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墨書 Inktalez
“Are you saying there are no fingerprints on the deceased's phone? Not even the deceased's fingerprints?” I interrupted Zhu Xu's narration and asked.
“No.”
“Then what content is on the phone?” I pressed further.
Zhu Xu seemed to catch my drift and grinned mischievously. “Oh, are you thinking of playing detective yourself, wanting to deduce something?”
I waved my hand and laughed. “Don’t say that; I’m just a bit curious. If you really want to hear it, I can share my thoughts. But just so you know, it’s not really deduction; I’m not at that level yet!”
“Haha, then I’m all ears!” Zhu Xu chuckled. “There are indeed some strange things on the phone—there’s no number for Huang Kai.”
“I think it’s very likely that the murderer is Huang Kai. Why? Because the absence of fingerprints on the phone is itself very strange; it’s clear that someone wiped it clean. Among the three suspects, only Huang Kai's number is missing—not even a single message. That’s too odd. If I were the murderer, I would never delete my own number; wouldn’t that just draw suspicion onto myself? Besides, I could just delete any messages that might be incriminating. As her boyfriend, not having my number is extremely suspicious.”
“Then who do you think the murderer is?” Zhu Xu asked.
“I believe it’s Ding Tao. Because if the murderer were her boss, Jin Xiang, he could easily shift suspicion onto anyone else. Why would he specifically frame her boyfriend, Huang Kai?”
“If Jin Xiang had an affair with the deceased, then it would make sense for him to take out his anger on Huang Kai,” Zhu Xu said.
“No, that’s even less likely,” I denied. “If Jin Xiang had an affair with the deceased, he wouldn’t kill her. He has his own family; the deceased is merely his mistress. He wouldn’t destroy his own family over a mistress, so there’s no need to eliminate Huang Kai. Having Huang Kai around wouldn’t hinder his affair with the deceased; in fact, it would be safer. At least the deceased wouldn’t be causing trouble for Jin Xiang by demanding a divorce from his wife.” I continued my reasoning, “So if we rule out Huang Kai and Jin Xiang, that leaves only Ding Tao. Moreover, Ding Tao has a clear motive—he hates Huang Kai for taking away the woman he loves, so he wants to frame him and get revenge.”
“Very impressive!” Zhu Xu set down his glass and applauded me.
I felt a slight warmth on my face, probably from drinking too much. "Heh, I was just saying that casually, no need to take it seriously. By the way, was my reasoning correct?"
Zhu Xu paused his actions, looking regretful as he replied, "No, that's not right."
"Huh? Where's the problem? I think it makes sense!"
"Just listen to me and you'll find out," Zhu Xu said with a smile.
Xiao Chen accompanied me back to the office, and I shared my current thoughts with him. "If your reasoning is correct, the victim must have been killed indoors at the killer's home or workplace. The crime scene must have been tampered with long ago; even if we go door to door now, it would be useless. This killer is really cunning; he moved the body after midnight, so no one noticed him in Champagne Garden."
Xiao Chen sat beside me in silence. He often did this, and I had long since gotten used to it.
"What do you think?" I wanted to hear his opinion; in fact, I was looking forward to his reasoning.
"I need to head back," he said as he stood up. I grabbed his arm, a bit annoyed. "Why are you leaving now? There's no lead on the case and you're just going?"
He turned to look at me, surprised. I sensed that his expression was genuine; he wasn't someone who could fake emotions easily. "Did you not notice?"
I shook my head. "I didn't notice. What did you see?"
"The murderer, huh?"
"I came to you because I can't figure out who the murderer is," I said. "So tell me who it is and why they're the murderer!"
Xiao Chen noticed I was getting angry and seemed a bit remorseful, so he sat down again. "When we were at Champagne Garden, didn't you see that the victim's handbag had a bottle of consumed green tea in it?"
"I did see that."
"Did you happen to notice the convenience store receipt? It printed that the victim bought two bottles of green tea?"
I nodded and said, "Yes, I even asked Xiao Zhang to investigate! The result was— the victim did go to that convenience store, and the cashier remembered her. She indeed bought two bottles of green tea. So what?"
Xiao Chen replied, "It's already so obvious, and you still don't get it? Let me put it this way. Why would the victim buy two bottles of green tea? If she was going to drink it herself, one bottle would be enough. So can I understand this as meaning that the victim bought the other bottle for someone else, right?"
I foolishly nodded my head.
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