S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 2 Chapter 2

The Innocent Murderer 02 - Hidden Danger

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There are a lot of things in this world that, once the order is reversed, can make people feel a terrible feeling, especially limbs. The corpse in front of them showed a kind of extreme distortion, and the appearance of the messy corpses cut into letters was indescribable. All the people with cigarettes lit their cigarettes, suppressing the feeling of tumbling in their stomachs. Gongsun smiled, "Don't say it, this thing is really more disgusting than abnormal, especially the corpse."

"How long have they been dead?" Bai Yutang asked Gongsun.

"Three days." Gongsun pinched out the cigarette butt in the cigarette case and put on the gloves. "We didn't dare to go in. I want you to take a look first."

Bai Yutang nodded, squatted down and looked at the incision carefully, and said to Gongsun, "This cut is too neat."

"Indeed," Gongsun nodded. "it was done by a person with professional medical knowledge and who is proficient in anatomy."

Everyone's attention was on the corpse, but Zhan Zhao raised his foot carefully to avoid the blood stains and walked into the living room.

"Cat?" Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao puzzledly, and saw him slowly walking into the centre of the living room, staring at an unfinished jigsaw puzzle on the coffee table.

This is a puzzle of Doraemon. The style is very cute, but it is only half of the puzzle, leaving a blank in the middle.

"Probably what the kid was putting together… " Luo Tian looked down and said, a little lost.

Zhan Zhao walked around the coffee table, stood in front of the sofa, and looked down at the jigsaw puzzle.

Everyone was attracted by Zhan Zhao's strange behaviour. Bai Yutang and Gongsun looked at each other, stood up, walked to Zhan Zhao's side, and looked down at the puzzle.

Zhan Zhao suddenly raised his head and looked around, as if he was looking for something, his eyes faintly anxious.

"Cat, what are you looking for?" Bai Yutang asked in a low voice, reaching out to pat Zhan Zhao.

"There is one more…" Zhan Zhao whispered as he walked out of the crowd, anxiously circled the room a few times, and his eyes finally fell on a shoe box facing the living room by the door. 

He walked quickly, squatted down in front of the shoe box, and looked back at Bai Yutang nervously.

Bai Yutang led the crowd towards him and saw Zhan Zhao gently tugging on the lid of the shoe box. The shoe box lid opened slowly. Everyone took a breath of air, and saw a four or five-year-old girl curled up inside, with a pair of eyes wide open. They were huge, staring at the crowd closely, and it could be seen from her slightly undulating chest that she was still alive.

"Call an ambulance!" Bai Yutang shouted, and Bai Chi quickly called for an ambulance.

Zhan Zhao stretched out his hand and shook it before the little girl's eyes. Her eyes didn't even blink.

Gongsun leaned over to look at her, and whispered, "There is a problem with her pupils, this child is terrified."

Bai Yutang reached out and lifted the child out. She didn't even react at all, and it was obvious that she had been hiding in it for three days, she was too weak.

Soon, the doctor came and took the little girl into an ambulance. Bai Chi and Luo Tian followed, leaving the others to continue to check the scene.

Everyone was busy separately, but Zhan Zhao sat on the sofa, looking down at the puzzles on the table in a daze.

"Cat, even though it's your relative on this puzzle, you don't need to take it like this." Seeing his serious expression, Bai Yutang couldn't help teasing.

"Go away!" Zhan Zhao waved his hand and asked Bai Yutang, "Do you know how this puzzle is made?"

Bai Yutang touched his chin and shook his head.

Zhan Zhao pointed his finger to his left, "The little boy who died was sitting here." then gestured to the right, "The little girl. A man in the middle groups similar scattered puzzle pieces for two of them..." Zhan Zhao said, gesturing to a remote control on a separate couch next to him, "The dad is sitting on the couch flipping through the TV… the mom is in the kitchen ."

Bai Yutang raised his head and looked at Zhan Zhao for a long time, "You mean… where you're seated now, is where the murderer was sitting?"

Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"Then he should have known that there is still a little girl in this room," Bai Yutang was surprised, "why is she still alive?"

"Hmm…" Zhan Zhao pointed to the corpse at the door, and said, "The dad's leg and the boy's arm form "I", the mother's legs and head and the boy's torso form "YOU", and the remaining pieces form "LOVE", one is not much, and one is not too little."

"You don't think that the murderer let the little girl off the hook because he was trying to save raw materials, do you?" Bai Yutang asked.

"To be precise… giving you these individual body parts, how long will it take you to make ILOVEYOU?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang.

"Don't ask me such a perverted question." Bai Yutang shook his head.

"The scene was cleaned up very clean." Zhan Zhao said, "The murderer's actions were obviously premeditated, so he should have planned carefully in advance. In other words, the basis of his consideration is three people."

"When the building security called the police, it was said that it was a family of three, not three from a family of four." Bai Yutang nodded, "In other words, the little girl is not from this family, she came here unexpectedly."

"The murderer shut her in the shoebox because he was afraid that she would come out and mess up the scene." Zhan Zhao thought for a while, "Her pupils are dilated… hypnotised."

"What?" Bai Yutang was puzzled, "Hypnotise the child?"

"This murderer is not simple." Zhan Zhao went to the door and stared at the corpse on the ground and asked, "Guess who he loves?"

"It's fine if it's not me." Bai Yutang shrugged indifferently, and walked out of the building to get some fresh air.

Soon, the team collecting evidence and taking pictures were all busy. Gongsun asked someone to transport the corpses back, and he went back with the car. The others collected the team, but Bai Yutang could not be found.

Zhan Zhao told the others to go back first, but he made two turns and walked to the back of the community. Before taking a few steps, he saw Bai Yutang sitting on the fence outside the basketball court, talking with a few high school students. Zhan Zhao walked over, patted him, and said, "They are all gone." Bai Yutang nodded, leaving the few students alone, jumped off the fence, and walked back with Zhan Zhao.

"What do you think?" Bai Yutang asked.

"There has been no similar murder so far, so I think revenge seeking is more likely." Zhan Zhao walked and looked at the environment of the community, "This place is nice."

"Yes, there are schools nearby, and the flow of people is relatively large." Bai Yutang sighed, "It's not easy to investigate."

When the two got into the car, Bai Yutang started the car and asked the silent Zhan Zhao, "What's the matter Cat, you seemed off just now."

Zhan Zhao looked at the scenery along the road and suddenly asked, "Xiao Bai, don't you think that this is not the murderer’s first crime?"

After hearing this, Bai Yutang was silent for a while, and said, "After entering the house, I feel that this is definitely not the first time he has killed."

"You think so too?" Zhan Zhao was even more worried, "Where did the people who he killed before them go? Such an obvious style should be found as soon as you investigate."

"This guy is really a pervert!" Bai Yutang said as he drove the car. "To commit a crime so flamboyantly just to get the attention of the police, to look like he wants to challenge and look like he wants to hide at the same time, to leave a witness behind when he's obviously a veteran, it's the first time I've seen such a contradictory killer."

"Calm down, Captain Bai…" Zhan Zhao smiled and patted Bai Yutang on the shoulder, and said, "This case is so bizarre, and Bao Sir will definitely say, "You have to solve this case in half a month, or you will clean the toilet."" 

Bai Yutang's face turned black. Seeing the cat beside him gloating, he laughed after thinking about it and asked, "Cat, you finished writing?"

… An arrow hit Zhan Zhao’s sore spot, and the cat became irritated! Flicking a paw, he is going to fight the damn mouse.

While he was making a noise, Bai Yutang suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Fang Wo's case was handled by Uncle An, right?"

Zhan Zhao was asked for a moment, "Why are you suddenly asking about Fang Wo?"

"I heard from Bao Sir this morning that Fang Wo will be sentenced in two days." Bai Yutang said lightly, "It seems that Uncle An has decided to retire as soon as Fang Wo's case is closed."

"Uncle An is the same age as your dad, right?" Zhan Zhao asked, "It's really not easy to retire."

"Yes." Bai Yutang turned the steering wheel and the car slowly approached the police station. The two of them were taken aback.

"Why are so many people gathered around?" Zhan Zhao pointed to several news vehicles and many individuals in front of the police station building, "What's this for?!"

Bai Yutang stopped the car, got out of the car, and heard many people shouting: "Fang Wo is not guilty, let Fang Wo go… The police are looking for a scapegoat…"

"Wow…." Zhan Zhao got out of the car, "this is the first time I have seen this type of battle."

"They should go to the gate of the court to make trouble, what are they doing here at the police station?" Bai Yutang frowned and entered the building through the side door with Zhan Zhao. As soon as he entered the door, he saw a young girl rushing up and shouted, "Dr. Zhan? Are you Dr. Zhan?"

Zhan Zhao was taken aback and nodded.

"This!" The girl stuffed a thick book to Zhan Zhao, and said, "I am a graduate student in psychology at T University. I know that you are an authority in this area. Please take a look at my survey information! Fang Wo was wronged!"

"Huh?" Zhan Zhao looked at the girl in a puzzled manner. At this moment, a few security guards rushed up and asked the girl to go outside and said to Zhan Zhao, "Sorry, Dr. Zhan, they've been making a scene at the entrance for half a day, one slipped in without us noticing."

"Why? I have the right to speak." The girl said fiercely.

The security was also embarrassed, "Miss, this is the police station,no one is allowed to enter, can you go elsewhere if you want to make a scene?"

"Wait a minute," Zhan Zhao stopped the security guard and asked the girl, "are all the people at the door with you?"

"That’s right!" The girl nodded, glared at the security guard, and said to Zhan Zhao, "We are from the same school and we are doing psychology research with Teacher Lu Liang. Not long ago, Fang Wo sent a long letter to the teacher. The letter said that he was wrongly accused, so the teacher took us to do research on this subject. We performed many investigations and professional analyses, and the data and evidence are in this book, which proves that Fang Wo is innocent! But because we are an unofficial psychological institution, the evidence is not accepted, and the officer responsible for investigating this case does not listen to our opinions at all!"

"Dr. Zhan, can I bring them out?" The security guard looked at Zhan Zhao embarrassedly, "Letting them run into the police station, it will be hard for me to explain it to my boss."

"Sorry." Zhan Zhao nodded to the security guard, who immediately asked the girl to go out.

"Dr. Zhan, we just don't think we can wrong an innocent person in order to solve the case. Please take a look at the information…" After shouting, she left unwillingly.

Zhan Zhao looked at the large stack of materials in his hand, looked back at Bai Yutang, and when the two turned his head around, they saw an old man standing at the elevator entrance looking at them.

"Uncle An?" Bai Yutang greeted him.

An Youdao, an old policeman in his fifties, had a bad complexion and walked over slowly, saying, "What, Captain Bai wants to take over this case?"

Bai Yutang winked at Zhan Zhao, as if to say, "What should we do? The old man is getting mad."

Zhan Zhao noticed that An Youdao's eyes glanced at the pile of materials in his hands from time to time. When he thought about it, he returned Bai Yutang's wink, and Bai Yutang suddenly shouted, "Ah, Cat, you edit!"

"Ah?!" Zhan Zhao was horrified and said to Bai Yutang, "You block for me, I'll dodge first!" As he said that, he said to Uncle An, "Bye bye Uncle An." And in a flash, he rushed into the elevator.

An Youdao frowned and was just about to chase him, but heard Bai Yutang say: "Tsk… this group of students, half a bucket of water clanking, they are ignoring the laws of the country and the principles of heaven."

"You two," An Youdao sighed and shook his head, "don't forget that I watched you two grow up! If you are curious, check it out!" After speaking, he turned and left in a huff.

Bai Yutang touched his head in a shameless manner and went back to the office.

Gongsun’s autopsy was not over yet. Bai Yutang called the hospital, Bai Chi said that the little girl’s condition had stabilised, but she had been extremely stimulated and was now confused and unable to say anything, so further observation was needed.

After finishing the phone call, Bai Yutang asked everyone about the information obtained from their investigation.

"The little girl was called Zhao Jing, four years old, and is the niece of the deceased. The deceased Zhao Wuhua, 36 years old, was a professional accountant. His wife Wu Min was a university teacher, and his son Zhao Tong was six years old and had just started elementary school." Wang Chao read the information he had just found.

"Accountant…" Ma Han touched his chin. "Boss, it's easy to know too much in this profession and get killed by others, and it seems that his family is quite rich, maybe there is something at play."

Bai Yutang nodded, "You and Zhao Hu go check the deceased’s business contacts. Wang Chao and Zhang Long go check their social circle to see if there is any change in sentiments. Jiang Ping, you go search all similar dismemberment cases in the past six months, let's check them out."

"Yes!" Everyone split up and went off. Bai Yutang picked up his coat and wanted to ask Zhan Zhao to go to the hospital with him to see the child, but he saw that Zhan Zhao was seriously looking at the pile of materials in his hand.

"Cat, are you really reading it?" Bai Yutang leaned over, "Is this information reliable?"

"Hmm..." Zhan Zhao shook his head lightly, and said, "It's behavioural analysis supported by some data… It can be supplemented but cannot be used as key evidence, because probability and paradigm cannot be done accurately in psychology."

"Is the Lu Liang mentioned by the girl just now the Lu Liang who goes around lectures 'mind determines behaviour'?" Bai Yutang asked suddenly.

"It should be." Zhan Zhao nodded, "but he is a wild card, and most of the psychology he talks about is superficial. It's okay to deceive ordinary people who don't have common sense of psychology, such as in business or in the workplace, but not when it’s for use in criminal investigation, it is so unreliable."

"Fang Wo's case is so turbulent, part of the reason is because of him, right?" Bai Yutang asked, "It seems like you often hear his name in the news along with Fang Wo's."

Zhan Zhao nodded, covered the information and said, "They are going to give Fang Wo a polygraph."

"A polygraph?" Bai Yutang was surprised, "Can it be approved?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, "Anyway, the most important thing now is that there is a murder weapon and no evidence. Once Fang Wo passes the polygraph test, it will be difficult to detain him again."

"Do you want to take charge?" Bai Yutang asked, "Let's take a look again, I don't think it's reliable."

Zhan Zhao nodded and said, "There are not many official psychological counselling detectives in China, but there are a few. If one is willing to help, it is possible to approve Fang Wo's polygraph."

"Let's take care of our case first." Bai Yutang collected Zhan Zhao's information and turned his face back, "This is waiting to be seen!"

Zhan Zhao nodded, collected the information, and went to the hospital with Bai Yutang.

They stayed in the hospital until nightfall, the little girl was sleeping the whole time. Eventually, Luo Tian and the police officer on duty were left to take care of her while the others called it a night and went back to the police station.

When they reached the small restaurant in front of the hospital, the three of them, hungry, went in, ordered a bowl of noodles each and talked about the case as they ate. The news was about the court approving a polygraph test for Fang Wo, and the reason was that several official psychologists agreed that Fang Wo was not the real culprit in the murder from the point of view of behavioural analysis. In the programme that followed, the host and guests talked about the usefulness of psychology in solving cases, and used Zhan Zhao's book as supporting evidence that psychology was miraculous.

Bai Yutang shook his head helplessly and pushed Zhan Zhao, saying, "Cat, if you don't eat the noodles, they will become rotten."  But he saw Zhan Zhao with his eyebrows furrowed, staring at the TV screen in a daze.

"Brother, what's the matter?" Bai Chi patted Zhan Zhao, "Are you tired?"

Zhan Zhao turned around and said suddenly, "It seems like… something is wrong."

"Where?" Bai Chi and Bai Yutang asked in unison.

"I haven't figured it out yet." Zhan Zhao picked up his bowl and ate his noodles, he had been preoccupied all night and felt that something was about to happen.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Note

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: March 12, 2021

Re-edited: March 14, 2022