Case Files 013

Chapter 81: Cutthroat

Mobilizing all the police effort, we started to search for Wang Yikai's body on the mountain north of Mr. Liu's bungalow. Two hours later, we were rewarded for our effort. Wang Yikai was found dead in his guard uniform and cap. From the body's exterior condition, we only saw one wound. It was located at Wang Yikai's neck, it was a very small cut, right under the throat. I put on the gloves and pressed on the two sides of the neck wound, to agitate the wound. Fresh blood oozed out from the wound. This meant that the body was still fresh, the cause of death was a slice to sever the airpipe. The murderer must have been quick because this didn't look like the first crime scene. There was too little blood on the ground for this kind of wound.

"Call Guan Zhenglin. Tell her not to come, we'll send the body to her." I looked at the body and said, "Keep on with the search, this is definitely not the first crime scene." Just as I said that, someone screamed, "Come here. This might be it! There is a large pool of blood here!" We followed the source of the voice and saw that about 5 metres away, there was an officer waving at us. We rushed over and confirmed he was correct. This part of the woods was drenched in blood and the sprays faced the dead body. We followed the trail of the spray and saw there was more blood on the branches and trunks. Some were sprays, others were dropping spatter.

"There's a bloody handprint here." Gu Chen waved for me to get to him. I looked towards Gu Chen and saw the handprint. From the directional analytic of the blood spatter as well as the handprint on the tree, an image formed in my mind. I closed my eyes.

I am Wang Yikai. Based on our promise, I've arrived at this location early. When I arrive, the criminals are already waiting. One of them hands me a bag of cash. I thank them and prepare to leave. But I only walk for a few steps when a knife appears on my neck. The owner of the knife grabs the bag of cash and swipes the knife across my neck, severing both my airpipe and artery. I want to scream for help but I can only hear the bubbling of air rushing up my slashed throat.

At that moment, a woman who carries Liu Fei'er enters my view. It was then that I realized these people never meant for me to walk away from here alive. They disappear among the forest. I can feel my life fading away. I have to get back to the bungalow, only then I can be rescued. Therefore, I stumble towards the bungalow with a hand pressed against my wound. But the wound was too deep, I only managed several metres before I fell. Then I wait for death to come. The darkness starts to creep around me. The world is fading away. My body is shaking, there is nothing left.

Until someone clapped my shoulders. My eyes flew open and sweat dribbled down my forehead. "Are you alright?" Gu Chen looked at me with concern. I took several deep breaths. "I'm fine."

I rubbed my temples, at that moment, I almost got sucked into a different persona again. That was why I was sent into the mental hospital in the first place, paranoia. But it did not happen after I was admitted into the hospital. Would it only happen when I was on a case? Didn't that spell doom for a career in law enforcement? But what else could I do other than solving cases?

To force myself away from these thoughts, I said, "Based on the trace evidence, it is clear that the victim had his throat sliced here and managed to stumble to where we found him. Based on the blood spatter, it suggests that none of the blood got on the killer. How did they manage to do that?"

Gu Chen looked around contemplatively before he said, "Mind lending me your neck?" Then Gu Chen moved to stand behind me. He reached his right hand before my neck and then pulled it swiftly back. After a moment's contemplation, Gu Chen said confidently, "The killer must have undergone professional training. Based on my prediction, the killer used something like a dagger and made a quick gash on Wang Yikai's neck and then retreated immediately. After the killer took several steps away, the wound only opened due to the blood pressure from within and the blood gushed out."

"Such a ruthless method." I rubbed my temples. "But is that humanly possible?" Gu Chen nodded. "If the blade is sharp enough and the killer fast enough, it's entirely possible." If such a character was part of the group, then this felt more like an assassin's group than a kidnapper's group. Anxiety surged through me. If such professionals were involved, then they would demand a lot of money, or rather, things which were more valuable than money. "Let's go," I ordered, "Time to move the body back."

Xiao Liu stood before me and looked at me with interest. It was clear that he wanted to say something but in the end, he didn't. I sighed and smiled at him. On the way back to the station, I didn't say anything, I just kept on massaging my temples. I was suddenly reminded of Zhao Mingkun and the short time we shared inside the tomb. Captain Zhao once told me that if I was not with the police, I would definitely become a genius criminal. What did that mean for my future? What would I tell Zhao Mingkun should I run into her next?

When we arrived at the morgue, Guan Zhenglin was already ready. She held the scalpel and sat quietly on the chair like a customer waiting for her food at the restaurant.

"Well, I didn't expect to see one so soon." Guan Zhenglin stood up and said, "The other person's skin cell on the lipstick had been sent for DNA comparison. However, China is so big and our DNA database is very small. If our culprit has a criminal past, it might show up in the search but we should be prepared to look elsewhere." I nodded. Guan Zhenglin had considered everything. Then she asked, "Is there any update from the kidnappers? Have they called Liu Yinyan?"

I shrugged and plopped myself on the chair. "No, the kidnappers are probably cleaning up their tracks as we speak and I don't expect them to be calling today. The longer they wait, the greater the pressure would be on Liu Yinyan. It would mess with his mind and give them leverage in the negotiation." As Guan Zhenglin removed the clothes from the body, she listened to me. I watched as Guan Zhenglin moved the scalpel along the body's skin. "The kidnappers are playing a mind game with us, to see who would lose their footing first. If it was me, I would wait 3 days before I make the call. By then, Liu Yinyan's hope on the police would have been dashed and he'd be more susceptible to the kidnappers' demands."

Guan Zhenglin removed the body's skin to reveal the internal organs. "In any case, Liu Yinyan is a professional venture capitalist, I believe he'll be able to hold his own. Or else he wouldn't have been able to survive for so long in the ever changing market. Don't worry too much."

I sighed, "Even Achilles had his weakness. Liu Yinyan might be a force to be reckoned with when he is a venture capitalist, but when he's a father, you saw how the man was faring yourself. He was like a normal old man. Liu Fei'er is his weakness and someone with a weakness is someone easy to deal with." We stopped talking. I watched Guan Zhenglin continue with her autopsy silently. Guan Zhenglin's movement was slow and graceful, even though the adjective might not exactly fit what she was doing.

"The victim died from asphyxiation." Guan Zhenglin concluded, "The knife wound went very deep, severing the victim's airpipe and carotid artery at once. The blood flowed back into his lungs from the airpipe, causing him to die from asphyxiation. It would have taken 3 to 6 minutes for the man to die. But look at this wound, it's very thin and the skin flaps are even and clean. This means that the killer used a very sharp instrument, one that is much thinner than a normal dagger. Maybe it's a shaving blade or something of the sort, but to inflict such a deep wound, the weapon has to be sturdier than a commercial shaver."

I nodded. Guan Zhenglin started to sew the body back. "Other than that one wound, there is no other wound. That is the fatal wound, the time of death was about 2 hours ago."

The killer did something that was only possible in wuxia novels, like how the masters could use Qi to cut through people's throats. Who exactly was our killer?

While I was thinking, Gu Chen pushed the door open and walked in. Seeing the excitement on his face, I believed he found something so I asked, "What's up?"

Gu Chen smiled, "Come to the office, the result from the DNA comparison of the skin cell left on the lipstick came back. One belongs to Liu Fei'er but Mary has found the owner of the other epithelial cells too!"

"You mean." I couldn't believe it. "We've found the kidnapper?"

Gu Chen nodded and told us. "The result revealed that the culprit is a fugitive, the name's Chen Lin. Chen Lin was supposed to be serving life imprisonment but 3 years ago, Chen Lin managed to escape. Until today, Chen Lin is still a Grade B fugitive, it's to everyone's surprise that we'd encounter Chen Lin's trace in this case."

Guan Zhenglin was almost done so I said, "Come, let's all go to the office. I'm surprised that this woman is a Grade B fugitive."

"Woman?" Gu Chen shook his head. "Chen Lin is not a woman, but a man."

"A man?"