Chapter 396: Winning The Prize, Losing Your Life (1/2)

If he didn't try to take advantage of me, he wouldn't be Lao Yao. In retaliation, I sent him a red envelope of 500 yuan that required the password, ”I am gay!” repeated three times.

As I browsed the information, I immediately noticed the victim’s place of residence.

I phoned Xiaotao, ”Hey, I got Lao Yao to find the victim’s address. I’m going over to investigate right now.”

”Should I go as well?” asked Xiaotao.

”If you’re busy, I can go myself!”

”No,” refuted XIaotao. “I'll send someone to go with you.”

I waited at the store, assuming Xiaotao would send an officer over but it turned out to be Bingxin.

Xiaotao sent a text message, teasing, ”Is my sister very democratic?”

My reply was a thank-you expression.

Bingxin and I took a cab to the victim’s apartment. When we arrived, I knocked on the door first to ensure no one was home, then checked the lock. Finding no traces of jimmying, I proceeded to pick the lock.

Upon opening the door, we were greeted by a mess as if someone had forcibly entered the apartment. The shoe rack by the door suggested a man and a woman lived here–it was the home of both our victims.

Bingxin and I made use of the automatic shoe cover dispenser on the shoe rack, covering our shoes before entering the room.

Pointing to the wall in the entryway, Bingxin said, ”There are traces of some sprayed substance.”

As I glanced at the wall, Bingxin pulled out a reagent to test the substance. Instead, I leaned in and sniffed, ”It's ether mixed with ethanol. Come and stand in this position!”

Bingxin was similar in height to the female victim and the spray marks matched the position of her face. The murderers must have stood at the door and sprayed ether at the female victim, splashing it on the wall.

So the murderers broke in without warning. Looking down, I noticed a slipper that had been kicked underneath the shoe rack, with a clear footprint on the top. I immediately snapped a photo.

The area where the female victim stood showed no traces that would suggest a fall. Obviously, when the victim fell unconscious, she was held by the murderers.

The living room showed apparent signs of a tussle. There were glass fragments scattered on the floor, and a large coffee stain on the wall parallel to the door. In one corner lay a broken mug.

When the male victim noticed the break-in, he must have thrown the coffee mug in his hand which ended up hitting the wall.

”The attack must have happened during the day,” speculated Bingxin. “The computer was on and the lights in the apartment were turned off, indicating there was no artificial lighting being used at the time.”

Upon scanning the room, I disagreed, ”No, it happened in the evening, just after work!”

”Because of the bra on the couch?” Bingxin pointed out. “The first thing any girl usually does upon coming home is remove their bra.”

”That's just one of the reasons.” I observed, “There's half a glass of water on the table, and the instructions on the bottle say the supplement is meant to be taken once in the morning and evening after meals. The heater in the bathroom is still on and the takeout boxes thrown in the trash can are evident of greasy food that’s generally not consumed in the morning.”

”My goodness, your powers of observation are amazing!” Bingxin applauded.