Chapter 18: On-Site Deduction

Lin Dongxue said, “Why did we come in here? Shouldn’t we wait for the tech team? If we mess up the crime scene, my brother will kill me.”

Chen Shi replied, “What if there’s someone still alive?”

“Alright, you have a point!” Lin Dongxue turned towards the interior, feeling a chill run down her spine. She swallowed nervously, carefully avoiding the blood splattered on the floor.

The furniture inside wasn’t too chaotic, suggesting the killer was efficient. Behind the sofa lay a woman in loungewear, over thirty years old, her head completely covered in blood.

Chen Shi approached to check her pulse, but Lin Dongxue quickly stopped him. “Wait, don’t leave fingerprints.”

Chen Shi pulled out his phone and held the screen under the woman’s nose for a few seconds. When no breath fogged the screen, he said, “She’s dead.”

They moved to the bedroom, which had a different decor style, filled with old wooden furniture and a wicker chair, indicating it was an elderly person’s room. On the floor lay an elderly woman with her throat torn open as if by a wild animal, blood staining the wooden floor.

Chen Shi looked around and found a heavy meat cleaver covered in dried blood. “This seems to be the murder weapon.”

Next, they went to another bedroom, likely the couple’s room, with a wedding photo hanging on the wall. There was no body, but a bowl of soup sat on the nightstand. Chen Shi sniffed it and said, “Tremella lotus seed soup.”

Chen Shi straightened up and looked at the small, semi-enclosed balcony with a sliding window. One window was open, and a small stool was on the floor. “Was the door locked when you had the locksmith open it?”

“No,” Lin Dongxue replied.

Chen Shi glanced down. “The boy must have jumped from here out of fear. The flower bed below cushioned his fall a bit, but he’s still badly injured.”

“Waking up to find your whole family dead, poor kid,” Lin Dongxue said.

“Wake up?” Chen Shi looked at her, puzzled.

Realizing her slip, Lin Dongxue quickly corrected, “I was just saying. We’ll wait for the coroner to determine the time of death.”

“Let’s check the kitchen.”

They moved to the kitchen, where they found a man lying on the floor between the kitchen and bathroom. It was the man from the wedding photo, his head bashed in. Chen Shi squatted down to examine him. “The weapon used to kill this man is different from the one used on the other two.”

After a moment’s thought, Chen Shi rushed into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets until he found a pair of rubber gloves. Lin Dongxue asked, “Hey, what are you doing?”

“I won’t be satisfied until I check.”

“Don’t move the body until my brother arrives.”

“Would he let me check?”

“Aren’t you scared? Why aren’t you scared now?” Lin Dongxue muttered.

Chen Shi inspected the man’s head and signaled Lin Dongxue. “Look, there are white ceramic fragments in his hair.”

Lin Dongxue squatted down to see. “You’re right!”

Chen Shi stood up and walked to the bathroom. White ceramic shards were scattered on the tiled floor, and the toilet tank lid was missing. The amount of fragments matched the size of a toilet tank lid.

Lin Dongxue hypothesized, “The killer hid in the bathroom. When the man discovered him and tried to run, the killer grabbed the ceramic lid and smashed his head.”

“Let’s gather more information before jumping to conclusions.”

Chen Shi stepped into the bathroom, closing the frosted glass door. “Can you see my shadow?”

“No.”

“Turn on the light.”

With the light on, Chen Shi’s shadow was faintly visible. “I can see your shadow, but not clearly.”

“But from inside, I can see you.” Chen Shi pointed to the kitchen window facing east, “The strong light casts a clear shadow on the door.”

“Does that mean my deduction is correct?” Lin Dongxue asked happily.

“Deduction isn’t about right or wrong, just reasonable or unreasonable.”

“Can’t you just give a compliment?”

Chen Shi smiled but said nothing. He returned to the male body, inspecting the eyes, muscles, and arms. “Mild corneal opacity; rigor mortis fixed, pressing hard reduces the color; fingers and joints stiff. Last night’s temperature was 10 to 15 degrees. The time of death should be around midnight, give or take two hours.”

Lin Dongxue looked at him as if he were a monster. Chen Shi said, “These are basic forensic skills. You can learn them from any forensic science book.”

“I’m speechless!”

Chen Shi’s expression turned serious. “Something’s off. The two women were in loungewear, but this man is in an overcoat.”

“Maybe he just got home from a night shift,” Lin Dongxue suggested.

Chen Shi shook his head. “But he’s wearing slippers, and there’s a set of men’s loungewear hanging by the door. This house is tidy, indicating the habit of changing clothes upon coming home. Habits are powerful. Why this abnormal behavior?”

Lin Dongxue pondered and then had a sudden realization. “I know! He was in a hurry to use the bathroom before changing.”

Chen Shi shook his head again. “That’s not deduction, it’s guessing.”

“Why isn’t my guess considered deduction?” Lin Dongxue pouted.

“Deduction involves integrating all clues. What you said is just a hypothesis. A hypothesis must be tested to become a deduction. Look here.” Chen Shi rolled the body to its side. “See anything?”

“What am I looking for?”

“He didn’t lose control of his bladder. If he urgently needed to go, a heavy blow to the back of the head would have caused him to urinate. But his pants are exceptionally clean… maybe too clean.”

Chen Shi stood up, went to the bathroom, and lifted the toilet lid. A strong smell of urine wafted out. “The toilet hasn’t been flushed. He used it before he died!”