Chapter 2
Elaine crouched down, her eyes scanning the floor, not missing a single detail.
She took the inspection light from Kian and examined the area carefully.
"Something's off," Elaine whispered.
"What do you mean?" Kelvin and Kian asked together.
Elaine pointed to the metal insert and the clear electrical burn marks in the photo.
"These are standard low-voltage electrical burns, but when someone gets electrocuted, their muscles seize up immediately."
"The person would be stuck to the source, gripping it tightly. It'd be really hard to break free, especially with how the deceased was holding it."
She pulled out the photo. "But look at the position of the body, face down."
"Let's say he was fixing something and his left hand accidentally touched a wet, live socket, causing the shock."
"With muscle rigidity, his body should lean forward, shifting his center of gravity, likely ending up face down on the live source."
"Or his whole body would be 'pulled' up, forming a more severe curled position."
"But now he's lying on his back, his hand detached from the socket, and he fell to the ground. This doesn't add up."
Kelvin and Kian exchanged surprised glances.
Their hairs stood on end.
This analysis was eerily similar to Travis's, and even more meticulous.
After all, Travis hadn't noticed the things in the floor cracks.
They had only focused on signs of intrusion or struggle, and whether the deceased had other injuries.
These physiological details of the body's reaction to electric current had naturally been overlooked.
Or rather, because of the preconceived "suicide/accident" conclusion, they hadn't thought that far.
Shocked, Elaine had already stood up and moved to the inconspicuous wooden stool.
There, she found the scratches shown in the photos.
Her gaze locked onto the inside of the stool.
A very short, about one-inch scratch, very shallow, almost overlooked if not examined closely.
She placed the recorder in front of her, taking multiple-angle photos of the scratch for evidence.
Then, she did something Kelvin and Kian couldn't fathom.
Elaine took a small box of powder from her toolkit.
Using a brush, she gently applied it around the scratch.
"Elaine, Captain Smith said not to mess with the scene," Kelvin tried to stop her.
"This is a new type of fluorescent powder, extremely sensitive to organic compounds," Elaine briefly explained.
She then turned off the inspection light and turned on a UV light.
Around the scratch, in the seemingly clean recesses of the stool, faint fluorescent spots appeared.
From the shape, it looked like a partial, blurry fingerprint outline.
"Oh my God... this is!"
Kelvin and Kian's eyes widened.
"Trace organic residue, possibly sweat or sebum rubbed into the wood grain," Elaine explained, carefully extracting it with tape.
"It looks like a metal object with edges, under some force, scraped against the stool."
"Removing the surface varnish and wood fibers."
Elaine stood up, surveying the old detective's bedroom.
The cheerful old detective was now frozen in the cold memorial photo frame.
Looking at Kelvin and Kian, she said, "A detective familiar with investigative procedures, even if he wanted to commit suicide, why would he choose electrocution?"
"Improper operation leading to an accident? Even an ordinary person knows that if the home's electrical system is old, you should turn off the main switch before repairing it."
Elaine's voice was soft, almost like she was talking to herself, "Captain Smith said the family reluctantly accepted the accident conclusion."
"A detective dying like that, even if they accepted it on the surface, they'd definitely have doubts deep down."
"They should understand the odds of an accident and the possibility of a staged scenario better than most people."
Kelvin and Kian were speechless.
They now understood why Travis didn't want them to touch the scene, possibly thinking the same as Elaine.
Following Elaine's line of thought, a chill ran down their spines.
Accident? Suicide? This was completely unconvincing.
The room seemed to be filled with an invisible... deliberate feeling?
Like it was meticulously arranged, but hastily covered up, leaving traces behind.
If this was true...
Kelvin and Kian exchanged a glance, "Elaine, so this isn't suicide? It's... murder?"
"The current doubts don't constitute decisive evidence," Elaine shook her head, packing up her tools.
"But... someone definitely tampered with this scene."
"Or... the events that occurred don't match the 'simple logic' we see."
Her gaze swept across the old cabinet in the living room.
The bottom drawer edge had some very unnatural wear.
It looked like someone had recently opened and closed this drawer roughly.
"Please report to Captain Smith that I need to conduct a more thorough second autopsy."
Elaine's voice returned to calm, "The focus is on the mechanism of the injury on the edge of the deceased's right palm."
"Additionally, I suggest carefully reviewing all drawers in the deceased's home, especially the hidden compartments inside cabinets."
"This scene is definitely not as 'clean' as it appears."
Kelvin and Kian hurried to report, this matter couldn't be delayed.
On the phone, Kelvin relayed everything that happened here to Travis word for word.
He anxiously listened for Travis's response.
"Let her proceed."
After receiving the affirmative answer, Kelvin breathed a sigh of relief.
After hanging up, Travis placed his phone on the table, hoping Elaine could give him a satisfactory answer.
Cold footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, carrying a sense of unwavering determination.
No one knew that beneath Elaine's calm exterior, a storm was raging inside.
The method of this case and the marks left from the 'accident' involving her father were eerily similar.
Her fingers gripped the metal piece in her pocket that had never left her side.
On it, a half-blurry, snake-like symbol was engraved.
Hillcrest Detective Bureau conference room.
Carter sat at the end of the long table, his face so dark it looked like thunderclouds.
Kelvin and Kian stood nervously by the door, hardly daring to breathe.
"Are you all idiots? Elaine went to the scene and found so many issues! You found nothing?"
During the reprimand, the conference room door opened.
Elaine walked in.
"Chief Johnson, Captain Smith," Elaine's clear voice rang out, "Sorry for keeping everyone waiting."
"Organizing my thoughts and analyzing the trace evidence took some time."
"Elaine, who gave you the authority to perform such operations at the concluded scene?"
"You even used unauthorized 'special materials,' disrupting the stability of the scene evidence."
"Do you know that if you disrupt the scene..."
Elaine stared at the middle-aged man speaking, unyielding, "Mr. Martin."
Her clear eyes met Joshua Martin's angry gaze.
"I used powder, which is one of the general methods for organic extraction. It doesn't alter the original physical state of the evidence."
"I simply used a more efficient method to capture traces."