Black under the lamp? Han Fei's heart tightened.
He instantly thought of the boy that Xu Mo had brought back.
Just moments ago, Han Fei had dismissed all suspicions about that boy.
But because of Xu Mo's one sentence, he began to suspect him again.
Xu Mo's analysis was not without reason.
If the killer had committed a crime of passion, there would be no need to use ricin.
Because crimes of passion are the hardest to solve, and without direct evidence like surveillance footage to rely on, it's impossible to crack the case just by investigating the victim's social relationships - there's simply no connection between the victim and the killer!
So why would the killer go to the trouble of using ricin?
Couldn't they just stab the person with a fruit knife and be done with it? After all, it would be very difficult for the police to trace it back to them.
But since the killer used ricin, dubbed the perfect poison.
It means that the killer wanted to mislead the police, making them think the victim died accidentally, thus abandoning the investigation.
In other words, there must be a connection between the killer and the victim, and the killer is someone the police would easily suspect!
Thinking of this, Han Fei once again became suspicious of the boy Xu Mo had brought back.
Although in the previous questioning, the boy's answers could prove he had no time to commit the crime, with a very solid alibi.
But let's not forget.
The autopsy report had just come out, revealing the victim died of poisoning.
Unlike direct stabbing, causing death by poisoning means the killer can complete the murder even without being present.
It's worth noting that this young boy was the victim's bedmate.
It would be too easy for him to poison the victim - he could simply put the poison in water or food, and the victim would die whenever they unknowingly consumed the poisoned food or drink.
The brilliance of this method is that the killer could fabricate a perfect alibi.
Realizing this, Han Fei assigned Xu Mo a task.
"Xu Mo, take a team to the victim's home, collect all the remnants of everything she ate and drank, and bring them back for testing to see if there are any traces of ricin."
If the poison was put in water or food, there would certainly be residue.
If they could find cups, utensils, or food packaging with poison residue, they could use those items to test suspicious individuals.
Whoever reacts most strongly to seeing the items with poison residue is the killer!
Xu Mo nodded and left with his assignment.
Next, Han Fei gave the forensic expert a knowing look.
Then he deliberately raised his voice slightly to ensure his words would reach the boy's ears.
At this moment, Han Fei's face was full of 'surprise'.
"The cause of death was the flu? Are you sure? So the victim died accidentally?"
As he said this, Han Fei also observed the boy out of the corner of his eye.
Hoping to see something in his expression.
Having worked with Han Fei for many years, how could the forensic expert not understand the meaning of Han Fei's look just now, and immediately began to play along with Han Fei's act.
"I've checked carefully, and the victim's cause of death was indeed the flu. I don't think this is a murder case, just an accidental death."
The forensic expert cooperated with Han Fei in this little performance.
But soon, both were disappointed.
Because upon hearing these words, the boy's face showed no strange expression.
Is the killer not him? Or is he hiding it so well that I couldn't notice? Han Fei thought to himself.
"Alright, I got it. You can go now," Han Fei handed the autopsy report back to the forensic expert, then walked over to the young boy sitting at Xu Mo's desk.
He prepared to continue probing: "The forensic expert made a mistake in their initial judgment at the scene. They originally thought it was homicide, but after the autopsy, they found that the victim died from the flu. Guan Yiliu died of natural causes, and natural deaths aren't our jurisdiction. You're free to go now."
"Huh?" The boy was momentarily confused: "Accidental death? Can they really make such a mistake in judgment..."
His tone, expression, and everything else were too normal.
Han Fei couldn't detect any sense of relief in his behavior.
It seemed as if the police believing Guan Yiliu died accidentally didn't cause any ripples in his mind.
Either he was able to conceal his emotions so well that even Han Fei couldn't detect them.
Or, he wasn't the killer, the real culprit was someone else, and Han Fei had suspected the wrong person.
"Are you going back to school today? If so, I can have someone take you back," Han Fei said to him. "Sorry for wasting your time due to our mistake. Let me arrange for someone to take you back."
"That's not necessary, I can just take a taxi back myself," the boy responded.
Han Fei, however, insisted on having a police officer take him back.
"It's no trouble, I'll have someone take you back. It's the same thing, and you won't have to spend money on a taxi. Wait a moment, I'll find someone to take you."
With that, Han Fei left.
He found Wang Dachuan.
"Take that young boy back to school, and while you're at it, check where he was yesterday, his recent spending records, and whether he's borrowed the school lab to make anything. Be discreet about it."
"Got it, I'll make sure to complete the mission!" Wang Dachuan nodded with a smile.
Although the boy's behavior seemed entirely normal.
Han Fei still decided to investigate him.
If he hadn't purchased any castor beans recently, and hadn't been in and out of the school lab.
Then they could basically rule him out as the killer.
After all, ricin, being such a potent toxin, certainly can't be bought directly, and probably no one would dare to sell such a poison.
To obtain ricin, one would have to buy castor beans and use a school lab to extract the toxin themselves.
...
Meanwhile.
At New River Bay.
Xu Mo led several police officers back to the residential complex.
Ready to complete the task Han Fei had assigned him.
Because he had been blocked by fans at his door that morning, Xu Mo hadn't driven his own car to the police station, but had taken a police car instead.
His car was still parked at home.
For this mission, he was also driving a police car.
The community's access control system couldn't recognize the police car's license plate and wouldn't open the gate automatically. They needed to get out of the car and talk to the security guards to have them open the gate.
While talking to the security guards to have them open the gate, Xu Mo inadvertently overheard a conversation between two guards.
"Where's Xiao Li? Haven't seen him today, did he take a day off?"
"He didn't take a day off, he resigned. He came early this morning to quit. You came late so you didn't see him."
"Oh, I see. I was wondering why I hadn't seen him all day. Why did he quit?"
"Who knows, but he left in quite a hurry, didn't even take the wages he was owed."
"Isn't that crazy? He worked for less than half a month and then quit, without even taking his wages? Sigh... young people these days!"
"..."
There were originally three security guards at the gate, now only two remained.
Xu Mo didn't have much impression of the two remaining guards.
However, he had a very deep impression of the guard who had resigned and left.
Because that guard had a very distinctive appearance, with a very large nose. With such a prominent facial feature, it would be hard for Xu Mo not to remember him.
However, Xu Mo didn't pay much attention to this matter. Leaving a job because you're not happy with it is too common.
Without thinking much about it, after the security guard used the remote control to raise the barrier, Xu Mo immediately drove the car into the community, heading straight for the villa where the victim had been found.