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墨書 Inktalez
Seeing Old Shao and Jiang He staring at each other, it seemed as if a mutual admiration for heroes was sparking between them. Xu Yiman shivered at the thought and quickly spoke up, "What exactly is wrong here?"
"Feelings are wrong."
"Physical evidence is wrong."
The two spoke almost simultaneously. The former was Old Shao's response, while the latter came from Jiang He.
Xu Yiman looked at Old Shao, then at Jiang He, utterly stunned. She couldn't believe that this seemingly solid case could be viewed from two different angles to reveal doubts, while she herself hadn’t sensed anything amiss. However, the directions they were pointing out didn’t surprise her.
Old Shao focused on psychology, believing that every action a person takes is driven by their subconscious, which can be discerned through expressions, movements, personality, and lifestyle habits. Jiang He, on the other hand, always relied on concrete evidence, using keen observation to find loopholes in the killer's actions and then applying statistical probabilities to approach the truth.
Old Shao extended his hand, signaling Jiang He to share his perspective first.
Without hesitation, Jiang He began, "In the seaside house, we found various tools used by the murderer during the killings, all of which corresponded to previous victims. We identified that the killer used a hand saw for dismemberment, so there was a hand saw in the house."
"Exactly," Xu Yiman shrugged.
Jiang He continued, "We found a clear fingerprint in the biological storage room, which matched Kong Anping's fingerprint on the phone. At Shih Wenshan's murder scene, we discovered shoe prints, so there were those shoes in the seaside house. We know the killer wore a Red Skirt while committing murder; therefore, there was a Red Skirt present at the scene."
Xu Yiman furrowed her brows. "Isn't that normal? The killer used these items to commit the murders."
Jiang He shook his head. "Not normal. Besides these items, there were only basic toiletries in the house, indicating that someone lived there. There was no other household waste or anything else; this means he disposed of his trash. He threw away his garbage but left behind the murder tools. I have a fifty percent probability of believing he left them for people to see."
"You think it's a setup," Old Shao stated bluntly.
Jiang He nodded and turned to Xu Yiman. "What part distinguishes men from women?"
Xu Yiman didn't expect Jiang He to suddenly drive into this topic so decisively; it made her face flush slightly. If it were during an autopsy discussion, it wouldn't have mattered much, but this clearly wasn't about that.
"Yours is hair..."
Before Xu Yiman could finish her sentence, Jiang He reached toward her hair and said, "It's hair; men's hair is short while women's hair is long."
"What?" Xu Yiman felt utterly helpless at that moment.
Jiang He said, "If Kong Anping needs to disguise himself as a female ghost, then he would need a wig. However, we did not find a wig among the evidence we brought back."
"Is it possible that he dropped it while fleeing?" Xu Yiman replied. "It does seem to be a possibility based on the notebook."
Jiang He acknowledged this, saying, "It's possible. Therefore, I only have a fifty percent probability of believing that there is an issue with the evidence. But fifty percent is already a high probability. With such an uncertain probability, I cannot draw a conclusion about this case."
"Moreover," Jiang He raised another point of doubt, "I previously simulated the situation in the biological laboratory where the fingerprint was found. Clearly, if the fingerprint was left there, the killer's actions would be quite awkward. What can be confirmed is that the killer must have been facing away from the nearby locker. I can't think of any scenario in which the killer's fingers would be positioned there, doing something towards a closed locker."
Jiang He shook his head. "I cannot provide a probability because I don't know what the killer is thinking; I just can't understand."
Jiang He was not shy about lying because he could only estimate the highest probability to assist his actions. However, he also didn't know if the killer was capable of deception. So at this moment, he was being honest because he truly couldn't understand.
Upon hearing Jiang He's analysis, Xu Yiman seemed to find some sense in it, but she didn't know how to verify the correctness of Jiang He's words. She could only turn her gaze towards Old Shao, who was analyzing Jiang He's statements; these detailed issues were never overlooked by Jiang He.
In criminal investigation, the key actually lies in the details.
However, Old Shao did not need to prove who the murderer was; he only needed to demonstrate that Kong Anping might not be the murderer. Excluding someone's suspicion was also an important task.
Old Shao shared his perspective: "Let me offer my thoughts. First of all, it's clear that Qin Qingxue and Kong Anping are a very loving couple. On the night when Qin Qingxue experienced violence, Kong Anping waited at the school gate for a long time for her, but ultimately what he received was Qin Qingxue's breakup. During that time, Kong Anping was anxious and worried but took no action."
"So their feelings don't add up," Old Shao continued. "If they were truly such a loving couple, seeing that Class 8's lights were out and almost everyone had left, how could he just stay there? He didn't even try to find his girlfriend or call her during such a long period."
Xu Yiman nodded in agreement.
Old Shao stated firmly, "You wouldn't leave your partner alone while they were suffering from grief. You wouldn't be able to resist looking for your partner under such worrying circumstances; maintaining formalities is not something loving people do unless Kong Anping doesn't love Qin Qingxue as much as it seems."
Jiang He habitually countered, "That's too far-fetched."
Old Shao replied, "However, this is indeed my strongest feeling after reading that story. So their feelings don't match up. Kong Anping could plan such a meticulous series of murders but couldn't grasp something so simple? His emotions were so intense in the notebook yet did not manifest in reality."
"We should still check on Kong Anping's home," Old Shao suggested. "Have his family been notified?"
Xu Yiman shook her head. "Not yet; we plan to inform them after everything is settled."
"Just right," Elder Shao said. "Let's go notify them ourselves."
The night was calm, and the weather was pleasant. After a long spell of rain, Shangxi City had finally cleared up, and the gentle breeze felt refreshing.
When they knocked on Kong Anping's door, it was his mother who answered.
She was a graceful middle-aged woman, exuding a comforting aura.
"Who are you?" she asked.
As Old Shao pulled out his phone to clarify the situation, the woman collapsed onto the floor.
Jiang He observed her expression closely; it seemed as if she had shed all the tears of her life.
Yet at the same time, she could not believe that Kong Anping would do such a thing.
The woman knew about Kong Anping's relationship with Qin Qingxue. Their family had always been relatively open-minded, and besides, their academic performance hadn't declined since they started dating. At seventeen or eighteen, it was a time when one should be in love. However, she was unaware that Qin Qingxue had committed suicide because after receiving her estimated grades, Kong Anping had broken up with his girlfriend.
Kong Anping hadn’t revealed who initiated the breakup, but it was clear that he was in a low mood. During those days, he had locked himself in his room for a while. Later on, he expressed a desire to travel alone to another province to clear his mind.
His family agreed; he indeed needed to get away for a bit.
Even now, the woman believed that Kong Anping was traveling in another province and never imagined that such a tragedy had occurred.
As she sobbed, she said, "My Anping has always been so sensible. He listens to everything we say. We tell him that sugary drinks are bad for health, and he doesn't drink them. We say ice cream makes you gain weight, and he never eats ice cream. We advise him not to associate with unsavory people, and he avoids them."
"How could such an obedient child commit murder or even take his own life?" The woman couldn't fathom it.
Old Shao gently comforted her. "We also hope this isn't the truth. That's why we're here to investigate. There's one crucial aspect we need to know: did Qin Qingxue and Kong Anping truly love each other?"
The woman looked at the kind Old Shao with confusion. "I don't know about that. I have no idea how they loved each other or how deep their feelings were; only they would know."
Her face was filled with sorrow.
At that moment, Jiang He interrupted the conversation between the two. He asked, "Did you stitch this?"
Everyone turned to look at the cross-stitch hanging on the living room wall, depicting a beautiful landscape and inscribed with the phrase "A Bright Future Awaits."
The woman grew even sadder. "No, this was stitched by An Ping. This three-meter-long cross-stitch took An Ping three years to complete. He is introverted and rarely goes out to play. He became fascinated with cross-stitching in middle school, and this is the longest piece he has ever made. Whenever he felt tired from studying, he would stitch to clear his mind."
A beautiful landscape, a bright future.
This might have been Kong Anping's hope for his own future, but while the beautiful landscape remained, his bright future was gone.
"Is this stitched by Kong Anping?" Jiang He asked again.
"Yes," the woman replied.
As Jiang He gazed at the more than three-meter-long cross-stitch, an important message resonated in his mind. In that instant, all the clues converged in his thoughts, chasing one another and gradually revealing a clear picture that made him suddenly understand everything.
He stated firmly, "No, Kong Anping is definitely not the murderer."
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