Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"What?" Xiao Xuanmiao's mouth dropped open in disbelief as she immediately pressed for more information.
The female reporter replied slowly, "It's the one who bullied you, Ge Dongyun. She’s dead."
Xiao Xuanmiao shook her head, her face filled with shock. "Ge Dongyun? How did she die?"
"The police are still investigating," the reporter said gently. "But it’s likely related to the murderer who left a note before."
Xiao Xuanmiao placed her hand on her chest, clearly shaken. "I... I don't know what to say right now, but I've already forgiven Ge Dongyun and the others. If it's for me, please, everyone, don’t do this. If it really is that murderer, I want to say that killing is against the law; no reason justifies murder. If you don’t turn yourself in soon, the police will catch you!"
Although Xiao Xuanmiao's voice was soft, her words were resolute.
"That's right, Xuanmiao is correct," the reporter added. "Murder is against the law, regardless of the reason."
Then the reporter comforted her further. "But Xuanmiao, don’t take all of this to heart. You should close the door on your old life and start a new one."
At that moment, Guan Deng handed Jiang He a note.
Jiang He looked at it; it was filled with numbers—specifically, times. He immediately understood what it meant: "The access card times?"
Guan Deng nodded.
Jiang He examined the numbers on the note: 8:18 AM and 8:39 AM.
"Is this from today?" Jiang He asked.
Guan Deng quickly typed on his phone: "This access control system isn’t connected to the internet; it only records simple binary information. In short, it can only keep track of the last two records. If the access card is used again, the most recent record will replace the first one."
"That means these two instances are the recent records of using the access card to open the door," Jiang He asked.
Guan Deng nodded and continued typing on his phone, "Only using the access card to open the door will generate such records; opening it from the inside won't create any records."
The most recent record of using the access card was at eight thirty-nine, while the previous one was at eight eighteen. The last time should be when Stepmother returned, which was at eight thirty-nine. But who returned at eight eighteen? And who came back with an access card?
There were three access cards in total, and in front of Jiang He were three possibilities: one card belonged to Ge Dongyun, another to Stepmother, and the last to Ge Dongai.
If the murderer got hold of any one of those cards, they could easily enter through the door. Moreover, there were no surveillance cameras facing the building, making it quite easy for the murderer to sneak into Ge Dongyun's home and then wait for an opportunity to enter her bedroom. Of course, if the murderer did not obtain an access card, then there were three other possibilities.
First, Ge Dongyun had left and returned home at eight eighteen. Second, Stepmother had come back; she lied and had actually returned twice. Third, Ge Dongai had run back from kindergarten.
Each of these possibilities had contradictions and points that could not be explained.
If it was Ge Dongyun, where exactly did she go? If she went out to pick up a delivery, there would be no need to lock the door. Did she meet someone? After returning, did she go back to sleep? During this time, it was very likely that the murderer found a way to sneak into Ge Dongyun's bedroom and then waited for her return.
If it was Stepmother, she should have been at the market buying groceries during that time. Moreover, she sent a text message to Ge Dongyun at eight twenty-one, which made it almost impossible for her to have returned home.
As for Ge Dongai, it was even less likely that a kindergarten child would run away from school and commit murder; the odds of that happening were slimmer than the outbreak of World War III.
While Jiang He was deep in thought, the security captain returned. Jiang He did not inquire about the video footage but instead asked, "Did Ge Dongyun's Stepmother, Ms. Wang, drive her son this morning?"
Although the security captain did not expect Jiang He to ask this question, he still answered, "Yes, she drove him."
"When did she come back?" Jiang He asked again.
"When did you come back?" The security captain frowned. "Let's take a look at the surveillance footage at the district entrance."
"Let's go," Jiang He said. "Together."
The group followed the security captain, and Old Shao asked, "Did you find anything?"
Jiang He shook his head and replied, "I was just calculating probabilities, clarifying what is impossible or possible. There are only three access cards, but I have identified four possibilities: the killer stole Ge Dongyun's or Ge Dongai's access card; Ge Dongyun left home and then returned; Stepmother came back; or Ge Dongai returned."
"The fourth possibility is almost impossible, and we can't investigate the second one anymore," Jiang He continued. "So we need to focus on the first and third points."
Old Shao nodded, thinking for a moment before saying, "From the first point, Stepmother's access card is with us, so she didn't lose it. If Ge Dongyun lost hers, it's possible the killer placed her access card in the house after committing the murder. If Ge Dongai also has one, then we need to consider other possibilities."
As they spoke, they arrived at the security office.
They pulled up the surveillance video, which showed that at 8:36 AM, Stepmother's car entered the district. During this time, she rolled down her window and greeted a security guard. This means that during the time Ge Dongyun was murdered, Stepmother was still outside and had no opportunity to commit the crime.
"Does she usually drive to drop off her child?" Old Shao asked the security captain.
The captain shook his head. "Not really. Ms. Wang's son attends a nearby bilingual kindergarten. We have school district housing here; it's close to both the kindergarten and middle school—about seven or eight minutes if you walk quickly. She usually drives when it rains, but occasionally she drives to other places as well."
The captain added, "Ms. Wang is somewhat familiar with us because we're around the same age. I often hear her talking about going swimming or doing yoga, so she keeps in good shape..."
Realizing he had digressed, the security captain cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, that's all I know; I'm not sure about anything else."
"But today, after dropping off her child, she went to the market and then drove back without going anywhere else," Old Shao remarked. "Is the market far from here?"
"Not far!" the security captain said again. "The good thing about our area is that nothing is particularly far away. The market is right in front of the kindergarten, just on the way. If you walk a bit further, there's the subway station. If you head that way, there's Square, where you can catch a movie, sing, and dine—all in one place."
Just then, a car pulled up to the entrance. The security captain glanced over and said, "What a coincidence, Ms. Wang is back."
As he spoke, the window rolled down, revealing Stepmother.
Stepmother's expression remained gloomy as she nodded at a few people and drove into the area.
The task force didn't engage with Stepmother any further; they simply watched her car leave.
Jiang He remarked, "If it only takes ten minutes to walk, Stepmother had time to commit the crime."
"But she was buying groceries at the market," Yuan Jun countered.
Old Shao nodded slowly and said, "But the more perfect the alibi seems, the more suspicious it becomes. She drove away with a significant target in mind, greeted the security upon her return, reinforcing her alibi. Plus, she sent a text message around the time Ge Dongyun was murdered."
"She has the time to commit the crime but also lacks that time," Old Shao continued. "However, there's one crucial issue: motive."
Yuan Jun agreed with Old Shao. He added, "That's right. Each time we've visited Ge Dongyun's home, I've noticed that Stepmother treated her very well—perhaps even too well. It gives me an unsettling feeling; it just feels off."
"Exactly," Shao the Elder said. "This point is very important—it's quite awkward."
At that moment, Xu Yiman's call came through to Jiang He's phone.
"What’s the result?" Jiang He asked straightforwardly.
Xu Yiman spoke up, "The detailed autopsy results are out. The cause of death was the stab wound to the heart. Since the time of death was very short, I have narrowed it down to within a minute. Ge Dongyun likely died between eight twenty-two and eight twenty-six."
"Eight twenty-two to eight twenty-six?" Jiang He nodded and said, "Let's head back to the police station right away."
"Okay," Xu Yiman agreed.
"The time of death is between eight twenty-two and eight twenty-six," Jiang He informed the others.
"This timing is about what we suspected," Old Shao remarked. "However, the urgent matter now is to understand how the murderer turned that bedroom into a locked room."
Jiang He looked at Old Shao. "I have a pretty good guess."
"A locked room?" Old Shao and Yuan Jun turned to Jiang He, surprised.
Jiang He nodded slowly. "That's right. I already know how the locked room was formed. While you were dealing with the reporters, I climbed up to the second floor. From the windowsill on the second floor, I looked into the bedroom, and in that moment, I understood how the murderer did it."
"What did you see?" Yuan Jun asked.
"A messy room," Jiang He replied.
Comment 0 Comment Count