The Brain Science Case 62

Chapter 62: The Lonely Killer – 11

That day was June 16th, a Friday night, and it was raining heavily.

Ou Anpo, holding an umbrella, had come to find him through the back door as usual. As soon as they met, she said, “Tutoring is only until today.”

He had thought her parents had found out about their private meetings. He knew she had a father who was a police director, and although he rarely cared about her, he had a strong desire for control.

But she had said no, it was because she had chosen the math and science gifted program, and for her even busier studies, and to give her enough time to practice the violin, her mother had unilaterally decided to let her stop her tutoring.

‘Her English is top-notch anyway, she doesn’t need tutoring at all.’ He would never forget the indescribable sense of loss on Ou Anpo’s face when she repeated her mother’s words.

She had cried, quietly sobbing in front of him, and had said she didn’t want this. She had said it several times.

His subconscious had told him that he had to do something for her.

He had.

He had locked the door between the workshop and the shop and had taken her straight up to the third floor.

The second floor was someone else’s home, but the third floor was still theirs, used as a warehouse to store the large quantities of spruce and maple boards they had bought. In addition, there were other materials for making violins.

At the other end of the warehouse was a small, loft-like design. Sitting by the castle-like glass window was very relaxing. Before he had started learning to make violins with his father, he would spend a lot of time here reading poetry.

He had taken her there and had comforted her by saying that they could still keep in touch, that the door to the workshop was always open for her.

‘It’s so beautiful,’ she had said, looking out the window. But it was raining heavily outside, and there was only a blurry street scene and streetlights, but she had smiled, so he had nodded in agreement.

Then, she had asked him a strange question.

‘What do music and violins mean to you?’

He was twenty-five this year, and it had been ten years since he had started making violins. He liked making violins, he liked music, and the answer was without a doubt—‘My everything.’

She had smiled, as if to say, “As expected.”

‘Amber too, right?’

But to his surprise, she had not answered immediately.

In the end, she had only said quietly, ‘Yes.’

She had picked up her schoolbag, and he had known it was time for her to go home.

He had walked her downstairs and had watched her disappear into the rain. Their regular meeting time had been taken away, but fortunately, she had later gone to Teacher Wu’s house for lessons, and when he had delivered a violin for his father once, they had had a meeting.

And then there was his gift of a poem, and the unexpected visit yesterday morning…

His father had never understood his connection with Ou Anpo. After the police had left, he had only said quietly, “That girl must have gone home,” and had patted his shoulder, leaving him alone in the workshop to calm down.

But whenever he looked at the back door, he could almost see Ou Anpo standing there, alone.

He couldn’t calm down and make a violin.

Gong Junsheng stood in the halo of the workbench, looking at the stairs hidden among the various drawings and desks on the other side. The stairs to the third-floor warehouse were right in front of him.

“Could it be…”

As if he had found a glimmer of possibility, he rushed up the stairs like a madman.

The second-floor residence was not connected to their workshop and warehouse, but they rarely went up to the warehouse, and it was filled with imported raw wood for making violins, so the warehouse door was locked.

Just to be sure, he told himself, Amber won’t be there. She can’t get in…

But when he ran to the third floor, he found that the warehouse door was open. He stepped up, but accidentally stepped on something that shouldn’t have been there. When he saw what it was, he cried out in surprise.

It was Ou Anpo’s schoolbag.

He threw open the door, and when he saw the scene in the warehouse, he was stunned and fell to his knees.

He dialed the number the female detective had left him. “Miss police officer…” he gritted his teeth, and tears streamed down his face.

“I killed Amber…”

**

Returning to the violin workshop, Cai Yuwei followed the owner, Yingli, and Zhou Jinglin up the stairs.

When the three of them burst into the crime scene, the first thing he noticed was not the scene itself, but Gong Junsheng, the first person to find her.

“Mr. Gong… are you okay?”

He was sobbing, and in the pile of incomprehensible cries was a thick sense of regret. Cai Yuwei looked in the direction he was pointing, and in front of a small, loft-like window, a body was hanging. Her back was to the window, her hands were hanging naturally, and there was a kicked-over chair under her feet. He couldn’t see her expression, but just this heartbreaking and terrifying scene was enough to trigger a strong reaction deep inside him.

A wave of nausea washed over him. He looked away and immediately hid in a corner to dry heave.

The owner who had brought them up stood far away, and only Zhou Jinglin and Yingli approached.

Yingli put on her gloves, and with just one look, she shook her head at her.

“Chief, the deceased is confirmed to be Ou Anpo. The cause of death is hanging… we still need to examine her to see if there’s a possibility of homicide.”

“Take pictures of the scene first, and then the two of us will take her down,” Yingli said, pushing up her glasses.

Putting away the radio, Zhou Jinglin’s eyes widened. “The two of us?”

“Who else?”

“Then let Ah Wei take the pictures. Ah…” Zhou Jinglin turned and immediately changed her mind. “I’ll take them.”

The two of them used their phones to collect evidence. Zhou Jinglin found a small note on a bookshelf in the small loft.

“Teacher, this.”

“It’s her handwriting…” Yingli looked up. “Her suicide note.”

“I don’t want to play anymore.”

Six short words, which summed up the reason for her death.

The estimated time of death was over a day ago, and the preliminary examination results were consistent with their conclusion. It was suicide. The cause of death was shock from a fractured cervical vertebra. The bruising on her neck and the pressure marks from the belt were consistent, and there were also petechial hemorrhages in her conjunctiva.

“She didn’t struggle at all.”

Many people who hang themselves will regret it and naturally struggle when they suffer before they die, but her hands were hanging naturally, and there were no scratches on her neck. “If it wasn’t for the fracture that caused instant death, her determination to die was quite strong.”

It wasn’t Yingli’s first case, and it certainly wasn’t her first time examining a body, but Zhou Jinglin could still sense that her emotions were clearly shaken.

She lightly touched the ligature mark on her neck, saw the mark on her chin from years of practicing the violin, and the thin calluses on her left fingers from pressing the strings. Finally, she examined the black and purple sleeveless evening gown.

“To die alone in this dark, sunless attic,” she murmured, and lightly touched Ou Anpo’s eye sockets, where there were traces of dried tears. “Is this what you chose?”

“Teacher, are you okay?” she leaned closer to Yingli, but Yingli suddenly stood up and took off her gloves. “Teacher?”

Her index finger on her glasses, “Our work is done.”

She closed her eyes.

**

After the body was found, Ou Anpo’s two mothers immediately rushed to the scene.

Although Gong Junsheng had confessed to killing Ou Anpo, Zhou Jinglin did not take his words seriously. When they had talked in the workshop, he had already shown his regret for his negligence, so he was just blaming himself. The subsequent autopsy also proved this.

The two mothers couldn’t believe it when they saw her body, especially Mrs. Ou, who had raised her for many years, who fainted on the spot. Zhou Jinglin saw all of this and had to admit that although she was not her biological mother, she had put a lot of effort into raising Ou Anpo.

Ironically, this may have been one of the reasons why Ou Anpo had committed suicide.

After the parents had identified the deceased, the body was immediately taken back for an autopsy. Although it was determined to be a suicide, Gong Junsheng, as the first person to find her and the last person to see her alive, was also taken to the station for questioning.

Before the team packed up, Yingli specifically went to Deng Suqin’s side. “Her suicide note,” she said, handing her the note.

Deng Suqin trembled as she stared at the six words. “Her… her handwriting… is much better than when she was little…” Heartbroken, she crumpled the note to her chest and was helped into a police car.

Watching the service vehicles drive away one by one, the case was considered solved, but Zhou Jinglin’s heart was unusually heavy.

They got into the car without a word, and it wasn’t until they had buckled their seatbelts that she said the first thing. “Huh, where’s Ah Wei?” she glanced at the back seat, which was, of course, empty.

“I saw him talking to Chief Fang when we were going downstairs. I don’t know what they were talking about.”

“His mood also seems to have been greatly affected… seeing him vomit like that.” She sighed and rubbed her temples.

Yingli frowned and turned. “Also?”

“Of course, I mean him and…”

“I’m fine.” She rested her chin on her hand and looked out the window. “Take me to the university. I almost forgot I have a class today.”

She’s just trying to hide it.

“Since you’re going to the university,” Zhou Jinglin started the engine, “then let’s go to that restaurant we went to last time. Remember? We bought Antisocial Personality after that.” To break the low pressure, she deliberately used a cheerful tone.

After a moment, “Teacher?”

“Oh, okay.”