Chapter 1 The Police Investigation

The police investigation had begun, or rather, it could be said that Feng Bujue's investigation had begun.

After chatting with Schofield for a few words, Brother Jue learned that there were only four police officers in total who had come to investigate the murder at this mountain villa... besides Schofield and the two subordinates he brought into the house, there was one left outside watching the car.

But this was also reasonable. Police stations in such remote areas had very limited resources. Sending two police cars and four police officers to the scene already indicated that they attached great importance to the case.

"It's getting a bit late, Detective. Have you considered having your men take the body back to town for examination?" Feng Bujue asked this question while kneeling on one knee on the floor beside the body, bringing his head close to Dennis's neck to carefully observe the wound.

At this time, the people in the corridor outside the door had left, with one police officer standing guard at the door, and another starting to take some preliminary notes.

"There's only one clinic in town, and I don't think the doctor there can handle this kind of work," Schofield replied. "Our town rarely has such murder cases. If we want an autopsy, we'll probably have to send the body to Ogilvy City, which is half a day's drive from here. The police station there has a forensic doctor..."

"Alright," Feng Bujue interrupted. "Never mind I asked." As he said this, he stood up, walked behind the sofa chair, held Dennis's head, moved it gently, looked at it for a few seconds, and said, "He was strangled to death. The wound is very thin, extending to the back of the neck. The murder weapon should be something like a wire or fishing line."

"Hmm..." Schofield followed Feng Bujue and also saw the condition behind Dennis's neck.

Feng Bujue continued, "In addition to the wound cut by the line, there are many irregular small wounds on the front of the neck." He raised the deceased's hand, used a toothpick to pick out a strand of flesh from his fingernails, and said, "Obviously, he scratched it himself with his fingers."

Schofield thought for a moment and replied, "Hmm... is this what he left behind when he was strangled from behind and tried to pull the line away?"

"A futile struggle," Feng Bujue said coldly. "As long as the murderer strangles tightly enough, even if he uses hemp rope as a murder weapon, it's difficult for the victim to stick his fingers into the gap between the hemp rope and the skin, let alone such a thin line... If the murderer's arm strength is strong enough, it's possible to cut off the entire head."

Listening to Brother Jue's calm narration and looking at his cold, focused expression... even Schofield, a detective who had seen a lot, couldn't help but shiver.

"The carpet in front of the sofa chair has traces of being pushed by the deceased's toes, with obvious folds in several layers." Feng Bujue lowered his gaze. "Combining the scuff marks on the carpet... the preliminary judgment is that he was strangled to death alive while sitting in this chair. After he died, the murderer didn't move him."

Speaking of which, Feng Bujue suddenly saw something. He bent down, slightly pushed aside the deceased's leg, and picked up a cigarette butt from the cushion of the sofa chair.

In the next second, he immediately turned his head to look at the ashtray on the small table next to him, which also contained several cigarette butts. Brother Jue took the two to compare and smelled them, confirming that they were the same brand, and muttered, "Was he smoking when he was killed..."

"So... the murderer hid somewhere in this room beforehand, approached the target secretly from behind, and then suddenly struck?" Schofield speculated.

Feng Bujue shook his head and replied, "The only places to hide in this room are under the bed, the closet, and the bathroom next door." He walked to the bathroom and gently pushed the bathroom door. The wooden door shaft immediately made a creaking sound. "Most of these wooden doors and furniture make this kind of noise. If the murderer was hiding in the bathroom or closet, there would definitely be a sound when they came out." He came to the bed, "As for under the bed, it's difficult for an adult to hide in there, and the deceased's face is facing this bed, so he would be seen when they came out."

"Then... it means that the deceased knew that the murderer was in the same room as him before he was killed," Schofield said after a few seconds of thought. "But he wasn't prepared."

Feng Bujue shrugged and said, "Yes, the murderer must be someone who knew Dennis. So, when the murderer walked into Dennis's blind spot and took out the murder weapon, Dennis was still smoking leisurely."

"Sure enough, the murderer is in this villa..." Schofield muttered thoughtfully.

"What? It sounds like you already have a suspect?" Feng Bujue said.

"Uh... just some immature ideas," Schofield said.

"Feel free to share, Detective," Feng Bujue said.

Schofield hesitated for a moment, glanced at the direction of the door (the door remained open), and then lowered his voice slightly, "I suspect... it's Mr. Coulston."

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Feng Bujue asked.

"Don't you think... that old man seems too calm?" Schofield said, "His words and deeds don't seem like the reaction an old man should have just after experiencing the pain of losing a son."

"No, his reaction is normal. Before you came, when he first learned of his son's murder, he was indeed very agitated, but he calmed down faster than most people," Feng Bujue said. "Because he's not an ordinary old man." He paused. "There are at least four obvious signs on Coulston that indicate he has a military background, and Dennis also mentioned this to me. Coulston has probably seen more corpses than you and I have seen living people. His will is strong, and he's rational enough. This kind of person won't collapse easily."

As Feng Bujue spoke, he walked to the window. "Also... you saw that Mr. Coulston needs a cane to walk, and the murderer in this case must hold the murder weapon with both hands and get close to the victim." As he spoke, his eyes lit up, as if he had found something on the edge of the window frame, but his narration did not stop. "Besides... if he was in the same room with his father, Dennis wouldn't turn his back to him while smoking and talking. That would be too disrespectful."

"Did you find something?" Schofield also noticed Feng Bujue's actions and quickly followed to check.

"Ah... I just figured out how the murderer escaped from the locked room," Feng Bujue replied in a very relaxed tone. "It's not a difficult problem." He pointed to the window frame. "Look here..."

Schofield followed Brother Jue's direction and saw a very light-colored bloodstain with neat edges. "What does that mean?"

"It means the murderer directly used the murder weapon to create this locked room," Feng Bujue said, then opened the window and leaned out to look. "The foundation of this villa is quite thick, and the windowsill is about 1.7 meters above the grass outside." As he spoke, he climbed out. Anyway, this was only the first floor...

"Hmm... besides Coulston and Oliver, everyone else is a suspect." After Feng Bujue jumped onto the lawn outside, he muttered and began to check the footprints with his head down.