Chapter 96 [VIP] Flower Museum Headless Dis memberment Case (12)

Chapter 96 [VIP] Flower Museum Headless Dis memberment Case (12)

Including the day of the incident, today marks the sixth day. Originally, there were four days left, but now only one remains. Given the current severity, Director Liu must have gone to great lengths to secure two days from the provincial authorities. However, Lu He only requested one day.

One day? Meng Siqi didn’t dare to imagine it. Would they be able to catch the killer by midnight tonight?

She knew Lu He would never make idle promises. He was the criminal police team leader and also the deputy head of Operation Thunder for this case. He bore significant responsibilities, and every word he spoke was always well-considered.

Liu Maoping’s expression eased, less stern than before. "Alright, I'm listening to your plan."

"Scrape..." The sound of a chair scraping came from the room as Luo Xiaoguo shifted a chair. "Director Liu, please sit."

"No, go ahead."

Luo Xiaoguo awkwardly pushed the chair back to its original position.

Lu He’s expression was like ice. "Let me first introduce this case. On March 26th, the Flower Museum opened at 9 a.m. Around 10 a.m., a person dressed as a clown entered the exhibition pushing a handcart. It was the busiest time, and the clown had a staff badge from the museum’s operations company. His entry and exit from the museum were smooth. From this information, we’ve always believed that the suspect’s goal was to sabotage the museum exhibition and damage the city’s image."

"From this investigative angle, our search scope is vast. The suspect sent letters to the police station and newspapers. We arranged surveillance, but he never made another move. Therefore, we’ve always firmly believed he was opposing the police and the city, leading us on, creating a monumental plan. He trapped us, making the case progress stagnant. But what if we consider another angle?"

Everyone was immersed in Lu He’s words, and when he proposed another angle, all their faces froze.

Lu He continued, "Two days ago, Meng Siqi mentioned the word 'emotion'..."

Meng Siqi was surprised that Lu He mentioned her. She had made a casual remark that day and didn’t expect him to give serious thought to her words. She was surprised, yet felt both flattered and honored.

At this crucial moment, when Lu He mentioned her name, their expressions turned complex.

Zhao Leiting glanced at her, his eyes slightly curved, appearing pleased for her. Although Feng Shaomin remained calm, he still looked her way.

Lu He said, "What if the suspect and the victim were emotionally connected, such as boyfriend and girlfriend, a secret admirer, or someone who loved but couldn’t have? This seems to explain the suspect’s actions better. The suspect’s handcart contained eight types of flowers, each different."

Lu He took a piece of chalk and drew on the corner of the case board, where the flower names were already written. "These eight flowers include white roses, violets... and even white tea roses."

"They all have special meanings, but most convey a man’s attachment and yearning for a woman. The white tea rose, among these, is the most special. Its meaning is 'the beauty of finality.' This morning, I met Meng Siqi, and she handed me a sheet with the meanings of each flower."

Meng Siqi indeed encountered Lu He in the morning. She eagerly gave him the flower meanings she had investigated the day before. Lu He affirmed her findings and told her to prepare for the meeting.

"What is the beauty of finality?" Lu He said, "The suspect killed the victim, marking the end, but the suspect had deep feelings for the victim, so it’s the beauty of finality. I deduce that the murderer in this case didn’t intend to damage the city’s image. He was conducting a ritual."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces were filled with an indescribable sense of unease. Rituals are often linked to mystery, so why had the suspect performed such a ritual? This rendered the case even more mysterious and eerie.

No one had any thoughts, and they all listened to Lu He with complete concentration, immersed in his reasoning.

Lu He said, "The American psychologist Karpman proposed the famous 'Karpman Drama Triangle.' He pointed out that everyone has three dramatic roles within them: the Persecutor, the Victim, and the Rescuer. In everyday life, people unconsciously assume these three roles, constantly switching between them."

"In this case, I deduce that the suspect, in their emotional relationship with the victim, saw themselves as the Victim. Thus, he carried out a brutal killing, transforming into the Persecutor of the victim. However, because he had special feelings for the victim, he also became the Rescuer. And how did he perform this rescue? Through a ritual. Those beautiful flowers, the flower-filled museum, and the meticulously arranged body parts in the suitcase..."

"The killer has a psychological disorder. He believes he is 'saving' the victim, which led him to these unthinkable actions. His emotions are deficient; perhaps he suffered disappointments in childhood, or his family was flawed, or he faced injustices in society. His life is incomplete, and he feels a deep sense of powerlessness. He is obsessed, deeply obsessed, which once kept him tossing and turning at night, making him want to escape into dark corners. The more silent he became, the more deranged he grew..."

As Lu He spoke, everyone held their breath, their expressions stunned, yet their eyes filled with the shock of approaching the truth. This feeling of nearing the truth caused everyone to feel mentally sluggish.

Victim, Persecutor, Rescuer—this seemed to perfectly explain the criminal's psychology and actions.

Luo Xiaoguo was the first to exclaim, "Captain Lu, that was brilliant!"

Unable to contain their approval, everyone joined in the applause, including Meng Siqi. Although Liu Maoping didn't clap, his expression visibly relaxed, and even his eyes reflected some hope for the case.

However, Meng Siqi suddenly felt a different sensation. She hadn't known Lu He well, but at that moment, she felt a connection with him.

This was not due to Lu He's analysis, but rather to Lu He himself.

Lu He was not an exceptionally strong psychological expert; he was a criminal investigator, a young one. Based on the "Skeleton News" from thirty years later, he was not yet thirty, very young for his position.

But Meng Siqi sensed a kind of loneliness in him, a loneliness bordering on death and despair. She felt that Lu He had delved into the true psyche of the killer. This wasn't something a young, upright psychologist or a sunny-natured investigator could easily do. He had immersed himself in the killer's mindset. This immersion seemed simple, but to truly achieve it was very difficult. Unless Lu He's heart harbored a loneliness that others couldn't fathom.

She didn't know why she felt this way, but she increasingly felt that her existence in this world was, in large part, because of Lu He. Lu He was certainly not the person she saw on the surface.

Perhaps the real Lu He would shatter a person's heart like a dam breached by floodwaters.

Undoubtedly, Liu Maoping was the calmest in the room. He raised the question, "How do you explain the suspect's repeated provocations toward the police station and the newspaper office?"

"Because the suspect seeks death."

This answer once again filled everyone with surprise and confusion.

Lu He said, "He killed the victim, completing the rescue ritual, but he also lost everything. His own death is the final part of all the rescue rituals. He wants to use a spectacular death to honor the victim! To die a spectacular death, he had to stage these attention-grabbing events."

"Good," Liu Maoping finally voiced his approval. "What should our next steps in the investigation be? Although you have explained the suspect's criminal psychology, how do we find the real culprit within a day?"

"The victim's head," Lu He said confidently. "Initially, we thought the head wouldn't fit in the suitcase and would therefore be discarded elsewhere. But if the suspect had feelings for the victim, given their psychological state, they wouldn't have done that. Currently, he must be keeping the head close by. If I'm not wrong, he's protecting it to prevent it from decaying, and to do that, there's only one way—a refrigerator!"

Everyone's expressions were once again filled with shock. Meng Siqi quickly swallowed, and Zhao Leiting, despite his shock, glanced at Meng Siqi, his spine already turning cold.

Lu He continued, "At this moment, he hasn't left. He is silent, waiting for us. He knows we'll find him eventually. He mocks and scorns us for our slow, turtle-like progress. He will not waver, nor will he change his position, for that place is what he has longed for. He will never leave until we find him! He orchestrated an event that drew the attention of millions. He must be extremely proud and pleased because this is far more exhilarating than all his past humiliations. Yet, he is also deeply sad and in pain. He gazes at the head of the person he loved, whose eyes, though lifeless, still seem to meet his. He emits an unbearable wail. He's waiting, waiting for everything to quietly come to an end..."

Zhao Leiting finally truly recognized Lu He. Everyone said that Lu He was a genius at solving cases. Before, he only existed in people's conversations, but when Zhao Leiting actually started working with him, he realized that no one in the entire police station could match him.

Though everyone found Lu He remarkable, in Meng Siqi's eyes, there seemed to be a different light in his gaze. He was so lonely, a loneliness that tugged at her heart.

It was as if he had truly entered the mind of the killer. This was a battle between justice and evil, a gamble with human hearts. He had entered the killer's heart, as if he had 'become one' with them. At that moment, Meng Siqi felt a hint of despair and madness in his eyes.

A glimmer of bright light appeared in Liu Maoping's eyes, but he still cautiously said, "Alright. I believe the head is in a refrigerator now. However, many households in this city have refrigerators. How do we determine which one holds the head?"

Lu He remained calm. His gaze suddenly shifted to Meng Siqi. Meng Siqi, who had been engrossed in her analysis, was startled by the sudden attention, her eyes flickering.

"Meng Siqi, tell us about the funeral florist you investigated."

Not knowing Lu He's intentions, Meng Siqi immediately glanced at Zhao Leiting. Zhao Leiting, momentarily distracted, quickly came to his senses, picking up his notebook and referring to it. "Yesterday, on Flower Guest Road, we found a funeral florist where the suspect purchased white roses and white tea flowers on the evening of March 24th. According to the florist's description, the suspect was about 25 or 26 years old, spoke little, and matched the suspect's build. It's almost certain it was him."

Lu He reminded, "Liang Yunfeng."

"Ah?" Liang Yunfeng looked confused.

"Circle the address of the funeral florist, then connect all the nearby residential areas around the museum, Xiao Tian Supermarket, and the florist."

"Got it, got it," Liang Yunfeng quickly marked a red circle on the map with a red pen, labeling it "funeral florist." The florist was about ten kilometers away from the museum. Liang Yunfeng then connected all the nearby residential areas on the board according to the map.

This wasn't the city center, so there weren't many residential areas, but there were still quite a few. To Meng Siqi, the map's text and lines seemed chaotic and disorganized. She couldn't discern any connections between them.

The intricate and disorderly partial map of the city resembled a web repeatedly spun by a spider. The known locations the suspect visited were few—funeral florist, Xiao Tian Supermarket, anime-style clothing store—like traces left behind by a spider. However, in the upper right corner of the web, a large red dot marked the museum, like the spider's prey.

How could they locate the spider's lair within the dense web?

Lu He's gaze lingered on the map for three to five minutes. It was a long and torturous process. During this time, the conference room was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping. Everyone held their breath because they were all convinced that Lu He would provide the answer.

His eyes seemed to penetrate the map, revealing a vivid image of the city. Every road extended, intertwined, and formed loops. They were interconnected, as each road had a starting point and an endpoint. The suspect would instinctively choose which path to take!

Lu He suddenly picked up a pen, his well-defined fingers hovering over a particular intersection on the map, and forcefully drew a circle around one of the neighborhoods. "Here," he said.

The residential complex named "Jiangnan Jiayuan" became the most prominent point on the map.

Lu He decisively said, "Crime mapping typically studies the spatial distribution and patterns of criminal activities. If we draw a circle connecting the key locations visited by the suspect, the center of that circle would correspond to the location of the dismemberment crime scene. This is the most likely place where the suspect lived and committed the murder and dismemberment, and it's also the most likely hiding place for the head. Although Jiangnan Jiayuan isn't exactly at the circle's center, it has direct routes to the funeral flower shop, Xiao Tian Supermarket, and the anime-style clothing store. It avoids areas under road repair and congested markets, thus Jiangnan Jiayuan is the optimal location. If the head is not in this neighborhood, it will most likely be within one or two kilometers, not beyond this area."

At that moment, almost everyone's expressions shifted from dullness to surprise. The once-overlooked and anonymous neighborhood on the map had now become a striking focal point, waiting for them to uncover the truth!

"Alright," Director Liu said confidently, "Lu He, I have faith in your analysis. Lead the team and act immediately. We must locate the head and apprehend the killer today!"

"Yes, Director Liu," Lu He replied, as if emerging from deep thought, resolute, and gave a formal salute.

After the meeting dispersed, Meng Siqi, brimming with excitement, quickly followed Feng Shaomin and Zhao Leiting back to the office. They quickly gathered their gear—pistols, radios, handcuffs, and other essentials. The three of them jogged to the courtyard and climbed into a police car.

The two police cars ahead, led by Lu He, had already activated their sirens but paused in the courtyard, apparently waiting for them to catch up.

Zhao Leiting started the engine and sounded the siren. At that moment, four police cars sped out of the police station gates, sirens wailing, heading straight for Jiangnan Jiayuan.