Murder Call

Liu Quan was lost in deep memories…

“Everyone in the company knows Yunyun is pursuing Zhou Ziming. I’ve warned her many times not to get involved with him, but she just wouldn’t listen and insisted on going against me! I took her to attend wine parties, hoping to broaden her horizons. There are plenty of young talents out there; she shouldn’t hang herself on one tree… But she wouldn’t listen and still liked Zhou Ziming.

So, I transferred Zhou Ziming to a branch office to separate them. 

Young love can’t withstand tests; many break up because of long-distance relationships. I thought they wouldn’t last long. 

Unexpectedly, Yunyun stopped studying and frequently ran to the branch office, sometimes staying for a week. The school called looking for her, and that’s when I found out she went to see Zhou Ziming.

I’m busy and can’t watch her every day, so I transferred Zhou Ziming back to the main office. Yunyun used to be good in every way, a bit temperamental but very filial. After meeting Zhou Ziming, everything changed. She drifted further from my expectations…”

Liu Quan shook his head. “I don’t have much energy to discipline her. She gets along well with her cousin Wan Shu, who’s a mature and sensible child. I hoped she could bring Yunyun back on track, so I brought Wan Shu to live with us, letting the two sisters stay together.”

“About two months ago, Wan Shu told me Yunyun broke up with Zhou Ziming. After that, Yunyun was always in a low mood, locking herself in her room. When I tried to talk to her, she argued with me. When Wan Shu tried, she argued with Wan Shu. I felt this couldn’t continue, so I gave her some money to go out and spend, to distract herself.

Yunyun locked herself in her room every day, sometimes not responding when called. I worried she might have mental issues, so I found her a psychologist. The doctor said she suffered a severe blow and needed guidance, so I let Wan Shu accompany her, thinking she would get better, but…”

Liu Quan suddenly broke down in tears. Wang Yue handed him a tissue. After calming down, Liu Quan continued, “Yunyun’s mother passed away early. I raised her single-handedly. How could I harm her? Everything I did was for her good!”

In the end, Liu Quan sighed, “Life is unpredictable. At my age, I should accept fate!”

Wang Yue left the interrogation room and retrieved Zhou Ziming’s information. In the photo, Zhou Ziming wore gold-rimmed glasses, with deep features, looking refined and cultured.

Li Meng glanced at Zhou Ziming’s photo and clicked his tongue, “He’s quite handsome, like a celebrity. No wonder Liu Yun is so infatuated with him.”

Meng Lan pulled up Zhou Ziming’s family background. “Zhou Ziming lost his mother young. His father, Zhou Wen, served in the military early on, but after retiring, he never had a stable job and disappeared two years ago. Zhou Ziming reported his father missing to the police, but there’s still no trace of him.”

Hearing this information, Wang Yue and Li Meng both turned their heads.

Wang Yue was excited. “Check Zhou Wen’s information!”

Now, whenever he hears anything related to the military, his nerves are on edge because the criminal profiling clearly points to professions like soldiers or security guards. And Zhou Ziming’s father was a soldier. It’s too much of a coincidence!

Meng Lan said, “After retiring, Zhou Wen never had a proper job, nor did he pay social security, but his bank account has had consistent transactions, and quite a lot.”

Mo Lin, holding a cup of coffee, glanced at Meng Lan’s computer. “Is there a photo of Zhou Wen?”

“There is!” Meng Lan found a missing person notice issued by the police two years ago, which included a half-body photo of Zhou Wen.

In the photo, Zhou Wen looked strong, with large muscles faintly visible under his black T-shirt, especially his arm muscles, which stretched the T-shirt sleeves a size larger.

Mo Lin looked at the person in the photo and suddenly asked, “Do the retired soldiers around you continue to work out after returning to civilian life?”

Not expecting this question from Mo Lin, Li Meng laughed and said, “I have two classmates who served in the military. After retiring, they became lazy, their belly fat piling up, especially after having a family and kids. Their beer bellies just kept growing. Every time we meet, they seem fatter.”

Li Meng finished and looked at Zhou Wen’s photo again. “Yeah, there’s something off about this Zhou Wen. He’s been retired for over ten years, and this photo looks like he’s in his forties. How did he keep his body so fit?”

Meng Lan said, “What if he’s a fitness coach?”

“Fitness coach?” Li Meng thought for a moment. “That’s possible. If he’s a private fitness coach, it might be hard to find employment records.”

“You guys keep investigating,” Mo Lin said as he took his coffee to the forensic department office.

Not seeing Gu Yuan in the office, he passed by the autopsy room and found Gu Yuan standing beside Liu Yun’s body.

The white sheet covering the body was pulled down to the chest. Gu Yuan was staring intently at a spot on the chest, deeply absorbed.

There was a faint “﹥﹤” shaped mark on the victim’s chest.

Gu Yuan was reconstructing the murder process in his mind, with possible murder weapons flashing through his thoughts.

Rope, electric baton, scissors, triangular spike…

The killer had stunned the victim before committing the murder…

He picked up an electric baton, examined it carefully, and concluded that it couldn’t have made the “﹥﹤” mark.

Then, he picked up a pair of scissors.

The killer had used scissors to cut the victim’s clothes while she was alive. He gazed at the ordinary scissors, his fingers tracing every edge.

Suddenly, a flash of insight hit him, and Gu Yuan’s eyes widened.

“Did you find something?” Mo Lin walked in, his gaze landing on the scissors in Gu Yuan’s hand.

“This mark should be an impression left by the sharpest part of the scissors.”

Gu Yuan demonstrated, pressing the sharp part of the scissors vertically into his arm’s skin, then pressing down hard. After releasing, a “﹥﹤” shaped mark appeared on his pale skin.

Mo Lin compared the two similar impressions, his light eyes narrowing slightly. “The killer left evidence of emotional exposure.”

Gu Yuan said, “When the victim was found, she was wearing a bra, but this mark was below it, indicating the killer had unfastened her bra before killing her, leaving this mark. He seemed hesitant.”

Mo Lin looked at the mark on the chest wall and asked quietly, “If the scissors were stabbed here, would it hit the heart directly?”

“Yes, the left midclavicular line at the 5th intercostal space, 1cm inside, is where the heart’s apex beats,” Gu Yuan answered professionally. “However, with the protection of ribs and intercostal muscles, it’s difficult for scissors to pierce the heart directly.”

Mo Lin circled the body. “When faced with stimulation, a person’s first reaction is the most genuine. Restraint and rationality are products of packaging. I think, before using the triangular spike to pierce the victim, the killer intended to stab Liu Yun’s heart with scissors.

Scissors aren’t the best murder tool. The reason for using them is the lack of better tools nearby. The killer kidnapped Liu Yun without even a sharp weapon at hand… This means the killer didn’t initially plan to kill. Pointing scissors at Liu Yun’s heart was likely just a threat. Not getting what he wanted, he became murderous, took her to Xiaoxi Town, and killed her in a fit of rage.”

Gu Yuan fully agreed with Mo Lin’s deduction. “Liu Yun’s family is well-off. If the killer was after money, he should have contacted Liu Quan, but Liu Quan seems unaware of this.”

Mo Lin said, “It’s not about money; it’s about other interests… The killer didn’t get what he wanted, so he silenced her. Liu Yun must have had a choice before her death, but she didn’t compromise.”

“What could be so significant that Liu Yun would rather die than compromise?” Gu Yuan pondered deeply.

“Regardless, this murder was meticulously planned. ‘Heart-to-Heart Night Talk’ airs the next episode preview a week in advance, and I was part of his plan, so his murder plan started a week before the incident… Completing car theft, kidnapping, and every step methodically in such a short time, this person must be calm and logically meticulous in life.

The current criminal profiling points to Zhou Wen, but I believe Zhou Wen isn’t the killer.”

However, Mo Lin was certain this case was related to Zhou Wen. Zhou Wen disappeared two years ago; what happened two years ago?

Mo Lin returned to the lounge and began reviewing the case files he hadn’t finished. He filtered out cases of young girls murdered within two years. With the narrowed scope, there were fewer files to review.

After filtering, there were twelve eligible case files, with ten victims aged 12 to 20, five born between June 22 and July 22, and five slim girls. However, only one girl was wearing a pink sports jacket before her death!

Gu Yuan stared at the victim’s photo, speechless with shock, because the sportswear on the girl was the same as Liu Yun’s!

Not only that, but the same Cancer zodiac necklace appeared among the girl’s belongings!

This couldn’t possibly be a coincidence!

Gu Yuan flipped through the case file, page by page…

The deceased was named Xia Yin, born on June 23, 200x. Two years ago, her body was dumped in the wilderness. By the time she was discovered, the body was severely decomposed, and the wounds were heavily decayed. The forensic examination concluded the murder weapon was a triangular spike.

Further police investigation found the initial crime scene in Xia Yin’s rented room, where multiple spatter bloodstains and a size 43 shoe print were discovered. In a corner of the rented room, a smoked cigarette butt was also found.

The crime scene showed signs of disturbance, with unclear missing valuables, and the case was ultimately classified as a home invasion murder.

Gu Yuan flipped through the shocking photos. The rented room was in chaos, indeed resembling a home invasion. Most of the bloodstains were at the bedroom door, with a large amount of spatter blood on the walls, suggesting the killer, during the theft, encountered someone coming out of the bedroom and killed them with a weapon.

There were signs of resistance, and the victim seemed to have crawled a distance after death, leaving a trail of bloody handprints on the floor.

Gu Yuan stared at the bloody handprints in the photos, as if the scene of the girl’s murder was right before his eyes.

[Author’s Note]

Here’s the fifth update of the week. I’ll be stockpiling over the weekend. See you on Monday!