Chapter 24: Bizarre Murder Case

Odette paused for a moment and then said, "Alan's neighbor mentioned that every night they saw his house lights on. They thought someone was home and didn't think much of it until the smell hit, and they realized something was off."

Olivia frowned. The lights being on every night was strange. If the lights were on every night, it meant someone was coming and going, but the marks on the door suggested it hadn't been opened in a long time.

Olivia asked, "Is there another way to get into this apartment?"

Odette thought for a moment and pointed across the way. "You could climb over from his balcony, but this is the fourth floor. It's dangerous!"

Olivia smiled, knocked on the neighbor's door across the hall, and when they saw it was the police, they didn't refuse and led Olivia to the balcony.

In the old apartment building, the balconies were connected and not enclosed. Alan's balcony was still in its original state, so Olivia easily jumped over to the opposite balcony.

After landing, Olivia pushed the balcony door. The smell was even stronger here, almost enough to make her pass out.

Olivia reached into her pocket, took out a mask, and put it on, along with gloves. Even so, she was still shocked by the scene inside.

When Olivia entered the kitchen, she saw a bundle wrapped in what looked like a bedsheet. She didn't know what was inside, but maggots covered the floor. Underneath the bundle was a severely decomposed body. From the clothing and build, it seemed to be a woman.

Olivia checked other rooms and found two more bodies in the bedrooms. After seeing everything, she quickly ran to the balcony and called Henry.

"Mr. Phillips, we found three bodies in the steel mill dormitory. They are severely decomposed. We need the forensic team here immediately!" Olivia reported.

Henry, hearing the situation, quickly grabbed his coat and headed out. "Secure the scene and don't touch anything!" he instructed.

After hanging up, Olivia leaned over the balcony, almost vomiting. Soon, Ethan arrived with his team and was also shocked by the scene.

After the forensic team collected evidence, Olivia took the neighbor to identify the bodies.

The neighbor covered their nose and mouth and vomited on the spot upon seeing the bodies. "It's them. It's definitely them!"

Odette was also terrified and was persuaded to leave by Olivia. "Odette, we need to interview the nearby residents to understand the situation. Please wait downstairs and don't interfere with our work."

Odette nodded and shakily went downstairs. Zephyr came out, his face ashen, but thankfully he managed not to vomit.

Olivia asked, "How's Ethan's progress?"

Zephyr replied, "The bodies have been collected and need to be sent to the morgue for further autopsy."

Olivia nodded. When Ethan came out, Henry and Olivia listened to his preliminary findings downstairs.

Ethan explained, "The male victim was strangled with a power cord, leading to mechanical asphyxiation. The female victim had three stab wounds in her abdomen, likely causing her death. The third victim seems to have died from asphyxiation but also had two stab wounds, indicating it might not have been the work of just one person."

Henry nodded and patted Ethan on the shoulder. "Thank you, Ethan. Go ahead with the autopsy. We'll wait for your report."

Ethan left, and Henry turned to Olivia. "You and Zephyr, go talk to the neighbors. See if anyone knows anything."

Olivia nodded and took Zephyr to find Odette. Odette led them around to interview all the residents in Alan's building to gather information.

To the neighbors, Alan and his family seemed kind and had never had any conflicts with anyone.

Odette also brought Alan's buddy, Sean Gray. When Sean heard about Alan and his family, he was in total shock.

Olivia asked, "When was the last time you saw Alan?"

Sean replied, "It was August 13th last year. We were having a few drinks outside and planned to go to work together in the afternoon. But after that, I never saw him again!"

Olivia jotted down Sean's statement and continued, "Didn't you go to his house to look for him?"

Sean nodded, "Yeah, a few months ago, I saw his lights on when I got home from work. I thought he was back, so I knocked on his door. I hadn't seen him in a while and didn't know what was up. But no one answered, so I went downstairs to check his windows. Then the lights went out."

Sean continued, "Just as I was about to leave, the lights came back on. I knocked again, but still, no one responded. The circuit breaker was right next to his door, so I thought if I turned it off, he would come out to check. But after waiting for ten minutes, no one came out, so I turned it back on and left."

On August 13th, Sean had contacted Alan. They had planned to go to work together, but Alan never showed up. No matter how many times Sean called, the phone was unreachable. He even called Alan's family, but no one knew where he was.

After hearing Sean's statement, Olivia interviewed other neighbors. The residents upstairs mentioned that they often heard noises from Alan's apartment at night, but no one answered when they knocked.

Zephyr asked, "Olivia, what do you think this case is about?"

Olivia replied, "It's hard to say right now. We need to wait for the autopsy results. Let's head back to the station."

Zephyr nodded and followed Olivia back to the station. By the time they arrived, it was already 2 PM. Olivia took out some instant food from under her desk. Her colleagues saw and teased her.

A colleague said, "Olivia, you can still eat? Let me tell you, almost everyone who went to the scene today skipped lunch. Just thinking about it is nauseating!"

Olivia smiled slightly. "It just means you need more experience. As detectives, encountering situations like this is normal. You need to learn to manage your emotions! Also, make sure you take care of your stomach. I skipped breakfast. So, even if I saw a corpse this morning, I could still eat in the morgue right now!"

Her colleagues shook their heads, unable to understand. Olivia didn't say more. She was indeed very hungry. Survival was more important than being picky.

As she was eating, Henry came out of his office and frowned when he saw Olivia eating instant food.

Henry asked, "Is that your lunch? You were out in the field and didn't think to grab a proper meal?"

Olivia smiled sheepishly, her eyes full of appeasement. After running around all morning, her hair was a bit messy, and her face was pale, which made Henry feel uncomfortable.

Olivia explained, "Zephyr said the morning's visual impact was too much, and he couldn't eat. I didn't want to eat alone, so..."