Section B, Chapter 8: The Investigation of the Dead Body (Vikol)
"You're not in a hurry, but be patient, or I won't be able to calm down and check. Trying to calm his mind, Vicol began to scrutinize the man from head to toe.
"That's right, Somer. Don't we wear gloves or anything to avoid fingerprints?" Remembering the detective novels he had read before, Vicol suddenly asked with great interest.
"No, you're thinking too much. Glancing at the snow crow with a neurotic expression, Sommer decisively vetoed it.
It's like judging a colony and a nest by the prey they hunt...... The focus of the examination is on the clothing.
Hunters have their own set of methods, and Vicor knows them by heart.
After carefully examining his entire body, Vicol quickly looked from top to bottom three times: he couldn't see his feet from head to foot and then look back backwards. Because that creates visual fatigue, it is not easy to spot clues that seem slightly inconsistent.
Repeating the whole set twice, he closed his eyes and tried to remember the image of the corpse in his mind. In the process, Sommer really didn't say a word, just cast his hot and puzzled gaze to this side from time to time.
Opening his eyes suddenly, the snow crow focused on the man, looking for a form that was extremely inconsistent with his memory. In an instant, his nose found a clue in front of his eyes: mixed with the smell of blood, and a faint smell of earth.
Like a hound, the snow crow frowned and leaned down: the man's hat smelled of dirt and some kind of plant. And...... It's still stained with mud.
This is not left by snow stains mixed with the sand of the seaside, and the particles are slightly smaller...... So it must have been because of a splash while walking on a muddy ground somewhere. Moreover, it is most likely caused by the vibration of the jump.
In addition to this, the top of the hat is slightly worn. The marks are still fresh, and they look like they were formed by rubbing against the rocks......
To put it bluntly, it rubbed on the top of the rock wall. It is estimated that it was accidentally scratched in a cave that was not high enough.
After examining these interesting details, Vicol quickly looked down. This time, his attention was focused on the gloves.
The coat has a slight mud stain, but that's not the point. No matter what shape of dirt is on this area, it is not a clue. However, gloves can tell the telling.
These are the windproof gloves commonly used by the tundra people to drive horse-drawn carriages, and the sturdy deerskin can effectively resist the impact of cold wind, snow and ice.
"He came in a carriage. Seeing Vicol staring at the glove, Sommel's calm voice appeared in Snow Crow's ear: "If this man is a stolen car, then his carriage must not have left yet." β
"Hmm. The previous letter said that he would find the owner of the house after he finished loading the goods...... Most of the time it's about paying for money. Pointing to the money bag on this man's body, Snow Crow sighed with emotion: "That witcher stayed here for a long time yesterday, but he didn't take the money bag away. I thought these witchers were freaks, with only money in their eyes. β
"Me too, it seems that we are completely villainous. Sighing, Sommel reached for the money bag and picked it up: "At least it can be completely determined that this man was not killed for money...... Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Seeing that Sommel's face was wrong, Snow Raven cast his gaze suspiciously.
"We were naΓ―ve...... What do you see in the money bag?" Untied the bag, Sommer threw the contents to the ground: they were all tissues.
"Damn, it must be money. Throwing the bag on the ground, Sommer frowned: "It's not certain who took it." I think it's mostly witchers. Don't these people just recognize money?"
"I think so. Judging by the guy's actions of jumping out of the window twice last night, it is not surprising that he has nothing to do even if he is idle. Thinking of this, Vicol shook his head: "Pull down." It should have been thought of a long time ago. β
Sure enough, the worldview should not be so easily subverted...... But it's not good to say that they only recognize money.
Because he saved me yesterday, but he didn't take my money bag.
Thinking of this, Snow Raven hurriedly touched the money bag to confirm that there was indeed no shortage of gold coins.
"Driving gloves, plus mud spots and scratches on the hat...... More clues are needed. Moving his gaze around his bloody chest to his belt, the Raven noticed another valuable clue: his belt was tied tightly, and his shirt was tucked tightly inside. At this junction, there was a dog's hair sticking to it: it was clear from its white appearance that it belonged to Frostwind.
When he drove before, he should have carried the puppy on his lap...... Imagining the image in his mind, Vicol felt that this information seemed inconspicuous at first glance, but it was actually important: since he was driving with his dog in his arms, he could be sure that the width of the carriage was definitely not low. Perhaps, there is still a type of two horses driving together. From this it can be ruled out that he parked the carriage in a cave that was too narrow in width.
The man must have gone to pick up the goods first, and then parked the wagon in a cave somewhere nearby. Then take the frost wind to Beihaiwang Town and take a walk. When he wanted to go back to the house and meet his accomplice (if his accomplice was the thief who had just escaped, there would be no chance of meeting him), he was suddenly attacked by the two Ellinas.
The man's first thought was to flee into the house. And perhaps Frost Wind, who was running alone and was far away, was seriously injured by a bloody knife attack in the process of running towards his master. What happened after that was what Vicor saw.
There are many possibilities as to why it didn't see its owner...... Perhaps it was the woods that the man had reached from the exit north of town, or perhaps it was because he had checked the wagon again, and had just come out and been attacked.
After all, Vicol didn't pay close attention to his surroundings at the time, and it would be nice to notice the puppy.
Silently jotting down these clues, the snow crow looked all the way down, and finally settled on the boot after sweeping through the worthless cotton pants: it was a pair of large leather boots, with mud sticking to the bottom and sides.
That's all it takes, and it's arguably the most important clue. The footprints and the soles of the animal's claws hide many secret words, as do the soles of the boots.
Scraping a little bit of dirt with his fingernails, the snow crow brought it to his nostrils, closed his eyes and sniffed.
...... Mixed with the fragrance of plants and trees. It's a little dry, but it's still fresh.
The smell of pine needles and the characteristic smell of oil that has not disappeared indicate that they were not removed after being stepped on before, but in the recent ...... Staring at the pine needles looming in the dirt on the soles of his boots, Vicol began to fall into deep thought.
What does that mean? Just find out what those clues mean. Dusting off the dirt from her fingernails, the snow crow began to gather her thoughts as best she could.