Chapter 825: 414, Destroy Evidence

Alicia Linder and her team first arrived at the master bedroom.

The bedroom was about forty square meters, with a double bed snugly against the innermost wall, the bedding arranged neatly. On the wall opposite the bed hung a wall-mounted TV, next to which was a computer desk, though there was no computer on it.

Like the downstairs, the entire bedroom was tidied up meticulously, clean and orderly.

“Lift the mattress and have a look,” Alicia Linder said after frowning and circling the room.

With only a few people in the room, this physical task naturally fell to the two police academy trainees, Jack and Aix.

The two of them went to the sides of the double bed, exchanged a glance, then exerted all their strength to lift the mattress.

At that moment, Alicia Linder suddenly shouted, “Don’t move!”

She quickly moved to the bedside, squatted down, and stared intently at the corner of the mattress near the headboard, examining it for a while before shouting, “Qiao, get back to the team immediately and bring a few forensic experts to examine the bloodstains here.”

“Okay.”

The middle-aged man standing behind Alicia Linder responded, turned around, and ran out.

“Alright, you can put it down now.” After observing for a few more minutes, Alicia Linder finally let Jack and Aix put the mattress back.

Then, she turned to Chief Zhang and spoke with determination and vigor in her voice, “Chief Zhang, please gather all available personnel from the station here. I’d like to search the woods behind the house to see if we can find any clues.”

At that moment, Jack’s mind was racing, reviewing the known points of suspicion.

First, the wolfdog outside the courtyard was stabbed to death, indicating that someone indeed broke in. As for whether the intrusion happened before or after the Han Couple’s disappearance, it remained unclear. If the intruder came to steal, why were there no signs of rummaging in the room? If not for theft, then what was their purpose?

Secondly, every corner of the small building was cleaned spotlessly, which by itself was nothing, but leaving no trace of habitation seemed quite abnormal. Moreover, whose bloodstains were those under the mattress?

Finally, before entering the room, Jack saw three cameras in the courtyard, and these need to connect to a computer to function, yet there was no computer on the desk, so where did that computer go?

Based on these three points, Jack came up with a possible scenario:

The intruder entered the room with a certain purpose, perhaps for money, perhaps for lives. The worst outcome was that the Han Couple was killed by the intruder.

To destroy evidence, the intruder cleaned the inside and outside of the small building spotlessly and eventually fled with the computer containing surveillance records.

As for the dog, it was likely stabbed to death because the intruder was worried it might give them away.

Of course, all of this was merely Jack’s speculation, with no evidence yet to support these ideas.

As Jack was sorting his thoughts, Chief Zhang returned after making a phone call, smiling as he said, “Officer Linder, you see, it’s getting late. How about we grab a meal first? People should be arriving by the time we finish eating, and we can continue the investigation in the afternoon. What do you think?”

Alicia Linder considered it, realizing it would take at least an hour for a round trip from the city bureau. Seeing it was almost noon, going for a meal didn’t seem like a bad idea.

With this in mind, she nodded and said, “Alright, let’s take a break and continue working in the afternoon.”

At 2:10 PM, after lunch, Detective Qiao drove over with the forensics team.

After some discussion, they decided to split into two groups. Detective Qiao would take the forensic experts to inspect the Han Couple’s home, while the rest would search the area around the small courtyard in pairs to see if they could find any relevant clues.

Jack and Aix were grouped together. Upon entering the woods, they began searching south along the riverbank.

All along the way, Aix seemed to be more on a field trip than on a case, frequently marveling at the scenery and chatting with Jack.

Just as Jack was growing impatient and planning to remind Aix to focus, Aix suddenly exclaimed excitedly, “Hey, Jack, come and see what I’ve found!”

Hearing Aix call out to him, Jack frowned. All the way, Aix had been like a curious child, always exclaiming about new discoveries. At first, Jack thought they had found a crucial clue, only to find it was just some small insect or an unknown plant.

Nonetheless, after hesitating for a moment, Jack went over and asked, “What have you found now?”

“Bloodstains! I’ve found bloodstains!”

Aix pointed to a leaf in the shrub beside the tree.

“Bloodstains?”

Jack’s spirits lifted, and he hastily looked in the direction Aix was pointing. On a dark green leaf, about half the size of a palm, there were a few drops of dried dark red blood.

The two exchanged a glance, and Jack pointed in a direction, saying, “Aix, search that way. I’ll go the other, see if there are more bloodstains within ten meters.”

“Okay.”

At that moment, Aix shed his nonchalant demeanor, decisively turning toward the riverbank and starting a meticulous search.