Chapter 29 We Are Taking Her to Identify the Scene Now

Chapter 29 We'll Take Her to Identify the Crime Scene Right Now

Four burial pits, partial remains of five bodies, plus the primary crime scene where the murders and dismemberments took place—even with reinforcements, everyone was busy until the early hours of the morning before they could finally straighten their backs.

"Captain Xu, the dismemberment scene is pretty much wrapped up," Jiang Yingyao said, struggling to keep his eyes open—they were practically slits. He was practically sleepwalking as he walked over. "What about here?"

Xu Nian looked at the technical team finishing up and forced himself to focus. "We're almost done here too. Let's call it a night. I wonder how things are going with Director Ren."

Speak of the devil, and he appears. Xu Nian instinctively glanced toward the wooded mountain but hadn't seen anything clearly yet when his phone rang.

Seeing Director Ren's name on the screen, Xu Nian's expression immediately perked up. Jiang Yingyao, who had been watching him, also broke into a smile.

"Director Ren," Xu Nian answered, only saying two words before hearing Director Ren's steady voice come through the phone. "Xu Nian, the suspect is in custody. How are things on your end?"

"We're pretty much done here too," Xu Nian briefly summarized the situation before asking, "Did any of the brothers get injured during the search?"

Director Ren replied, "No. According to the officers who arrested Jiang Chuntao, she didn’t offer any noticeable resistance. She kept circling around to lose them in the mountains, and when she had nowhere left to run, she immediately discarded the weapon and raised her hands to surrender. It seems like she was just stalling for time."

Xu Nian wasn’t surprised. "The fact that she could decisively kill Liang Xinhua and flee into the mountains shows she’s a decisive and resourceful person. Someone like her would never be just following Luo Shun’s orders. But she definitely didn’t expect that Luo Shun had already been in custody for ten hours before she was arrested."

Director Ren chuckled a couple of times, clearly very satisfied with their efficiency in handling the case. "We’ve got the person for you. The rest is up to you now."

"Thanks for your hard work, Director Ren."

After returning to the precinct with all the evidence they had found, everyone relaxed for a moment in the car. But as soon as they stepped into the office building, they dove right back into work.

Qi Bai brewed himself a strong cup of coffee and chugged it as he asked, "Are we going to interrogate Jiang Chuntao now?"

He wanted to make a cup for Xu Nian too, but Xu Nian declined.

Jiang Yingyao poured himself a cup of hot water, took a sip to moisten his throat, and said with a smile, "Your Captain Xu spent the whole afternoon going back and forth with Luo Shun, and his voice is almost gone. Why don’t you and Wang Yu handle Jiang Chuntao’s interrogation?"

Wang Yu, who was munching on dry instant coffee granules, looked shocked. "Me? The two of us?"

Qi Bai was also surprised and turned to look at Xu Nian.

Xu Nian glanced at Jiang Yingyao before nodding with a smile. "Go ahead. Newcomers need more experience to improve."

Encouraged by both the captain and deputy captain, Qi Bai and Wang Yu were instantly pumped up and practically bolted out of the office.

After the two had left, Xu Nian looked at Jiang Yingyao and teased, "Brother Jiang, that’s not very fair of you. You know Jiang Chuntao won’t talk at this point, yet you sent those two kids off on a fool’s errand."

"How else will they gain experience if they don’t go through it once?" Jiang Yingyao chuckled as he sat down in his chair. "But Captain Xu, don’t mind me saying this—you’re just over 30, only a few years older than them. It’s fine for me to call them kids, but when you say it, it sounds a bit odd."

"It’s just habit from hearing you say it all the time," Xu Nian said as he also sat down in his chair, leaning back and staring blankly at the ceiling.

The two chatted idly for a while. Just as Jiang Yingyao was closing his eyes and about to fall asleep, Qi Bai and Wang Yu returned looking dejected.

Without even asking, their expressions made it clear they had gained nothing.

Sure enough, Qi Bai plopped down opposite Xu Nian and said irritably, "Captain Xu, that Jiang Chuntao is just like Luo Shun. No matter what we asked, she just kept her head down and acted like a dead pig that fears no boiling water. We took turns talking for ages, and she didn’t utter a single word."

Xu Nian didn’t say anything, but Jiang Yingyao couldn’t help laughing. "Suspects in premeditated serial murder cases involving dismemberment are usually at their most defensive right after being caught. Unlike crimes of passion, they have their own logic and might even believe their actions are justified and noble. So, getting them to talk will take some time."

Qi Bai and Wang Yu both understood now. They glanced at each other, somewhat speechless. "Then why did you two send us?"

"To get a taste of real fieldwork," Jiang Yingyao said with a smile. "It’s been years since I’ve seen killers this ruthless. I’m still pinching myself that we solved this case so smoothly."

"Thanks to the two key clues Guan Xia provided," Qi Bai said with emotion. "It’s really frustrating how some people are just gifted. There’s no use being envious."

Mentioning Guan Xia, Jiang Yingyao couldn’t help asking, "Director Ren will definitely try to recruit someone with her special talents, right?"

"He might try, but whether she agrees is another matter," Qi Bai said. "While waiting for Captain Xu to return to the scene this afternoon, I asked her in the car. She shook her head like a rattle drum and didn’t seem interested at all."

"That makes sense," Jiang Yingyao nodded understandingly. "Our job is tough and doesn’t pay well. If it weren’t for idealism, it’d be hard to stick with it even if you managed to get in, let alone a civilian who’s never been involved before. It’s already great if she can occasionally give us a clue or two."

Jiang Yingyao thought of something and looked at Xu Nian. "Speaking of which, this girl has given us more than just a clue or two. Shouldn’t our precinct give some credit? A bonus might be just symbolic, but at least we should give her something like a 'Good Citizen Award,' right?"

Xu Nian nodded. "I already mentioned it to Director Ren after the last case, but he’s been too busy to get back to me. I’ll follow up in a few days."

After chatting a bit more randomly, Qi Bai said, "Captain Xu, Brother Jiang, both suspects will be tough nuts to crack. The DNA match between the fifth victim and Luo Xiaoyun will take a while, and we’re still waiting for responses from the several cities we contacted for assistance. There are only a few hours left until dawn. Why don’t you two get some sleep?"

Jiang Yingyao yawned. "We should sleep. Since we’re just waiting for updates, let’s all get some rest."

Xu Nian nodded in agreement and stood up, but Qi Bai and Wang Yu looked dumbfounded. "But we just chugged coffee."

"That’s due to lack of experience," Jiang Yingyao laughed. "But even if you did, we’ve all been working round the clock for days. We’re so tired we can still sleep. Let’s go. It’s already the middle of the night—let’s just catch some shut-eye in the dorm for a few hours. We’ll probably be able to go home and sleep tomorrow night."

As Jiang Yingyao walked out, he muttered, "Haven’t been home for days. I wonder if my daughter still recognizes me. We were just starting to get familiar."

The group stumbled half-asleep their way to the dorm and fell asleep.

...

Guan Xia went to bed early but was vaguely awakened in the middle of the night by the system. She struggled to focus for a few seconds before quickly falling back asleep.

It wasn’t until morning, when she got up for her run and was washing her face, that she realized the system had closed the account last night. This meant the culprits of this case had been apprehended. It was somewhat surprising—this time, there were two killers.

Today, she increased the difficulty a bit and managed to run three laps before returning home out of breath. After showering, she made breakfast and called Pang Le.

Pang Le had clearly just woken up too, mumbling with a toothbrush in her mouth, "Calling so early—what’s up?"

Guan Xia flipped the frying egg in the pan and got straight to the point. "Didn’t you get my call last night? You didn’t answer or call back."

Pang Le paused for a moment before remembering and quickly explained, "I got it, I got it. It’s just that I was out last night discussing some issues with Lawyer Shi. We were so engrossed I didn’t notice my phone. By the time I got home, it was already past your bedtime, so I didn’t call back. I was planning to talk to you today."

Guan Xia made an understanding sound. "Congratulations. You finally gotten through to Lawyer Shi."

Pang Le chuckled. "Too early for congratulations. We’re still feeling things out. And when I say we were discussing issues, I mean we really were discussing issues. And you’ll never guess what we were discussing."

Guan Xia didn’t have the energy to guess. "Care to elaborate if you can?"

Pang Le said, "It’s about Lawyer Dong. Last night, while Lawyer Shi and I were having dinner, he got a call halfway through. After hanging up, he didn’t look too good. Since I’m pursuing him, I asked what was wrong. Then I found out it was his mentor on the phone, asking all about Lawyer Dong’s recent situation and hinting that Lawyer Shi should worry more about Lawyer Dong’s love life, saying he’s not getting any younger and should start a family."

Guan Xia was speechless. "So your date last night... must’ve been awkward."

Pang Le sighed. "I regret asking him out last night, but no use crying over spilled milk. Anyway, did you call for a reason?"

Guan Xia immediately perked up. "Do you remember that suspicious person we saw at the temporary parking lot during our camping trip last Saturday?"

Pang Le immediately realized what Guan Xia was getting at and asked seriously, "You mean... that person was caught? Or you saw him with your own eyes?"

Guan Xia said, "Yeah, just yesterday afternoon. I saw him in the residential area, heading up to the seventh floor."

Pang Le hissed in surprise. "Your luck is really something else. You’ve moved from your old neighborhood to this one, and most importantly, Cuiping Mountain is dozens of kilometers away from where you live. With millions of people in Yongquan City, you still managed to run into him. I don’t think we even need to do that experiment anymore. We can conclude right now that you’ve got a Conan-like curse."

Guan Xia hesitated before asking, "So we’re not going to make the trip to the temple?"

"We are, we definitely are," Pang Le said. "I’ve almost finished the travel plans. Quchun City not only has temples more powerful than ours, but it also has lots of great food. Even if we don’t do the experiment, the trip won’t be a waste."

Guan Xia thought about it and agreed, especially since she had just helped the police solve a murder case—her confidence was fully restored, and with Pang Le by her side, even if they encountered trouble, there wouldn’t be any danger.

After analyzing the situation, Guan Xia said with certainty, "Let’s go then. When should we go?"

Pang Le replied, "Actually, tomorrow would work, but I asked my friend, and that temple in Quchun City is swarming with out-of-towners on weekends who’ve heard about it. Locals try to avoid it, so how about we go on Monday?"

Pang Le laid out the plan, "I’ve thought it through. Quchun City is a bit far from us—even the high-speed train takes over three hours. I’d rather not drive; let’s take the train, rent a car at the station, visit the temple, then go grab some good food, explore a bit, and come back the next day. What do you think?"

Guan Xia loved how she didn’t have to think when going out with Pang Le and fully supported the idea. "Sounds great! Let’s settle on that. Meet at the high-speed train station Monday morning."

After hanging up and coordinating with Pang Le to buy the tickets, Guan Xia finished breakfast and went back to binge-watching her show.

......

Xu Nian felt like he had just closed his eyes when his phone rang, waking him up.

Glancing at the time, he had slept for less than three hours.

Answering the call, the news he heard shook off all his sleepiness.

After splashing water on his face, Xu Nian hurried out of the dorm and stepped into the hallway, where he encountered Jiang Yingyao and Qi Bai, who were also rushing out.

"Captain Xu," Jiang Yingyao greeted him, "we got the news too. It’s only been two or three hours—is Jiang Chuntao already willing to confess so soon?"

Walking briskly, Xu Nian said, "She probably guessed from our laid-back approach to the interrogation that Luo Shun has already been captured by us."

"So Jiang Chuntao is trying to shoulder the blame herself?" Qi Bai also understood.

Jiang Yingyao chuckled, "As long as she’s willing to talk, that’s good. With so much physical evidence at the scene, it won’t do her any good to claim responsibility. Right now, I’m only concerned about where the remaining body parts of the fifth victim are."

The group hurried to the interrogation room. Xu Nian didn’t go in, only letting Jiang Yingyao and Wang Yu enter.

Half an hour later, the two came out. Wang Yu excitedly said, "Jiang Chuntao revealed the dump site for the remaining body parts of the fifth victim. We’re taking her to identify the location now."

On their way downstairs, Jiang Yingyao spoke in a rapid-fire manner, "Jiang Chuntao admitted that the fifth victim was her ex-husband, who went missing in 2014. She confessed to killing him, but it doesn’t add up. First, there’s the issue of dismemberment. In 2014, she lived in Xingguang Community, an old neighborhood with a high population density. She didn’t have the conditions to dismember a body. Moreover, her daughter Luo Xiaoyun was only one year old at the time. Even if she really wanted to kill her ex-husband, she wouldn’t have done it in front of such a young child. I suspect Luo Shun was the one who killed him, but she handled the disposal of the body parts discarded farther away."

"If she really handled it and cleaned up so thoroughly," Xu Nian said, "then this Jiang Chuntao must have had the intention to kill her ex-husband very early on."

They quickly got into the car and headed to the location Jiang Chuntao mentioned—a wooded area near a remote path on the outskirts of the city.

Several police officers dug with shovels for over two hours before unearthing the remaining body parts.

Looking at the pit, which was more than two meters deep, Qi Bai said in disbelief, "This must have been prepared in advance, right? How could she dig so deep in a rush, especially as a woman alone? Could it have been dug together with Luo Shun?"

Jiang Yingyao replied, "Most likely, she dug it alone beforehand. If two people had dug it together, with such a successful example of body disposal, Luo Shun would have imitated it later, and the other four victims wouldn’t have been discovered one after another."

Qi Bai felt his mind was spinning. "I don’t get it. Luo Shun killed Jiang Chuntao’s ex-husband, but Jiang Chuntao helped Luo Shun dispose of the body, and Luo Shun wasn’t aware?"

Perhaps due to lack of sleep, even Wang Yu’s eyes looked confused.

Xu Nian circled the pit dug by the officers a couple of times and after a moment said, "If Luo Shun hadn’t killed Jiang Chuntao’s ex-husband first, then we wouldn’t be looking at partial remains here—it’d be a full body."