Gou learns witchcraft in another world

Chapter 62 Smith's Analysis

Clang clang—

As Caspian was still making his final statement, there was a knock on the door.

Smith stopped writing, looked up, listened to the noise outside the door, and then quickly got up.

"It must be our colleagues who came to assist with the autopsy. I'll open the door."

Having said that, Smith had already walked to the door. Opening it, as expected, stood a young coroner in a Bureau of Investigation uniform, carrying a large case; clearly, he had come prepared.

"Is this Detective Luo Qiu? I rushed here after receiving the news... What about the body?"

"I'll lead the way."

Smith volunteered for the task and led the way for the newcomer.

The two walked away, the door to the room was closed, and only Luo Qiu and Kaspian remained, so the interrogation had to be suspended.

At this moment, Luo Qiu also noticed two paper cups on the table. Smith had placed them there, filling two cups to the brim with coffee before the interrogation began, to boost his energy while organizing clues; now, no steam was rising from them.

Of course, Luo Qiu wasn't thirsty at this moment, and was quite energetic. He just looked at Caspian, who had been talking for ten minutes and seemed a little sleepy now.

"Mr. Castion, would you like a cup of coffee?"

"This... is not necessary."

Kaspian's eyes also fell on the paper cup, and though his lips twitched, he ultimately did not agree.

An awkward atmosphere suddenly filled the room.

Luo Qiu withdrew his gaze from Caspian and then fell on Smith's notebook, which he then picked up.

The records of their questioning have already filled four pages.

Edmund's record was over a page long, the rest being Castian's words.

The contrast is obvious, but also quite normal. Edmund was ultimately illiterate. He might be more talkative in everyday life, but in formal situations, when asked to describe something in detail, his vocabulary would be insufficient, resulting in Smith not recording many details.

In this process, Luo Qiu clearly sensed that there was a significant discrepancy between the two accounts.

Regarding the incident where coffee splattered on Derek after Caspian received the coffee, Edmund's account is as follows:

Because the container was too full, a few drops accidentally spilled on Derek when he got back, so Caspian used a towel to wipe it off...

Kaspian, on the other hand, is:

When Edmund returned, he was leaning against the bedside. Seeing Caspian enter, he quickly got up. Caspian, unaware of what Edmund had been doing, was carrying coffee when Edmund's arm bumped into him, spilling a few drops of coffee on Derek.

Afterwards, Mr. Edmund seemed flustered, repeatedly apologizing for accidentally bumping into something. Caspian accepted the apologies, turned and put down the mug. Seeing that Mr. Edmund still didn't know what to do, he found a towel and helped Derek wipe his face.

During this time, Caspian accidentally touched Derek's arm, which immediately went limp. Sensing something was wrong, Caspian reached out to check Derek's breathing and discovered he was dead...

Clearly, one of them lied.

Edmund's narrative leans towards the accidental, while Caspian's narrative leans towards Edmund's intentional act, even to some extent linking Derek's death to Edmund.

So, should we believe Edmund, who is cautious in his words and actions, or Caspian, who is straightforward and outspoken?

Ding ding ding~

Just then, there was another knock on the door.

It was Smith. He knocked symbolically on the door, then pushed it open and came in. He went to Luo Qiu's side and whispered in her ear:

"The coroner has examined the body and confirmed that the cause of death was poisoning, but it will take time to determine the specific type of poison."

Luo Qiu nodded calmly after hearing this.

Smith was gone for about five minutes. Including the time spent walking and explaining the situation, the coroner made a basic judgment in about three minutes.

Three minutes is enough for a young coroner to perform two basic tests to cross-validate the results, which have a 90% credibility.

However, now is not the time to announce this news.

Meeting Smith's gaze, Luo Qiu simply said:

"Please sit down. I have a few more questions to ask Mr. Caspian. You can continue taking notes."

Smith sat down upon hearing this, picking up his pen again. Caspian, forcing himself to sit up straight, also said:

"Detective Luo Qiu, please ask me any questions you have. I will tell you everything I know."

"Haha." Luo Qiu nodded, easing the tension slightly. "Nothing special, it's just that Mr. Edmund mentioned that you and Derek had a few arguments..."

"Argument... I think Mr. Edmund must be mistaken. Derek and I have never argued."

"Maybe it's because I speak loudly... The only time I could call it a heated exchange with Derek was one night when it was my turn to patrol, but Derek suddenly wanted to go instead. I asked what was going on, but Derek didn't give me a reason."

"That happened about six days ago. I thought it was strange at the time, but Derek hasn't done it since."

"Understood. There's one more question. Edmund said Derek suddenly became silent and said he didn't know why. Mr. Caspian, do you know the situation?" Roach asked again.

"Like I said from the beginning, my relationship with Derek isn't as good as Edmund's with Derek. Derek has become silent, and how am I supposed to know why?"

"On the contrary, Edmund shouldn't be unaware of anything. Edmund has visited Derek's house, and whenever Derek was late, Edmund was the one who covered for him..."

……

A few minutes later, Kaspian walked out of the room.

Smith stopped writing, looked at what he had recorded, and gave his analysis:

"Kaspian must have lied."

"Derek's death was very likely caused by that last cup of coffee. But coincidentally, when Derek went to get the coffee, Caspian followed him out. Afterwards, Edmund went on patrol and returned fifteen minutes later, while Derek was resting. Only Caspian knows what happened in between. But Caspian said he was reading a magazine at the time and didn't notice. Combined with the fact that his coffee stains were spilled on Derek later... it seems a bit too coincidental."

"Also, senior, you asked Edmund if he suspected Caspian of doing something, and he said that while he was sleeping, he heard Caspian talking to Derek outside. Caspian didn't mention this at all. Of course, this could also be false, and Edmund would be the one with the problem, but the probability is probably low."

"So, senior, shouldn't we restrain Caspian first, to prevent him from doing anything?"

"Do things? What can you do?"

Luo Qiu listened to Smith's analysis but remained unmoved. He simply looked at the cup of coffee on the table and asked:

"Oh right, I remember there were three mugs on the table when I went into the lounge, one of them was full, right?"

"Yes, nine-tenths full."

"That's good... We'll have to wait for the coroner's detailed report before we can proceed with the specifics. For now, let's invite Mr. Carter over. He's the supervisor, he's spoken with Derek, and he has inspection duties; perhaps he can offer us a different perspective."

……