AD | Chapter 4

He wanted to refute Lin Shuyao, but ultimately swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he asked the other party, “Aren’t you still examining the corpse? What do you need me for?”

“Oh, I just suddenly remembered that I forgot to tell you something. I found traces of male semen in the deceased’s perineal area. In addition, there was some dried blood in the vagina, suggesting vaginal tearing. I suspect that the deceased was likely sexually assaulted before her death.”

“Oh, and one more thing. I found a piece of a jigsaw puzzle in the deceased’s mouth. I speculate that the killer placed it there after death. The puzzle piece is very complete. If it had been swallowed while alive, it wouldn’t be this intact. I saw you frowning and wondering what you were thinking when I came over, so I just asked. It seems Captain Lu doesn’t need my help.” Lin Shuyao looked at him and said.

“It’s nothing. I was just sorting out the known clues of this case. By the way, Tao Yu said that not long ago, we received another report from the public. Another body was found on Taining Mountain. I have already asked someone to bring the body over. I’ll trouble you again later. I suspect that the heart found inside Zhuo Jia might be related to this newly discovered deceased person,” Lu Qingfeng said.

Seeing him nod, Lu Qingfeng prepared to go to the conference room. However, he saw the other party walking with him. He was somewhat confused, so he stopped and asked, “Where are you going?”

But the other party looked at him inexplicably and said, “Of course, getting off work. Captain Lu, even police officers are ordinary people, not robots. We naturally need rest. Don’t you have a meeting to attend? Go quickly.”

Lu Qingfeng didn’t speak. He turned and walked forward a few steps, but then he heard the other party suddenly call out to him again. “Hey! Wait.”

Seeing Lu Qingfeng looking at him, Lin Shuyao slowly said, “You previously said I could hitch a ride with you, so my car was left at the crime scene. The traffic police will probably call me soon to pay a fine. But it’s still raining outside, and I don’t have a car. You can’t expect me to walk home in the rain, can you? So I have to hitch a ride with you again. Please drive me home, Captain Lu. Lend me your car keys. I’ll wait for you in the car first.”

As he spoke, Lin Shuyao reached out to ask Lu Qingfeng for the keys, showing no sense of being an outsider. Lu Qingfeng was stunned for a moment, but eventually took the car keys out of his pocket and handed them to Lin Shuyao. Seeing that he had taken the keys, Lin Shuyao left without looking back, causing Lu Qingfeng to curse inwardly.

When he returned to the conference room, he found that everyone had already arrived. Before Lu Qingfeng could speak, he heard Tao Yu speak up first. “Boss, the body discovered earlier has been sent to the autopsy room, but Doctor Lin doesn’t seem to be there.”

“It’s fine. Ignore that for now. I’ll talk to Lin Shuyao later. It’s late, so let’s be quick. Keep it short—during the autopsy, the forensic doctor found a heart in the deceased’s stomach. I suspect it might be related to this newly discovered body.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the conference room fell silent.

“Our urgent task now is to confirm whether the heart belongs to this deceased person. If it does, we must confirm the deceased’s identity as soon as possible. If not, we must determine the owner of the heart and find the deceased quickly.” Lu Qingfeng cleared his throat. “This case is probably not as simple as we imagined. But no matter how tricky the case is, we cannot slack off.”

Lu Qingfeng was about to dismiss everyone when Jiang Huainan, who had been silent beside him, suddenly spoke up. “Boss, I think this case might be related to the pregnant woman falling off the cliff mentioned by the people who reported the case. Is the killer doing this to indicate that the deceased was also carrying a new life in her belly?”

“So, I think he might be trying to provoke the police. Therefore, I suggest we look through previous cases to see if there are any similar death records.”

Hearing this, Lu Qingfeng looked at him sharply, surprise evident in his expression. He raised his head, signaling for him to continue.

“After the incident, Tao Yu and I canvassed the masses near Taining Mountain. The situation was basically consistent with what Xiao Tao said. In addition, I found that when we visited the owners of several shops near Taining Mountain and mentioned the pregnant woman falling off the cliff, their attitudes were obviously abnormal…”

Pausing here, Jiang Huainan swallowed hard. He was about to continue when he suddenly heard a male voice from nearby. “This is merely a speculation without sufficient evidence. Digging up old files would involve a huge workload. However, this is indeed a good suggestion. But I suggest you focus on the present first…”

Hearing this, everyone in the conference room turned to look in the direction of the voice. Seeing that the speaker was Lin Shuyao, they were all startled. Ultimately, Lu Qingfeng reacted first. “Cough, let me introduce everyone. This is the new forensic doctor from the municipal bureau—Lin Shuyao.”

“Doctor Lin, why did you come here? Didn’t you say you would wait for me in the car?” Lu Qingfeng asked softly.

“Captain Lu, your brief meeting was a bit too long. If I waited in the car any longer, I’m afraid I would have spent the night there.” As he spoke, Lin Shuyao threw two autopsy reports onto the table. “I originally intended to wait for you in the car, but I suddenly remembered that I had left something in the autopsy room. I went back to get it and happened to meet a colleague bringing a body to the autopsy room. I took a casual look at this body. I suspect this case is likely a serial killing.”

Hearing Lin Shuyao say this, Lu Qingfeng picked up the autopsy reports he had just placed on the table and began to read. Instantly, the atmosphere in the conference room became heavy.

After a moment of silence, Lu Qingfeng frowned tightly and said, “Both autopsy reports show that the time of death was around eight or nine o’clock the night before last. Furthermore, both bodies had vaginal tears and male semen in their lower bodies. Multiple bones in their limbs were fractured. This means that the two deceased individuals might have suffered some inhuman torture before death.”

“In addition, the killer deliberately made both deceased individuals look like marionettes, likely to satisfy certain desires. Also, I found another heart in this deceased person’s stomach,” Lin Shuyao added.

At these words, the conference room fell into complete silence.

After hearing this, Tao Yu couldn’t help but mutter, “This killer is too perverted. Making them look like marionettes… what is the purpose? To satisfy his twisted sexual fetishes?”

But obviously, everyone heard these words. Lu Qingfeng coughed once, pulling everyone’s thoughts back, and then said, “Alright, that’s all I have to say. It’s late now. Everyone can go off work. Let’s leave it at that. We’ll discuss it further at the bureau tomorrow. Meeting adjourned.”

Lu Qingfeng walked out of the conference room first, and Lin Shuyao followed. They looked at each other in silence. It wasn’t until they got into the car driven by Lu Qingfeng that he spoke again. “What do you think is the purpose of the killer deliberately designing the bodies this way? I saw you hesitating to speak just now. Were you planning to say something?”

“Nothing much. However, I have a special discovery. I also found a complete piece of a jigsaw puzzle in the second deceased person’s mouth. Isn’t it strange? Two deceased persons in one day, both with puzzle pieces in their mouths. The killer might be doing this specifically to provoke the police. Of course, all of the above are just my personal speculations. Just take them as reference,” Lin Shuyao said.

Lu Qingfeng was somewhat speechless. The corners of his mouth twitched imperceptibly. “So you asked me that just now because you thought I already knew you would say this?”

“Isn’t that right? Did you only just think of this question?” Lin Shuyao asked strangely.

Lu Qingfeng was rendered speechless by his words and remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the car became strange again. It wasn’t until the car passed the entrance of a residential community that Lin Shuyao anxiously said, “Hey, hey, hey, you’ve gone past it. Captain Lu, my home is in this community. Where are you taking me?”

“Of course, to the parking lot to park the car. It’s quite a coincidence, Doctor Lin. My home is also in this community. Rest assured, I know this community better than you do. I’ve lived here for many years,” Lu Qingfeng replied.

“Hey, when did you move here?” Lin Shuyao asked.

“After you left, I knew you lived here. So after coming out to my parents, I moved out alone. I thought that maybe someday I might run into you and clarify what happened back then. Unfortunately, after so many years, I still haven’t encountered you…” Lu Qingfeng said softly.

Lin Shuyao didn’t speak. It wasn’t until Lu Qingfeng steadily parked the car in the parking lot and they got out that he said to Lu Qingfeng, “Thank you for the ride, Captain Lu. It’s been a tiring day. Go back and rest well. I’ll be going now.”

After speaking, he left without looking back, without waiting for Lu Qingfeng to say anything else, leaving him standing there alone.

Lu Qingfeng stood alone in the original spot and slowly lit a cigarette.