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墨書 Inktalez
The case this time occurred in a small city not far from Yuzhou City, part of the same batch of strategically important locations in the country. It would take about an hour and a half to drive there from the highway. Once we were ready, we headed towards Jing City. As usual, our old driver, Yan Junde, was behind the wheel, while Mary shared the story of "Death Comes" with us.
"Death Comes" is a series of films that has produced five installments so far. Each film is relatively independent, focusing on protagonists who, moments before an accident, have a premonition of impending death and thus try to prevent certain individuals from dying unexpectedly.
However, unbeknownst to them, the fate awaiting these individuals is a series of bizarre deaths, each resulting from various coincidences. In the end, the desperate survivors realize that no matter where they hide, they cannot escape such death; it seems as if the Grim Reaper is always nearby.
Mary continued while looking at her computer, "The case we are about to take on is similar to this situation. The local police have yet to determine whether it was an accidental death or caused by someone. Therefore, they requested the Special Investigation Team to assist. Currently, the situation is that the victim was murdered in her own home, so the local police did not transport the body to the morgue but are waiting for us to investigate first."
As she spoke, our phones rang almost simultaneously; it turned out that photos from the crime scene had been sent to us. I opened my phone and looked at the images Mary had sent. The photos showed a woman with three sharp knives stabbed into her back, at least halfway embedded. Blood covered the floor, and by the time the photo was taken, it had already congealed.
From the other photos, it appeared that the woman was around twenty-five or twenty-six years old and quite beautiful; she had a blue butterfly tattoo on her neck. The background indicated that this took place in a kitchen, where a cutting board lay on the counter with a fish that had been gutted. It seemed that when the body was discovered, she had already been dead for some time.
Upon arriving in Jing City, we were personally greeted by the head of the Police Department. According to him, this city is at most a fifth or sixth-tier city; deaths here are rare throughout the year, let alone bizarre murder cases like this one. Most detectives believed it was an accidental death; however, someone left something at the victim's home which made them feel that things were not so simple. The chief was worried there might be further incidents and hurriedly called us in.
We nodded and followed the Police Department's vehicle to the crime scene.
In the car, the chief provided us with detailed background information about the victim. We were surprised that he would accompany us for the investigation; he smiled and said, "I also rose through the ranks from being a detective and have some experience. In big cities, a death might not even make news; but in our small town, this is major news—I need to see it for myself."
We admired his hands-on approach as he continued: "The girl’s name is Xu Rong. She is twenty-four years old this year. According to our investigation, she didn’t have any stable job and often spent time in bars or dance halls when she was short on cash. Her private life was quite chaotic; she relied on wealthy men for financial support. She didn’t have any serious friends—just drinking buddies. We are currently investigating her social connections to see if there are any leads."
We nodded as he continued: "Since we discovered the body not long ago, we haven't had time for an autopsy yet; what do you think we should do?"
I glanced at Juan Juan and said, "Let's check out the scene first and then move the body to the morgue."
Before long, we arrived at the residential complex where the victim lived. The complex appeared quite old and had seen better days. Several police cars were parked outside while officers were questioning nearby residents. After a brief introduction, we headed upstairs.
The victim lived on the fourth floor; neither inside nor outside had any surveillance cameras—high-tech solutions were clearly not an option here. The apartment consisted of two bedrooms and a living room with all necessary amenities. The chief informed us: "This is where she rented her place; we've contacted her landlord who is currently out of town and won't be able to return anytime soon."
The chief had done thorough groundwork in just a few hours which would greatly assist our investigation. As we spoke, we entered the kitchen; it wasn't very spacious. Juan Juan opened her large case and said, "I'll conduct a preliminary examination of the body."
“Rigor mortis has spread throughout the body, the jaw muscles are stiff, and there are no signs of autolysis,” Juan Juan said, wearing gloves as he examined the woman's jaw. “Death occurred over eight hours ago, likely between ten to twelve hours. It is now around eight in the morning, which means the deceased should have died between eight and ten last night.”
He then moved the body slightly and continued, “There is a bruise on the forehead with slight swelling, indicating it was caused before death. Additionally, there is a bruise on the left foot that is swollen. Finally, there are three sharp knives lodged in her back, which appear to be the fatal wounds.”
As he spoke, Juan Juan closed his case and addressed us. “The body can be taken to the morgue now. The exact time of death and cause will need to be determined through an autopsy.” With that, the chief gestured for several officers to step forward and transport the body.
The chief remarked, “Look at the deceased's feet; one is wearing a high heel while the other is bare.” He picked up the high heel that had fallen to the side and pointed out, “See? The heel has a tear at its base. Although it hasn't broken off completely, it can no longer support a person's weight.”
He then walked over to the kitchen doorframe and said, “Notice this scuff mark on the doorframe.” He gently placed the heel against it and added, “The scuff mark matches closely; it must have been made by this high heel.”
We nodded in agreement as the chief continued, “So our deduction is as follows: At that time, Xu Rong was cooking—this fish here.” He pointed to the fish on the cutting board. “When she entered through the kitchen door, she accidentally stepped on the doorframe with her heel.”
As he spoke, he mimicked Xu Rong's actions for a demonstration. The chief pretended to kick off from the doorframe with his foot, causing his belly to jiggle humorously. He continued, “As a result, she broke her heel and lost her balance, falling forward.”
With that, he lifted one foot and jumped forward, pretending to bump his head against the countertop. “She hit her head on the countertop right here. You can clearly see marks indicating something struck it. Then she fell to the ground while her hand landed on this knife block!”
We looked over and indeed saw an overturned knife block on the countertop, completely empty except for its casing. The chief explained, “Her hand knocked over the knife block, causing all the knives to slide down from the countertop and stab into her back.”
As we observed the scene and analyzed it based on what the chief had said, we felt that his simulation was quite accurate—it almost seemed exactly as he described. However, if that were truly the case, it would be an incredible coincidence. I noted that throughout this explanation, I had heard him use "just right" several times.
Juan Juan said, “You all can step outside for now; I need to check for any fingerprints in this kitchen and examine how the high heel broke.”
We nodded and stepped out. I remarked to the chief, “Your simulation just now had almost no flaws; based on what we see at the scene, it does seem correct. What makes you think there’s something off about this case?”
The chief signaled for an officer to bring over an evidence bag. We looked inside to find a note that appeared to have been torn from a printed sheet of paper with bold letters stating—“Death has arrived.”
“Where did you find this?” I asked with a furrowed brow.
The chief said, "This piece of paper was found on the dining table. Initially, we concluded that this death was an accident, but the discovery of this note on the table is quite perplexing. Although we cannot yet determine who placed this note there—whether it was the deceased or someone else—just reading the words on it feels like too much of a coincidence."
"That's why," the chief continued, "I've asked you to come here. I've been a detective for over ten years, and I feel that something about this case is quite odd. It seems that this case is not as simple as it appears."
At that moment, Juan Juan stepped forward and said, "I conducted a preliminary examination. The scuff marks were indeed made by high heels, and we found skin flakes belonging to the deceased on the kitchen counter where the impact occurred. The knife only has the deceased's fingerprints on it. It looks like an incredibly precise coincidence; whether it's truly a coincidence or a murder is up to you to determine."
"Who called the police?" I asked, setting aside these matters for now.
"The one who reported it was her best friend," the chief replied. "She has several close friends who often gather for meals and karaoke. Today, one of her friends called her but got no answer. So, her friend came over and found no one answering the door. That's when she decided to call the police."
I nodded and said, "Chief, your line of thinking is correct; we should start investigating her social relationships to see if she had any enemies. Additionally, we need to find out who visited the deceased's home last night or who intended to visit."
"How do you know someone was supposed to come over?" the chief asked.
I smiled and replied, "When I entered, I noticed a pair of men's slippers by the door, along with a bottle of red wine on the dining table and this lavish dinner spread."
A Charming Widow sent a letter to a Young Man, inviting him over for dinner in the middle of the night. Afterward, she offered him her husband's Gallop car. Coincidentally, on his way back, he encountered a Young Woman looking for a ride. Her actions after getting into the car made it hard for him to maintain his composure—more enticing content awaits those curious...
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