"According to the forensic center's report, the jute and cotton fibers recovered from the victim are extremely common on the market. You could buy them in almost any roadside shop. A similar case occurred last night. At 10:25 P.M. on June twelfth, we received a report that another female body had been found near Yonghua Shop on Liyuan Road." Lin Xiu's gaze accidentally brushed over the photographs, and the sight seemed to stab at the corners of his eyes.
He paused, then continued. "The manner of death was the same as Bai Yu's."
As his words ended, another woman's photograph appeared on the screen. Unlike Bai Yu's delicate, girl-next-door beauty, this woman possessed a mature allure. Her dark-brown hair fell in wavy curls, her almond-shaped eyes tilted slightly upward, and dark-red gloss colored her thin lips. She held up a V-sign to the camera.
Looking at the photograph, Lin Xiu could not help sighing. She had clearly been such a cheerful woman…
"The victim, Wang Minxi, was twenty-eight and worked as a wedding photographer. Wang Minxi lost contact with her family after leaving home at ten in the morning on June tenth, so Lin Hanjie filed a report. Last night, we found her body on the food street. Based on the method, we can essentially confirm that the same killer was responsible."
Meng Xuecheng took one last drag, then crushed the cigarette hard into the ashtray.
He stood. "The killer is extremely cautious. The first body was found in an old district where there are almost no cameras anywhere. The second dump site was changed to a back alley on the food street, another surveillance blind spot. Both victims' families said they were mild-tempered, got along well with people, and couldn't possibly have made enemies. Wenye, tell us about the victims' backgrounds."
Lin Xiu released a breath as though granted amnesty and returned to his seat.
At the same time, Fu Wenye walked forward with tousled short hair and faint dark circles beneath his eyes. He plugged a USB drive into the computer and began the second round of reporting.
"Let's start with the first victim. Brother Lin already mentioned some of this. Bai Yu asked her husband, Luo Yifeng, for a divorce while she was pregnant, and they separated. After the separation, Bai Yu moved into a house her mother had left her. Luo Yifeng visited her three times a week on a regular basis. I investigated both of their workplaces, and revenge killing can basically be ruled out. Bai Yu grew up in a single-parent household and was raised by her mother alone. Her mother died of stomach cancer two years ago, so apart from Luo Yifeng, you could say she had no family at all. Yesterday Brother Lin and I went to Fengdong Bank, where she used to work. According to her colleagues, Bai Yu was warm and kind. Whenever she came back from a trip, she brought them gifts. If coworkers asked her for small favors, she never refused, so everyone in the company liked her and she had good relationships there. As for Luo Yifeng, he truly is an ordinary high-school mathematics teacher. He gets along well with his students, has a stable income, and both his parents are alive."
Fu Wenye lightly clicked the mouse to turn a page. "The second victim, Wang Minxi, married Lin Hanjie two years ago. Lin Hanjie is certain his wife never made enemies. Wang Minxi founded a volunteer organization that helps stray cats and dogs. We contacted people in the organization, and they all said she was very compassionate… We've just sent people to bring Wang Minxi's parents here. They should arrive in about half an hour." Fu Wenye rubbed his dry eyes and continued. "The two victims didn't know each other. Based on their social relationships, we can essentially rule out both revenge and crimes of passion."
Meng Xuecheng rose and pulled open the curtain along the last row. Sunlight fell across his sharply defined face.
He narrowed his eyes at the distance, his deep, unreadable gaze filled with coldness.
Everyone in the conference room exchanged looks. No one dared speak, afraid of provoking this difficult man. The entire bureau knew Meng Xuecheng was usually easygoing and playful, but the moment there was a case, everyone had to choose their words around him.
After a long moment, he finally said, "Xiaojing, you and Lin Xiu investigate everywhere Bai Yu might have gone before she was killed, including her residence. Check everything carefully. Xiaowen, you and Qin Gui investigate Wang Minxi, and stop by Lin Hanjie's company while you're at it." He turned to look at Fu Wenye. The bird's nest on top of his head was simply too conspicuous. Meng Xuecheng knew he had barely slept half the night, and his tone softened unusually. "Fu Wenye, go wash your face, then come with me to meet Wang Minxi's family."
After the meeting ended, everyone immediately returned to their previous state of frantic activity.
Once the others had left, Meng Xuecheng lit another cigarette and slowly exhaled rings of smoke.
Fu Wenye sorted documents nearby. He could no longer remember how long it had been since he had dealt with such a deranged serial murder case.
"Captain Meng, we have absolutely no leads right now…" he said quietly, his eyes drifting toward Meng Xuecheng every so often as he secretly studied his expression.
Meng Xuecheng rarely smoked unless he was angry, so everyone had long agreed that whenever Meng Xuecheng lit a cigarette, somebody was about to have a very bad day.
They were coworkers, after all. It was only considerate to warn everyone early enough to buy some personal accident insurance…
Meng Xuecheng said nothing. Smoke veiled his face like a thin gauze, making his expression impossible to read.
Afraid of stepping on his tail, Fu Wenye quickly finished arranging the files and shot into the restroom next door to wash his face. He cupped water in both hands and splashed it over himself, then looked into the mirror and was abruptly frightened by his own dark circles.
His skin was naturally pale, making the panda-like rings beneath his eyes stand out even more.
At that moment, the conference-room door opened again.
The newcomer had short black hair, gold-rimmed glasses perched on a high nose, and a slightly open collar. His deep voice carried across the room. "This is the first time I've seen you like this. You look completely out of ideas."
Meng Xuecheng did not turn around. He remained standing at the window, a cigarette held between his long index and middle fingers, speaking almost as though to himself. "If it's a serial case, who will he choose next?"
A killer this cruel was also absurdly careful, leaving not even the slightest piece of evidence behind, like a ghost.
Jiang Xuanqing leaned against the wall. "This should be the worst case I've encountered since I was transferred to Linqi City."
Meng Xuecheng flicked his cigarette, and a thin trail of ash fell into the ashtray.
Jiang Xuanqing continued on his own. "Director He came to see you yesterday, didn't he?"
Only then did Meng Xuecheng turn around. He looked at Jiang Xuanqing, curled his lips, and pulled them into a mocking smile. "You think I can't handle it either?"
"It's not that you can't handle it. Time isn't waiting for anyone. There are only so many people on the team, and the higher-ups are putting Director He under heavy pressure."
"And bringing in an outsider is supposed to solve that? Who knows where that person came from? If he's being forced in through connections, isn't that just wasting everyone's time?" Meng Xuecheng fired back at once. There was heat in his eyes, an anger he was visibly suppressing.
Jiang Xuanqing's position was different from the others on the team. He was not Meng Xuecheng's subordinate, so naturally he had no need to be overly cautious with him.
Jiang Xuanqing asked, "Even if he did get in through connections, what can you do about it?"
"Captain Meng, I'm ready." Fu Wenye pushed open the conference-room door, only for the gunpowder in the air to rush straight into his nose and make his head hurt.
He looked at Meng Xuecheng's dark expression, then at Jiang Xuanqing. Alarm bells immediately rang in his mind—these two were seconds away from fighting!
Just as Fu Wenye prepared to retreat, Meng Xuecheng pulled a business card from his pocket and threw it at him. With a black expression, he said, "Contact this person."
"Huh?" Fu Wenye reacted quickly, caught the card, and flipped it over.
A psychologist?
Why were they suddenly contacting a psychologist?
Fu Wenye was baffled, but given the terrible look on his captain's face, he decided to swallow the question. With complete sincerity, he said, "Yes, Captain. I'll do it right away."
He walked back several steps and muttered, "What psychologist…"
Fu Wenye felt an extremely unfriendly gaze sticking to him. He looked up and met Jiang Xuanqing's inscrutable eyes. The next second, he practically oiled the soles of his feet and fled the conference room.
Meng Xuecheng stubbed out his cigarette. Last night's conversation with Director He surfaced in his mind—
"Xuecheng, you know Country A's foreign minister will be visiting us soon. With a case like this happening now, the higher-ups are nervous. They want us to solve it as quickly as possible…"
"What exactly do you mean? You might as well say it directly."
"If you're too busy, I have someone…"
Meng Xuecheng smiled. "You think I'm not capable of handling a case like this?"
Director He sighed heavily and placed a business card on the desk. His callused fingers stroked its smooth surface almost tenderly. "If I didn't trust you, why would I have promoted you to this position? I only want to let him try."
Meng Xuecheng did not understand the second half of that sentence, but he could not be bothered to ask. At the time, it had never crossed his mind that he might need anyone else's help.
Director He had personally raised Meng Xuecheng through the ranks and naturally knew his temper, so he did not push him head-on. "Take it for now. The choice is yours."
Meng Xuecheng did not even look at the name on the card. He shoved it into his pocket and left, slamming the door.
…
Fu Wenye studied the card. Black lettering on white. The blue emblem exclusive to Linqi City Central Hospital was printed on the left; a name and office hours appeared on the right.
"Weird…" Fu Wenye muttered. "Who exactly is this guy?"
Since he had a little spare time, he secretly looked up the psychologist's background.
To his surprise, this was no ordinary psychologist. Before this, he had been a member of a special task force in Xinning City, had participated in many major cases, and had even solved a number of long-standing cold cases.
Fu Wenye immediately entered the man's name into the police intranet. Strangely, there was no record of him anywhere in the database. "Huh? What's going on?"
Qin Gui leaned his head over. "What's going on with what?"
"Holy shit! You scared me to death! When did you get here?" Fu Wenye clutched his little heart and glared at Qin Gui.
Qin Gui looked innocent. "I've been here the whole time…"
Was his presence really that weak?
"Right, do you know about Case 620?" Fu Wenye grabbed Qin Gui's sleeve and asked in a low voice.
Qin Gui disdainfully slapped his paw away. "What the hell is that? Six-twenty…" He suddenly paused. "You mean the June 20 explosion?" He frowned and glanced around warily, lowering his voice. "Why are you asking about that?"
Fu Wenye knew he had asked the right person. He decisively grabbed Qin Gui's sleeve again and refused to let him pull his arm back. "Why can't I find any record of that case on the intranet? Even the information on the officers involved is blank?"
Under normal police practice, the intranet kept records of every officer, whether they had retired or even died in the line of duty. For the information to have been erased completely like this was far too abnormal.
Qin Gui's eyes darkened. "That case… There were insiders colluding with criminals. Information was leaked repeatedly, causing multiple operations to fail. The people responsible for the case were either killed or injured, and the special task force completely fell apart. Some of the people who left the team were later targeted for assassination. To protect those who remained, the police deleted all the records."
Fu Wenye looked at him. "Then have you ever heard of someone named Su Yang?"
Qin Gui's pupils contracted sharply.