“Miller went in and out of the Herbert residence countless times. Back when he was John’s assistant, he often stayed overnight. You could say he’s more familiar with the place than many of the current staff.”

“Of course, it’s been several years since he last came here as a ‘guest.’ And since Miller was carrying out a planned crime this time, he definitely would have come to scout the place inside and out beforehand…”

“But in any case, combined with the information Sam obtained yesterday afternoon… infiltrating the residence wasn’t too difficult for Miller.”

“So, around ten o’clock at night, Miller took advantage of the darkness and scaled the wall into the Herbert estate from an area without surveillance. He then made his way to the west side of the mansion and entered through an unlocked window on the first floor.”

“After all, this is a private residence, not a heavily guarded military facility. There were only a few security guards. At night, the cleaning staff and cooks all returned to the auxiliary building, so no one noticed Miller entering the mansion.”

“Thus, Miller brazenly arrived at John’s bedroom, which was empty at the time, and hid behind the curtains of the French window.”

“Meanwhile, Sam… was at the Alfred Hotel’s bar, chatting with a detective he had just met, in order to create an alibi.”

“At eleven o’clock, the agreed-upon time to act, Sam went to the bar’s restroom and used his cell phone to call the phone in John’s bedroom.”

“It was an old-fashioned phone, with no extensions and no call forwarding. Also, its power supply was separate from the mansion’s electrical system. John kept this phone in his bedroom to use as a ‘private line.’ He only gave the number to a few people.”

“Therefore, when he heard the phone ring, John, who was working in the study next door, got up and went to the bedroom to answer the call.”

“That’s when… Miller acted.”

“He chose a good position. The curtains were only a few meters away from the table where the phone was placed, and he appeared directly behind John.”

“However… an accident occurred.”

“Miller didn’t expect that John, a man nearly ten years his senior, would maintain such good physical strength and reaction speed. After a struggle and fight, John turned and slammed into Miller, who slipped on the carpet, causing the back of his head to hit the corner of the table.”

“The impact, carrying the weight of two adult men, caused irreparable damage to the back of Miller’s head, killing him instantly.”

“At the same time, Sam, who heard the fighting on the other end of the phone, sensed something was wrong. Because the last gasps he heard… were not Miller’s, but John’s, who was supposed to be dead.”

“Seconds later, John, catching his breath, naturally recognized the assailant as Miller. He quickly realized the connection between Sam’s sudden visit during the day, the phone call just now, and Miller’s attack. Thinking of this… he quickly hung up the phone.”

“After that… well, everyone should know what happened.”

Zuo Yan finished his story, and the entire case was basically laid out before everyone.

The four people in the room once again fell silent.

“Um…” After a moment, Feng Bujue was the first to break the silence. “Finished?”

“Uh…” Zuo Yan was taken aback by the question. He paused for two seconds, wanting to wait for Vidocq’s instructions, but Vidocq didn’t say anything. So, Zuo Yan could only reply on his own, “Yes, I’m finished.”

“Okay, then let me have my say.” Feng Bujue swirled the red wine in his glass and continued leisurely.

“What else do you want to say?” John looked at Jue Ge. “At this point… do you really think you can still help Sam escape conviction?”

“Escape conviction?” Jue Ge raised an eyebrow and replied casually, “Is it necessary?” He glanced at Sam. “Sam is innocent to begin with.”

“Huh?” This time, Doster was also dumbfounded. He looked at Jue Ge and complained, “Hey, hey… did you not hear a word that Detective Zuo said? Everything has been explained so clearly. How can you still say Sam is innocent?”

“Hehe…” Feng Bujue chuckled. “What he said was very clear, and the logic was very sound, but… where’s the evidence?” He paused, then looked at John again. “Just like John can confidently deny ‘having plotted to murder for money in the inheritance case’ outside of this entire deduction, as long as there’s no evidence, Sam can also deny that some of the content in this deduction is true, right?”

“But…” Doster thought for a few seconds, “That recording…”

“That’s right!” Feng Bujue interrupted loudly. “I was just about to talk about that recording…” He looked at Zuo Yan with a smile that hid a knife. “Student Zuo Yan, please play the entire recording.”

“Damn it…” At that moment, Vidocq cursed in his heart, “As expected, this kid saw through it…”

After Jue Ge finished speaking, Zuo Yan hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed, took out Miller’s cell phone again, and pressed the play button.

Miller’s voice came from the phone again—“I’m Pat Miller, it’s six o’clock in the afternoon on October 12th. In an hour, I’ll be meeting with Sam Herbert…”

This time, Zuo Yan didn’t press the stop button, but the recording… didn’t continue.

Seconds later, John, Sam, and Doster successively realized something, and the expressions on their faces all changed.

“See… just as I said…” Feng Bujue shrugged and continued, “Many times… something that seems unquestionable at first glance is actually completely different in essence.”

“You…” A second later, Zuo Yan asked for Vidocq, “…How did you know that this recording was only this long?”

“It’s very simple.” Feng Bujue replied unhurriedly, “In your deduction process, the cell phone was used a total of three times. The first time was to use Miller’s cell phone to show Miller’s photos, the second time was also to use Miller’s cell phone to play that recording, and the third time… was to use your own cell phone to show us Miller’s posts on social media.”

“Among these, for the first and third times, you turned the phone screen to show us, but only the second time… you didn’t do that.”

“At first glance, this is also normal… because the first and third times you wanted to show the screen, and the second time you only wanted to show the sound. But… when you pressed the stop recording button, you were a bit rushed, almost before the last syllable of that word fell, you pressed it down. That… made me suspicious.”