Jian Jing bit into a steamed bun filled with egg custard, lost on life's winding path.
The autopsy determined the time of death to be between 8:40 to 9:10 AM, but it wasn't precise, with a margin of error of one to two minutes, so there was no discernible difference.
So everyone from Jiang San, who went to the bathroom at 8:25, to the manager who returned at 9:15, was a suspect.
What was even more f*cked up was that even though the victim left clues about the murderer's death, they all matched someone.
The female manager: wearing earrings with the letter G
The male assistant: last name Quan, homophone for "circle"
Jiang Ou: last name Jiang, homophone for "o"
Starts with C
Yuan the reporter: Yuan last name, homophone for "round"
Wrote the word "lonely".
And most notably, the murder weapon still hadn't been found.
Jian Jing had carefully examined the private room, but did not find any slender strangling ropes. The female manager wore modest long dresses, no scarves, and a Tote bag without straps. The male assistant wore a T-shirt and jeans, with a backpack across both shoulders.
Jiang San said earlier he was dressed casually expensively, seen wearing suspenders and shorts, hair tied back neatly without hair ties, no belts or neckties.
Yuan the reporter wore a short sleeve shirt and slacks, carrying a large bag with photography equipment and a tablet.
The few suspects were as if they had agreed upon it, all suspicious, yet none of them carried anything resembling a murder weapon.
"You guys try to examine their personal belongings to see if the murder weapon is there," Jian Jing said, though she didn't have much hope.
The murder weapon this time was likely something very unique, hidden away, unlike the hypodermic needle from Yao Yao's case. But strangling ropes have intimate contact with the victim, so they should leave clues.
Jian Jing thought this, hurriedly grabbed her car keys and went downstairs to the parking lot to retrieve her makeup kit.
Sure enough, this was a makeup kit, filled with all sizes of makeup brushes, but the other compartments contained not blush and eye shadow, but all kinds of powders, along with tweezers, swabs, sealable bags and other small tools she had bought and gathered herself.
Compared to a forensic examiner's professional investigation kit, the tools in this makeup kit were undoubtedly very amateur.
But it was better than nothing. Lining up and waiting for food while it turns cold.
She carefully suited up completely and entered the scene to collect clues.
First she naturally examined the victim's shirt collar.
Under the magnifying glass, she could clearly see signs of friction on the linen shirt surface, leaving behind many broken fibers.
She used tweezers to clip up one piece, carefully putting it in an evidence bag, and examined it under a desk lamp.
The texture, the feel, how come it seemed a little like tissue?
Could it be? A bold idea surfaced in her mind. She tore off a piece of bathroom tissue, and compared it under a portable microscope.
Although they were both tissue, different brands and types of tissue had different fibers.
Generally speaking, expensive tissue was thick and dense, fibers arranged tightly together, while cheap tissue was brittle and thin, fibers arranged loosely with occasional gaps.
Along with the shirt fabric for comparison, the answer was very clear. What remained on it came from tissue and not the linen shirt.
Of course, just visual examination could not conclusively determine they were the same product. More rigorous evidence collection and comparison was needed.
Jian Jing could only confirm the murder weapon was tissue.
Thin paper alone could not kill someone, but twisted together it became a strangling rope. Taking materials on hand, no need to bring a murder weapon, and very easy to dispose of later by flushing down the toilet.
Although undissolved paper residue could be fished out of the sewage pipes, fingerprints likely couldn't be retrieved from it.
Oh well, better leave this arduous task to the professionals.
Knowing the strangling rope was made of paper, many conjectures could be made:
First, making the strangling rope took time, so it wasn't a rash, crime of passion murder, but a premeditated one. Next, she checked the amount of tissue left, more than half remained, and asked the servers, who said they hadn't refilled it today. This meant the murder weapon was not made on the spot.
The murderer either researched the brand ahead of time and bought the same tissues, or came a few times before, taking a little bit each time, preparing the murder weapon in advance and carrying it, ready to deliver a fatal strike at the right moment.
With this reasoning, Jiang San's suspicion was much lower.
Neither of them knew the victim would come today. Their bags were only palm-sized, enough to hold some lipstick and a cell phone, no room for a weapon.
And while Jiang San was arrogant, and highly likely to come into conflict with the victim, he hadn't been dating long. From the inception of murderous thoughts, to preparing a murder plan, to taking action, it was too rushed.
Given his personality, the probability of him directly erupting in conflict was higher if he was displeased about something.
The more Jian Jing interacted with rich people, the more she understood their perspective - a celebrity like Hou Rui was likely easily "killable" in the eyes of wealthy young masters. No need to get their hands dirty.
Comparatively, the probabilities were higher for the manager, assistant, and reporter.
The first two knew every aspect of the victim's life. The latter stalked and followed for a long time, having ample time to prepare a plan.
From a time perspective, all three had opportunity during the timeframe.
At 8:35 AM, Hou Rui had already gone to the bathroom. Yuan the reporter left the private room at 8:42, returned at 8:48. If he used an excuse like showing photos, luring the victim to meet in the bathroom, catching him off guard from behind and strangling Hou Rui, it was not impossible.
With his tall stature, and Hou Rui just a slender young man, he was most suspicious in terms of physical ability.
The assistant went to fetch Hou Rui 9AM to 9:05 AM, claiming the other party ignored him, but the truth was uncertain. He was very intimate with Hou Rui, not difficult to find an excuse to enter the bathroom.
And Hou Rui's position...hmm, endless possibilities!
The manager left at 8:50, and didn't return until 9:10 AM, quite a long time, also worth suspecting.
Numerous thoughts flashed through Jian Jing's mind as she slowly walked back to the private room entrance.
She didn't go in, but had the deputy bring everyone to review the surveillance footage.
The restaurant had already pulled out all the footage from 6PM to 10PM for their investigation.
Jian Jing fast forwarded, picking out a few noteworthy time periods to examine.
The first time period: 7:30PM - 7:45PM
The camera showed Hou Rui leaving the private room. About 5 minutes later, he walked out the door and went to the end of the hallway. The shadows on the ground briefly intersected, indicating the two had some contact.
At 7:40, Yuan the reporter came out upon hearing noise, and returned to the private room angrily 1 minute later.
5 minutes afterwards, Hou Rui returned to the private room.
Jian Jing wrote in her notebook: 7:40PM - 7:45PM, Yuan the reporter and Hou Rui possibly had contact.
The second time period was 8:25 PM onwards, everyone's actions matched the timeline.
She focused on observing everyone's state when they returned on the surveillance video.
Strangling someone to death was no easy task. Bare-handed, the palms should retain strangulation marks. She took screenshots of the video, trying to discern Yuan the reporter's, the manager's and the assistant's actions clearly.
When leaving, everyone opened the door with their right hand, consistent with her memory of all being right-handed. But when returning, they still used their right hand to open the door.
Also, everyone's palms appeared normal, no visible marks in the surveillance.
But don't forget, Yuan the reporter had a bandage on his left palm. If he tore it off and stuck it along his right palm, with his right-handed habits, he could also avoid leaving marks.
The female manager could do the same.
Her long hair was twisted up and fixed with a hairpin. Hairpins could be wrapped around the strangling rope, serving as a tightening tool, so large force would not be needed to strangle someone to death, leaving no marks.
However, another matter temporarily ruled out her suspicion for now.
In the coming and going of the hallway, a female server went out of view of the camera, walking to the other end. She called the boss over, and found the female server, asking what she did.
The female server replied: "A customer asked us to send something to the bathroom."
"A female customer?" Jian Jing asked.
The female server euphemistically said: "Yes, she had physical inconveniences and asked us to send feminine products."
Jian Jing understood.
"Around what time was this?"
"I went to deliver it right after getting the call."
She looked at the surveillance and said, "Around 8:55 PM?"
"Yes."
"Please recount the situation at that time to me again."
The waitress recounted: “I went to the bathroom, knocked on the door of the women’s toilet. The person inside said to come in, but when I opened the door, I found it was locked. She then told me to slip it in through the door crack, so I did that.”
“Were both toilet doors closed at that time?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you hear any abnormal sounds?”
The waitress shook her head.
“What else did you do? The surveillance showed you didn’t leave until 59 minutes past.”
“The sink was a bit messy so I tidied it up a little.”
“Thank you.”
The waitress's testimony split the agent's timeline. There was no one to account for the time between 8:50 to 8:55, but from 8:55 to 9 she had to be in the women's restroom. Then the assistant brushed past her and didn't leave until 9:05.
There were only 5 minutes from when the agent left at 9:10.
During the time the assistant was knocking on the door, it was highly likely she tried the handle. If Hou Rui was already killed before 9, the door couldn't be locked again. But to make a move after 9:05 would be too risky time-wise, as Hou Rui could have already sobered up from the alcohol.
From this perspective, Yuan Reporter and the assistant seem more suspicious.
The office door squeaked open and Jiang BaiYan poked his head in.
He carefully asked, “Can I come in?”
“Of course,” she smiled. “What’s up?”
Jiang BaiYan snuck into the room and smiled awkwardly. “I asked around about Hou Rui. Not sure if it’ll help you.”
Jian Jing said excitedly, “Go on.”
Jiang BaiYan said, “His reputation in the industry is so-so. Loves making a scene, undedicated to acting, used to date around, and recently getting close to a certain boss, often visiting his place...”
He gave a knowing look and continued, “A company wanted to sign him for a TV/movie contract but his agency wasn’t too happy. Oh right, I heard he wants to switch agents, and contacted a guy known for sensational marketing but terrible reviews.”
“What about his current agent?”
“Fired, of course. His agent now is from a small company, but worked hard to promote him. To kick him to the curb after making it big is just too much.” Jiang BaiYan shook his head in disapproval. “Ungrateful for help, he’ll get his retribution sooner or later.”
Jian Jing looked pensive and asked, “What about his relationship with the assistant?”
“Hou Rui has gone through three assistants already. This one probably isn’t too happy either.” Jiang BaiYan guessed.
She asked, “No deeper relationship?”
“Can’t say for sure.” He gossiped, “I’ve heard of that patron. Highly educated, anything is possible with his tastes and interests!”
Jian Jing: “...Why do you know about this?”
Jiang BaiYan grimaced, “I have good sources too, much better than his.”
“No need to compete over things like this.” She said exasperatedly.
He replied, “I can't control myself in front of Teacher Jing.”
Jian Jing stared at him. "Anything else?"
"I asked around about Yuan Reporter too." He presented proudly. "Specifically found an entertainment journalist who takes photos of me to ask. Had to agree to more shots tomorrow for this. But anything to help Teacher Jing, I'm happy to do it."
Jian Jing nodded graciously, "Then let me treat you to a meal to show thanks."
Jiang BaiYan beamed, "As long as I can help Teacher Jing, I'm very happy already."
He readily shared, "I heard Yuan Reporter got photos of Hou Rui spending the night, but didn't publish them. Wasn't bought out, the sugar daddy went directly to get them suppressed. Hou Rui also humiliated Yuan Reporter badly, saying nasty things like 'won't give a penny to a paparazzo dog like you' and 'if you try to expose me I'll ruin you completely'. Made a huge scene."
Jian Jing clicked her tongue.
Such an obvious motive for murder.
