Chapter 27: The Viper Murder Case (6) Classic Three Choices...

Sang Luo immediately reminded: "Nie Yu may also be lying. He is still a suspect. We can't completely believe what he said."

"That's it," Ma Shi Tu took out a notebook he carried with him, "Let's write down all the possibilities at present, and then eliminate them one by one."

Several people gathered around him, and he wrote in his notebook:

1. Nie Yu is the murderer

2. The murderer wore gloves and foot covers

3. The murderer never entered the scene

Yuan Xiaohu had an idea: "Master, could it be that he wiped off his fingerprints after committing the crime?"

Ma Shi Tu shook his head: "If the murderer wanted to wipe off his fingerprints, he would use a rag to wipe all the places he touched, which would also wipe off the fingerprints of the couple. When we first searched the scene, we extracted a lot of obvious fingerprints, which means that the scene was not deliberately cleaned."

"I see," Yuan Xiaohu stroked his chin, "It's impossible for the murderer to wipe off his fingerprints accurately. Now let's talk about the second one——"

Yuan Xiaohu pointed to the second one: "This is too weird. If the murderer came to visit He Taohua's house, and he wore gloves and foot covers, wouldn't He Taohua find it weird? Would she let such a guest in?"

Ma Shi Tu also agreed with this point: "That's right, and it's also difficult to commit a crime with gloves on. The spotted snake is highly venomous, and the murderer couldn't have brought it with him. He must have brought the snake in a container, such as a glass jar or a mineral water bottle. It would be difficult for the murderer to open the container with gloves on."

After discussing for a while, they finally agreed that the second situation was the least likely, and everyone focused on one and three.

"The murderers represented by one and three are also different," Ma Shi Tu pointed out. "If it is the first case, the murderer is Nie Yu. He lives in this house and can do it whenever he wants. If it is the third case, the murderer is likely to be an outsider."

"Master," Xie Ling'er added, "I asked Nie Yu's colleagues at the bank, and they all said that Nie Yu arrived at work on time in the morning and left work on time in the evening on the day of the incident. He was at the company the whole day and did not go home during the day."

Ma Shi Tu pondered for a moment, "But this doesn't mean he has an alibi. Nie Yu only needs to hide the jar of snake under the bed or in the closet one day in advance. The house is warm anyway, and the snake won't freeze to death. The next morning after breakfast, he can open the container in the closet, release the snake, and then go out to work. It's only a matter of time before He Taohua is bitten by the snake."

"That's what I said," Xie Ling'er thought for a while, "but Master, how can Nie Yu guarantee that he won't be bitten by the snake? What if the snake jumps directly at him as soon as he opens the jar? Isn't this method too risky?"

"You have to take risks to get rich," Sang Luo continued. "Snakes are afraid of medicine. Maybe Nie Yu sprinkled snake-repellent medicine on his clothes in advance."

Yuan Xiaohu couldn't help but say: "But he jumped into the river last night——"

"This could also be a self-torture tactic, performed on purpose for us to see," Sang Luo interrupted him, "From the results, the biggest beneficiary of He Taohua's death is Nie Yu. He will receive two insurance payments soon, and he can pay off his mortgage, so it won't be difficult for him to remarry in the future."

After hearing this, Yuan Xiaohu had to admit: "You are right."

The first situation has been discussed, and only the third one is left. Yuan Xiaohu asked on his own: "The murderer did not enter the scene, but he threw the snake in. How did he do it?"

As soon as Yuan Xiaohu finished speaking, Sang Luo immediately thought of the hint the dictionary gave last night -

【Hole】

There must be a hole somewhere in this house, and the snake came in through the hole!

Before she could say anything, Ma Shi Tu said slowly, "I'm afraid there's a crack somewhere in this house. I've lived in a bungalow like this before. There might be a hole somewhere, and bugs and mice got in."

"Yes, yes, yes," Sang Luo nodded excitedly, "Could it be a rat hole or something?"

Everyone thought it made sense, and they began to look for the entrance to the cave from all directions. The entrance had to be at least as big as a one-dollar coin to allow the spotted snake to pass through.

Sang Luo carefully checked the wall close to the ground and found no rat holes. Others also checked other places but found nothing. Finally, Yuan Xiaohu pointed at the window and asked, "Could it be this?"

Everyone looked in the direction of his finger and saw a small hole in the window glass, probably caused by some naughty kid. The couple was financially tight and did not replace the glass. Instead, they covered the small hole in the window with several layers of thick newspapers, intending to make it through the winter.

"Isn't this hole just right?" Yuan Xiaohu stepped forward and gestured. "It's about the size of two one-yuan coins, big enough for a snake to pass through. And the newspaper on top is very brittle and can be torn with a poke of a finger. As long as we poke open the newspaper and put the snake in, the murderer can complete the poisoning even without entering the scene!"

The glass covered with newspaper was actually very obvious, and everyone noticed it when they first entered the scene, but the reason why no one thought about it was because it was too difficult to commit a crime using it.

Ma Shi Tu shook his head: "Xiao Hu, your idea is good, but look carefully, the newspaper on top is fine, it's not torn at all, how did the snake get in?"

Yuan Xiaohu: "Could it be that the murderer tore off the original newspaper after committing the crime and pasted new newspaper on the window?"

Ma Shi Tu shook his head again: "The newspapers are pasted on both sides, one layer inside and one layer outside. If the murderer is standing on the street, after the poison is successfully delivered, he can replace the newspaper outside, but how can he replace the newspaper inside?"

Yuan Xiaohu was speechless for a moment: "This..."

Ma Shi Tu continued: "If the newspapers in the room were to be replaced, the murderer would have to enter the room. This brings us back to the old question - if the murderer had entered the room, why didn't he leave fingerprints?"

Yuan Xiaohu was speechless, and Ma Shi Tu concluded: "In short, I don't think the murderer poisoned through this hole. Let's look for other places."

Xie Ling'er also expressed her own opinion: "Since there is no suitable hole in the house, the snake may have been thrown in through the door or window. The murderer opened the door or window of the victim's house, but did not come in. He just threw the snake in quickly and then left."

Yuan Xiaohu followed her thoughts and thought: "Such an obvious poisoning could not have been done in front of the owner. He must have thrown the snake when He Taohua was not at home."

"Or when she is sleeping in the bedroom!" Xie Ling'er added.

"Outsiders can't open the doors and windows of this house unless they are already open," Yuan Xiaohu pondered. "He Taohua went out or went to sleep in the bedroom, but the doors and windows of the house were open. Why did she do this?"

Xie Ling'er's eyes turned and she thought of many possibilities: "Maybe she forgot to close the door, or the murderer secretly made a copy of their house key! As for the window, it might be because they wanted to ventilate the house. Her child is still young and needs diapers, so the house smells like feces and urine. Master, am I right?"

Ma Shi Tu said hesitantly, "The first two are somewhat possible. As for opening the windows for ventilation, it is already late autumn and winter is coming soon. The wind is cold and strong. She has a baby at home. As a mother, she probably won't open the windows at this time."

"Ah, I remember now!" Yuan Xiaohu patted his head and jumped up as if he had discovered a new world. "Do you remember? There is a public toilet at the entrance of the alley! There are only bungalows here and no flush toilets. Residents go to the public toilet. I guess He Taohua went to the toilet when the murderer poisoned her!"

"Anyway, this place is only a few steps away from the toilet. He Taohua will be back in a few minutes, so she was too lazy to get the key and didn't lock the door. Instead, she closed the door. The murderer took advantage of this opportunity to strike!"

"The murderer threw the snake into He Taohua's home, and the snake slipped into He Taohua's bed. He Taohua, who had no idea what was happening, came back from the toilet, picked up her child, and sat on the bed as usual. As a result, the snake suddenly attacked her from behind, and she was killed."

Ma Shi Tu nodded slightly: "This statement is somewhat possible. We should ask Nie Yu later whether his wife has such a habit."

Yuan Xiaohu smiled smugly, thinking he was close to the truth.

Seeing everyone discussing heatedly, Sang Luo did not participate at all. She knew very well that none of these were right. It was not the doors or windows. The snake must have come in through the hole, but which hole was it?

She looked around the room and began to concentrate on thinking. There was no hole in the wall, and the hole in the window couldn't be...

Noticing that Sang Luo hadn't spoken for a while, the master asked her, "Sang Luo, what do you think?"

Sang Luo said hesitantly: "I think the snake still came in through the hole. There must be a hole here for the snake to pass through, but we haven't found it yet."

Yuan Xiaohu retorted: "You've hit a dead end. We've already checked the scene and there's no suspicious hole. Where is the hole you're talking about? Is it in the sky?"

The words "Is it in the sky?" suddenly cheered up Sang Luo. She looked up at the roof and suddenly her mind became clear. She shouted, "I understand—"

She explained to everyone anxiously: "Nie Yu has said more than once that the house here is leaking, which means there must be a crack or hole in the roof. The snake is likely to have fallen from the hole in the roof. The murderer was lying on the roof to commit the crime!"

Yuan Xiaohu thought about the scene and felt a tingling sensation on his back: "Oh my god, this is too scary. He Taohua was taking a nap on the bed and a poisonous snake fell from the ceiling..."

Xie Ling'er seemed to have thought of something: "Oh, right, Fu Ainong once fell off the roof! Did he intend to commit a crime and accidentally fell down?"

Sang Luo bit her lip: "I have another guess about this——"

She remembered Fu Ainong's strange laughter in the interrogation room and the disgusting smile on his face, which was the smile he only showed when he was teasing women.

"A year ago, Fu Ainong climbed onto the roof. He didn't climb up there to repair the roof or to commit a crime, but to peek!"

"He fell in front of Nie Yu's house, which means he was not standing on his own roof at the time, but on the roof of Nie Yu's house!"

Amid the shocked faces of the crowd, Sang Luo continued, "When Ling'er and I visited Chuncha Lane for the second time, the neighbors said that Fu Ainong liked to voyeur. He was an old bachelor with nowhere to vent his desires, so he spied on other couples' sexual intercourse."

"Some neighbors didn't draw the curtains when they had sex, so he would just put his face against the window to watch. Nie Yu and his wife, who lived next door to him, must have known his habit, so they drew the curtains in advance. Fu Ainong couldn't see through the window, so he simply climbed onto the roof and looked down through a small hole."

"As a result, he accidentally fell off the roof and broke his left leg. In order to let Nie Yu take him to the hospital, he certainly couldn't tell his true intentions, so he used the excuse of repairing the roof."

The two young men were very shocked. Ma Shi Tu also realized this belatedly: "No wonder, no wonder he kept laughing during the interrogation. He must have been thinking about the scene he secretly saw. There are really all kinds of people in this world."

Fu Ainong had experience in climbing roofs, and he knew where the hole was on the roof of Nie Yu's house. Sang Luo thought that this made him the most suspicious person at the moment.

"Then what are you waiting for? I'll go up and take a look!"

Yuan Xiaohu did what he said. He immediately borrowed a ladder from his neighbor and quickly climbed up to the roof. He moved his feet on the roof, searching carefully inch by inch, fearing that he had missed something. After more than ten minutes, he stood up and waved his hand to everyone in disappointment:

"No, there's no hole in it!"

Several people looked at each other, their original expectations were dashed. Sang Luo was a little discouraged, but she told herself in her heart that all she had done was not in vain, and she had helped to eliminate a possibility in this case.

The morning passed quickly, and they did not gain much. The atmosphere in the team was a bit dull. Ma Shi Tu lit a cigarette and made arrangements for the afternoon:

"Sang Luo and Ling'er, the two of you will re-interrogate all the suspects this afternoon and see if you can get any new information out of them. Xiaohu, you and I will go investigate the source of this snake this afternoon. If we find out where the snake came from, we may know who poisoned it."

Yuan Xiaohu asked in confusion: "Master, where can I find it?"

Ma Shi Tu patted him on the shoulder: "You'll know in the afternoon!"

The group drove towards the police station. Sang Luo sat in the back seat and reviewed the case again in his mind. It was known that the snake entered the victim's home through a hole, and the murderer knew where the hole was. He must be very familiar with the victim's home, so Sang Luo believed that the main suspects were the victim's husband and her neighbors on both sides.

That is Nie Yu, Fu Ainong and Zheng Wutong's family.

Come on, the classic three-choice game begins, Sang Luo said silently in his heart.