Fake heiress Real heroine

Chapter 242

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It felt like they’d turned a mall game into a crime scene puzzle. Cher was still playing her wild cards, ignoring the rules, and leaving Quinlyn to fend for herself.

Quinlyn stood up and approached Bennett, asking to join the investigation.

Bennett refused her. “Not now. Mr. Ramirez ordered that you should sit tight until the higher–ups give the all–clear and ease up on security.”

“But if Zane’s the killer, you’re in trouble. Why else keep him here?” Quinlyn pointed out their dilemma.

Bennett hesitated. He liked Quinlyn’s skills and trusted her fairness, so he let her tag along with Jolie as an assistant.

Jolie was examining the cut angles to guess the killer’s height. “From this angle, he’s gotta be six–foot–three. But the skin texture here is weird. Look, the upward slope’s all jagged.”

She gestured to a bloody chunk of flesh, nearly touching it with her hand. A rookie nearby couldn’t take it and had already puked three times. He felt queasy again.

Quinlyn leaned in. “It isn’t clean. It is off–kilter, like it is stabbed after a fall.”

“Exactly, Quinlyn. You’re sharp,” Jolie said, instinctively reaching to pat Quinlyn’s face, almost smearing blood on her.

Quinlyn dodged and noticed the police checking the front door. An idea hit her. She walked over to the gate, pointing at the doorknob. “If the victim broke in, shouldn’t there be his fingerprints?”

The policaman paused. “You’e right. There aren’t any. Odd. Did Zane let him in?”

Quinlyn doubted it. Zane didn’t seem to have friends or be close to neighbors. He wouldn’t invite anyone over.

But if Bobby didn’t open the door, someone else did. Quinlyn crouched to check the keyhole. The house used memory keys, a new Zane invention. The lock’s intricate edges were unique.

signs of tampering. The fifth person had another way in. Quinlyn searched the house and spotted a

window.

a gentle push. Cold, damp air

we’re out, the housekeeper locks all windows. Zane and I wouldn’t open them. We

opened a window one stuffy night

unlocked. “If I were the

mix of easy and hard. The police didn’t believe Zane and

sea of lilies.

found artificial steps on some stems and abandoned rain boots

these boots. Zane’s size too. Let’s check this clear footprint,” Donny said, leading them to the flowerbed’s center, pointing to a water–filled

mention the boots are huge, and the soil’s too soft. After the rain, getting

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Chapter 242

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They pulled back curtains, moved lilies, and drained the water from the print. Donny said, “The soils depth suggests 150 to 170 pounds. Matches Zane.”

“It’s not Zane’s

“Zane’s feet are huge, size 12, like

couldn’t pull out the oversized

body leans back, heels dig in for balance. “That’s why it’s so deep,” Quinlyn explained.

analysis made sense. “Quinlyn, can you tell how big the

pressure and boot bend, any physics teacher

all the other footprints near the flower bed–it erased the evidence but also left some

fifth person at the Perry residence when it rained, right around the time the crime

buzzed as soon as they heard the news. Bobby’s family went ballistic.”No way! Cher must’ve forged that certificate for him. She was always shady like

“Get her out here. We can’t let her stay

caught her, she’d be all over the headlines. But Cher stood up anyway. “I won’t get in your way. I’m not part of this case, so I should have some freedom, right?”