operant homicide

First of all, I am obliged to declare that this person died without blaming others, simply because he could no longer live.

— This sentence alone is enough.Although I really wanted to stop writing this, I thought someone would ask: Why can't you live?In order not to cause trouble to the police, please listen to me for a few more words.

The question of death has been on my mind since my youth. ——"Human beings are the chief of all evils", in other words, I actually hold a very pessimistic attitude, thinking that people are alive, no matter how they flaunt their benevolence, they can't stop doing things that hurt others, even if I cover up the crime perfectly, but I know it well, especially when I look at myself in the mirror every day, I always feel painful when I see the ugliness under my skin.

However, despite this thought, I was still hesitant.For this life, I can't say that I don't have any attachments, otherwise, how could I be like a mangy dog, pawing at this body and lingering on for so many years.But it is not true that I watch over my rotten limbs like a miser.It was not until years ago that the doctor told me that the cancer was in the terminal stage. At that time, I finally found the "springboard to death" and gave up.

All in all, I am deeply ashamed of my life. ——If I die on a sickbed, those sins will continue to torment me even after death.The mind is mocked by this fear, and is tormented day and night.You may not understand my feelings, so it is good to understand: I am overwhelmed by the torment of guilt. On the day of the autumn festival, I am determined to offer myself to the gods. rest in peace.

Above, my death was explained very clearly.When I was dying, I made one last entrustment. I have no children and no daughters in my life. Lemei is my only family member. I will entrust you with everything after my death. I hope you will inherit my last wish and donate all my property to those in need. people.

- suicide note

Yesterday's heavy rain blocked the road, and the police car arrived two hours later.

Since Zhen Yang and Ren Chu were not at the scene when the body was discovered, they were ordered to leave as idlers.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the two people waiting in the villa heard a knock on the door.Zhen Yang thought it was Le Mei and the others who came back, and hurriedly opened the door.

"Bonjour!"

The person outside the door raised his hand to his chest, and gave a gentleman's salute in a dramatic manner.

Zhen Yang took half a step back in fright.

"Lin Lan!"

She exclaimed his name,

"Oh, oh, don't you give me a long-lost hug, beautiful lady?"

Lin Lan is a stage actor by profession. She is a handsome young man, but the corners of her mouth are slightly crooked, and her smile always looks a bit arrogant.

"What's the matter with you, frowning?"

Faced with Lin Lan's ignorance, Zhen Yang could only smile wryly.

"In short, something happened, you come in and talk about it."

Afterwards, Zhen Yang talked about the events of the past two days in detail.

"...Said he was terminally ill, such a kind person, who would have thought of it."

Zhen Yang finally said.She picked up the teapot and poured water for them, looking very lonely.

Seeing her like this, Lin Lan couldn't help but sigh.

"There's no other way..."

"No way? So you think it's suicide?"

Ren Chu interrupted unexpectedly, his voice was particularly sonorous due to the short tone.

The attention of the two was attracted.

"What does this mean?"

Lin Lan asked suspiciously.

Ren Chuge said calmly: "Let me ask, isn't it too abnormal for a person to be able to talk and laugh happily on the day of suicide?"

Lin Lan couldn't understand Ren Chu's way of saying everything with certainty, so he couldn't help but retort: ​​"It's your own opinion whether it's abnormal or not. If you think it's abnormal, maybe it's normal in everyone's eyes, otherwise , why don't others say it's abnormal? Right, Zhen Yang?"

Lin Lan originally wanted to find an alliance, but Zhen Yang's expression became erratic.

"Hey, isn't it! Are you really convinced by one sentence?"

"It wasn't a word from me that convinced her, but because it was the fact that the deceased did not show any signs of suicide that day."

Ren Chu lightly tapped the table with her index finger, showing a composed smile. The steadfastness and firmness she showed at this time almost stunned Lin Lan.

"But the absence of signs does not mean that he has no thoughts of suicide. Maybe he has no nostalgia for life, but regards death as a relief and dies peacefully. Isn't there such a person?"

Lin Lan asked back without giving up.

"In my opinion, except for the mentally ill and religious lunatics, normal people basically don't have this kind of psychology."

Ren Chu answered him firmly.

"Hey, don't talk nonsense! Don't forget, this is a terminally ill person!"

Lin Lan said rather unconvinced.He's as competitive as he is showmanship, and both are now being mobilized.

Ren Chu held his chin in one hand and turned the glass in the other, and continued without disobedience: "It's one thing to feel that life is hopeless, but it's another thing to really do it. Life and death are irreversible and unknowable. This is the necessity of fear, so Not everyone can become a philosopher. Even if human will is put aside for a moment, from the perspective of instinct, looking at the entire biological world, if it does not involve the interests of groups or reproduction, it can be said that every gene is filled with "survival". Therefore, once When an individual is threatened with death, the stress response is almost irresistible. Although it cannot be asserted that there are no exceptions, there are very few exceptions. If one person is randomly selected from more than 60 billion people, which type do you think the probability of the sample belonging to is relatively high? ?”

"You actually use probability to reason about problems, I really admire you!"

In essence, these logics are flashy, so Lin Lan immediately used his brains and thought of rebuttals.

"But even if I can't say you're wrong, haven't you blocked your own way? A small probability doesn't mean it's impossible, so in the end, you haven't proved that there must be something hidden about Uncle Le's death. What's more, if he will It’s not a problem to pretend that you don’t show your emotions or anger.”

"Of course, everything is possible until definite evidence is found, so I will not deny that these are based on unfounded assumptions."

Ren Chu did not continue to challenge, but followed his words.But the other party looked even more unhappy.

"Oh! So you're just teasing me by saying a lot of brazen things?"

"Of course not," the orator flatly denied.

She stared at the young man, persuading: "Think about it, the proposition is easy to falsify, but it cannot be proved true. For example, thousands of healthy people cannot prove that 'everyone has two eyes' is correct, but as long as A one-eyed dragon can prove that 'everyone has two eyes' is wrong. You see, the alternative hypothesis can be established by rejecting the null hypothesis?"

"Wait, by inference, it means that in order to prove that 'suicide' is correct, the assumption of 'non-suicide' must be established first, and then overthrow it!"

This explanation finally satisfied Lin Lan, and he said with piercing eyes: "It sounds quite interesting, so let me help you investigate too!"

After finishing speaking, Lin Lan immediately walked out without touching the ground.

Finally, when they finished their conversation, Zhen Yang, who had been in the fog for a long time, heaved a sigh of relief.

According to her understanding of Ren Chu, it was abnormal for her to rashly decide to intervene in the investigation. Zhen Yang always felt that she didn't mean it. Although she wanted to ask, she didn't know how to do so.

While struggling, footsteps came from outside again.

This time it was Chang Wei and Le Mei who pushed the door in. The two of them looked downcast, especially Le Mei, with the miserable and painful expression on his face, which made people feel hard to describe.

"Sorry, I'm too tired, don't call me for dinner."

After hearing the sound of closing the door upstairs, Ren Chu pulled Chang Wei and told him about their decision to launch an investigation. Chang Wei was puzzled at first, but he had no position on this matter, so he was very upset. Soon he was persuaded by Ren Chu and became an ally.

Then at 05:30, Lin Lan reappeared complacently.

The following is a brief summary of his investigation results from his "acquaintances"——

Today, the ancestral hall administrator arrived at the scene first.At [-]:[-] in the morning, he got up an hour earlier than usual and went out. It is necessary to mention the reason here-the ancestral hall was built against the mountain, because the drainage system was in disrepair for a long time, and every time there was a heavy rain, a large amount of loess on the mountain would be washed to the square in front of the silt Look, it was better before, but in recent years, due to logging and land reclamation, the situation has become a bit serious, so the ground must be cleaned before the festival begins.

According to his confession, the police concluded that no one entered or left the ancestral hall from the end of the rain last night (19:55) to the start of cleaning the ground this morning (6:00). There are two reasons for this. First, the doors and windows are locked. And there is no trace of destruction, one key is with him, and the other is kept by the deceased who is the village head (the deceased took it with him when he committed suicide), so the scene can be regarded as a secret room.Second, the old man remembered very clearly that when he arrived, he didn't see any footprints on the ground.In such a situation, it is impossible to enter without leaving a trace unless you fly over the eaves and walls.

In addition, after a preliminary examination, the deceased died of suffocation, there were no other injuries on his body, and there was no fighting resistance.The time of death is estimated to be between 20:00-20:30 last night.The coat is stained with starch.Because his clothes and shoes were clean, it can be speculated that he entered the ancestral hall before it rained, that is, before 17:52.

"I found the cancer test report. It was on August 8 last year." Lin Lan took out her mobile phone from her pocket while talking, and added, "I secretly took a photo of the suicide note, but the handwriting test will have to wait until tomorrow."

"let me see."

Ren Chu stood up, took the mobile phone across the table, and immediately immersed himself in research.

After a while, a smile appeared on the corners of her straightened mouth.

"It's a little weird."

She looked up.

"I'm really anxious, tell me quickly!"

Lin Lan was the most impatient, he urged anxiously.

"There are two main points. First, the interval between the deceased entering the ancestral hall and committing suicide was two hours. What was he doing during this time? Second, the medical examination was done a year ago, so the most likely time to commit suicide should be not long after the news... ..." Ren Chu pointed to the screen and said, "Put yourself in the shoes of the 'springboard leading to death', he looked for the springboard a year ago, but only took off a year later. Is it reasonable for such a long time?"

"Anyway, let's assume that the suicide note is a forgery..." Lin Lan was very excited after hearing this, and he wished that things would be complicated.

Ren Chu was noncommittal to his words, she turned her eyes back to the screen, and said thoughtfully: "The above two points are logically inexplicable, and besides, I want to know why the deceased said that Le Mei was his only relative .”

"It's a long story about that..."

As expected, Lin Lan made a thorough investigation and immediately answered Ren Chu's question.

"Uncle Le Mei's name is Le Chengmin, but that's not his original name, and he's not even a local."

"How is this going?"

Not only Ren Chu, but the other two also pricked up their ears curiously.

"Hey, he escaped here because of certain historical issues in the 60s. Although he later entered into his father-in-law's family and changed his surname, he felt like an outsider after all. His wife passed away due to illness a few years ago, and he usually If he didn't adopt Le Mei, he could be said to be alone. However, I think so, the simpler the social relationship, the easier it is to find the suspect."

Ren Chu held his chin and thought for a moment, then asked Chang Wei, "Chang Wei, do you remember who acted strangely when the corpse was found?"

"Huh? If you ask me that all of a sudden..."

Chang Wei frowned nervously, and suddenly, he clapped his hands and let out a loud cry.

"Ah, that's right, I remembered! I was standing by the side at the time, and there was indeed someone who felt so guilty when he saw the corpse."

"who is it?"

Lin Lan rushed ahead of Ren Chu and asked questions impatiently.

"It's really hard to say who it is."

He seemed to have thought of something, and added, "However, I guess it might be the surname."

"Guess?"

Lin Lan raised an eyebrow bluntly at his words.

"Hey, don't look at me with this expression. Although guessing is not very accurate..."

As he said that, Chang Wei raised his eyes and began to recall the scene in the morning.

"I walked halfway this morning and met Le Mei driving a truck to deliver things to the ancestral hall. I took a ride, and then saw a lot of bamboo barrels in the car. I was curious and asked about the purpose. It turned out that the autumn festival was built by the earliest fundraising. The twelve clans of the ancestral hall jointly hold the ceremony. In order to pray for a good harvest, the patriarchs must each take out 100 catties of grain, pack it in a bucket, and then mark it with their own clan’s surname as a special sacrifice. When offering sacrifices, people with different surnames also salute separately ...Ah, stop rambling, the point is that I saw that man kneeling towards the barrel of the character '言', so his surname must be Yan."

"Do you remember how big those barrels are?" Ren Chu asked out of the blue.

This question sounds silly at first, but Lin Lan immediately understood her intention.

"Height...about the same as my thigh, about [-] centimeters, and about [-] to [-] centimeters in length and width."

"You read that right, just 100 catties of rice, which is too much." Even Zhen Yang couldn't help but say.

Chang Wei shook his head: "It can only be said that this is a profligate custom, because after the sacrifice, other sacrifices should be put in together, carried to the back valley and buried."

Ren Chu was silent for a while thoughtfully, and then asked, "Lin Lan, did the autopsy report say that the body was moved?"

"It's very helpless to bring this up. Before the police arrived, the scene was in a mess and the corpses were taken down. But who can expect the reality to be like the movie. Every time something happens, there will be a detective shouting 'Protect the crime. on site!'"

After saying this, Lin Lan began to wait for Ren Chu's reaction, and she said to herself as expected:

"That is to say, this possibility cannot be ruled out. Considering why the corpse is stained with starch, then..."

"No, no, no."

The smug voice forced her to stop here.

"why?"

Feeling that everyone's eyes were on him, Lin Lan coughed pretendingly, and then said, "It may be easy to pretend to be a person, but first of all, the difference in weight will cause a difference in feeling. Don't you think about it? The net weight is 100 catties, and the body weighs 121 catties, which is far beyond the range of 'rounding and negligible'. If you say 'put other heavy objects inside to make them equal in mass', it is even more wrong, because When I read the transcript, I found a situation."

His voice became more and more high-pitched, and he even added a stage-like commentary.

"And this is the key point-it is inevitable that there was a mistake that day. All the necessary items were pre-stored in the public warehouse, but when I checked yesterday, I found that the corner of a grain bucket was worn out. Replace it with a new one, no one can do anything."

But the opponent was not so easy to admit defeat. She continued to put forward the hypothesis unwillingly: "Then if we move separately, there will be no poor quality? If you are a little careless..."

"No, no, I asked, and I'm sure there are only two people carrying it together, so your major premise doesn't hold at all."

Having said this, Ren Chu was finally speechless, she lowered her eyes in frustration, with heavy wrinkles between her brows.

So, in the follow-up discussions at their wit's end, they finally decided to start with the man surnamed Yan.

It was not difficult to find out the identity of this person, because there was no other colony in the surrounding area who would harbor resentment against the benevolent dead, except this family.

——The man's name is Yan Kaifeng.A hopeless black sheep and a rascal.

No one knows where this enmity started, but it is well known that the Yan family's mother and son have always been at odds, but they only share the same hatred over this matter.As an elder, Yan Lao knows how to measure, but Yan Kaifeng is different. For example, after drinking one time, he yelled in front of the public: "Le Chengmin, that hypocritical villain, what is there to be proud of? Hmph, sooner or later you will die."

But slander is slander, when money is needed, he can still go to the door to "help", and the deceased is tolerant in every possible way, which really makes people admire his mind.

On the day of the incident, someone saw Yan Kaifeng wandering in front of the deceased's house. If it wasn't for the suicide note and the convincing alibi, it wouldn't be unbelievable to say that he premeditated murder.

It is also worth mentioning that he and Xu Chao's father are related by marriage, that is to say, Xu Chao's mother is his clan sister.