Chapter 5: Weapon Identified and Suspicious Leads

"She was strangled into unconsciousness first, then struck on the head with a blunt object. The cause of death was traumatic brain injury," Clara explained.

Her fingertips lingered on the deceased's hyoid bone. "The damage to the hyoid and thyroid cartilage indicates violent strangulation while she was alive, but the fractures weren't severe enough to cause death by asphyxiation."

She picked up a magnifying glass and leaned closer to a fissure in the skull. "Look here. Bone fragments are embedded in the cranium, which means she was struck repeatedly before she died."

Leo Sterling’s brow darkened. "Strangulation followed by a lethal blow from a blunt instrument... This suggests a clear intent to kill, rather than a spur-of-the-moment crime of passion."

Clara nodded. "I'll need to do a 3D skull reconstruction to determine the approximate shape of the object. We also need to extract trace residues from the bone to see if we can identify the type of weapon."

Leo glanced at Clara. "Good work."

"Just doing my job."

As Clara was about to continue her tests, her stomach suddenly let out a loud growl.

From the discovery of the case this morning until now, nearly seven hours had passed, and she hadn't eaten a single thing.

"Stop working. Go eat something first," Leo commanded.

Clara brushed it off. "I'm fine—"

Before she could finish, the magnifying glass was snatched from her hand.

Leo looked at her coldly. "Go eat."

Clara pulled off her gloves and walked toward the door. "And in what capacity is Captain Sterling commanding me? As a one-night stand, a colleague, or the ex-fiancé of the 'other woman'?"

"Colleague," he replied, leaving without looking back.

Watching his stern back, Clara clenched her fist and playfully shook it at him.

In the next second, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he suddenly turned around.

He caught her mid-gesture.

"Forensic Ye, do you have a problem with me?"

Clara walked up to him. "Captain, we've had such an... 'intense' exchange, yet you act like a complete stranger. Are you really the type to pull up your pants and forget who I am?"

Leo narrowed his eyes. "Didn't you say you wouldn't bother me again?"

Clara curled her lips into a smirk. "What? Are you afraid I’ll get addicted to you and never let go?"

"The way you look at me," Leo said flatly, "isn't exactly professional."

A playful smile danced on Clara’s lips. "You know, the colder you act, the more I want to see you break down and beg for mercy."

Hearing her bold words, Leo’s jaw tightened. "I won't have another fling with a colleague, nor will I be anyone's 'friends with benefits'."

His implication was clear: outside of work, they were to be nothing more than strangers.

Looking at his rugged, impersonal face, Clara lightly licked her lips.

She was born with a rebellious streak. The more he pushed her away, the more she wanted to provoke him.

"We’ll see about that, Captain."

One day, she would make him beg to be in her bed.

Clara and Leo arrived at the cafeteria one after the other.

Rocky and Arthur waved them over. "Captain! Doc!"

Clara nodded, grabbed her tray, and sat directly across from Leo.

The group discussed the case for a while before Rocky, trying to lighten the mood, changed the subject. "Doc, do you have a boyfriend?"

Clara shot a glance at the cold man sitting across from her. "No, I don't."

Rocky’s eyes lit up. "Our Captain is single too!"

The moment the words left Rocky's mouth, he yelped and jumped. Someone had kicked him hard under the table.

"Ow! Who kicked me?" Rocky groaned.

Leo shot him a warning look. "Stop playing matchmaker."

Rocky rubbed the back of his head. "Cap, you aren't still stuck on your ex-fiancée, are you? She seemed so vain; she didn't deserve you at all."

"Shut up and eat!"

Rocky didn't dare say more.

Clara looked at the grumpy man and suddenly reached out with her leg, kicking him under the table.

Leo: "..."

Clara kicked him again.

Leo’s eye twitched. He glared at her, his expression saying:

Try that one more time.

She kicked him a third time.

Leo put down his chopsticks. "I'm full."

He stood up and strode out of the cafeteria.

Rocky watched him go, bewildered. "What's up with him? Is it his time of the month or something?"

After lunch, Clara received a call from her best friend, Alice.

"I am so fuming! I just saw that woman's post. She's flaunting a massive diamond ring from that jerk Sebastian. He didn't even get you one that big when you married him! I guess she really is 'mother of the year' now that she's pregnant!"

To keep tabs on the situation, Alice had used a burner account to follow Bianca White on social media.

In the past, this would have hurt. But now, Clara remained calm.

"Alice, just delete her. I have nothing to do with Sebastian anymore. I don't care what she flaunts."

"That jerk is blind," Alice huffed. "He's going to regret losing you."

After chatting with Alice, Clara returned to the lab.

After pulling an all-nighter, she took the results to find Leo. He hadn't slept either and was in the evidence room examining the suitcase.

"The thickness and material suggest vintage craftsmanship from decades ago. This type of welding hasn't been used in years..." Leo was analyzing the evidence with a technician.

"Trace the old hardware stores that manufactured these," Leo ordered.

"Yes, Cap."

As the technician left, he greeted Clara.

Leo turned to her, and she handed him the report.

"The DNA didn't match anyone in the database, but the skull injury was caused by a circular blunt object about 10cm in diameter—consistent with a heavy crystal ashtray. I also found trace amounts of a rare rose perfume on the remains. It's a niche brand."

Leo scanned the report and looked at her. "This information is very useful."

It was a rare, indirect acknowledgement of her competence.

Clara let out a yawn. "The rest is up to your team. I’m going home to sleep."

Leo nodded.

As Clara drove out, she saw Leo heading out with his team to investigate.

She had to admit, being a detective on the front lines was grueling work.

Through his investigation, Leo found the purchase records for that niche perfume over the past two years, filtering for women aged forty to forty-five.

Officers visiting old hardware shops also found a list of people who had customized that specific suitcase. The leads converged on a woman named Jane Ginger.

Jane had allegedly gone abroad a year ago to recover from an illness. Her social media was still being updated with overseas IP addresses.

However, the suspicious part was—