The grouping progressed quickly. Under the premise that Dimitri proposed that a group should have no less than four people, everyone quickly grouped into groups.
Naturally, Lu Ning and Watanabe Fuchiko were going to the on-site autopsy, led by Rosemary. At the same time, the two key witnesses Zhai Jingqiu and Subobia would also go with the car. For safety reasons, Orlando would also go with them.
The remaining people were responsible for searching for traces of Escher around the main hall. The teams were led by Lanewood, Cynthia and Gustav to search as many places where people might be hiding as possible in a safe way, while Dimitri and Jack and several guests stayed in the main hall to prevent the murderer. Acting evil again.
Lu Ning felt on the way that Enwood was right.
Huo Yinglong and Felicia live very close to each other, but it still takes about fifteen minutes to drive. On rainy days, it takes about twenty minutes to get there because the speed is not fast. Calculated in this way, it must take about forty minutes to get to Arashimekan on the other side of the island. In the bad weather last night, it would be difficult for a person to have the perseverance to run such a long road in the heavy rain to kill people. What's more, there are only a few vehicles on the island. Except for one for each of the seven children, the remaining car keys are in the servant's room for the servants to access at any time. Before setting off today, Bayleaf and others had already checked the driving recorders. There was no record of any vehicle driving last night.
"Dr. Lu Ning, do you have any experience in autopsies?"
Zhai Jingqiu, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly asked.
"I... am not a serious doctor. I often come into contact with death. I still know a little about autopsies." Lu Ning said.
"That's just right. I can tell you that I took a criminal investigation course when I was in college, and now I am working as a private detective. He is my best friend, and he asked me to come here to provide He helped me a lot, but I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”
"You mean, you have already examined the body?" Watanabe Fuchiko asked.
"Yes, I still don't know who killed Huo Yinglong. When I found his body in the morning, I was angry and ashamed... so I checked the scene."
"You might as well describe it." Lu Ning said.
"Okay. The place of his death was in the gym, so I think the time of death should be between six and eight o'clock."
"Based on personal living habits?" Lu Ning asked.
"Yes, after all, strenuous exercise will affect autopsy factors such as rigor mortis, so judging based on this is not accurate. The heating is on in the gym, which is also an influencing factor. I can only judge the time based on my own experience. "
Huo Yinglong is a martial arts practitioner and has the habit of going to bed early and getting up early. As a private detective, Zhai Jingqiu is used to being a night owl, and their routines are not consistent. At 9:30 last night, Huo Yinglong returned to his room to rest, while Zhai Jingqiu sat in the study and read for a while, and then sorted out the various news and files of the Howard family that he had collected, about twelve Go to bed at 3 o'clock. According to him, nothing unusual happened at that time.
It was already around 8:30 when he woke up. Although Zhai Jingqiu knew how to cook, he didn't want to leave the main restaurant's professional chef's meal alone, so he was going to find Huo Yinglong. After calling several times but getting no answer, Zhai Jingqiu searched for his usual place and soon found Huo Yinglong lying on the ground in the gym.
"The cause of death was intracranial hemorrhage caused by being hit on the back of the head with a heavy object."
Zhai Jingqiu described everything he knew as much as possible.
"A very strange situation is that the door to the gym is locked, and I can only see what's going on inside through the glass wall. It was the servant named Lavender who came here and unlocked it with a universal key before we could enter the gym. The air conditioner was on, so it was a semi-enclosed environment, and the windows were not opened. Another doubtful point is that I checked the wound and found that it was definitely more than one blow, but I know Huo Yinglong, with his martial arts, if the first blow If the sneak attack fails to knock him unconscious directly, he will definitely fight back on the spot."
"Maybe he was knocked unconscious by the first blow?" Watanabe said.
"It's difficult. Huo Yinglong has a certain intuition. His martial arts are not showy. People like me who have been running around outside all year round and even learned a little fighting skills can't stand in front of him for five seconds. If I have enough A sneak attack with enough force to knock him unconscious would be noticed just by the wind." Zhai Jingqiu shook his head, denying this possibility.
"At the same time, no traces of fighting were found at the scene?" Lu Ning asked.
"Yes, Huo Yinglong didn't fight back. This is what I think is the strangest thing. From what I know about him, there is no one on this island that he would not dare to fight back under such circumstances, even if it is something beyond common sense. Given the situation, he should have run away and used some ready-made things at hand to defend himself, right? But there was not even a trace of a struggle in the gym, as if he was smashed to death just standing there."
"Maybe it's not the scene of the first incident?" Lu Ning said, "He moved there after being killed, and then used some method to create a secret room. It's hard to tell whether the equipment in the gym has been used, right? Go in It’s already a bit late.”
"But after that, I walked around the Wonder Museum several times, but I didn't find anything that seemed to be the first scene."
"Then we can go take a look together when we get to the scene. In addition, Mr. Subbia, your situation is similar to that of Mr. Zhai Jingqiu. Don't you have anything to say?" Lu Ning asked another person in the car.
"...I don't know when she died."
Subobia's face looked very sad. He held his forehead. Although he had accepted the fact, his sadness and anger could not be eliminated.
"You can describe it, if you think it's okay." Watanabe Fuchiko advised.
"If it's to find the murderer, yes." Subobia took a deep breath, "Felicia and I still had separate rooms when we lived in Lingmu Mansion. She lived on the second floor and could see the sea. Sleeping, and I was in a room on the first floor near the stairs. We went back last night to discuss the issues at the family dinner, and we didn’t get ready to go to bed until around 11:30. It took about ten minutes including taking a shower and so on. I didn’t officially return to the room until two to one o’clock.”
Lu Ning wrote this information down in her notebook, even though she knew it probably wouldn't be of much use.
"It rained loudly last night, but one side of Lingmu Pavilion is close to a cliff. No one had the ability to climb up from that side in the weather last night, so they must not be from that side. Because I know After thinking about those things, I paid more attention to it, slept not too deeply, and prepared some means to remind me if someone came into the house. What I can confirm is that except for the sound of wind and rain, no car approached Lingmu Pavilion last night. In addition, before Rosemary arrived at Lingmu Pavilion, no footprints could be seen in the mud outside."
Rosemary, who was driving, confirmed this statement.
"When I arrived at Lingmu Pavilion in the morning, there were indeed no traces of footprints or the like around. I can't rule out the possibility that it was washed away by last night's rain, or that the attacker came directly from the main road, but at least it wouldn't be on the main road. When it's close to early morning, go around and do some eucalyptus."
"Is there a lot of mud around Lingmu Pavilion?" Lu Ning asked.
"It can't be said to be muddy, it's just the weather last night..." Rosemary thought for a moment and replied, "The design of Bame Island is arranged according to the Bagua, and the normal Bagua direction is rotated 180 degrees. The one corresponding to Lingmu Pavilion is Dui Wei, Ji Ze, has basically maintained its original style except for road construction. Although it is located above the cliff, there is still a lot of earthy ground around it. The vegetation is sparse near that place, so it will not really trap people after it rains. , but it’s sure to leave a few footprints if you step on it.”
"good."
During the conversation, the car had arrived at the Wonder Museum.
After getting off the car, everyone went straight to the gym to check Huo Yinglong's body first. As Zhai Jingqiu said, Huo Yinglong's cause of death examination revealed that he died from repeated blows to the head with a blunt instrument. Because of the bloody lake in the area, it was difficult for Lu Ning to deduce how many times he was hit.
"However, what if someone with similar strength as Huo Yinglong attacks?"
Orlando, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
"Take an example, let's take me." Orlando was not afraid of others doubting him and directly used himself as an example. "Ordinary people can't knock Huo Yinglong unconscious with a sneak attack, but it's not difficult for me. No matter how skilled he is, he can't make his skull stronger. As long as I have a handy weapon and a sneak attack opportunity, I can knock him unconscious."
"But Mr. Orlando, from your perspective, do such opportunities exist in this gym?"
Lu Ning's rhetorical question made Orlando silent again.
This gym has only one entrance and exit, and all fitness equipment is placed sideways to the door. No matter which one is used, there is no possibility of facing away from the door. The air conditioner was on in the room, proving that regardless of whether the front door where Huo Yinglong was killed was locked or not, it was at least closed. We just tried it when everyone came in. There would be some noise when the door was opened. It was impossible for Huo Yinglong not to notice this. Finally, there is no place to hide in advance in a room with only fitness equipment, and it is impossible to enter early to ambush.
Even if Orlando can knock Huo Yinglong unconscious through a sneak attack, if so many prerequisites are added, it becomes impossible, and at least the two of them will definitely fight.
"Indeed, in this environment, I can't do it." Orlando finally admitted.
"But Mr. Orlando did remind me that if we can overcome the previous prerequisites, then it is not completely impossible to attack Mr. Huo Yinglong." Lu Ning changed the topic and looked at Zhai Jingqiu, "Mr. Detective should have something Did you notice it?"
"Acquaintances are friends." Zhai Jingqiu said.
Lu Ning and Watanabe Yuanzi nodded slightly.
"If someone familiar to Huo Yinglong came over, and Huo Yinglong took the initiative to bring the person in to talk, and he was not too defensive because he was familiar with him, then it would be enough to complete such a crime." Zhai Jingqiu organized this idea while thinking, "Of course , with Zhai Jingqiu's temperament, most of his relatives will be on guard. In addition to the characteristic of familiarity, what makes him completely unguarded needs to be added... that is, in his opinion, the other party does not pose a threat at all. Will be attacked by surprise."
"The murderer is a person who appears to have little fighting ability, but may actually possess powerful force." Orlando also understood. "Among the people left on the island now, there are not many people who meet these two conditions."
"First of all, we can sort out Huo Yinglong's interpersonal relationships and find this hidden high-threat figure." Lu Ning nodded, "Also, although this idea can make this the first scene, we still have to search the surrounding area. , to see if there are other places that may be the site of eucalyptus discoveries, and we cannot give up our previous conjectures."
However, everyone's subsequent search of the Strange Eyes Pavilion yielded no results, and there were no obvious signs of a fight anywhere. After recording the scene, everyone immediately rushed to Lingmu Pavilion.
I originally thought that Huo Yinglong's death was already a bit complicated, but several people who saw the scene for the first time found that Felicia's death was also a headache. She was still lying quietly on the bed, blood dripping almost half of the bed. If you don't look at the large amount of blood flowing out of her mouth, her expression looks like she is still sleeping soundly, with even a hint of a smile. There was only one wound on her body, and there was no need to even check where the fatal wound was - decapitation.
Subobia did not enter the house, but stood outside the house to calm down. The rest of the people went inside, while Lu Ning and Watanabe began to observe the state of the body.
Beheading is not an ordinary method of killing, and even ordinary people cannot kill like this. Moreover, there was no look of pain on Felicia's face, which meant that the person who did it was quick and easy, cutting off her neck with one blow.
However - yes, there are still cases.
"Mr. Subobia, is the bed Miss Felicia sleeps on a hardwood bed?" Lu Ning asked.
"Yes, her spine is not very good, probably because she often stays up late to work, so she prefers to sleep on a hard bed, which will make her more comfortable. The bed here was also changed at her request."
There was only a thin layer of mat on the hardwood bed. Although it was soaked with Felicia's blood, it did not hinder Lu Ning's inspection.
Neither the mattress nor the bed board was damaged in any way.
"Judging from the wound, it must have been cut with a sharp weapon..." Watanabe Fuchiko frowned, "With such great force, even if the neck is cut, no trace will be left at all?"
"Are there any traces?" Rosemary walked over and took a look, also a little confused.
No matter what the murder weapon is, it must be something as heavy and sharp as an axe. The murderer used the gravity of the crash to complete such a murder. But in this way, the weapon will definitely cause damage to the stuff underneath, and this damage will not be detected.
"Mr. Orlando, I'm afraid I have to ask you again. If you are a master of strength, can you cut off a person's neck without damaging the thing underneath?" Lu Ning asked.
"...At least I can't do it, and I'm too lazy to do it."
"No, I understand your thinking." Subobia suddenly said at the door, "But this is impossible. My room is downstairs. If there is such a loud noise upstairs, I will definitely be able to hear it."
"So maybe the noise isn't loud enough?" Lu Ning guessed.
"You can consider other killing methods." Zhai Jingqiu said, "For example, use something like metal wire to wrap around the neck, and then use something to pull quickly..."
"Mr. Detective, you must first consider that even if the head can be cut off, it will roll around due to the upward force, and the blood coverage area will be larger than it is now." Lu Ning retorted.
"What about the other way around?" Watanabe Fuchiko said and gestured, "Put the metal wire ring around your neck and pull it down?"
