Chapter 338 - 336: What Kind of Murderer Would Be This Stupid

Chapter 338: Chapter 336: What Kind of Murderer Would Be This Stupid

"He can do it."

Xu Jing tugged at the corner of her mouth and said word by word: "Just with a small mechanism, he can control Sister-in-law Wu’s body from a distance!"

Saying so, she suddenly spread out the coat Sister-in-law Wu had worn when she fell, pointing at a tear on it: "This tear on the coat is a result of the murderer’s mechanism! As long as he hung a string with a hook on Sister-in-law Wu’s clothing and then gently tugged the string after reaching the ground..."

Mr. Yao’s eyes widened, "I see, this way you can indeed murder from afar! The roof is slanted, and it’s easy to lose balance up there. The murderer merely had to tug gently without much force, and Sister-in-law Wu would roll right off!

Because the hook only caught onto Sister-in-law Wu’s coat, retrieving it wouldn’t be difficult. Just apply a bit of force to pull out the hook!"

As the logic clicked into place, other issues seemed to resolve immediately as well, making Mr. Yao more excited as he spoke, "And from the position of the tear in Sister-in-law Wu’s clothing, we can tell the hook was attached to the upper part of her garment. Thus, when the string is pulled, she would fall headfirst! This ensures that when Sister-in-law Wu lands, her head hits the ground first!

And as Sister-in-law Wu fell, the tiny marks left by the string on the snow would be covered by the traces left from her fall!"

Besides the people from the Western Capital office, everyone else appeared stunned.

It was unbelievable that the murderer killed in such a painstaking manner!

The majority of the people at the Western Capital office had experience in handling cases and had seen many bizarre situations. Although this method was novel, it didn’t however surprise the seasoned officers.

They even humbly asked for more insight, "Miss Xu, earlier you mentioned that the murderer couldn’t change the direction of Sister-in-law Wu’s body. Is this related to the mechanism?"

"Yes, that’s correct."

Xu Jing nodded, "To ensure Sister-in-law Wu fell headfirst without odd postures, the rope must be perpendicular to her body, or at a slight angle. However, if the hook was on the upper part of her clothing and the murderer could only pull the rope from the direction of her feet, the angle of her fall would look strange. The murderer wouldn’t have anticipated that someone might witness the fall at that moment, but the traces left in the snow on the roof could still reveal some details.

The murderer is naturally cautious, and I suspect he has a touch of OCD... pursuing perfection to the extent that even minor mistakes are intolerable for him.

Therefore, he couldn’t turn Sister-in-law Wu’s body because the pulling point for the rope was already determined. Her head had to face the eaves!"

The place where the murderer could pull the rope?

The government official who asked earlier immediately said, "The murderer set up such a device to ensure a perfect alibi! So, he couldn’t have been outside pulling the rope. Most likely, he was also staying at this inn at that time, in... in a room on the right side of this building!"

If the murderer had thrown Sister-in-law Wu off from the roof and then fled using a rope, the commotion from her landing might attract people inside the inn. Even a quick escape could risk being caught, which is why he went to such great lengths to devise this method.

If Sister-in-law Wu fell while he was inside the room, secretly manipulating everything, he could perfectly disassociate himself from the case!

And because he was in his room at the time, the room’s position restricted where he could pull the rope, which is why he couldn’t adjust Sister-in-law Wu’s body’s direction!

Xu Jing couldn’t help but glance appreciatively at the government official, then nodded and said, "Exactly! Earlier, I stayed outside to ask Manager Cao if, on the day Sister-in-law Wu had her accident, any guests in rooms on the right side of the building had aroused his suspicion or acted strangely. Manager Cao immediately mentioned someone—a Mr. Fan who had reserved a room at their inn for half a month but rarely stayed. His room was the second one on the right of the second floor of this building!"

Thinking about where Sister-in-law Wu lay on the roof back then, everyone couldn’t help but gasp.

The window of this room was perfectly aligned with the upper part of Sister-in-law Wu’s clothing!

Mr. Yao couldn’t help but express his astonishment, "But, why did he book the room for half a month?"

The Manager Cao explained, "The woman died eight days ago. At the end of the year, until mid to late December, we have a lot of guests returning home, and it only gradually decreases by the end of December. If I’m not mistaken, he might be concerned that booking a room at the last minute wouldn’t get him the one he desired. In fact, when I checked the booking records, this room was the only one left on the east side at the time he made the reservation.

Actually, if it weren’t for what happened eight days ago, we wouldn’t have so few guests in these recent days..."

Though the New Year is a major event, many people working away from home often rush back to their hometowns only at the year’s end. Not everyone can return before the New Year.

The inn was primarily catering to these guests returning home for the holidays.

As the Shopkeeper spoke, he looked wistfully at Mr. Qu.

Earlier, he could blame Mr. Qu’s mother for her choice of location to end her life, choosing their inn, but now knowing she was murdered, he couldn’t even blame Mr. Qu.

Mr. Qu wasn’t concerned about the Shopkeeper’s feelings right now; he gritted his teeth silently and said, "Was it this man named Fan who killed my mom?!"

Xu Jing gave him a peculiar look, "Of course not. What murderer would foolishly use his real name to book a room?"

Suddenly feeling belittled, Mr. Qu was momentarily stunned.

"In fact, the murderer not only didn’t use his real name but wasn’t even the one who booked the room himself."

Xu Jing continued, "I just asked the attendant who booked the room for that Mr. Fan. He said Mr. Fan was quite sturdily built. However, during the investigation of Jiang San’s case, we learned that the murderer should be of small stature, weighing no more than 100 pounds."

Earlier this morning, by the Little East River, Xu Jing found a government official whose footprints were similar in depth to those left by the murderer. They measured his weight and Jiang San’s weight. A report just came in, stating this government official weighed about 160 pounds, and Jiang San was about 80 pounds.

In ancient times, there were no scales, so weighing an adult wasn’t easy. Typically, a hanging balance was used, which was simpler for children or slender individuals, but cumbersome for brawny men.

With specific data, estimating the murderer’s weight became straightforward. He weighed approximately 80 to 90 pounds. If it were a woman, her size would be similar to Jiang San’s. If a man, then he must be quite small.

Conclusively, it couldn’t possibly be the robust Mr. Fan described by the employee.

Mr. Qu clenched his fists tightly, "Even if Mr. Fan isn’t the murderer, he must be an accomplice!"

Not knowing his mother was murdered was one thing, but now that he knew, how could he swallow this anger?

He was determined to find the murderer and avenge his mother, no matter what!