My uncle's reaction was normal.
I nodded, "Alright, thank you for telling me this. I'm going to the scene now!"
"Okay, good luck, nephew!"
Upon entering the house, I found Xie Chuchu already examining Wu Qingxia's body. She was as my uncle described, sitting on a wooden chair, completely still, with her hands spread. She was holding a hammer in her left hand. I observed her fingers and noticed more wear on her left hand than her right, proving that Wu Qingxia was indeed left-handed.
Together with Xie Chuchu, I moved the deceased's joints and used tweezers to lift her eyelids, observing the degree of pupil dilation. We found that her corneas had patchy opacities and were semi-transparent. Further observing the deceased's biceps, and analyzing these factors, the time of death should be around 1 AM yesterday. I hadn't asked my uncle the time earlier, but this could be confirmed later.
Biceps, this is a post-mortem reaction of muscles: Within 2 hours of death, almost all muscles will contract when stimulated mechanically, especially the biceps, and this is not affected by the ambient temperature. After 2 hours, it is mostly only the muscles at the point of impact that can be made to contract. After 5 hours, significant muscle contractions generally no longer occur.
Wu Qingxia appeared to have no wounds on her body. It was not convenient for me to remove her clothes at the moment. These matters could be discussed later at the forensic department.
Observing the other two bodies, we found them lying on the floor, covered in blood. They were an elderly couple. The old man had a clear hammer impact wound on his forehead, and the old woman also had a similar wound on the back of her head. She was lying face down, her back towards us.
Xie Chuchu and I first examined the old man's body. On the surface, it appeared he had died less than half an hour before Wu Qingxia, but we could not yet reach an accurate conclusion.
The old woman's body was similar. Based on the surrounding situation, it truly seemed as my uncle had described: the elderly couple was killed by Wu Qingxia. But why would she do that?
Furthermore, after committing the murders, she also died herself. It's unknown how she died or who killed her.
Wu Qingxia's body had no wounds, and no syringes or other signs of poisoning were found at the scene.
The forensics team soon finished examining the scene. The house was small to begin with, with not much furniture. It looked like a bare shell, extremely crude, indicating Wu Qingxia's impoverished background.
Wu Yisong in the city was so wealthy, yet he didn't even take care of his own parents; that was too much.
However, these could not be Wu Qingxia's motives for murder. This case seemed much more complicated than I had imagined. I arranged for the bodies to be taken away, and then asked Gao Mingqiang to interview the villagers.
Liu Yuning and I then found my uncle, which also served as a visit home.
It was at this time that Liu Yuning realized what my home was like. It was an old house from the end of the last century, with wooden pillars everywhere. Under the classical eaves hung a few red lanterns, with an elegant courtyard. Many mulberry trees were planted around it, and in the middle, there was a wooden arched bridge. The sound of gurgling water produced clear echoes passing over some rocks.
"I didn't expect your old house to be quite nice!"
"It's alright, much like my courtyard house in the city."
"Heh, I think your He family is very classic."
Chatting as we went, we entered the house. Two police officers were guarding the entrance to the hall. I said to my uncle, "What time did you witness the situation at the Wu family's residence?"
"Well, I was going to the restroom when I suddenly heard a noise outside and went to check. It was probably around 12 AM to 1 AM!"
"Okay, and what was your relationship with Wu Qingxia and her family?"
"What else could it be? Wu Qingxia was actually very cold and rarely interacted with the villagers. She seemed to hate her parents and didn't want to take care of them alone. I heard that because of them, she's still not married at her age."
"Anything else?"
"Wu Qingxia often verbally abused her parents at home and even resorted to violence. The villagers and we had tried to reason with her," my aunt added.
I glanced at the environment of the house. It was much the same as before. I had actually returned for Spring Festival last year.
"Uncle, last night, besides seeing those phenomena, did you notice anyone else entering Wu Qingxia's house?"
"That, I don't think so. It was quite dark around there at the time, but my eyesight is good, I could see clearly."
"Really? Then shall I conduct a test with you now?"
"What test?"
"An eyesight test!"
A few minutes later, I deliberately turned off the lights in the hall and had my uncle stand in the middle of the room. I stood in the courtyard, a distance away from him, and held up a few cards for him to identify the shapes.
However, my uncle looked left and right, up and down, and then casually guessed a few shapes, but they were all wrong.
I returned to his side, "Do you still trust your eyesight now?"
"Ah, nephew, this is different. The cards in your hand are so small!"
"At the distance you were from Wu Qingxia's house, it would have been the same. Fortunately, there's surveillance nearby, I hope it can help."
"Uh, nephew, you don't trust me?"
"No, we prioritize physical evidence over witness testimony. If it's only your statement, it won't be enough. However, I did find a hammer at the scene!"
"Yes, I saw her use a hammer to beat her parents to death!"
"Yes, I will investigate carefully. Alright, we need to go back now. I'll invite you to dinner again when I have time!"
"Alright, nephew, take care of yourself while you're working outside!" my aunt urged.
Liu Yuning coughed. They seemed not to have noticed her presence and hadn't said a word to her.
Only then did my aunt exclaim with surprise, "This female police officer, I see you and He Sheng are always together, you must be in that kind of relationship!"
"Uh, you're overthinking it, Auntie. We're just ordinary colleagues."
"Oh, then you two go ahead and busy yourselves. Let us know if you get any results. After all, Wu Qingxia was our neighbor."
We said goodbye to them. As we left, Liu Yuning grumbled, "I think you have too good a relationship with them. At first, I thought they were your parents. Then I suddenly remembered they've both passed away..."
"Yes, ever since they passed, my relationship with my uncle and aunt has become very good, as they've taken care of me a lot over the years."
"I understand. Let's go back. By the way, Consultant He, what do you think this case is about?"
"Let me say one thing first. Wu Qingxia's house was frequently visited by people, while others' houses were visited less often."
"How do you know that?"
"There are many traces of people passing on the steps of their house."