Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 763

Ma Rongcheng, a provincial expert who appeared serious but was actually quite playful, suddenly stopped talking as if a tap had broken, and looked at everyone with a questioning gaze.

This is not within the scope of forensic medicine, so Lao Tang smiled and felt no pressure.

The blond-haired man seemed a little uncomfortable. He looked around, opened and closed his mouth, then lowered his head slightly, frowned, and mumbled "uh-huh" for a long time without being able to utter a single word.

Jiang Hai was completely absorbed in the photos, his eyes sparkling with an infinite desire to solve the case, while his mind frantically searched for details from his criminal investigation classes and textbook content.

Zhu Yiba picked out a few photos of the deceased's shoe prints and focused on finding the differences between them, but quickly gave up. He then took a cigarette from the person next to him and took a drag, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Chen Chuan, who had initially approached the scene with a spectator's mentality, was the most relaxed. He then pulled out a pack of yellow cigarettes from his pocket, spun around, and handed them out to the group of people deep in thought, adding fuel to the fire of this brainstorming session.

"Then, is it possible that there was a second person at the scene who was walking around the house wearing the deceased's shoes?" Chen Shu didn't see anything suspicious about the shoe prints, but he still managed to deduce the result based on Ma Rongcheng's seemingly profound words.

When Chen Shu's voice rang out, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was indeed a bit suffocating to have so many people sitting in the office without saying a word.

"The second person!!!" Jiang Hai took a deep breath, feeling like Popeye in the cartoon who ate spinach, suddenly full of energy again.

Zhu Yiba's reply was like a bucket of cold water, poured down without any politeness: "These hotel rooms have different guests checking in every day, so isn't it normal to have shoe prints from second or third parties on site?"

Jiang Hai deflated like a punctured balloon, shrinking halfway down, and said weakly, "That's right, I reckon there's a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth person."

Since the expert suggested something fishy about the deceased's shoe print, the problem must be hidden in that shoe print. Chen Shu stroked his chin and slowly said, "No, they're not the same. Different shoe prints are easy to distinguish. Expert Ma didn't need to specifically point out whether it was the deceased's or someone else's. So what he meant was that the problem was with the same shoe print. Hmm, let me guess."

Chen Shu touched each of the many photos piled on the table. After a while, he said with certainty, "Someone must have worn the deceased's shoes."

As he spoke, he pushed the other photos aside, then gathered the photos labeled as the deceased's shoe prints together, and then placed them one by one in the middle of the table.

“Not bad.” Ma Rongcheng’s eyes were full of appreciation. Now that someone had guessed the answer, he would no longer deliberately show off his knowledge.

Ma Rongcheng walked to the door and closed it. He then went to the window and drew the curtains, instantly darkening the entire room and creating a somewhat suspenseful atmosphere.

He lowered a large projection screen onto the west wall, then turned on the projector. After a few clicks on the computer, rows of photos of crime scene footprints appeared on the screen. "Nowadays, due to the widespread use of television and movies, criminals have access to a lot of criminal knowledge. They've learned how to clean up their fingerprints and footprints at crime scenes. Most of them simply eliminate them; very few resort to disguise. Today's case involves disguise, so I'll focus on that."

“There are roughly three types of shoe print camouflage. The first type is small feet wearing big shoes, which means that the suspect’s foot size is actually smaller than the shoes that need to be disguised. The second type is big feet wearing small shoes, which means the same thing. The third type is that the feet and shoes match each other, which is something we can’t identify.”

"Let's analyze the first scenario, which is small feet wearing large shoes. You can imagine it, or you can actually swap shoes and try it out. In this case, the body's weight will be concentrated in the middle and front part of the shoe. In the shoe print, the pattern in the middle of the shoe print will be clearer and deeper than the pattern on the edge."

"The second scenario is when a big foot is wearing a shoe that is too small. In this case, because the suspect is forcibly stuffing his big foot into the shoe, the middle of the foot will be slightly suspended due to the pressure on the front of the toes, and the pattern around the shoe print will definitely be clearer than the middle."

Following the instructions, Jiang Hai turned on his phone's flashlight and leaned over the table to compare the photos of the deceased's shoe prints one by one.

A few minutes later, he jumped up excitedly and said, "Teacher Ma, the patterns on the edges of these shoe prints are clearer than those in the middle, it's like a big foot wearing a shoe that's too small! Since there's a camouflage, can we conclude that there must be a criminal suspect at the scene!"

“The suspect may not exist, but there may definitely be a second person, and this person is trying to fake the shoe print.” Seeing how happy Jiang Hai was after his explanation, Ma Rongcheng was quite pleased with himself.

"A murder case! One hundred percent a murder case!" Jiang Hai was as happy as a child who had received a special gift. His face was flushed, and his excitement was palpable. His emotions were visibly rising.

As Jiang Hai's excited voice gradually subsided, Chen Chuan, leaning against the wall, gently blew a smoke ring and looked at everyone with a smile, as if enjoying this clash of wits.

However, when Chen Chuan's gaze fell on Chen Shu, his eyes changed. It was unclear whether he was filled with anticipation for the investigation or felt a sense of mockery towards the so-called "Conan Book Physique".

"You two are both surnamed Chen, you wouldn't happen to be long-lost brothers, would you?" Zhu Yiba, who had been watching Chen Chuan's changing expressions the whole time, asked in a low voice with some surprise.

"Get lost! Do you still want to smoke?" Chen Chuan kicked him.

The person in the conversation, unaware of the commotion, stood up, bracing himself on the table, and said in a deep voice, "Expert Ma's analysis is like a key, unlocking new avenues of thought for us. I suggest we go back to the site for a second inspection."

"This is amazing!" Jiang Hai exclaimed excitedly, as if as soon as they returned to the hotel, they could immediately solve all the mysteries and successfully apprehend the criminal suspect.

(End of this chapter)