li shook his head and said, "We turned this place upside down, but we still couldn't find Zhuang Ziming's phone. However, we've been monitoring Zhuang Ziming's phone, and there are currently no signs of it being powered on, so we have no idea where it could be."
Old Shao rubbed his hands together repeatedly and began to pace slowly around the room. His brows were furrowed tightly, and his lips pressed together. The others could see a hint of confusion and anxiety in Old Shao's eyes, but they still didn't understand what he was worried about.
After about a minute, Old Shao slammed his left palm into his right fist with force. "This is bad; Zhuang Ziming's phone will never turn on again. We haven't even found all of Song You's body parts yet, and Song You also had a phone. Did you monitor Song You's phone?"
At this point, Captain Li's face turned pale. He replied, "Well, we really didn't!"
Old Shao quickly said, "This is clearly a diversion tactic. This is bad; we should have notified everyone about Song You's death! The murderer knows this storage room and must be very familiar with Fourth Middle School. This person likely knows both Zhuang Ziming and Song You well, so the body in that locker must be Zhuang Ziming's."
"Only the murderer knows that Zhuang Ziming and Song You are dead, while the other students are completely unaware. The murderer is probably looking for the next target!"
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