Chapter 387: Case Reenactment
Chapter 387: Case Reenactment
Over ten minutes later, Feng Bu Jue led Scofield and the officer originally stationed outside the villa to his guest room to demonstrate the Secret Room Strategizing method.
This room was an almost perfect mirror image of the crime scene—its layout mirrored the original, and even the doors, windows, and materials were identical. It was the ideal setting for a case reenactment.
Scofield, naturally brimming with anticipation, couldn’t wait to witness how this famed detective would unravel the current mystery.
Earlier, Feng Bu Jue had obtained the villa owner’s permission to retrieve a replica of the murder weapon—a broken violin string—from the storage room. Now, holding it, he stepped into the center of the room and turned to the two officers. “With conditions so favorable and no risk of disturbing the actual crime scene, why don’t we first reenact the crime itself?”
“You mean…” Scofield confirmed, “We three will reenact the entire incident?”
“Two will suffice,” Feng Bu Jue replied. “I’ll play the murderer.” He shifted his gaze to the officer beside Scofield. “Officer…”
“Dempsey, Mr.,” the officer introduced himself, tipping his cap brim with a slight hand gesture. A tall, broad-shouldered young officer with a neat mustache similar to Dennis’s, his appearance and demeanor were far more approachable.
“Officer Dempsey, your physique closely matches the victim’s. Please act as the deceased,” Feng Bu Jue requested.
Dempsey exchanged a glance with his superior officer. At the latter’s nod, he stepped forward. “My pleasure, Mr.,” he said.
“Then let’s begin.” Feng Bu Jue gestured toward the chair. “Please sit on that sofa chair.”
Dempsey strode over and sat down, bending slightly as he settled into the seat.
“Try to sit as naturally as possible,” Feng Bu Jue advised.
“Understood.” Dempsey leaned back further against the chair’s cushion.
“Dennis was sitting on this sofa chair, smoking, just like this, before his death,” Feng Bu Jue began explaining. “The murderer shared the room with him.” He walked a few steps to Dempsey’s side, near the back of the chair. “This entire side of the room was within Dennis’s blind spot. Here are a wardrobe, a table, a cabinet, and the door to the bathroom.”
“Without Dennis’s suspicion, the murderer had multiple ways to move into this blind zone unnoticed,” Feng Bu Jue continued. “Possibility one: walking back and forth while talking to Dennis, gradually positioning behind him. Possibility two: claiming he needed to use the bathroom. Possibility three: pretending to retrieve something from the wardrobe…” As he spoke, he moved again, this time slipping behind Scofield’s back without anyone noticing. “See? It’s incredibly easy.”
“Ack! When did you—” Scofield startled, realizing only now that the detective had already demonstrated the first scenario while he was lost in thought.
Feng Bu Jue shrugged and returned to the sofa chair. “Humans are extremely vulnerable when relaxed and unguarded. In fact, most people live in an unguarded state for the majority of their lives.”
He gave another example. “Imagine you’re dining in a familiar restaurant. Suddenly, a waiter or customer brushes past you. Would your brain instantly warn you, ‘Watch out—this person might slash your head with a blade hidden in their sleeve?’”
“Or picture yourself at home, freshly bathed, reading a serialized novel. Would you consider that at this moment, someone outside your window might be aiming a sniper rifle at you?”
At these words, both Scofield and Dempsey instinctively glanced toward the room’s window.
Feng Bu Jue raised his right hand, tapping his temple with a finger. “Our brains cannot sustain constant, hysterical vigilance. So as long as we mentally assume our environment is safe, we lower our ‘unnecessary defenses.’” He paused. “Now, looking at this case… Dennis was in his father’s mountain villa, sharing a room with someone he knew. Naturally, he wouldn’t suspect, ‘This person might suddenly strangle me with a steel wire.’ Yet he never imagined…”
Here, Feng Bu Jue raised the violin string and approached Dempsey. Though the officer knew this was merely a reenactment, he couldn’t help tensing. The detective’s eerie remarks and cold, detached tone sent chills down his spine.
“The victim’s build was nearly identical to yours. His neck would’ve rested against the upper back of the sofa chair,” Feng Bu Jue explained, patting Dempsey’s shoulder. “This height is ideal for the murderer to exert force. Now, imagine being strangled from behind.”
“Hmm…” Before Dempsey could respond, Feng Bu Jue placed the violin string beneath his chin. “Assume your neck is now being strangled. The intense pressure and suffocation are stealing your life. In that final minute, amidst panic and pain, what would your reaction be?”
“I’d try to loosen the wire around my neck, and…” Dempsey paused, thinking. “I’d shove my body backward violently.”
Scofield nodded. “The carpet’s scratch marks and the victim’s neck abrasions support these actions.”
“Anything else?” Feng Bu Jue prompted.
Dempsey closed his eyes, reimagining the scenario. Suddenly, his eyes widened. “I’d try to grab the murderer’s arms or body!”
“Precisely,” Feng Bu Jue agreed. “However… seated on a heavy, stable sofa chair with carpet beneath, even if the victim desperately reached backward, it would’ve been nearly impossible to touch the murderer.”
“Wait—the forearms!” Scofield suddenly interjected. “During the struggle, the victim might’ve left grip marks on the murderer’s hands, wrists, or forearms!”
“Exactly,” Feng Bu Jue affirmed. “Moreover…” He paused. “To strangle a two-hundred-pound adult male, the murderer needed speed and strength. In this case, the steel wire was the perfect murder weapon—easily concealed and requiring minimal strength. Even a woman or a minor could kill a large man with it. Professional assassins often prefer this method.”
As he spoke, Feng Bu Jue slowly raised both hands, palms outward. “However… using this wire demands precautions. Without protection, the user’s own palms could easily be injured.”
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
