scene of a murder

　　Benjamin and his companions returned to the police station.

　　This time, they met Alexander in the interrogation room instead of the office.

　　As soon as Alexander entered the room, he sensed that something was off.

　　He paused at the doorway and felt a thump in his heart.

　　Then he put on a devastated look, as if he had just lost his wife.

　　His acting skills were truly impressive.

　　When he took another step forward, tears were already rolling down his bloodshot eyes.

　　He walked and cried out, 'Oh my god! Who could be so heartless as to kill her! She's dead, she's really dead! Some scoundrel really killed her! Officers, I beg you, you must catch the murderer and seek justice for her! She died so miserably! Officers...' Benjamin had already learned about the discord between Alexander and Sophia.

　　Seeing Alexander's lament, it was like watching a circus performance.

　　Alexander had been yelling for a while, but seeing that no one responded, he asked, 'Officers, why aren't you speaking? Have you already caught the culprit?' James looked at Alexander expressionlessly, his eyes revealing anger.

　　He had been defending the other party, but now he realized he had been the fool.

　　He was like a primary school student who had just discovered he had been deceived, angrily shouting, 'Alexander, you haven't been honest with us at all.

　　This isn't helpful to solving the case! Frankly speaking, I now have to suspect that you are the murderer.

　　Did you kill Sophia? Otherwise, why would you lie?' Alexander froze in place.

　　He knew that his previous feelings were right; his tricks had been exposed.

　　He quickly regained his composure and questioned loudly, 'Officers, you can eat a bad meal, but you can't speak nonsense! You say I killed my own wife, how is that possible? Do you have any evidence? You better come up with some evidence, or else I will sue you for defamation!' James also worried that he might be mistaken.

　　Seeing the other party's strong stance, his tone softened.

　　'I didn't say you are the culprit, I just said that you haven't been honest with the police, which makes me doubt your intentions.' 'What do you mean I haven't been honest?' Alexander pressed on, wanting to overwhelm James in one go and regain control.

　　'Stop pretending.

　　We've already investigated your home.

　　You have a gambling problem, so your relationship with Sophia is not good.

　　She planned to divorce you and has been living outside for the past few months.

　　But you claimed to have seen her yesterday morning because she didn't come home last night, which is why you reported it to the police!' James tried to regain control of the situation.

　　Alexander stood still, stunned.

　　He hadn't expected that the police had already investigated his home and debunked his previous statement."

　　"James saw Alexander's momentum weaken, immediately becoming tougher himself as he shouted sternly, 'Alexander, do you have anything else to say?' Alexander, wanting to salvage his reputation within the police force, coughed lightly and defended himself cunningly, 'Comrade officer, I admit that I did lie before, but that doesn't mean I'm the murderer, right?' 'Since you're not the killer, then why did you lie?' James pressed, feeling the initiative return to his hands.

　　'I...' Alexander sighed, his face filled with regret, 'It's my fault, really.

　　Originally, my family was quite well-off, but ever since I got involved in gambling, I gradually fell into decline.

　　Even my wife left me for someone else.' 'Are you saying Sophia has someone on the outside?' James asked in astonishment, secretly blaming himself for not thinking of it sooner.

　　If Sophia hadn't returned home in several months, then she must have a lover outside.

　　Otherwise, where did her expensive jewelry come from?' 'Yes.

　　Actually, I knew about this for a while, and I don't blame her.

　　I just hope she can come back to me.

　　Because of this, I've gone to look for her several times.

　　I even went to see her yesterday, but I didn't find her.

　　When I called her, no one answered.

　　I thought she was intentionally avoiding me, so I reported a false case, hoping to see her again.

　　But I didn't expect...

　　didn't expect...

　　Comrade officer, I was wrong, I really was wrong.

　　I beg you to find the real killer and clear my wife's name!' Alexander spoke with tears, every word heartfelt.

　　James softened his heart, feeling that Alexander still had a repentant heart.

　　This kind of person might have some flaws, but they wouldn't be involved in the murder of his wife.

　　He turned to Benjamin, asking with his eyes what to do next.

　　'You say you knew your wife had another man?' Benjamin asked.

　　Compared to James, he was calmer and not easily swayed by the other party's words.

　　He could always analyze the facts from an objective perspective.

　　'Yes.' Alexander glanced at Benjamin, instinctively feeling that this man wasn't easy to deal with.

　　'I found out a few months ago, and they have been living together ever since.' 'Who is this man?' 'He is Ethan, the boss of my wife's company.' 'Ethan, you mean Ethan from Dayong Real Estate Development Company?' 'That's him.' Benjamin glanced at James.

　　This Ethan was not simple, at least he was quite famous in this small town and owned multiple properties.

　　'Where do they live?' 'Apartment 601 in Building 5 of Beian Community.' 'What time were you visiting Sophia yesterday?' 'Around 8 o'clock in the evening.

　　When I arrived, I happened to see Ethan driving away.

　　But even after knocking for a long time, no one answered the door.

　　I thought maybe she left with Ethan, so I went back.' Benjamin saw that Alexander answered smoothly, not appearing to be lying, so he signaled to James with his eyes."

　　"James said to Alexander, 'We will investigate what you said, and you will stay at the police station to assist us in the investigation.

　　I hope you understand.' 'I understand,' Alexander replied, glancing at Benjamin and feeling that this guy was not easy to deal with, knowing that he wouldn't completely believe his words.

　　James had someone escort Alexander out and then turned to Benjamin, asking, 'Big brother, what do you think?' 'Ethan is involved in this matter, and it's best to bring him in for questioning,' Benjamin pondered and said.

　　If what Alexander said was true, Sophia was Ethan's mistress, so her death must be related to Ethan.

　　At least he was an important suspect.

　　'There is no evidence to prove that Ethan is definitely involved in this matter.

　　I can't just bring him in without caution,' James hesitated.

　　Ethan has great power in the city, and if he captured the wrong person, it would be difficult to resolve the situation.

　　'Then find a reason to call him over.

　　We can't just let him go,' Benjamin said angrily.

　　This was also the reason for the low efficiency of the police.

　　They had too many concerns.

　　'Alright, I'll give it a try,' James took out his phone, dialed a few numbers, and finally called Dayong Real Estate Company.

　　After hanging up the phone, he said to Benjamin, 'The secretary said he is in a meeting and will call me back after the meeting.' Benjamin knew it was just a perfunctory response.

　　If they wanted to bring Ethan to the police station, they had to find some solid evidence; otherwise, the police wouldn't dare to act rashly.

　　'Let's go! Let's go to Apartment 601 in Building 5 of the Beian Community.

　　That might be the primary crime scene,' James said to Benjamin when he saw that he no longer had to forcefully bring Ethan back.

　　Trying to please him, he asked, 'Do you want me to get a search warrant?' 'By the time you get a search warrant, the food will be cold.

　　I don't want to waste time,' Benjamin said angrily and walked out.

　　James just wanted to please Benjamin, so when he saw he insisted, he didn't say anything more.

　　Anyway, they were just going to take a look.

　　So, he personally drove and took Benjamin and Emma to the Beian Community.

　　The Beian Community was one of the oldest communities in the city, and only the main gate had a surveillance camera.

　　The security guard was an old man in his sixties.

　　When Benjamin and the others arrived at the community, he was listening to the radio and didn't even look at them.

　　The three of them bypassed the security guard and went directly to Building 5.

　　There was only a narrow staircase leading to the sixth floor, and it was a bit cramped for two people to walk side by side.

　　Apartment 601 had a closed door.

　　James knocked on the door a few times and, seeing no response, turned back and said, 'There should be no one inside.' 'Emma,' Benjamin called.

　　Emma took off the black hairpin from her hair and walked forward.

　　'What are you going to do?' James suddenly became nervous when he saw Emma's actions."

　　Without a search warrant, breaking into someone's house like this constitutes trespassing, and as a police officer, he is even breaking the law.

　　With a slight click, the door easily opened, and he was amazed by Emma's lock-picking skills, thinking to himself that even habitual thieves who often break in would not have this level of expertise.

　　"Please, come in," Emma pushed open the door.

　　"This is trespassing, we'd better go back and apply for a search warrant before going in," James tried to stop the two of them.

　　The smell of disinfectant rushed out from inside the door.

　　Benjamin bypassed James and walked in.

　　The house was a bit messy, but the floor was spotless, obviously cleaned recently.

　　"This should be the primary crime scene."

　　"What?" James rushed in with one stride.

　　He walked around the house, but found nothing and asked curiously, "How do you know this is the primary crime scene?"

　　In the living room, there was a set of brown leather sofas, accompanied by a marble coffee table.

　　Across from them was a large art photo of Sophia, which could prove that the deceased indeed lived here.

　　Benjamin stopped in front of the coffee table and said in a deep voice, "Remember the triangular wound on the back of the victim's head? It should've been caused by hitting the corner of the coffee table." Saying that, he crouched down and looked under the coffee table, then took out a tissue and wiped it underneath.

　　It immediately left a red mark.

　　He stood up and handed the tissue to James.

　　"Go and have it tested, this should be Sophia's blood."

　　"Alright." James put the tissue in his pocket, took out his phone, made a call, and then said, "My people will be here shortly." Benjamin nodded and walked to another room.

　　The whole house had been cleaned, leaving only female belongings, but there were still traces to be found.

　　For example, there were marks from shaving in the bathroom sink, the shoe cabinet had imprints of men's shoes, and half of the wardrobe was empty.

　　Everything indicated that besides Sophia, there was another man living here, but someone deliberately cleaned it up to create the illusion that Sophia lived alone.

　　Seeing Benjamin standing in front of the wardrobe, James walked over and asked, "Did you find anything?"

　　"There is half of a shoe print here, and it's missing a corner.

　　It should have been kicked and broken by someone," Benjamin said, staring at the bottom of the wardrobe.

　　The place where the cabinet door meets was missing a corner, and the cut was still fresh, indicating that it happened recently.

　　"Somebody hid in here, possibly a thief," James said, looking at the footprints in the wardrobe.

　　Emma interjected, "Or maybe the killer."

　　"Or a witness," Benjamin added.

　　James looked up at Benjamin and asked, "Are you saying that someone hid here and witnessed the whole incident during the crime?"

　　"Anything is possible," Benjamin said, finishing his sentence and continuing to search for any traces in the house.

　　Several minutes later, James's colleagues arrived and began to investigate and gather evidence.

　　At this moment, James's phone rang.

　　After he finished the call, he seemed very excited.

　　He ran to Benjamin and exclaimed, "Big brother, I found the car.

　　It's a black Hyundai off-road vehicle with a broken right headlight!"

　　"Where?" Benjamin asked.

　　This was definitely exciting news.

　　The car had transported a corpse, and it could be a big step towards the truth of the case.

　　"A small repair shop in the outskirts of the city," James happily replied.

　　"We should go and take a look now!"

　　"Let's go," Benjamin said.

　　After James delegated his work to his colleagues, he eagerly accompanied Benjamin downstairs.

　　When the car reached the entrance of the community, Benjamin suddenly asked him to stop.

　　Curiously, James asked, "Big brother, is there a problem?"

　　Benjamin didn't say anything.

　　He got out of the car and walked towards the security room.

　　The reason the security guard worked here was simply to find a job and pass the boring time.

　　He never thought he would have any dealings with the police.

　　Seeing so many police officers suddenly appearing in the community, he was already frightened.

　　He turned off the radio and kept glancing inside the community, wanting to know what had happened, but he didn't dare to leave his post.

　　Suddenly, when he saw Benjamin walking in, he nervously asked, "Do you need something?"

　　"Do you know who lives in Apartment 601, Building 5?" Benjamin asked directly.

　　"Who are you?" The security guard looked at Benjamin warily.

　　James followed behind and happened to hear the security guard's words.

　　He took out his police badge and said, "I am a police officer.

　　Please answer the question."

　　The thing the security guard feared the most was the police coming to his door.

　　As soon as he heard that they were the police, he was so scared that his legs went weak.

　　He immediately replied, "It should be a young couple, but I'm not too sure."

　　"Do you know them?" Benjamin asked.

　　"I don't know.

　　I usually work the night shift, and when I'm on duty, most of the people in the community are already asleep.

　　I haven't interacted much with the homeowners," the security guard said and muttered under his breath, "If it weren't for the guy on the day shift suddenly quitting yesterday, I would have gone home and slept by now.

　　Damn it, that damn guy made me work an extra shift." He blamed everything on the guy who quit because if it weren't for him, he would already be at home sleeping, and there wouldn't be any police coming to find him.

　　"We need to see the surveillance footage from yesterday," Benjamin said.

　　The security guard shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, the cameras have been broken for two months, and no one has come to fix them."

　　Benjamin felt somewhat disappointed and then asked, "You said you were on duty last night too?"

　　"Yes, because the guy on the day shift quit, and we were short-staffed, so I had to cover his shift," the security guard explained.

　　"Did you see any suspicious individuals last night? Like strangers appearing in the community?" Benjamin inquired.

　　"The community is so big, and there are usually a lot of people coming and going.

　　Not to mention people from outside, even the residents in the community, I can't guarantee that I know all of them," the security guard said, then whispered, "Officer, did something happen in the community? Was there a theft?"

　　"This is confidential, you'd better not ask," Benjamin replied.

　　"James finished speaking and turned to Benjamin.

　　'Do you have any more questions?' Benjamin shook his head and said, 'Let's go.'