Chapter 110

Zhuang Yi stood up and zoomed in on the details of the pictures. “We can easily see various injuries on the victims, some of which are extremely brutal. To elaborate, there may have been slaps, kicks to the suspect’s abdomen, head injuries, and so on.”

He then pointed to a picture. “The injuries here indicate that the perpetrator violently dragged the victim.”

At this point, Zhuang Yi enlarged several facial pictures of the victims. “But look here, the makeup is applied very meticulously. The foundation covers the facial injuries, and the lipstick completely masks the lips, applied with depth and natural blending. I can say that most men cannot achieve this level of skill.”

“And here…” Zhuang Yi pointed to detailed images of the second victim, “The perpetrator dressed the victim and carefully tucked in the clothes. There are several ribbon ties on the victim’s clothes, one of which is tied differently from the others, indicating it was done by the perpetrator.”

The refined makeup on the faces of the corpses and the neat clothing on their bodies confirmed his statement. Tian Ming nodded gently upon hearing this. They had been investigating the case for some time, but many details had not been carefully analyzed.

As Zhuang Yi spoke, he circled some other details with a red pen. “These… and these, all could be the work of the perpetrator… But isn’t it strange? Why would someone with violent tendencies, a brutal killer, do these things? What is the purpose behind these actions?”

No one responded. The meeting room fell silent, and the police present were lost in thought. Indeed, these details of the case were extremely peculiar and couldn’t be explained by common sense.

Lu Siyu looked at the projection, these were details she had noticed before, but she hadn’t come up with a good explanation. She turned her head, waiting to hear Zhuang Yi continue.

Looking at these images, we can easily imagine a person kneeling in front of the female corpses, meticulously applying makeup and tidying them up… But before this, he had already completed all the criminal processes. A normal criminal would either leave with satisfaction or think about how to hide the bodies. So what drove the killer to arrange the victims’ appearance?”

“These are two completely different behavior patterns. One is rough and violent, the other meticulous and detailed,” Commissioner Gu said, looking at the projected photos.

He had previously felt that there was something inexplicable about those pictures. Now, with Zhuang Yi’s analysis, he finally understood what was unusual about them.

“Regarding this case…” Zhuang Yi paused and continued, “I have a bold speculation. Our suspect may involve two individuals.”

“Two?” Commissioner Gu repeated the word, frowning and crossing his arms.

Professor Zhuang, true to form, came up with such a shocking theory right off the bat. Yet, given his previous remarks, this conclusion seemed logical and reasonable.

“I propose this theory because I discovered two conflicting behavioral logics in these scene photos. One is reckless, unrepentant, and escalating violence; the other is regret, compassion, guilt, remorse…”

Zhuang Yi spoke confidently, like a professor lecturing to students in a university. He walked to the front row and leaned his arms on the desk. “Certainly, these two emotions can coexist in one person. However, because these two emotions are contradictory, logically, one should enhance while the other diminishes. It’s like a person becoming increasingly sad, they cannot simultaneously become happier…”

Everyone in the room looked at the photos of the three sets of victims. Indeed, as he said, in the three cases, the girls’ ages got younger, and the injuries they suffered became more severe. Correspondingly, their appearances became more exquisite. Especially with Wang Xiaopei, meticulous care was evident, requiring a significant amount of time.

“But now, with the progression of these three cases, these two opposing emotions are both escalating. The violence is becoming more extreme, yet so is the guilt. In the case of the latest victim, the perpetrator even risked being discovered to touch up the victim’s makeup,” Zhuang Yi concluded. “So, I have come up with a possible conclusion: the culprit we are looking for may consist of two individuals.”

Then he elaborated, “From various details, we can infer that the main perpetrator is a male aged between twenty and thirty. According to the measurement of shoeprints at the scene, his height should be around 1.75 meters, with a medium build and well-developed muscles. His extreme violence, broken ribs, bleeding eye sockets, and strangulation all support this.”

“The accomplice may be a smaller, thinner female or male, responsible for luring the victims and making them lower their guard. Or perhaps they didn’t appear at the scene of the crime at all but waited until after the crime to clean up the mess. They might be a weaker female, though the possibility of a male cannot be ruled out. They are likely coerced or semi-coerced, not entirely willing. They are meticulous, timid, and perfectionistic. They use their actions to compensate for the harm the perpetrator inflicts on the victims. They dress the victims, arrange their makeup, and feel pity and guilt. They may have lacked parental love from a young age and cannot live independently, having a dependent relationship with the main perpetrator.”

Zhuang Yi concluded, “These two individuals, one active and one passive, seem to be in cahoots like a pair of accomplices.”

After he finished speaking, the expressions of Tian Ming and several others changed. This kind of speculation was a scenario they had never considered in the past few months. However, what Zhuang Yi said seemed to make sense.

“Strangulation and violation are very intimate crimes, rarely involving accomplices,” Commissioner Gu furrowed his brows deeply. “So, why do you think such a situation would occur?”

Zhuang Yi continued, “Human relationships are complex. This kind of combination may involve familial relationships or some internal connections. For example, a wife who has suffered domestic violence helps her husband, or a brother helps his uncontrollable younger brother clean up the mess. It could even be a mother unable to control her violent son, or even father and son…”

Turning back, Zhuang Yi said, “If you find this unbelievable, I can give some examples. In the past, there have been cases where pregnant wives helped their husbands seek extramarital affairs, and the Vancouver pig farm murder case was committed by brothers. As for examples of parents helping their sons cover up murders, there are too many to count.”

Zhuang Yi’s words came to a halt, and he turned to look at the projection. “Of course, these are just my personal thoughts after seeing the pictures, and the theory is not yet fully mature. It’s just a hypothesis, and it will require further investigation by all of you detectives. I hope there will be tangible physical evidence or testimonies to confirm my theory.”

Initially, the others were skeptical, but after he cited those examples, several nodded in acceptance of this possibility. This behavior pattern could be understood.

Lu Siyu remained silent on the side, recording Zhuang Yi’s remarks on paper.

Song Wen bowed his head in contemplation for a moment, still feeling that there were some inconsistencies with the idea of two perpetrators. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. “Um… is it possible that the perpetrator in this case has dissociative identity disorder?”

The conference room fell silent once again, even Commissioner Gu began to furrow his brows in thought. If the perpetrator had dissociative identity disorder, it seemed to also align with Zhuang Yi’s previous analysis.

Tian Ming, however, found this assertion somewhat incredulous. “Captain Song, isn’t that a bit too far-fetched?”

Zhuang Yi interrupted Tian Ming’s words, casting a approving glance at Song Wen. “This idea is excellent, and I have also considered this possibility.”

Zhuang Yi then turned to face everyone and addressed their doubts. “Dissociative identity disorder, also known as ‘split personality disorder.’ Although not common, it’s not rare either. Considering this possibility is very comprehensive. However…”

Zhuang Yi paused for a moment and continued his explanation. “People with dissociative identity disorder cannot choose or switch personalities at will.”

“Most personality switches occur randomly. Predictable switches are closely related to traumatic events. They occur in response to major stimuli, stressors, or extremely relaxed situations, such as near-sleep or hypnosis.”

“In this case, the appearance of the milder, guilt-ridden character occurred after the crime. If we assume that the perpetrator indeed has multiple personalities, then at this time, when emotions are often receding but not relaxed enough, and when the nerves are tense, I have repeatedly reasoned here and cannot find the trigger point and reason for personality switch.”

With that said, Zhuang Yi pulled over a whiteboard. “I have analyzed the perpetrator’s psychological process of committing the crime. According to the theory of psychoanalyst LeWin, we divide psychological motivation into six basic stages: need, tension, efficacy, vector, obstacle, and balance.”

“These six stages can be well applied to this case. Need refers to physiological needs. Tension is internal tension. Efficacy is subjective experience. Vector is the measurement of conflict. Obstacle is the power of our legal system, laws, which hinder behavior. Finally, there is balance, where the perpetrator is satisfied.”

Zhuang Yi drew a circle on the whiteboard and wrote down these six states respectively.

“Human behavior develops within this range from need to balance. I believe that by the time of the victim’s death, the final state of balance has ended. Only until the next time before committing a crime, will the next cycle occur. In layman’s terms, at this point, the perpetrator should be in a state of wisdom, with no reason or possibility for a switch.”

“So I think this situation doesn’t quite fit the three cases that have occurred so far.”

Song Wen nodded, accepting this explanation. Without a triggering point, fixed personality switches cannot occur. Without fixed personality switches, the characteristics that appear in each case cannot be replicated. The hypothesis of dissociative identity disorder in this case also has obvious loopholes and is untenable.

With the analysis of the case almost complete, Commissioner Gu turned to Tian Ming and asked, “Captain Tian, what do you think about this?”

Tian Ming replied, “Although there isn’t enough on-site evidence to prove that there are two perpetrators, I think Professor Zhuang’s analysis aligns with the situation at the scene.”

“Thank you, Professor Zhuang,” Commissioner Gu said, pondering for a moment before speaking again. “This theory is intriguing. I believe this analysis has its rationality. We cannot rule out the possibility that the perpetrator is two or more individuals. When you continue your investigation, consider this possibility and see if there are any gains.”

Then he looked at everyone and said, “All of you are the elite of the City Bureau. You must cooperate fully, catch the culprit as soon as possible, and ensure the safety of the citizens. Every moment counts.”