boyutpedia Chapter 75 On-site Investigation
Chapter 75 On-site Investigation
Clyde arrived sooner than expected.
Before Luo Qiu had finished her scones, a dusty car pulled up at the alley entrance. The door opened, and Clyde climbed out, his expression tense. His first question was about the case.
"Is this the case reported by the 25th Patrol Team?"
Upon hearing this, the detective who was still chatting casually with Luo Qiu immediately stepped forward to respond:
"You must be Agent Clyde. This is the reported crime scene. The area has been cordoned off, but since there are no autopsy personnel, we haven't been able to conduct any further investigations... Also, here are our interview records with the surrounding residents and shop owners."
The agent handed Clyde an investigation notebook. Clyde glanced through it, his brow relaxing slightly.
"Well done, I'm taking over this case now... Luo Qiu? What are you doing here?"
It was only then that Clyde noticed Luo Qiu standing to the side, but after only a second of surprise, he immediately realized what was happening.
"I almost forgot, your rented place isn't far from here, just two blocks away. Did you walk here?"
"I heard yesterday that there's a really good bakery nearby. You know, I've been so bored lately." At this point, Luo Qiu swallowed the last bite of bread, casually replying to Clyde with a look of pure enjoyment on his face.
"That's perfect. Come investigate with me. The coroner isn't on duty yet, but when it comes to examining wounds, they might not be as good as we are."
Clyde did not doubt Luo Qiu's explanation. He then stepped forward, grabbed Luo Qiu's arm, and dragged him to the corpse.
……
Ten meters into the alley, there was the initial crime scene where the body was found.
Here, you can see even more details.
First, near the body, there were bloodstains on the ground that had been stepped on and dragged by shoes, stretching for more than three meters.
In this alleyway space that is more than three meters long, there are several scratch marks on one side of the wall.
These are all traces left by the victims.
Seeing this, it's not hard to imagine the scene. The assailant stabbed the victim, piercing an artery and causing profuse bleeding. Afterward, the assailant didn't quickly subdue the victim, perhaps because the stab missed and fearing a counterattack, so he retreated, watching the victim crawl forward three meters…
Lifting the shroud revealed a more telling picture.
The other person was lying on their side against the wall, their clothes stained red on the chest, but the hole in the clothes was very small.
Turning over, I discovered a stab wound on the upper left side of the other person's back. It was a common straight stab wound, some distance from the heart, but right in the lung.
After examining the wound, Clyde pondered for a moment, then immediately began to analyze:
"The wound is 4 centimeters wide, penetrating the chest, with the blade facing down, and looks like it was made from a commonly used kitchen knife. Also, the wound appears clean, with a flat cut..."
"That's getting interesting."
Clyde scratched his beard, his tone becoming solemn.
"If this were a regular robbery, one party with a knife could easily have threatened the victim first. But this knife was cut from back to front, the wound was almost vertical, indicating that it was a direct sneak attack."
"It's more than ten meters to either end of this alley. If the assailant approached from behind, it would be almost impossible for them not to be noticed. But the vertical wound indicates that the victim was indeed unprepared. There are two possibilities: First, the two were walking towards each other, brushed past each other, and then chose to commit the crime, but even in this case, there's still a high probability that they would have been on guard. Second, the two knew each other, so they weren't on guard."
"Judging from the location of the wound and the bloodstains around it, the perpetrator was inexperienced. The first stab did not kill immediately, and then the perpetrator retreated, watching the victim crawl forward a few meters..."
Luo Qiu observed the deceased without making a sound.
He didn't pay much attention to the other person's wounds. When the shroud was lifted, the first thing he looked at was the other person's appearance and clothes.
It was definitely that gray coat; the figure and hairstyle matched, but the face was unfamiliar.
He had only caught a glimpse of the other person yesterday and hadn't seen what he looked like. But now, upon closer inspection, he noticed that the other person had fair skin, a smooth chin, and no beard, clearly indicating that he was still a young adult.
Furthermore, the red light in his pocket was gone, and the perpetrator had searched his body, with several buttons missing from his coat. According to the detective, after arriving, they searched the man thoroughly but found no personal belongings.
But then his gaze left the corpse and looked to the side...
After a quick glance, Luo Qiu looked away, stared at the corpse for two more seconds, and then spoke to Clyde.
"Let's confirm his identity first. Judging from his clothes, he doesn't seem to have much money. If he's here at night, either he works nearby or he lives here but just moved in."
"Luo Qiu, you're right. Let's find out his identity first. The interrogation records they gave me earlier contained very little information about this apartment building. It was 5 a.m. then, still dark, and now it's 7:40. We should disturb them."
Clyde nodded. After inspecting the scene and listening to Luo Qiu's advice, he immediately got up and was about to send out the patrol agents who had come with him.
Seeing this, Luo Qiu quickly got up as well:
"I'm going to make a call. If the team hasn't received any cases today, I'll leave you here."
……
She said she was going to make a phone call, but Luo Qiu wasn't in a hurry.
Walking slowly, Luo Qiu waited until Clyde had strode to the corner of the alley and disappeared from sight before taking two steps forward, squatting down, and picking up a small, inconspicuous silver light from the ground.
He had discovered this thing on the ground a long time ago using the Clarity spell.
At the time, he also judged that this murder was probably the work of the hunting team again.
But after actually seeing the crime scene, he was no longer so sure.
How could a hunting team turn a cleanup mission into this mess? And even take everything from the target?
If it were the pocket watch that was taken, then there would be no problem, since it's obviously very valuable. But the other person's pockets were completely empty, not even a single coin…
Walking to a public phone booth, Luo Qiu dialed a number and, while the dial tone played, opened his palm to look at the item he had just received.
A gleaming silver metal needle, about an inch long, appeared to be frequently used. At this moment, it was still covered with tiny particles of soil.
When it was found, it was almost completely stuck in the soil, with only its head sticking out.
Judging from the angle, it looks like the one the victim made at the time.
The Mage's Hand?
Theoretically, it should be possible to apply power to a steel needle using the hands of a sorcerer. Moreover, a steel needle carried on one's person would be discreet enough and more than sufficient to deal with an ordinary person.
So, could the person who used such methods be one of those "seeds"?
Luo Qiu was both hesitant and excited. It was the first time he had encountered a case that didn't involve the hunting team, and he was very interested.
Just then, a voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Hello, this is the Fourth Team under the Investigation Bureau's Operations Division..."
"This is Luo Qiu. Please call Smith for me... He hasn't arrived yet? Then please tell him..."
……