Clown Game
Chapter 250 - 237: Simple, Yet Perfect Murder Case (Nine)

Chapter 250: Chapter 237: Simple, Yet Perfect Murder Case (Nine)

Chen Xiao looked vacantly, glanced at Old Xing and said, "How to kill? That depends on your understanding of the act of killing."

As he spoke... he unconsciously licked his lips, "For example... accidentally, you knock over a flower pot from the window, and it happens to kill a woman below, is that considered murder?"

Old Xing, having been in the police force for so many years, didn’t think twice before answering: "Falling object from a high altitude, involuntary manslaughter, there’s no question about it."

Chen Xiao nodded: "Hmm, of course, there’s no question about it, but let’s add another factor, what if the woman was your girlfriend? Oh oh, I know you don’t have that sort of thing, I mean hypothetically, and, you just had a quarrel with this non-existent woman last week. Of course, you really didn’t want to kill her, it’s just another coincidence, how would you judge this then?"

Old Xing hmmphed heavily and cursed in his heart, but still explained the issue: "It depends on the situation at the time, it could be judged as murder. Evidence collection at the scene, lawyers, testimonials. Many factors have to be considered, but it’s so unlikely. People walking around, how could a flower pot just happen to hit my ol’... the woman’s head, that’s too coincidental."

Chen Xiao seemed satisfied with the answer, with a look of reasonableness on his face: "Indeed, the odds are indeed very small. Let’s add another condition then. What if at that moment your wife happens to be taking pictures downstairs? You know, when taking pictures, people stand still! But the photographer is a stranger you don’t even know, someone who decided to take pictures simply because the sunlight was nice, and it was even your wife’s idea."

Old Xing was stunned: "This..."

Chen Xiao took over: "What do you think? Even though these are all coincidences and there’s no evidence to prove you wanted to kill your wife, doesn’t it seem more and more like murder?"

Old Xing was obviously contemplating and didn’t make a sound.

"Let’s add a few more conditions then. Suppose you didn’t know about the flower pot outside the window and just wanted to open the window for some fresh air, but accidentally knocked it down. Whose responsibility is it? The person who placed the flower pot outside or the one who opened the window?"

Old Xing hesitated for a while: "It should be both... but this is still uncommon because who would put a flower pot outside the window... it’s too dangerous... "

"Ah ah... I know!" Chen Xiao immediately interrupted Old Xing’s rambling: "I’m just making an assumption; I’m not saying that this situation actually exists in reality. Otherwise, this story would have ended the moment your wife came into the picture, wouldn’t it? Okay then, if you really need a reason, we could make up a scenario where you had a quarrel with your wife a few days ago and that flower pot was a gift you gave her. You kept bringing it up during the argument, so annoyed by the sight of it after the fight, she put it outside the window to get it out of sight, out of mind. Yes, the dead woman put the pot outside herself, how about that, how would you handle this case now?"

"Uh..." Old Xing dragged out the word while still thinking of how to respond.

At this point, Chen Xiao obviously did not want to wait for him, so he continued: "See, from beginning to end you just opened a window, but because of many things you don’t know about, the event went through many changes, leading to many outcomes. This still assumes ’you’ exist, at least there’s a suspect to investigate. But what if the person who opened the window wasn’t you, just a small company employee who didn’t know the victim, and the person who put the flower pot outside didn’t know her either, probably just a company janitor, who also isn’t familiar with the window opener. Of course, the person taking pictures downstairs also doesn’t know anyone... Now, how would you define this situation?"

Old Xing... He still maintained his drawn-out hum.

Chen Xiao naturally didn’t want to wait for him and said: "Okay, okay, I’ll put it simply - a bunch of strangers, each doing something completely unrelated, but because of various butterfly effects, led to the death of someone they also don’t know. Is this considered murder?"

Old Xing finally reacted: "It’s not... this... this is still an accident, but when it comes to a verdict..."

Chen Xiao interrupted him again: "Hmm... it indeed still sounds like an accident, but accidents are just too boring. Let’s add some drama then. Why did that person open the window? Because someone called him, but the signal was poor and he couldn’t hear clearly, prompting him to open the window! And that janitor who placed the pot outside also considered the possibility of it falling, so he even posted a note next to the window that said ’Do not open’. It’s just that on the day of the incident, the company boss said not to scribble or post anything on company walls or glass, so an old doorman took down the note. He didn’t even know there was a flower pot outside, or maybe he was illiterate. And on top of that, let’s further spread the reasons behind what led to the phone call, the boss’s order, the photograph... you can keep on fabricating indefinitely. In the end, no one wanted to kill that woman! Dozens of people might not even know what happened, and yet that person is dead. Is this murder?"

"This... this isn’t... right?" Old Xing mumbled.

"What if... I said those involved knew?"

"What?" Old Xing was stunned for a moment, somewhat confused as he looked up.

"What if... the doorman who tore down the note knew about the flower pot outside?"

"Ah? This..."

"And what if... the person making the call also knew the woman downstairs was taking pictures?"

"What are you talking about?" As if suddenly realizing something, Old Xing’s voice involuntarily rose a few pitches.

Chen Xiao didn’t mind him and continued: "What if, the person taking pictures also knew? Yes... they all knew... they just didn’t expect... or rather, they expected but didn’t say it. How would you handle this, are you sure you could find out? Or say, even if you stubbornly traced it back to them, do you have evidence that they are the murderers?"

...

Old Xing was silent, at a loss for what to say.

Just then... Xiao Liu hurriedly came running over...

"Team Xing, the victim’s wife... has rushed back!"