The Unconventional Murderer

Chapter 41: A Killer Who Doesn't Play by the Rules

After examining Suzuki Sonoko's injuries, Lin Xinyi quickly rushed to the crime scene.

By then, Detective Kudo Shinichi had already arrived at the "arena" more than a minute earlier.

Given his intellect, that amount of time should have been enough for him to deduce many things.

However, as Lin Xinyi slowly entered the women's restroom and approached the murder scene, he found Detective Kudo Shinichi standing by the corpse, his face rigid, eyebrows tightly furrowed in thought.

"What's the situation, Kudo?"

Lin Xinyi had a faint premonition that something was amiss.

He recalled that yesterday, when he saw Kudo at the crime scene, the Famous Detective's expression had consistently been one of "I understand," or "I get it now."

But now, Kudo Shinichi's reaction was:

"(╯＿╰)"

Kudo's gaze was no longer excited; instead, it had become solemn and serious.

He seemed to have forgotten that this was a challenge he himself had initiated, and even proactively lowered his stance:

"Mr. Lin Xinyi, please take a look too."

"Perhaps you can spot something here that I've missed."

A minute later...

Suzuki Sonoko, gently pressing a store-bought iced cola to her injured neck, eagerly rushed back to the women's restroom she had fled from not long ago.

She wasn't a high school detective, so she naturally didn't enjoy looking at bloody corpses and crime scenes.

But the situation was different now; after all, Lin Xinyi was investigating the case there.

Suzuki Sonoko had become fixated on him after reading a report about his case-solving experiences. As Lin Xinyi's fan, she naturally wouldn't miss this prime opportunity for her idol to showcase his knowledge and charm.

"If it's Lord Lin Xinyi, he'll definitely uncover the truth faster."

"Hahaha, Kudo's going to be embarrassed again!"

Suzuki Sonoko instantly forgot her years of friendship with Kudo Shinichi and sided with her idol.

Imagining the cool scene of Lin Xinyi displaying his wisdom, solving the mystery, apprehending the true culprit, and utterly defeating Kudo, she excitedly rushed back to the crime scene.

Then, she saw that in the women's restroom...

Kudo was standing there in a daze, and Lin Xinyi was also standing there in a daze.

Neither of them spoke, just thinking quietly.

"What's wrong?"

Suzuki Sonoko sensed the heavy atmosphere:

"Is there a problem with this case?"

Lin Xinyi was still thoughtfully observing the scene and didn't respond immediately.

Kudo, however, let out a soft sigh. "This case is a bit tricky."

"Huh?"

Suzuki Sonoko was somewhat surprised, or rather, shocked.

She believed that Kudo might be a step slower than Lin Xinyi in finding the truth, but she had never doubted that Kudo wouldn't be able to solve a case.

After all, having known him for so long, in her impression, there had never been a case that could stump this Famous Detective.

No matter the case, as long as Kudo Shinichi took action, the criminals would expose their true faces from beneath their shells, like clams doused in salt water.

But now, he was actually stumped by the case.

"Could it be that even you can't figure out the killer's method?"

Suzuki Sonoko couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"No, the killer's method is quite easy to understand."

"And I did find many things at the scene."

Kudo Shinichi sighed softly, then slowly revealed his findings:

"For example, the victim's shoulder bag, which she carried with her, clearly showed signs of being rummaged through."

"Her wallet was taken out of the bag and thrown on the ground. Her IDs and bank cards were still inside, but the cash was gone."

"You mean..." Suzuki Sonoko understood Kudo's thought. "This might be a robbery?"

"That's right."

Kudo Shinichi nodded, then continued:

"If it was premeditated murder, it usually requires a long time of planning and preparation."

"The time of the crime, the location of the crime—these all need to be carefully chosen in advance."

"And before I came to investigate the scene, I asked the staff at the train station," Lin Xinyi began.

"That warning sign was put up about an hour ago because the ventilation system in the restroom unexpectedly broke down. It was a temporary measure to prevent the accumulation of foul odors and contamination of the platform."

"This means the restroom has only been unused for a short hour until now."

"Before that, passengers were constantly coming and going, so it couldn't have been chosen as the crime scene in advance."

"Therefore, this somewhat lessens the possibility that this case was a premeditated murder."

This… Suzuki Sonoko still felt something was off.

"But the equipment in this restroom is broken…"

"Although only the ventilation system is broken, passengers don't know that."

"If the victim wasn't lured here by a killer who had already planned her murder, then why would she enter a restroom that might be unusable?"

"The reason is simple."

With that, Kudo Shinichi pointed again to a portable makeup case scattered on the ground not far from the body.

"See? The victim is a young woman dressed fashionably and meticulously, and her overturned makeup tools were left behind at the scene."

"This…"

Suzuki Sonoko suddenly realized.

"The victim actually came in to do her makeup, just like I did earlier?"

Makeup only requires a mirror; even if the restroom equipment was somewhat damaged, it wouldn't affect that.

That's why the victim entered this unused restroom.

"That's very likely the case."

Kudo Shinichi nodded, answering, "In any case, based on the clues we've found so far:"

"I can only infer that the victim caught the killer's attention when she entered the restroom alone, and the killer followed her in to commit robbery, but lost control of the situation and accidentally killed her."

"I see."

"So, this is just a simple robbery and murder case then?"

Miss Suzuki suddenly reacted again.

"Wait, haven't you already figured out this case?"

"The killer's method is so simple, why are you still frowning?"

"…"

Kudo Shinichi fell silent for a moment, an expression of helplessness on his face.

"Knowing the murder method is useless."

"There are no surveillance cameras in the large area in front of the restroom, so we have no idea who entered or exited at the time of the incident."

"And it's highly probable that the killer and the victim didn't know each other. They acted on impulse, stabbing her to death, which makes it impossible for me to investigate through the victim's social connections."

"The victim also couldn't put up effective resistance before she died, leaving no skin fragments from the killer under her fingernails."

Hmm… Suzuki Sonoko pondered blankly for a moment.

Indeed, just knowing the murder method seemed useless; they still needed to find physical evidence that could pinpoint the killer.

"What about the murder weapon?"

"There should at least be the killer's fingerprints on the weapon, right?"

She immediately helped Kudo Shinichi think of a direction for the investigation.

But what she could think of, the Famous Detective could naturally think of too.

"The murder weapon was indeed left at the crime scene."

"And it was thrown in that toilet stall over there."

With that, Kudo Shinichi specifically reached out and pointed to a toilet stall not far away.

Suzuki Sonoko looked in that direction.

From the body lying face down in front of the sink to that toilet stall, there was a distance of about 3 to 4 meters.

And on the floor in this 3 to 4-meter distance, a long trail of scarlet blood droplets was scattered sparsely.

"The victim suffered severe bleeding from the stab wound to her chest and abdomen. If she had walked, the amount of blood left behind would absolutely not be this little."

"Therefore, that long trail of small blood droplets must have been left by the killer."

"After killing her in front of the sink, he quickly realized he needed to clean up the scene."

"So, he carried the blood-stained blade to that toilet stall, opened the stall door, and conveniently threw the short knife in there as well."

Kudo Shinichi explained in detail.

"Why would he specifically throw the knife into that stall?" Suzuki Sonoko asked, very confused.

"Throwing the knife was just an afterthought," Lin Xinyi explained.

"I suspect his real purpose was to flush the gloves—which were most likely to have his skin cells on them—down the toilet in the stall."

"Yes, the killer was wearing gloves when he committed the robbery and murder."

Kudo Shinichi sounded incredibly helpless, even though he was describing his own findings:

"Because the bloody fingerprints he left on the toilet stall door and the flush button…"

"Those bloody fingerprints were all smooth and flat; there were no ridges of fingerprints at all."

"Only by wearing latex gloves could such prints be left."

"This indicates that the killer is likely a habitual robber; he had latex gloves prepared from the very beginning."

"This way, he wouldn't leave any fingerprints anywhere."

"And because he was wearing latex gloves, the victim's blood wouldn't get on his hands or leave bloodstains on him."

"Finally, this guy would then flush the gloves, which could easily have his skin cells on them, down the toilet, making it even harder for the police to find physical evidence that could identify him."

After saying all this, Kudo Shinichi felt even more stifled.

This case was completely different from any he had encountered before.

He had indeed solved many cases in the past, but somehow, those cases generally followed a common pattern:

The killer would cleverly design various complex murder mechanisms and elaborate alibis. After committing the murder, they wouldn't flee; instead, they would stay at the scene and engage in a battle of wits with the detective.

And whenever Kudo Shinichi appeared, he could usually immediately identify three suspects from the victim's social circle (usually three, with occasional exceptions).

Finally, the famous detective would use his intelligence to unravel the killer's plot and pinpoint the true culprit from those three suspects.

This was the case-solving process Kudo Shinichi was accustomed to.

But this time…

Because the scene was sealed off promptly, potential suspects were indeed identified.

However, there were over a hundred of them in total, so the old "choose one out of three" routine wouldn't work at all.

And it was highly probable that the killer didn't know the victim; he acted on impulse, stabbed the victim, cleaned up the scene, and then simply vanished.

This method was simple and crude; it didn't require any deduction whatsoever.

What was needed now was not some high-IQ detective, but rather technical means to find traces of the culprit—a scientific eye that knew how to look for evidence.

Sigh.

Kudo Shinichi couldn't help but feel a strong resentment towards the killer:

This bastard…

He didn't even use a trick for the murder.

How could you not play by the rules!