American forensics, but the gourmet system

Eyes that are closed must always open again; if they don't open, then the person is dead.

When Russell opened his eyes, it was already 10 a.m.

Aina booked a suite at the farm hotel, which had two bedrooms and a living room.

Last night, Aina and Russell each had their own bedroom to rest.

Russell actually had quite a few complaints.

Before coming to the farm, everyone had their own bedroom. After coming to the farm, everyone still has their own bedroom. Then what the hell was the point of coming to the farm?

Of course, Russell's biggest complaint was that he had come to the suburbs to relax and unwind, but was instead unexpectedly assigned to work overtime and stay up all night on his day off...

Perhaps this is the price that progress must pay.

Russell grew angrier the more he thought about it, so he punched the pillow twice to vent his anger. Once he was done, he got out of bed, put on his slippers, and left the bedroom.

The hotel suite has two bedrooms and a living room, which sounds similar to Russell's budget apartment, but in essence, they are quite different.

In addition to the living room area doubling, there is also a viewing balcony with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the sunny side of the living room.

  

Russell brushed his teeth as he walked to the French windows and looked out.

Right in front of us was the oak grove where Simmons' body had been found yesterday.

However, it's difficult to see the crime scene from this angle; you need to turn about 120 degrees to the left to see it directly. Furthermore, the woods are densely wooded, and even though the branches are bare, the trunks can still block a large portion of the view.

Russell could barely make out the police searching the woods, the bewildered tourists who had come downstairs for a stroll, and...

Little Carter, led by Mr. Clarkson, stood on his hind legs beside a tree, generously providing it with urea and water.

As Chief Hunter said yesterday, they have decided to control the entry and exit of visitors to the farm and to screen guests who have stayed at the farm hotel in recent days.

Therefore, the travelers staying here will not be able to return home anytime soon.

As Russell stood there, his mouth full of foam, in a daze, Aina also came out of the bedroom.

"Oh, Kaka!"

Aina spotted Little Ka running around in the woods and Mr. Clarkson looking utterly dejected.

She turned to look at Russell:

"I want to go play with Xiao Ka, do you want to come?"

"Okay, I'll go too."

Russell thought for a moment. He also wanted to go to the crime scene to take a look. Resentment aside, solving the case was the most important thing.

If he accidentally turns this murder case into a cold case, he, as a forensic doctor from a big city, would lose face.

Although five high-powered searchlights illuminated the scene last night, some clues may still have been missed due to the angle of the light.

Ten minutes later, Russell and Aina, both dressed, stood in the woods outside the hotel.

Aina wore straight-leg jeans, paired with brown Martin boots and a short down jacket, making her legs look awkwardly long.

As soon as Xiao Ka saw Aina, it excitedly pounced over, placed its paws on Aina's knees, and its tail was practically wagging.

"I can't believe it," Mr. Clarkson sighed. "I've stumbled upon another murder... but luckily, at least the body wasn't buried in my backyard... right?"

Having experienced the previous incident, Mr. Clarkson has clearly developed a resistance to similar situations.

"Yeah, right." Russell bent down and scratched Kay's big ears. "I really have to thank Kay for helping me earn some travel allowance..."

Mr. Clarkson laughed.

Aina led the dog, with Russell and Clarkson following behind her. The three of them and the dog circled the edge of the woods, heading towards the crime scene.

"It seems like Kawhi has some talent in this area," Clarkson said with a smile. "I originally thought he was just a dumb dog that would bark, run around, and go crazy. It's not exactly a useful talent, but it's better than nothing."

Russell understood, of course, that Clarkson meant the search for the body when he said "this aspect".

As a beagle that grew up wild and had not undergone professional training, Xiao Ka's performance was indeed very unexpected.

The crime scene was still cordoned off. The chubby Chief Hunter stood beside the cordon, looking at the folder in his hand, frowning, his face looking noticeably thinner.

His brow relaxed slightly when he saw Russell arrive, but not by much.

"Dr. Russell..." Director Hunter closed the folder in his hand and walked towards Russell. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Not bad." Russell nodded. "Have you found the murder weapon, Chief Hunter?"

Upon hearing Russell mention the murder weapon, Chief Hunter's face fell again.

"No... You said the murder weapon might be something like a long-handled iron awl, and we searched for something that looked like that, but we haven't found it yet... The killer might have taken it or abandoned it... That area is uninhabited, so if the killer fled there with the weapon, frankly, it will be very difficult to find."

Russell looked in the direction Chief Hunter was pointing. He was referring to the depths of the woods, beyond which lay a low hill that showed no signs of being developed.

Clearly, the situation was much more complicated than Russell had anticipated.

If the killer really did escape by walking through the woods and over deserted hills with a weapon, as Chief Hunter said, then finding the killer by searching for the weapon would be very difficult.

"Let me take another look at the scene," Russell said, pulling a pair of nitrile gloves from his pocket and putting them on.

"I've requested police dog support from the Brooklyn Criminal Investigation Center, and they should arrive this afternoon," Chief Hunter continued. "With the help of police dogs, tracking the culprit should be easier..."

Upon hearing Chief Hunter mention police dogs, Russell involuntarily turned to glance at Kay.

Little Ka leisurely wagged its tail, sniffing here and there.

I wonder if this unofficial police dog can help find the murder weapon...

Of course, Russell would never place his hopes on an overly energetic beagle.

He approached the bloodstains that Simmons had sprayed and flowed, and squatted down to examine them closely.

"Has Dr. Simmons' interpersonal relationships been investigated?"

Russell asked casually.

"My colleagues at the county police department are investigating," Chief Hunter said, scratching his double chin with a helpless expression. "But according to the reports, Dr. Simmons' colleagues and friends all say he's a kind and friendly guy, a bit lazy though... but no one would kill him just because he's lazy, right?"

"That's certainly not the case." Russell acknowledged Chief Hunter's reasoning. "What about his ex-wife and family?"

"His ex-wife lives in Boston with their daughter and didn't have the opportunity to commit the crime," Chief Hunter said regretfully. "When we notified his ex-wife, she was very shocked. She acknowledged Simmons' character, but she also felt that Simmons lacked ambition and was only willing to stay in a small town as a forensic pathologist... This was also the main reason for their divorce."

Russell made no comment. He turned over the oak leaves on the ground, and a few drops of dark red blood appeared on the leaves.

In forensic crime scene investigation, there is a branch called bloodstain morphology analysis, which reconstructs the crime scene and restores the process of the crime by analyzing the shape, size, location, and splash angle of bloodstains at the crime scene.

During his graduate studies, although Russell's main focus was on forensic pathology and forensic anthropology, he still dabbled in the basics of bloodstain morphology analysis.

He quickly came to a conclusion.

"The killer didn't flee deeper into the woods after committing the murder." Russell straightened up and pointed in the opposite direction.

He walked towards the farm restaurant.