Chapter 528: Even a One‑Second Hesitation Is Disrespect to Black Stockings

In the time it takes me to wash a peach, you already know who the killer is??

To know that, in just that short time, a normal person might not even finish reading the case file.

When Han Fei pushed the door open a moment ago and asked Xu Mo whether he had finished the case file, it was really just a casual question; even if Xu Mo said he hadn't finished it, Han Fei wouldn't find it odd.

Who would have thought that Xu Mo would bluntly say he probably knows who the killer is.

"Actually I'm not especially certain; this is just my personal guess, and I don't have full confidence," Xu Mo said without overstating.

From the case file alone, this case is almost without any loopholes; the cunning killer left virtually no trace at the scene.

This is a murder case that occurred five years ago.

At a little after five o'clock that morning, the Police Station received a report; the reporter was a sanitation worker who, while starting his early shift, discovered a private car parked in the middle of the road.

Out of curiosity, the sanitation worker went forward to take a look, intending to remind the driver to move the car promptly because parking in the middle of the road was too dangerous. But while he hadn't looked, he didn't know; when he did look, he was shocked—the driver in the seat had already died, his neck cut open with a single slash, and fresh blood sprayed all over the car's interior.

After receiving the report, the Police rushed to the scene; the crime scene was located on a somewhat remote side road.

When the Police arrived, they immediately began a sweep of the site; they found some fingerprints and hair inside the car, but investigations and tests showed that all the hair and fingerprints came from the deceased and his family members.

Later, after a round of investigation, the suspicion on the deceased's family was also eliminated.

In addition, the forensic examiner determined the time of death to be around midnight; besides the fatal neck wound, the body bore marks of a strong electric shock, indicating the victim was first electrocuted into unconsciousness and then killed.

Based on the shape of the wound and the electric shock marks, the killer was seated in the passenger seat, first electrocuting the victim and then stabbing him; the method was highly skilled, a single fatal slash, and there were no signs of struggle before death, leading to a preliminary judgment that a familiar person committed the crime.

Later the Police contacted the victim's coworkers; according to one coworker, that night he, a few others, and the victim had been working overtime at the company, staying busy until 11:30 p. m. before heading home. The coworker also said the victim left alone by car, and when he departed the company, there was no passenger in the passenger seat.

At first, the officers suspected the victim's coworkers, since the forensic conclusion was that the case was highly likely committed by someone familiar; with the family already cleared, the killer was most probably a coworker or a friend of the victim.

However, after a series of investigations, the Police found that the victim's coworkers had no opportunity to commit the crime.

Subsequently, the victim's friends were also screened, but they each had solid alibis.

Moreover, that road was just a relatively secluded side road; the victim took it simply as a shortcut home. On that road there were no surveillance cameras, and there were only a few streetlights spaced far apart, insufficient to illuminate the entire stretch.

Traffic and pedestrian flow on the side road were also minimal; only during the morning and afternoon rush hours did anyone use it, and at other times almost no one passed by.

Solving the case could not rely on surveillance or witnesses.

At this point the investigation hit a deadlock; no matter how the officers probed, there was no progress, the clues were too few.

"Who do you think the killer is?" After a brief daze, Han Fei finally recovered.

"The victim's family, or the coworkers, or friends?"

"No, no, no, none of those. Han Team, you're stuck in a mental bias; who says this is a familiar-person crime?"

"Not a familiar-person crime?" Han Fei frowned slightly, "That can't be, how could the victim let a stranger get into his car, let alone sit in the passenger seat? The forensic report states the killer was seated in the passenger seat when attacking the victim."

"Why not possible?"

Xu Mo began a dead‑serious nonsense: "Han Team, let me ask you, when you're driving and see a pitiful young woman in an ultra‑short skirt and black stockings waving for you to stop, would you let her into the car?"

Han Fei hesitated for a full five seconds: "... No."

"That's right, you would!" Xu Mo, as if ignoring Han Fei's answer, said, "I would too— a beautiful woman in an ultra‑short skirt and black stockings waving on the roadside, how could I not stop? If I even hesitated a second, it would be disrespect to the black stockings!"

Han Fei: "???"

"I said I wouldn't, I said I wouldn't, I'm not that kind of person!" Han Fei argued.

"Han Team, I suggest you look at yourself in a mirror, repeat what you just said to the mirror, and then, using the way you normally assess suspects, determine whether you're lying. To be honest, I don't really want to expose you; you're a decent person but also a Criminal Investigation Team Leader—how can you not even know how to lie..."

Before Han Fei could say anything else, he continued.

"Of course, whether the stockings are black is irrelevant; what's important is whether my hypothesis can show that the person in the victim's passenger seat need not be an acquaintance, but could be a stranger encountered on the road."

"Let's set aside how the killer might have coaxed the victim to stop; just consider whether the victim could have stopped midway and fallen into the hands of a stranger. So tell me, is it possible or not?"

Han Fei was stunned for a moment, then managed to utter two words: "Possible."

"Then that's settled; this case doesn't have to be a familiar-person crime, and the killer doesn't have to be the victim's relative, coworker, or friend—it could be someone else," Xu Mo shrugged.

"After all that talk, you still haven't said who you're suspecting."

Hearing Han Fei say that, Xu Mo casually took out several photos of the crime scene that had been clipped into the case file.

When the investigation was underway, although the Police had set up a cordon, there were still onlookers outside it, and they were captured in the photos as well.

"I guess the killer is in this photo."

"You suspect the killer is hidden among the onlookers? Why?"

"It's simple: this case was executed too perfectly—no fingerprints, hair, footprints, or weapon left behind; the scene bears no trace of the killer. If I were the killer, I would definitely return to admire my masterpiece and watch the baffled police, which would give me great satisfaction."

Saying that, Xu Mo paused briefly, then continued,

"Moreover, Han Team, why do you think the killer chose not to dispose of the victim's body but instead left it openly in the car, which was still parked in the middle of the road?"

"Isn't that a deliberate showoff? The killer must be extremely confident, perhaps even a bit arrogant; I believe such a person would definitely return to the crime scene after the deed."