Suspect

"Just based on the fact that the victim's skull was struck multiple times, it doesn't necessarily prove that the murderer couldn't be an adult male, right? What if the murderer killed out of anger? If it's just to vent anger, then hitting a few more times seems normal to me," Xiao Li questioned, rubbing his chin after hearing Xu Mo's analysis.

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

In previous cases, victims being stabbed multiple times were common. Aiming for a spot where one stab could kill, yet insisting on stabbing ten or even twenty times... wasn't that just to vent anger?

So in his view, the murderer repeatedly striking the victim's skull could also be to vent anger, not because of insufficient strength to kill with one blow.

Xu Mo glanced at Xiao Li.

"I still maintain my previous view; the murderer definitely isn't an adult male. The murder weapon in this case is a hammer. If an adult male wanted to vent anger, he would definitely use a lot of force. If that were the case, the victim's skull would probably be smashed to pieces."

Hearing this, Xiao Li was slightly stunned.

Xu Mo seemed to make sense...

If an adult male wanted to vent anger by smashing the victim's skull with a hammer, what would the skull look like? It would probably be unrecognizable!

But soon, he thought of another possibility: "What if the murderer deliberately controlled his strength? He didn't use his full strength when killing, aiming to mislead us into thinking the murderer isn't an adult male."

"That's possible..." Xu Mo nodded. "But this possibility assumes the murderer is a habitual offender, someone who has killed more than once. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to maintain his sanity while killing. If it's the first time, he would be nervous and scared, leading to excessive force, using all his strength to ensure the victim is dead. There wouldn't be any time to control his strength, would there?"

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

After a brief examination of the body, Xu Mo stood up and removed his gloves.

"That's all we can deduce from the body. Let's find eyewitnesses and residents nearby to see if we can get any other clues."

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

Of course, it was just a suspicion, and he would need more time to confirm it.

"Alright," Xiao Li nodded. Unconsciously, he had started following Xu Mo's train of thought.

Outside the police tape, there were already many onlookers.

These days, people want to see all kinds of excitement, even murder cases. But luckily, they were kept at bay by the police tape and officers. Otherwise, if these onlookers saw the dismembered body parts clearly, they might be scared into fainting, let alone watching the excitement.

"Did someone die? Who died?"

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

"I know, I know. It was Old Mrs. Chen. She was killed and then thrown into the trash."

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

"No, not that Old Mrs. Chen, the other Old Mrs. Chen!"

"Oh, so it's that Old Mrs. Chen!"

"...

Listening to the discussions of the onlookers, the police officers beside them were confused: "???"

Which one is it?

Which one?

At that moment, Xu Mo and his team walked out from behind the police tape and found the old lady who had called the police.

"Auntie, can I ask you a few questions?" Xu Mo smiled and said.

The old lady nodded blankly, indicating it was okay.

"When did you find the body parts in the trash? Were there other people around when you found them?"

The old lady blurted out: "Just now. I was originally looking through the trash for recyclables to collect and sell, and then I found that bag... I realized something was wrong and called the police. There was only me at that time."

"Do you know the deceased?"

"Yes."

"Do you know if anyone in this area had a grudge against the deceased?"

"No," the old lady shook her head without hesitation.

"Can you tell us what you used to do for a living?" Xu Mo suddenly asked a question unrelated to the case.

As a result, all the police officers around Xu Mo looked at him in unison, their faces full of confusion.

The witness's job, does it have any connection to the case? There's no relation at all!

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

"I used to work in a knitting factory, but later, as I got older, my eyes couldn't handle it, so I quit. Now I just pick up recyclables to sell."

Hearing this, Xu Mo couldn't help but sigh. The warm smile on his face earlier disappeared completely, and his tone turned cold: "One last question, why did you kill her?"

All the police officers: "???"

Is this old lady the murderer? Isn't she the one who found the body?

How did Xu Mo suddenly ask someone why they killed? What basis did he have for this? From the previous questions?

It doesn't make sense!

From the previous questions, they didn't feel the old lady had any issues. Instead, they felt Xu Mo's questions were problematic.

While investigating, he suddenly asked about someone's previous job. This move was quite puzzling, and his thinking was too erratic!

However, after hearing Xu Mo's words, the old lady, who had been very calm, suddenly changed her expression, becoming flustered, even stuttering: "I, I didn't kill her. She wasn't killed by me. I just happened to find her body. This has nothing to do with me."

In the eyes of the other police officers, the old lady's flustered expression was a reaction to being scared by Xu Mo.

After all, who asks a witness why they killed someone like that?

Asking a witness why they killed someone? How could any witness not be afraid?

Not only did the local Hang City police officers find Xu Mo's questioning method unacceptable, but even his colleague Chen Ke felt it was too much.

He quickly walked up to Xu Mo, tugged at his clothes, and whispered, "Don't mess around, look how scared the auntie is. You might scare her to death."

But Chen Ke's concern was clearly unnecessary.

This old lady could remain calm upon seeing dismembered body parts. Would she be scared just because of Xu Mo's question?

In other words, her flustered expression wasn't because Xu Mo scared her; it was because she had something to hide!