Chapter 290: The Deceased Is Not Dead

Chapter 290: Chapter 290: The Deceased Is Not Dead

Evan Keller gave the team member next to him a look, and the officer understood immediately.

While talking to Old Man Thorne, the officer casually walked to the door. Then, when Leo’s attention was diverted, he grabbed and pinned him.

Old Man Thorne was aghast, yelling that it was all a misunderstanding. The moment his son, Leo, was pinned down, it was as if all his strength had been drained away. He went completely limp and couldn’t even be pulled to his feet.

He kept yelling, "I didn’t make it public! I’m innocent!"

Old Man Thorne knew what kind of person his son was. Seeing him like this, it was all too clear.

’The little rascal must have done something shady.’

Just as Evan Keller was about to walk over, he heard a surprised voice from one of the team members behind him. "The body... there don’t seem to be any stab wounds on its back."

Huh?!

Evan Keller whipped his head around, his expression grim.

In the footage the killer had sent, the attacker had clearly stabbed the victim in the back several times.

And at the scene, the victim’s blood was all over the floor.

But now they were saying there were no stab wounds on the body’s back. That could only mean one thing: the video was fake!

’No, that’s not right. To be precise, the actions in the video were fake!’

Leo’s head snapped up. He looked at Evan Keller and began to struggle more intensely, shouting, "I know! I know! I’ll tell you everything I know! Can you just not hold me responsible?"

Evan Keller looked at Leo, then said to the officer behind him, "Take him back to the station first."

After speaking, he looked at the terrified Old Man Thorne and added reassuringly, "Don’t worry. If he didn’t kill anyone, he’ll be released soon."

"No way, no way. My son’s a creep, but he’s a gutless one. He wouldn’t even dare to kill a chicken, let alone a person," Old Man Thorne quickly agreed.

Evan Keller didn’t waste any more time there. After leaving most of his team to watch every floor, he took the rest of his people and the body back to the station.

Meanwhile, Zoe Sawyer had begun her case regression.

Pushing open the office door, a warmly furnished living room appeared before her.

The living room’s decor was much the same as what Zoe Sawyer had seen in the video.

A cat was lying on the sofa, lazily flicking its tail. The variety of toys scattered on the floor showed that the cat was dearly loved by its owner.

Zoe Sawyer’s sharp eyes noticed that in a row of cabinets, one door was ajar, revealing a bag of diapers partially visible inside.

A few of the toys scattered on the floor also looked like they were for a child.

Just then, the door opened.

The victim walked into the living room, wrapped in her coat. At first, everything seemed normal as she fed the cat and scooped its litter box.

However, Zoe Sawyer frowned, staring at the victim’s back with a strange expression on her face.

’Does the victim have a tumor on her back? Why does it look so lumpy?’

Her face was also very pale, and she wobbled as she walked, looking malnourished.

’Almost time. The killer is about to appear.’

Zoe Sawyer stared at the scene before her, silently counting down.

As Zoe Sawyer’s countdown finished, a figure suddenly darted out from a corner.

Just like in the video, they held a fruit knife and stabbed it again and again into the victim’s back.

Blood gushed out from under her. The cat in front of her was startled by the scene, arched its back, and with a cry, quickly fled the living room.

Next, the killer began dragging the body toward the balcony.

Zoe Sawyer recalled the report mentioning that no traces had been found downstairs. Given the victim’s blood loss, this action should have been impossible—a major point that had baffled them.

Thinking of this, Zoe Sawyer controlled the door, moving it near the balcony. She wanted to see how the killer moved the body!

The next scene made Zoe Sawyer’s jaw drop.

"Get up. This angle isn’t in the shot." The killer stuck out a foot and kicked the victim’s body, which should have been breathless.

Then, the "body" scrambled up from the floor, carefully took off its coat, and revealed several punctured plastic bags on its back.

The plastic bags still contained a good amount of blood. The gush of fresh blood Zoe Sawyer had seen moments ago had flowed out of these bags.

"You were too rough! If I hadn’t used enough padding, I would’ve actually gotten stabbed!" The "victim" moved her body around and, after confirming nothing was wrong, glared angrily at the killer before her.

The killer crossed their arms, their expression and tone filled with impatience. "Alright, alright. How would it be convincing if we didn’t film it like that? Hurry up so we can get out of here. Be careful not to get caught!

Our whole plan will be for nothing!"

Hearing this, the "victim" reluctantly stomped her foot. After cleaning the blood from her hands, she pulled a protective suit out of a school bag and covered herself from head to toe.

After confirming she hadn’t gotten anything on her, she grabbed the cloth strips that had been tied to the balcony beforehand and slid down to the floor below.

The killer followed suit. In less than ten minutes, the two of them had left the "crime scene" without leaving any other traces.

A flash of understanding lit up Zoe Sawyer’s eyes. ’No wonder they couldn’t find any trace of the killer moving the body downstairs.’

’It’s because the "body" was never dead in the first place!’

’Or rather, she wasn’t dead then!’

’Two living people were working together, which is why they could leave so smoothly.’

After the "victim" and the killer had both left, Zoe Sawyer thought the regression was over.

But unexpectedly, just then, a red dot flashed a few times on a tile above the balcony doorway.

’That height, that angle... it’s not the position the killer was filming from!’

’In other words, a third party witnessed this entire charade from start to finish!’

’To be able to install something in a place like that without being discovered... the prime suspect is the landlord’s family.’

Having seen this, the door finally ejected Zoe Sawyer, signaling the end of the regression.

"Heath, I have a major discovery!" As soon as she was back, Zoe Sawyer looked excitedly at the man standing behind her.

"What discovery?" Heath Hale took a step forward, looking Zoe Sawyer over from head to toe. After confirming she was in decent condition, he asked.

Zoe Sawyer grabbed Heath Hale’s hand, her voice excited. "That wasn’t the crime scene! The video is fake! The victim inside wasn’t dead!

And what’s more, there was a third person at the scene!"

Zoe Sawyer then recounted everything she had seen from start to finish to the others who were waiting.

The only downside was that she hadn’t gotten a clear look at the killer’s face at any point.

The person wore a mask the entire time, kept their head down, and their hair obscured most of their face.

She couldn’t see what they looked like at all!