The confession of Marutou was very brief.
She prepared two similar-looking brown sugar steamed cakes at home, one poisoned and one non-poisonous, and planned to find an opportunity during the trip to let the deceased eat the poisoned steamed cake.
Then, she would stuff a bottle of medicinal wine soaked in Aconitum into the deceased's luggage. Because Aconitum is often used as an ingredient to make soup or soak in medicinal wine, accidental ingestion is common, which is barely justifiable, especially since Jia Yue himself loves to drink.
This was Gan Min’s entire plan.
As for the motive of the case, it was the same as previously speculated, stemming from Zhou Chang's death.
The ball-head said, "If Jia Yue hadn't been so self-righteous, Brother Chang wouldn't have died. He was such a good man, and he took care of all of us like a brother. I'm definitely not the only one who wants him to pay the price."
Jian Jing and Ji Feng exchanged glances—there was more than one person, so who could the other one be
She asked: "After you poison me, what else do you do?"
"I didn't have time to do anything." The ball-head emphasized, "I was planning to stuff something into his mouth when he was sick, but he was beaten to death. It really wasn't me who killed him."
"Did you go to the deceased's room again?" Ji Feng asked, "How did you deal with the remaining poisonous steamed cakes?"
"I don't need to do anything," the ball-head explained, "He was probably too hungry and ate it all. I saw it with my own eyes."
In fact, she was quite lucky. The lunch was too bad, causing the victim to be hungry. He ate the poisonous steamed cake in no time, which saved her from the follow-up treatment. The second murderer's actions also made her escape the crime of murder.
Not everyone has such luck and opportunity.
Jian Jing thought about it and asked, "Have you told anyone about this plan?"
She shook her head, "I don't want to involve anyone else, not even Xiao Wen."
"Have you ever paid attention to 204? Do you know when the deceased left?"
The ball-head hesitated for a moment and said, "I noticed it, but there was music playing in the room opposite, so I couldn't hear anything."
Jian Jing thought that she was not lying. Repeatedly hitting the victim's head required not only strength, but also a strong motive for murder and psychological endurance.
The hatred of the girl with the ball head was not that strong, and after she entered the room, she avoided the corpse intentionally or unintentionally, and she did not look like someone who would smash a skull.
Direct killing and indirect killing have completely different impacts.
Since Buntou chose the latter, given her situation, it would be unnecessary and difficult for her to choose the former.
So, who is the second murderer
The high ponytail is ruled out for now - she does not meet the conditions for the case, and according to the girl with the bun, she has never left the room - the only ones left are the blond and the crew cut, as well as the reporter Chai who looks like a passerby and the man with a broken bone.
Because of the behavior of the ball head, the two companions had two motives.
Revenge for Zhou Chang and protect Wanzitou.
Let's put the former aside for now and talk about the second possibility: Maybe the other party guessed the poisoning plan of Marutou through clues and thought that she would do it this afternoon, or wanted to act in advance and use the excuse of repairing the car to make an appointment with the deceased and kill him.
Judging from the time, the yellow-haired guy and the crew cut are equally suspicious.
In order to identify who is more suspicious, we need some other references.
For example, zombies.
"Do you know what's going on with that chicken?" she asked the girl with the ball head.
The ball-head was stunned for a moment, confusion appeared in his eyes, and he instinctively denied: "Chicken? It's not me."
Jian Jing smiled soothingly, indicating that she need not be nervous: "I mean, do you know who did it?"
"I don't know. It's not me, and it won't be Xiao Wen. We're not that bored." She said, "I have a guess, and that's Jia Yue. He's very bored and always likes to make trouble."
This is a new idea. Jia Yue killed a chicken to further confirm the appearance of zombies and in disguise increase the persuasiveness of the car accident.
But is this really the case
At seven o'clock in the evening, Jian Jing and Ji Feng stayed in the restaurant and discussed their progress with each other.
Jian Jing: "I found the Aconitum powder in Gan Min's medicine box."
Ji Feng: "The murder weapon has not been found yet."
"It's not in their luggage or the car?" she asked incredulously.
Ji Feng spread his hands: "I have checked all suspicious things with your luminol, and there is nothing."
She said, "Then I have to suspect the guy with the buzz cut. He might have destroyed the murder weapon on the way back to the parking lot."
Ji Feng said: "Okay, we can assume it was him and reconstruct the crime process?"
"At 14:20, he and Huangmao separated and returned to the hotel one after the other. He met the deceased near the warehouse and killed him. He then returned to the repair site from another path and destroyed the evidence on the way." Jian Jing said, and found a big bug, "Instant noodles - where did the instant noodles come from?"
"The only person who knew what Huang Mao had stolen was the one who was in the hotel at the time." Ji Feng pondered, "The murderer wanted to create the illusion that the deceased was still alive. From this perspective, who is the most suspicious?"
Jian Jing flipped through the book: "The man with the ball head, reporter Chai, the man with the broken bone, and Huang Mao himself."
"The reporters are making too many moves." Ji Feng said based on his intuition, "Although it makes sense, it's really too much."
Jian Jing said, "Around 13:10, Wan Zitou saw the deceased. The waitress was busy in the kitchen until 13:20. If the deceased came to this area, she would have seen him. So it should be between 13:20 and 14:35."
She counted the reporter's movements: "He left at 13:40, came back at 13:50, came to us again at 14:10, and left around 14:15. This is too..."
It is true that reporter Chai has time to investigate the case.
13:20-13:40, 20 minutes, 13:50-14:10, 20 minutes, 14:15-14:35, still 20 minutes.
20 minutes to kill a person is enough, but the question is, why does she make it so complicated
Jian Jing tried to analyze the purpose of each time period: "The photos and videos can prove that there was no body near the warehouse before 13:50, so she killed the person between 13:20 and 13:40? She hid the body, then came back, went downstairs, and took pictures. Then why did she come to us at 14:10? Shouldn't this be an alibi?"
"No, if she wanted to prove her alibi, she should have let everyone find the body in advance." Ji Feng said, "Not every move she made was meaningful. Maybe she was just trying to confuse people."
He thought for a moment, waved his hand and said, "Teacher Jian, let's sort out the things that can be confirmed first, and put the rest aside and don't worry about it."
Jian Jing agreed, turned to a new page and wrote a few words.
Poisoning (confirmed to be done by Wanzitou)
Murder weapon (missing?)
Zombies (???)
Instant noodles (creating 14:35, the illusion that the dead are still alive)
Umbrella (The rain stopped at 14:30. If the deceased had died before that time, he should have been holding an umbrella. Who was the person holding the umbrella that the man with the broken bone saw?)
"That's right." Ji Feng nodded. "There are too many interfering factors. We should do some subtraction. In my opinion, the previous points are all vague. How about we focus on instant noodles?"
Jian Jing shrugged and had no opinion.
He opened the photo album on his phone and his thoughts were clear: "We took pictures of everyone's luggage. The two girls had bread and mints in their luggage, and the two boys only had Snickers in their rooms. According to them, most of the luggage was placed in Room 204 where the deceased lived.
"Reporter Chai's bag contained fruit, Japanese cup noodles, and instant coffee, but the man with the broken bones had nothing to eat. The instant noodles sold in the hotel were all domestic brands, Kangfu and Tongx. But the yellow-haired man got a bag of instant noodles, Shin Ramyun from South Korea.
"So, we can be sure that the instant noodles came from the student group. Either they kept a pack for themselves, or the murderer took it from the victim's room.
"Teacher Jian, do you agree with my analysis?"
She peeled a piece of milk slice and nodded while eating.
"My own." Ji Feng snatched one away without hesitation and continued, "If he kept it for himself, I don't know about the crew cut, and the two girls don't look alike. It can only be that Huang Mao directed and acted in it himself. Then there is no doubt that he is the murderer. But let's let him go first and see if there are any other situations."
He said: "Suppose, the murderer took it from the deceased's room, what would happen?"
Jian Jing thought quietly, "He must have known about the yellow-haired man knocking on the door, which rules out the possibility of a buzz cut: if he came back, he would be seen by the waiter when he went through the front door, and he would have to pass by our room when he went through the back door, but we didn't see him."
"Then there is only one person left." Ji Feng connected seamlessly, "Here comes the key, he must have the key."
The old-fashioned locks used in hotels only have keyholes on the outside, and the door is locked as soon as it is touched. When the deceased left the room, he must have closed the door unless there was an accident.
But Jian Jing immediately proposed a new idea: "There is another possibility. The murderer was in the deceased's room at the time."
Ji Feng was stunned and said in disbelief: "If I understand correctly, it's not that the murderer took the key and happened to be looking for something in the room, but that he killed the victim in the room and then moved the body? How does 204 look like the first scene?"
"I know it's a small probability," she raised her chin, "but we can't rule out the possibility that the murderer knocked the victim unconscious and moved him outside to kill him."
Monsoon: “It’s too much like a detective novel.”
Jian Jing: "I am a writer."
"You still hate me." He was speechless and amused. "I was wrong. I was just a bad mouth. Can you forgive me? Let's talk business."
"This is the most insincere way for a man to admit his mistakes." She sneered, "Who hates you? I'm just checking for omissions and filling in the gaps."
Monsoon: “…”
He wisely changed the subject: "Suppose the murderer had the key, but when we found the body, the key was in the dead man's pocket - he must have had a chance to return it."
Jian Jing pondered, "After 14:35 and before 16:00, the only people who left were Huang Mao and reporter Chai."
Huangmao has two branches. One keeps the instant noodles for himself and lies, or does not keep any. After killing someone, he takes the key and takes the instant noodles, pretending that they appeared in his own room.
Reporter Chai has taken many actions and has many possibilities.
"We now have two suspects," Ji Feng said. "Teacher Jian, pick one and let's try our luck."
She said, "To verify Huang Mao's statement, we need to go to the toilet... If you want to go, go. I don't want to go anyway."
"Okay, let's split up."
Ji Feng went upstairs, but Jian Jing didn't move and continued to think.
If reporter Xiao Chai is the murderer, how did she do it
13:20-13:40 First time period, 20 minutes
13:40-13:50 At the crime scene, no casualties
13:50-14:10 Second time period, 20 minutes
14:10-14:15 Borrow something from Jian Jing
14:15-14:35 The third time period, 20 minutes
14:35-15:20 Instant noodles must be put away
15:30 Go to the kitchen + return the key
The timeline of putting away the instant noodles and returning the key was very reasonable, because she couldn't be sure when the body would be found, so she needed to return it as soon as possible.
Therefore, if she killed someone in the first or second time period, it made no sense not to return the favor in the third time period, but wait until Huangmao came back - she couldn't predict the future and predict that Huangmao would knock on the door.
It can be inferred that 14:15-14:35 is the most likely time of the murder.
But this presents a big problem.
How did she do it
Go down from the emergency exit on the second floor and go directly through the back door. She will definitely pass by the door of 205, but Jian Jing never saw her coming again.
If you go down the stairs, take a detour through the front door, pass through the restaurant, go through the kitchen door, or go around to the back door, you will be seen by the waitress.
She only saw reporter Chai come out once, and he only went to the toilet at around 1:00 p.m.