The interrogation ended.
Boris was temporarily detained under the charge of desecrating a corpse.
Everyone was surprised by this result but felt helpless.
Susan gathered everyone to discuss the case.
Luke introduced the content of the interrogation.
Marcus cursed, "Stabbing a living person and stabbing a dead person are completely different. Can't that bastard feel the difference?"
Ever since Boris cursed him out, Little Black harbored considerable prejudice against him.
The deputy said, "Not everyone has such an experience, it was rather dark at the time, and that guy must have freaked out after stabbing the person.
When in extreme panic, a person's IQ can drop significantly.
You can't expect everyone to be a professional psychopathic killer.
In fact, many murderers get caught on their first crime due to lack of experience. As they commit more crimes, their experience and mentality grow, and they become increasingly difficult to catch."
Luke said, "At least now we have clarified why the knife was stuck in the body. It's the first mystery we've unraveled."
Marcus frowned, "I still think Boris is the murderer.
If we go by his story, Courtney was already dead by the time he stabbed her, and he fled immediately afterwards.
Then why was the body staged to look like a hanging?
The situation Boris described doesn't match up. That guy must be lying."
Susan speculated, "Could there have been three people who entered the scene?
The first person is the murderer, who used their hands to strangle Courtney.
The second person is Boris, who stabbed Courtney, thinking he had killed her.
Then a third person entered and disguised Courtney's body to look like a hanging."
The deputy retorted, "I can understand the first murderer, and Boris as the second, I get it.
But what would be the purpose of the third person staging the suicide?
Isn't he worried about being considered the murderer?
And how could he manage to arrive at such a precise time?
I don't think this theory holds up."
Susan said, "These past two evenings after work, I've also been reading the original novel 'The Vanished Lover.'
The book is well-written, and I looked it up online, there are many fans of this book, especially recently with a lot of people discussing it, including some rather fervent fans.
I am wondering if Courtney's death could be related to this novel." Saying this, Susan turned to Luke sitting nearby, "You have met the author Romit Bull. Do you think it's possible?"
After thinking for a moment, Luke said, "I didn't find any problem, but, this old man is no simple character."
Little Black added, "Right, he also bought the original shares of Google."
The deputy waved his hand, "Regardless, I still think it's too much of a coincidence for three people to enter the crime scene, although theoretically possible, the probability is too small, it probably only exists in novels."
Susan countered, "Don't forget, Courtney's death is just like the scenarios in the novel, this case is inherently linked to the novel."
Luke interrupted the two, "Actually, I have a theory too, not sure if you want to hear it?"
Susan glanced at the deputy and nodded, "Go ahead."
"My hypothesis is that there were two people at the scene.
The first one is the murderer, who had read the original 'The Vanished Lover' and planned to mimic the book's situation to commit murder, and then he strangled Courtney on the bed, intended to set up a hanging scene, but suddenly heard noises outside the door.
Worried about being discovered, he hid in the closet.
The person who came was Boris, who stabbed Courtney thinking he had killed her, got freaked out.
Disposed of the fruit knife and ran off.
At that time, the murderer came out of the closet, hung Courtney's body, and tried to make it look as similar to the book's description as possible.
Of course, there is no perfect crime in this world, and the murderer also made a mistake—he forgot to close the closet door."
David nodded, "The strangulation marks on the neck, the knife in the chest, the staged hanging, the open closet door, similar scenarios from the novel, all the clues are essentially linked together.
I think Luke's guess is more accurate."
Not wanting to be outdone, Little Black said, "Why are you stealing my thunder?"
David glared at him, "You sycophant!"
Little Black pouted, "I am not, I'm just expressing my own thoughts."
"Stop! You two trivial guys." The deputy interrupted them, "If Boris isn't the real murderer, then who is the real culprit?"
Luke continued his analysis, "According to what Courtney's other boyfriend, the dentist Peter, said.
He left Courtney's house at twelve o'clock at night; she was still alive at the time. If what he says is true, Courtney was likely killed between twelve midnight and one ten in the morning.
The murderer probably arrived at Courtney's house during that time.
Of course, there's another possibility, that the dentist Peter lied.
He didn't leave around twelve.
He is the one who killed Courtney!"
Jenny asked, "Why do you keep saying he, not she? Could the murderer not be a woman?"
The deputy said, "Don't forget, the body ended up being hung. It's somewhat difficult for an average adult male to hang a body, let alone a woman.
Based on that alone, the likelihood of the murderer being a woman is slim."
After some discussion, everyone still felt that Luke's guess was the most likely.
But the identity of the suspect still needed further confirmation.
Immediately, each person went off to investigate further.
Susan decided to personally meet the author of 'The Vanished Lover,' thinking that if the murderer was imitating the plot of the novel, the original author might provide some valuable clues.