"Check nearby water sources and anything else that could emit large amounts of smoke and dust..."
Hitzfeld frowned slightly and began to turn his neck to look around.
"That's it for now until I finish looking at this house."
Chapter 15 Sadism
The Xinlai family's house was very ordinary. As far as its function as a house was concerned, no one who inspected it could find anything unusual.
"The first floor has the living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom and second bedroom." Daisy carefully introduced the girl as they went downstairs. "The second floor has the master bedroom and study, and above that is the attic, which is usually not called the third floor."
“Are all the houses on Enling Road structured like this?”
"If you mean the function of each floor... maybe someone would choose to move the study to the first floor and the dining room to the second floor, but the overall layout is the same."
"It's a very advanced technique. They should be from the same decoration company?"
"Yes, the houses on Enling Road are all products of Bernard Home Manor. They are very good at decorating this kind of small building, including the scenery in the yard. They can help buyers make it look good without special instructions."
They talked about the structure of the house, its layout and the builder, because no clues were found during an inspection of the second floor and attic.
There was no blood on the floor or walls, not even a speck of it. The ladder leading to the attic was opened and a thick layer of dust could be seen on the attic floor. There was no sign of the dust being disturbed, which ruled out the possibility that the deceased had climbed up to the roof from here.
When they deduced this, everyone felt a chill down their spines, because they couldn't imagine that since the deceased, 7-year-old Brody, didn't climb up the mountain in a normal way, could he have climbed up like a monkey?
The exterior of this house is very exquisite and simple. Even if an adult comes, it is hard to say whether he can climb up smoothly. Brody actually has this ability?
Of course, there is an even more terrifying guess, which is that they have seen the exterior wall of the house, which was stained with a lot of blood.
Because the amount was so large, they couldn't yet determine whether there was a blood path from bottom to top... In other words, it was difficult to determine whether Brody's head "crawled out" of his body with his spine, and then crawled along the wall to the roof.
"Can I go look in the yard?"
After going around in circles and finding no clues, Hitzfeld made a new request.
This is of course no problem.
If her speculation was correct, then there were too many potential targets on Ghost Street... The number of dead could eventually cover the entire Enling Road, and everyone would of course hope to solve the case as soon as possible. As long as it was helpful to solve the case, even if there was only a slight possibility, they would not refuse.
Entering the yard, Hitzfeld looked around and couldn't help but nod his chin slightly.
This is no ordinary backyard.
Enling Road is divided into two sides. On the left side, follow the sidewalk all the way back, and there is an orchard according to Pang Sen's previous description.
And on the right, also according to Ponson’s description, there is a park.
The trees and vegetation of the orchard and park enclose the backyards on both sides of the street. Although blocked by bushes and iron fences, the row of dense trees at the back undoubtedly creates a wider space for imagination, making people subconsciously feel that the yard is very large.
It looked very cozy and should be a nice place to live in... She even saw a small iron gate separated from the other side in the corner of the backyard, which meant that as long as they obtained relevant permission, residents of Enling Road could go directly to the orchard/park from the backyard.
It is very convenient. Not only is it a relaxing place to live in, but you don’t even have to walk far to take a walk or walk the dog after dinner.
But there is a problem.
"What's the security situation in the orchard park behind?" Hitzfeld looked at Daisy.
It is convenient for the householder to go there, and of course it is also convenient for thieves to break into the backyard. The impact is relative.
Compared to the empty streets, it is much more difficult to find people in the park and jungle. It is possible that the murderer may be hiding behind and took advantage of Mrs. Reiner's absence to go to church.
"Oh..." Daisy reacted quickly. She understood what Hitzfeld was asking and immediately said, "It's indeed difficult to observe people, but we have dogs."
"All rangers are equipped with police dogs. The Farrington Police Station has more than just police dogs."
Hearing her say this, Darent and Ethan raised their eyebrows slightly, not quite understanding what she meant for a moment.
Daisy didn't explain. She put her finger in her mouth and made a loud whistle.
After about ten seconds, they saw a large bird with a wingspan of nearly meters flying out of the woods and landing steadily on her right arm.
"Ga!" Seeing the stranger, the big bird acted a little uneasy. It kept trying to spread its wings and made bursts of whistling sounds.
"This is Jessie, a black-spotted mountain eagle." Daisy used her free hand to comfort it, and explained with a very proud tone: "I have been taking care of her since she was a chick. I treat her as a sister. She is a family member and a companion to all of us."
"Very impressive!" Ethan's eyes lit up. "The black-spotted mountain eagle is the most difficult bird of prey to tame... Can it help you keep watch?"
"Absolutely." Daisy nodded. "She can understand some simple instructions. I have trained her since she was young. Whenever she finds a suspicious 'animal' and tells me about it, I will reward her with a big meal. Few thieves can escape her eyes."
"Gah!"
The big bird spread its wings and cried out again, puffing out its strong, furry chest with a look of great pride.
"Wang!"
At this moment, a big snow-white dog suddenly jumped out of the bushes and barked wildly at the eagle: "Ahhhhh!"
"Ga!" The eagle suddenly became alert and stared at the dog, "Ga! Ga——"
"Lily!" Hitzfeld walked over quickly, pressed the dog's head with his left hand, and grabbed its upper and lower jaws with his right hand to shut it up physically.
…She almost forgot about Lily.
Not only did she forget, Darent and Ethan also forgot that when they jumped out of the car and ran over, they were not just collecting fares.
“Is this your dog?”
After a lot of chaos, Daisy finally calmed down the eagle's temper and looked at the big dog in amazement.
"A very beautiful Sherlock... the most beautiful I have ever seen."
"Woof!" Lily began to shake her head.
"Ga!" The black-spotted mountain eagle was unhappy and flapped its wing on its owner's face.
"I didn't say you're not as good as it...Jessie! Are you jealous of even a dog?"
Another round of turmoil.
"So, you often release Jessie to patrol the area, but you never find anything unusual."
Hitzfeld asked Daisy.
"Yes." Daisy raised her chin. "In a wealthy area, public security must be guaranteed."
That would be weird.
Hitzfeld frowned internally.
She kept trying to find potential clues from the outside world and from physical properties in order to avoid being stuck in a single investigation direction.
Yes, she had heard the story of Ghost Street, and it was not difficult to deduce from the known clues that Brody was most likely killed in a dream.
But investigating along the direction of dreams is cumbersome.
It is cumbersome, inefficient and more dangerous. It would be best if we could find traces of the murderer left in reality.
Unfortunately, the other party is very cunning and no clues have been found so far.
"Hey!"
Darent suddenly shouted from the side.
“Look at this!”
"what is this?"
Several people walked up to him and stared at an old locust tree with him.
This tree is at least several decades old. The trunk is very thick, and new buds have begun to sprout on the rough trunk.
Following the position pointed by Darent, they noticed that there were many small "scars" on it, a bit like they were caused by a blunt knife.
"These are whip marks..." Ethan frowned.
"Boss! New discovery!"
At this moment, the police officer named Tom rushed into the yard and shouted: "The autopsy team just came. Guess what they found on the back of the body?"
"Whip marks! Lots of whip marks!"
"What did you say?"
Everyone in the yard was startled and quickly followed him back to the front yard, where they saw that Brody's back was covered with tiny red marks.
"This...was done by the murderer?"
Daisy was very excited and guessed aloud unconsciously.
She had been holding her breath until now and finally got a clue. If it weren't for outsiders like Hitzfeld being present, she would have wanted to hug Jess and kiss her madly.
"I'm afraid not."
Hitzfeld frowned and glanced towards the house.
If nothing unexpected happened, the impression she had previously made on Lady Sinlai would have to be torn down and rebuilt.
Come to think of it...
A widow bears such tremendous pressure alone.
If a person doesn't even have a channel to vent his emotions, then he is not normal.
Chapter 8: Paying Back the Debt with Shame
"Indeed...I beat him."
Half-leaning on the sofa, Mrs. Xinlai, who had just woken up, admitted it directly.
When she just woke up, she wanted to scream again, but Daisy kept assuring her that they would definitely catch the murderer and avenge Brody, and her emotions gradually stabilized.
"Why?" Darent said bluntly, "That is far beyond the limits of normal education. Are you abusing your child?"
Those whip marks are all on the back.
At first, the body was lying on its back, and the huge wound on the neck almost attracted all their attention. In addition, the clothes on the back were soaked in blood and stuck together, so they were not noticed at first.
But once they find out, anyone can see how unreasonable it is - everyone would spank their children when disciplining them, but who would go so far as to hit them so hard?
"This is the detective from the capital, Wayne Port, Mr. Isendal." Seeing that the woman was about to lose her temper again, Daisy quickly introduced her, "And this is Miss Aisun Hitzfeld, and this is Mr. Mapsdalen. They are together, and their professionalism is far beyond that of ordinary police officers."
After she said this, Mrs. Xinlai's face looked better.
"I don't want to hit him like that." The woman on the sofa whispered, "But what can I do? After Mark left, all my hopes were on him. I never remarried, not only because I really couldn't let go of Mark, but more importantly, I wanted to prove that I could take good care of Brody even if I was alone. I used this method to fight back against those people and those faces."
This is easy to understand.
She was a widow. Very young, not even thirty years old. Not bad looking, and had inherited a huge fortune for an ordinary person.
Although she still has a child, such conditions are what many people dream of. Mrs. Xinlai herself does not want to find someone to marry again, but it does not mean that others do not have this idea.
She was in great demand. Hitzfeld could imagine that she might be able to enjoy some peace and quiet during the time immediately following her husband's death, but over time, people with connections would surely come knocking on her door and discuss finding her a new home.
But she didn't want to.
She must have heard some gossip during the argument, and she has proven how arrogant she is, so she wanted to fight back in this way.
In other words, she was no longer simply fighting back against those people, but rather seeing this as a rebellion against fate.
"But he... doesn't want to..." The woman's eyes turned red and she started crying again, "He is very sensible... He doesn't want me to worry about many things, but he just... (sniffling sound) doesn't show much interest in academics."
"Is he doing poorly in school?" Darent asked again.
The woman just shook her head and said nothing more.
Hitzfeld thought Darent was asking nonsense.
Given this woman's expectations for the future, it doesn't matter if Brody's grades are not bad.
She wants more than just "not bad", even "not bad" can't satisfy her appetite.
It has to be "excellent".
But Brody obviously couldn't do it.
Mrs. Sinlai might have the patience to talk slowly at first, but it was always ineffective and she would always get angry.
That's where those welts come from.
She probably had Brody facing the locust tree and whipped him from behind with a whip.
Sometimes it was more of a threat, and the whips mostly landed on trees.
Of course, it is not ruled out that she drew the wrong number.
