by Gangxueyin
Han Yin wanted to look away, but this time he couldn’t bring himself to do it, so he plucked up his courage and tried to welcome the feeling and accept it deep within.
The sound of music. Han Yin’s cell phone was ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered. His expression changed, and he put the call on speaker. It was the sobbing, whimpering voice of a girl, “Help me . . . I beg you . . . help me . . .”
A buzzing sound went on for some time after the connection was broken. Han Yin and Ye Xi looked at each other in shock. Ye Xi shivered. “This was the mysterious phone call?”
Han Yin nodded. Then, glancing at his watch, he clenched his teeth and said, “Let’s go. Let’s go to North China Road and catch this maniac!”
The nighttime drive was fast and smooth. Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at North China Road, near the first dumping site. It was past 9:00 p.m. Neon signs flashed, and the entire area was packed with people. Han Yin and Ye Xi stood on either side of the dumpster and scrutinized the crowds. Some people were hurrying by; others were just strolling. Some were out for food; others were flirting coyly with their companions. Han Yin panned the different faces and then stopped at the KFC across the street.
What was hiding behind that tea-colored kitchen window? That pair of eyes? Yes, that pair of eyes! Han Yin now felt they had finally seen each other. He beckoned Ye Xi and dashed through the crowd. Ye Xi followed close behind, into the KFC. There weren’t many customers, and the seats by the windows were empty, but a bottle of mineral water was left behind, showing that someone had just been sitting there. Han Yin charged out a side door.
Ye Xi stopped one of the workers. “Was there someone just sitting here?”
“Yes, just a second ago.”
“Can you describe the person?”
“Looked like a woman.”
“Looked like?”
“She had on a hat with a wide brim, so I couldn’t see her face clearly. She was really skinny.”
Ye Xi nodded. Then she took an evidence bag out of her pocket and put the water bottle in it.
Han Yin came back in through the side door and walked up, panting. He shook his head. “Couldn’t catch her. Got away.”
Ye Xi raised the evidence bag. “We’ll take this back for DNA testing and settle once and for all whether this is a human or a devil.”
PART 3
SMALL-TOWN MANIAC
12
FORCED REASSIGNMENT
Yu Meifen’s village was situated in a remote mountain district of H Province, more than five hundred miles from J City.
To save time, the bureau gave Ye Xi and Han Yin an all-terrain jeep for the trip. They drove six hours on the highway until they reached L City in H Province, and from there they set out for D County. After reaching D County, they still had thirty miles of rough mountainous terrain before getting to the little market village of Willow Tree Market Township.
When they arrived, they headed to the police station to check the household registry and found Yu Meifen’s records. After the registration had been transferred in 1995, it hadn’t come back. They assumed her registered permanent address and file were still at J City’s Personnel Exchange Center. The original registry showed that Yu Meifen lived in Diamond Mountain Village in Willow Tree Market Township. The village got its name from the mountain in the north part of a little township about six miles away. Diamond Mountain Village was on the other side of the mountain. There were no real paved roads, only little winding footpaths. To get there and back would take about eight hours. The paths and byways were quite hazardous, and at night, the mountain would be infested with wild animals.
The police suggested they stay the night in town and set out in the morning. They arranged for Officer Liu to help them, and he set them up in a little hotel and got them some dinner.
Before Ye Xi had left that morning, she’d doled out the important tasks and ordered Kang Xiaobei to assign a unit to follow Feng Wenhao for twenty-four hours. Afraid of a possible mishap, Kang Xiaobei joined the unit. But Feng Wenhao was holed up in the hospital and never left. After work, he drove his mother home. He seemed like someone who just worked and hung out at home. His mother lived close to the hospital in a high-end gated community with security guards. There was also a video surveillance system. Kang Xiaobei found the on-duty staff manager and asked to check the footage from January 4. Unfortunately, they only kept one month of video records, and January’s had been erased.
Kang Xiaobei was parked in front of Feng Wenhao’s apartment building. A little past seven o’clock, Du Jun from the cold case group finished his other work and came to assist Kang Xiaobei. He brought some food, and when they had finished eating, they took turns on watch as they staked out the apartment building. Kang Xiaobei chose to go first, and Du Jun was soon asleep.
Kang Xiaobei exchanged texts with his girlfriend. His romance with Xia Jingjing was going well, and their sweet nothings never seemed to end. They texted until midnight. Then she went to sleep.
The lights in the building had long since been turned off. The neighborhood was silent. Under the yellow streetlights, shady trees, and gurgling water, Kang Xiaobei felt completely relaxed and happy. He wasn’t the slightest bit sleepy. But suddenly, he felt a deep feeling of loss—a policeman with his salary could never afford to buy a place in this kind of community.
As his thoughts wandered, the motion detector light at the doorway of the building suddenly came on, and the shadowy figure of Feng Wenhao exited the building. He was wearing a black jacket and had his hands in its pockets. He snuck toward the gate.
Kang Xiaobei wondered where he was headed without his car. Soon a taxi pulled up, Feng Wenhao got in, and he was gone. Kang Xiaobei woke Du Jun, started the engine, and took off.
Kang Xiaobei kept a steady pace about a hundred feet behind the taxi.
After fifteen minutes, the taxi stopped at New Territory Plaza. Feng Wenhao got out, hesitated, then walked to the plaza and sat down on one of the wooden benches. He appeared to be leisurely looking around, but he also might have been expecting someone.
“What’s he doing, rushing out here and then just sitting down? Is he messing with us?” Du Jun asked, rubbing his eyes.
Kang Xiaobei shook his head. He was puzzled too.
Feng Wenhao sat for a while. Then he looked at his watch and stood up. He strolled around the plaza and headed toward the Wanda Cineplex. He stopped at the entrance and again looked at his watch. Then the theater’s big glass doors suddenly opened, and a crowd surged out.
“Oh no, he’s spotted us for sure. He’s going to mix in with the crowd and get away!” said Kang Xiaobei. Then he jumped out of the car and raced toward the crowd. Du Jun was following close behind.
“If you see him, just keep him in view, that’s all. Don’t scare him off.”
The two men split up in the crowd. Feng Wenhao was nowhere to be seen. When they met again at the edge of the plaza, Kang Xiaobei spotted Feng Wenhao in front of a bar, and then he disappeared inside.
Kang Xiaobei grinned. “Fuck! He went all this way just to pick up some chick?”
“So he went in?” Du Jun asked.
“Look, now we know where he is. Let’s just get in the car and wait.”
They sat in the car for more than an hour, their eyes glued to the door of the bar Feng Wenhao had gone into earlier. So far, no further sight of him.
Du Jun was starting to run out of patience. “He knows you, so stay in the car. I’ll go in and have a look.”
Kang Xiaobei thought for a moment, then nodded.
Du Jun got out of the car, slicked his hair back, and strolled into the bar.
The bar was hopping. Deafening, feverish dance tunes blared. Men and women were all over the place, heads swaying, higher than kites.
Du Jun rocked and swayed as he made a leisurely circuit, but he didn’t see Feng Wenhao. Now upset, he broke free of the crowds, went into the men’s room, and opened all the stalls. Still no sign of him.
Outside the men’s room, he grabbed a server and asked if the bar had a back exit.
The server pointed to the side of the men’s room. Du Jun saw a small inconspicuous door. Du Jun dashed over and pushed the door open. Outside, there was an alleyway, pitch-black and totally empty. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Kang Xiaobei. “Motherfucker! He escaped out the back door!”
“Wait!” Kang Xiaobei slammed down the phone.
A moment later, Kang Xiaobei rushed into the alley and found Du Jun. Even though chances were slim, they decided to search the area.
J City was very old but had developed fast in recent years. Modern, stylish buildings and booming commercial districts were sprouting up everywhere. But traces of older times had not been eradicated. Silent alleys, hoary courtyards, and low houses were still scattered around behind the bigger modern structures. The street behind the bar had a large number of old buildings and small courtyard homes. If Feng Wenhao was hiding here, he likely wouldn’t appear again.
Their search produced nothing, so they went back to Feng Wenhao’s home. At about four in the morning, Feng Wenhao came back. He got out of the taxi in good spirits, his posture strong and upright. They waited for him to go inside, then started the engine and followed the taxi.
The driver told them that Feng Wenhao had hailed him at an alley behind the bar. The way it looked, Feng Wenhao may have set up a little nest somewhere in those rental properties. An ominous thought started forming in Kang Xiaobei’s mind. What had Feng Wenhao been doing over those two hours that he had disappeared? Would daybreak bring more corpse pieces?
Early that same morning, just past six o’clock, Officer Liu drove Han Yin and Ye Xi to the foot of the mountain. The three of them got out and set off for the mountaintop.
The sun still hadn’t risen. The mountain was an indistinct gray mass. The air was cold. Although they heeded Officer Liu’s advice and wore cotton-padded police coats, they still felt the dank cold. They hunched over, keeping their eyes on the rough track under their feet and following Officer Liu as he stumbled ahead.
After climbing for more than a half hour, they were panting and puffing, their steps heavy. Ye Xi was struggling and suggested they take a break, and Han Yin quickly agreed. Officer Liu, used to these mountain roads, urged them to persist. The mountain in the morning was cold, and if they sat down, they would not only find it hard to get back up but also could catch a chill that could lead to the flu. He also said they were at the point where movement was the most limited. If they got across the draw, the trail would be much easier for them.
Encouraged by this, they gritted their teeth and pushed on. To distract them, Officer Liu started telling them the story of Diamond Mountain.
“According to legend, Diamond Mountain was a remote corner of a vast sea, where the breakers billowed and roiled and enormous waves flooded heaven. All around was a blessed climate, great kingdoms, and safe people. Then, Dragon King sent White Dragon to guard the mountain. White Dragon arrived to find hardworking locals, timely rains, and moderate weather. The people were secure and content. But as time passed, White Dragon claimed all the credit for this and grew arrogant. He slept all day and gave no thought to managing the rain. Several years passed. The lands became parched. The earth broke up into dry clumps. The five cereal crops failed, and the people suffered because of the lazy dragon. When Jade Emperor came to know of the actions of White Dragon, he became very angry and moved Diamond Altar from far off, crushing White Dragon under it. Then, he set four dragon king posts into the ground to hold Diamond Altar in place. Diamond Mountain was high and perilous, easy to defend, and difficult to take. From ancient times to now, it has been a place of inevitable struggle. During the Warring States Period . . .”
Officer Liu’s vivid and evocative storytelling succeeded in distracting Ye Xi and Han Yin from their fatigue. After a few hours, they finally reached the peak.
Standing there, it seemed possible to touch the heavens. They looked out at the blue sky and white clouds, the verdant trees and jade-green waters, and the red azaleas blanketing the meadows. At the halfway point of the mountainside, green terraces rose like dragons in undulating waves. Farther down were dozens of black-tiled mudbrick dwellings. Officer Liu explained that the village on Diamond Mountain earned its livelihood from harvesting tea leaves. It was now mid-March, just the season for picking the spring leaves, and the villagers were probably in the fields. There were no schools in the village, and only one classroom in which the first two grades of primary school were taught. Older children went down to a boarding school at the foot of the mountain. He had seen a young female teacher, but he didn’t know if she was the person Han Yin and Ye Xi were looking for.
Coming down was considerably easier. In less than an hour, they were close to the tea plantations, where a large group of villagers plucked leaves. Officer Liu appeared to be on very familiar terms with them. One after another greeted him.
Officer Liu walked over to a thin middle-aged woman wearing a white scarf and said, “The village head?”
The woman studied Han Yin and Ye Xi, who were standing behind Officer Liu. “In the village, teaching the little ones.”
“Teaching what? What about the young teacher?”
“My niece, Meifen. She left.”
“She left the village? When?” Ye Xi asked.
Turning to Officer Liu, the woman asked, “Who are these two?”
“We went to college with Yu Meifen,” Ye Xi said. “We’re here on business and thought we’d drop by. When did she leave?”
“She left after the last holiday, and I haven’t heard from her in a long time. It’s not easy to communicate when you live way out here.” Her face was sad and worried.
“Did she say where she was going?” asked Ye Xi.
“No,” said the woman, shaking her head. She sighed and clucked her tongue. “The city’s better. You see how pretty this girl is, not like our Meifen.” The woman sobbed. “All these years have been very difficult for her. Her dad and mom have been sick for a long time and can’t work the fields. She was doing farm work and had to look after ten children. She’s never said a word about her husband’s parents. Over the past few years, her parents passed away, one right after the other. A lot of money was spent on treating them and on the funeral. Those debts caused a lot of hunger. There was nothing else for her to do, so she left to earn some money. She said she’d written some manuscripts and was going to sell them and come back.”
“Before she left, did she seem in good spirits?” asked Han Yin.
“No. She seemed like she was in a daze all the time.”
Han Yin and Ye Xi exchanged glances and turned to comfort the woman.
“Since Meifen isn’t here, we won’t go into the village but will just go back.”
They had come all this way and had not achieved their goal. Clearly, Yu Meifen had been depressed, and now they knew when she left the village. Soon after, the dismembered corpse was found in J City. Was this a coincidence? Or was there a connection?
Ye Xi and Han Yin drove at high speed back to J City, making a brief stop in L City to refuel and get a bite to eat, and then they were on their way again.
While on the highway, Ye Xi got a call from the J City PSB chief ordering her to immediately take Han Yin to T City, where he was to assist the police with a series of murders. Ye Xi didn’t understand why. The Wang Li case was stuck, so why take Han Yin off the case to help another unit? What’s more, Han Yin was only helping J City as a consultant, so how did the municipal bureau have the authority to assign him elsewhere? And without consulting him? Ye Xi was on the verge of bursting with anger and frustration.
T City was in H Province and was L City’s neighbor. For many years, a serial killer had lurked in Taiping Town in the southern suburbs of L City. He had already committed eleven bloody crimes. This case had recently been named the ministry’s top case, and they sent a special advisory group to Taiping Town to lead the local task force. This ki
ller was extremely cunning, and in nine years, he had not left behind any clues or a trace of evidence. The victims who’d been released were unable to provide any description of the killer. This meant that cracking the case could only be possible based on the nature of his behavior. The ministry needed a criminal psychologist, but the relevant experts were all working other urgent cases. Thus, the ministry had to go to the local bureaus, and Han Yin’s recent outstanding performance in J City’s sadistic child murder case made him a minor celebrity with the ministry.
13
THE PATH OF DEATH
As they drove into Taiping Town around nightfall, Han Yin and Ye Xi sensed an unusual atmosphere.
Blackness covered the sky. Very few people were on the roads. Instead, they saw large groups of police and officers on road duty. They even saw detachments of special forces. It was as if a disaster had just struck, and it was tense.
Han Yin went to the task force office and met with the consultant group, while Ye Xi returned to J City. The task force arranged a base for Han Yin and provided all the information related to the case. They hoped he’d be able to quickly devise an effective profile of the killer.
The earliest incident in the case had occurred in 2004. On February 2, a sixteen-year-old girl on her way home was stabbed with a knife and died on the spot. Five days later, a twenty-four-year-old woman was coming off a night shift and was similarly stabbed in the back four times but had been found in a timely manner and survived. That same year on the nights of April 22 and July 11, two young women were stabbed to death with the same single-blade knife. The former was twenty-nine and was stabbed twice in the abdomen. The latter was twenty-three and had eight knife wounds in her back.
The fifth case occurred late in the night on December 27, 2005. A thirty-year-old female was tailed by the killer and died after seven stab wounds to the back. After this, the killer disappeared. Then, on the evening of May 6, 2010, the sixth case occurred. The deceased was a thirty-one-year-old female. The killer dumped her corpse in an abandoned boiler room. She was naked from the waist down and had been stabbed numerous times in the abdomen, and her face had been badly slashed. Her left breast and right nipple had been cut off and discarded.
