The Brain Science Case 35

Chapter 35: The Body That Vanished in a Bloody Foam – 1

#My fault… it’s all my fault.

**

Looking at the naked female corpse in the bathroom, Cai Yuwei fought back the urge to vomit, put on his gloves, and, after a brief prayer to the deceased, approached.

The flashing of the camera bleached the deceased’s skin, but it could not change the bright red fatal wound.

The forensics team took a few photos from the side of the body and then collected a blood sample from the glass wall. The wound was on her abdomen, a single slash down the middle of her body. Other than that, there were no obvious external injuries. The victim was slumped against the wall, her wet, long hair covering her face, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Her expression must not be pretty.

The person who had found her was the manager of the motel. The guest had long overstayed her three-hour booking, and when she didn’t answer the phone in her room, he had gone in to check. He had heard the sound of the shower, but no one had answered his calls. Finally, he had found the guest dead in the shower, and had scrambled to call the police.

The killer must have struck while the victim was showering and her guard was down. No weapon was left at the scene.

The shower was still on.

“The blood has all been washed away…” He covered his mouth and nose and reached out to turn off the water.

Probably to avoid drawing attention, the killer had not taken her bag, but the victim’s phone and wallet were missing, along with her ID. It would probably take some time to identify her.

“Find anything?”

That voice… Cai Yuwei turned at the sound. “B-B-Brainy Teacher!” he exclaimed, then covered his mouth to hide his gaffe.

Tang Yingli ignored the nickname and, as usual, stepped into the murder scene in a long black dress and high heels.

“Teacher, your injury…”

“It’s all healed. I even gained two kilograms.” She pushed up her glasses and carefully examined the toilet and sink.

“Really? That’s good. Did Jinglin drive you here?” It was 8:05, less than an hour since the report had been made.

“Yes. Officer Zhou is confirming the victim’s check-in time and other information. She’ll be up in a bit.” She rested her chin on her hand and looked at the toothbrush in the cup. “Only one toothbrush was left, but two packages were opened… very careful.”

“Probably to avoid leaving DNA.” Both at home and abroad, police procedural shows were always popular. Although some people were inspired to join the police force because of them, it also made suspects more cautious, which directly affected the difficulty of an investigation.

Her gaze shifted to the shower, forcing Cai Yuwei to quickly move aside. She looked at the bloodstains on the glass wall, and finally at the body.

“Officer Cai, you haven’t answered my question.”

He snapped back to reality. “Huh?”

The corners of her lips lifted. “D-i-d y-o-u f-i-n-d a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g?” The slow, deliberate repetition of her words was chilling.

“I’ve answered three of your questions, but you still haven’t answered mine.”

“Uh, y-yes, the body only has, only has this wound,” he said, pointing at the body.

“Mm.”

“Uh… no other traces of the killer were found, other than the toothbrush. She checked in alone. That means…” Scratching his head, he suddenly widened his eyes. “The killer either snuck in here beforehand, or they were already here.”

“Mm.” She crossed her arms. “Anything else?”

“Um…”

“I’m almost done here,” a forensics officer suddenly said, taking another photo. “Ah Wei, you and the teacher continue to observe. I’m going to take pictures somewhere else.”

“Oh, thanks, Brother Gui.” After the forensics officer left the bathroom, Cai Yuwei turned back to the body, his expression immediately twisting.

“Ah, T-Teacher, you…” In the blink of an eye, Tang Yingli had put on gloves and stepped into the shower.

“L-Let us handle the examination of the body. You can wait until you get back to the station and talk to Dr. Tao…”

“The floor is so wet.” She glanced at the glass wall, where the water droplets and the dry wall formed a faint line. “The blood spattered here… applying the blood spatter model, it’s consistent with the fatal wound. Given the thickness of the steam, the shower was just turned off, wasn’t it?” Her index finger lightly wiped away the mist on the wall.

“Yes, I turned it off,” he confessed.

Ignoring her soaked dress, Tang Yingli crouched down and brushed back the victim’s long hair. Cai Yuwei let out a small gasp and looked away. The deceased’s bulging eyes and pained, twisted features… ugh, he was probably going to have nightmares tonight.

“No obvious external injuries to the face, and no signs of a struggle on the limbs. Based on the degree of rigor mortis, the time of death is estimated to be over three hours ago.” There was a small bruise on the back of her head, which could be interpreted as a contusion caused by the impact at the moment of death.

“The killer probably held the knife around their waist, and when the deceased was showering, they pulled open the door, rushed at her, stabbed her in the diaphragm, and then cut downwards, right?” After estimating the deceased’s height, she made a decisive deduction. “Height is about one seventy to one seventy-five, male.”

“H-Huh?”

“Right?” She deliberately stepped out of the shower and kicked off her high heels. “Like this…” She held a pen at her waist and quickly pulled open the door, rushing toward the body.

“The height is just right.” The tip of the pen touched the wall the deceased was leaning against, and Cai Yuwei could almost hear the victim’s scream as she was stabbed.

“The bloodstains at the scene also show this distribution… although a lot of it has been washed away.”

He was dumbfounded and could only nod in agreement.

“The bottom edge is not smooth, the blade is serrated… it didn’t pierce through the body.” She lifted the deceased’s hand to look at it. “The nail polish is still bright, and she’s wearing circle lenses. Based on this, I deduce the deceased’s profession… I don’t think the possibility of a crime of passion is high, although we still need to clarify the case further to be sure.”

A series of footsteps came from outside the door. “Ah Wei, where are you in the investigation… Teacher! Why are you standing in the bathroom…”

“You’re here?” Tang Yingli checked under the fingernails, hoping to find any suspicious skin flakes. “What did the manager say?”

“The victim checked in around 3:50 in the afternoon. The owner said that although he didn’t know the victim, he had seen her several times, sometimes alone, but usually with a man.” Looking at the high heels Tang Yingli had kicked to the side, Zhou Jinglin sighed slightly and emphasized, “‘Different’ men.”

“She checked in alone today?”

“Yes, but we can’t rule out that she had an appointment.”

“A transaction, then…” Her gaze followed the victim’s legs down to her toes. Her toenails were also painted. “Did anyone come to see her after she checked in?”

“No.”

“She didn’t say she was expecting anyone, but she took an empty room…” Tang Yingli rested her chin on her hand. “But if the killer pretended not to have arrived yet, snuck into the motel beforehand, and then contacted her by phone, it wouldn’t be difficult in the case of a premeditated crime.”

“Should we investigate the guests who checked out after the time of death?”

“There’s no need for that.” She shook her head. “This place doesn’t require guests to leave their personal information. Let’s just check the surveillance cameras. See if we can find any suspicious individuals, especially men around my height.”

“I’ll go check right now.” Jinglin ran out of the room, her ponytail swinging.

Tang Yingli checked the drain and the shower head that had fallen at the deceased’s feet. “Officer Cai, do you have an evidence bag?”

“Oh, yes.”

She collected the hair from near the drain and handed it to him. “Take this along with the toothbrush and the packaging. Confirm if the toothbrush was used by the victim, and see if you can get the killer’s fingerprints from the packaging.”

“Okay, I’ll do it right now…”

Stepping out of the shower, Tang Yingli looked at him with a half-smile. “Officer Cai doesn’t seem to be very used to on-site investigations.”

“Uh, that’s not it…” he said with an awkward smile.

“Let’s take a closer look at the room. It would be great if we could find any traces of the killer… ah, and we still need to confirm the deceased’s identity.”

His eyes lit up. “Her bag is still here. I’ll go check.” Collecting information was his specialty.

Taking off her gloves, Tang Yingli rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll leave it to you then.”

**

According to the business card found on the victim, it was indirectly learned that she was a hostess at a club called “Starry Night,” with the stage name “Milk Tea.” Her real name was Cui Jiajia, and she was a university student who had been working there since the summer vacation.

Perhaps because she was young and good-looking, she was quite popular at the club. To pay for her living expenses, in addition to her regular salary, she often privately met with clients for transactions to earn extra money. Although the owners of various clubs explicitly forbid it, the situation of hostesses taking private clients was still rampant.

“A hostess? A high-risk profession, indeed.” Tang Yingli looked up at the whiteboard, where a detective had already posted the developed crime scene photos.

Fang Zijun returned to the office with a stack of files. “…Is Ah Qian back yet?”

“Dr. Tao will be here before 9:30.”

“He’s on his day off, it must be tough for him. You too.” He paused for a moment and asked, “Who’s watching the surveillance cameras?”

“Ah Wei! He’s been holed up at his desk since he got back, super dedicated,” the detective who was posting the photos said with a laugh. “To be on the safe side, Little Zhou pulled the data from noon to eight at night. Although there are only two cameras, at the counter and in the elevator, there’s still a lot to see.”

Fang Zijun frowned. “Only two?”

“It’s just a regular motel for young couples. You should be glad there are two, Chief.”

“True.” He came to the whiteboard and stood next to Tang Yingli. “Teacher, welcome back. But I’m sorry to have you investigate a scene as soon as you’re back.”

“It’s nothing to be sorry about. I’ve been lying down long enough. It’s good to get some exercise.” Her index finger touched her lip. “Dr. Tao isn’t here?”

“No. It’s late, and the other medical examiner is off duty, and he’s not as experienced as Ah Qian. For a murder case like this, it’s better to have him.”

“Chief!” Chen Huomu’s voice arrived before he did. “I’ve already sent people to the club to ask around. We might be able to find out which clients had private transactions with the victim.”

“Good. As expected of Ah Mu… who did you send?”

“Big Head, Ah Gui, and Little Zhou…”

“Jinglin?” Fang Zijun’s expression changed abruptly. “You sent Jinglin to Linsen North Road?”