The Brain Science Case 99

Chapter 99: The Psychologist – 6

“…After a detailed examination, we finally found a small hole on the right side of the charred corpse’s neck. Dr. Tao and I both agree that this is the evidence of the killer’s second attack on the victim.” Pulling open her collar, Tang Yingli pointed to her own snow-white neck to demonstrate.

“It’s not a real needle, is it?”

“No, it’s more like a very fine pen tip. The culprit probably didn’t expect him to wake up, and in his haste, he could only grab something he was used to using to fight back.”

As the Lantern Festival approached, the weather began to gradually warm up, but Zhou Jinglin, who had spent almost the entire spring festival in the hospital, did not feel the warmth of spring.

“You’re going to the university tomorrow, right?” her expression was full of resentment.

“Yes, I’ve already started preparing for my classes last week.”

This meant that Tang Yingli would be even busier, and she would not be able to come to the station every day, nor would she spend so much time with her in the hospital.

“Even the director is fine. I’m the only one still stuck here… I want to be discharged early.”

“Be careful.” Seeing Jinglin slumped in her wheelchair in a fit of self-pity, Tang Yingli found it funny. “If the attending physician sees you, he’ll probably scold you again.”

“He’s already used to it.” Jinglin pressed her side and sat up straight. “I see. I didn’t expect it to be Dr. Tao’s relative who was killed. He must be very sad.”

Tang Yingli pursed her lips. “Yes.”

“By the way, Teacher, the one who shot the director, the mastermind who sent the threatening letters, has he been caught yet?”

“Well… it’s still under investigation.”

“You and the chief must have had a lot of discussions, right? What’s her purpose? First, she got a hold of your former advisor’s psychology and tried to steal his research data, and then she went after Jingxun and the director’s wife…” she rested her chin on her hand, unconsciously imitating Tang Yingli’s thinking pose, “is there a way to lock on to a suspect?”

“Yes, that is indeed a problem. The director mentioned in an internal meeting that he was planning to set up a special task force to focus on this organization.”

“Really?” Jinglin’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Has it been set up?”

“It’s still under discussion, but the possibility of it being set up is high.”

“Hmph, you’ll definitely be a member of the team, won’t you?” she pursed her lips, not wanting to be outdone, “then I have to get better quickly.”

“Officer Zhou…”

“That despicable person. Just a little… Jingxun almost died in that fire. And she also kidnapped the director’s wife. If the director hadn’t been lucky enough to only be slightly injured, he might have lost his life there…” Jinglin left the wheelchair, stood up, and walked a few steps closer to the window.

“In any case, I will absolutely, absolutely catch this mastermind myself.”

Jinglin’s declaration would undoubtedly make the problem more and more complicated.

Should she tell her?

Tell her that Li Yuejiao is not dead at all, that her mother has become the head of a criminal organization, and not only that, but she is also cooperating with people she can’t even imagine, and has instigated two consecutive attacks.

Tang Yingli couldn’t figure out Li Yuejiao’s real purpose, and she didn’t know what she was planning to do with Zhou Jinglin, who was a detective. Perhaps Li Yuejiao’s initial plan was to let her daughter stay away from the core of the incident through a fake death, but this move was undoubtedly a failure.

Not only did Jinglin not stay away, but she was getting deeper and deeper into the storm.

What if Jinglin finally found out the truth after investigating, and was even forced to stand on the opposite side of her mother… how would Jinglin be able to bear it?

“Teacher, did I say something wrong?” Jinglin frowned. “Your expression is strange.”

She lowered her head and pushed up her glasses to avoid Jinglin’s gaze. “Ah, no. It’s good to have such a determination, but… you still have to wait until you’re better.”

“Of course I know that. Can’t you not pour cold water on me?”

She couldn’t help but chuckle, and Jinglin also laughed and returned to her wheelchair.

On the way back to the hospital room, Tang Yingli’s phone rang.

She answered and said with a smile, “Hello? It’s not even lunch break yet.”

‘It’s not. But since you rarely ask me for anything, senior, of course I have to give you a serious answer.’ Lian Huizhu on the other end of the line seemed to be in a good mood, her tone quite cheerful.

“I thought you would think this was a difficult request.” She put her phone back in her pocket and switched to her earpiece. “Tell me your opinion.”

Jinglin turned and found that Tang Yingli’s expression had become very relaxed.

‘Hm? You know this is a difficult request, don’t you? The situation of each clinical case is different. As far as I know, forensic psychiatry is a professional field, and even though I have a license as a psychologist and a psychiatrist, I can’t give a perfect explanation for your question, senior.’ Lian Huizhu paused for a moment and said in a serious tone, ‘Besides, I strongly disagree with the idea that all criminal behavior is related to psychological and brain problems.’

“I know, so you can’t give me a reference direction?”

‘I haven’t finished yet.’ Lian Huizhu laughed again. ‘You’re so impatient, senior.’

“Who is it? Who are you talking to?” Jinglin, who was on the hospital bed, couldn’t help but ask.

“My junior,” she said in a low voice, quickly putting away the wheelchair, “yes… yes. And then?” she listened intently to the other person’s conversation and slowly walked to the door.

“The high school junior Ah Wei mentioned?” Jinglin quickly made the connection. “What are you talking about? You’re laughing and talking…”

A psychologist. That means she has a considerable level of professionalism and can provide Tang Yingli with some different perspectives.

‘She later seemed to have gone straight to the operating room to wait, as if she were determined to see the teacher…’ from Cai Yuwei’s previous statement, this “junior” seemed to be pursuing Tang Yingli particularly hard.

For some reason, this psychologist, whom she had never met, had already made Jinglin feel a little psychological pressure.

And she was sure that the content of that lecture would not be of any help.

**

After confirming that Tao Youchun—his uncle—had been attacked near the empty house and had had a conflict with the killer before he died, Tao Qianya specifically went to the crime scene to investigate.

Revisiting the old place and finding that it was very different from back then, he couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

“Dr. Tao, over here.”

“Oh.”

Entering the police cordon, all he could see was a charred mess. The glass windows were broken from the heat, and the window frames were also deformed. The remaining furniture was burned beyond recognition.

“The body was found here.”

It was an old closet in the master bedroom on the first floor. It could accommodate one or two adults, so even though Tao Youchun was tall, it was easy to stuff him in.

Crouching at the spot where Tao Youchun had been burned to death, Tao Qianya felt a mixture of feelings. “Where did the fire start?”

“Right here.” There were some burned flammable materials in front of the closet.

It was not so much arson as it was a premeditated murder.

The closet was also mostly burned. Tao Qianya put on his gloves and searched in the charred remains, but he did not find any rope for tying, and of course, no traces of any metal jewelry.

“What did the owner say?”

“They said the metal shutter at the front door and the back door in the kitchen were both locked, including the windows. But we found that the back door lock was broken.”

To know this information, it meant that the killer had been here to scout many times. Tao Qianya increasingly felt that the killer was not only an arsonist, but had also premeditated the murder of Tao Youchun.

Following the back door to the courtyard, Tao Qianya instinctively looked in another direction, in the direction of the first two victims on the day of the incident.

Although it was not completely adjacent, it was already quite close to Tao Youchun’s residence.

“The culprit may have come from outside, and reached the master bedroom on the first floor through the back door.”

The weather was nice on the day of the incident, but it was still a little cold. The courtyard wall was about average height, and it was more than enough to block the view of passersby.

“I understand. Thank you, Officer Jian.”

“Don’t say that. Dr. Tao has also… worked hard.”

After the news spread, almost all the detectives in the station had this sympathetic and comforting attitude when they saw him. Tao Qianya nodded in thanks, and Jian Minggui temporarily left.

The weather turned cloudy, which was a good opportunity. He took out the black umbrella he had prepared beforehand, and the luminol reagent, and sprayed it all the way from the path he had just imagined to the main door of the house.

If his hypothesis was correct, he should be able to find traces of blood along the way.

Finally, in an inconspicuous patch of weeds near the main door, Tao Qianya found the faint reaction.

“Here…” he looked up, imagining Tao Youchun falling after being attacked, and the killer, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, dragging the unconscious him to the back door and throwing him into the closet.

But as he was about to close the door and set it on fire, Tao Youchun had woken up and had grabbed the killer several times, causing the damage to his fingernails. Finally, the killer had taken out a pen and had stabbed him, finally getting rid of the struggle, and had closed the closet, burning him to death.

“Dr. Tao?” Jian Minggui looked up. It wasn’t raining now.

“You’re just in time.” Unfurling the black umbrella, he pointed to a spot in the grass and sprayed more luminol reagent. “See if you can take a picture of the reagent’s reaction.”

“The reagent…” Jian Minggui had a sudden realization. “Okay, I’ll try.”

**

Returning to the station, Tao Qianya took Jian Minggui’s camera and went straight to Fang Zijun’s office.

“Dr. Tao?”

Tang Yingli was also there. “I’ve found something. The exact location where the culprit attacked the victim.”

Tao Qianya showed the picture taken by the camera. In the grass, the faint blue light of the luminol reagent was clearly visible.

“The grass in the courtyard is very long, which covered the traces of the culprit dragging the victim, but a bloodstain reaction was found near the main door. If the victim was facing the house, and the culprit attacked from behind, it would have been possible to cause such a bloodstain.”

“I see… the culprit, holding a delicate metal rod, knocked down the victim at the door, right at this spot.”

“As for the weapon, I think it’s very likely this thing.”

The phone showed a picture, and Fang Zijun leaned in. “Is this it?”

“It’s probably shorter than the one in the photo.” Tao Qianya had found an L-shaped iron rod. This kind of tool was often used for old-fashioned manual metal shutters.

“The main door of the empty house has this kind of old-fashioned manual metal shutter.” Fang Zijun recalled his on-site investigation. “So he used what was available?”

“I think so.” This also showed how familiar the killer was with the environment.

“Was this kind of hook not found at the scene?”

Fang Zijun said with certainty, “No.”

Tang Yingli rested her chin on her hand in thought. “The killer is not a fool. He probably threw it away while he was escaping.”

“You rarely go to the scene to investigate, do you, Ah Qian?”

He nodded. “After all, this incident… is no small matter.”

Fang Zijun patted his shoulder. “By the way, we went to your uncle’s branch today to ask. Both his colleagues and his superiors praised his performance. Even his subordinates said he was a considerate and good supervisor… it seems that at least in the workplace, we can rule out the possibility of a revenge killing.”

Tao Qianya’s face stiffened for a moment, and he managed to nod. “Yes…”

“But there’s still a baffling problem.”

The two of them turned and saw Tang Yingli standing in front of the whiteboard, her arms crossed. “Why did the victim go to that place?”

The time of the incident was noon, and the report was received around two in the afternoon, which was not Tao Youchun’s usual jogging time. They had also confirmed with the branch that Tao Youchun had taken the day off, but his two sons were both at work, and his wife had taken their grandson to her parents’ house, which meant that no one could confirm his motive for going out.

“Although there’s a convenience store nearby… he didn’t go there.” Fang Zijun had already checked the convenience store’s surveillance cameras.

“Which proves he didn’t go out to shop. He was on leave, so it wasn’t for work… so it was for personal reasons?” her index finger on her glasses, Tang Yingli asked herself, “what kind of personal matter would cause him to go out at that time?”

“We didn’t find any communication records with any suspicious individuals before the incident.”

“It doesn’t have to be through a phone. Don’t forget how developed mobile communication apps are.”

Tao Qianya rubbed his eyes and looked at her back and the whiteboard. “A pen…” he muttered to himself, thinking of the second attack, “the culprit had a pen.”

Tang Yingli turned abruptly, and Tao Qianya pointed to his neck to demonstrate. “The second attack, the moment the victim grabbed the killer, he used something he was used to using to fight back.”

And what kind of profession would be used to carrying a pen? And a profession that would not be easily suspected even when scouting the environment.

“The culprit’s profession is…” she blurted out, “a salesman.”

Fang Zijun nodded. “I’ll go and tell Ah Wei and the others, and have them check the nearby surveillance cameras again, focusing on this point.”

Fang Zijun quickly left the office, leaving the two of them. “Dr. Tao, you said the victim was a bank business manager, right?”

“Yes… what’s wrong?”

Pushing up her glasses, her rose-colored lips lifted, and she wrote the deduced killer’s profession on the whiteboard. “Perhaps the possibility of a workplace revenge killing cannot be completely ruled out.”

Her black-painted nails lightly tapped the whiteboard, making a series of startling sounds.