Chapter 7: The Scent of Cigarettes, A Nose’s Merit Once More

Luo Fei nodded in response. “Mentor Zhang, how could I possibly speak without thinking about such things?”

Zhang Haiyang glanced at Luo Fei, then at the people on the balcony, and then said to Luo Fei, “Follow me.”

Zhang Haiyang walked straight to the balcony.

“Captain Zhao, we’ve carefully searched the entire room and found nothing. Apart from traces of the victim, there’s no evidence of a second person in the room.” The cool female detective with a ponytail was reporting to Zhao Donglai, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Donglai scanned his surroundings and firmly said, “If this case is indeed a homicide, there must be traces left behind. No matter how perfect a crime is, there will always be evidence. Keep searching.”

“Chief Zhou, Luo Fei has found something.” Zhang Haiyang’s voice rang out abruptly at an ill time, drawing the attention of several individuals entirely towards him.

Chief Zhou, Captain Zhao, and several other detectives instantly focused on Zhang Haiyang and Luo Fei.

“Luo Fei, what have you found?” Zhou Weimin quickly asked.

Unsure whether it was the result of some newfound confidence or assurance brought by the Gold Finger, Luo Fei remained unfazed, even as he noticed everyone’s gaze fixed upon him.

“Chief Zhou, Captain Zhao, I smell a faint scent of cigarettes in the apartment, but there’s no smell of cigarettes on the victim. She probably didn’t smoke, so I suspect the scent of smoke in the rooms was left by the killer.” Luo Fei said steadily.

After Luo Fei finished speaking, several members of the investigation team began to discuss in low voices.

“I didn’t smell it, did you?”

“Neither did I.”

“Sister Yang Mei, did you smell it?” The short-haired girl with glasses also quietly asked the cool girl beside her.

The cool girl frowned and shook her head.

Subsequently, everyone cast suspicious glances at Luo Fei. With so many individuals failing to detect the scent, it seemed perplexing that only Luo Fei had picked up on it.

“Are you certain?” Zhao Donglai spoke up at this moment. He was not particularly sceptical; he felt that Luo Fei had no reason to lie. He was simply surprised by the keenness of Luo Fei’s sense of smell, considering that nobody else had detected the scent.

Seeing the disbelief written across everyone’s faces, Zhang Haiyang quickly interjected, “Captain Zhao, Luo Fei has a keen nose. You’re aware of the Gu Youguo case—it was Luo Fei who detected the odour of the corpse, allowing us to uncover the murder and apprehend Gu Youguo.”

Luo Fei immediately followed up with a firm answer: “I’m very sure there’s a smell of cigarettes in the room.”

“If there’s a smell of smoke in the room, it’s also possible that the victim smoked herself. Just because the victim didn’t smoke doesn’t mean she couldn’t have smoked; maybe she lit one up when she was feeling down.” The detective, with a crew cut, doubted.

Before Luo Fei could speak, the cool girl refuted the crew-cut detective’s statement. “If the victim had smoked, we should at least find a lighter, remaining cigarettes, or cigarette butts in the room.”

Zhao Donglai took a long look at Luo Fei, then spoke, “If there’s a smell of smoke in the room, there’s indeed a high possibility that it was left by the killer.”

“Now, based on the clues we have so far, let’s organise our thoughts. First: According to the situation of the fallen body at the scene, combined with what Comrade Luo Fei just mentioned about the smell of cigarettes in the room, we can preliminarily determine that this case is a homicide.”

“Secondly, while the victim was unconscious or dead, she was thrown from the balcony by the killer. Based on the height of the balcony, the weight of the victim, the smell of cigarettes in the room, and the distance the body fell, we can determine one thing: the killer is a physically strong male, at least 1.75 metres tall.”

“Thirdly, the victim’s time of death was around six in the morning. So, the killer left the crime scene after six in the morning. But when did the killer enter the victim’s room? How did he enter? And how did he leave? What is the relationship between him and the victim? Additionally, we need to pay attention to the fact that the killer may be someone from the neighbourhood or someone from outside. These are all things we need to clarify.”

“The last point, and the most important one, is the motive of the killer. Why did the killer kill the victim?” At this point, Zhao Donglai looked at everyone for input.

“There’s no signs of anything being searched in the room. The victim’s wallet, cash, and jewellery in the cabinet are all intact, so we can rule out robbery as the motive,” the crew-cut detective promptly stated his thoughts first.

“It probably wasn’t a crime of passion either. Looking at how tidy the room is, with no male items whatsoever, it suggests that the victim usually lives alone, so naturally it’s unlikely to be a murder for love,” added the short-haired detective with glasses.

“Probably not a revenge killing either.”

Everyone expressed their opinions on the killer’s motive, engaging in debates whenever their theories contradicted one another.

Currently, Luo Fei was also pondering the killer’s motive. As a suspense novelist, he still has a good grasp of logical reasoning.

When everyone had more or less spoken, Zhao Donglai suddenly looked at Luo Fei and asked, “Luo Fei, what about you? What do you think the motive of the killer might be?”

The previous Gu Youguo murder case and just minutes ago, when Luo Fei detected the smell of cigarettes, both left a deep impression on Zhao Donglai regarding this young police officer. That was why he asked such a sudden question.

He wanted to see how Luo Fei fared in other aspects besides his acute sense of smell.

Luo Fei was taken aback by Zhao Donglai’s sudden question; he did not expect Zhao to ask for his opinion. He had been pondering about the killer’s motive, but, to be honest, with the limited information they had, Luo Fei found it difficult to deduce the motive. He simply could not come up with a clear answer.

“I don’t know the killer’s motive, but I think the killer and the victim should be acquainted.” Luo Fei replied truthfully.

“Go on.” Zhao Donglai asked inquisitively.

Hmm, Luo Fei nodded, then continued. “I took a look. To enter the victim’s room, the only way is through the door. And I also noticed that this room’s door is the type with a latch on the inside. Once the latch is secured from the inside, no one can open it from the outside. Only someone inside can open the door for someone outside to enter.”

“The victim was killed around six in the morning, and at that time, the door should’ve been locked. If the killer had entered the room at that time to kill the victim, as a stranger, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to enter the room, let alone commit murder.”

“And if the killer entered the victim’s room during the day, it indicates a premeditated murder. If that’s the case, he wouldn’t have waited until six in the morning to kill the victim and leave, because by six, it’s already light outside, and many people are up and getting ready for work. This would expose the killer easily; the killer wouldn’t be that foolish,” Luo Fei analysed.

“That makes sense. Indeed, the possibility of the killer being a stranger is very low. It’s more likely that it was someone the victim knew.” Zhou Weimin nodded in agreement after listening to Luo Fei.

“Luo Fei is right. If the killer were a stranger, it wouldn’t be rational, so I also lean towards it being someone the victim knew. Additionally, I’d like to add that I don’t believe this was a premeditated murder. The killer chose to kill the victim at six in the morning, and as Luo Fei analysed, it was already light at that time. In this neighbourhood, not only are people getting ready for work, but many elderly residents are also up and about for their morning exercises. Committing the crime at this time is an extremely irrational choice, so the killer likely acted on impulse,” Zhao Donglai concluded.

(End of chapter)