Chapter 285
In the dressing room, Xiao Lou quickly figured out the answer to the drawer lock .
The layout of the jewelry was regular and the necklaces were placed from short to long . The earrings were from the smallest studs to the longest dangling earrings . Then the arrangement of the jewelry numbers should follow the rule of ‘short to long . ’
Among the three types of jewelry, the earrings were the shortest (8 pairs = 16) . Then it was the bracelets (7) and the necklaces (5) . Therefore, the order of the pa.s.sword should be earrings, bracelets and necklaces . This was 1675 .
The drawer was a four digit rotating lock . Xiao Lou rotated the numbers to 1675 . Sure enough, there was a click and the lock was successfully opened .
He opened the drawer and found a 30 cm long jewelry box in the drawer . The red velvet cloth looked a bit old and it was tied with a red ribbon in a beautiful bow . He opened the box and saw a necklace lying inside, but the chain was a bit yellow . There was a s.p.a.ce below with a piece of paper stuffed inside . It read: For my beloved . I hope you will always be as young and beautiful as you are when you are 18 . I will always love you .
Xiao Lou handed the necklace to Qu Wanyue . “Teacher Qu, can you tell what material this is?”
Qu Wanyue said, “Platinum has a much better gloss and isn’t p.r.o.ne to rust . Silver chains tend to turn yellow after a long time due to oxidation . This necklace looks more like a silver chain . The pendant in the middle might be jade but it isn’t transparent at all and the color is average . It should be a bargain necklace that can be bought for a few hundred yuan at the mall . ”
She looked back at the jewelry on the table .
The five necklaces on the left were shining brightly under the light . The first sapphire necklace was very valuable at first glance and was suitable for wearing with various dresses . There were also two diamond necklaces with huge diamonds that dazzled people’s eyes . They probably cost at least several hundred thousand yuan . In addition, the two jade pendants were crystal clear and one of them was probably fine jade .
The silver necklace locked in the drawer looked particularly poor compared to these luxurious jewelry . Due to age, the silver chain had oxidized and yellowed . The heart-shaped jade pendant also seemed covered with a layer of dust .
Xiao Lou frowned slightly . “This chain must have a special meaning to the hostess . She is so rich and has so much precious jewelry . Why bother locking a cheap silver chain in a drawer?”
Long Sen speculated, “Looking at this note, it seems to be a gift from her 18th birthday so it has special significance . An 18 year old student has no source of income so isn’t it natural to be unable to afford jewelry? Students often give silver chains since diamonds are too expensive . ”
Xiao Lou nodded . “Yes, this necklace probably wasn’t given by her husband . 18 years old is a normal age for first love . ”
Qu Wanyue also agreed . “This should be something very important that her first love gave her . She didn’t dare let her husband find it so she locked it in the bottom drawer .
Most men wouldn’t idly go through their wife’s jewelry table in the dressing room . The hostess secretly locked this necklace in a bottom drawer and it was difficult for her husband Wells to find it . She wouldn’t have to hide it if this necklace was from her husband .
Combined with the clues suggested by the previous Dream Wedding and The Lover, Xiao Lou felt his deduction was close to the truth . “The hostess is happily married and has a happy family but she has an unforgettable first love in her heart . As described in the novel The Lover, the male and female protagonists married other people for family reasons but they always loved each other . ”
Old Mo had a headache . “Marrying one person but thinking of another . Isn’t this completely unfair to her husband?”
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The three of them stared at Xiao Lou . “Professor Xiao, you seem to understand this quite well?”
Xiao Lou touched his nose and explained, “It is just a theoretical a.n.a.lysis . I have never been in love . ”
Qu Wanyue joked, “Listening to your a.n.a.lysis, I thought you also have a white moonlight you can’t forget . ”
Yu Hanjiang could hear Xiao Lou’s conversation through the heart channel . He couldn’t help whispering, “Is there?”
Xiao Lou was startled . “What?”
Yu Hanjiang was serious . “A white moonlight . ”
Xiao Lou immediately explained . “It is a theoretical a.n.a.lysis . I have never been in a relationship and don’t have anyone I am unable to forget . ”
Yu Hanjiang sighed with relief . “Oh, that’s good . ”
Then he changed the subject before Xiao Lou could feel doubts . “Your speculation is very reasonable . The hostess should have an unforgettable first love but she ultimately married Wells . Perhaps it was forced by her circ.u.mstances . Her true love could never forget her but couldn’t get her love . In the end, he committed a cruel act . ”
Xiao Lou was concerned . “Have you solved the pa.s.sword? Are there any new clues?”
“It is solved and we found a book of doodles . I’ll show it to you later . ”
It was Ye Qi who figured out the pa.s.sword to the child’s room .
The key clue to this was the sentence on the wall: The lifespan of a tree is much greater than that of a human . If I can become a tree, how good would it be? I could get enough to eat in the sun every day .
There was a logical order in this sentence . The lifespan of a tree was greater than that of humans . Those with a greater longevity were ranked first .
The toys in the room had been sorted and cla.s.sified, their specific numbers determined . The thing he was unsure of was their order . The only thing related to order in the entire room was the sentence on the wall .
The lifespan was the key to sorting the numbers .
The five types of rag dolls were 5 Mickey Mouse, 6 little bears, 3 turtles, 7 Snow White and 8 bunnies .
A tortoise had the longest lifespan and some could live up to 200 years . Humans were second since they had an average lifespan of 70-80 years . Bears usually lived for 20-30 years, rabbits for 10 years and mice had the shortest lifespan of 2-3 years .
According to the rule of longevity, the order of the toys was: turtle, Snow White (human), bears, rabbits and Mickey Mouse .
This also matched the rule that the tortoise was before the rabbit based on the drawing of the tortoise and the hare .
The pa.s.sword was: 37685 .
Ye Qi’s logic was complete and Yu Hanjiang entered the pa.s.sword into the door lock of the cabinet . Sure enough, it opened . A little girl’s doodling book was found in the cabinet . Yu Hanjiang picked it up and saw that images in it were extremely creative . Lucia had a talent for drawing and recorded all the details of her family’s life in the form of ‘doodles . ’
This picture book should be drawn before she moved into the villa .
The first page was a drawing of her and her father going out for a picnic . The second page was her father taking her to the amus.e.m.e.nt park, a movie, her father accompanying her on her birthday… in these pictures, her mother rarely appeared . Perhaps her mother was abroad for her performances .
Lucia also wrote on one of the pages: Mom loves the piano more than she loves me .
The last page showed her moving into a new home with her parents . In front of the five storey villa, a man and a woman were holding her hand . There was a truck from the moving company and next to it were two people, one man and a woman who came to help .
This picture book connected with Lucia’s diary . The picture book recorded her life before the move and the diary was written after the move .
Judging from the last drawing, apart from her parents and Lucia, two other people came that day to help move . The diary showed that the nanny and driver were only hired after the move so the people in the picture couldn’t be the staff . They were more likely to be her parents’ friends .
Yu Hanjiang pointed to the drawing . “These two people are very important . They came to the villa on the day of the move and can understand the layout of the villa in advance . This murder case was obviously premeditated . It is difficult for people who have never been to the villa before to kill and then leave . ”
It was impossible for those unfamiliar with the environment to accurately come to the little girl’s bedroom and poison Lucia .
The two people in Lucia’s drawing must be part of the five people invited to the Christmas Eve party . She had seen them a long time ago so when they entered her room to change her medicine, she wasn’t too alert .
Yu Hanjiang put away the book and asked Xiao Lou, “The cabinet code has been unlocked but the door of the room hasn’t opened . How do we get out?”
The moment he spoke, the wooden board at the back of the cabinet suddenly opened on both sides and a pa.s.sage appeared . At the same time, a pa.s.sage also appeared at the back of a closet in the dressing room . Everyone moved forward along the pa.s.sage and after pa.s.sing a corner, they actually saw their teammates .
Ye Qi exclaimed with pleased surprise, “The pa.s.sages from the two rooms are connected? Grouping can really save a lot of time!”
Old Mo rubbed his pained head . “Piano, bookcase, wardrobe… everything is so messy . It should be a labyrinth of mechanisms that A of Diamonds temporarily remodeled using the family’s villa . ”
Xiao Lou asked, “Old Mo, can you tell the s.p.a.ce and direction?”
Mo Xuemin had been drawing on the paper since entering the labyrinth . He heard this and took out the image he drew . “The dream room we entered was on the same floor as the little girl’s bedroom . Based on the window layout, it should be the second floor . The piano room and study are also on the second floor . We went up a flight of stairs from the study so the hostess’ dressing room and the child’s toy room are on the third floor . ”
Now they were once again going down the stairs . Old Mo stared at the spiral staircase in front of him . “From the length of this staircase, we are currently heading to the first floor . ”
Xiao Lou was immediately alert .
Usually, a party took place on the first floor of a villa where there was a dining room and kitchen for everyone to eat and chat . It was very likely there would be a major discovery on the first floor and it would also be the most difficult level in the secret room .
Xiao Lou glanced at Yu Hanjiang and said, “Let’s go . Everyone, be careful where you step . ”
The group walked down the spiral staircase for a while and saw a gla.s.s door . Xiao Lou opened the door gently . Sure enough, they walked into a luxurious living room .
The middle of the living room contained a Christmas tree full of colorful lights . It was two meters high and very grand . There are many of Santa’s red stockings hanging from it and the balloons on the wall spelled out ‘Merry Christmas . ’ The host and hostess obviously put a lot of thought into this Christmas Eve party .
The living room was a mess . The pillows on the sofa were thrown to the ground and the table was covered in snack bags .
The long table in the dining room contained seven red wine gla.s.ses and some empty wine bottles were scattered on the ground . There were also many unfinished fruits and pastries thrown on the plates on the table .
This scene was like a mess that hadn’t been cleaned up yet after a party . Most notably, a man lay motionless on the sofa in the midst of the mess .
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged looks and stepped forward . Sure enough, it was the husband, Wells . He was already dead .