After asking a few more questions, Sarah and Arthur said their goodbyes to Brenda and left.
This was only the preliminary investigation stage, and they hadn't even accurately determined if the victim had been murdered, so no suspects had been identified yet.
As soon as they stepped out the door, Sarah whispered to Arthur.
"Although it's not the first time I've seen you use this trick, every time I want to ask you, how the hell did you do that?"
What Sarah was asking about, of course, was Arthur's ability to calm people down.
For Sarah, a gunfight with a criminal might not be as troublesome as comforting emotionally unstable people.
To this, Arthur just shook his head and sighed.
He… had once been a psychologist, so of course he understood the value of sound in human perception.
In Brenda's state at the time, gentle comforting would not have been very effective. That's why Arthur used that specific attitude and tone, giving Brenda a temporary "crutch" of "trusting the police," which allowed her emotions to stabilize.
It was a small, but quite useful, trick.
When they were completely outside, Arthur felt something and turned his head to look at the empty second-story window of the house.
It seemed like someone had just been looking at him from there.
But Arthur didn't pay much attention, thinking it was probably just Brenda's son.
After that, Arthur and Sarah continued to question the surrounding households. Although the last time they saw the priest varied among the neighbors, with the latest being 9 PM, they all unanimously described him as a very kind and compassionate person, and all were saddened by his passing.
After walking around the area, Sarah's mood visibly sank.
She leaned against the car and sighed.
"It's really hard to believe this person would be the victim of a murder."
Today, she had once again witnessed an innocent and kind person pass away, making it difficult for a police officer like her to bear.
Don't let Sarah's cold and indifferent appearance fool you; she actually has a very strong sense of justice. Otherwise, she would have chosen a different profession long ago.
"Life is truly unpredictable, isn't it?"
Arthur muttered to himself, then took out and lit a cigarette, put it in his mouth, took a drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
In truth, Arthur didn't particularly like smoking, but it did calm his mind a little.
The two were silent for a few seconds before Sarah broke the silence.
"Can I give you a ride back?"
"Thanks."
Arthur put out the cigarette and put it back in its pack.
On the way back, they talked about the case again.
"Honestly, I don't think the killer of that old priest is among the people we just spoke to."
Sarah said, and Arthur, for once, didn't disagree with her.
"I think so too."
While Sarah was asking the residents questions about the case, Arthur wasn't idle. He had been carefully observing and registering all of their expressions and reactions whenever they were faced with a question. If the killer were one of them, that person would definitely show some different signs compared to the others.
Of course, it was possible the killer was a very good actor, good enough to fool him. But this possibility was relatively low.
Because no one can control their actions 100%.
Just as they were about to arrive at the police station, the forensic report came in.
Just as Arthur had previously guessed, the priest had died from poisoning. The poison was a complex mixture, seemingly blended from various chemical components. It was injected through a small hole in the neck, most likely from the killer's syringe. The examination showed that when injected into an artery, this poison would quickly cause the victim to become paralyzed and then die.
The priest's clothes had numerous fingerprints and various small fabric fibers, which was unavoidable since he had close contact with many people through actions like hugging. In short, the investigation hit a dead end at this point.
But the thing that made Arthur suspicious was that nothing was found under the priest's fingernails.
"Isn't that normal? If the priest was a person with a clear sense of order, maybe he washed his hands before reading. I've heard many people who don't want to damage their books do that."
Sarah said, but Arthur shook his head.
"But you've forgotten the latter part. Remember that he had an encounter with the killer."
"Even if the killer injected the poison with a syringe, the paralysis would still take a certain amount of time to take effect, as the poison needs to circulate through the body to spread. Furthermore, if the killer used a syringe, close contact with the priest would be unavoidable. In that case, couldn't he have fought back or done something? If the priest fought back with his bare hands, shouldn't there be something under his fingernails?"
Arthur explained.
In reality, the instinctual reaction for the vast majority of people is to grab and claw, not to punch. This is the "animal" part of human genes. Punching is a technique that requires training and is not a primal instinct.
That's also why in many murder cases, what's left under the victim's fingernails from resisting the killer becomes a crucial clue to the truth.
But Sarah was still not quite satisfied.
"I think that's possible, right? What if the killer took advantage of his lowered guard and injected the poison into his neck from behind? Remember, this priest was a very good man; he might even open his door for a stranger in the middle of the night, so the assumption that he was off-guard and had his back turned to the killer is not out of the question."
"Not entirely wrong, but the report that was just sent found no signs of a struggle or restraint on his body. I understand what you're saying, but if the priest had his back to the killer, the most convenient restraining move would be a chokehold."
As he spoke, Arthur demonstrated the move.
"While this would prevent the priest from attacking with his nails, the forensic team wouldn't be able to miss the marks of a chokehold. The same goes for any other form of physical restraint."
"So that means…"
Sarah was a little confused.
"It means… the interaction between the priest and the killer was very smooth and gentle?"
"I'm not sure. This case has too many suspicious points. For example, with an old and unsuspecting priest like him, why not just use a more direct method like strangulation instead of injecting him with poison? It's truly puzzling."
Sarah and Arthur couldn't help but feel more burdened. Even with the forensic report, it seemed like the mysteries were only piling up rather than being solved.