Chapter 283 - 282: Cecilia Caldwell’s Murderer is on the Ship

Chapter 283: Chapter 282: Cecilia Caldwell’s Murderer is on the Ship

I pulled Asher back from behind and coldly flipped off the crowd.

’I know the killer has a huge ego and can’t stand being provoked. That’s why I have to be the one to provoke him... This way, he’ll target me instead of Madeline Quinn.’

Madeline Quinn obviously realized what I was doing. She rushed forward and pushed my arm down. "Cece, what are you doing?"

"Let him come for me." I pushed Madeline Quinn into Zeke Shaw’s arms. "Take her and go."

Zeke Shaw looked like he wanted to say something, but seeing my insistence, he grabbed Madeline Quinn firmly. "Don’t cause more trouble. Come with me to examine the first body. You’re a forensic examiner, you should be able to find some clues."

Only then did Madeline Quinn snap out of it. She nodded and followed Zeke Shaw. After a few steps, she looked back at Asher. "Protect Cece."

Asher nodded.

"There’s a steel nail in the victim’s Baihui acupoint, at the crown of the head. It was hammered directly into the skull, which is what caused death. That’s why there’s no obvious wound from the outside." Lucas Grant had examined the body all over and only found the one steel nail on the head.

"That would take a lot of force, and the victim would have to be completely defenseless," Felix Foster added, also examining the body closely. "The victim’s facial expression is peaceful, so they probably didn’t suffer much at the time of death."

"But if a nail was hammered into the skull, the victim couldn’t have been oblivious. Their face would show some sign of pain." I shook my head, studying the nail head. "Unless... a nail gun was used..."

’A nail gun would drive it straight in. A hammer would cause deviations due to uneven force.’

"The steel nail in the head wasn’t the fatal injury." Asher checked the victim’s mouth, nose, and eyes. "The subarachnoid hemorrhage isn’t severe, which means the nail didn’t rupture any major blood vessels after it went in. The victim couldn’t have died instantly."

"The victim died of asphyxiation." Asher pointed to the victim’s neck. "The killer likely used a strangulation-like motion, choking them to death from behind."

"Then why hammer in the nail?" Lucas Grant couldn’t understand. "Isn’t that just a waste of effort?"

"To secure it," Asher said, pointing from the top of the victim’s head to the railing nearby. "One to three hours after death, muscles begin to contract slightly, making joints stiff. This spreads throughout the body in twelve to sixteen hours. Assuming the killer was the first person from last night’s safe test, their time of crime would be no more than twelve hours ago. Before the body became completely rigid, they would need something to fix it in place to make it stand here so perfectly."

Asher guessed that something like fishing line had been tied to the steel nail and then wound around the railing.

Then, after everyone discovered the first body, the killer would have cut the fishing line on the second body when no one was looking.

"The surveillance cameras on the deck were destroyed, and the restroom area was already a blind spot," I said, looking around warily. "This maniac is actually pretty smart."

"To be able to strangle the victim without any resistance, the killer must have considerable arm strength." Asher had examined the body carefully. Aside from the nail in the head and the faint bruises on the neck, there were no other injuries, which meant no signs of a struggle.

"The victim must have trusted the killer, or at least... didn’t perceive them as a threat," Asher added.

’In other words, the killer’s identity and appearance are such that people would easily overlook the danger they pose.’

Felix Foster walked up behind Lucas Grant, hooked an elbow around his neck, and squeezed hard in a stranglehold.

Lucas Grant nearly passed out, slapping frantically at Felix Foster’s arm. "Are you insane..."

"Even with my build and arm strength, it would take me some time to choke him to death, and he’d still fight back..." Felix Foster was pointing out that the killer must be much stronger than him.

On the other side of the deck, Zeke Shaw had secured the area, forbidding anyone from leaving.

But among the gawkers on the deck, not a single one looked more powerfully built than Felix Foster.

There was even a stooped old woman in the crowd.

The old woman shakily tried to leave the deck.

The old woman gestured with sign language, and the woman with her quickly asked, "We’re all hungry, why won’t you let us leave?"

"Let the old, weak, and sick go first. It’s windy up here," Lucas Grant said as he walked over to Zeke Shaw.

Zeke Shaw nodded.

Supported by the other woman, the old woman shakily made her way down.

Below the deck was the fifteenth-floor restroom, where Madeline Quinn was diligently examining the body.

"It was indeed death by asphyxiation, but not from strangulation of the windpipe—otherwise, there would be heavy ligature marks on the neck. It was caused by external force snapping the neck, leading to spinal cord injury, which would cause immediate death. When the spinal cord is severed, the respiratory center is cut off, leading to respiratory and cardiac arrest." Madeline Quinn looked up at Zeke Shaw. "The killer violently twisted the victim’s neck until it broke."

Zeke Shaw turned and relayed this to those of us still on the deck.

"Snapping someone’s neck with their bare hands... I’ve only seen that in movies," Felix Foster muttered, raising his hand again to experiment on Lucas Grant’s head. "Let me try."

Lucas Grant watched Felix Foster warily. "Get lost."

Felix Foster laughed, and I couldn’t help but chuckle too.

Leaning against the doorframe, Zeke Shaw gave a weary laugh. "Stop messing around. Let’s start investigating the people on the deck."

Lucas Grant nodded, looking at the adult men remaining on the deck. None of them looked particularly sturdy, not like they could snap a neck with their bare hands.

"Madeline Quinn?"

But in that short time, in the few moments it took for Zeke Shaw to turn around and speak to us... Madeline Quinn, who had been examining the body outside the fifteenth-floor restroom, was gone.

Zeke Shaw’s heart leaped into his throat. "Madeline Quinn!"

Asher and I chased after him.

"You two stay here and investigate," Asher ordered Felix Foster and Lucas Grant.

We quickly descended to the fifteenth floor and rushed into the restroom, but there was no sign of Madeline Quinn.

It was as if... in an instant, she had vanished right from under our noses.

"Madeline Quinn..." I stood frozen, breathing heavily, and pounded my forehead with my fist.

’No... that’s not right... The killer was definitely on the deck just now. He didn’t have enough time to leave the crime scene. But how did he take Madeline...’ I looked around nervously and ran out of the restroom.

Just as I was frantically trying to figure out how the killer had done it, Asher kicked a stooped old woman who was passing by, sending her to the ground.

The old woman cried out in pain, looking at Asher with a frightened expression.

The rest of us all ran over.

"Asher, you..." Zeke Shaw looked at Asher, confused.

’In the past, I probably would have instinctively questioned Asher, too, wondering how he could attack an old person.’

’But now, I trust that he has a reason for everything he does.’

I stepped forward and grabbed the person’s collar. I saw that the wrinkles on their skin were unnatural, caused by something like dried liquid latex that had contracted. And this wasn’t a woman—it was a man in disguise. "Where is Madeline Quinn!"

Seeing me rip off the person’s wig, Zeke Shaw charged forward and landed a kick of his own. "Where is Madeline Quinn!"

The killer dropped the act, leaning against the wall and laughing maniacally. "It only takes me... a few seconds to kill someone. You’re too late... She’s already dead."

I felt my breathing grow ragged, and my fingers started to tremble.

As I lost control of my senses, I vaguely heard Zeke Shaw and Lucas Grant shouting my name.

When I came to, I found I had dragged the killer into the restroom. My hands were covered in blood...

The killer was on the verge of death, but he was still smiling at me. "We... are the same."

I punched him in the bridge of the nose, my voice low. "A perfectionist like you wouldn’t kill so hastily. You would hide her first, wait for us to be far away, and then make your move. Then you’d arrange her just the way you like..."

The killer looked at me, a flicker of emotion in his eyes. "You’re the mastermind behind the serial killings? The one who provoked me... who lured me onto this ship?"

I froze for a second. ’What does he mean by that?’ "What do you mean?"

"The serial killer in Meridia... he sent me a taunting letter. He even killed my dog of six years... He called me trash and dared me... to come to Meridia and get on this cruise ship. He said he would be waiting for me here. The reason I’m killing... is to lure him out. I know he’s on this cruise ship..." The killer eyed me and the others—Asher and the rest—who had just rushed in.

My blood ran cold. ’The serial killer... the one who murdered Cecilia Caldwell, the person from my memory with the red birthmark on their arm, that hoarse and familiar voice...’