Beneath the Dome, Sin within Sins - Chapter 60 - Cause of Death

That said, no matter how impressive this person was, it had nothing to do with me.

Besides, there are so many capable people in this world. It’s not as if the Earth would stop spinning because of him. Shocked as I was, I responded casually, “But what does that have to do with me?”

“It has nothing to do with you, but the higher-ups are taking this matter very seriously and have ordered our precinct to investigate.”

“Investigate?” I furrowed my brows and asked curiously, “What’s the point of investigating? Didn’t they say it was a suicide? Or are you saying there’s more to this so-called suicide, and you’re here to look into the hidden truth?”

“Not at all! It wasn’t suicide. The higher-ups suspect it was murder. The suicide story is just the official narrative released to the public.”

I see. Situations like this were nothing unusual. After all, there are many things in this world that can’t be explained openly. People’s opinions can be fearsome, and the more you explain, the greater the chance for error. Some things are better left concealed.

“That makes sense. If that’s the case, then go investigate. Why are you calling me?”

“Precisely because we investigated. That’s why I’m calling you. This case is connected to Zhang Junbao’s case.”

That was an unfamiliar name-who was Zhang Junbao?

“Who’s that?”

“Zhang Yang’s father.”

Hearing this, I fell silent for a long moment before abruptly sitting up in bed. I grabbed the clothes hanging on the rack and began putting them on as I asked, “Where are you all right now?”

“Tianyun Group. Hurry up and get here.”

After Su Mo said this, I hung up the phone. Upon heading downstairs, I flagged down a random cab and made my way straight to Tianyun Group.

When I arrived at Tianyun Group, I saw Lu Xun waiting for me downstairs.

I greeted Lu Xun and went upstairs with him.

On the way, I asked Lu Xun, “What exactly is going on?”

Lu Xun shook his head and said, “Not sure yet. We’re still processing the scene. We’ll need you to analyze everything once we get there. This time, we’re all clueless.”

“Clueless? Don’t you have any suspects at all?”

“Of course we do. The prime suspect is Zhang Yang since he has the strongest motive. Revenge for the murder of his father-a hatred as deep as the sea. From the start, he never believed his father committed suicide. He had hoped the police would catch the murderer and bring justice, but it didn’t work out. His father’s death was still ruled a suicide.”

“So you think the kid decided to take matters into his own hands and seek revenge?” I asked.

“Something like that, but the specifics will require further investigation,” Lu Xun replied.

By the time we arrived at the crime scene, Su Mo was standing there with a troubled expression, listening intently as a police officer reported the situation.

When he saw me, the guy immediately rushed over and said, “Senior, you’re finally here.”

I nodded and remarked, “Looks like each case is more challenging than the last, huh?”

Hearing my comment, Su Mo’s face was filled with frustration as he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I don’t get it. Ever since I became the director, it’s been nothing but endless cases, and every single one is more complicated than the last. This morning, when I went to the file room, that old officer on duty even laughed at me, saying I must be cursed.”

Seeing Su Mo’s clear distress, I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. A little setback like this? This is nothing. In the not-so-distant future, you’re going to face messier situations than this. There’s a reason the previous director chose to retire early for ‘health reasons’-he just didn’t want to deal with it anymore.

“Alright, let’s focus on the crime scene first,” I said. “By the way, has the forensic pathologist already taken the corpse away?”

“Yeah, they have. Do you want to see it?” Su Mo asked.

At those words, I quickly waved my hand. Someone falling from this height? The corpse’s condition must be absolutely gruesome by now, probably unrecognizable. It’s better to leave it to the forensic pathologists to examine first. As for me, I’ll wait for the report to come through.

I took a moment to scan the office. There were no signs of a struggle, and the space was overall quite tidy. But when I got to the boss’s desk, I couldn’t help but frown. I had to admit-the higher-ups are surprisingly perceptive.

At that moment, Su Mo leaned in beside me and gave a wry smile. “You noticed it too, huh?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “A half-turned page, a half-signed document, a cup of coffee with just one sip taken-clearly, this person was in the middle of something. Someone like that wouldn’t commit suicide.”

I picked up the coffee cup, sniffed it, and then handed it to Su Mo. “Have the Forensic Department analyze this. Check if there’s anything in there besides coffee.”

“You suspect the person was drugged?” Su Mo asked.

“There are no signs of a struggle in the room, so drugging seems the most plausible explanation. But it’s just a suspicion for now. We’ll need to wait for forensic results to be sure,” I replied.

I lingered in the office for quite a while, feeling that something was off, but try as I might, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.

Seeing me silent and seemingly lost in thought, Lu Xun asked with some concern, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s not that. I just feel like something isn’t right here, but I can’t quite figure out what it is.”

“Not right? In what way? Tell me.”

“It’s probably the layout. There’s something off about the design of this office or the arrangement of the objects in it.”

“Well, I was hoping I could be of some help, but it looks like I’m overestimating myself,” Lu Xun said with a wry smile.

I laughed, shook my head, but didn’t respond. For now, the inspection here was complete.

Before receiving the forensic pathologist’s report, we headed back to the police station and conducted a preliminary analysis of the victim’s interpersonal relationships.

Once the analysis was complete, our brows furrowed collectively, as the victim’s reputation was abysmal.

Initially, when the case broke, Zhang Yang was our primary suspect. However, after analyzing the victim’s social network, it became clear that Zhang Yang actually had one of the weakest motives among all possible suspects.

Out of the five individuals flagged as suspects, two of them were directly connected to families that had been utterly ruined by the victim’s actions.

Later, during dinner, Su Mo slumped at the table with an exasperated expression. “Senior, I don’t even want to investigate this case anymore. That boss absolutely deserved what happened to him. Honestly, I don’t know if I have the courage to bring this righteous avenger to justice.”

“Stop talking nonsense!” I said sharply, cutting him off. “You’re the director of a police station-you have to enforce the law impartially!”

“I know, I know. I’m just saying,” Su Mo muttered, waving his hand dismissively.

I let out a sigh, my thoughts drifting back to the office scene earlier. What exactly was behind that sense of incongruity I had felt?

What had I seen at the time that had triggered such an instinctive reaction?

“Senior! Why are you spacing out? Hurry up and eat!” Su Mo’s voice snapped me back to reality.

He noticed I hadn’t touched my food and prodded me to dig in.

I nodded absentmindedly, trying to appear engaged, but my heart and mind were elsewhere… completely preoccupied with the puzzle in my head.