Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The short distance of just a few hundred meters seemed to stretch on for an eternity for Captain Zhou. Upon returning to our room, Captain Zhou leaned against the bed, the frozen tears on his face melting away with the new warm tears that flowed down his cheeks.
I knew that asking Captain Zhou about Russell Mei at this moment would be an insensitive thing to do. However, the investigation had reached this point, and the murderer was becoming increasingly erratic. If we didn't gather information quickly, the murderer might stay one step ahead of us.
With that thought in mind, I finally asked, "Captain Zhou, when did you lose contact with Russell Mei?"
Captain Zhou turned to look at me and, through his sobs, replied, "A week ago. She hasn't contacted me since then—actually, it was nine days ago. We had just had an argument, and in anger, she blocked all my contact methods."
"I'm not very good with emotions," Captain Zhou wiped away his tears with his hand. "She didn't reach out to me, and I didn't want to bother her further. So time passed like that, but I never expected something like this would happen..."
I nodded and then asked, "Does Russell Mei usually have a habit of wearing nail polish?"
Captain Zhou looked at me, while Guan Zengbin and Gu Chen also regarded me with questioning expressions. From their looks, I could tell they wanted to convey something. My question was so direct that they naturally sensed the interrogative tone behind it.
Guan Zengbin stared at me, seemingly doubting Captain Zhou's insensitivity at this moment. But I couldn't rule out any possibility in solving the case, especially at such a critical time. I needed to eliminate every person's suspicion or find every person's involvement.
Captain Zhou caught my implication as well and said, "No, Mei is thirty this year. She never wore those things when she was with me. I've never seen her wear nail polish, so how could I have thought that those legs and arms belonged to Mei..."
Guan Zengbin shook his head and said, "Even though I've never worn nail polish or makeup myself, I've seen enough to know what it looks like. Back in school, I often went with my best friend to get our nails done. From what I saw on those nails, it’s clear that it wasn't something she could do herself. I think Mei must have gone to a specialized salon."
Hearing Guan Zengbin's words, I added, "Captain Zhou, when she left after your argument nine days ago, did she have nail polish on?"
Captain Zhou replied firmly, "No, I'm sure of that. Otherwise, I would have noticed right away."
So it meant that Russell Mei must have gone missing after getting her nails done. If we could determine when Russell Mei was last seen by others, we could pinpoint when she disappeared and identify who she met last.
But then the question arose: why did Russell Mei come to Tou Gou Zi Village? Why did she die there? Did she have any special connection to Tou Gou Zi Village?
I spoke up reassuringly, "Don't worry, Captain Zhou. No matter who killed Russell Mei, I will find the murderer."
At that moment, my phone buzzed a few times, signaling a new message on WeChat. I pulled out my phone and saw that it was from Mary: "I found the newspaper you were looking for regarding Russell Mei. I'm still investigating."
Attached to her message was a newspaper article from many years ago, the Legal Evening News. Its headline read: "A Review of the Twenty Most Notorious Perverted Killers in the World." This time, I finally managed to read through the twelve Perverted Killers listed in the article. With each one I read, my brow furrowed tighter.
Indeed, the details of Russell Mei's murder and the Body Dump Case were all documented in this newspaper.
One killer used a blunt instrument to sever a person's thigh; this incident occurred in America. The Murderer was a butcher, who is now deceased.
Another trained dogs to bite off people's arms; this happened in Russia. The Murderer was a hunter, who is currently missing.
One used human flesh to make dumplings; this took place in China. The Murderer was an employee at a restaurant and is now deceased.
No wonder my Criminal Profiling depicted a butcher's image, as the Murderer deliberately employed someone else's killing methods while dismembering victims, rather than expressing his own mindset. Why did the Murderer use different dismemberment techniques on the same body?
I now have three conclusions.
First, the Murderer has a deep-seated grudge against Russell Mei. The dismemberment occurred while Russell Mei was still Alive. It is rare for even the most twisted Murderers to commit such brutal acts while their Victim is still living.
If this is the motive, then after killing, the Murderer would not be satisfied with just taking a life. He would want to use our voices to inform others about who he had killed. This mindset is akin to someone who aces an exam and desperately wants everyone to know about it. If this were true, it would make sense that the Murderer eagerly used Russell Mei's phone to share information about the deceased.
Second, the Murderer has a vendetta against Captain Zhou. People often wish others long lives filled with solitude. Many times, our desire for someone to suffer does not stem from wanting them dead. Death is an escape; it means they know nothing anymore. As long as they are Alive, there are countless ways to make them suffer.
If this is the motive, only Captain Zhou knows if he has done something wrong to someone else. Only he knows if there are people who harbor such deep hatred for him that they would kill him and still feel unsatisfied; they would want him to suffer while he is still Alive.
Third, the Murderer's motive could be hatred towards the police. He may not have any personal vendettas against two specific individuals; rather, because Russell Mei is Captain Zhou's girlfriend and he is a police officer, the Murderer seeks revenge. This kind of twisted psychology often stems from having been treated unfairly by law enforcement or believing he has been treated unfairly.
If this is indeed the motive, we must investigate whether any villagers have criminal records or if their family members do. If there are criminal records, they will certainly be documented. With this thought in mind, I took out my phone and sent Mary a text asking her to look into the villagers' criminal records.
From the current situation, these are the three most likely motives for murder that I can think of. Regardless of which motive it is, the Murderer seems to be getting restless.
If you were a murderer who dismembers victims, what would be the best choice to let us know the identity of the deceased?
You guessed it right; it would naturally be to throw out the victim's head.
However, the Murderer did not choose this method. Instead, they sent us a text message using Russell Mei's phone. But investigating from this angle is futile; phone location tracking can only pinpoint a range, and we already know that the Murderer must be a villager from this village.
So why did the Murderer choose not to throw out the head but instead use this method?
Shaking my head, I set this thought aside for now. The best thing to verify at this moment is actually my second idea: whether Captain Zhou has any enemies. When I shared my thoughts with Captain Zhou, he fell into a brief contemplation.
After a long pause, Captain Zhou shook his head. His voice was hoarse as he said, "No, I don't have any enemies. You all know me; I’ve never been one to hold grudges. I rarely get into arguments with people, so how could I have enemies? It shouldn't be someone who hates me."
At that moment, Gu Chen spoke up, "Could it be someone from those criminals you’ve caught?"
Captain Zhou frowned but slowly replied, "That’s not possible either. You know that murders are rare in Yumu City. The people I've caught were mostly involved in fights or petty thefts; the worst was just assault. None of them were related to murder—would they really go that far?"
"Once they're caught," Captain Zhou sighed, "there's no escaping the death penalty. To take revenge on me at the cost of their own life? That's too great a risk; I doubt those I've apprehended would do something like that."
Seeing Captain Zhou's resolute demeanor, we can rule out this second point. He doesn’t seem to have any deep-seated grudges; the Murderer likely isn’t targeting Captain Zhou.
But verifying the first and third points is difficult right now; everything hinges on waiting for news from Mary.
Just as I was thinking this, Mary sent a message informing me about Russell Mei's last known whereabouts before her disappearance.
Russell Mei hadn’t gone missing nine days ago; the last time anyone saw her was three days prior, on the morning of when she was murdered.
The last person to see Russell Mei was an employee at a nail salon, a male staff member named Tony.
Since it hadn't been long since the incident, when Mary called Tony, he still remembered Russell Mei. That morning, heavy snow had fallen, and she was the only customer in the shop. Tony found it a bit strange and asked her why she had come out to get her nails done in such weather.
Russell Mei told Tony that she had an appointment with someone at noon.
Tony then asked if she was so happy because she was meeting her husband, wondering if it was their wedding anniversary.
Russell Mei replied that she wasn't married yet; the person she was meeting was a fool. This fool was about to give her five hundred thousand, which would be enough for her to buy a big house in Yumu City. Finally, she would have a place to call home.
Seeing Russell Mei so cheerful, Tony hurriedly recommended that she get a full set of nails, and Russell Mei happily accepted.
Mary sent over photos of Russell Mei's nails, and Tony confirmed that these were indeed the nails Russell Mei had done.
Russell Mei left the nail salon around eleven o'clock in the morning.
Her time of death was estimated to be between one and three o'clock in the afternoon.
Who did she go to meet? Why would that person give her five hundred thousand?
Could the person she was meeting be the murderer?
What could have happened in such a short span of time?
Comment 0 Comment Count