Before dawn, the darkness was at its extreme.
Hu Jia was pacing back and forth in the room.
He couldn't bring himself to believe it was a suicide case. He had dealt with many suicides over the years, and from the perspective of those who took their own lives, they always exhibited a conflicted psychological state.
Either they would meticulously clean their rooms before committing suicide, or they would create a chaotic mess to vent their emotions.
However, Fan Ya Fu's room was different. It was indeed very clean, with the quilt folded neatly. The only anomaly was his jacket, which was casually tossed on the bed.
If Fan Ya Fu had truly decided to end his life and tidied up his room, why would he be so careless with this jacket?
Furthermore, people usually leave behind a few words before committing suicide, explaining their reasons or arranging their affairs. But no such items were found in Fan Ya Fu's room, which also didn't make sense.
Not to mention the silver dollars and savings deposit slips that were not dealt with.
"Fan Ya Fu's body will be claimed by his family tomorrow. If we don't find any compelling evidence, we won't be able to stop them," Lü Qingqing voiced her concern.
Fan Ya Fu had three wounds on his head, varying in severity and location. To Lü Qingqing, these were clear suspicious points, but to outsiders, weren't they just normal trauma from a fall?
Therefore, Lü Qingqing wanted to perform an autopsy to confirm if Fan Ya Fu had suffered a severe head injury before falling. It might even reveal whether Fan Ya Fu was dead before the fall or was thrown off the building while unconscious.
But the family disagreed with the autopsy!
Because everyone believed Fan Ya Fu had committed suicide, even if they claimed he was murdered, no one would believe them.
Moreover, many people inherently have reservations about autopsies on deceased bodies, let alone when "homicide" is merely Hu Jia's assertion.
"We have to stop them, we have to persuade them," Hu Jia was also troubled by this.
"How can we persuade them? We don't have any evidence," Lü Qingqing was worried.
"We will! We definitely will!" Hu Jia was motivating himself.
As soon as it was dawn, Lü Qingqing found the Fan family. Although she knew the chances of success were slim, she still wanted to try.
As expected, just like the previous day, before Lü Qingqing could finish speaking, she was met with strong opposition from the other party. Unable to proceed, Lü Qingqing had to invite Fan Ya Fu's younger sister out alone.
"Did your brother treat you well?" Seeing the younger sister's red, tear-filled eyes, Lü Qingqing felt a pang of sadness.
"Yes!" The younger sister nodded. "Sister, I know what you want to say. But everyone saw my brother jump himself. He was already in so much pain; I can't bear to..."
Lü Qingqing understood the younger sister's concerns. "We found something unusual on your brother's head," Lü Qingqing briefly explained the matter of the three wounds. "If he was indeed murdered, would you let the murderer go? Don't you want someone to be accountable for your brother's lost years?"
"But I can't convince Mom and Dad, and besides, these are just your guesses." The younger sister's tone softened slightly, showing Lü Qingqing some progress.
"This way, you help me stall your parents. You just need to give me three hours, no, two hours, and we'll surely find evidence."
Hu Jia was currently outside searching for evidence of Fan Ya Fu's murder, believing it wouldn't take long.
Finally, with Lü Qingqing's assurance, Fan Ya Fu's younger sister agreed to the request.
However, she only gave Lü Qingqing an hour and a half, because according to the customs of their hometown, the remains had to be sent back before noon for good luck.
Lü Qingqing was delighted. An hour and a half, she hoped it would be enough.
At this time, Hu Jia had already run up and down the dormitory building several times, but no matter how he searched, he found no clues.
As time wore on, even he grew tired.
Seeing Hu Jia's dejected expression, Lü Qingqing also became anxious. "Do you think we're caught in a loop?"
"What do you mean?" Hu Jia asked.
"We've been investigating this case as a fall from a height all along, but what if Fan Ya Fu didn't die from falling?" Lü Qingqing said, as they couldn't find any evidence of foul play no matter how they investigated. So why not break free from this limitation and assume Fan Ya Fu was already dead when he stood on the high building?
Could a dead person stand on a high building?
Hu Jia's first reaction was that Lü Qingqing was talking nonsense. His second reaction was, "That's right, who says a dead person can't get on a high building?"
Soon, Hu Jia found all the witnesses from that day again. "Describe the situation that day in more detail."
"I had just finished eating and was about to go back when I saw a person standing on the building from afar. He was walking back and forth on the railing."
"Yes, I remember the wind was strong, and he spread his arms like that. I was so afraid he would fall over."
"I didn't expect him to suddenly jump forward. I was so scared I almost dropped the basin I was holding."
Wait...
Lü Qingqing listened for a while and felt something was not quite right.
Hu Jia also frowned, his eyes darting. "What did you just say? You were afraid he would fall backward?"
Lü Qingqing also asked another person, "What do you mean by 'jump forward'? Doesn't jumping mean falling down?"
The two questions confused the prison guards. "He had his back to us. If he fell backward, he would fall off the building. If he jumped forward, he would jump off the railing and back onto the rooftop."
What?
Hu Jia and Lü Qingqing stood up abruptly. "You mean, Fan Ya Fu always had his back to you?"
"Yes. We never said he was facing us," the prison guards replied.
Hu Jia suddenly understood everything. Why everyone claimed to have seen Fan Ya Fu – they had only seen a back.
"Those were backs, and they all looked similar. Why did you assume it was Fan Ya Fu?" Lü Qingqing asked.
"Someone called his name, and didn't he fall in the end?" the prison guard felt Lü Qingqing's question was absurd.
Lü Qingqing sighed. The killer was truly cunning.
"Who was the first to call out Fan Ya Fu's name?" Hu Jia asked.
At this, everyone looked at each other, unable to answer.
Hu Jia sneered. The biggest puzzle was finally solved.
Soon, everyone was gathered again in the open space in front of the prison guards' dormitory, along with the Fan family.
"Why is this case taking so long? It's annoying!" Some people were already starting to complain, after all, in the freezing cold, who wanted to stand outside and feel the chill.
Lü Qingqing stood before the crowd. "I'm very sorry to have taken up everyone's time again, but it's still about Fan Ya Fu's case."
Lü Qingqing cleared her throat. "Although everyone has told us the scene of Fan Ya Fu's fall many times, we're still not entirely clear. So, we've gathered everyone here to have another look at this building. Perhaps something new will come to mind."
As soon as Lü Qingqing finished speaking, everyone became dissatisfied. Shouts and exclamations filled the air, and an atmosphere of discontent quickly spread.
"What's there to investigate in a suicide case? You want credit, but you can't force a suicide to be a homicide."
"Exactly! Are you going to conjure up a murderer for us?"
As dissatisfaction grew, Lü Qingqing appeared distressed. "Please, everyone, help us out. We also need to report back to our superiors."
"If you want to stand in the cold wind, do it yourself. I'm not staying!" Finally, someone started to walk away.
Lü Qingqing tried to persuade them further, but inadvertently looked up and then cried out in alarm, "Oh, Captain Hu, don't jump! It's dangerous!"