Chapter 350: The Slow Clock (1/2)
In her hand was a photo from the living room taken by the wife, showing another fruit knife which was the murder weapon.
”I found this in their photo album,” she clarified. “Looks like your spider-sense is off! The murder weapon does belong to them!”
I stared at the photo and insisted, ”But there were apples in the fruit bowl then!”
Xiaotao shook her head firmly, ”It’s a fruit knife, and that’s all that matters. Generally speaking, most people distinguish between different types of knives and their specific uses, even more so for a fruit knife.”
Xiaotao and I were at odds, trying to prove each other wrong, and the winner of this round was obviously Xiaotao.
Our deadlock was interrupted by Bingxin’s loud exclamation which led me to believe she had discovered something. Unfortunately, this was what she said: ”I used to have the same set of knives in my home. We exchanged it using points during one of the Wanda Supermarket’s events. You can’t just purchase it!”
”You’ve got nothing left to say huh!” gloated Xiaotao. “Then again, whether or not the murder weapon is this fruit knife, the fingerprints found on it belong to Mr. Ding.”
The more I thought about the case, the dizzier I felt. I decided to walk out to the balcony for a breather.
Out on the balcony, I noticed that the window directly opposite of this unit had the curtains drawn and the balcony was empty, devoid of plants or household items. This residential area was situated in a good location with almost no vacant apartments, which aroused my suspicions.
Xiaotao joined me out on the balcony and patted me on the shoulder, ”Song Yang, this is the sixth floor! Even if it’s a frame-up as you said, how did the murderer escape if the neighbors discovered the anomaly soon after the murder?”
”Mr. Ding left the house at 8:00 pm and the neighbors discovered the anomaly at 8:10, so the murderer had ten minutes,” I frowned.
Xiaotao pointed downstairs, ”Do you see a parking lot over there? There was an old man in the parking lot watching TV at the time, facing in this direction. He confirmed no one left the building between 8:00 and 8:30.”
Xiaotao left me with yet another obstacle. I was racking my brains for a reasonable explanation when I overheard the conversation between a man and a woman next door–
”What bad luck! I was ten minutes late for work today and my boss deducted my pay!”
”I told you to leave earlier, but you wouldn’t listen.”
“How should I know? I left at 7:30 as usual and there wasn’t any traffic on the road. God knows what happened!”
“Was this the case reported by the family next door?” I asked Xiaotao.
”Yes,” she nodded.
”Let’s talk to them!”
After I left the apartment, I took note of the building layout. There were four units in total on each floor, two on the left and two on the right while the elevator was in the middle. The left and right units were far apart which meant only the next-door neighbors could hear movement in this unit.
Xiaotao was about to knock on the door but I motioned for her to stop as I stared at the keyhole.
”What are you looking at?” laughed Xiaotao. “Do you suspect the neighbors?”
”There are signs of forced entry, and it’s very recent!” I noted.
”So what? What does that prove?” Xiaotao retorted. “Maybe they’ve been robbed.”
A clear picture had formed in my mind. The dialogue between the couple next door and this keyhole was enough for me to confidently affirm that Mr. Ding was by no means the murderer!
When we knocked on the door, the woman looked surprised at our visit. ”Officers, aren’t you done with your investigation? What can I do for you?” she asked.
”I have a question for you. Is your clock accurate?” I began.