Wang Jian really regretted not getting a monocle. He could only straighten his tie and said profoundly:
"Officer Li, have you seen magic tricks before? Such as a dove appearing in the hand after a piece of paper burns, and many similar tricks.
In fact, these magic tricks rely on chemically treated paper. This specially made paper creates special effects when burned, some disappear without a trace, without even leaving ashes behind.
The oil painting used by the murderer was made with this kind of chemically treated paper. It burns in an instant, just a fleeting moment, too fast to even see. The white flames leave no ashes behind.
Thus, the oil painting surrounding the corpse disappeared instantly.
Then a corpse suddenly appeared on stage - this explains the appearance of the corpse. It was very ingenious, but still rather mediocre in front of an outstanding detective like me."
Li Kui's eyes grew brighter. He realized that this ordinary-looking fat man was apparently very capable. No, he was truly remarkable.
He thought carefully and asked the final question: "But how did the murderer ignite the oil painting? At that time, apart from the performers, there was no one else on stage.
Could the murderer be among the performers?"
Wang Jian appropriately revealed a scornful look and scoffed lightly:
"Officer Li, of course not. I forgot to tell you, this kind of chemically treated paper has a low ignition point.
The reason why it burns quickly without leaving a trace is because of this low ignition point.
So the murderer only needed to blend into the crowd and focus sunlight through a magnifying glass to a single point. The June sunlight was enough, so it only took about a minute to ignite the oil painting."
Li Kui applauded with admiration. He was truly impressed by the fat man across from him, whose insights had broadened the experienced old policeman's horizons.
After explaining, Wang Jian calmly sat down on the sofa. Facing Li Kui’s praise, he remained aloof and indifferent.
But in his heart he thought: “Hahaha, I’m so awesome. As expected of myself, thrilling!”
The two sides then exchanged information about the case and agreed that the police would share any new investigative developments with Wang Jian. Together they would investigate and crack the case as soon as possible.
Of course, the official reward for finding the murderer would all go to Wang Jian. Even if the murderer was not found, just based on the information he provided so far, he would still get half the reward – 500,000 yuan.
Half an hour later, Wang Jian walked out of the police station with an arrogant look on his face, causing quite a stir. Su Mo was careful to avoid attention and had little presence.
On the way back to the hotel, Su Mo pretended to be puzzled and asked, “Brother, what should we do next?”
“We don’t need to do anything. We’ll just wait quietly for the results of the police investigation. After all, great detectives like me don’t need to do everything themselves. Deducing the case and overseeing the big picture is my job,” Wang Jian shamelessly replied. He didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty, as if his deductions were truly brilliant.
The two men stayed cooped up in the hotel room all afternoon. Su Mo contemplated their next move, while Wang Jian purely relaxed, jumping left and right online.
It must be said, he had skills. Every time he was able to interpret away the negative voices online with logical and persuasive explanations.
For example, one netizen doubted the fat man’s abilities, saying the Dragon Lake case had little to do with him and was mainly the Judge’s contribution.
He replied: “It’s true that I contributed very little to this case. I only found a few key figures and drew the Judge’s attention. Alas, I’m just a private detective after all, my abilities are limited.”
When asked which key figures he found, the fat man started equivocating and dodging like a true expert.
Getting back on track, around evening time, Li Kui sent over a document containing over 100 personal profiles.
Since the most crucial link in this case had been uncovered, the rest was step-by-step progression.
The police weren’t stupid. They knew that being able to set up the scene and evade risks meant only one thing – the murderer was a member of the venue decoration company hired by the event organizers.
For large events like these, professional companies were usually hired to decorate the venues. Some venues decorated themselves, but that was rare. Slightly bigger events still hired professionals.
As it turned out, the same company had decorated all four venues. The murderer must be one of the company’s employees.
It was a large, well-known company in Yunhu with an excellent reputation. That’s why they had been chosen by all the events.
But with so many employees, each would have to be investigated one-by-one to find the murderer. It wouldn’t be as easy as imagined, because evidence was key.
This case wasn’t just about the bizarre methodology, but had another major issue – lack of evidence. Even if the murderer was identified, the police still needed evidence to prosecute, otherwise conviction would be impossible.
But Su Mo didn’t need to worry about evidence. He only needed to know the murderer’s identity to take matters into his own hands. He couldn’t care less about anything else.
Regarding the issue of evidence, I personally agree with this approach. If the police only cared about catching people without considering evidence, that would be very dangerous and lead to countless miscarriages of justice.
So the standard procedures serve to protect the people. Su Mo wasn’t worried at all about being caught by the police, because no matter how flawed his methods, without evidence nothing could touch him.
Upon receiving the documents, they obviously had to review them. But just Wang Jian alone would be exhausted. So he decided to have Su Mo help out.
“Brother, help me review the documents. Look for anyone skilled in oil paintings and let me know if you find them.”
This was exactly what Su Mo had been waiting for. He readily agreed: “No problem, brother.”
The two sat in the hotel suite reviewing the files of suspicious persons. There were many, but few specialized in art. Soon, Su Mo found his target.
“Fang Shuhua, male, 40 years old, single, parents deceased.
Job: Aesthetic assistant and construction supervisor for the company. Majored in Fine Arts in college with particular expertise in oil paintings.
Disappeared for 3 years due to an accident 5 years ago. Joined the company 2 years ago...”
Looking at Fang Shuhua’s profile, Su Mo smiled knowingly, thinking to himself: “Participant No.7, are you the one?”