Chapter 541: The Quiet Alley

Leaving the farmhouse, Chen Shi handed a small notebook with records to Xu Xiaodong. “Verify each person’s alibi.”

“Huh?!” Xu Xiaodong was shocked. That was no small task.

Lin Dongxue asked, “Do you think the killer is among them?”

“The dinner time and the time of death are close. In the crew, they had the most contact with the two deceased and were of equal status, so I think we should consider them as preliminary suspects.”

“Could the motive be jealousy? The Japanese made more money than they did.”

“Would someone kill for that?”

“Don’t forget, they were all drinking at the time.”

“Alright, it could be one reason. But I think there’s a deeper motive.”

Just earlier, the extras mentioned that when they were humiliating the deceased, Fujiwara got very emotional and said a lot in Japanese. However, none of the others understood because their Japanese was basic, limited to daily conversations.

Could there be crucial information hidden in those words?

Back at the station, an autopsy was underway. Peng Sijue handed Chen Shi some photos showing bloodstains on the victims. He said, “Fujiwara’s blood covers Tamura’s blood. Tamura should have been killed first, followed by Fujiwara. The liver temperature measurements show their times of death were almost simultaneous.”

“What about the beer cans we brought back?”

“The can labeled ‘A’ was Fujiwara’s. He almost finished it. The other can, which was Tamura’s, still had more than half left.”

“And the others?”

“Tamura’s neck wound was a side stab and then sliced open, suggesting a double-edged weapon. The weapon that stabbed Fujiwara was similar but higher up. About here…” Peng Sijue demonstrated with an assistant, pointing to the wound, “The first stab was from the first rib near the back, through to the fifth rib in the front. The second stab went from the first rib near the back to the fourth rib in the front. The third stab went from the second rib to the third rib in the front, piercing the lung and aorta. The chest cavity was a mess.”

Chen Shi thought for a moment and looked at the photos again. Pointing to one of them, he asked, “Is there Fujiwara’s blood on Tamura’s chest?”

“A little.”

After a moment of silence, Chen Shi smiled. “You know, we keep saying Tamura and Fujiwara, and it feels like we’re in a Japanese detective novel.”

Peng Sijue frowned. “I have other things to do. I’m leaving.”

“Hey, I’m just making an observation! I think Fujiwara was crouching when the killer stabbed him from behind. He probably arrived after Tamura had fallen, crouched to check on him…” Chen Shi had the assistant crouch down while he mimicked the stabbing from behind, “The killer then stabbed him twice from behind. Fujiwara tried to stand up, and the killer struck again, making the third stab nearly vertical.”

“I think so too. Keep investigating. I have to get back to the autopsy.”

“By the way, I’m curious, are Japanese people built differently? Do they really have smaller stomachs?”

“Get lost!” Peng Sijue ordered, kicking him out.

They didn’t find the victims’ phones, wallets, or IDs at the scene. Since they were foreigners, it was impossible to trace their IDs or check their phone records.

At the afternoon briefing, Lin Qiupu said, “The embassy called, urging us to solve the case quickly. Anyway, just keep investigating as usual.”

Chen Shi asked, “Can we get a Japanese police officer to help?”

“It’s hard to find one who speaks Chinese, and it’s unnecessary. We can handle this case ourselves.”

“No, I have another plan. As long as it’s a Japanese person, it doesn’t matter if they speak Chinese. In fact, it’s better if they don’t speak a word.”

“If you don’t explain, I can’t help you.”

“Come on, give me a break. I think the killer has some Japanese communication skills. He knew the victims but is now trying hard to hide his knowledge of Japanese. So, I want to use a Japanese person, disguised as a police officer or embassy staff, to see who among them understands Japanese.”

“Fine, I’ll see what I can do.”

As night fell, Chen Shi took Lin Dongxue back to the scene. Several film crews were still shooting night scenes in the film city. Lin Dongxue saw Xu Xiaodong sitting on a prop box, eating a boxed meal. She walked up behind him and patted his shoulder, “Is the crew’s lunchbox good?”

“I bought this myself! Want some? The lunchboxes here are really good value, only ten yuan each.”

“We’ve already eaten. How’s your investigation going?”

Xu Xiaodong handed over the notebook. He had checked off each person who had an alibi. “I talked to the landlord, the convenience store owner, and the water delivery guy. Their alibis hold up.”

“What do you mean by hold up?” Chen Shi asked.

“At the time of the crime, they didn’t leave their rooms.”

“Investigate further. There’s no surveillance here, so these witnesses might not be reliable!”

Lin Dongxue looked around, “This place is so big, only the entrances have surveillance. It’s lucky there haven’t been any criminal cases here in recent years.”

Xu Xiaodong said, “This is mainly a filming location. Surveillance would ruin the historical look, and even the electrical wires are well hidden.”

“Keep eating. We’ll check out the scene.” Chen Shi said.

“Hey, I’ll come with you!” Xu Xiaodong quickly finished his meal and stood up, wiping his mouth.

They arrived at the victims’ residence. It was Xu Xiaodong’s first time there, and he was curious. Lin Dongxue asked, “Xiaodong, how’s your Japanese?”

“Limited to phrases like ‘sayonara,’ ‘ikuzo,’ and ‘yamete.'”

“We need a translator, otherwise we can’t communicate with the victims’ families.”

“Just get someone from the embassy.”

Chen Shi walked to the window and looked down, waving his hand, “From here, you can see an alley. Let’s go check it out.”

They went to the alley, which had a corner. Chen Shi looked up at the window and then down, using a small plastic spoon to scoop some dirt into an evidence bag. Lin Dongxue asked, “Found blood?”

“Just a bit. This might be the crime scene.”

“So close?” Xu Xiaodong was surprised.

“This afternoon, Peng and I reconstructed the crime. Tamura was killed first, followed by Fujiwara. Fujiwara crouched to check on Tamura and was stabbed from behind. It should have happened like this: Tamura was called outside by someone, put down his beer, and came to this alley. Five to ten minutes later, Fujiwara saw Tamura lying on the ground from the window and came to check, only to be killed by the ambushing killer…” Chen Shi looked around, “It’s very dark here at night, only the streetlight at the entrance illuminates the area.”

“From the window, you can see everything clearly. Where would the killer hide?” Lin Dongxue asked.

Chen Shi walked out of the alley. Outside was a quiet street, still cold at night. He leaned against the wall and looked back into the alley, “The killer was probably here…”

“Chen, there’s blood on the ground!”