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CHAPTER 11
PART 2
"Two forensic experts arrived along with Captain Jiang Ming. Tan Yong lowered his head, feeling a bit ashamed facing the captain. Jiang Ming didn't blame them; he simply said, "Didn't you all move into this residential area last night? How did a homicide still occur?"
Li Bin wore a troubled expression and said, "I don't know either. Last night, I patrolled around, knocking on every door in the 'Big Family' area, reminding them to lock their doors securely. Everyone, including Xia Qi, promised they would."
"I repeatedly reminded them in our group chat to lock their doors," Tan Yong showed the chat messages to Jiang Ming. "Look, Xia Qi even replied."
Jiang Ming saw Xia Qi's reply "I've closed the windows and locked the main door. Thank you, Old Tan, for your concern." He sighed, unsure of what to say.
"I was joking with Old Tan last night, saying that if a criminal can manage this, they must have the ability to walk through walls. Who knew, it actually happened…" Li Bin couldn't help but curse.
"Don't talk nonsense about walking through walls. The locksmith said it clearly – this door was not locked from the inside at all!" Tan Yong said.
"Yes, that's even stranger. We reminded repeatedly, and Xia Qi clearly replied that she had locked the door. So, how did it end up unlocked later?" Li Bin couldn't comprehend.
"Did Xia Qi go out later?" Jiang Ming asked.
Tan Yong shook his head. "I just had the property management retrieve and review the elevator and internal community surveillance footage. Xia Qi didn't leave last night."
Jiang Ming glanced over to the side – two forensic experts were examining the body. He asked, "Can you determine the time of death?"
One of the forensic experts said, "From the body's stiffness, pupil dilation, and muscular post-mortem reactions, the time of death should be around midnight last night."
Tan Yong checked the WeChat group chat and said, 'Xia Qi sent a message at 11:51 last night; then, after six minutes, at 11:59, she sent another. After that, there were no more messages. If her time of death was around midnight, it means she was attacked shortly after sending the second message."
Jiang Ming asked the forensic expert, "How much room for error is there in determining the time of death?"
"It won't exceed half an hour," the forensic expert said.
"The victim's phone?" Jiang Ming inquired.
"It's right by the bedside; the perpetrator didn't take Xia Qi's phone," Li Bin said.
"Xia Qi was still sending WeChat messages at 11:59, proving she was alive then. With a time of death error not exceeding half an hour, it means she was attacked between 11:59 and 12:29," Jiang Ming said.
"I understand. Li Bin and I will investigate alibis for the 'Big Family' residents during that period," Tan Yong said.
"Are there no surveillance cameras in the corridors of this residential area?" Jiang Ming asked.
"No," Tan Yong said, feeling particularly disheartened. "I realized there was a security issue and went to the residential management yesterday, urging them to install surveillance devices in the corridors of each floor within three days. But I didn't expect another homicide to happen before the cameras were installed."
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Jiang Ming sensed Tan Yong's frustration and dismay. He patted his shoulder and said, "Old Tan, you've considered various issues and done what you could. You've been extremely diligent, even moving into this neighborhood with Li Bin. There's no need for self-blame. This case is exceptional, the perpetrator is exceptionally cunning. They might have struck now because they foresaw the installation of surveillance in three days. As for how they managed it, infiltrating and committing murder in such circumstances, it requires collective brainstorming. With consecutive homicides in Yuehai Bay and their connection to the same incident, we must establish a special task force. Specific details require discussion and reporting to Chief Chen before making decisions."
Tan Yong silently nodded in agreement to establish the task force.
At that moment, another female forensic expert, after a thorough examination, said, "Captain Jiang, I found – the victim wasn't killed in bed but elsewhere. The assailant moved the victim's body onto the bed, arranged it as if asleep, and covered it with a blanket. This was clearly an attempt to fabricate the impression that the victim was killed while sleeping."
This was crucial information. Jiang Ming, Tan Yong, and Li Bin approached, carefully observed, and Jiang Ming comprehended, "If the victim was killed while lying in bed, the blood spatter area and angles should have been larger, not matching the shapes of the bloodstains on the bedsheet and blanket."
"That's right," the female forensic expert confirmed.
"But this seems quite apparent. If the perpetrator isn't too foolish, they'd realize that the police would easily see through this. Why do it this way?" Li Bin asked.
"I guess because the perpetrator didn't have much time to conceal properly, so they resorted to a clumsy cover-up before hastily leaving the crime scene. They knew there were two policemen downstairs. If someone called Xia Qi after her WeChat message and found she never answered, they might realize something was wrong and come here for confirmation," Tan Yong analyzed.
Jiang Ming nodded in agreement with Tan Yong's analysis. "Xia Qi wasn't killed in bed, but definitely within this home. Let's check the entrance, living room, bathroom, and other areas to see where she might have been killed."
So, the police inspected different areas of the house. After some time, they found nothing unusual.
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"The killer probably cleaned up the blood before leaving," Li Bin said, gazing at the floor. "This house has smooth floor tiles; it's easy to wipe away blood stains with a cloth or tissue."
Tan Yong crouched at the doorway, carefully examining the floor. "This area by the door seems exceptionally clean; the killer probably wiped it. In that case, Xia Qi was likely killed the moment she opened the door."
"Yeah, I believe that's highly likely. It explains why Xia Qi's door wasn't locked from the inside because she opened it," Jiang Ming said.
"But why did she open the door? Logically, if the killer murdered Xia Qi – and immediately after she sent the message 'I think I know who the killer is,' someone arrived and killed her – the only explanation could be that the killer feared Xia Qi would report them, so they hurried to silence her. In such a situation, Xia Qi should have been extremely cautious. She shouldn't have opened the door for anyone, right?" Li Bin questioned.
"Indeed, under such sensitive circumstances, most people wouldn't open the door. Especially when the person visiting Xia Qi was the very individual she 'claimed to know,'" Jiang Ming stated. "Even if she was a bit naive, she wouldn't have opened the door at that moment, providing the perpetrator with an opportunity."
"And did the killer have such audacity? After Xia Qi posted that ambiguous message in the group, many would have been curious. Someone calling her afterward or directly visiting was entirely possible. At such a moment, the perpetrator dared to enter and commit murder? Leaving aside how he managed to get Xia Qi to open the door, just the audacity involved is quite perplexing. Judging from his previous methods, this is undoubtedly a calm, cunning killer, not a brute thug. How could he ensure he wouldn't be encountered by someone coming to see Xia Qi while committing the crime or dealing with the evidence?" Li Bin expressed his doubts.
"Thus, the two major doubts in Xia Qi's death are," Jiang Ming summarized, "first, how the perpetrator made Xia Qi willingly open the door, and second, how he ensured he wouldn't be discovered during the crime. The perpetrator must have employed some 'ruse' to achieve these two points."
The officers fell silent simultaneously. After a moment, Jiang Ming continued, "We won't solve this by standing here. Let's head back to the Criminal Investigation Detachment. Firstly, let's send Xia Qi's phone to the technical department to crack the password and see if we can find any useful information. Then, I'll inform Chief Chen and arrange an urgent meeting to discuss forming the task force."
Tan Yong and Li Bin nodded in unison. The two forensic experts placed Xia Qi's body onto a stretcher and loaded it into the vehicle. Tan Yong cordoned off the area at Apartment 902 on the ninth floor, informing the property management not to allow anyone near the scene. After attending to these matters, they drove off to the City Criminal Investigation Detachment.
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