Chapter 135: Chapter 135

His gaze immediately settled on Jiang An.

After a moment, Jiang An replied, "Mr. Li, that’s why I think this incomplete footprint could very likely be left by the murderer."

The other three in the office instantly focused their attention on the blood-stained shoe print at that spot.

After a careful observation, Zhang Yean suddenly said, "This shoe print only has a part of the heel."

"Moreover, there isn’t a national footprint database established yet, so we can’t conduct a footprint comparison."

"There are many shoes of the same size, making it difficult to make an identification by comparison."

After hearing Zhang Yean’s analysis, Wan also looked disappointed.

"In this case, what does it matter if we deduce now that this is the murderer’s shoe print?"

As everyone felt that this shoe print was of little significance, Jiang An suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Li, my view is the exact opposite."

"I think this shoe print is very valuable."

In an instant, all three looked toward Jiang An.

Jiang An replied, "In our discussion just now, we unanimously agreed that the primary crime scene is on the 10th floor."

"So why did the murderer approach the body downstairs?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yean said, "Could it be that the murderer came down to confirm whether the victim was completely dead?"

Jiang An said, "I don’t quite agree with that idea."

"For a height of 10 stories, according to our general understanding, falling from such a height usually means certain death."

Li Jian slightly raised his head and asked, "What do you think the murderer’s purpose was in going downstairs?"

After thinking for a while, Jiang An replied, "Mr. Li, I have a bold idea now."

"I think the murderer pursuing the victim to the 10th floor was definitely not a moment of impulsive crime."

"It was a premeditated crime."

"Moreover, I don’t believe the murderer fought with the victim barehanded."

"After all, the victim’s height and weight aren’t something an average person can easily knock down."

"I believe the murderer went to the 10th floor to find the victim, certainly carrying a weapon."

"It’s just that the weapon might have been controlled and taken by the victim Liu Jun during their struggle."

"And we cannot rule out the possibility that Liu Jun threw the weapon aside."

Hearing this, all three wore expressions of disbelief.

It truly was a bold idea.

Jiang An continued, "I now believe the murderer risked going to the body mainly to search for the weapon."

"However, due to the poor lighting that night and hastily taking the wrong path, they accidentally stepped into the blood next to the body."

"We have conducted a thorough search of the scene and found no other tools."

"However, we haven’t thoroughly searched the ground around the body yet."

Then, Jiang An suddenly said, "Mr. Li, I think it’s necessary to go back to the scene once more to conduct a more detailed and comprehensive search."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yean looked puzzled, "We had a careful look beside the body three months ago during the scene examination, and indeed found no other valuable clues."

After hearing that, Li Jian thought for a moment and nodded.

"Jiang An’s hypothesis isn’t without reason."

"It fits well with the problematic issue you mentioned before."

"If the murderer was prepared, why not bring tools?"

"If the tool was controlled by Liu Jun and thrown away during the initial use or the struggle, this explanation seems quite reasonable."

Immediately after, Li Jian said, "Tomorrow, we’ll return to the primary crime scene and carry out a carpet search again."

After he finished speaking, Li Jian looked at Jiang An, sighed, and asked, "Things didn’t go well in the interrogation room earlier; we are quite passive now."

Jiang An looked at the photos on the computer screen.

"Mr. Li, after seeing Chen Feng’s appearance, I felt he didn’t look like the murderer."

"Do you have any solid reasons why?"

"The victim was about 1.8 meters tall, but Chen Feng is only a little over 1.6 meters tall."

"With such a height difference, I don’t think even if Chen Feng had a 1.5-meter-long steel bar, he could easily cause the head injury to the victim Liu Jun."

"Moreover, the victim Liu Jun was very robust, probably weighing around 180 pounds."

"The drag marks we noticed at the scene were faintly visible and not very evident."

"This fully demonstrates that during the dragging of the body, most of the weight wasn’t concentrated on both feet but was born by the murderer."

"Therefore, I think the murderer should be someone quite sturdy and strong."

"But Chen Feng’s physique looks somewhat frail."

After hearing this, Wan picked up a broom from the office and held it in his hand.

He went behind Li Jian, making a swinging gesture.

After simulating it, he said, "Jiang An, what you said makes a lot of sense."

"Mr. Li is more than 10 centimeters taller than me; even if I use this broom handle to hit him, I might not necessarily reach his head."

"Therefore, analyzing from height and physique, I think Chen Feng shouldn’t be the murderer."

Previously, everyone considered Chen Feng a suspect.

But after just over an hour, they had almost excluded Chen Feng as a suspect.

After a long silence, Captain Li Jian said, "Although we have reduced the possibility of Chen Feng being the suspect based on individual characteristics, his suspicion hasn’t been completely eliminated and he must remain in the interrogation room."

After hearing this, Wan nodded and said, "Yes! Mr. Li."

Then Zhang Yean asked, "Brother, which kind of weapon do you think the murderer used?"

After thinking for a while, Jiang An said, "Personally, I think the murderer likely had a dagger or a fruit knife."

The three were immediately shocked.

Zhang Yean curiously asked, "But we didn’t find any stab wounds on the body."

Wan also said, "Exactly."

"If the murderer carried a dagger or fruit knife, Liu Jun’s body should have knife injuries."

Regarding Jiang An’s sudden judgment, Li Jian looked a bit puzzled as well.

However, he didn’t voice his thoughts directly.

Instead, Jiang An walked to the computer, pulled up the static photos initially taken at the scene of the body.

He slid the mouse and enlarged the central part of the photo.

Then Jiang An turned and said, "There’s a fabric tear on the deceased Liu Jun’s shirt at the abdomen."

Wan took a glance and said, "That shouldn’t be surprising."

"Look, there’s a lot of tearing on other parts of the clothing."

"Moreover, when the body hit the ground, the tremendous force could also cause the clothing to tear."

"Brother, you’re right; whether it’s the tremendous impact when the body hit the ground or encountering obstacles during the fall, both could cause clothing tears."

"However, this tear here in the clothing is unique."

"Where is it unique?"

Wan leaned in closer to the screen and took a careful look.

Jiang An said, "The edge of this tear is very clean, unlike the frayed edges caused by ripping."

"Analyzing from the shape of the tear’s edges, I think it should have been cut by a sharp object."

Upon hearing Jiang An’s analysis, the other three once again focused on the edge of the fabric tear.

Zhang Yean observed it and excitedly said, "This edge is too neat."

"Compared to the other tear edges nearby, which have many burrs."

Li Jian also looked carefully and nodded gently.

As Jiang An said, the edge of the tear at this spot is very neat, aligning well with a sharp object’s cut. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

Then Zhang Yean curiously asked, "But while conducting the body examination this morning, we didn’t see any injuries on the deceased’s abdomen."

Jiang An nodded, taking a step back.

Then immediately, he slightly bent his waist into a curve and made a gesture of stabbing his abdomen with both hands.

"This tear in the clothing could likely have been caused when the murderer attacked with a knife, and the victim Liu Jun instinctively bent his waist to dodge."

"The tip of the knife merely tore the clothing without cutting the abdominal skin."

Immediately, the other three people reached a sudden understanding.

After a long time, Captain Li Jian said, "Jiang An’s observation is very meticulous."

"I also think this clothing tear wasn’t caused by ripping; it matches the kind of tool like a sharp fruit knife or dagger."

"In this case, we have reason to suspect the murderer was very likely prepared with a weapon during the crime."

"Moreover, after committing murder, they also risked coming to the body to find the weapon."

"That’s the best reason for the murderer to come to the body."

Finally, Captain Li Jian said, "Tomorrow, we’ll return to the original scene and carefully inspect every item there."

"No nook or cranny should be overlooked; strive to find the murder weapon."