The Brain Science Case 67

Chapter 67: Another Voice in the Brain – 4

While they were talking, the members of the Criminal Investigation Division had already set up a police cordon, and personnel had entered both rooms to search.

Jinglin looked down from the window. There were no marks on the window frame. This side faced the main road, and if he had escaped from here, there would have been witnesses.

And this was the sixth floor.

If not here, then the door?

And Tang Yingli was pouring out the pills from a bottle, and after a few glances, she re-confirmed the packaging. “That’s not right. Aspirin.”

“What does it say on it?” Jinglin asked, coming to her side.

“A comprehensive nutritional supplement,” Tang Yingli explained, and the two of them looked at each other. She stuffed the bottle into Jinglin’s arms. “Confirm the contents. Oh, and take the alarm clock too.”

Jinglin looked at the bedside table. “The alarm clock?”

“It was ringing when I came in, and it was set ten minutes fast. If it hadn’t been for the alarm clock, Ms. Müller might not have been found until she had stopped breathing.” The laptop had a password lock. Tang Yingli looked down and found a few water stains on the keys. And next to the computer was a glass of water.

“He used the computer after taking aspirin… there might be other clues in here.”

The paramedics arrived soon after, and Fang Zijun asked them to help transport the body back to the station for an autopsy. “Teacher… it seems you’ve done a lot of work.” He stepped over the suitcase and glanced at the password lock.

“Yes, after all, there was a twenty-minute window.”

“It seems the ID card I gave you came in handy…” Fang Zijun nodded with a hint of pride. “But this is the third time.”

Tang Yingli glared at him. “What third time?”

“Well…” the third time a case had happened wherever she went. But under her glare, Fang Zijun swallowed his words. “It’s nothing.”

Jinglin let out a discreet sigh of relief.

She sighed softly. “I’ll leave the rest of the search to you. Please try to unlock the computer.”

Fang Zijun took the laptop. “Are you going back, Teacher?”

“Not yet. I plan to find out a little about Chomsky’s recent situation.”

“Then…” he looked down at the bloodstain on the carpet, “do you think he’s the killer in this case?”

“For now… yes.” Tang Yingli was still in disbelief as she took off her gloves. “But why him? It’s impossible.”

“Teacher.” Jinglin caught up with her and took off her own suit jacket. “I’ll go with you.”

“What for?” she asked, staring at the jacket in Jinglin’s hand.

“Wear it. It’s not convenient for you to investigate like this.” Jinglin pointed to the large bloodstain on her and said in a low voice, “The reporters, who can smell blood, will be here soon.”

“I don’t care about the reporters, but…” her rose-colored lips lifted, and Tang Yingli took it, “alright, you have a point.”

**

From a few scholars who were close to Chomsky, they learned a few concerning facts.

Andrew Chomsky’s recent behavior had been baffling to his long-time friends.

“He crashed his prized classic car and just laughed, glued his hunting rifle shut with superglue, and almost accidentally shot a friend on a hunting trip, and even sexually harassed a colleague he had worked with for years…” Recounting the endless string of abnormal behavior over the past two years, it was as if he were a different person from the mature and elegant gentleman she had heard of back then.

But even so, Miller still refused to believe that Chomsky would make such a grave mistake.

“He’s always been a mad genius. Otherwise, how could he have used brain imaging to explain criminal behavior?”

Tang Yingli had to admit that was true. And Miller also pointed out another open secret. “Besides, the deceased was Meta. The two of them were very close.”

This made Tang Yingli’s eyes widen. It was not so much surprise as it was the joy of having a guess confirmed.

Although Chomsky was still a married man, his assistant Meta Müller, who was often by his side, was clearly his true emotional comfort. She was not only young and considerate, but she was also a better match for Chomsky’s academic achievements. An affair was almost inevitable.

However, this only made the case more complicated.

Through Tang Yingli’s translation, Jinglin recorded the other scholars’ testimony in detail. “According to more than one person, the two of them got along very well, and they even went to a bar with friends last night. Afterward, Ms. Müller took the drunk him back to the hotel room.”

“But the folding knife was not found at the scene.” Not only was it a self-defense weapon, but Chomsky also usually carried it when he went hunting.

“Yes, I just carefully examined the wound, and my preliminary deduction is that it matches the size of that folding knife.” The hotel would not have provided a knife. “It was Ms. Müller who gave him that knife, but I never thought…”

I never thought she would be killed by that knife. The result was truly ironic.

“This professor, for what reason did he kill his assistant and mistress?” Jinglin poked her temple with her pen. “As for the knife, could it be that he took it with him because he was thinking of their old feelings?” After all, no smart killer would carry the murder weapon with them.

“Compared to a romantic deduction, I’m more inclined to believe that he was just used to it and it was convenient.” Tang Yingli ran her hands through her hair in frustration and opened her phone. “I’ll make a report to the university, and then we’ll go back to the station together.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go home and change?”

She tilted her head. “That’s true.”

As the two of them were taking a car back to her place, Jinglin received a message from the office.

‘It’s aspirin.’

Tao Qianya, on the video call, was certain. ‘It’s all aspirin in there, which doesn’t match the label.’

“If he was taking aspirin on his own, it means he must have had a health problem.” Tang Yingli crossed her arms. “But he was taking it as a nutritional supplement.” Who switched it?

‘Also, the only wound on the deceased’s body was the fatal one on her neck. The wound was very straight and clean, and even the depth was just right.’ Tao Qianya let out a sigh of admiration. ‘The killer probably has a considerable understanding of anatomy. This is definitely not the work of an ordinary person.’

“If the suspect has forty years of hunting experience, you wouldn’t be surprised by that.” She covered her mouth. This was the result she least wanted to see. “Damn it. It seems the wound points even more to him being the killer.”

Her mood was as bad as the weather, which had started to rain. Arriving at her place, she rushed into the courtyard to avoid the rain and held out her hands to the gray sky.

“A researcher died for nothing, the academic conference is in chaos, and the person who committed the murder is a world-renowned scholar? Ha, it’s a veritable case of when it rains, it pours.”

Compared to Tang Yingli, who had had contact with the academic circle, Jinglin was able to look at the case from an outsider’s perspective. “I know it’s hard for you to accept, but he’s clearly the prime suspect. Although it’s not easy, you have to at least stay calm.”

“I am calm, it’s just…” she bit her lower lip, “I really don’t know how to think about this case. Can you believe it? A scholar who has dedicated his life to studying the criminal brain has in turn become a murderer.”

“No matter what, let’s focus on the clues we have.” Jinglin patted her shoulder with a smile. “Go change first.”

Using the time to change to compose herself, the two of them then returned to the station.

All the police officers were in motion because of the sudden murder, and because of the suspect’s special identity, it had also attracted a lot of media attention.

As soon as they entered, Cai Yuwei handed her a file. “Teacher, the test report.”

Tang Yingli flipped through it. It was a drug test. The alarm clock was also Chomsky’s, and it was covered in his fingerprints. The ten-minute fast setting was presumed to be a personal habit, to remind himself of important matters.

“Since the alarm clock was ringing, it means he hadn’t forgotten about the morning’s speech.” So, what had caused him to kill his assistant? There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, and Müller had not—or had not had time to—resist, which also showed how decisive he had been.

Chomsky had been on high alert and had mistaken Meta Müller for a suspicious intruder… from the wound, the possibility of an accidental killing was extremely low.

So was it some other reason that had caused him to lose control? She lowered her head in thought and suddenly thought of the testimony of the many scholars.

“Where’s the suspect’s computer?”

“Here.” Jian Minggui raised his right hand. “I’m unlocking it… it will take a little longer.”

“Okay, keep trying. I’ll contact his family doctor.” She dialed her phone and quickly came to her own desk.

“Family doctor?”

“Yes.” She decided to call her former advisor to ask. “Do you remember that almost everyone said his recent behavior was abnormal?”

“Yes.” Jinglin instinctively thought of a brain problem. “So, you think he’s sick?”

Tang Yingli’s gaze was distant for a moment. “I heard he was a famous athlete in college, and he also has a habit of working out, plus he loves hunting… your phone?”

Jinglin was taken aback. The caller was Xu Shanni. “Hello, Auntie, what’s wrong?”

Tang Yingli frowned, but her phone also rang at the same time. “Teacher, it’s Charlotte…”

Jinglin walked a few steps away, and when she heard what Xu Shanni was saying, her heart suddenly tightened. “You found him?”