TPODN Chapter 53

“Officer Lu Yao… Officer Wang Linfei…”

Miss Li Meng, tentatively the new chairman’s secretary, was waiting for the two in the hallway.

“Sorry to bother you,” Lu Yao said with a bow.

“Don’t mention it. …Chairman Liu is waiting for you in the conference room, saying he wants to talk to you.”

Talk about what? Wang Linfei and Lu Yao exchanged a glance.

“Please come with me, the chairman invites you both.”

Guided by Li Meng, the two entered the leadership conference room.

“Please sit down, both of you.”

Chairman Liu Zi stood himself, pointing to the chairs around the U-shaped conference table.

“I hope you weren’t amused by the trick just now.”

Lu Yao bowed her head.

“Not at all. I admire your keen insight.”

Judging from Liu Ziqi’s smile, he didn’t seem to take Lu Yao’s accusation to heart.

“May I ask what this is about?”

Unexpectedly, the words that came from Liu Ziqi’s mouth were quite surprising: “Officer Wang Linfei, Officer Lu Yao, are you sure Zhao Menglin is innocent?”

“Yes. Although everyone has already determined that he is the murderer.”

“What evidence proves his innocence?”

Lu Yao explained about the blanket incident that Jiang Kefan had mentioned.

“I see… but with only this…”

“Then how do you explain the fingerprints?”

Wang Linfei, who had been silent all along, revealed that only the secretary’s fingerprints were on the doorknob of Director Zhao Menglin’s office.

While the two were talking, Lu Yao peeked at Liu Ziqi’s expression. If he was the murderer, he would definitely reveal himself in his expression. But no, all that was displayed on Liu Ziqi’s face was simple surprise.

“Mr. Liu Ziqi, do you still think Mr. Zhao Menglin is the murderer?”

Facing Lu Yao’s question, Liu Ziqi was perplexed for a moment before answering.

“To be honest, I’m starting to get confused myself.”

Unable to guess Liu Ziqi’s true intentions, Lu Yao looked at him suspiciously.

“I took over this company from my adoptive father, and of course I must protect it and carry it forward. Therefore, if Zhao Menglin really killed my adoptive father, I really hope to defend him by reason of insanity. This way, the damage to the company can be minimized, and the IPO can proceed as scheduled.”

From Liu Ziqi’s voice, one could hear a sincerity that had never been detected before.

“However, if Zhao Menglin is not the murderer, then we must find the real culprit no matter what. This is no longer a matter of considering whether the company’s business will be affected, but a matter of justice.”

Lu Yao stared at Liu Ziqi’s face, but couldn’t tell if he was acting.

“What I want to say is that, in addition to the defense direction of lawyer Hou Yunling, I will prepare to make the greatest effort and assistance to find the real murderer.”

“…Then I would be very grateful.”

Perhaps sensing the doubt in Lu Yao’s gaze, Liu Ziqi smiled slightly.

“Of course, you are also very clear that you cannot exclude yourself from the list of suspects. Therefore, you should first prove your innocence, which can also save each other’s time.”

“Can you prove it?”

“No. First of all, you have no motive.”

“Is that so? Please forgive me for being presumptuous, after the death of the former chairman Zhou Runmin, you can rightfully inherit the company, and you can also be said to be the biggest beneficiary.”

Although she wanted to provoke the other party’s inner defenses, Liu Ziqi was unmoved.

“My adoptive father had brain surgery last year. Although it was nominally a ligation surgery for an unruptured aneurysm, the real diagnosis was actually a brain tumor.”

Lu Yao felt a blow.

“Really?”

“You can confirm this by investigating at the hospital, or you can issue a consent form for applying for medical records.”

“When did you find out about this?”

“I knew after the surgery, because the doctor told me, not your adoptive father personally. Furthermore, regrettably, because the location of the brain tumor was relatively tricky, it could not be completely removed.”

“So…?”

“The doctor declared that my adoptive father had less than a year to live.”

Indeed, it was unlikely that someone would not even be able to wait such a short time, and risk ruining their entire future by committing murder. Solely in terms of motive, there was no denying that Liu Ziqi’s suspicion had indeed been greatly reduced.

“On the day of the incident, you happened to be out of town, may I ask where you went?” Wang Linfei asked.

“I had an appointment with someone.”

“Can you tell us who the other person is?”

“Yes. It’s someone from an American investment company.”

Liu Ziqi took out a business card and handed it to Wang Linfei. The senior executive of this American investment company was named James.

“Did you specifically choose to meet last Sunday?”

“Because the content of the conversation was sensitive, this time was convenient for both parties.”

“Where was the meeting place?”

“The small hall of Fuqing Restaurant.”

Even if the staff in the restaurant could not come forward to confirm, as long as the person he met, James, came forward to testify, Liu Ziqi could completely get rid of suspicion.

As it stood, one had to admit that his alibi was impeccable.

…

The soles of the tennis shoes made a rustling sound.

From short strokes to sharp downward swings of the racket.

The rubber ball, flattened by a strong impact, hit the opposite wall at a speed of nearly two hundred kilometers per hour, then bounced back and hit the tempered glass behind it.

After turning around, the ball, scooped up by the swinging racket, bounced off the wall to the left and then to the right.

After adjusting her posture, she spiked the opposite wall again.

Lu Yao’s imposing ball skills attracted several spectators to gather outside the glass wall.

She originally wanted to do a verification confirmation first, but along the way, she accidentally turned the verification site into a courtroom.

Who would have thought that the bottom of the sofa would be too wide for the caretaker robot to lift it up? How could she have predicted that?

Even so, she still felt a bellyful of fire.

Looking around, everyone was an enemy. Even if Hou Yunling was a legal consultant for Maoyuan International Group, so it was understandable, what about the attitude of the others?

Police officers should speak out shamelessly about their ideals, saying that they want to speak up for justice, so if they make mistakes, they can only be laughed at by others?

Seeing the blue rubber ball floating in front of her, Lu Yao swung her racket forcefully, then ducked nimbly to avoid the ball bouncing back from the wall, like a boxer. Several spectators cheered.

Turning around and looking ahead, she found several women staring at her with idiotic expressions. That look was exactly the same as the heads lined up outside the chairman’s office.

Lu Yao smashed the rubber ball, which had bounced twice off the wall, towards the audience.

With a thud, the tempered glass baffle swayed, and seeing the women who were frightened out of their wits, Lu Yao felt a little better.

After thirty minutes of venting, she was finally able to relieve her depression. Compared with tennis, squash consumes about twice as many calories per unit time. Because she hadn’t exercised for too long, her legs were shaking, and after taking off her goggles, Lu Yao was covered in sweat.

After showering in the gym’s shower room, she felt that her anger had disappeared. However, she anticipated that she would fall into boundless disappointment next. The emotional damage she had suffered today seemed to be deeper than she had imagined.

Helplessly, she needed comfort now more than ever.

At this time, if she had a boyfriend, she might be able to get some comfort. Lu Yao had not had a relationship for more than three years since she went to the “Special Criminal Investigation Unit”.

The problem was not that she only encountered bad men, but that she could always see where these people were bad at first glance. Moreover, now that she thought about it, according to general social standards, these men might not have been so bad. However, even if she could think that way now, it was too late.

Without a reservation, she didn’t expect that the single room in the beauty salon was still vacant.

She had a painful experience before, the entire large room was only separated by partitions, and the voices of the guests next door could not be blocked. She thought to herself that at least she could get a moment of peace in the beauty salon, but there was a young girl who kept talking to the beautician from beginning to end. It seemed that she was a white-collar worker in a large company, and she had specially purchased a chest and back care treatment in order to wear a backless wedding dress. From the constant chatter to the boasting about the appearance and income of her marriage partner, Lu Yao, unable to avoid it, could only listen to her endless nagging, which only made her feel more stressed.

Lu Yao purchased a full body treatment, and after showering again, with her ** body only in paper underwear and a bathrobe, she lay down on the beauty chair.

Although her income was higher than that of ordinary white-collar workers, after deducting the car loan, she didn’t actually have much spare money to go to beauty salons often. She hadn’t felt this way for a long time, and as the beautician’s skillful fingertips performed a facial massage, her body and mind gradually relaxed.

Speaking of which, Lu Yao’s three magic weapons for relieving stress were: playing squash alone, full body care at a beauty salon, and finally eating chocolate. Although it was better than getting drunk, it was hard to say whether she was cherishing her body or ruining it. In particular, from a woman’s point of view, she must think she was inexplicable and incomprehensible.

However, if she didn’t do this, it would be difficult to continue this high-pressure job. Probably no industry is like the police, which gives a good image in society, but actually has a considerable gap.

She had long realized that even if she found a good man in this industry, it would be in vain.

Lu Yao sighed deeply.

At this time, for some reason, Liu Ziqi’s face suddenly appeared in her mind.

What was she thinking? He was already married.

Wait, no, no. This was not right, Lu Yao quickly dispelled her thoughts.

That man might be the real murderer in this case.

That being said, he had been ruled out in terms of motive and opportunity to commit the crime, and although it had not been confirmed, he at least had an alibi. Individually, although it was not completely unquestionable, it was still difficult to list him as the murderer at this stage.

Moreover, when he said that Zhou Runmin’s murder was a “matter of justice”, his tone was indeed very imposing. His arrogant attitude made him difficult to approach, and he always seemed aloof. She had to admit that he was a consistent person.

At least compared to people like lawyer Hou, he seemed to have more depth.

There was another person who could be considered a man who would attract her.

However, after thinking about it, this wouldn’t work either. Although the fact that he seemed to be single could add points, she never understood what he was thinking, and it might be worse than Liu Ziqi.

Besides, he was now her leader…

Perhaps it was because she was always involved with some unpromising bad men that she developed a resistance, and felt that this self-confident woman who devoted herself to reasoning and always thought she was smarter than others was okay…

In the rhythmic foot massage, the relaxed mood gradually turned into sleepiness. Her half-closed eyes reflected the image of the young beautician wearing a nurse-like uniform and massaging her.

Suddenly, Lu Yao opened her eyes and sat up.

“Ah… does it hurt?”

Startled by her reaction, the beautician stopped.

“Oh, no. I just thought of something, please continue.”

Seeing Lu Yao’s smiling face, the beautician seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and resumed the treatment.

What surprised Lu Yao was that the same beautician who had been serving her every time during the facial massage had been replaced by another person at some point.

Thinking about it carefully, everyone had different specialties in each part, and it was probably impossible for only one person to serve a customer from beginning to end.

All the beauticians wore the same uniform, and each store seemed to have a set hairstyle and makeup style, so it was not surprising to be mistaken.

In that case, why was she so alarmed?

Just in the semi-conscious state, a fleeting thought flashed through her mind….

That’s right, she remembered.

Even when thinking about other things, the mystery of the locked room still lingered in the depths of her subconscious, and could not be dispelled. Perhaps the unconscious part of her brain had already noticed it when she saw the police hand over that form with its flamboyant handwriting.

However, she was only now beginning to understand.

The murderer should be someone beyond ordinary people’s expectations, someone that ordinary people could not understand. As for the motive, she could not imagine it at this stage.

However, if her assumption was correct, it might be possible for the locked room murder to be established.

Even if she tried desperately to relax, how could she easily suppress the excitement that surged into her heart?

…

The night view of Fengyun City seen through the glass windows of the high-rise hotel.

Seeing Wang Linfei appear at the entrance of the bar, Lu Yao raised her hand to signal.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

“Not at all, I just arrived too. What would you like to drink?”

Lu Yao was drinking a tropical cocktail decorated with mangoes. Finally, Wang Linfei ordered a glass of whole wheat whiskey for himself.

“You specially asked me to come all the way here, is it for the mystery of the locked room afterwards? You want me to listen to your reasoning and give some advice?” Wang Linfei nodded.

“I’ve seen the pictures you sent just now.”

“Just looking at that picture, I think it should be difficult to understand.”

“Yes. Yesterday’s picture was quite easy to understand, but this time, it would be difficult to say without explanation. However, in terms of the direction of thinking, it should be correct.”

“Really?”

“So far, we have exhausted all kinds of methods to thoroughly investigate the mystery of the locked room. It seems that there is only one possibility left, and that is that the real murderer deceived the surveillance camera.”

“I see… so it’s really correct.”

Lu Yao became more confident.

“In fact, you also have the same way of thinking. Although it is also a way to deceive the surveillance camera, there is also a possibility. I don’t know if it makes sense.”

“I’m all ears.” Lu Yao took a sip of her drink.

“It’s to use small photos. Well, even the largest one should be around B0 size…”

Wang Linfei remained expressionless, quietly finished his drink, and ordered a double drink for a refill.

“In the case of a corridor with only one person, the image displayed is almost a still picture, right? In this case, even if it is replaced with a photo, I think it should not be seen. The resolution of the surveillance cameras in Maoyuan Building was not very good in the first place, plus the video tape is reused, the picture particles should be very coarse, right?”

“Yes. This idea sounds a bit stupid, but as long as the photo size is large enough, and the angle of the light is natural, it may be difficult to distinguish that it is a photo under a normal CCD camera.”

“Really? Then, is it not completely impossible?”

“However, there are four major problems.”

Wang Linfei guided in a very serious tone.

“First, if you want to place the photo, you must do so after the corridor is clear on the day of the incident. The surveillance camera was already in operation at that time. If the murderer was not Santa Claus, the scene of placing the photo would have been filmed.”

At this moment, a ripple-like strange expression flashed across Wang Linfei’s face.

“…Second, if you only look at the photo from beginning to end, you may really be able to fool through. However, if the scene is initially a live image, and then it is replaced with a photo, there will be a clear difference in the texture of the image. Even that lazy security guard should have noticed it, and the police from the Huangle District Police Station can see it at a glance when checking the video. Third, after the incident, when the murderer wants to take the photo, the camera should also film the murderer’s appearance. Finally, such a large photo and the frame for fixing it must be disposed of before the police arrive…”

“Stop it.”

Lu Yao waved her hand to prevent Wang Linfei from continuing.

“Indeed, any one of these four points seems to have fatal flaws. I understand, I retract the photo assumption.” Lu Yao said dejectedly.

“What I really want to hear your opinion on is this hypothesis,” Wang Linfei said.

“When you first came up with this idea, you were trying to doubt and prove the relevant evidence that the scene was a locked room. You believe that, in our speculation, in addition to the objective evidence of the surveillance camera filming the image, we are also greatly restricted by the police’s said survival time.”

Wang Linfei nodded quietly.

“The current estimated survival time is between 12:59 PM and 1:15 PM, a total of twenty minutes. And the determination that the scene is a locked room is based on this time. However, if this time is pushed back slightly, the whole situation will change completely, right?”

“I have almost no concept of estimating the time of death, but is it possible that the Huangle District police’s judgment is wrong?”

“In this case, the police arrived at the scene only one or two hours after the victim’s survival. It is generally believed that the estimated survival time in this situation should be quite accurate, right? However, there is actually a trap in it.”

“How do you say that?”

“After a period of time after survival, the survival time of the body can be estimated in units of one hour, but if it is a body that has not survived for long, it is impossible to estimate the survival time in units of minutes. Because the so-called livor mortis, rigor mortis and other phenomena, as well as the digestion of food in the stomach cannot be used as a reference.”

“Can’t you estimate it from the change in body temperature?”

“No, in the end, you can only measure the temperature inside the rectum to determine it. However, even in winter, the degree of body temperature rise is only one degree per hour. Plus, within two or three hours after survival, the body has not yet reached cold balance, and the rate of body temperature rise is even faster. In addition, each person’s body temperature has individual differences, and room temperature, clothing and other conditions may also cause slight effects. The so-called time from 12:59 PM to 1:15 PM can actually be said to be a number determined based on the testimony of the person involved. …In other words, if the person involved deliberately lied, the entire time of the incident could differ by about twenty minutes without any abnormality being detected.”

Because the light was dim, it should be difficult to read carefully, but when the refilled whiskey was brought to him, Wang Linfei still stared intently. Lu Yao took out a form and focused her eyes on the form in her hand.

“…Speaking of which, is the time recorded on this form accurate?”

“Basically, this is a number summarized by the Huangle District police, and it should be correct. Moreover, the recording on the video tape is also in units of seconds.”

“Has the video tape itself been verified?” Chunzi shook her head.

“Even if the lawyer makes a request, the police are not very willing to disclose the evidence they have. It may have to wait until the prosecutor formally indicts Mr. Zhao Menglin, and then apply to inspect the evidence. Considering the defendant’s right to defense, this is really unfair…. Even this form, I got it after all kinds of hardships.”

Lu Yao took a sip of her cocktail to moisten her throat, and continued:

“…The order in which the three people entered and left the office is recorded on the table. First, Jiang Kefan left the secretary’s office and entered Zhao Menglin’s office, and then Li Meng walked into the chairman’s office. Next, Wang Shasha entered the general manager’s office, and Jiang Kefan returned to the secretary’s office. Then, after Li Meng came back, Jiang Kefan entered Zhao Menglin’s office again. Finally, the order of returning to the secretary’s office was Wang Shasha and Jiang Kefan.”

Wang Linfei stared straight at the table, as if trying to see a hole in it.

“Any thoughts?”

“Well, since the three offices are connected, all three people have the opportunity to commit the crime. However, unfortunately, the stay time is too short. If the record on this table is accurate, the longest stay time for Wang Shasha is only 18 seconds. If you want to commit murder in such a short time, unless you are a professional killer, I think it is impossible.”

“I also thought it was impossible at first.”

Lu Yao sipped her cocktail, suppressing the confidence and complacency in her heart.

“Captain Wang, how long do you think it would take to commit the crime?”

“You’re stumped. The problem is that we don’t even know the method of committing the crime. To put it to the extreme, if you just enter the office, pick up the murder weapon, attack with the murder weapon, and then walk out of the office, you may be able to complete it in 18 seconds. However, I think these are just theoretical discussions.”

“What if the entire time is controlled within 40 seconds? Do you think it can be barely completed?”

“It’s hard to say.”

“This is different from the case of more than ten seconds, you can’t immediately say that it can’t be done, right?”

Lu Yao took out a small piece of paper from her bag and handed it to Wang Linfei.

“Actually, this is my inspiration.”

Wang Linfei showed a surprised expression when he saw the words printed on the paper.

“Gele Theater, Passionate Performance… What is this?”

“The program that Wang Shasha is participating in the theater troupe is about to perform. She violated the company’s rules and took on a side job. Recently, she seems to have started to be demoted to a major actor. I bought tickets yesterday.”

“What inspiration did this give you?”

Lu Yao nonchalantly finished a glass of cocktail.

“I have a friend from college who is now an editor of a small magazine. She is very familiar with small theaters. I asked her about this play, and she knew it immediately. I heard that some people gave it quite good reviews.”

“What kind of play is it?”

“The stage of the story is on a luxury cruise ship. Those who are on board include wanted murderers, pursuing police officers, lesbian couples who embezzled huge sums of money and eloped, a factory owner seeking suicide, a psychic high school student, etc…. Would you like to hear the general story?”

“No, I don’t need to hear that. Just tell me what gave you the inspiration.”

“Okay…. There are more than 30 characters in this play, but there are less than 10 actors performing.”

“Does that mean one person plays multiple roles?”

“Yes. And throughout the play, there are several times when they change clothes and roles in a very short instant. In other words, the selling point of this play is the quick change of clothes.”

Lu Yao took out another piece of paper from the transparent file and placed it on the table. In addition to deleting the time when the three secretaries entered the office on the table just now, some words and symbols were also added.

“…Do you mean this? Jiang Kefan entered Zhao Menglin’s office at 12:34:52, but then, the person who left first and then entered Zhao Menglin’s office again was not her. Li Meng pretended to be Jiang Kefan to leave, and with Wang Shasha’s cover, created a blank of nine seconds in the entire process, and the real Jiang Kefan herself never left Zhao Menglin’s office from beginning to end?”

Wang Linfei looked at the table and asked questions.

“Well, in this case, she has a full 42 seconds to use in the chairman’s office. Perhaps this is the time required for the crime that was calculated in advance?”

“I’m saying, the three secretaries are working together?”

“That’s right. This is a time-allocation murder case conspired by the three secretaries.”

Wang Linfei was stunned and at a loss.

“How does Jiang Kefan explain the reason for her second entry into Zhao Menglin’s office?”

“She said she forgot to take the documents that needed to be instructed by the director, so she came back to take them. However, this kind of statement should be easy for the secretary to say, right? What you want to ask is, is this technique actually possible?”

“Well… well…. Although the so-called changing clothes often appears in the fictional world, but returning to reality, I think the difficulty should be very high, right?”

“You’ve also thought about this, but they have amazing advantages.”

Lu Yao leaned forward and explained more actively.

“The heights of the three people are all between 1.57 meters and 1.63 meters, and their body types are neither fat nor thin. Even the high heels they wear are similar in white and have similar styles. In the images filmed by the camera, it should not be possible to see any difference. The only features that can be clearly identified are clothing, hairstyle and glasses. In addition, if they imitate each other’s posture and walking style, they should be able to seamlessly replace each other.”

Lu Yao took out the third piece of paper and placed it on the table. The paper contained simple illustrations of the three people’s clothing on the day of the incident, and also included notes.

According to the description in this information, Jiang Kefan did not wear glasses and had short curly hair. The clothing on her body was a shirt and a knitted vest, and the lower body was a knee-length skirt. She walked with large strides and held her head high.

And Wang Shasha, of course, did not wear glasses. She had short hair with slightly curled ends. She wore a pants suit that day. She walked a little pigeon-toed and moved slowly.

Li Meng was the only one of the three who wore glasses and had a medium-length hairstyle tied up. She wore a tight skirt suit, and her characteristic was that she walked with large strides but moved quickly.

“All you need to prepare are similar clothes, glasses, and wigs. How is it? Is it very simple?”

“…However, even if the image of the surveillance camera is too coarse, it will be discovered as long as the face is filmed. The three people don’t look alike at all.”

“This is the ingenious part of the whole technique!”

Lu Yao interrupted her explanation and continued, “Take a closer look at this table. The only places where the face must be covered are (A), (B), and (C). The other five scenes are where the person can show his true face. And (A) and (C) are behind Zhao Menglin’s office, and (B) is behind the chairman’s office, which is the ingenious arrangement.”

“What do you mean?” Wang Linfei asked in confusion.

“The surveillance camera is set up to patrol the entrances of the three offices, right? In this case, the back of the general manager’s office in the middle should be the most accurate position for the camera’s focus, right? And because there is a distance from the back of Zhao Menglin’s office, the expression or posture of the person will be filmed a little blurry. As long as you turn your face away or use a document to cover it slightly, you can easily fool through. Conversely, when you are behind the chairman’s office, as long as you get as close to the wall as possible and pass through from the upper side of the camera, your face will not be filmed at all.”

“The surveillance camera will automatically adjust the focus, and isn’t it too strange to pass through in this walking style? In addition, there are only six or seven seconds to carry out the massive transformation. Isn’t the difficulty a bit too high?”

“This is not a problem. There are a total of four changes of clothes, and three of them are Wang Shasha. How can she be said to be one of the protagonists of the quick-change stage play? For her, it’s easy.”

Lu Yao originally expected Wang Linfei’s reaction, but he didn’t seem too enthusiastic.

“Well, you still think this sounds like a joke…”

“If it’s really as I inferred, then almost all the outstanding problems can be solved. First, it’s the disappearance of the murder weapon. In addition to being able to freely enter and leave the chairman’s office, two of them have also left the building, so it should be easy to dispose of the murder weapon. In addition, there are only Jiang Kefan’s fingerprints on the doorknob, which is nothing strange.”

“I see, but…”

“Not only these, but it can also explain the method of giving the chairman sleeping pills. If the three of them are the murderers, can’t they easily put the medicine in the coffee after lunch? And their statements that they later drank the remaining coffee can also be ignored.”

“Indeed, perhaps this is a small highlight.” Wang Linfei still showed a hesitant attitude.

“In any case, you still have to actually watch the video tape and confirm it. If there are still doubts after watching the tape, discuss the possibility of execution.”

“Does Captain Wang have a negative opinion on this assumption?”

“You can say that, I really can’t imagine that this is the truth.”

“What is the reason?” Lu Yao asked eagerly.

“First of all, it is very questionable whether three ordinary white-collar workers have the motive to commit this tightrope-walking murder case. Moreover, quantifying human actions is not the same as studying the actions of robots. Even if it changes from 18 seconds to 42 seconds, it should be psychologically impossible for ordinary people to commit murder in such a short time.”

“…Indeed, that’s what I think.”

Lu Yao drank the sidecar, and felt a sense of relief deep in her heart. She actually felt uneasy about treating the secretary, who was also a woman, as a murderer. Perhaps, she just wanted to use Enomoto to crush the doubts in her heart.

“Lu Yao, do you know a short story by Chesterton (G.K.Chesterton) called “The Invisible Man”?”

After a moment of silence, Wang Linfei suddenly asked.

“Well, I used to be a fan of detective novels. However, I forgot the story.”

“A man is murdered in his apartment room, but at the time of the incident, there are several people guarding the stairs leading to the room and the road in front. Even so, the murderer not only freely entered and left that room, but even transported the body outside. The main content of this novel is to explore this mystery, why can’t everyone see the murderer?”

The blurred memories gradually awakened, that murderer, she remembered….

“Could it be that this case is using a similar method?”

“No, that story is simply impossible to establish in the modern world.”

Wang Linfei brought the whiskey close to his mouth.

“However, the reason why this novel reminds you of this case is because the murderer should have passed through the back of the surveillance camera before sneaking into the chairman’s office. There is no other way. In that case, the security guard watching the screen should be able to see it, and it should also be recorded on the tape. However, both of these have no way to capture the figure of the murderer, which is simply “The Invisible Man”!”

Lu Yao also recalled the novel she had read more than ten years ago.

“By the way, Father Brown’s assistant, a woman named Flambeau, isn’t she a reformed thief?”

“Forget that story!” Wang Linfei replied expressionlessly.

“Only, what makes you feel the strangest is that in the book “The Invisible Man”, not only did the victim make a lot of money by developing a maid-type robot, but a robot was also placed at the scene of the crime.”

This was simply predicting the case that happened in the real world. Thinking about this novel written more than ninety years ago, how could Chesterton adopt this unconventional theme? It was really unimaginable.

“Wait, your idea is that although the murderer was seen, he was cleverly disguised to fool through. But, Captain Wang believes that everyone can’t see the murderer?”

“Yes.”

“But, how did you do it? Could it be that the murderer is wearing a dog’s invisible coat?”

“I heard that the United States is currently researching military-specific, invisible coats.”

“Don’t try to change the subject, hurry up and explain.”

Lu Yao began to be impatient.

“If the object being viewed has no way to disappear physically, then the problem should lie with the observer. If things that are naturally visible cannot be seen, what do I think is the reason?”

“Stop beating around the bush, who is the murderer?” Lu Yao asked unhappily.

Wang Linfei moved his eyes to look at Lu Yao.

“Last night, I was thinking, could it be Hu Jianlei?”

“…Hu Jianlei?”

Lu Yao asked in confusion.

“It’s the security guard at the scene of the incident, the person who is watching the surveillance camera image. If he is the murderer, it is possible to replace the image. However, today I used the same model to do a verification experiment, and I realized that it is actually quite difficult to modify the content of the image without leaving evidence.”

“And even if you can modify the image, the time change of the image cannot be faked at all. The external staircase at the end of the west corridor has a small window of frosted glass that can transmit light. During the day, light will shine in from the small window, and the length of the shadow falling on the corridor will change somewhat with the time and season. In this regard, I also got news from the relevant personnel of the Huangle District Police Station. He said that after observing the video image of the day of the incident, he did not find anything unusual.”

“The relevant personnel of the Huangle District Police Station are quite helpful,” Lu Yao said with a smile.

“However, in the end, you still didn’t get anything?”

Lu Yao felt quite disappointed and drained the cocktail in one gulp.

“No, that’s not entirely true. Now, listening to your reasoning, I have gained important inspiration from it.”

“What inspiration?”

“I think, the murderer ultimately constructed the locked room condition by stealing time, right? Although it is slightly different from the method of the three secretaries performing the changing clothes play.”

“Stealing time…?”

Lu Yao opened her mouth in surprise. Although she wanted to continue to question Wang Linfei, neither her words nor her thoughts could operate flexibly.

“Hey, stop teasing, tell you. Have I deduced who the murderer is?”

“Well.”

Wang Linfei smiled slightly.

“Maybe, it’s even Santa Claus!”

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