Schiller snapped his fingers, and the lights dimmed again. He and Gordon stood facing each other. Gordon turned around, and Schiller drove a sword into his chest.
The rest of the process was no different from their previous reconstruction. But the reason they were doing it again was to determine under what circumstances the victim would have turned around.
"In my experience, the vast majority of murders where the victim was attacked from behind were committed by someone they knew," Schiller said, folding his arms. "If it was a stranger or someone they had just met, it would be difficult for the victim to be completely turned away. People only expose their backs when they have a great deal of trust in the other person."
Gordon nodded. "That's true. In direct confrontations, victims are usually shot in the chest. That's common in gang shootouts."
"On the other hand, if members of the same gang were fighting over power, especially fathers and sons or brothers, sudden attacks often left wounds on the back."
"If it was someone the victim knew, then the murderer may have been someone in the troupe. Who do you think is most suspicious?" Schiller asked.
Gordon paced in place as he considered it. "Hard to say. It could have been a crime of passion or revenge. The troupe's boss said Vicki got along well with everyone, but you never truly know what people are thinking."
"The issue now is the weapon's dimensions." Bruce stepped forward. "A wound that went straight through like this couldn't have been caused by an ordinary sharp weapon. To achieve complete penetration, the blade would have needed to be at least two or three feet long."
"Even the longest daggers on the market wouldn't exceed a foot." Schiller said, "Based on my observation