This environment, you could say, is a locked-room murder. And locked-room murders generally fall into twelve types: tampering with the bolt; tampering with a sliding lock; creating an illusion, simple yet effective, and so on...
Over the years, John Dickson Carr, though he proposed thirteen categories of locked-room mysteries, derived a fourteenth. Carr was a master of American detective fiction, alongside Ellery Queen and Agatha Christie, they were known as the "Big Three" of the Golden Age.
Queen was renowned for logic, Agatha garnered countless fans with her intricate plots, while Carr excelled in devising locked-room scenarios, creating over fifty different types throughout his life.
The locked room before me most likely involved tampering with the bolt, because I noticed a detail: the inside of the wooden door had a hook-shaped groove.
I turned to ask Xingzi, "How did you open the door?"
"I originally wanted to bring food to Xiao Rui. I looked everywhere for her, but couldn't find her. Then I remembered there was still this place I hadn't checked, so I knocked. When no one answered, I thought I'd push the door open to take a look. The door couldn't be pushed open before, but after trying a few times, I finally managed to open it. But what I saw next scared me so much I fell to the ground."
Xingzi's micro-expressions were normal; she didn't seem to be lying.
I nodded and returned to the body. By this time, the police had arrived at the scene.
Seeing the female corpse hanging from the ceiling, Gao Mingqiang exclaimed, "Isn't this the popular actress Gan Xiaorui?"
No one answered him. Xie Chuchu and Xiao Dong came to my side, and with a few forensic technicians, helped move the body down from the ceiling.
After the body was brought down, I examined the belt and found it was the one the deceased habitually wore.
At this moment, the entire film crew had gathered. Xiao Yuande and Xia Hou were questioning everyone, including Director Yan, the producer, and He Qiming, as well as all the actors in this drama.
I took out tools like the shadowless reflection tube, bamboo leaf extractor, and a UV lamp, and meticulously scanned the body. After a while, I reached a conclusion: "The deceased was slender, in good health, with no signs of binding or struggle on her person. There were no skin fragments left in her fingernails. The deceased appeared to have committed suicide. But there's a contradiction here: didn't Xingzi say earlier that the door couldn't be pushed open? Why is that?"
Xie Chuchu asked curiously, "Senior, you mean..."
"The deceased's sock was torn. I didn't understand how that happened at first, but when I noticed the hook-shaped groove behind the wooden door, I understood. The deceased's ankle was caught there at the time!"
"What?" Xie Chuchu and Liu Yuning exclaimed in unison.
Xiao Dong also looked at me with confusion.
I suddenly stood up and went behind the wooden door. "There are still some residual sock fibers here. This is a locked-room murder case. On the surface, it looks like the deceased closed the door herself and hanged herself. You might ask, if there was a murderer, how did they lock the door from the inside? Actually, the logic is simple. As you all noticed earlier, the body was hung on the side leaning against the door. Why is that?"
Everyone fell silent, but Liu Yuning was the first to speak, "That's because... because it was convenient to use the body to help close the door??"
"Yes. If you don't understand, I can get a dummy to demonstrate!"
Gao Mingqiang was quick and immediately borrowed a dummy from the crew. Then, using the deceased's belt, I hung it from the ceiling.
I stood in front of the dummy, keeping a distance from the wooden door, and carefully pushed the dummy. But I didn't succeed in getting its foot caught in the hook-shaped groove on the first attempt.
The dummy swayed back and forth, almost getting caught in the hook-shaped groove each time but springing back out, making it look particularly eerie.
After a few attempts, the dummy's foot successfully locked into place, and then the door couldn't be opened without forceful pushing.
Seeing my experiment succeed, everyone understood.
"So, who committed this deed?" Director Yan asked me, puzzled.
"Let's investigate further. There are no signs of struggle on the deceased's body. We've confirmed this is a murder. Then how could the deceased willingly die? This only proves that the killer is someone they knew well and deeply trusted..." As I spoke, I picked up a script and began to read. Upon seeing a particular scene, my mind was suddenly enlightened.
"Furthermore, given Gan Xiaorui's personality, if a stranger were to attack her, she would definitely resist, and there would be skin fragments in her fingernails. These details all support my theory."
Director Yan immediately inquired, "Could it really be someone from the crew?"
"Yes, there's no doubt about it. This person could commit murder, stage these false impressions so easily, and then leave. I know he experimented a few times in the hook-shaped groove. The clear friction marks and residual sock fibers there prove my deduction."
As I spoke, Xiao Dong carefully extracted the evidence and placed it in an evidence bag.
I continued, "This killer had an extremely close relationship with Gan Xiaorui, possibly a lover. And even if they bound themselves, they wouldn't resist. What could be the reason for this?"
Liu Yuning, listening to my self-muttering, grew impatient: "Team Leader He, I know you've figured it out. Stop beating around the bush!"
"Yes, the killer is you! Mr. He Qiming!" I suddenly pointed to a figure within the crew.
"Don't talk nonsense. Officer He, how could I harm Xiao Rui when we were so close?"
"Actually, I didn't understand at first why Xiao Rui would so willingly die. But just now, I saw a scene in the script, in the third episode, where Xiao Kui, because her family disapproved of her relationship with Song Qirong, hangs herself... You could have easily found an excuse, like wanting to rehearse with Miss Gan. Given her relationship with you and the plot in the script, she would definitely cooperate with you. Isn't that right, Mr. He Qiming?"
He Qiming, however, stood up in anger, "These are all your speculations. If you say I killed her, please produce real evidence!"
"The evidence is on the body. If you truly didn't do it, please come back to the station with us. A strand of hair was found on the deceased's sock. As soon as it's verified, we'll know if it's yours!"
"It's normal to find my hair. We're boyfriend and girlfriend. Don't talk about her sock, it's normal to find it even inside her body!" He Qiming retorted defiantly, but his legs were visibly trembling slightly.
"Heh, that's your biggest mistake. There wasn't any hair on the deceased's body. I just said that casually, and you became so nervous. Do you still claim the killer isn't you?"
"How dare you trick me! I'm a popular star, how could I possibly kill a woman, especially one I was so close to!" He Qiming roared, pointing at me and cursing.