Zhang Tian'ai stared at the projection and slapped her forehead.
That's right!
On the crime day, Liu Xiaojing's thumbnail was freshly cut, one millimeter long. The next day, it was about one centimeter.
Though nail growth rates vary, no adult's nails can grow 8 to 9 millimeters overnight.
Deputy Director Sun, Fang Xinzhou, Wang Tao, and the veteran detectives' eyes lit up.
Students and teachers burst into loud discussion.
"My goodness, I thought Lin Chen was odd, but now..."
"The thumbnail change is suspicious. Liu Xiaojing definitely has problems."
"Could the Liu Xiaojing seen on campus be her twin?"
"I have a creepy feeling..."
No one stopped the chatter.
Lin Chen smiled and said, "You're a university student. Tell me, how did your nails grow that long overnight?"
"I... I..."
Liu Xiaojing avoided eye contact and stammered before trailing off.
Zhang Tian'ai and Deputy Director Sun saw this and knew she was hiding something.
"Can't explain, huh?" Lin Chen asked.
Biting her lip, Liu Xiaojing said, "Maybe the school's surveillance is faulty."
"Faulty?" Lin Chen replayed the footage. "The Liu Xiaojing in the video sat right behind the camera. The image is crystal clear."
"Also, her hair length is 42 centimeters, but yours is nearly 51."
"You really think you can judge hair length just by looking?" Liu Xiaojing snapped.
"Of course," Lin Chen said. "If you don't believe me, have experts compare the videos. Your hair is at least 7 centimeters longer than that Liu Xiaojing."
"Anything else to say?"
Liu Xiaojing lowered her eyes and said nothing.
She could argue about hair length but not her thumbnail.
"Since you have nothing to say, I'll deduce how you committed the crime."
Zhang Tian'ai's hands trembled. She once believed Liu Xiaojing innocent but now she was suspicious.
Everyone eagerly awaited Lin Chen's deduction.
Lin Chen took a sip of water and said, "Here's what happened."
"You had deep conflicts with the victims, enough to want to kill them. You told me you were close."
"But I found your relationship was only average in public."
"You wanted to kill them but feared legal consequences. So you contacted a girl who looks exactly like you — your twin sister."
"Why only one appears on your household registration? You grew up in a single-parent home. Maybe your mother gave birth to twins; your father took one, or one was kidnapped. Anyway, there's a girl in Tianhai City who looks just like you."
"You and that girl planned to act on February 18. That morning, you deliberately left the dorm late and let the victims leave first. After they left, you hid under the bed."
"Your twin entered through an unmonitored school gate. You arranged for her to attend certain classes and meet certain classmates, so she covered for you."
"A classmate said that 'you' in class that day was strange — quiet and slow to respond when called."
"When someone calls your real name after years, you usually react in 0.5 seconds. That Liu Xiaojing took 4 or 5 seconds."
"At lunch, the Liu Xiaojing in the cafeteria ordered meat dishes, though you are a vegetarian."
"You can deny this, but you cannot deny the thumbnail length difference."
"That Liu Xiaojing went to a birthday party that night, creating your alibi, while you dismembered the victims in Room 311!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。