Chapter 950 Experiment

Early the next day, Lin Dongxue and Tao Yuanyuan arrived at the buffet restaurant and saw the crew sitting together. The director said, “Xiao Ai is gone. The scenes we shot yesterday are unusable. We need to find a replacement actor quickly!”

The screenwriter said, “Xiao Ai’s role was added later. I suggest using the original script. That way we can save this character.”

“You’re joking!” The producer roared. “Xiao Ai’s body isn’t even cold yet, and you’re saying this. I think you guys are responsible for Xiao Ai’s death! If we stop filming now, we’ll lose a lot of money!”

“Please calm down,” the director intervened. “The production company and the crew have signed contracts. If we stop filming, it will cost us a fortune. Everyone is saddened by Xiao Ai’s death. We are just discussing contingency plans.”

The producer hesitated for a moment, then said, “Let’s find a replacement actor! Quickly!”

Saying that, the producer got up and left, followed by Xia Xiaolou.

Tao Yuanyuan asked while holding a plate, “Should we go over to eat?”

Lin Dongxue shook her head. “Our roles now are not visitors to the crew but police investigators. It’s better to maintain some distance.”

After finishing their meal, Lin Dongxue approached them, and everyone eagerly asked about the progress of the case. Lin Dongxue said, “Xiao Ai will undergo an autopsy at the city bureau today. It’s better for everyone not to leave the hotel. I might need to talk to you later.”

“Can the autopsy determine if it was murder or suicide?” the screenwriter asked.

“Usually, yes. Once we have the results, I’ll inform everyone. By the way, during the filming, there was a dummy that was the same size as Xiao Ai. I want to borrow that.”

“Why do you need it?” The screenwriter suddenly became nervous, and his reaction puzzled Tao Yuanyuan.

“To conduct a falling experiment. Is it inconvenient to borrow?”

“Sure, no problem! I’ll have the production assistant take you to get it!” the director said.

The production assistant accompanied Lin Dongxue and Tao Yuanyuan. The assistant director chuckled, “Officer Lin, you look so charming when you’re all business. I wonder if you’re married.”

“Didn’t you see the wedding ring on her hand? She’s already taken…” The director said, noticing the screenwriter’s absent-mindedness.

“Huh?” The screenwriter looked up. “I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m thinking about a new script.”

The crew rented a standard room to store props. Since it was a modern drama, they didn’t use many props and didn’t need to rent a warehouse specifically.

The production assistant opened the door. The dummy was wrapped in a plastic bag. She picked it up and said, “Just return it to my room when you’re done. There won’t be any filming today anyway.”

“Can you come out with us?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Is something wrong?”

“We want to examine something.”

“Sure!”

Outside, the ground had already been processed for evidence, cleaned thoroughly. Most of the guests entering and leaving the hotel that day were unaware that there had been a falling incident last night.

Lin Dongxue pointed at the window above. “Which room do you live in?”

“Um, that’s… Room 715!”

“But Room 715 isn’t directly above the falling point. Directly above is Room 713. You claimed last night that you saw someone fall from the window. I need to verify your statement.”

The production assistant looked embarrassed. “Um…”

“Did you really see someone fall? Please don’t hide anything.”

“I saw it!”

“Where did you see it?”

“In Room 713… the director’s room.”

“Are you saying you were in the director’s room at that time? What were you doing?”

Glancing at Tao Yuanyuan, the production assistant said, “Officer Lin, can we not talk about this in front of the child? The director and I were… well, doing that. I was leaning out the window when someone suddenly fell. It scared him so much he… became soft. I screamed involuntarily because it was too frightening! You see, this has nothing to do with the case. It’s my private matter.”

“Of course it’s relevant. After all, you’re a crucial witness.”

Blushing, the production assistant said, “Please don’t spread this around. The director is somewhat well-known. It wouldn’t sound good if it got out.”

“Don’t worry. Once it’s in the police’s hands, it won’t leak out. We’re not gossip reporters.”

Tao Yuanyuan, holding the dummy, asked, “Is this considered an unspoken rule?”

The production assistant laughed, “How can this be an unspoken rule? Am I an unspoken rule? We developed feelings over time, after all, working together for so long, not going home for a year or more. Everyone has needs, like eating and drinking.”

“After screaming, did you immediately check?”

“No, I was dressed. It took about half a minute.”

Lin Dongxue nodded. “That matches my impression. After the scream, someone shouted ‘jumped off’ after a short while… Oh right, before the fall, did you hear any other sounds?”

“What sounds?”

“A clicking sound.”

The production assistant chuckled again. “Is this a police joke? We were doing that at the time, wasn’t it the clicking sound?”

“I’m not referring to that.” Lin Dongxue went to the window and tapped the glass with her hand. It didn’t quite sound right. Then she used her knuckles, still not quite right.

Tao Yuanyuan said, “It sounds like the sound of a rope hitting the glass.”

Lin Dongxue took off her shoes, slapped the glass with them a few times, finally finding the sound she wanted. The production assistant listened for a long time and said positively, “I didn’t hear it, absolutely didn’t hear it.”

“Thank you.”

After the production assistant left, Lin Dongxue said to Tao Yuanyuan, “You did hear it, right?”

Tao Yuanyuan nodded. “Only the two of us heard it. Does it relate to the case?”

“Since that strange sound occurred a few seconds before the fall, I think it’s necessary to figure it out. Let’s go upstairs first!”

Lin Dongxue and the hotel had contacted, and the meeting room where the incident occurred was temporarily sealed. The two came to the window and were discussing how to push the dummy down when a scream came from outside. A hotel cleaning staff thought they were up to no good.

Seeing only a dummy in their hands, the cleaning staff said, “Scared me! It turned out that the police were doing experiments!”

“Excuse me, are you in charge of cleaning this floor?” Lin Dongxue said.

“I do during the day. Zhang Jie does it at night.”

“What time does she usually work until?”

“Until ten o’clock… Zhang Jie worked the night shift yesterday and didn’t come this morning.”

Lin Dongxue left her contact information, asking her to tell Zhang Jie to contact her if she noticed anything.

The experiment continued, and the dummy was placed on the window sill, ready to be pushed down. Lin Dongxue suddenly remembered something. “Wait, the weight of the dummy and the real person aren’t the same. It’s better to use something of similar weight.”

“Should we add some weight?” Tao Yuanyuan suggested.

“We can add some water bags. I’ll go find them. You wait here.”

“Oh!”

Lin Dongxue left, and Tao Yuanyuan stared at the dummy. She suddenly noticed that the dummy’s ankle seemed slightly damaged. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to have been tied with a thin string…