by Gangxueyin
One of them was the BTK Killer, Dennis Rader, who sadistically murdered ten people from 1970 to 1990. The other was the honor student and killer Ted Bundy, who was responsible for thirty or more cases of rape and murder. Both of them had grown up in reasonably good family environments, hadn’t been abused, had been capable of forming normal marriages, had normal sexual partners, and had exceptionally fine public images. Their deviant and brutal criminality manifested in this way because only through sadism, humiliation, and torturing the victim’s sex organs could they achieve a satisfactory orgasm. The source of their criminality came from adolescence, when they first encountered pornographic magazines and videos mixed with violent behavior.
Han Yin believed this had been the reason for the killer’s inverted sexuality. During long periods of unemployment, looking at violently pornographic magazines and videos became his pastime, and he gradually became immersed in them. Under the right conditions and occasions, the killer became more willing, like Rader and Bundy, to use the most brutal sexual methods on his victims and reached a sexual climax.
Poor home living conditions or high levels of anxiety induced by altered circumstances combine with a deviant sexuality that is always repressed and has no possibility of release. This was the root cause precipitating the killer’s criminality. Alcohol magnified his sex drive, strengthened his boldness, and greatly weakened his self-control, bringing him to his first criminal act. Destruction of everything beautiful and unattainable has become a habit and his method for releasing pressure.
Similar to Rader and Bundy, the killer is very deceiving. This is the reason the task force has never made him the key object of an investigation. Thus, the killer has been living at Wu Family Hillside since birth and is now between twenty and forty years old, has a stable relationship with his parents, and has a seemingly normal marriage. He’s a simple mechanic or basic laborer but would not have held a fixed job for long; otherwise, he would lack the energy or time at night to commit his crimes. He has a vast collection of pornographic magazines and videos and the space and time to be independent.
Han Yin wanted the task force, when conducting interviews, to pay close attention to several points related to time.
The killer began his crimes in 2004. There were four that year, making it a relatively busy year for him. Then in 2005, he eased up greatly—there was only one crime, and he was clearly laying low. Han Yin figured that from 2004 to 2005, the killer was experiencing a transition filled with many hardships and uncertainties, which brought his anxieties to a boiling point. The murders and transition made him feel good, stronger, so he slowed down. After that, he wrote his first letter to the police, clearly subjecting his actions to self-examination. The subtext of that letter seemed to say, “I’m not what you think. I have an ordinary life and family, women who believe in me. I respect them, and I love them.” Han Yin inferred that during the 2004 to 2005 period, the killer may have fallen in love, was getting married, had gotten his wife pregnant, or his wife was close to giving birth.
In 2010, the killer committed his sixth crime. So, why did the killer return after five years? Han Yin thought that, apart from anxiety and lust, there was also a profound sense of resentment. This would show that he and the deceased interacted in real life. It was during this time that he sent the second letter to the police. The simple wording suggested that the killer was struggling with his demons, but they won out, and he knew that after that, there was no turning back.
In 2012, the killer obviously went through extraordinary challenges. He killed without hesitation, and his sex drive had reached unprecedented heights. The third letter clearly stated that the only thing he had left was the pleasure of playing mind games and manipulating the police.
Mi Lan worked six hundred yards from where she lived. Either side of the road was crammed with apartments and houses. That night, the task force went around the neighborhood questioning countless people, looking for a male suspect who might fall within the parameters of Han Yin’s profiling report.
The investigation went straight through to the early morning hours but still hadn’t come up with anything. Finally, concerned about disturbing the residents, the task force suspended the operation.
16
A SMILING KILLER
The sun rose as usual. The task force spread throughout the Wu Family Hillside and conducted their investigations.
Because of the heavy police presence around the Wu Family Hillside, common thieves and peddlers of pirated CDs and DVDs had disappeared. But even in this tense and unfamiliar atmosphere, the police weren’t able to smoke out the bold and reckless killer.
The small morning produce market operated in the area, with hours from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. A man who owned one of the produce stalls was loading vegetables onto his truck bed. When he lifted the tarpaulin, he found several pale objects. Then he took a step back and fainted.
Han Yin and other task force officers had been in the vicinity and rushed to the scene.
There was a pair of legs cut off at the knees, along with a pair of ashen arms lined up neatly in the truck bed. There was no need to ask. These had clearly belonged to Mi Lan.
As he waited for the forensic pathologist, Han Yin turned his attention to the onlookers crowding around. Among them were farmers and locals, whispering to each other about the brutality and the negligent police, fear spreading through them.
Several task force officers were taking pictures from various angles with their cell phones, as Han Yin knew the killer would want to be at the heart of the investigation, and it was very possible that he was among this crowd of onlookers.
Soon afterward, the forensic pathologist and the techs rushed in to examine the scene.
Forty-five minutes later, the examination was over, and the crowd started to disperse. Han Yin and the task force walked along in the stream of people when suddenly someone shouted, “Oh my God! Someone’s face is hanging in the tree!”
Everyone ran toward the shouting. Han Yin and the officers squeezed through the crowd. A face was hanging from the branch of a large willow tree. The face quivered in a passing breeze. Hair-raising.
Han Yin signaled the police officer beside him to use his phone to take pictures of the crowd.
The killer must be satisfied. He’d succeeded in getting everyone’s attention and putting the police on the spot. But there was something he didn’t know. The more he acted out, the easier it was for a person like Han Yin to find him. With every trick he played on the police, the scope of the investigation shrunk more. Han Yin concluded that the killer lived in an area that covered the places where the limbs and the face had been left. Maybe a hundred yards. Twenty households. It was simple now.
The investigation had narrowed the search down to nine homes after eliminating households with men who had normal jobs and never came home at noon. The task force had information about the men in those nine households and had obtained a thorough understanding of their experiences and relationships.
Han Yin transferred his cell phone photos of the crowd where the victim’s limbs and face had been discovered. He closely examined the photos. A man holding a vegetable basket drew his attention. He had appeared at both sites, and by enlarging the pictures, Han Yin discovered that when the man had been at the vegetable market, his basket was full of something, but it was empty where the face had been hung from the tree. This was Taiping Town’s serial killer. He’d disposed of the body parts right under the noses of the police. Han Yin reported this information to the task force, who found that Han Yin’s suspect lived within the scope of the nine remaining households.
The next day, with all the information coming together, the killer had finally surfaced.
Because the suspect’s residence was close to the discovery sites, the task force had actually interviewed him years earlier, but he had great alibis, seemed harmless, and his neighbors had nothing but good things to say about him—kind, peaceful, and cherished his wife and daughter.
His name w
as Zhao Chaoming, thirty-five years old, and a native of Wu Family Hillside. He lived a half mile from the crime scenes and only about two hundred yards from where Mi Lan had lived. Previously, he had worked in the coal plant and had changed jobs on numerous occasions because he was “underperforming.” He didn’t have a fixed occupation after 2002. He stayed home and drank and watched movies. He had recently built a rudimentary room in his home and was contracted to do simple jobs. However, many instances of botched welding caused him to lose his customers. At the end of 2011, he wound down his business.
His parents had also worked at the coal plant. He came from an average family with poor living conditions. In 2004, when he was about to be married, he had a falling out with the girl’s father, and her father gave way and moved out. Zhao Chaoming married in 2005. At the beginning of 2006, his daughter was born. His wife, Zhang Nan, was good friends with the sixth victim, Liu Xin, whom Han Yin had contacted. Zhang Nan worked in two shifts on a four-day cycle, which coincided with the killer’s cycle of crime in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh cases, so the crimes had always taken place during Zhang Nan’s night shifts. The task force had questioned her. She said Zhao Chaoming had always been opposed to her getting too close to Liu Xin out of fear that she’d be “led astray.” Zhang Nan admitted that at the beginning of the year, she had a brief fling with a college student who’d been assigned to the factory, and Zhao Chaoming found out.
The information was very consistent with Han Yin’s report. The killer committed his first crime because of the numerous marriage preparation difficulties that gave him intense anxiety. Thereupon, he began a series of gruesome crimes. The birth of his daughter reclaimed him and made him lay down the blade for a while. After a five-year interval, he resumed his criminal acts because his wife and Liu Xin had grown close and often went out together, socializing. He was worried that the debauched Liu Xin might lead his wife astray, so, filled with grudges and resentment, he murdered his wife’s close friend. That year he again intensified his crimes, spurred on by a total collapse on the home front and in his career. The task force and consultant group recognized that Zhao Chaoming, over a nine-year period, was the perpetrator of twelve crimes: nine murders and three critical assaults. After a long discussion, the task force decided to bring Zhao Chaoming to the police station on the pretext of him assisting the investigation. At the same time, they’d work hard to get Zhang Nan to agree to let the task force thoroughly search their residence.
An hour later, the officer in charge of the search sent back this information: “The search has produced a large amount of pornographic magazines, violent pornographic DVDs, and sexual aids for prolonging intercourse and lubrication. We’ve also found a number of knives but have not uncovered any of the weapons used in the attacks or any evidence connected with the victims.”
The task force only had collateral evidence and lacked the direct proof needed for a conviction. Zhao Chaoming had obviously been prepared and hidden the weapons. It would be highly unlikely and extremely difficult to get him to admit his guilt, so they anxiously discussed counterstrategies with Han Yin and the consultant group. They chose to take Han Yin’s suggestion and be proactive.
Han Yin sat in the interrogation room across from Zhao Chaoming. His face was clean and good-looking. His eyebrows, eyes, and lips curved like a crescent moon. Han Yin politely asked if they could take his fingerprints and a DNA sample. Perhaps because he felt confident about not having left any evidence behind, Zhao Chaoming consented.
A while later, the results came in. Han Yin glanced at the paper and said, “Let’s discuss your fingerprint and DNA matches.”
“What’s there to match? I haven’t done anything illegal.” Zhao Chaoming was the picture of complete self-confidence.
Han Yin nodded, impressed. “You seem to know a lot about how we handle cases.”
“I like watching police dramas.” Zhao Chaoming’s smile was truly smug.
Han Yin also smiled. He slid the results across the table. “This fingerprint-matching report indicates you’re connected with the theft of sexual aids from Fu Xiaoning’s shop. Can you explain this?”
Zhao Chaoming stiffened and rolled his eyes. Then he slid the results back to Han Yin. “That was wrong of me. I was afraid of being laughed at, so I took them. I can settle this privately with Xiaoning.”
“Since you’re so sincere, we won’t pursue this any further.” Han Yin then feigned sympathy. “What’s the matter? You’re having problems in that department?”
“No, no! I just wanted to make myself bigger and more powerful, that’s all,” Zhao Chaoming said, waving his hands.
“Okay, we won’t talk about it. Let’s talk about the DNA.” Han Yin was totally confident that the semen sample he found on the toilet paper would match Zhao Chaoming’s sample, but he was simply bluffing when he said, “In just a few hours, the results of the DNA match will be released. If the results are consistent, this might not be in your favor.”
Zhao Chaoming looked confused.
“No doubt you’ve heard about the killings in Wu Family Hillside. At one of the crime scenes, we found a wad of toilet paper with sperm on it. We’re rushing to get it tested. If it matches your sample, we’d have reason to suspect you went to the site. Then you might be a murder suspect.”
Zhao Chaoming rubbed his eyes, probably realizing the game was over. “Maybe someone stole the toilet paper from our garbage can and planted it down there to pin the blame on me.” He paused for a moment and smiled slyly. “And even if I did go there to masturbate, you can’t say that just because of that, I killed someone, right?”
“Hmm, correct. It looks like you haven’t watched the law channel for nothing. You know how to protect yourself.” Han Yin nodded and faked resignation. “I guess we’ll leave it at that.”
Zhao Chaoming had clearly not expected the police to let him off so easily and didn’t react.
“Oh, yes. Something I forgot to tell you. We’ve been ordered to notify the press tomorrow morning of all the details of the investigation. That means your stealing the sexual aids and masturbating at the crime scene will appear in the media and news reports. I assume you’ll have to put up with questions from your neighbors, so you’d better be prepared. But it’s no big deal. Everyone has issues. Over time, this’ll fade. Okay. You’re free to leave!”
Han Yin never gave Zhao Chaoming a chance to reply. The report tucked under his arm, he left the interrogation room without looking back.
Han Yin knew Zhao Chaoming and his sort all too well. He didn’t care if people assumed he was the killer and called him cruel and brutal because those are the qualities that terrify people. He might be spit on and driven away, but no one would ever dare underestimate the sickness of Zhao Chaoming. And if that dirty, filthy deviant was exposed, he would be subjected to the loathing and ridicule of his peers, and that, for someone whose life was as meaningless as Zhao Chaoming’s, would be unbearable. Thus, after hearing what Han Yin had to say, Zhao Chaoming must have been very afraid. The coming night would be the most excruciating of his life, the time of his greatest torment.
This had been Han Yin’s strategy all along. He wanted to set him off, push him, alarm him. This should force him to find release, and the task force could catch him in the act of committing a crime.
After Zhao Chaoming left the police station, the task force assigned a team to keep him under surveillance and persuaded his wife to stay at work. Around evening, a large contingent of police officers slipped into the Wu Family Hillside area and lay in wait near Zhao Chaoming’s home.
His little house sat on a north-south axis, very close to a small main road. There was a dried-up canal on the south side and a row of small houses farther south. Because of poor city planning, there was open space in the road going west, but toward the east, the road was cramped by crisscrossing lanes and alleys. Of the twelve crimes, nine happened east of Zhao Chaoming’s home, so the task force set a trap a quarter mile to the east. The
most elite policewoman would be used as bait. Han Yin instructed the task force to give her a bulletproof vest.
The task force devised two approaches. If Zhao Chaoming came out of his house and headed in the direction of their trap, the task force would wait for him to return. If he headed west or turned into an alley, they’d send over the policewoman to work her magic.
The success of an entrapment like this depended on how much Han Yin had provoked Zhao Chaoming. If he saw through Han Yin’s ploy to push him to commit another crime, he’d be even more alert and careful this time, or he might take a brief hiatus or stop altogether. The police, lacking direct evidence, could only watch and wait.
Wu Family Hillside
Nighttime
It was unusually quiet. These days, very few residents dared to leave their homes after dusk. This made policing somewhat easier, and everything was in place. Zhao Chaoming was the only thing missing.
Time flew. Zhao Chaoming didn’t stir. Han Yin and the task force were beside themselves with tension as they waited. Officers were getting discouraged.
Then, Zhao Chaoming came out.
According to the report from one of the surveillance points, he was walking with an unsteady gait, perhaps drunk. Fortunately, he was headed toward the policewoman.
The various surveillance points reported his movement. He was staying on the side of the road heading east. He was three hundred yards from the trap . . . two hundred yards . . . a hundred yards . . . then he came into view.
The policewoman got on her phone as she faced Zhao Chaoming walking toward her. Watching the distance between them shrink, Han Yin’s heart beat wildly. He was a little worried that she wouldn’t be able to handle Zhao Chaoming, but the bulletproof vest could stop a knife. When a light breeze blew her jacket slightly open, he discovered she wasn’t wearing the vest. Han Yin was nearly brought to tears when he realized she must have worried Zhao Chaoming would notice the detail and ruin the operation. But now she was in immense danger.
