The Brain Science Case 44

Chapter 44: The Body That Vanished in a Bloody Foam – 10

‘The number you have dialed is not in service…’

He crumpled the business card and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

The top hostess, the madam, had already retired, so the club naturally no longer had any information on this hostess. And her original phone number must have been disconnected long ago; it was just a work number.

The small piece of paper was torn to shreds and thrown into the trash can. He glanced at the clock, then at his phone’s calendar. There were no more appointments, so he decided to close the shop early.

The rain outside had stopped without him noticing. He brought in the sign, pressed the button for the metal shutter, and went back inside. His phone chimed with a new message, followed by a ringing sound.

He put down the vacuum cleaner. “Hello?”

A low, piercing laugh came from the receiver, forcing him to hold it a few inches away.

“Who is this?”

‘You want to know where Lisa is, don’t you?’

Someone from Givenchy? “You know?”

He laughed again. ‘Of course. I can tell you her address… but I have to confirm one thing first.’

“What?”

‘You’re looking for her for revenge, right?’

For years, whenever he heard that his father had gone to a club to drink again, his mind would replay that cruel scene—the scene of seeing his mother hanging from a scout’s rope.

He had once had a happy, perfect family.

But with his father’s affair, their house being seized due to debt, and his mother’s suicide after being unable to bear the double blow of the pressure and his father’s infidelity, not a trace of their former happiness remained.

He had resented his father.

But those women who had flocked to him for money, were they not also guilty?

He hated women. Especially those who were gaudy and flashy.

But ironically, he now relied on these beauty-loving women. It was because of them that he was able to survive.

The women who had seduced his father before, who had made him fall so deeply, he had destroyed them all in the end. To him, they were the culprits who had destroyed his family.

The women before were like that, and this Lisa, who could captivate his father so much, was the same.

‘What’s wrong, no answer?’

Gripping the phone, he said, “Yes, it’s for revenge. So what?”

‘That’s for the best. Now, listen carefully…’

He hastily wrote down the address on a blank notebook. “She lives here? Are you sure?” Taoyuan City…

‘Hmph, believe it or not.’ As soon as he finished speaking, the other person hung up.

He called back, but the phone’s voice message said, “The number you have dialed is not in service.”

Looking at the strange address, he pursed his lips, rushed back to his room, and opened his closet—

The closet was filled with rows of women’s suits, coats, and all sorts of other clothes.

He stroked a black ruffled blouse and decisively put it on.

**

Cai Yuwei, holding the key to room 308, prepared to return to the room where the suspicious suspect had stayed.

After they had identified the suspect, they had immediately called to have the room sealed. But as the other suspects were gradually cleared, only two rooms remained sealed; the other was the crime scene, room 314.

But room 308 was clearly not as important as the crime scene. On the one hand, the hotel staff had already done some cleaning after the guest had checked out, so any traces of the killer might have been cleaned away.

On the other hand… who would have thought the suspect was a woman?

“Oh, you’re here again.” A staff member suddenly appeared, giving him a small scare. “It’s all over the news. Business has dropped so much. You guys need to solve this case quickly.”

I want to, too, he screamed silently, but on the surface, he smiled politely. “Of course we’ll do our best.” Putting on his gloves, he began to search.

Probably because she was so bored, the cleaning lady also came in.

It was awkward to be silent, so Cai Yuwei took the initiative to start a conversation. “After the guest checked out that day… were you the one who cleaned this room, Auntie?”

“Yes, I was.”

“What did you do at that time?”

“Let me think…” She touched her cheek in thought. “My routine is to pull off the bedsheets and pillowcases as soon as I come in, then I start vacuuming the floor, cleaning the bathroom, and then I empty the trash can, wipe the table…” She was reciting her work routine.

“Then,” he held up a hand to stop her, “do you remember which stage you were at at that time?”

“Of course I do.” The aunt nodded with certainty. “I was going to change the bedsheets and pillowcases, but I could tell she hadn’t used them at all. So I just vacuumed the floor.”

Not used at all… “What do you mean, not used?”

“It was flat. We tuck the quilt into the bed, so it’s always tight when you pull it up. She hadn’t touched it.”

So she didn’t check in to rest. “Then did you notice anything strange when you were vacuuming the floor?”

“Strange?”

“Yes, any small detail will do. Whether you saw, smelled, or heard anything.”

She frowned. “I always start from the innermost part, from the corner by the window.”

Cai Yuwei walked over. The other side was relatively simple, with a small, wood-like round table and two chairs by the window.

“From here, and then…” she pointed to the curtain, “ah, the window was open.”

“Hm?” he stared at the now-closed window.

“That’s right, that’s right. I smelled something like nail polish remover.”

“N-Nail polish remover… what’s that?”

The aunt rolled her eyes at him, with a “you don’t even know this” expression. “It’s what women use to remove their nail polish. Have you never had a girlfriend?”

As if he had been pierced by a virtual arrow, he took two steps back… sob, he was a single dog.

With a wounded heart, Cai Yuwei forced a smile. “Uh, that’s not important. S-So you’re sure it was that smell?”

“Yes, it’s very pungent. You know it as soon as you smell it. Or it was nail polish.”

Cai Yuwei’s eyes widened, and he began to crouch down and search carefully, from the corners of the walls, under the carpet, and even under the bed. “You’ve vacuumed all of this?” he asked, turning on his flashlight.

“Yes, all of it.”

“Did you find any strange trash?”

“I don’t think so. If there was, I would have thrown it away.” The aunt stood with her hands on her hips, looking impatient. “We’re very busy. We don’t have time to check what we’ve vacuumed up.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Apologizing, he continued to search carefully.

The smell of nail polish remover, the window was open…

So she extended her stay to let the smell dissipate? But the testimony just now showed that the culprit was still using nail art tools until the very end.

So what mistake did he make that required him to extend his stay for an hour to fix?

This time, the suspect’s M.O. was so meticulous it was almost terrifying. But perhaps it was this overly meticulous attitude that had, in turn, revealed an unexpected—

Flaw.

Under continued searching, Cai Yuwei finally found a strange object in the gap between the carpet and the wall.

“This is…” he carefully picked it up. A translucent, nail-like flake. There was still a little bit of red nail polish on the edge.

He knew nothing about women’s products, but Tang Yingli had just mentioned—

‘…using himself as a test subject, that is, he made the nail tips himself and then used them as a display…’

A nail tip… this must be it.

‘Not only are the patterns three-dimensional, but there are also special machines that can dry them quickly…’ Quickly dry, which means it would have taken a long time to air dry?

‘…the nail artist is a handsome guy.’

Combining this with the aunt’s testimony, Cai Yuwei covered his mouth, his hand, which was holding the nail tip, trembling.

He immediately called Tang Yingli. “Brainy Teacher, I’ve found something—”

**

Jinglin, who had gone with Lu Tingfeng to interrogate Qian Daxin, rushed back to the station after receiving the message.

Just as she got out of the car, a stylish heavy motorcycle sped into the parking lot. It was Tao Qianya’s bike, and the passenger on the back, with her flowing black coat, instantly caught her eye.

“The teacher and… Dr. Tao?”

Tang Yingli, who had taken off her helmet, quickly noticed Jinglin. “Officer Zhou, you’re back too?”

“Yes.”

“Officer Cai seems to have made a big discovery. Let’s go take a look together.”

The two of them ran down the hallway side by side. Tang Yingli was the first to speak. “How did it go on your end?”

“Qian Daxin admitted to having sex with Cui Jiajia a few times.” Jinglin really wanted to ask her why she was riding on Tao Qianya’s bike, but it was clearly not the time.

“The location?”

“It varied. They went to Qimei, and sometimes to motels. But there’s one thing that’s concerning…”

“What?”

“Qian Daxin spent a lot of money on Cui Jiajia, but he also complained that she was getting harder and harder to book. He seemed to hold a grudge.”

“But he has a beautiful alibi—even though the gender of the killer is now unknown.” Tang Yingli made a decisive conclusion and pushed open the office door.

“Gender unknown… what do you mean?”

She let out a small huff. “It seems Officer Cai hasn’t had a chance to inform you yet.”

The two of them ran to Cai Yuwei. He was waiting for them with a serious expression. “Jinglin, Teacher, I’ve already explained to the chief, and you also know the latest discovery, Teacher…”

“What do you mean, gender unknown?” Jinglin interrupted. “The killer isn’t a woman?”

“Probably not.” He held up the evidence bag with the nail tip. “I found this in the suspected killer’s room.”

Cai Yuwei brought up the photos from the search, including the footage of the suspect leaving, the suspicious check-out time, and the cleaning lady’s testimony, and explained everything to Jinglin.

“…The women’s clothes were a disguise. We were all fooled.” He stated his conclusion. “The nail tip is the evidence. I guess he changed back into men’s clothes after checking in and snuck into the victim’s room. After the crime, he changed back into women’s clothes. The reason he extended his stay must have been to change back into the clothes he was wearing when he checked in.”

Tang Yingli continued, “The whole case was probably a pre-arranged transaction. The suspect said he would be late and had her get a room first, but in reality, he was already lying in wait inside, and then he carried out his plan.”

She rested her chin on her hand and said, her index finger tapping her lips, “In that case, all the mysteries are almost solved.”

The killer is a man.

He used the pretense of a transaction to lure the victim to a motel, and he himself dressed as a woman to avoid suspicion… after going around in circles, the case has returned to Tang Yingli’s original speculation.

Jinglin bit her lip and stared at the woman on the screen. “A man… could dress like that.” It had to be said, the disguise was almost perfect. If they hadn’t found the flaw, they might still be going around in circles.

“Maybe he’s practiced it many times. Now all that’s left is the motive, and we might have to ask him directly for that.” Tang Yingli showed off her newly done nails. “Although it was for the investigation, I actually let the killer do my nails… it’s quite ironic.”

Jinglin’s eyes widened. “So that makeup artist is…”

“Yes, the real killer.” She sighed softly. “He had close contact with both victims, has considerable knowledge of nail art and makeup, is meticulous, and his build fits. There’s no one else.”

Jinglin grabbed her car keys. “Let’s go get him now.”

“J-Jinglin, wait, the chief hasn’t…”

“The killer is right in front of us, what are we waiting for?” she shouted. “He’s already killed two people. Who knows if there will be another victim?”

All eyes were on her, but she stared at Cai Yuwei. “No matter what his reason is, killing someone is wrong.” Lowering her head, her jaw tightened. “I have to catch him myself.”

He was dumbfounded, and Tang Yingli gave a helpless, bitter smile.

“Are you coming, Teacher? Otherwise, I’ll go alone.”

“Ah, I still remember how to get to his studio.” She pushed up her glasses with a smile. “As for his real identity, I’ll leave that to you, Officer Cai.”

A new task. “O-Okay.”

They ran out the door one after the other, and even Tao Qianya, who had just come in, had to make way.

“What’s wrong? You just got back and you’re going out again?”

Putting on her earpiece, Jinglin immediately dialed Fang Zijun. “Chief, the teacher and I are on our way to the suspect’s studio…”

‘I heard everything.’ His voice was filled with laughter. ‘You and the teacher go ahead. I’ll send backup.’

“Understood. Thank you, Chief.”

Opening the car door, the two of them got in almost in unison. “5:30… what time does his studio close?”

“Six,” Tang Yingli answered, also giving the address.

Zhonghe… it’s a bit of a rush. Jinglin pursed her lips. “Then hold on tight.” She quickly backed out of the parking space, and Tang Yingli silently fastened her seatbelt.