The Brain Science Case 108

Chapter 108: Hibernating in the Dim Sunlight – 2

Tang Yingli put a headshot on the whiteboard and held it in place with a magnet.

Lin Pinyi, the third person to die, was about five days after the second deceased, which was a significant shortening of the time compared to the one-week interval before. If they had enough manpower now, and the main force was not limited to Li Yuejiao, it could be expected that the interval would only get shorter.

“Teacher, the autopsy report is out.”

Taking the autopsy report from Lu Tingfeng, Yingli quickly scanned it. “Are there needle marks elsewhere?”

“Yes, Dr. Tao judged that this guy had a habit of using drugs.” Habitual drug users would also choose less obvious places on their bodies to inject, such as the inner thigh, the toes, and even under the tongue.

“The time of death was over eight hours ago… was it an overdose?”

“No, Dr. Tao didn’t find his usual drugs on him,” Lu Tingfeng frowned, “but he did find something else, something more deadly.”

She looked down and saw the word “ricin” in the cause of death column. This is a strong cytotoxin, but it does not cause immediate death after injection, but is delayed for a long time depending on the dose.

“I see… this is not a toxin that can be easily tested for.”

“Dr. Tao did spend a lot of…”

His words were interrupted by Fang Zijun, who walked into the office. “The director will be here in a bit, and he will announce the formation of a special task force.”

“Has the team been confirmed?” Yingli asked.

“Yes, the list is still with the director, but at least it’s confirmed that Ah Qian, Big Head, Ah Mu, and the teacher are all on it.”

She rested her chin on her hand, her index finger on her lips. “What about Officer Zhou?”

Fang Zijun was taken aback. “Why do you ask about Jinglin, Teacher?”

“I just want to confirm if a new detective like her is qualified to be selected. After all, she performed outstandingly in the case of protecting Zhou Jingxun, and… she has a very strong personal desire to be selected.”

“Well… I’m not very sure about that.”

She drew out the word, “Oh?”

“A-After all, I haven’t seen the full list yet.” He forced a smile. “Let’s not talk about this. Let’s discuss the case first.”

She stared at Fang Zijun for a while, until Chen Huomu also returned to the office. “Uh, Teacher… why are you staring at the chief like that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

With everyone’s deductions and the information Chen Huomu had brought back, the probability of Lin Pinyi being injected with the toxin outside and then dying in the bath at home gradually increased.

“According to the notebook he left behind, he had met with a composer that afternoon.”

And from the content and direction of his previous writings, he had a particular fondness for early artists, especially those who had been through the martial law period, and his reports were also quite detailed.

In terms of professional ethics, there was generally nothing to criticize.

“Was the house not broken into?”

“No, from the time he finished his interview in the afternoon until his girlfriend visited at nine this morning, he was alone at home.”

Hair and skin samples of him and his girlfriend were found at the scene, but no traces of a third person.

“What does his girlfriend do?”

“She works the afternoon shift at a chain hair salon.”

Yingli stared at the two question marks on the whiteboard, the hairdryer in the bathtub and the needle mark on the tongue. “Could it be that he really just blew his hair and then, due to the toxin, he lost his grip and fell into the water? The needle mark on his tongue… it feels too deliberate.”

“Too deliberate?”

“Yes.” She put her hands on her hips and said, “Since he had a habit of using drugs, whether it was injected into his inner thigh or his wrist joint, it could have been easily dismissed as a trace of drug use. Why would he deliberately leave a needle on his tongue? This is not to cover up the crime, but more like…”

Fang Zijun took the initiative to continue, “To attract the police’s attention?”

“That’s right. This is a homicide, no doubt, but the killer’s motive is very suspicious…”

“Reporting to the chief,” Zhou Jinglin walked in while everyone was staring at Tang Yingli, “regarding Zeng Chonghao’s psychological evaluation, Dr. Lian has already prepared the relevant test report.”

After discussion and with Zhou Zengxiang’s approval, Fang Zijun had officially invited Lian Huizhu to be the forensic psychiatrist for the Criminal Investigation Division. Besides being able to more accurately determine whether a sentence should be reduced due to a mental illness, it also had the effect of lightening Yingli’s workload.

“Oh, that’s great. I’ll take a look.”

She unconsciously looked at Yingli and then at the case details recorded on the whiteboard. “Lin Pinyi… is he the victim from the news at noon today?”

“Yes. Uh, Little Zhou, the file I asked you to organize before, is it done?”

“Not yet. Didn’t you say this morning that I could do it later, senior…”

“Well, you’re not busy now. Let’s go, let’s go and do it together.”

“Oh… oh.” Before she could even respond, she was pulled away from the chief’s office by Chen Huomu.

Yingli squinted and turned to hear Fang Zijun say, “The director will be holding a meeting to announce the formation of the special task force before he leaves work. It’s getting late… let’s take a break first, Teacher. You too, Big Head.”

“Yes, you’ve worked hard, Teacher.”

“Ah, not at all.” She glanced at Fang Zijun again before she left. He had already switched from his busy state of deducing the case to focusing on reviewing the files, and the change in his attitude was so fast it was almost impossible to keep up.

Returning to her seat, Yingli continued to think about the case. Ricin… she remembered seeing this deadly toxin in a case before, and after a search, she confirmed that the toxin, when injected or inhaled, would take about two to four hours to take effect, but if ingested, it could take more than a day, a huge difference in time.

Could the toxin have entered through the pinhole on his tongue? This meant that he must have been coerced to some extent, but could a person who was under a life threat have carried out an interview as if nothing had happened? She was applying black nail polish while looking at the files—this was a habit she sometimes had when she was thinking.

Or, did he not know he had been poisoned? The killer knew he had a habit of using drugs, and had mixed the ricin with his usual drugs, causing him to die from misuse…

“Teacher… Teacher.”

Yingli snapped back to reality and turned to find Jinglin standing behind her with a folder. “What’s wrong?” She looks so sneaky.

“The case you were investigating this morning, it’s related to that what-wind organization, right?”

“Mountain Wind. Yes, there is a certain degree of connection.” She raised an eyebrow and leaned back in her chair. “What, are you interested in this case?”

“Yes, but Senior Ah Mu suddenly asked me for… I have a feeling he did it on purpose.”

She thought so too.

Looking at Jinglin’s unwilling expression, Yingli had a premonition. Zhou Zengxiang would never let her join the special task force, and would use all sorts of methods to keep her away from this case, including assigning her all sorts of miscellaneous tasks to divert her attention, or throwing some other cases at her to keep her busy.

Yingli even felt that if it weren’t for her usual outstanding performance, Zhou Zengxiang might have really considered transferring her out of the Criminal Investigation Division.

“Don’t think so much. Maybe he just suddenly thought he needed that file.” Yingli turned her face away slightly.

“Yes… by the way, I heard from Ah Wei that the special task force seems to have been confirmed. Do you know the list of members, Teacher?”

Her rose-colored lips parted slightly. “Ah… I know a part of it.”

“You must. Then what about me? Am I in?”

Facing Jinglin’s eager questioning, Yingli bit her lip. “Well… it’s not clear yet. We probably won’t know until the director personally announces the list.”

“Oh, I thought you had already gotten the news.”

“Not yet… maybe it will be announced in a bit.” Yingli glanced to the other side. “Officer Chen is here.”

Jinglin held up the folder to cover her face and sullenly returned to her seat.

In less than half an hour, a rare broadcast announcement sounded in the station, and it was not from Fang Zijun, but from Zhou Zengxiang.

All detectives were to immediately go to the main conference room for an important announcement.

This short broadcast sparked a lot of discussion. “Is he going to announce the formation of the special task force?”

“A special task force?” Some people were still out of the loop, but most had already guessed the purpose of the gathering.

Jinglin excitedly ran over and put her arm around Yingli’s shoulder. “You were right. Let’s go, let’s go to the main conference room.”

The main conference room was located in the Criminal Investigation Bureau, the same place where Lian Huizhu had given her speech before.

Yingli was pulled along by Jinglin all the way, and the two of them sat down in a seat near the front.

“You’re so impatient.” Yingli took back her hand with a wry smile.

“In any case, this is a major event. If I can get into the special task force, it means I’ll be in the closest position to the truth. I don’t want to miss it for anything.”

Even though she was a little uneasy, Jinglin still maintained a confident smile and believed that she could be selected because of her previous performance.

“Speaking of a major event… Officer Zhou, suppose… I’m saying ‘suppose’,” Yingli pushed up her glasses and emphasized cautiously, “if you don’t get into the team, how would you feel?”

She was taken aback, then smiled. “You’re so mean, Teacher, to ask such a difficult question.”

“I’m being serious. After all, it’s not Chief Fang who’s choosing… you have to be prepared.”

“You don’t have to.” A simple sentence, which left Yingli speechless.

After a moment of silence, she said, “Even if I’m not selected, it doesn’t mean I have nothing to do… you’ll still need backup, right?”

Jinglin’s answer made her relax a little. “That’s true.”

Zhou Zengxiang’s appearance quickly silenced the discussion.

“I’m so sorry to have gathered all of you in your busy schedules.” Without any unnecessary words, Zhou Zengxiang got straight to the point. “I believe you all have some idea… today’s gathering is to announce one thing—the special task force to investigate the unknown criminal organization is officially established.”

With a low murmur from the audience, the organization’s code name was clearly displayed on the screen.

“To choose such a name means they intend to ‘fan the flames.’ To maintain social order, and even to involve national security, we absolutely cannot let them do as they please.”

With a short slideshow, Zhou Zengxiang listed all the cases involving Mountain Wind in recent days, including the persuasion of Chomsky and the attack on Zhou Jingxun, as well as the kidnapping of Su Huiquan, and even explained the cause and effect of how he had obtained the “list,” but he only skillfully glossed over the mastermind Li Yuejiao’s fake death and escape.

“As for the mastermind, I have a shocking piece of news to announce to all of you—she has appeared at Dr. Su’s plastic surgery clinic. We have tracked down the fake information she used to register, as well as some surveillance footage.”

“The mastermind is actually a woman.” someone said, looking at the surveillance footage.

“I can’t believe it… it’s the first time I’ve heard of it.” Jinglin said in a low voice, and Yingli also stared at the screen.

The footage only vaguely showed a woman in a white suit and a short, stocky middle-aged man following behind her. Because she was wearing sunglasses and a hat the whole time, her appearance could not be confirmed.

“That’s about it. As for the mastermind’s detailed appearance after her plastic surgery, I will hand it over to Chief Fang for announcement. I must seriously remind everyone that Mountain Wind has already begun to act.” Zhou Zengxiang said definitively, “Because of this, we must gather all the elites of the police force, not just in the north, but I have also made contact in the central and southern regions. But we are the first to bear the brunt, and we need to be especially careful.

“I hereby announce the list of members of the special task force. First is Chief Fang Zijun. The overall deployment and investigation of the special task force, I hereby entrust to him to be fully in charge. And there is also Deputy Chief Chen Huomu…”

At Zhou Zengxiang’s low voice, the members who were called stood up one by one to receive the applause and encouragement of the many police officers.

Jinglin’s heart was beating fast. As the expected candidates were called one by one, and even some unexpected people were called—Jian Minggui and Cai Yuwei—her emotions grew more and more uneasy.

Yingli gradually felt the invisible pressure from her surroundings, but she was calm and composed, crossing her legs as if it had nothing to do with her.

“…And the last one, a scholar we have relied on heavily in our recent investigations, a neuroscientist, Tang Yingli.”

“T-The last one?”

Jinglin let out a low cry, but it was drowned out by the enthusiastic applause around her.

Yingli slowly stood up. “Dr. Tang is the only one who is not an official employee of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, but her contribution to criminal profiling and psychological analysis in our recent investigations, I believe all the colleagues in the investigation team have seen for themselves.”

Zhou Zengxiang looked at her in her black dress. “The above are the candidates for this special task force. Even those who were not selected do not need to be discouraged. It does not mean that your performance is inferior to these few, but it was decided after careful consideration…”

“Director, I have something to say.”

Zhou Zengxiang’s words of comfort were harshly interrupted.

All eyes were focused on the front row, the source of the voice.

A female police officer with a long ponytail came to the central aisle, her face flushed, and she looked directly at Zhou Zengxiang.

“Officer Zhou…”

“I want to know why I was not selected. What was the consideration?”