Chapter 7: Paranoid Delusions – 7
At two in the afternoon, a dead silence hung over the Criminal Investigation Division office.
“Dr. Tang and Ah Qian are examining the body now. The autopsy report should be out by this evening.” Fang Zijun stood with his hands on his hips, speaking to Zhou Jinglin. “Jinglin… the victim’s family, I’ll leave them to you.”
The whiteboard marker paused for a second. “Okay, I’ll do it,” she said calmly, writing the word “Deceased” in the column for the victim, Xu Bei’er.
One word. So cruel and heartbreaking.
In the photo, Xu Bei’er was smiling happily with her arms and legs spread wide. Mrs. Xu had said it was taken at the zoo when Beibei was six. Zhou Jinglin gently stroked the girl in the photo.
Beibei! It doesn’t hurt anymore… It won’t hurt anymore! she screamed silently, her trembling hand gripping the marker tightly.
Because from today on, the cute and lively girl would never wake up again.
“You did your best.” Fang Zijun patted her shoulder lightly. “Dr. Tang has already created a detailed profile based on these three cases… He’d better not strike again! Next time… we’ll definitely get him!”
“Chief, I made a promise.” Zhou Jinglin didn’t turn around. “I promised Mrs. Xu I would do everything I could to stop the killer from striking again.” She closed her eyes. “But in the end… in the end…”
“We all wanted to stop him. It just happened. Catching the culprit isn’t just your responsibility; it’s all of ours.” Fang Zijun pointed toward the office door. “The media is here for an interview. You should make the call quickly. Don’t let the family find out their daughter was murdered by watching the news.”
“I know…”
Fang Zijun gave a compassionate smile, patted her shoulder again, and walked resolutely toward the door, where a crowd of reporters and flashing cameras had already gathered.
Facing the whiteboard, Zhou Jinglin wept silently. She clutched her phone and pressed the call button for the contact “Xu Bei’er’s Mom.”
She was prepared to face whatever came next.
**
The third murder. The body was dumped in a park near Wanhua Station.
The killer had changed his M.O. Perhaps he felt that strangulation was too slow, or maybe he simply wanted to add more “color.” He had used a knife to stab her in the heart, which was the cause of death. The blood spatter indicated the victim was still alive when she was stabbed.
The killer had not taken the weapon with him, likely viewing it as part of his “creation.” This time, the victim was dressed in a yellow short-skirted dress with a shiny white patent leather belt. Combined with the red on her chest, it formed a cruel, pathological image.
Like the first victim, the body was dumped on a patch of grass. There were no cigarette burns. The only constants were the brutal torture and the fact that the sexual assault had been even more violent than before.
But she had only been held for four short days from her abduction to the discovery of her body. Compared to the nearly week-long captivity of the previous two victims, the timeline had been drastically shortened.
Why? Why did he speed up the process? Why did he increase the level of violence and change his M.O.?
Was it pressure? Media pressure? Or did his partner discover his perverse hobby? Or was he taking out his frustrations from work on the girl?
We’re close to the core, we’re about to push him to the brink! This self-proclaimed artist, likely working in imagery or photography, with a refined and elegant appearance but a cruel pedophilic obsession…
“…The victim’s stomach was almost empty. He starved her for at least three days!” She was pulled from her thoughts as Tao Qianya tossed her a drink. “Doctor, catch!”
She fumbled to catch it. “Hey… you scared me!”
Tao Qianya sat down beside her, but not too close. “Haha! Sorry! Still thinking about the case details?”
“Yeah, I was wondering why the timeline was shortened.”
“Huh? You’re right! It was almost a week before… Doctor, you’re really quick!”
“Don’t call me Doctor,” she said with a wry smile. “When it comes to criminal profiling, I’m just a novice.”
“You’re too modest! You just got here, and the case has already taken a huge leap forward.” He took a large swig of his drink. “Phew! It’s not just me saying that; even Chief Fang agrees.”
“Even so… there’s another victim.”
His expression was like he’d been sucker-punched. “That’s true… but what can we do? This guy is elusive. Before you came, we knew almost nothing about him.”
Yingli tossed the can of iced coffee in her hand, lost in thought again.
“In the past three days, besides this serial murder case, has there been any other big news?”
Tao Qianya scratched his head. “You’re asking me… I don’t really watch TV.”
Too busy with autopsies. “Right.”
“There you are!” Fang Zijun pushed open the door, looking exhausted. “Ah, finally done with the reporters.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
He stretched unceremoniously. “Doctor, I’ve had the whole team start filtering through potential suspects! The target is men between twenty and fifty with a prior record of sexually assaulting children. With the crime locations and profession as references, plus the surveillance footage, we’re bound to get something!”
“Mm… Chief, did you emphasize to the media that we’ve significantly narrowed down the list of suspects?”
“I did! If he sees that, he’ll definitely be nervous.”
A faint smile touched Yingli’s lips. “Good. As long as he can’t handle the pressure and strikes again, or if we get a tip from the public… we’ll be able to catch him soon.”
“Hmm… could the pressure make him go into hiding instead?” Tao Qianya interjected.
“That’s a possibility. But judging from the third incident, the chances of him being forced to strike again are higher… For someone who gets pleasure from assaulting young girls and dressing up and displaying their bodies, even treating the corpses and dump sites as his creations, this is an addiction he can’t break.”
Fang Zijun and Tao Qianya exchanged a look, their eyes on Yingli as if they had found a priceless treasure.
“I finally understand. The signature is this theatrical disposal of the bodies. He likely keeps a souvenir after each disposal, maybe even sits in front of the TV, gloating as he watches the news reports… The only thing I can’t figure out is why he drastically shortened the victims’ survival time. There must be a reason for it.”
Tao Qianya let out a small “Ah!” “Chief! The doctor was just asking if there have been any other eye-catching cases in the past few days, besides this serial murder… something that shocked the whole nation?”
Fang Zijun laughed. “That question… isn’t that the very case the doctor herself was involved in?”
“Myself…” Yingli was stunned. The armed robbery at the department store!
“That robbery got a lot of attention, too! It was all over the TV news and newspapers, hogging the headlines…”
“That’s it!” Yingli jumped up from her chair excitedly. “That’s what changed the killer’s behavior!”
“Oh?”
“Chief Fang!” She gripped the can of coffee tightly. “Could you do something for me?”
**
Why?
Why are all the news reports focusing on interviews with the victims’ families?
What about his work? His shocking, most pride-worthy creation? Some of them are even deliberately avoiding his story, using other incidents as their headlines!
He gripped the newspaper tightly and tore it to shreds.
It’s not enough.
It seems it’s still not enough.
He would find the most beautiful little girl and present an even more beautiful creation.
This time, he would definitely…
Capture everyone’s attention!
