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林冬雪大惊失色：“不是同一个人……不对，她的手机显示明明坐过你的车，你在耍我！”
陈实无奈摇头：“林大小姐，你要是还认为我是凶手，那咱们没法继续讨论下去了，难道带着手机的就一定是本人吗？”
“那你的意思，当晚拿着死者手机乘坐你的车的人是凶手！？可她是个女人哎！”
“我刚刚都说了，奸杀是伪造的。”
“凶手是个女人？你还记得她的长相吗？”
陈实示意她坐下：“别凭感觉猜测，坐我车的女人也未必就是凶手，咱们接着分析。”
陈实翻阅手机上的现场照片，注意到一个细节，死者的右手掌有一个圆形的印痕，上面有些图案，但已经很模糊了。
陈实问：“死者手中握的东西，在现场找到了吗？”
“没有！我们仔仔细细找过了。”
“要是能亲眼看看就好了。”
“现场有人在复勘，我没法带你去。”
“我就是说说，你注意到没有，现场是一处退了水的石滩，摩擦系数很大，死者衣服单薄且多处撕裂，如果说死者真的有被强奸过，那么身上应该会出现大面积的生前擦伤，然而并没有，除非……”
“除非什么？”
陈实笑了，“除非凶手是把死者吊起来干的。”
“混蛋！”林冬雪把一杯茶水泼到他身上去了。
“哎哎，你这个人！”陈实发着牢骚用纸巾擦拭。
陈实继续看，林冬雪问：“还有什么发现吗？”
“目前只能看出这么多，除非让我亲眼看看尸体。”
“切，你会吐出来的。”
“你以为我是你呀！”
陈实把资料和手机交还给林冬雪，陈实分析的这些，建立了一套更加完美的罪案假设，把所有的细节都圆了进来，林冬雪忍不住问道：“你到底是谁？”
“一个热衷港台警匪片的的哥，这回答你满意吗？”陈实笑笑。
“少来了，我才不信！”林冬雪盯着他的眼睛。
陈实点上一根烟：“这么说，你愿意和我合作了？”
“你得先回答我的问题，我不和来路不明的人合作。”
“恕我不能告诉你，你姑且我当成一个民间高手吧，等咱俩彼此熟悉了，我再告诉你我是谁！”陈实猥琐地挑了下眉毛。
“谁和你彼此熟悉，少占我便宜！”林冬雪扬着粉拳要揍他。
“哎哎！”陈实连连告饶，等林冬雪消停下来，他说：“咱俩定一个合作章成！”
“你说！”
“首先，别老追问我的身份，我总得有点隐私是不是；然后，此事暂时对外保密，我暗中帮你出谋划策，功劳嘛全是你的，当然奖金要不要分我一份，就看你个人了；最后，我需要你对我完全信任。”
林冬雪不敢相信有这等好事，一个民间高人主动提出帮她破案，还不占她的功劳，她问：“你图什么呢？”
“我喜欢啊！”
林冬雪脸一红：“瞎说什么呢！”
“我说我喜欢破案啊，再说眼睁睁看着你哥弄错方向，我坐不住，我这人就是嫉恶如仇，看见闲事就想管。”
“你这么高尚？”林冬雪一脸不相信。
“我说过，高尚和无私是两码事，事后我可是要报酬的哦，你得请我吃饭！”
林冬雪咬着嘴唇，这家伙高深莫测的，实在看不透，姑且相信他一次吧，看上去他确实有破案的能力。
毕竟，她比谁都想立功，让其它人刮目相看。
“成交！”
陈实伸出一只手，林冬雪戒备地说：“干嘛！”
“合作的仪式！”
“有必要吗？”
“很有必要！”
林冬雪伸出手，同他握了握，陈实的手很细腻很温暖，完全不像一个的哥的手掌。
两人来到枫之林酒店，陈实对前台人员说：“我刚刚说我证件没带，还不信，现在我带个真警察过来，信了吧！”
陈实递个眼神给林冬雪，林冬雪掏出证件：“我们正在查案，希望贵酒店配合。”
前台人员狐疑地瞄了一眼陈实，道：“你们要查什么？”
“9月10号到9月11号的登记入住记录。”陈实说。
前台人员调出电脑资料，陈实扫了一眼名单，问林冬雪：“死者古梦醒的男友叫什么？”
“沈军！”
“显然他当天没有在这里登记入住，你们走访这人了吗？”
“呃！”
“注意力全放我身上了吧！”陈实对前台人员说：“你们这里有停车场吗？”
“有，旁边就是！”
陈实回头望了一眼门外，确实停了不少车，他说：“停车场有监控吗？”
“有！”
随后两人来到监控室，调出当天的录像，陈实直接用八倍速，眼睛不眨地盯着屏幕，屏幕右上角显示凌晨两点的时候，他突然按下暂停，指着屏幕右侧出现的一束强光：“这是我的车！”
“确定啊？”林冬雪不敢相信。
“自己的爱车，我当然不会看错，当天那名乘客确实要求我在这里停车的。”
监控正常播放，画面中，陈实的车离开之后，一个穿着A字裙的女人走到停车场，因为是黑夜，加上她移动得很快，脸不是太清楚。
“没有开车，却往停车场走！”陈实喃喃道。
两人继续看监控，想看看这女人什么时候离开的，之后倒是有几辆车离开，林冬雪一边看一边在纸上记下车牌号。
“不用记了，她不在这几辆车上！”陈实说。
“你怎么知道？”
陈实把监控倒回去一段，一辆黑色家用车经过的影像，他一帧一帧地播放，在某一帧停下，指着车下面，那里隐隐露出一双穿着高跟鞋的脚。
“她借着这辆车的掩护，和我们玩了一个大变活人的魔术！”陈实笑道，“看来她进来的时候发现了监控，有意躲避，不想再被拍到！”
“果然可疑！”林冬雪这回终于相信，凶手另有其人。
“我考考你，接下来你要怎么查？”
Lin Dongxue’s face became drained of color from shock, “Not the same person? No way... Her phone showed that she was in your car. You’re trying to play me for a fool!”
Chen Shi shook his head helplessly, “Miss Lin, if you still think that I’m the murderer, then we can’t continue discussing this. How do you know that this phone belonged to the deceased?”
“Are you trying to say the other person in your car is the murderer even though it is a woman?!”
“I literally just said that the rape was faked!”
“The murderer is a woman? Do you remember what she looked like?”
Chen Shi signaled for Lin Dongxue to sit down, “Don’t rush to conclusions based on assumptions alone. The woman sitting in my car may not be the murderer. Let’s analyze.”
Chen Shi flipped through the photos on her phone and noticed a minuscule detail. The deceased’s right palm had a circular impression with some patterns on it, but it was very faint and blurry in the photo.
Chen Shi asked, “Was the item the deceased was holding found at the scene of the crime?”
“No. We looked carefully, but we couldn’t find it anywhere.”
“It would be nice if we could go take a look around the area.”
“There are people on the field who are reviewing the case at the moment. I don’t have the capability to take you there right now.”
“I was merely pointing out that it would be nice. By the way, have you noticed that the scene is a rocky beach with the water receded? The possibility of friction is very high. The clothes of the deceased were thin and torn in many places. If the deceased was truly raped, then there should have been large bruises on the body as well. However, there isn’t any. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
Chen Shi smiled, “Unless the murderer hung her up to rape and kill her.”
“Bastard!” Lin Dongxue poured her cup of tea on him.
“Oi, oi, why are you like this?!” Chen Shi made a complaint and wiped himself down with a paper towel.
Chen Shi continued looking at the photos, and Lin Dongxue asked, “What else have you found?”
“At the moment, unless I can see the body for myself, I can only identify this much.”
“Tch, you’ll spit out what you’ve found eventually.”
“Do you think I’m like you?!”
Chen Shi returned the report and the phone to Lin Dongxue. Chen Shi had analyzed everything and established a perfect crime hypothesis with all the details rounded up. Lin Dongxue couldn't help but ask, “Who exactly are you?”
“A guy who really likes his Hong Kong and Taiwanese crime shows. Are you happy with this answer?” Chen Shi lightly chuckled.
“Cut the crap! I won’t believe that!” Lin Dongxue stared straight into his eyes.
Chen Shi lit a cigarette. “So, are you willing to cooperate with me?”
“You have to answer my question first. I don’t work with people who have unknown backgrounds.”
“Let’s just say I can’t tell you. Just pretend I’m a master civilian[1], okay? When the two of us become more familiar with each other, I’ll tell you all about who I am!” Chen Shi raised his eyebrows pervertedly.
“Who’s going to become close with you? Don’t take advantage of me!” Lin Dongxue raised a hand as if she was going to hit him.
“Aiya, aiya!”[2] Chen Shi pretended to plead for mercy until Lin Dongxue dropped her hand. Then he suggested, “Let’s set up some cooperation ground rules!”
“Let’s hear it!”
“First of all, don’t always ask me about my identity as I have to retain a little privacy. Next, this matter is to be kept secret temporarily. I will help you with your investigation secretly, and if it’s successful, then all the credit is yours. Of course, if you want to reward me with a portion, that’s up to you. Lastly, I need you to trust me completely.”
Lin Dongxue couldn’t believe that there could be such a good thing. A civilian expert extended an offer to help in the case and not take all the credit. Suspicious, she asked, “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I like it!”
Lin Dongxue’s face went red, “What are you on about?”
“I’m saying that I like to crack cases. Also, I can see that your brother is heading in the wrong direction. I can’t sit still. I am a man of justice, and I have to take care of things that I know are wrong.”
“And you’re that noble?” Lin Dongxue showed a face that didn’t believe him at all.
“I’ve told you this previously. Being noble and being selfless are two different things. After it’s all said and done, I will have my reward; You have to take me out to dinner!”
Lin Dongxue bit her lip. This guy is unpredictable, and she can’t see through him at all. Perhaps she should believe him just this once. It seems that he does possess the ability to solve the case.
After all, she wants recognition of her merits more than anyone else. She wanted to let others see her in a new light and do a double-take.
“Deal!”
Chen Shi extended a hand and Lin Dongxue asked dubiously, “What are you doing?”
“A symbolic representation of our cooperation!”
“Is there a need for this?”
“Of course, there’s a need!”
Lin Dongxue reached out her arm and shook hands with him. Chen Shi’s hand was delicate and warm, quite unlike the usual palm of a driver.
When the two got inside of the Feng Zhilin Hotel, Chen Shi offhandedly said to the front-desk reception, “I just mentioned that I forgot my ID, but nobody believed me. Now I’ve brought a real police officer with me, so believe me now!”
Chen Shi gave Lin Dongxue a look, and Lin Dongxue got out her ID, “We are currently investigating a case and we hope that your hotel will cooperate with us.”
The front desk staff suspiciously snuck a peak at Chen Shi and asked, “What do you need to investigate?”
“We would like to look at check-in records from the 10th to 11th of September,” Chen Shi specified.
The staff member loaded the information on the computer and Chen Shi glanced at the list and asked Lin Dongxue, “What was the name of Gu Mengxing’s boyfriend?”
“Chen Jun!”
“Obviously, he didn’t check-in here on that day. Have you visited this person?”
“Erm...”
“You put all your attention towards me, huh?” Chen Shi asked the staff, “Do you have a parking lot here?”
“Yes. It’s right next to us.”
Chen Shi looked back at the door and noticed that it was pretty full. He asked, “Is the parking lot monitored?”
“Yes!”
The two went into the monitoring room and brought up a video of that day. Chen Shi set it to eight times faster than the normal speed and stared at the screen without blinking. When the screen displayed 2 o’clock in the upper right corner of the screen, he suddenly pressed pause and pointed to the right side of the screen that had a glare appear, stating, “This is my car!”
“Are you positive?” Lin Dongxue could not believe it.
“It’s my beloved car. Of course I wouldn’t get it wrong. The passenger asked me to park here that day.”
They continued to play the surveillance footage. In the video, after Chen Shi’s car had left. A woman wearing an a-line skirt walked to the parking lot. As her pace hastened and it was dark, her face wasn’t too clear to see.
“Didn’t drive, yet went into the parking lot!” Chen Shi muttered to himself.
The two continued to watch the surveillance footage to see when the woman left. However, they only saw several cars leaving. Lin Dongxue was half watching and half taking down the licence plates of those cars.
“No need to take them down. She’s not in those cars!” Chen Shi declared.
“How do you know?”
Chen Shi rewound the footage and then played the video one frame at a time until he reached an image where a black family car was visible. He stopped at a certain frame and pointed to the underside of the car, where there was a pair of feet in high heels shown.
“She used the car as a cover to play a magician’s disappearing act on us!” Chen Shi smiled. “It seems that she discovered the surveillance cameras when she came, had intentions to evade, and didn’t want to be photographed again!”
“Sure enough, it’s pretty suspicious!” Lin Dongxue finally believed him this time that the murderer was someone else.
“Let me test you a little bit. How are you going to investigate from here on out?”