Chapter 481: Detective Chinatown 2
Chapter 481: Detective Chinatown 2 (7)
"Coincidence murder?"
"Coincidence kills!"
After hearing Qin Feng's words, everyone at the scene looked at each other and immediately began to discuss in a low voice.
Coincidence murder, what kind of criminal method is this?
Qin Feng did not keep the person in suspense and gave an explanation immediately.
“Generally speaking, a so-called secret room should be a closed place that is completely isolated from the inside and outside.
When we saw the crime scene where Dr. Li died, we subconsciously thought it was a closed-room crime because the walls around it were thick, there were no windows, and the door was closed and locked from the inside.
But we often overlook another point, which was also mentioned by John Dickson Carr through Dr. Gideon Fell in his work "The Three Coffins".
[Your chamber has a door, a window, and solid walls.
Before discussing the method of escape, assuming that all doors and windows are closed, I will not mention the cheap tricks like having a secret corridor leading to a secret room.
We won't discuss the minor fouls, such as the gaps between the wall panels, which are wide enough to fit your hand through, or the bolt holes in the ceiling, which are wide enough to fit a pipe through.
Although these thoughts are small, they are also violations. 】
So this is also one of the core points of the thirteen types of secret rooms mentioned by Carl. A secret room is not necessarily a secret room.
Then, although Dr. Li died in a secret room, the murderer was not necessarily in the secret room.
Finally, the murderer's method of killing people, since it is impossible to enter the secret room, then using the mechanism to kill people remotely is undoubtedly an excellent choice. "
"So what you mean is that the murderer used three closed-room murder methods at the same time, using the mechanism outside to kill Dr. Li in the basement?
What kind of mechanism is that? We didn’t see any traces of a mechanism at the scene.”
Noda Hao was a little confused, but before Qin Feng could explain, he reacted first.
“You mean…the ventilation ducts?
But Dr. Li died from a gunshot wound. Could the murderer have used a mechanism? Indeed, if the design was reasonable, the gun could be sent into the ventilation duct, and with the addition of a camera and a triggering device, it would be possible to shoot Dr. Li from the ventilation hole.
Or they could have set up a gun mechanism at the ventilation duct in the basement in advance, killed Dr. Li, and then had someone who came in later dismantle the mechanism."
After Noda Hao said this, everyone else suddenly realized that this was the way to kill Dr. Li, which was indeed very reasonable.
Kiko also reacted at this time, looked at Qin Feng and said:
“No wonder you had that reaction when Lin Wanru’s hand was cut by the vent grille.
She said that after her hand was cut, Dr. Li used sandpaper to polish the edges of the grilles. As a result, her hand is still cut now, which means that the grilles of the vents have been replaced with new ones.
You realized from this that the murderer killed people in the ventilation duct."
Qin Feng nodded, then shook his head. Just as he was about to speak, a detective wearing a white coat, who had entered the rankings for solving cases scientifically, suddenly spoke up to refute:
"No, I've read the autopsy report of the deceased. The angles of the wounds on his body are irregular. It's obvious that the shooting points did not come from one place, unless the murderer has placed gun mechanisms in every ventilation hole.
Moreover, the space at the ventilation outlet of the basement is not large, so it is not easy to install the mechanism. In addition, Dr. Li attaches great importance to the basement, so it is impossible to hide such a huge amount of work in the basement from him.
As for inserting the gun through the ventilation duct, that is nonsense. The ventilation system of the deceased's house is not a straight duct, but has several bends underground, and the duct is narrow, so this method will not work. "
"Yes."
Buffalo Billy also agreed at this time. He had rich experience in the use of firearms, so he undoubtedly had more say in this area.
“The design of the mechanism of a firearm is not that simple. It is not just a crossbow, steel wire, or a blade.
Taking into account the kinetic energy of the gunpowder, the device must be firmly fixed.
If the murderer had that ability, he could avoid Dr. Li and install these mechanisms in the basement quietly.
Then he could easily enter the basement and shoot Dr. Li directly, there would be no need to go through so much trouble.
Anyway, the murder clearance rate in New York is not high, generally below 50%, so even if they just shoot him, the risk is very low. "
When Billy finished speaking, Chen Ying, a New York police officer, glared at him, but the big white man didn't care at all.
As for Qin Feng, he also nodded and asked:
"Yeah, why bother?
According to Occam's razor theory that I mentioned earlier, if you want to kill Dr. Li, it is very simple. Just let a gang member shoot him on his way home.
Convenient, fast, efficient, high success rate and low risk.
Many people think that murder involves sophisticated mechanisms, brain-burning tricks, and secret methods.
But in reality, most murders are just a simple one-shot killing, which is even easier in foreign countries where gun control is lax.
Whether it is Lu Guofu's attempt to get rid of Dr. Li and take over the Longqing Society, or the Zhiren Company's attempt to monopolize the research results, this is undoubtedly the best choice.
Why would the murderer go to the trouble of creating a locked-room murder case?"
Qin Feng's words resonated with Noda Hao.
"Indeed, you are right. When I think about it carefully, Dr. Li's case has a weird atmosphere from beginning to end, as if there is some invisible hand manipulating it behind the scenes."
"No, aren't we talking about the murderer's method of killing? Don't go off topic." Tang Ren interrupted their conversation.
Qin Feng smiled slightly.
"Yes...yes, we have been racking our brains to figure out the murderer's method of killing, and we think it is very mysterious and complicated.
But is there a possibility that for the murderer, this method of killing was very simple, as easy as shooting Dr. Li on the road?
So he didn't choose to do it on the road, but chose to let Dr. Li go back home and do it in the basement. "
"Hey, tell me, what is the murderer's method of killing?" KIko asked.
Qin Feng used his hand as a gun with his index finger pointing downwards.
“Is there a possibility that the murderer simply came to Dr. Li’s lawn that day, put the gun into the outdoor vent of the ventilation system, and then pulled the trigger.
The bullet then ricocheted inside the pipe and eventually exited through a vent in the basement, striking Dr. Lee.”
"impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible!"
The detectives at the scene shouted almost in unison.
"Do you know what you're talking about?"
Noda Hao said excitedly:
“之前我们分析李博士是自杀还是谋杀，当时我说他开枪造成的八颗跳弹全部反击到自己身上，概率是P=（4.7/360）^8≈2.7×10^-15，相当于连续中17次强力球头奖。
The possibility of the situation you mentioned is even lower than this.
Fire a shot from the outdoor ventilation hole, the bullet ricocheting in the several-meter-long pipe, then shooting out of the vent and hitting someone in the basement?
Do you think you are playing Many Bricks Breaker (a bouncy ball game)? During this period, the initial angle of incidence, the angle of the bullet in the tube, and the final landing point calculation are impossible to complete instantly even with supercomputers.
Not to mention that he had to complete the same successful operation 8 times, which is even more miraculous than a miracle. Only an omnipotent God can do it. "
"Hahaha, is this the level of the second-ranked detective?"
In the hall, Buffalo Billy also raised his head and let out a piercing laugh. Although he had teamed up with Qin Feng and others before, it did not mean that he completely recognized this young Chinese detective.
"I thought you were going to come up with some earth-shattering theory, but this is all you got. It's sheer nonsense."
The other detectives around also showed disdainful expressions, some sneered in a low voice, and some shook their heads and sighed.
Even Kiko, after immediately using the computer at hand to simulate the method Qin Feng mentioned, looked at the calculated possible results and remained silent with a frown on his face.
The possibility is indeed too low.
No one at the scene agreed with him. The hall fell into silence, with only Buffalo Billy's laughter echoing.
Except for one person.
"Who says it's impossible? Everything is possible!"
Tang Ren suddenly shouted, and regardless of the strange looks from the people around him who were looking at him as if he were a fool, he took the initiative to stand up.
His eyes swept over everyone present, and his voice was very loud.
"My brain is not good enough to calculate the success rate, and I don't know what trajectory is.
But there is one thing I am clear about - there are so many bad people in this world, and their methods of committing crimes are so bizarre!
As a detective, our task is to find out every bad guy and study every possibility! "
"Idiot!" Billy said disdainfully.
Tang Ren ignored his ridicule and walked to Qin Feng.
“No matter how small this possibility is, as long as it exists, we cannot ignore it!
You so-called "high IQ detectives" are always calculating, but solving cases does not rely on numbers, but on this--"
He pointed to his heart and then to his temple.
"It's intuition, it's experience, it's a flash of inspiration, and it's persistence in the truth!"
As he spoke, he patted Qin Feng on the shoulder and encouraged him:
"Don't worry, Lao Qin. They can laugh at you, but don't forget that it is this kind of 'nonsense' that has helped us solve so many seemingly impossible cases!
Think about that time in Thailand..."
Qin Feng felt Tang Ren's recognition and encouragement, and was very moved, but he still said:
“It’s not a hunch, and I’m not worried.
Since I dare to raise this possibility, I have the evidence.”
"Evidence? What evidence?" Billy asked disdainfully.
"Traces of bullet ejection in the pipe." Noda Hao suddenly spoke up and helped him answer.
“Although my rational thinking makes me unable to believe this possibility, but since you said there is evidence, then there is only one possibility, that is the bullet’s ejection mark inside the pipe.
The killer could replace the grille on the vent, but he couldn’t replace the buried ventilation duct quietly.”
"really."
Qin Feng nodded, a smug smile on his face.
“It’s easy to verify this without digging up the pipe.
I asked Ms. Lin to contact her friend at Columbia University and borrow a snake-like robot. I asked her to help control the robot to drill into the pipe and expose its image and take photos.
Qin Feng forwarded the photos that he had just sent to his mobile phone to Kiko, asking her to help project them onto the snow-white walls of the hall.
It can be seen that there are indeed many traces of bullets on the ventilation duct.
"This doesn't mean that the method of killing you described is correct!"
Billy was still a little stubborn, but there were fewer detectives like him, and everyone's views on the matter had finally changed a little.
Qin Feng did not argue with him and just said:
"Let's not discuss the murderer's method of killing, but at least we can be sure of one thing, that is, Dr. Li's death was definitely not suicide, but homicide!
Moreover, if we analyze based on the method I mentioned, the scope of suspects is also expanding and is no longer limited to certain people.
We can open our minds and think of more possibilities.”
"Now that you mention it, I have an idea."
Noda Hao's poor Mandarin sounded again at this time.
“Billy just said that in the United States, if you want to murder someone, it is undoubtedly more appropriate to just shoot them on the street.
And if the murderer really used the method you described, he either had powerful computing abilities or was able to predict the future and interfere with probability.
No matter which method is used, it will not lead to something like a 'murder in a closed room'.
Reality is not a detective novel or a movie. Generally speaking, when this situation occurs, there are only three possibilities.
First, the murderer is a crazy detective novel fan with mental illness. He deliberately set up a maze so that he can show off his killing skills and enjoy the pleasure of committing a high-IQ crime.
Second, the murderer is some kind of X cultist, and the killing must be carried out according to a certain ritual. Even the method of killing Dr. Li is the result of the ritual. "
"There is a third possibility!"
Qin Feng took over Noda Hao's words and continued:
"In addition to killing Dr. Li, the murderer also wants to use his death to achieve other goals!"
"Because of the 'Secret Room Murder' incident, we have been focusing our attention on Dr. Li.
After all, for a detective, especially one who is at the top of the rankings and the world's top detective, "locked room murder case" is undoubtedly very attractive.
So we dug deeper around Dr. Li, and found the Homo Sapiens company, his laboratory, and his female assistant Ms. Lin. We also followed the clues and discovered the illegal transactions between Lu Guofu and the Longqing Society.
All of this meets the detective's expectations for a perfect crime, including murder disguised as suicide, complex and mysterious killing methods, poignant love, secret evil deals, and a righteous death...
If this were made into a movie, I can’t imagine how much it would do at the box office.”
Hahahaha!
There was a loud laugh in the screening room because of Qin Feng's line.
"But the only thing that the people behind the scenes missed was that it was all too perfect, too thoughtful, and too much in line with people's imagination.
He forgot that our human society is actually just a big makeshift team."
(End of this chapter)