Susan asked, "How deep is the knife wound?"

"About ten centimeters."

"Was the victim stabbed to death?"

"No, the wound is deep, but there is very little blood around it, which indicates that the stabbing occurred post-mortem, and the cut marks also support this characteristic.

So, the victim likely died from strangulation."

"Was it a hanging suicide?"

Hila answered, "From the marks on the neck, it's very likely that the victim was strangled by someone, who then hung the body from a rope to create the illusion of suicide.

Moreover, we found some skin flakes inside the victim's fingernails and will attempt to extract DNA later."

Jenny pressed, "Since the victim was already strangled, why stab him in the chest afterwards?"

Hila shrugged her shoulders, "That's what you need to investigate. I'll inform you if there are new findings."

The deputy shook his head, "This crime scene is very strange; I've seen many staged suicide scenes, and although there are some flaws, none are as crude as this one.

Either the murderer thinks we are fools, or he has another objective."

Luke continued, "Marcus is right, the murderer indeed intended to use this body for some purpose."

Luke asked in return, "Did you notice anything?"

"Do you remember the death scene of Abu Gela's double?"

Luke thought for a moment, "Other than both people having acted in 'The Disappearing Lover,' I can't see any similarities."

Luke explained, "Their commonality is the novel 'The Disappearing Lover'; they were both killed in the manner described in the book."

"Wait." Luke frowned, pondering, "I remember in 'The Disappearing Lover,' the male protagonist was indeed buried alive, but the female lead didn't die; she even had a child later, right? Am I remembering it wrong?"

Luke clarified, "That's right, but that's the altered movie script. In the novel 'The Disappearing Lover,' the female lead actually commits suicide by hanging.

The scenes in the book and the crime scene are very similar, hanging in a light evening gown from a chandelier with nothing beneath her feet.

It's an open-ended conclusion; it could be a suicide or a murder."

David complained, "Luke, go into details about the differences between the movie script and the novel; I've completely forgotten them."

"Let me get straight to the point," Luke described, "In the movie script, the male and female protagonists fall in love at first sight.

The male lead is a drug fan, pretending to be rich and handsome to deceive her, but he ends up genuinely falling for the female lead.

They quickly fall in love.

Later, the female lead suddenly disappears, and the male lead desperately searches for her.

Learning that the female lead's family went bankrupt and not wanting to burden him, she chooses to leave.

The male lead, moved by this, embezzles his boss's money to pay off her debts.

Upon hearing this, his boss has him buried alive.

The female lead, overwhelmed with grief upon learning of this, contemplates suicide but discovers she's pregnant and decides to raise the child on her own."

"The male lead's role in the novel is not much different; the main change is with the female lead.

At the end of the novel, it's revealed that the female lead is a scammer, approaching the male lead with the intention of defrauding him.

Late.JSONObject(), she learns that the male lead was buried alive in his effort to help her clear her debts.

Devastated.

She realizes she truly loves the male lead.

Out of guilt, she chooses to hang herself."

Everyone listened quietly.

After a long while, Susan nodded, "I prefer the ending of the novel."

The deputy nodded, "The movie is like fast food; just a few minutes long, it can't convey the nuanced implications intended in the novel, nor can it portray a complete worldview."

Luke wondered about this too; if the murderer followed the novel's scenario, the female protagonist should have been hanged, and there shouldn't be a stab wound on her chest.

If the chest wound were fatal, it could be explained as an accident during the killing, making it necessary to use a knife.

But the reality is different; the fatal wound is on the neck, and the chest was stabbed post-mortem.

What was the purpose of this action?

Could there be some details missing in the novel itself?

At this moment, the investigative team had also completed their preliminary examination.

Mary took off her mask and gloves, explaining, "We've examined the crime scene, and we found the victim's social security card.

The victim's body showed signs of having been dragged; the primary scene was likely on the bed, and afterwards, the body was moved beneath the chandelier.

We also found a dagger in the garbage bin at the entrance of the victim's home. However, there were no fingerprints on the dagger; we'll compare it with the wound on the victim later."

After Mary's report, the crime scene investigation concluded.

But Luke still felt something was amiss.

For what reason would the murderer stab the victim? To Luke, it seemed highly superfluous.

Luke returned to the bedroom, ready to recreate the crime scene.

Luke moved to the side of the bed, pretending the victim was still lying there, and then strangled the victim's neck. The victim grabbed at his arm, begging for mercy, but unable to make a sound because his throat was squeezed.

His strength faded gradually, and he stopped struggling, ceasing to breathe.

Luke picked up the knife and stabbed the victim in the chest, then pulled it out and set it aside.

He lifted the body to the chandelier and vigorously hung the victim up.

No, Luke still felt that the stabbing was redundant, not fitting the scenario described in the book.

Luke looked around and noticed that the closet was open.

The closet had not been touched; it was left open since they arrived.

Luke approached the closet to inspect it. It was filled with clothes, with only a spot at the entrance of the closet empty, just enough to accommodate one person.

Luke crouched down to closely inspect beneath the closet—there were some faint friction marks, no clear footprints, but it felt like someone had stepped there.

Luke took out his cell phone and snapped a few photos.

He turned around, standing at the position of the closet, facing directly towards the bed...

A new hypothesis formed in his mind.

Last night, besides the murderer, there might have been someone else at the scene.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.