Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 105 On-site Investigation
Good heavens, this is really something.

Standing in the room, looking at the corpse before him, Li Wei remained expressionless, but inwardly he was filled with emotion.

Having lived in this world for so long, this was the first time he had encountered a real murder case.

It should be legitimate, without any supernatural elements.

Moreover, this corpse... is not unfamiliar.

Or rather, Li Wei saw her at the ball last night.

Rosalie Porto, the million-pound lady.

The latter was lying in bed, wearing pajamas, with a gunshot wound on his temple.

Yes, the cause of death is obvious.

“You’ve finally arrived, Mr. Li Wei.”

Currently in charge on-site is a portly old man, the chief inspector of the North Star. At sea, it's difficult for the police to effectively perform their duties. Therefore, the ship naturally has its own position responsible for this aspect of the work. The chief inspector is in charge of this; conflicts between sailors, incidents, and so on all fall under his jurisdiction.

And naturally, now that a murder has occurred, it falls under his jurisdiction.

However, the identity of the victim was clearly beyond the inspector's capacity to handle.

If it were Lestrade, he'd probably be kneeling in frustration.

Therefore, he sent someone to find Li Wei almost immediately, since this famous detective was renowned and much more capable of handling things than himself.

"Go find a few people."

Li Wei glanced at the scene, then looked at the head of the police force.

"A photographer, a doctor, a tape recorder, and a few sailors to maintain order."

"Ok."

Upon hearing Li Wei take over the scene and begin issuing orders, the head of the police force did not hesitate and immediately did as Li Wei instructed. Only then did Li Wei look at the head of the police force and begin to inquire about the situation.

The situation was actually quite simple. In the morning, the maid woke Rosalie for breakfast, only to find her shot dead. In a panic, she ran out of the bedroom and encountered the Porto family's butler. After hearing the situation from the maid, the butler immediately sent a servant to find the chief inspector. Upon seeing the body, the chief inspector's legs went weak, and without saying a word, he sent someone to seek help from Li Wei.

You've gone through quite a roundabout way.

Li Wei listened, his expression unchanged, but inwardly he chuckled coldly. He understood perfectly well why the other party's butler hadn't come to him immediately. After all, the chief inspector was a servant of the North Star, while Porto was a guest on the cruise ship. As a servant, it was only natural to provide conveniences to guests, and it was easy to manipulate him.

But Levi is different. As a famous detective, he already enjoys a high level of public attention, unlike the Olivia case, which occurred locally and had little name recognition. This murder in Porto happened on a cruise ship; unless the cruise ship explodes on the spot right now, this incident will inevitably become world-famous very quickly.

And when that time comes, all the messy things that happened in this family will naturally be brought out and made known to the public... Hehe, I love eating this kind of gossip.

Li Wei was almost certain that the old housekeeper's actions were not simply due to the murder case; something else, some far-fetched affair, might have happened last night. As the saying goes, "family scandals should not be aired in public," and they certainly didn't want their private matters exposed.

Sigh, but Li Wei likes it. Why do people like reading detective novels? Isn't it just to see this kind of trivial stuff?
Human affairs are truly unpredictable.

Looking at Rosalie, who had died on the bed, Levi sighed. Last night, he and Mr. Howard were discussing whether this young lady was happy in her marriage. Now, whether she was happy or not was none of her business anymore.

Oh, speaking of which…

"Send someone to invite Mr. Howard over."

"why?"

Upon hearing this, the head of the police force asked in surprise, while Li Wei shrugged.

"Next, we need to inspect the scene, but we need someone to verify the consistency of the scene, meaning that no one has approached this room yet. When we begin the search, we also need to ensure that the scene matches what we see now, which requires a third party to verify."

In this era, judgments rely more on confessions and witness testimony than on physical evidence. The excuse in detective novels, "I had no motive to kill him, so why do you say I killed him?" stems from this. After all, you have to convince the jury why the other side committed the murder. But Li Wei was too lazy to go through such complicated procedures. In fact, the case was quite simple; he could roughly understand the situation by simply standing there and using his Soul Vision.

To make the case easier later on, Li Wei decided to make it as perfect as possible.

Mr. Howard is a highly respected person with no motive for murder; he is simply a third party, making him the most suitable person to be a witness.

Moreover, based on Li Wei's impression of his conversation with Howard the previous night, he felt that the old man would definitely not miss this good show.

After all, the most important thing in life is to be happy.

And watching the drama unfold is a very enjoyable thing.

Sure enough, not long after, old Howard strode over, cane in hand. Although he looked serious, Li Wei could guess what he was thinking from the old man's brisk pace and sharp eyes.

Eating melon seeds makes me happy.

"Ah, Mr. Li Wei."

Looking at Li Wei, old Mr. Howard nodded to him, then stood at the door of the guest room.

"I've heard...is it true?"

"Yes, Mr. Howard, we will be conducting an on-site investigation next, and we hope you can be a witness."

"Oh, I see... Of course, no problem."

Howard, a shrewd old man, glanced at the silent old butler beside him and knew why Levi had sought him out. The Porto family was wealthy and powerful; if they wanted, they could easily bribe these sailors and servants to change their tune later.

But Mr. Howard is different. He is a business tycoon with a net worth no less than Porto's. If the Porto family wanted him to change his mind, they would probably have to give up their entire family.

As a luxury cruise ship, the Arctic Star naturally had everything, and soon, everything Li Wei wanted arrived: a doctor, a photographer, and a tape recorder.

This era naturally had something similar to a tape recorder, but unlike tapes and records, it recorded sound using punched cards. As for how it did that… well, the answer was the amazing differential technology. Anyway, Li Wei couldn't understand it.

In short, all he needs to do is know how to use it.

Of course, this thing is not as portable as a voice recorder or tape recorder. Not only does it have a large speaker for recording sound, but the entire machine is also nearly half a meter tall, heavy and cumbersome. "Well then, everyone's here, let's begin."

Li Wei glanced around, and everyone looked at him curiously. Although this was clearly a sad and painful moment for the Porto family, for the others, it was simply a matter of curiosity.

"Turn on the tape recorder."

"Yes."

Upon hearing Li Wei's instructions, the second mate in charge of guarding the machine turned it on, and then Li Wei spoke.

"I am Detective Levi, and it is currently the morning of June 21st, Bronze Calendar 126..." Levi said, glancing at his watch. "9:03 AM. I am currently in Suite B-32 on the Arctic Star cruise ship, investigating the murder of Miss Lolisa Porto. Those currently present are..."

Li Wei introduced the people present, and those including Howard Sr. responded. They all knew that this recording might later become evidence in court, so they wouldn't make things up.

"Alright, that's enough for now. Next..."

Li Wei turned to the photographer.

"Go take the picture."

"Me?! Me?!"

Upon hearing Li Wei's order, the photographer turned pale with fright. He was a photographer hired by the Arctic Star, mainly responsible for taking and developing photos of the first-class passengers. But those were just photos of meals, games, or family gatherings.

But now you want him to film crime scenes? And even dead bodies?
Isn't this life-threatening?
"I'll point it out for you, then you can take the picture."

"Okay, okay..."

Li Wei was now in charge of the scene, and the photographer had no choice but to obediently submit. Following Li Wei's instructions and requirements, the entire crime scene was photographed clearly. When taking close-up photos of the deceased, the photographer's hands trembled as if he were having an epileptic seizure, and it took several shots to get the right one.

"Go get the photos developed."

After the photographer finished taking pictures, Li Wei, like a scumbag who had pulled up his pants, kicked him away and gave orders to the second mate.

"Send two people to follow him. Before the photos are developed, no one is allowed to approach him to inquire about anything."

The second mate nodded, and then sent two sailors to accompany the photographer, who was so frightened he wanted to run away, as they left together.

Next was the doctor. Li Wei followed the doctor to the body and began to examine it.

"This is the only fatal wound, at least for now."

"The wound showed signs of burns, indicating that someone must have shot her in the head."

"The bullet may still be lodged in the head; only an autopsy can confirm that."

"But they may not agree to an autopsy."

Li Wei glanced at the old butler standing with his head down at the door of the guest room and shrugged.

"Isn't it a bit of a shame?"

The doctor stared at Rosalind's corpse before him, licking his lips. He was truly sorry; in this era, desecration of corpses was still a serious crime. Currently, the only way for a doctor to openly and legally access and dissect a corpse was through a forensic autopsy.

Of course, if someone is sentenced to death and there's no one at home to take care of them, you can happily drag them back and dissect them for detailed study.

If it weren't for the Porto family's eldest daughter lying here, the doctor would probably have already performed a "forensic autopsy."

Now... if he dares to stab this corpse, someone might stab him in the back.

"Can you provide a medical certificate describing the cause of death of the victim?"

"of course can."

"I'll need you to sign and put your fingerprint on it."

"Signing is fine... but what about putting a fingerprint?"

"That's it."

Li Wei gestured to someone to bring a sponge, then poured some red ink on it, dipped his thumb in it, and pressed it onto the paper.

"What's the use?"

"This is the latest standard and technology used by the police."

Li Wei chuckled inwardly as he spoke. Ancient China knew how to sign and seal documents, yet the world had never done it that way before. However, since Li Wei wanted to do it this way, no one could say much. The doctor was only slightly puzzled, but since Li Wei wanted to do it, he did it.

"Next, bring over some white paper, graphite powder, a brush, and tape."

If it were anyone else, they wouldn't know what Li Wei was planning to do, but what Li Wei actually wanted to do was very simple: to take fingerprints.

He had read the fingerprinting book in the library and knew a little about fingerprints. Besides, taking fingerprints isn't actually that difficult; most people can do it at home with the right tools. It's just that comparing fingerprints is quite difficult for the average person.

Fortunately, Li Wei had read quite a few books on fingerprinting.

Contrary to popular belief, scientists have actually conducted considerable research on fingerprints in this era. Some have even discovered that fingerprints remain unchanged throughout life and possess unique characteristics. However, the general public remains largely unaware of how this information can be applied. Unlike today, when people encounter criminal cases, they immediately think of fingerprints and DNA testing—it's almost instinctive. In this era, many people have virtually no understanding of fingerprint science.

Many people even believe that studying the patterns on the human body is a perverted act.

There are also those like Inspector Lestrade who don't really accept fingerprinting.

However, Li Wei didn't need to participate in these scientific discussions; he just needed to adopt what he could—as long as it worked, nothing else mattered.

Soon, the items were brought over, and Li Wei began to work—he had experimented many times at home and was quite experienced in how to take fingerprints.

Since this case doesn't have any unscientific elements, let's solve it using scientific methods.

(End of this chapter)