The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship-Chapter 687 - 594: Murder in a Locked Room (5)

Nan Zhan stretched out an arm to stop Lian Yang and said in a deep voice, "Qin Yong is not the murderer; he’s just an accomplice."

"What?" Lian Yang looked at him in shock, and the others also showed surprised expressions. "If he’s not the murderer, then why would he steal the evidence? Isn’t it because he’s afraid and guilty?"

Nan Zhan spoke unhurriedly, "He was just trying to steal evidence for the murderer, attempting to cover up for the actual perpetrator."

The crowd once again expressed disbelief.

Nan Zhan looked at Qin Yong, who was hanging his head and still appeared very calm, "Housekeeper Qin, this is what you were looking for, right?"

He held a evidence bag in his hand, inside which was a golden doorknob, the very doorknob of the door to the room where Han Feiyi was discovered murdered, deformed from being struck by a hammer.

Qin Yong looked towards the bag in his hand but remained silent.

Nan Yu said, "Stubborn old man."

Nan Zhan handed the evidence bag to Jian Si who was behind him, "I’m sorry, there are no fingerprints on this doorknob at all. The murderer was very cautious, wearing gloves during the crime, leaving no fingerprints anywhere, let alone on such an obvious doorknob. My previous statement was only intended to lure out this accomplice."

Qin Yong’s emotions fluctuated slightly; he realized he had been deceived.

Nan Zhan first told everyone that once the police arrived to collect fingerprints, they would be able to find the murderer, then he secured the evidence in a locked room,

At this moment, Leng Shaoqing asked with confusion, "I say, Lawyer Nan, stop beating around the bush. If this old man isn’t the murderer, then who is?"

Nan Zhan looked at him and slowly raised an arm, pointing straight at Leng Shaoqing: "The murderer is you."

"Me?" Leng Shaoqing pointed at himself, "You must be joking."

Jian Si gave Leng Shaoqing a nudge to the side, "He’s not talking about you."

As Leng Shaoqing moved aside, the person standing behind him was revealed, and the dark-skinned man looked over in surprise, "No, not me, I’m not the murderer." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Feng Guang, is it really you?" Jian Si shook her head, finding it hard to believe.

Feng Guang seemed honest and simple to her; how could he be a murderer? Moreover, in both cases, he had an alibi, and without the ability to be in two places at once, how could he have committed the crime?

"Mr. Nan, there must be some mistake. I didn’t kill anyone. I don’t know Miss Han, and Yuan Xiaoxian is my girlfriend. Why would I harm them?" Feng Guang shook his head, "It’s really not me."

"Exactly," someone in the crowd expressed doubt, "Didn’t Feng Guang have an alibi at the time of the crime? Also, the room was locked from the inside, and the windows were locked too. He’s not a ghost, so how could he freely come and go? Besides, didn’t Yuan Xiaoxian leave a suicide note admitting that she was the killer?"

"Alright, it seems you still don’t intend to confess, so let me show everyone how the murderer created an alibi for himself and completed a perfect locked-room murder."

"Let’s first take a look at how Han Feiyi was murdered by the killer." Nan Zhan took a few steps forward, approaching the crime scene where Han Feiyi was killed.

"First, the killer called or texted the victim, luring her to this room. The victim grasped this doorknob as she opened the door." Nan Zhan pointed to the evidence in Jian Si’s hand, and Jian Si quickly handed the doorknob to him, "Look, there are two scratched marks underneath this doorknob, revealing sharp metal edges. What would happen if someone’s hand gripped it?"

Jian Si said, "They’d get cut and bleed."

This man, why does he have to follow Leng Shaoqing’s bad example.

Be serious.

"Jian Si is right; gripping it would result in a cut from the sharp metal, and here’s the evidence." Nan Zhan pointed to a part of the scene he had previously protected, "Look here, there are a few drops of blood, although covered by debris from the door being smashed in, but upon police examination, it’s not difficult to ascertain it’s the victim’s blood."

"The victim cut her hand here, but the wound wasn’t severe, and she didn’t pay much attention to it." Nan Zhan covered his hand and walked further in, "At that moment, the victim saw a piece of paper on the dressing table; the writing on it could very well have been in some red liquid, so she picked up the paper immediately."

"The victim became more and more frightened as she read. Finally, she saw this incense burner on the dressing table. At that time, a candle inside was still burning. Thus, without hesitation, she used the candle’s flame to burn the paper, just as I am doing now."

Nan Zhan took out a piece of paper from his pocket and lit the now-extinguished incense burner, imitating the victim’s action and setting the paper on fire.

The fire grew larger, and just as it seemed like it would burn his hand, Jian Si couldn’t help but cry out in alarm, "Be careful!"

Nan Zhan felt her concern, and it pleased his heart.

But the fire didn’t reach his hand; it disappeared suddenly at his fingertips.

Everyone gasped in shock: "The paper is gone."

Nan Zhan explained, "When a piece of paper is ignited by fire, it usually burns and leaves behind black ash. However, there is nothing left at the scene. Why is that?"

After some thought, Jian Si suddenly realized, "I know why. The paper used for writing must have been magic paper, possibly treated with phosphorus. This way, after being burned, it wouldn’t leave any trace behind."

Nan Zhan nodded, "Jian Si is correct. The paper wasn’t only treated with phosphorus but also coated with cyanide. The moment the victim picked it up, her hands were covered with the deadly poison, which then quickly spread throughout her body through cuts on her fingers."

"If that’s the case, we should have found traces of cyanide on the victim’s hands, and on the lipstick she used as well. But there was none." Jian Chuan expressed his confusion, "Could it be that the victim washed her hands?"

"As I’ve mentioned before, the words on the paper were likely written in blood, and very small at that. Had they been written larger, the victim might not have picked it up to look at it. While reading the letter, the victim might have gotten blood on her hands. Even if she didn’t, she would have been disgusted and thus immediately washed her hands after burning the paper," Nan Zhan explained, pointing to the fallen chair on the ground. "The victim was restless, sitting here, applying lipstick while thinking of a way out, and then... she succumbed to the poison."

"Let me explain about that cell phone found outside the window. When the victim arrived for the appointment after receiving a message, she likely didn’t know who summoned her. She encountered the murderer in the corridor, who was moving fireworks and pretended to accidentally bump into the victim’s handbag, stealing her phone without her noticing. After entering the room and seeing the bloody letter, the victim did not notice her phone was missing. And what was our murderer doing at that time? He was busy creating his alibi. Having timed it well and knowing the victim had been poisoned, he made sure to be seen by many people, then used the victim’s phone to send a message. During a moment when no one was paying attention, he threw the destroyed phone from a distance down by the window, creating the illusion it was thrown by the victim herself, and thus also muddying the time of death."

"In other words," Nan Zhan concluded, "the time of the victim’s death was not after 8:10, but before."

"What about the locked room, then?" Leng Shaoqing inquired perplexed, "When we arrived, the door was locked from the inside. How did the murderer accomplish that?"

"No, we were misled," Nan Zhan corrected, "The door wasn’t locked from the inside but someone created the illusion that it was." He turned to Leng Shaoqing, "Think back carefully to when the door was opened."

Leng Shaoqing, ever so clever, though not understanding these kinds of deductions, still immediately pointed to the silent Qin Yong: "The old housekeeper."

Nan Zhan nodded: "The housekeeper came with the keys to open the door, claimed it was locked from the inside and couldn’t be opened. We naturally wouldn’t suspect anything, so we forced the lock open. Thus, the illusion of the door being locked from inside was successfully imprinted in our minds when, in reality, it was locked from the outside and not from the inside. Only the housekeeper had the keys and he was the one pretending it couldn’t be opened. The evidence lies in the door lock itself, a technical examination will reveal whether it was locked from inside or outside."

Qin Yong was visibly moved but still hung his head low.

"It was that old man who killed her," someone shouted angrily.

"No," Nan Zhan clarified, "As I’ve said before, Qin Yong is not the murderer; he is just an accomplice. Because after the murder was committed, he happened to pass by here, pushed open the door, found the deceased, and decided to lock the door."

"So that’s how it is. Lawyer Nan is really impressive to be able to deduce such a complicated murder method."

Nan Zhan turned to Feng Guang, "How about it, aren’t you ready to admit it?"

Feng Guang shook his head, "Mr. Nan, your deduction is fascinating, but do you have evidence to prove that I was the one who killed her?"

"Alright, then let’s take another look at how Yuan Xiaoxian was killed by the murderer."

The group then moved to the first-floor room of Yuan Xiaoxian. Nan Zhan opened the door but did not enter in haste.

The room was pitch black, almost nothing could be seen.

Someone with sharp eyes suddenly shouted, "There’s someone standing on the table."

At these words, everyone felt a shiver down their spines, and upon closer inspection, there indeed was a person standing on the table.

"Ahh." A scream came from a lady who was easily frightened.

"Don’t be afraid, everyone, that’s Nan Yu."

Nan Yu also spoke at this moment: "Okay, it’s done now."

"Alright."

Nan Yu stood on the table with a rope dangling above his head. At that moment, he suddenly lit a lighter he was holding in his hand.

Shortly after, the rope he was holding with his hand started to rise, and Nan Yu was promptly pulled up into the air. Under the pretense of ’struggling’, he kicked over the table below him.

With bated breath, the onlookers watched the scene so realistic it was as if Nan Yu was truly being hoisted up.