Chapter 291 Clear
The snow reflected on Xia Lili's solemn face. She held the phone and whispered, "If this is really a murder, we must catch the real culprit now."
She looked at the white snow road in the distance, where An Zhaoyan was warming up.
Xia Lili's voice was filled with worry. "If we can't find out the truth this time, who knows when and where the murderer will strike again. We can't protect An Zhaoyan all the time."
Li Qihan's voice came through the receiver, calm and clear. "The key point is that she was injured by a crossbow arrow, but in your hallucination, there was no arrow on her body when she fell to the ground. This means that the murderer removed the murder weapon afterwards."
After being reminded of this, Xia Lili carefully recalled the scene in the snow, but there were no footprints next to An Zhaoyan's body in the snow. The footprints should have been covered by the falling snow.
Li Qihan paused and continued his analysis: "This is most likely a carefully planned murder."
Li Qihan calmly analyzed on the other end of the line, "If it was an accidental shooting, the killer's mentality would usually be panic and escape. He would most likely flee the scene immediately rather than risk returning."
"Taking risks?" Xia Lili asked subconsciously.
"That's right." Li Qihan's tone became more and more certain. "Returning to the scene to pull out the arrow is an extremely dangerous and unnecessary action."
"First, he needed to confirm whether the victim was dead, which would require him to get close to the center of the scene, where he could easily be spotted by others or attacked by the bear, which might still be nearby."
"Secondly, the act of pulling out the arrow will leave more traces, such as bloodstains, clearer footprints, and even hair or clothing fibers left behind during the struggle."
He paused, letting Xia Lili digest the information, and then threw out the most core inference:
"If a simple bear hunter accidentally injures someone, his first reaction is definitely to run away. He will never take the initiative to approach and increase the risk of exposure. Only one kind of person will have to return to the scene and remove the arrow—"
Xia Lili understood instantly, feeling a chill running down her spine: "...It's the murderer himself! He must take back the murder weapon!"
"Yes." Li Qihan's voice was firm, "Because he needed to cover up this as a murder. The crossbow bolt is like a gun shell; it's unique evidence."
"By looking at the arrow's model, craftsmanship, and even the slightest wear and tear, it's very possible to trace the crossbow's origins and ultimately identify its purchaser or user. The murderer removed the arrow to sever this most direct clue, thus misleading everyone's investigation into an 'accident' or 'beast attack.'"
He concluded, "This proactive act of eliminating evidence is inherently purposeful and anti-detection."
"This is definitely not something a panicked, accidental killer would do. Instead, it was a calm, cruel, and well-planned murderer who was cleaning up the scene as planned. Therefore, the possibility of intentional murder is far greater than accidental injury."
Li Qihan's words were like a bolt of lightning, splitting the fog in Xia Lili's mind.
That's right... a hunter who accidentally injures someone, if he still has a trace of conscience, and returns to the scene at the great risk of being attacked by a bear, his purpose can only be to save people.
Her mind raced.
The person who accidentally injured An Zhaoyan should have rushed over to check on her injuries, tried frantically to stop the bleeding, and frantically looked for signals to call for help.
How could one possibly do something like “pulling an arrow”?
That will only cause the wound to tear and cause the person to die faster!
Think about it the other way around...
A person who returned to the scene ignored the injured person who fell to the ground. He had a clear goal and only focused on destroying the murder weapon... Xia Lili felt a chill rising from the bottom of her heart.
This suggests that his only purpose was to destroy evidence.
He knew very well that he was here to kill people. He didn't care about An Zhaoyan's life or death. He might even... go to confirm whether she was dead or not.
So, this was definitely not a mistake.
This was a cold-blooded murder.
After discussing with Li Qihan, Xia Lili's thoughts suddenly became clear.
Xia Lili's suspicions about ski instructor Thorne instantly magnified.
She gathered her thoughts and said, "Oh, by the way, when I went up to the observation deck at the top of the mountain with An Zhaoyan, I happened to see a skiing expert performing."
"An Zhaoyan is usually so aloof, but she clearly has a special admiration and trust for this person. I heard her say that the expert named Thorn is not only her skiing master, but also someone she trusts very much."
She paused for a moment, her tone becoming more serious. "Also, according to An Zhaoyan, Thorn grew up in this snowy mountain. His grandfather was a hunter in this mountain, so he's very familiar with it."
"After spending the entire day with her, I can tell that An Zhaoyan isn't the type to trust others easily. She's very cautious. But in her premonition, she became incredibly flustered and uncalm when faced with a crisis."
Xia Lili's voice gradually lowered, and a terrible guess already occurred to her mind, "So I was wondering... is there a possibility..."
On the other end of the line, Li Qihan was silent for a moment, then calmly continued her unfinished words in a low but clear voice, "You suspect that among the six people escaping, the only person An Zhaoyan was completely defenseless against was Thorn. And Thorn took advantage of her complete trust and lured her into a trap."
"Maybe he even deliberately led her into a bear attack, creating a desperate situation where she would be chased by the bear?"
Xia Lili nodded solemnly: "Yes, that's what I suspected."
Li Qihan pondered for a moment and said in a low voice: "This line of reasoning is likely correct. But the most crucial question now is, what is Thorne's motive for murder?"
Xia Lili scratched her head in embarrassment. "I really don't know. An Zhaoyan and I have only known each other for less than a day, and I haven't even spoken to Thorne."
"It's okay," Li Qihan said with certainty, "You've done an excellent job in identifying the suspected murderer."
"The most important thing now is to find evidence that Thorn is planning to attack An Zhaoyan," Xia Lili continued, "only then can we bring him to justice."
Li Qihan agreed: "If we can find the crossbow used as the murder weapon, or prove that he deliberately attracted the black bear that was chasing him, that would be the ideal evidence."
He paused and added, "I'll immediately contact the Los Angeles Police Department to arrange for personnel. Those guys happen to be on vacation, so I'll 'invite' them to the ski resort to help."
Xia Lili earnestly instructed, "Make sure the detectives bring enough personnel, as well as sufficient cold-weather supplies and high-calorie foods."
"I don't know if it was an accident or someone deliberately did it, but there might be no signal on the mountain from now on."
"And the temperatures will get colder, and there will be strong winds and heavy snow."
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