CHAPTER 292: CHAPTER 187: THE MURDERER’S MOTIVE?

As he walked, he said, "These stairs are concrete and relatively coarse, making it difficult to leave footprints."

"But if there are any footprints, I must examine them carefully."

Wan agreed, saying, "Exactly!"

"This place is rarely visited, even if a few people come here for a cheap date, it’s likely just on the first or second floor."

"If footprints appear on higher floors, I think they are highly suspicious."

Jiang An immediately gave a thumbs up.

"Wan, I agree with you, any footprints here are highly suspicious."

Zhang Yean looked at Wan in disbelief.

"Wan, your professional skills have suddenly improved a lot."

"Thank you for the praise, but I’m still learning."

"I’ve learned quite a bit working on major cases with my junior lately."

"You’re too kind, senior!"

"In the future, I hope you and sister will look after me."

Half an hour later, the three of them reached the corner of the seventh floor.

Suddenly, Jiang An stood still, staring at the concrete floor.

"What’s wrong?"

"Did you find something?"

Zhang Yean and Wan asked curiously.

Jiang An nodded slowly.

"Yes!"

"Look here, isn’t there a partial footprint?"

"A partial footprint?"

The two immediately crouched down, following the direction of the flashlight.

Sure enough!

In the strong light, a partial footprint could be seen.

"Strange!"

"Why is there a footprint here?"

Zhang Yean murmured to herself.

"If there’s a footprint here, it suggests this footprint is quite unusual."

Wan analyzed, "Exactly!"

"Even if people come here for shady activities, they wouldn’t go to the seventh floor."

Speaking, Wan tapped his back and took several deep breaths.

"Even climbing to the seventh floor alone leaves me breathless."

"No one would go through all this just for a date."

Jiang An took the partial footprint very seriously.

He crouched down to observe the direction of the footprint carefully.

After a while, he determined it pointed towards the seventh-floor entrance.

Then, Jiang An stood up and pushed open the staircase door to the seventh floor.

As he opened the door, the three of them froze.

In the strong light, two noticeable sets of footprints could be seen.

"Wow! The footprints here are so obvious!"

Wan exclaimed, "There weren’t such noticeable footprints in the corridors below."

After pondering for a while, Jiang An said, "This place probably has an open air area, letting dust from outdoors in."

Zhang Yean guessed, "A balcony?"

Jiang An nodded, "Let’s go in and take a look!"

The three then avoided the original footprints and tiptoed forward.

Five minutes later, they arrived at an entrance to an open-air platform.

Standing there, Jiang An crouched down again to observe.

"The tread patterns of the coming and going footprints are identical, likely left by one person."

"However, the imprint of the tread pattern differs."

Zhang Yean and Wan also crouched down to observe immediately.

Jiang An pointed with his hand, "The imprint heading to the open-air platform is heavier, with clearly visible tread patterns."

"But the imprint leaving the platform is lighter and somewhat blurry."

"This shows the person leaving the footprints carried different weights."

With Jiang An’s reminder, Zhang Yean recalled her university course on footprints.

She remembered a lab experiment on the relationship between shoe tread patterns and body weight.

Combining theory with practice, she felt a sense of accomplishment.

Then Jiang An said solemnly, "I suspect this is where the suspect disposed of the body."

Zhang Yean smiled, "We’re lucky today! We found the body disposal spot just after searching this building."

Wan also said, "Haha, I must buy a lottery ticket today to see if I win."

Then, the three followed the direction of the footprints to the seventh-floor platform.

The plants and rocks on the platform were decayed from long neglect.

The three stood at the edge of the balcony.

Suddenly, Zhang Yean said, "Wait, doesn’t it seem like there are footprints from another person here?"

Jiang An crouched down to take a closer look.

"Sis, that’s not surprising."

"The suspect might have stopped here while disposing of the body."

"Look, the tread patterns of the two are quite different."

Wan nodded, "I remember!"

"These footprints should be those of the female victim."

Jiang An looked over the edge of the platform, down to the road below.

"This place could allow for disposing of a body."

Wan crouched down and examined the footprints carefully.

After a long time, he suddenly said, "Junior, I find these footprints odd."

"Odd? How?"

Jiang An turned to ask.

Wan said, "Look! Why are the imprints of the two shoe prints different?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang An focused on the tread patterns of the footprints.

After contemplating, Jiang An said softly, "I think I have an idea!"

"Because the suspect’s right foot is disabled."

"Disabled?"

Wan and Zhang Yean widened their eyes in disbelief.

Could this be detected from the footprints?

Then Jiang An explained, "Due to the right foot disability, the suspect’s feet have different pressure points while walking."

"Thus, the tread pattern of the suspect’s right shoe is slightly unclear, while the left is very precise."

Hearing Jiang An’s explanation, Zhang Yean instantly gave him a thumbs up.

He said, "Junior, your quick thinking makes this explanation very plausible."

Wan also nodded, "I vaguely remember learning about such scenarios in university."

"But this is my first time encountering such inconsistent footprints at work."

At this moment, Jiang An stood up and looked around.

He said, "Why would the murderer come here to dispose of a body?"

"Could he be familiar with this place?"

Zhang Yean agreed, "Generally, no one would consider this place."

"Could the suspect have worked here?"

Jiang An replied, "We can’t rule out that possibility for now."

After thinking for a moment, Jiang An glanced at Wan, who was still breathing heavily.

"Actually, I think the suspect would be quite fit."

"We were already out of breath climbing from the first to the seventh floor."

"Carrying another heavy object up seven floors, most people wouldn’t manage."

The other two nodded repeatedly.

Especially Wan, who truly empathized.

"Even without a body, climbing just with two bottles of water would be tiring."

Next, Zhang Yean asked curiously, "Junior, why did the murderer go to such lengths to come here?"

"Wasn’t it just to dispose of the body?"

Wan jumped in to answer.

Jiang An said solemnly, "Actually, I don’t think the murderer’s intent was body disposal."

"What do you mean?"

"If the murderer only wanted to dispose of a body, he could choose a more covert environment."

"Like burying it in the ground or throwing it into the water."

"But there are many vehicles passing by here."

"Considering the psychological state of a corpse disposer, this isn’t an ideal spot."

Zhang Yean asked, "If not for disposing of a body, what was the murderer’s goal?"

"I think the murderer’s goal was to stage the scene."

"Stage the scene?"

Jiang An nodded, "The murderer wanted to make it look like a suicide from a fall."