CHAPTER 87: CHAPTER 83: DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF DEATH, LOCK DOWN THE SUSPECT!_1

"I’ve found all the damn evidence, and you’re telling me Jerry didn’t die from electrocution?"

Dean lifted the drill and pliers in his hand. "Impossible, the victim definitely died from electrocution. I need to see the body!"

Upon hearing this, Holz’s expression turned a bit sour, but considering Dean’s way of doing things, he didn’t dare to object and reluctantly took the two items.

Passing Holz, Dean approached Jerry’s body. His body had already been placed on a temporary stretcher. Because the examination was complete, Holz’s colleague had already gone upstairs to search for clues and verify whether the death was accidental. Dean ignored this. He lifted the white cloth covering Jerry, his gaze sweeping over Jerry’s palms before he pulled open his shirt to check his chest.

At this sight, Dean’s eyebrows furrowed. No wonder Holz said Jerry didn’t die from electrocution. Typically, someone who dies from electrocution would have scorch marks on their palms, and their chest would show specific bruising from ruptured capillaries. But Jerry had none of these obvious symptoms.

Still not giving up, Dean turned to Jerry’s legs and eyed his bulky, sturdy work boots. At this sight, his initially self-doubting and somewhat wavering conviction solidified once more.

Jerry *did* die from electrocution! Because on his left work boot, there was clearly a nail driven into the sole! All of this perfectly matched his earlier suspicions.

As for why there were no electrocution marks on Jerry’s body... Dean stroked his chin. He vaguely recalled this method of death from his past life. An expert who taught their group of Sweepers and assassins about ’accidental’ killings had mentioned it once. If the victim unknowingly ingested an overdose of iron—not too much, just about six or seven times the normal human amount—they could be turned into a human conductor. This would cause electrocution without leaving obvious marks. The key was that six or seven times the iron content wouldn’t be life-threatening, merely causing some physical discomfort, like symptoms of jaundice.

Dean carefully examined Jerry’s exposed skin, a look of delight spreading across his face. Indeed, he found signs of jaundice on Jerry’s hands and feet.

This proves my theory was entirely correct! This killing method is extremely rare and covert. But it has one obvious flaw...

...

Some inexperienced medical examiners, if they didn’t conduct a blood test, would at most assume Jerry was naturally underdeveloped and wouldn’t think any further.

Now that Jerry’s cause of death was confirmed, Dean turned to tell Holz. However, he found Holz holding the pliers, staring dumbfounded at Jerry’s body—pants pulled down—his eyes wide with horror. He looks like he’s discovered some incredible secret!

Dean glanced at Holz, then followed his gaze to Jerry’s lowered pants and sighed. "Holz, can’t you keep your thoughts a little cleaner?"

Realizing his misunderstanding, Holz joked, "Dean, after so many years in forensics, I’ve seen things more bizarre than you can imagine. But as a friend, I still suggest you see a psychologist. If that doesn’t work, well, a living man is still somewhat better to use than a corpse..."

Dean gave him the middle finger and briefly explained his new discovery.

After listening, Holz looked enlightened. He picked up the pliers. "Alright, your theory is correct. The internal wiring of that drill is completely fried, meaning an excessive current passed through it in an instant. And on these pliers, I also found fingerprints that don’t belong to Jerry."

"The comparison was that fast?" Dean asked, surprised. Fingerprint comparison is usually time-consuming.

"The forensics department received a batch of new, very smart equipment. Comparing fingerprints only takes a few seconds, and the accuracy is extremely high," Holz said, placing the pliers into an evidence bag. He continued, "Each pair of pliers leaves a unique cut mark. Later, I’ll retrieve the markings from the cut on the safety socket. If it’s confirmed these pliers made that cut, you’ll probably solve the case quickly."

"Sounds good," Dean said, then pointed to the evidence bag. "But why do the pliers look all wet now?"

"Simple. I used the fuming method to lift the prints," Holz explained, gesturing to a machine still letting off steam in the distance. "For uneven or sticky surfaces, we generally use this method. It’s quick, convenient, and less likely to cause contamination."

Another day, another lesson learned.

Because Jerry’s cause of death was confirmed, the forensics team quickly collected sufficient evidence at the lookout tower. All that remained was to return, verify the evidence, and then issue a report. Their work here was done.

...

「The next day.」

Dam and the others were summoned to the detective bureau. One by one, their fingerprints were taken, and they were interrogated separately again. This time, Dean focused on inquiring about Jerry’s recent condition. The results were the same as before. According to Jerry’s workmates, Jerry was full of tall tales and liked to tell risqué jokes. In their eyes, he was very optimistic, so he was quite popular. And in the past few days, he hadn’t shown any abnormal reactions either.

Only one person’s behavior seemed a bit off: the man who had volunteered to call the police that day. His name was Amody. Amody claimed to be Jerry’s mentor, saying Jerry had started in the industry under his guidance. Therefore, he knew Jerry better than the average coworker. But he seemed to have some reservations. Dean couldn’t get any more information from Amody. After giving Amody his business card, Dean personally escorted him out of the detective bureau.

Watching Amody’s retreating figure, Dean stroked his chin. "The human heart..." he mused. "This Amody, what’s he being so cautious about? Could he know who the murderer is?"

Back in the office, Dean found Robert, the only one not out on assignment, and handed him Amody’s file. "Buddy, want to know why I’m so damn good at cracking cases?"

Robert, who was playing Minesweeper, looked up, his eyes lighting up. "Why?"

He’d always envied Dean. He wanted to ask, but his pride as a fellow newcomer held him back, leaving him caught in a cycle of envy and jealousy.

"Because of empathetic thinking!" Dean half-bluffed. "Robert, this Amody, I suspect he’s one of the culprits. Go investigate him. Pay special attention to his personality and recent events in his life. In the process, you might understand what I mean."

"No problem!" Robert took Amody’s file and hurried off.

Looking around the empty office, Dean leisurely lit a cigarette.

So this is the Mind Reading Technique. Anthony said that mind reading is essentially the analysis of microexpressions and psychology. Microexpressions are the subtle facial changes reflecting emotional fluctuations—at their core, they’re psychological changes. Dean knew some psychological techniques from his interrogation experience, but he hadn’t consciously synthesized them before. Last night, thanks to Anthony’s earlier hint, he finally began to grasp the concept. The essence of mind reading is to perceive what a person most desires when they interact with you.

Take foreman Dam, for example. Due to his connections, he didn’t want Dean to classify Jerry’s death as a homicide. He was afraid it would attract media attention, expose his reliance on nepotism, and consequently affect his backers. That was the reason for his unusual reaction. When Dean voiced Dam’s underlying fear, Dam’s demeanor instantly changed, and he subconsciously lied.

It was the same with Robert. He was jealous of Dean but also admired and envied him. Once Dean recognized this, he appealed to Robert’s inner desires and easily got him to willingly help.

After these two small trials, Dean finally understood Anthony’s objective. He wanted to teach him the *way of thinking* behind the Mind Reading Technique. Once this special way of thinking became instinctual, although it wouldn’t allow him to see through people’s hearts completely, he would instantly become adept at discerning truth from lies, navigating social interactions, negotiating, and so on.

...

「Noon.」

The members of Squad Four were still busy outside. Dean, along with Old Hunter, the deputy leader—who had just returned from fishing and was often jokingly called a "salary thief"—were leisurely having lunch in the cafeteria.

For some reason, Old Hunter found Dean especially agreeable to talk to today. Not only did it greatly increase his own desire to converse, but he also felt an impulse to regard Dean as a confidant.

Just as their conversation was getting lively, a ringtone sounded from Dean’s pocket. He pulled out his phone and saw it was a call from Holz.

"Good news, Dean! We compared the fingerprints sent over this morning and found the owner of those pliers. The cut marks on the electrical safety device also match the pliers! Most crucially, we even lifted prints from the nail in Jerry’s work boot, and they match the ones on the pliers! The report has been faxed to your squad’s printer. I think you guys can apply for an arrest warrant now!"

"Who is it?" Dean pressed.

Holz, falling back into his old habit, said, "Buddy, go check the fax machine yourself. I haven’t even eaten lunch helping you out. Catch you later."

The call ended.

Damn it! Dean fumed internally. That bastard, keeping me in suspense again!

His curiosity killed his appetite. After briefly explaining the situation to Old Hunter, the two of them headed back to the office together.