Chapter 146: Chen Shi’s Deduction

“Two people?” Xu Xiaodong tried to visualize the scene in his mind. “What kind of action was it?”

“Placing the victim ‘sitting’ on the windowsill, with two people gripping the sides of the windowsill, and one hand pushing the victim’s back simultaneously,” Peng Sijue deduced from the clues.

“That’s so strange. If Captain Peng and I were to throw Xu Xiaodong out of the window, how would we do it?” Lin Dongxue mused.

“Hey, don’t use me as an example,” Xu Xiaodong said awkwardly.

Peng Sijue seriously discussed, “I’d lift his upper body, you’d take the lower half, lay his back on the windowsill, then lift his legs and let him fall. That’s the easiest way.”

“What’s the second easiest?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Two people on either side, holding his legs, then throwing him out,” Peng Sijue said.

“Like kids playing ‘Aruba,'” Lin Dongxue laughed.

“Stop it! I’m afraid of heights. Just thinking about it scares me!” Xu Xiaodong said.

They continued discussing, exploring various ways to throw someone out. With the window open, Xu Xiaodong felt increasingly uneasy. The method the killers used seemed the least efficient.

“Why would the killers do it this way? Is there some hidden reason?” Lin Dongxue pondered.

“Ritualistic!” A voice came from the doorway.

The three turned and saw Chen Shi standing there. “Why are you sitting in the dark? It’s scary,” he said as he entered, pulling the light cord. The light was broken.

“What did you just say?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Xiaodong, sit on the bed,” Chen Shi instructed.

“Brother Chen, can you stop using me as an example?”

Ignoring his protests, Chen Shi pressed Xu Xiaodong onto the bed, then he and Lin Dongxue stood behind him, mimicking the killers, each using one hand to press on Xu Xiaodong’s back. “Push together. One, two, three…”

“Ah!” Xu Xiaodong was pushed off the bed.

“I don’t see any ritual,” Lin Dongxue said.

“That’s because you’re an outsider. From the killers’ perspective, they were terrified after the murder. One might have bludgeoned the victim, while the other was just a witness or accomplice. The killer couldn’t let the accomplice remain uninvolved, so they both had to push the body out the window.”

“Sharing the responsibility?” Lin Dongxue realized. “Like both holding a knife to stab the victim together.”

“Yes, the act of pushing the body out the window signifies that they are in this together, and no one can betray the other.”

“If they committed the murder together, their relationship must be very close: siblings, friends, or a couple?” Lin Dongxue speculated.

“One male and one female. The fingerprints clearly belong to a man and a woman,” Peng Sijue confirmed.

“Let’s check outside.”

The four went outside, standing at the door of the hospital room, avoiding the nurses’ station’s line of sight. Walking a bit further would bring them into view of the on-duty nurse.

Chen Shi outlined an area, “The crime likely occurred between this door and the end of the corridor.”

Chen Shi inspected the area. The floor was cleaned every morning, so no traces remained. He asked, “Where is Dr. Gao’s office?”

“On the sixth floor, directly below us,” Lin Dongxue said.

“Let’s take a look.”

Dr. Gao’s office was next to the stairs, on this side of the building. Lin Dongxue said, “According to Dr. Gao, he tried to grope the victim, got slapped, and she ran away.”

“What’s her patrol route at night? Be specific,” Chen Shi asked.

“She walked from the fifth-floor nurse’s station to the east, then back to the west; up to the sixth floor, from west to east; up to the seventh floor, from east to west, then took the stairs back to the fifth floor.”

“Let’s go to the fifth floor.”

On the fifth floor, from the stairs, they could see Room 504 directly.

Chen Shi entered the empty Room 504. “According to her patrol route, once the nurse passed here, she wouldn’t come back a second time.”

“That’s right,” Lin Dongxue confirmed.

“But the victim did pass here a second time because she ran downstairs in a panic after being groped by Dr. Gao and saw something happening in this room.”

“Something happening?”

“This room is where Xue Chengyi’s father died, at 4 a.m. last night!”

Lin Dongxue, realizing the implications, felt a chill. In that silent early morning, the panicked victim ran downstairs and saw a couple using a pillow to kill their relative in Room 504.

Chen Shi continued, “Her first reaction was to intervene, but she was struck on the head, likely dying instantly. The couple decided to dispose of the body by carrying it to the seventh floor and pushing it out of a window to stage a suicide.”

“That fits perfectly!” Xu Xiaodong was astonished. “Brother Chen, you’re amazing! We thought you were slacking off, but you’ve solved the case in an unexpected way.”

“Stop flattering me,” Chen Shi smiled.

“Your reasoning lacks one link,” Peng Sijue said. “Was the victim running downstairs at the time?”

“Ask Dr. Gao!” Chen Shi suggested.

They returned to find Dr. Gao slumped in the detention room. Hearing them approach, he rushed to the bars, “I’m not the killer! Let me out!”

Chen Shi handed him a meal, “Just need to verify something.”

“I’ve said everything. What more do you want to ask?” Dr. Gao took the meal.

“When the victim ran out of your office, was she running upstairs or downstairs?” Chen Shi asked.

Dr. Gao thought for a moment. “Downstairs!”

“Are you sure?”

“The anti-slip strip between the fifth and sixth floors is loose. It makes a sound when stepped on. I walk there every day, so I’m sure.”

The team exchanged glances, confident that the truth was now clear. Chen Shi said, “Release him.”

Dr. Gao was overjoyed, “This officer is reasonable.”

Lin Dongxue added, “Respect women next time.”

“Absolutely, absolutely!”

After Dr. Gao left, Xu Xiaodong said, “Brother Chen, Captain Peng has a new discovery on the pillow. You haven’t seen it yet.”

They went to the tech center. When Chen Shi saw the fingerprints on the pillow, he was surprised, “Two people did it together? So in sync?”

Lin Dongxue was also shocked, “This was patricide! Chen Shi, did you learn anything at the funeral?”

“I sensed that the couple’s relationship was strange. They seemed superficially united but had a special bond, like something was tying them together.”

“Like these fingerprints?” Lin Dongxue pointed at the pillow.

“I don’t think this dynamic developed overnight. Someone mentioned that in 2001, when he was struggling to start his business, something significant happened. He said it was a stroke of luck that kept his fortune going!” Chen Shi’s eyes turned cold. “Investigate. Uncover this couple’s secret!”