“Women usually carry a bag when they go out, carrying items like a wallet, phone, keys, tissues, cosmetics and other things. But at the crime scene, there was only Xu Yujiao’s ID card and bank card. The murderer likely took her money, phone, and bag together. Leaving aside the phone for now, taking the money and bag suggests a probable motive for financial gain,” Hua Chong said, looking at Xu Kan. “However, after killing Xu Yujiao, he also assaulted her. Xu Kan, would you say sexual assault after the death falls under the category of a sexual motive?”
Xu Kan, the chief forensic pathologist at the city bureau, came from an intellectual family. He had an unusual appearance, well-mannered but he had a keen interest in dealing with all kinds of unconventional corpses. He was a long-time partner of Hua Chong and Chen Zheng.
After pondering for a while, he said, “There are no apparent signs of struggle on Xu Yujiao’s body. The assailant attacked her from behind, and with the first blow of the hammer, she lost the ability to resist. If the murderer had chosen to commit sexual assault at that moment, he likely would have succeeded. However, he didn’t do that. Instead, he continued to hit Xu Yujiao on the head until he was sure that Xu Yujiao was completely dead, and only then did he take the next step. I would say, compared to a motive for financial gain, the weight of a sexual motive seems more significant; the financial aspect, at most, is an incidental factor.”
“If you were him, would you cut out Xu Yujiao’s eyes, mash her ears, and chop off her feet after the ‘sexual motive?” Hua Chong’s speech was not hurried. His Adam’s apple moved smoothly, and the slightly downturned corners of his eyes raised.
“I’m not that twisted.”
“Since it’s a sexual motive, the murderer must have appreciated Xu Yujiao’s appearance to some extent,” Hua Chong said while contemplating, “This is something I can’t quite figure out… Xu Yujiao is already dead, so why would the murderer destroy her face and feet after assaulting her? It’s not very logical, nor is it necessary.”
Xu Kan raised his eyebrows and after a moment, he touched his nose bridge. “Let’s assume that the murderer is not highly educated. Would he hold any feudal superstitious thoughts, thinking that this would make Xu Yujiao turn into a vengeful spirit who couldn’t see him or hear him or catch up with him?”
“We can’t rule out this possibility, there were indeed similar cases in the past.” Hua Chong folded his arms. “But why didn’t the murderer take away the severed and gouged parts? Also, Xu Yujiao doesn’t live in Fukang District, why would he suddenly appear on the wasteland of Daoqiao Road? I went there just now; it’s filled with weeds and garbage, and even residents don’t allow their kids to play there. If it wasn’t for the case, no one would pass by during the day, so what was Xu Yujiao doing there so late at night? Why did she happen to meet the murderer wielding a hammer?”
“You mean an acquaintance committed the crime?”
“I think at least it wasn’t a killing of passion.” Hua Chong stood up, “But there are too few clues now, and it’s too early to draw any conclusions. Did your autopsy find anything noteworthy?”
“I think, at the very least, it’s not a crime of passion,” Hua Chong stood up. “But the current leads are too few so it’s too early to draw any conclusions. Have there been any noteworthy findings in the autopsy on your end?”
“En…” Xu Kan took off his gold-rimmed glasses, examined them in the sunlight, and then his finger halted suddenly. “Yes.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It’s not particularly strange, but…” Xu Kan looked around, making sure the female officers had all left, before continuing: “I am personally concerned about a detail—— the methods the murderer used to kill Xu Yujiao can be called cruel and perverted, but the assault on her was surprisingly gentle.”
“In Xu Yujiao’s genital area…”
“I’ve handled more than one case of rape and murder before death, and rape of a corpse after death.” Xu Kan said, “In any of those cases, the condition of the victim’s genital area is usually quite bad. However, both the internal and external genital areas of Xu Yujiao were relatively normal, and this ‘normal’ is precisely what is abnormal.”
Hua Chong frowned in contemplation, “This ‘gentleness’ is indeed abnormal when placed on this murderer.”
“But we don’t know what the murderer was thinking.” Xu Kan said, “What if the pervert’s mindset is just different from the norm? I’m sorry Hua’er, both the forensic analysis and autopsy didn’t reveal any clear leads. If the surveillance footage doesn’t provide any breakthrough, the burden of this case will entirely fall on your Serious Crimes Unit.”
A slight smile appeared at the corner of Hua Chong’s lips as he picked up his notebook and gave Xu Kan a playful pat on the waist. “Don’t imitate old Chen with dramatic talk.”
“‘Hua’er’ sounds pretty good, it’s better than the Special Police Unit over there calling you ‘Hua Hua’, right?” Xu Kan’s hands went into the pockets of his lab coat. “Hey, I almost forgot, your old captain, Comrade Han Qu, went to Old Chen’s place again today to pick a fight. He’s like that too, you’ve been with our Criminal Investigation Detachment for several years now, and he still can’t let it go. He spends 365 days a year thinking about how to get you back, and does not listen to your wishes. Old Chen is really annoyed with him.”
Hua Chong pinned the neutral pen on his notebook and tapped Xu Kan’s shoulder with a smile: “What’s so annoying about it, I see that Old Chen is quite fond of playing smart with Captain Han. Alright, go back to your office. If you have any thoughts, let me know right away.”
Xu Kan was about to respond when Hua Chong added, “Thoughts limited to the Xu Yujiao case only.”
Xu Kan let out a ‘tsk’ and replied in a long drawn out tone, “I’ll listen to you——”
•
Serious Crimes Unit of the Criminal Investigation Detachment had a separate hall. The office spaces for the unit leader, deputy unit leader, and regular team members were all located in this hall. The small office originally designated for the unit leader had been converted into a lounge. During investigations, anyone feeling exhausted could take a nap on the sofa in the lounge.
Hua Chong went back to the serious crimes unit, unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, and then made a cup of chrysanthemum tea with cold water.
The chrysanthemums that couldn’t be brewed floating on the water but he doesn’t mind, drinking and chewing at the same time. Those who knew him understood that he was drinking chrysanthemum tea, but those who didn’t might think he was chewing on something suspicious.
Most of the team members had dispersed, and there weren’t many people in the hall. Hua Chong tossed a few more chrysanthemum flowers into his cup then he heard the familiar sound of footsteps outside the door.
“Are you chewing on chrysanthemums again?” Chen Zheng walked in with a folder, his eyes swept towards the water dispenser, “Qu Zhi doesn’t boil water for you, can’t you move your own hands? If you keep being lazy, I think you will just grab a handful and stuff them into your mouth without bothering to brew them, just like eating potato chips, how convenient.”
The captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment1Chen Zheng is the captain of Criminal Investigation Detachment, while Hua Chong is the captain for the unit under Criminal Investigation Detachment, Serious Crime Unit. Please do not be mistaken. was 35 years old this year. He was tall, with a handsome face and a skillful approach to handling matters. He also had a powerful and influential father supporting him. He usually behaved like a son of a high-ranking official, but when it comes to handling cases, he was swift and decisive, extremely principled. Privately, he protected his subordinates as if they were his own children, fighting for their rights and he worried about issues in their lives that he shouldn’t be concerned about, going to great lengths.
Especially worried about Hua Chong.
But even so, the Special Forces team often complained that he treated Hua Chong unfairly.
Hua Chong’s chrysanthemum tea was a gift from him, saying that chrysanthemum cleared heat and reduced anger.
Hua Chong never thought of himself as having a fiery temper.
“Your suggestion is not bad,” Hua Chong said. “Next time, I’ll try chewing on chrysanthemums.”
“You’re feeling pleased with yourself?” Chen Zheng tossed the folder onto the table. “How’s the case going?”
“Not great. Just finished the meeting, and I was about to organize my thoughts, and here you are.”
“Finding fault with me?”
Hua Chong laughed, “Who would dare find fault with you?”
“I won’t waste time chatting with you,” Chen Zheng raised his eyebrows and nodded toward the folder. “Take a look. A new colleague suddenly appeared in the Tech Investigation Unit.”
Hua Chong was immersed in the details of the case, so he had no time to bother about new or old colleagues. He pushed the file aside with his right hand. “Why is someone from the Tech Investigation Unit coming to me? Show it to Yuan Hao, ah.”
“This person is officially assigned to the Tech Investigation Unit, but they will mainly work with the Serious Crimes Unit in the future. They specifically came here for the Serious Crimes Unit,” Chen Zheng tapped his fingers on the file. “A young talent dispatched by the Information Warfare Unit of the Ministry of Public Security. They’ll be on duty in a few days.”
“Information warfare? A hacker?” Hua Chong became interested. He opened the folder and scanned it. When he saw the ID photo affixed to the upper right corner, his eyes were slightly raised.
“It’s him?”
•
There was currently no progress in the technical investigation side; the surveillance on Daoqiao Road was essentially decorative. The few functional cameras failed to capture Xu Yujiao’s presence. However, Qu Zhi had made some discoveries——Xu Yujiao graduated from the finance department of a university in the East, then she returned to Luocheng during her senior year, and interned at Xinluo Bank before the incident as an account manager. Her parents had been in the chain restaurant business for decades, with eight Chinese restaurants in Luocheng alone, indicating a well-established family background.
“How was Xu Yujiao’s relationship with her colleagues at Xinluo Bank?” Hua Chong was flipping through the transcript brought back by Qu Zhi. “She interned during her senior year? Her family helped find this job, ba?”
“Yes,” Qu Zhi wasn’t a fan of plain water, nor did he like chrysanthemum or oolong tea. He had iced black tea in hand all day long, and he had tried nearly every brand available in the market. Various beverage bottles lined up neatly on the table, waiting for their turn.
He casually picked up a bottle and gulped down more than half of it in one go. “Xu Yujiao’s father, Xu Qiangsheng, had some connections with a supervisor at Xinluo Bank at that time. Xu Yujiao didn’t go through the regular recruitment process; you could say she was a semi-connected hire. She had a smooth few years at work, got promotions when due, and received raises accordingly. While others were under pressure with heavy tasks, she held a relatively easy position with not much to do.”
Hua Chong interrupted, “How’s her interpersonal relationships?”
“Her interpersonal relationships are very good!” Qu Zhi put down the iced black tea. “Captain Hua, this is the part that I find a bit off. Think about it, Xinluo Bank is a small bank, not many people get in through the back door. Most of them joined through campus recruitment, regular job postings, or headhunter recommendations. Xu Yujiao entered and climbed the ranks based on family connections. She often delegated a lot of work to subordinates and frequently took leave for travel. In theory, her professional relationships should not be that great.”
Hua Chong handed over the transcripts to Qu Zhi. “Let’s not jump to conclusions too early.”
“Are you saying it’s normal for her to have good interpersonal relationships?”
“No, I mean the words of her colleagues may not necessarily be credible.”
Qu Zhi raised an eyebrow: “Then why do you ask?”
“In our line of work, it’s impossible not to gossip a bit. If you think of something, you have to ask, and what you get out of it is another story.” Hua Chong said, “If you don’t ask anything, a lot of clues will be missed.”
Qu Zhi let out a ‘heh’: “You not only love gossip, but also love spreading rumors.”
Hua Chong grinned: “Spread rumors about what?”
Qu Zhi pointed fiercely at his lower eyelid, looking aggrieved. “Captain Hua, take a good look. These are sleep lines, not eye bags!”
Hua Chong had forgotten about the incident in the morning and looked at Qu Zhi blankly, “What sleep lines and eye bags?”
Qu Zhi slapped his forehead, “Forget it, forget it…”
Hua Chong still couldn’t remember it and just as he was about to ask more questions, a technical detective came running out of breath: “The victim’s family is here!”
The author has something to say:
Let’s sort out the important figures who have appeared so far:
Hua Chong: Captain of the Serious Case Unit of the Criminal Investigation Detachment
Qu Zhi: Deputy Captain
Xu Kan: Forensic Pathologist
Chen Zheng: Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment
Han Qu: Captain of the Special Force Unit
Xu Yujiao: The Dead
Gong: What about me?
