Chapter 309 Physical evidence that cannot be hidden

Chapter 309 Physical evidence that cannot be hidden

The murderer is among everyone.

This shocking conclusion was announced.

Lin Xinyi, Haiyuan Ai, and Conan all looked normal and basically had no reaction.

Because they are all used to it.

Especially Conan.

But Nakamura, Shimoda, and Sakai, these three elementary school teachers who had never experienced big storms, were extremely shocked by it:

"W-what."

"No way, there is such a terrible guy hiding among us?"

They were all reluctant to believe Mao Lilan's conclusion.

But the fact is right in front of you:

"There is only one set of footprints, pointing to the front door of the villa."

"Unless the murderer can fly, he can only be in this villa now."

Mao Lilan repeated his findings.

"What about inside the villa?"

"If the murderer walked half a circle in the snow before escaping into the villa through the front door."

"Then there should be some snow flakes on the soles and uppers of his shoes."

"After entering the villa, there should still be water-stained footprints left by him on the ground at the entrance."

Lin Xinyi promptly raised questions:

If the murderer really escaped into the villa, there should be footprints left by him not only inside the villa.

"No."

Mao Lilan shook his head.

But what she gave was not a negative, but a positive answer:

"But there are no water-stained footprints in the room, not because the murderer did not enter the villa."

"Because the murderer threw the slippers he was wearing into the snow outside the door before he entered."

"He was smart enough not to just come in with these slippers on."

"Instead, I threw away my slippers stained with snow flakes at the door and changed into a pair of clean slippers at the entrance before I dared to enter."

"This makes me even more suspicious that the murderer is among us."

"This" Lin Xinyi's expression changed slightly.

He understood what Mao Lilan meant:

If the murderer had just come in wearing the slippers he had stepped on in the snow, the soles of the slippers on his feet would have been wet.

In this way, others can tell something is wrong at a glance.

So the murderer deliberately left the slippers wet with snow outside the door and changed into a pair of clean slippers at the door.

And this just shows.

The murderer is one of the people present now.

After all, if the murderer was someone other than them, a mysterious person hiding in the corner of the villa, then there would be no need for him to change into slippers.

Only those who need to rush to the scene quickly after the crime occurs, mix in the crowd and pretend to be innocent, and must appear in front of everyone, have the need to change slippers to disguise themselves.

"It seems that the murderer is indeed among us."

After coming to this conclusion, Lin Xinyi couldn't help but cast his eyes on Nakamura, Shimoda, and Sakai.

Although the investigation must be suspicious of everything, we cannot hide from each other.

Strictly speaking, everyone present could be the murderer.

But even leaving aside the motive for committing the crime

He was with Haihara Ai at the time of the crime and was not suspected of committing the crime.

Conan's small body did not allow him to cover an adult's mouth and nose from behind.

As for Mao Lilan and Belmode, if they were murderers, there would be no need for ether. If they attacked with bare hands, they could blow someone's head off.

Let’s temporarily exclude the two victims, Mr. Yonehara and Suzuki Sonoko.

The suspects were suddenly narrowed down to Nakamura, Shimoda, and Sakai.

"It's unlikely for Sakai either."

Lin Xinyi temporarily eliminated the suspicion of Teacher Sakai.

This is not because Mr. Sakai is a fan of his, so he is deliberately partial.

It's because they came to this villa today because of Teacher Sakai's initiative.

If he was the murderer, how could the murderer have planned to attack an acquaintance and even invited the police over?

So the possibility of Mr. Sakata is also very low.

"So, Ms. Nakamura, Mr. Shimoda."

"When the crime occurred, where were you and what were you doing?"

Lin Xinyi looked at the two of them with bright eyes.

And they seemed to realize that they had become the key suspects in this case.

"I was burning the fireplace with Sakai!"

Teacher Shimoda panicked and defended himself:

"The two of us were together at the time. If you don't believe me, ask Sakai."

"By the way, when the screams started coming, Miss Maori heard the sounds from her room and ran to the scene. When she passed by the living room, she should have seen the two of us in front of the fireplace."

"We just waited for a while before passing because we were afraid."

This is obviously an ironclad alibi.

After Mao Lilan nodded to provide evidence, the suspicions of Shimoda and Sakai could be completely eliminated.

This leaves the current suspects

"Ms. Nakamura."

Everyone turned their questioning eyes to Nakamura Minori.

The young female primary school teacher suddenly lost her beauty.

She struggled for a long time before saying in a panic and incoherently:

"I, I was alone in the kitchen preparing dinner for everyone."

One person, that is, no one can give her an alibi.

Teacher Nakamura’s suspicion is even greater.

At this time, Mao Lilan was still thinking about words with a tangled expression, and gave her a fatal blow:

"Actually, I also think that Mr. Nakamura is the most likely murderer."

"Because when I was tracking, I also paid attention to the characteristics of the footprints in the snow."

"Although I didn't observe carefully in order to come back to report the situation, I still made some discoveries:"

"First of all, the soles of the slippers that the murderer threw outside the door have the same pattern shape as the footprints in the snow. It can be determined that those slippers were worn by the murderer when he committed the crime."

"And this pair of slippers has a smaller shoe size."

Generally, women's shoe sizes are usually below size 24 and a half (size 38), and the forefoot width is usually below 8.5cm.

Men's shoe size and forefoot width are mostly above these two figures.

The shoe size is smaller, indicating that the owner of the footprints is likely to be a woman.

"Not only the shoe size, because the murderer left clear footprints on the snow, so I also paid attention to it."

"On the footprints she left, there are obvious signs of 'internal bulldozing' and 'internal rolling'."

As mentioned earlier, due to the physiological characteristics of women, when walking, the heels tend to move slightly inward and forward along the ground, causing the heels of the footprints to form a ridge-shaped pile of soil called "inward bulldozing."

When the bottom of the footprint is rolled between the heel and the forefoot, the force of the sole of the foot exerts force on the inside of the forefoot, often forming a pit-like indentation called "internal rolling".

Internal bulldozing and internal rolling are both characteristics of female footprints.

"So, based on the analysis of the footprints, the murderer is likely to be an adult female."

"As for the adult women in the villa today, I was with Miss Chrissy when the crime occurred, and Sonoko and Teacher Yonehara were the victims again."

"Then the only suspect left is"

"Teacher Minori Nakamura."

Mao Lilan analyzed it from another angle, but it turned out to be the same destination, and the suspicion was locked on Ms. Nakamura.

Nakamura Minori's face became increasingly pale:

"Are you kidding me?"

"How could I be the murderer?!"

"I have no grievances against Mr. Yonehara, and this is the first time I have met Miss Suzuki. How could I attack them?"

"That won't clear your mind."

"Because you and Mr. Yonehara have been colleagues for many years. Even if you have any unknown grudges in private, it would be difficult for others to understand."

"Although Miss Suzuki is not acquainted with you, she probably accidentally broke into the murder scene where the murderer attacked Mr. Yonehara and broke into the murder scene, so she was brutally murdered."

"This is an accident. There is no need for her to have any grudge against the murderer."

Lin Xinyi's official and objective analysis made Nakamura Minori's expression become more and more nervous and desperate.

But he also added:

"Of course, Ms. Nakamura, it is impossible for us to determine that you are the murderer based on simple suspicion."

"I'm a police officer, and I know evidence when handling cases."

"As for this evidence"

The most direct evidence is naturally the victim's confession.

And now that Sonoko Suzuki and Koko Yonehara haven't woken up yet, there is no way to ask them who the person who attacked them is.

So, if you want to find evidence, you must first find physical evidence.

As for where to find the physical evidence?

Lin Xin looked at Haiyuan Ai subconsciously.

Feeling his pleading look, Haiyuan Ai smiled knowingly and tacitly gave the answer he wanted:

"Ether has a boiling point of only 34.5 degrees and is extremely volatile."

"In an indoor heated environment, it will evaporate quickly."

"So it is impossible for the murderer to pour ether on the towel in advance and then wait for an opportunity to sneak into the room and attack the victim."

"That way, before you even have time to get close enough, the drug will evaporate and lose its narcotic effect."

"The reagent bottle must be opened and used immediately to ensure the effectiveness of the medicine and achieve the same effect of covering it with a towel and pouring it out."

"So the murderer must have had a container with ether on him when he committed the crime."

Hui Yuan Ai paused for a moment and continued:

“And the container is easy to recognize.”

"Because ether is extremely volatile and flammable, its minimum ignition energy is only 0.19 joules, and its flash point is only -45 degrees."

"If it is not stored properly, it will explode if you are not careful."

"So ether must be stored in a sealed, light-proof container, such as a common dark brown reagent bottle, to ensure safety."

“A bottle like this should be very visible.”

"And the murderer rushed to the scene after committing the crime and pretended to be innocent to get in among everyone. He must have been too late to dispose of the container containing ether."

"Look carefully in this villa, maybe you can find it."

"If that container can be found, it is possible to find the murderer's fingerprints and skin scrapings from it, thus truly identifying the murderer."

In the slightly shocked eyes of outsiders

The little genius Haiyuan Ai used a methodical narration to tell everything Lin Xinyi wanted to say.

After saying that, she still had a slight smile on her lips and shook her head helplessly at him.

That cute little look with a hint of disgust seemed to be telling Lin Xinyi:

"You still need to confirm such basic knowledge with me?"

“It’s so stupid”

Lin Xinyi shrugged helplessly and accepted his girlfriend's ridicule:

In fact, he knows these common sense chemistry.

But in this world, the medicinal effects of ether have become so strange. Who knows whether its physical properties have changed with it?

Just like some serious injuries that can only be judged to be car collisions or traffic accidents based on forensic injury science, in this world, they can be caused by Miss Maori's rounded palm when she was angry.

Facing Ke Xue, he was no longer confident in his previous experience and knowledge.

"Anyway"

"The main task now is to find the container."

"It is probably in the villa. Even because the escape process was urgent and time was tight, there was no time to deal with it. It is probably hidden by the murderer now, and it was not dumped elsewhere at all."

Lin Xinyi said this and looked at the teacher Minori Nakamura again.

Minori Nakamura can read the air.

She knew that Lin Xinyi was actually saying that before searching for physical evidence throughout the villa, he would first check her belongings.

"Okay, just check!"

Nakamura Minori replied with a livid face:

"Look at me to see if I have the container you mentioned."