The Brain Science Case 104

Chapter 104: The Psychologist – 11

Combing her hair, Tang Yingli quickly adjusted her mood to a working state as she walked into the office.

“Teacher.” Fang Zijun called out to her. “Did you see the message?”

“Yes, I did. I just got a call from the production company. They confirmed the model and year of the electric heater, and they also did a full investigation of the product itself, and confirmed that the fire was started from the outside and burned back to the machine.” She took off her scarf, took her notebook and phone, and went into the chief’s office.

“So it wasn’t a problem with the machine itself.”

“Yes, that’s very important. It means the cause of the fire was improper use. Also, there’s another very funny… or rather, a design flaw.”

“You mean the electric heater?”

“Yes, doesn’t it have a timer on it?” Fang Zijun nodded in understanding, and she continued, “usually, a timer means that after a set time, the machine will automatically turn off, right?”

“Yes.”

“But the original company admitted on the phone that that model was poorly designed. The timer is not used as we are familiar with, but—after a set time, the machine starts to get power.”

It was completely the other way around.

“That’s more like the function of a timer plug, isn’t it?”

“Yes, so they admitted it was a design flaw.” She crossed her arms. “And the fire started from the outside and burned back to the machine… did you see the connection, Chief?”

“You mean… the killer used the machine’s own timer to achieve a crime of starting a fire without being present.”

“Exactly. And since the machine itself is an early heating tube type, it basically lacks a safety device, so the killer only needed to cover it with flammable material and then set the time for it to turn on.”

Finally clarifying the M.O., Fang Zijun was very excited. “So all we need now is concrete evidence, and then we can…”

‘Chief, this is Ah Mu, calling the chief.’ The radio suddenly crackled with Chen Huomu’s voice.

“What’s wrong?”

‘Didn’t Xiangrong and Ah Wei check the surveillance footage before and vaguely see someone on a motorcycle throwing a Molotov cocktail?’

“Yes… did you find any evidence?”

‘I was walking around Xin Sumei’s house and found a motorcycle that looked like it was caught on the surveillance camera.’ Chen Huomu said with certainty, ‘The owner is not off work yet, but as long as we wait, we can confirm if he’s involved. I’ve already asked the neighbors. This person used to play mahjong with Xin Sumei often, and their relationship soured because of their winnings and losses. Xin Sumei had a big fight with him just before she died. The neighbors all heard it clearly.’

Fang Zijun’s brow furrowed, and he glanced at Tang Yingli and asked, “What does the culprit do?”

‘He’s a decorator. He’s also used to carrying a pen… I know the chief is still very concerned about the connection between this case and the previous one, but we can’t rule out the possibility that there is no connection.’

Fang Zijun knew that Tang Yingli had also heard, but he only saw her resting her chin on her hand, with no intention of expressing her opinion.

“Okay, you wait there. I’ll bring some people over.”

Ending the call, she smiled and said, “Officer Chen is quite insistent on his own ideas.”

“He just believes that Zeng Chonghao is a filial son and couldn’t have killed his own mother.” Fang Zijun shook his head. “But the suspect he mentioned has a clear motive… we have to investigate him in detail.”

“I understand. You go ahead, Chief Fang. I’ll be on standby here.”

“Thank you, Teacher.” He immediately used the internal broadcast to announce the news of the deployment and took the keys to a service vehicle.

Before he left, Tang Yingli called out to him. “By the way, who’s watching Zeng Chonghao right now?”

“I had Little Gui go. He’s meticulous, and he’s especially good at collecting evidence.” He put on his vest and his hat. “I think he’s at the funeral home today, right? After all, his mother passed away, and he has bereavement leave.”

“I understand.”

As Fang Zijun went to investigate the suspicious person Chen Huomu had mentioned, the station was mostly empty. She took the initiative to ask Jian Minggui about Zeng Chonghao’s whereabouts and got the message that Zeng Chonghao had “already gone home.”

‘He got home around five, and the light in his room is still on.’

Arrived around five… Tang Yingli glanced at the clock, which pointed to 5:15. “Are you the only one at the scene, Officer Jian?”

‘Yes, I’m the only one.’

“That’s not very safe…” she pushed up her glasses, “it would be better to find another person to watch the elevator inside. Does he always drive?”

‘He was driving just now.’

“Does he not have any other means of transportation? Like a motorcycle…”

‘I heard from his colleagues that he always takes the MRT to work. I don’t think he has one… right?’

Would a person who used to work in sales only have a car, which is relatively inconvenient in the city?

“I understand. You continue to watch, Officer Jian. If he goes out, please let me know at any time.”

‘Understood.’

To verify, she dialed Tao Qianya’s extension, and when it finally connected, the voice that came through was that of another, more junior medical examiner.

‘Brainy Teacher? Dr. Tao is on leave today.’

“On leave?”

‘Yes, bereavement leave. Today is his uncle’s funeral.’

Tang Yingli had a sudden realization. When his uncle had been handling the follow-up matters before, perhaps because he was focused on the case, he had barely taken any leave, until today…

Counting the time, the cremation should have been over by now. She had originally wanted to call Tao Qianya, but considering his mood at the moment, she decided against it.

“Officer Cai.” She turned. “I’d like to ask about the location of the branch where Tao Youchun worked…”

After asking, she found that the branch was located in the Zhongzheng district, which was a bustling area in the city center.

“It must be hard to park around there.”

“Yes, the chief and I have been there. Basically, besides the high-level executives, no one has their own parking space.”

Zeng Chonghao must have been the same. She rested her chin on her hand. “Can you check for me how long it would take to drive from the bank to his mother’s house?”

“Oh.” Cai Yuwei quickly found a familiar electronic navigation map and entered the two addresses. “A one-way trip is about… seventeen minutes.”

Forty minutes round trip… which almost matches the time he left the company that day.

But why did he disappear twice? And why was there a strange twenty-minute gap between the two actions…

Suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration and pointed at the screen. “Help me find the location of the church.”

“The church?”

“The church that caught fire at the same time as Xin Sumei’s house.”

“Oh.” He quickly entered the information. “The straight-line distance from Xin Sumei’s house is about three kilometers, and if it’s from the bank’s location… it’s about the same. A one-way trip is eighteen minutes.”

Since the cause of the fire had already been determined, the time Zeng Chonghao had been out on the pretext of having lunch was when he had gone back to his old house to set up the machine and had taken the opportunity to kill the parrot. And the other time he had left, he had gone to the church to set a fire.

In fact, the church fire was just a decoy. His old house was his real target.

“In that case, the M.O. can be solved.” Her index finger on her glasses, she immediately called Fang Zijun. “Chief Fang, I’ve finally figured it out. The electric heater perfectly explains the simultaneous fires in both places, and it also explains why Zeng Chonghao had to leave the company twice in a short period of time.”

Fang Zijun was still on the road, but when he heard her declaration, he made a decisive decision. ‘Okay, I’ll immediately send more men to Little Gui and have them arrest Zeng Chonghao first.’

Fifteen minutes later, Jian Minggui and the police officers from the Shilin precinct met up.

“Is he up there?”

“That’s right. At least the light in his room is still on,” Jian Minggui said.

Unlike the single-story house of his old home, the apartment where Zeng Chonghao lived was new and had strict security. The security guard, seeing the police, cooperated without a word. He used the intercom to ask Zeng Chonghao to come down to meet a visitor, and the other police officers prepared to arrest him at the elevator entrance.

“Strange… Mr. Zeng isn’t answering.”

Jian Minggui frowned. “Try again.” The intercom rang twice more, but Zeng Chonghao still did not answer.

“He didn’t go out the main door, did he?”

“Absolutely not.” The security guard was adamant, but then he showed a hint of hesitation. “But…”

“But what?”

“He might have gone out the back door. He usually goes out that way when he goes to work, and then he rides his motorcycle…”

Jian Minggui was taken aback and grabbed the security guard’s collar. “You said he has a motorcycle.”

“Yes, a blue 180cc scooter. He just bought it half a year ago.”

He rushed to the back door of the apartment. A row of motorcycles was parked there, and there was a clear empty space, with Zeng Chonghao’s room number painted on it.

“Damn it… Teacher, I’m sorry. Zeng Chonghao has escaped on his motorcycle.”

**

Stepping into Tao Youchun’s house again, Tao Qianya had never thought he would be back in this way.

“I’m so sorry. You’ve been away for so long, and you’re still willing to come back and help me pack up Dad’s things.” The person who spoke was his older cousin, Tao Chengfei, who had punched him outside the operating room.

“It’s fine. I know I haven’t been back in many years. It’s not right, no matter how you look at it.”

“Actually, how Dad treated you back then… we all know.” Tao Chengfei put his hands on his hips. “Mom and Guofeng will be back in a bit. What do you want to eat?”

“You don’t have to prepare anything for me. I’ll leave after I’ve helped you pack up.”

Tao Chengfei looked at him for a moment. “Alright.”

Going up to the second floor, he found that his old room had long been turned into a storage room, and there was nothing worth remembering in it. The only thing he had a slight memory of was probably the bed.

“There’s… probably nothing worth clearing here. Let’s go to the study.”

The study was clearly Tao Youchun’s home office. If the owner were not gone, even if they were both adults, it would have been difficult for them to come in so openly.

There were not many luxuries in the study, probably just books and a small cabinet of foreign wine.

“Do you drink? If you like, you can take a few bottles.”

“I don’t drink. You can keep them all.” Tao Qianya walked to the desk. “Do we have to clear everything in here?”

“Yes, we still have to take a look. If there are any passbooks or anything… also pay attention to any bank documents.”

“Got it.”

The two brothers silently went about their work. While clearing out the old books, Tao Chengfei said in surprise, “Strange… where did all these stock analysis books come from?”

He frowned. “He played the stock market?”

“I don’t know.” Tao Chengfei clicked his tongue and pulled out a whole cabinet of books. “He bought so many… so he must have been playing? But Mom never mentioned it.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t expect my uncle to have secrets you didn’t know about.”

Tao Chengfei shrugged. “Guofeng and I were both very afraid of him. We both moved out after we graduated. I can’t imagine how Mom was willing to marry him back then.”

“If you don’t live together, how would you know all of a person’s strengths and weaknesses?”

“That’s true.” After a moment, he said again, “Qianya, you… do you really hate us?”

Tao Qianya, who had just moved another thick stack of documents, suddenly stopped.

“Not just Dad, we weren’t very good to you either.”

Tao Chengfei showed a hint of remorse and apology, but he just wanted to laugh when he saw it.

After a moment, he shook his head. “It’s all in the past.”

“Yes, if only I had taken better care of you before…”

Tao Qianya deliberately ignored his muttering and just lowered his head to quickly review these old documents.

Suddenly, a small manila envelope caught his eye.

He poured out the documents in the bag, and to his surprise, one of them was the autopsy report he had vaguely seen as a child, the one he had considered to be his parents’ autopsy report after their death.

However, this was not an autopsy report, but the land deeds and property list his parents had owned before their death, and the other slips of paper in the bag were—IOUs.

There were about ten formal and informal IOUs in total, and the content was all directly related to the land deeds and property their family had originally owned… to put it bluntly, Tao Youchun had used the inheritance his brother had left behind after his death as working capital.

As for what this money was used for… the suspicious-looking stock investment books at Tao Chengfei’s feet were the most obvious answer.

“I’ve always treated you as family…”

Tao Chengfei turned in surprise and saw Tao Qianya holding a pile of IOUs, his hands trembling. “I always thought that my uncle took me in because of his brotherly affection for my dad, and that his strict discipline was just to make me a better person… I was too naive.”

Tao Youchun had clearly used his brother’s inheritance after his death to fill his own financial gap. And those beatings, looking back now… were more like the psychological pressure he had vented when his investments had failed and his stocks had been locked up.

Tao Youchun had not loved his nephew, but had used him to the fullest, and had even let him fend for himself after he had gone to university.

“He started gambling a long, long time ago.” The first IOU was from shortly after he had taken him in, that is, after he had officially obtained his father’s inheritance. “And you didn’t know anything?”

“Qianya, I…”

“I’m leaving. As for the investigation of this case, just consider it my last favor to Tao Youchun. From now on, we have no relationship.” He gritted his teeth and, after he had finished speaking, he immediately grabbed his jacket and ran downstairs.

“Qianya, I’m sorry. Wait a minute… I didn’t know my dad…”

“There’s nothing more to say. I’m telling you, Tao Chengfei, you don’t deserve to treat me, my parents, as family.” He suppressed his anger, his jaw twitching as he looked up at the chasing Tao Chengfei. “At most, you’re just a group of thieves with a blood relationship.”

“Wait, do you smell something…”

Tao Qianya was furious, and just as he was about to leave through the main door, he was startled to find that the sky outside was an unusually bright red.

And just as Tao Chengfei had said, there was a strange smell of burning in the air.

Then, a few sounds of shattering glass were accompanied by a sudden burst of flames. It was thrown in from the back door of the kitchen.

“Someone’s setting a fire.” Tao Chengfei shouted. “Let’s go, let’s go upstairs.” He grabbed the still-shocked Tao Qianya and forcefully pulled him up the stairs.