Chapter 334: Object of Suspicion

"Just because the victim's back of the head was struck multiple times doesn't prove the killer can't be an adult male, right? If the killer killed out of venting anger, then a few extra blows would be normal," Xiao Li said, pinching his chin in doubt after hearing Xu Mo's analysis.

He thought Xu Mo's judgment was clearly overly idealistic.

In past cases, victims being stabbed repeatedly was commonplace; when a single stab could kill, the assailant would still plunge a dozen or even twenty knives… Isn't that just venting anger?

So, in his view, the killer's repeated blows to the victim's back of the head could also be to vent anger, not because a weaker strike wouldn't kill.

Xu Mo looked up and gave Xiao Li a glance.

"I still stick to my earlier view: the killer could never be an adult male. The murder weapon here is a hammer; if an adult male were venting, he'd use great force. If that's the case, the victim's back of the head must already be a mess."

Hearing that, Xiao Li was slightly stunned.

It sounded as if Xu Mo made sense…

If an adult male tried to vent by hammering the victim's back of the head, what would it look like? Probably unrecognizable.

But soon he considered another possibility: "Could it be that the killer deliberately restrained his force? He didn't use full strength when killing, aiming to mislead us into thinking the killer isn't an adult male."

"That's possible…," Xu Mo nodded. "But this possibility assumes the killer is a repeat offender, having killed more than one person. Otherwise, he wouldn't stay rational while murdering. A first-time killer would be nervous and fearful, overexerting force—using as much strength as possible for fear of not killing—leaving no room to modulate force. What do you think?"

Xiao Li thought for a moment, then nodded: "Makes sense!"

After a quick inspection of the corpse, Xu Mo stood up and removed his gloves.

"The only things we can discern from the body are these; let's interview witnesses and nearby residents to see if we can get any other clues."

At this moment, Xu Mo already had a suspect in mind.

Of course, it's just a suspicion; he would need more time before reaching a conclusion.

"Alright," Xiao Li nodded, unknowingly beginning to follow Xu Mo's line of thought.

Outside the police tape, a crowd had already gathered.

These days, people want to watch any spectacle, even a murder case, but they're kept back by the tape and officers; otherwise, if the onlookers clearly saw those Body Fragments, they'd be so frightened they'd faint—what's the point of the show?

"Heard someone died? Who was it?"

"I don't know, I just got here myself."

"I know, I know—the dead one is Mrs. Chen, apparently killed and the body tossed into a trash can."

"Mrs. Chen? You mean that Mrs. Chen?"

"What? Not that Mrs. Chen, the other Mrs. Chen!"

"Oh, so it was that Mrs. Chen after all!"

"……"

Listening to the onlookers' chatter, the nearby officers muttered: "???"

"What thing is this or that?"

"Which one is it exactly?"

At that moment, Xu Mo and his group walked out through the tape and found the old lady who had just called the police.

"Ma'am, may I ask you a few questions?" Xu Mo said with a smile.

The woman blinked and nodded, indicating consent.

"When did you discover the body fragments in the trash can? Were there any other people with you when you found them?"

The old lady blurted out, "Just now. I was digging through the trash can looking for scrap to sell, and I came across that bag… I sensed something was wrong, so I called the police. I was alone there at the time."

"Do you know the deceased?"

"I do."

"You know… then do you know who around here holds a grudge against the deceased?"

"I don't," the old lady said without hesitation, shaking her head.

"Could you tell me what you used to do for work?" Xu Mo asked abruptly, a question unrelated to the case.

As a result, after he asked that, every officer nearby turned to Xu Mo with puzzled expressions.

"Does the witness's job have any relevance to the case? It has absolutely no connection!"

The old lady was also a bit puzzled, but she still answered Xu Mo's question.

"I used to work as a female worker in a knitting factory; later, as I got older and my eyesight failed, I stopped. These days I just pick up scrap and sell it."

Hearing this, Xu Mo let out a sigh; the warm smile on his face vanished completely, and his tone turned cold: "One last question: why did you kill?"

All the officers: "???"

Is this old lady the killer? Isn't she the witness who discovered the body?

Why did he suddenly ask someone why they killed? Where did Xu Mo get that basis? From the earlier Q&A?

There's no logic!

From those earlier exchanges, they didn't sense any problem with the old lady; instead, Xu Mo's question seemed huge.

While investigating, he abruptly asked about someone's former occupation; that move was baffling, the reasoning too far-fetched!

However, after hearing Xu Mo's words, the old lady, who had been unusually calm, suddenly paled, becoming flustered, even stammering: "I... I didn't kill anyone, she wasn't killed by me, I just happened to find her body, this has nothing to do with me."

To the other officers, the old lady's panic appeared to be a reaction to being frightened by Xu Mo.

After all, who asks such random questions like Xu Mo?

Is it even acceptable to ask a witness why they killed? Everyone thought Xu Mo's logic bordered on "you found the corpse, so you must have killed the person."

With such a question, which witness wouldn't be scared?

Not only did some Hangcheng officers find Xu Mo's line of questioning objectionable, even his colleague Chen Ke couldn't tolerate it.

He hurried behind Xu Mo, tugged his shirt, and whispered, "Don't act recklessly; you're scaring the old lady… you might cause her to get hurt."

But Chen Ke's concern was evidently unnecessary.

The old lady, who could face the Body Fragments without flinching, now panics over a single question from Xu Mo?

In other words, her panic isn't caused by Xu Mo; she has something hidden in her own heart!