CS: K9 GF | Chapter 6 – Another Murder Case: Securing the Crime Scene

Several more days passed.

As usual, Luo Fei arrived at the police station at 7:30 AM.

The office was nearly empty.

During their first few days on the job, Zhao Le and the other rookies had made a point of arriving early. However, after realizing that most officers simply showed up right before work officially started, they quickly adopted the same habit.

After entering the office, Luo Fei put a kettle on to boil water. Then he pulled out a copy of The Law of Evidence, flipped to the page he had been studying the previous day, and resumed reading.

He had barely settled into his seat when a series of hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Moments later, Station Chief Zhou Weimin strode into the office.

"Luo Fei, are you the only one here?" Zhou asked, glancing around.

"Yes, Chief."

Zhou nodded.

"A homicide has occurred at Orchid Garden Residential Community on Wuyi Old Street. Come with me immediately—we need to secure the scene."

Without waiting for a response, Zhou turned and headed back outside.

Luo Fei quickly grabbed his cap and hurried after him.

As they walked, Zhou continued making phone calls.

"Don't return to the station. Head directly to Orchid Garden. There's been a murder."

By the time they reached the parking lot, Zhou was still coordinating with others over the phone.

He suddenly looked at Luo Fei.

"Do you have a driver's license? Can you drive?"

"Yes. I've driven before."

Without another word, Zhou tossed him the car keys and climbed into the passenger seat.

The police station was less than three kilometers from Wuyi Old Street.

They arrived in under ten minutes.

As soon as they entered Orchid Garden Residential Community, they spotted a large crowd gathered around one of the grassy areas.

The crime scene was obvious.

"Make way! Police!"

Zhou shouted as he and Luo Fei pushed through the crowd.

The residents quickly stepped aside.

Only then did Luo Fei get a clear look at the scene.

A young woman wearing gray pajamas lay motionless on the lawn.

She appeared to be in her early twenties.

Even in death, her delicate features and fair complexion hinted at the beauty she had possessed in life.

But now her eyes would never open again.

Suicide?

Homicide?

Time of death?

The questions immediately surfaced in Luo Fei's mind.

And then…

Nothing.

He knew that factors such as rigor mortis and lividity could help estimate a victim's time of death.

But how exactly was that analysis performed?

He had no idea.

Writing detective novels and solving real cases were two entirely different things.

"Luo Fei, get the crime scene tape up first. Don't let anyone contaminate the scene. The Criminal Investigation Division is almost here."

Zhou's instructions snapped him back to reality.

Luo Fei immediately set up the police cordon and began maintaining order while they waited.

A few minutes later, the Criminal Investigation Division arrived.

There were four detectives in total—two men and two women.

The leader was someone Luo Fei already knew:

Captain Zhao Donglai.

Unlike the approachable Zhou Weimin, Zhao projected an intimidating presence.

His stern expression and cold demeanor practically warned people to keep their distance.

Luo Fei also recognized two of the other detectives—a crew-cut male detective and a short-haired female detective wearing glasses. They had both worked the Gu Youguo murder case.

The fourth detective was unfamiliar.

She was a tall young woman with a ponytail, fair skin, and a cool, composed temperament.

"Chief Zhou, what's the situation?"

Zhao got straight to the point.

"We just arrived ourselves," Zhou replied.

"We've only secured the perimeter so far. We don't know anything yet."

Zhao nodded and turned toward the gathered residents.

"Who reported the incident?"

A middle-aged woman wearing black-rimmed glasses immediately raised her hand.

"I did. I'm the property manager."

"Come here."

Once she approached, Zhao began questioning her.

"Is the victim a resident of this community?"

"Yes. Her name is Su Xiao. She lives in Apartment 808 and works at the silk factory."

Zhao scanned the surrounding buildings.

"No surveillance cameras?"

The property manager looked embarrassed.

"It's an old residential complex. We never installed any."

Zhao wasn't surprised.

Many residential areas throughout Ningjiang County still lacked surveillance systems.

Instead of dwelling on the issue, he moved on.

"Who discovered the body first?"

"Our cleaner, Zhao Xiaohui. She found the body while cleaning the lawn this morning and notified me immediately. I called the police as soon as I arrived."

Zhao then interviewed Zhao Xiaohui, whose account matched the property manager's exactly.

Within a few minutes, he had gathered the victim's basic background information.

At that moment, the ponytailed detective approached after removing her gloves.

"Captain Zhao, based on the lividity and rigor mortis, the estimated time of death is around six o'clock this morning."

She continued calmly.

"The victim's hands and knees show no signs of comminuted fractures. However, her lumbar spine is broken, and there is significant blunt-force trauma to the back of her head."

"This indicates that she did not instinctively brace herself during the fall."

"She appears to have struck the ground while lying on her back."

"That typically occurs only if the victim was unconscious during the fall—or was already dead beforehand."

"As for whether she died before or after the fall, we'll need the autopsy report to determine that."

Listening to the detective's analysis, Luo Fei felt somewhat discouraged.

He had examined the body too.

Yet he hadn't noticed any of those details.

The difference in expertise was obvious.

This was what professional investigative training looked like.

Meanwhile, Zhao Donglai nodded thoughtfully.

"There's another detail worth noting."

Everyone turned toward him.

"The body's landing position."

Luo Fei immediately looked back at the corpse.

Then it clicked.

He remembered reading that bodies fall differently depending on whether someone jumps voluntarily or is pushed.

A victim thrown from a building generally lands farther from the structure.

But whether the current position was considered near or far…

Luo Fei couldn't tell.

"The body landed too far from the building," the ponytailed detective explained.

"The victim likely fell from the eighth-floor balcony."

"If she jumped on her own or accidentally fell, her body should have landed within roughly one meter of the building."

"Instead, the distance is significantly greater."

"That strongly suggests she was thrown."

The explanation hit Luo Fei hard.

His criminal investigation knowledge was embarrassingly shallow.

His experience as a mystery novelist had given him some theoretical understanding, but only at a superficial level.

At that moment, he made up his mind.

Once he got home, he would begin seriously studying criminal investigation techniques.

He couldn't keep stumbling around like an amateur.

Although he had never openly said it, ever since obtaining the Gene Fusion System, Luo Fei had never intended to spend his entire career as an ordinary community police officer.

If he wanted to advance, talent alone wouldn't be enough.

His own effort was equally important.

As Luo Fei silently strengthened his resolve, he spotted Zhang Haiyang arriving alongside Liu Haiquan and Zhao Le.

A short while later, after assigning one detective to continue photographing and collecting evidence outside, Zhao Donglai led the rest of the team upstairs to Apartment 808.

Luo Fei followed Zhang Haiyang.

Meanwhile, Zhao Le and Liu Haiquan remained below to maintain order around the crime scene.

Apartment 808

As soon as they entered, Zhao Donglai addressed everyone.

"Be careful not to touch anything unnecessarily. We don't want to contaminate the scene."

The moment Luo Fei stepped inside, he caught a faint scent in the air.

Cigarette smoke.

Subtle, but unmistakable.

Immediately, he began scanning the apartment for ashtrays, cigarette butts, or any sign of smoking.

Yet despite searching carefully, he found nothing.

He also remembered that the victim's body downstairs hadn't carried any noticeable smell of tobacco.

Based on that observation, he concluded that Su Xiao likely wasn't a smoker.

Combined with the detective's earlier analysis, a possibility emerged.

The lingering cigarette odor may have been left behind by the killer.

While the others continued searching for evidence, no one else seemed to notice the faint smell.

Luo Fei glanced toward the living room.

Chief Zhou, Captain Zhao, and the detectives were already discussing the case.

Part of him wanted to join the conversation.

Unfortunately, as a trainee officer, he didn't have the standing to insert himself into the discussion.

After some thought, he approached Zhang Haiyang.

"Master, I can smell cigarette smoke inside the apartment."

He decided not to hide his enhanced sense of smell.

If he wanted to advance in his career, he needed people to recognize his abilities.

Opportunities wouldn't come to someone who constantly concealed their talents.

Zhang Haiyang took several deep breaths and sniffed the air.

Then he frowned.

"Really?"

He couldn't smell anything at all.

However, he also knew Luo Fei's sense of smell was unusually sharp.

After all, Luo Fei's nose had been the key to uncovering the Gu Youguo murder case in the first place.

Perhaps there really was something there after all.