A Devil's Mind

by Gangxueyin

  This method of taking fingerprints on a corpse was a more common overseas forensic practice. Superglue is made from cyanoacrylate, and the thick smoke emitted in its heated state attaches to the oily surface of the fingerprint. When a coloring agent is added, the fingerprints appear. This is more or less the same principle as what’s done in China by using 502 Glue to create filter paper to show the latent fingerprints on the skin. However, in view of the less-than-ideal condition of corpses, the former process was used. Gu Feifei did not express optimism about the final results due to the decaying body.

  The white smoke permeated the seal, gradually getting thicker, and everyone held their breath. If they could get the fingerprints from the corpse and they matched those of Mou Fan, then he was very likely Yu Meifen’s murderer and maybe even the Wang Li killer. The backbone of the task force—Ye Xi, Han Yin, Fu Changlin, Kang Xiaobei, and Yao Gang—waited anxiously outside the autopsy room.

  Kang Xiaobei seemed the most nervous. He never stopped playing with his cell phone and would occasionally hold it up to his ear and then set it down in frustration. He’d pace, too, and mutter.

  Han Yin pulled him aside and asked, “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing.” Kang Xiaobei was clearly embarrassed. “These past two days have been so hectic, I haven’t been able to meet Jingjing after work. She’s been getting off late, and I don’t feel good about it.”

  “So give her a call.”

  “I did! I did! Her phone’s turned off.”

  “Give her family a call and ask them.”

  Kang Xiaobei looked at his watch and, biting his lip, said, “The heck with it. It’s too late to call them. Maybe her battery’s dead.”

  At 3:00 a.m., the results arrived. A fingerprint was found on Yu Meifen’s right wrist. It matched that of Mou Fan’s from the cigar.

  Gu Feifei said she’d return to the scene of the crime and do an on-site simulation before being able to provide a relatively accurate conclusion. But based on the results of the fingerprint comparison, the task force had enough evidence to detain Mou Fan.

  31

  THE KILLER APPEARS

  At seven a.m., Mou Fan was startled awake by an incessant knocking.

  He got up, staggered out of his bedroom, and went downstairs to the living room. He opened the front door to find a mass of impressive-looking policemen with Ye Xi and Han Yin in front.

  Ye Xi held up an arrest warrant and said, “Your fingerprints were found on Yu Meifen’s corpse, so we suspect you’re connected with her murder. Please sign this warrant for your arrest.”

  Mou Fan was awake now. He shuddered, and, trembling, took the warrant. He looked all around and said, “Can we talk about it first? Why don’t you come inside?”

  Then he walked over to the sofa and sat down. With his head bowed, he gazed at the warrant.

  After a considerable time, he placed the warrant on the coffee table and looked up at the cold eyes of the police officers standing before him. Then he said, “I admit that I went to Yu Meifen’s place the night before last, but she was already dead when I got there.”

  “So what was your real relationship with her?” Ye Xi asked.

  “Honestly, she was the ghostwriter of the novel I’m about to publish.” He pulled on his hair. “At the end of January, I bumped into her on the street. She told me life was rough. Her parents were dead, she was drowning in debt, and no publisher wanted anything to do with her manuscript. I really wanted to help her because she was the editor of my first novel. Also, my wife and I had wanted to find a writer with good style, who had a reliable character, to be my ghostwriter. My burden would be less, and it would speed up my novels getting published. After thinking about it and discussing it for a few days, my wife and I decided to hire her. She really was at the end of her rope and accepted without another thought. I gave her some money and had her rent a place and buy a computer. Every month, I transferred eight thousand yuan to her credit card.

  “We’d agreed that on the second of the month, she’d send me the portion she was writing. But on that day, I called her a hundred times with no answer. Afterward, I turned off my phone, sent her an instant message and an e-mail. She still didn’t reply. I was worried she’d had a change of heart and might go public about the ghostwriting. So I had to go find her. She’d given me a key to her place, and I found her lying on the bathroom floor. I checked her wrist for a pulse, but she was gone. Then, I removed her hard drive and took her cell phone. I tried to wipe off any fingerprints and left.”

  “And where were you on the evening of May first?” Ye Xi asked.

  “Uh . . .” Mou Fan froze, then glanced at the staircase. “I didn’t deceive you yesterday. That night I really was at home working on my draft.”

  “That’s not good enough. There’s no way to prove that you went to Yu Meifen’s home on the third but not on the first.” Ye Xi pointed to the warrant lying on the coffee table. “Therefore, we’d appreciate you signing that, getting dressed, and coming with us!”

  “Really, it wasn’t me! I had nothing to do with her death! Why don’t you believe me?” Mou Fan was very agitated.

  “Because we only believe in evidence! That is the only truth.”

  “I’ll give him an alibi!” Suddenly a woman’s voice came from the top of the stairs, followed by slow footsteps. The woman was wearing a light-pink negligée and had a bashful, timid expression.

  Her sudden presence shocked Han Yin and Kang Xiaobei. The two men were surprised to realize they had already questioned her. It was Xue Min, Yin Aijun and Yu Meifen’s former classmate!

  “The evening before the holiday until May first, we were together.”

  To the surprise of all the police, Xue Min went over and sat down next to Mou Fan. Then, she strongly gripped his hand and said, “I lied to my husband, Wang Wei. I told him I was going to visit my sister in Shanghai. The truth was, Master Mou and I had a rendezvous there and only returned to the city very late on May first. If you don’t believe me, you can check with our hotel in Shanghai.”

  Originally, Han Yin and Kang Xiaobei had been responsible for investigating Xue Min and Wang Wei. Ye Xi had only seen a photograph of the married couple. If Xue Min’s confession were true, it would clear Mou Fan of suspicion. Ye Xi was at a loss. She turned in dismay to Han Yin and saw him frowning and staring at Xue Min.

  “Does your husband know anything about this?” Han Yin asked in a low voice.

  “He knows.” She hung her head.

  “When did he find out?”

  “On New Year’s Eve. He saw the text message that Master Mou sent me.”

  “And then?”

  “He called me a bitch and a whore. And then he slapped me. After that, he got in his car and drove off.” Glancing at Mou Fan, she added, “Then I got angry and ran over here and stayed a few days, until January third, when I went back home.”

  “How did Wang Wei react?”

  “He wasn’t there. He came back the next day, January fourth. When I woke, he was sitting at the table, waiting for me. He’d already had breakfast.”

  “So, if that’s true, then your initial testimony was false. Did Wang Wei force you to lie?”

  “No. The night before you came to investigate, Liu Xiangming called me and said the police suspected that we schoolmates were connected with the recent murder case and that you’d question me about what we were doing over the New Year’s holiday. Even though our marriage was basically over, I didn’t want anyone to find out. I was worried that if I told you the truth, it’d get out, and we’d be the object of everyone’s ridicule. So Wang Wei and I provided each other with alibis.”

  From the moment Xue Min came down the stairs, Wang Wei was in Han Yin’s mind, and as the conversation moved forward, the potential Wang Li killer gradually drifted to the surface.

  The initial aggravating stimulus for the first crime was the sudden discovery of his wife’s affair, which pushed him to go out and murder and dismember an innocent woma
n over the New Year’s holiday. The second crime was perpetrated because his wife and her lover were going to have another fling over the May 1 holiday, so the motive and timing tightly matched the Wang Li case. In addition, the police had already investigated Wang Wei’s age, occupation, and relationship with Yin Aijun. He’d been a schoolmate of Yu Meifen and very possibly heard her detailed account of the corpse she’d identified. And all of these points were within the range of Han Yin’s profiling report. Moreover, Han Yin believed from what Xue Min had said that something else about Wang Wei fit the report.

  Han Yin walked over to Ye Xi, gently placed his hand on her lower back, and whispered in her ear. Ye Xi’s eyes brightened, and she came out of her shock. She ordered Kang Xiaobei to take the other officers outside the village to await orders there, then told Mou Fan to go back up to the bedroom and stay there until they called for him.

  Only Han Yin, Ye Xi, and Xue Min were left in the living room, and Han Yin pulled over two chairs. He and Ye Xi sat facing Xue Min.

  “Does your husband have trouble performing in bed?” Han Yin asked.

  “Mm-hm!” Xue Min nodded several times. “The first night we tried, it never happened. After that, we managed to bumble through it a few times and had our child. After that, he just couldn’t perform. It’s always felt as if he finds sex disgusting. From last year on, we’ve slept in separate bedrooms, but we maintain a normal appearance as a happy couple.”

  “Why not divorce?”

  “We still care for each other. He’s always been extremely good to me. And we have a child and want a complete family. Also, when we were dating, everyone in my family opposed our relationship because both my parents are national-level cadres and our lifestyle was superior while his family is poor and from the country. My father and mother felt he was below me. In the end, I disregarded their opinions and had a falling out with them before we married. So, if we were to get divorced now, there’s no way I’d be able to face the world.” She paused, then pursed her lips. “The truth is, deep inside, I’m very much a traditional woman and can endure a sexless marriage. But then I met Mou Fan, and his mysterious ways deeply attracted me, so I felt trapped. But I was really afraid that if my relationship with him was carelessly exposed, there’d be no way I could face my child and parents. So on the morning of January fourth, when Wang Wei said that if I could agree to no longer have anything to do with Mou Fan, he’d choose to forgive me, I agreed. After that, I did everything I could to keep my promise. I tried to suppress thoughts of Mou Fan. It was starting to work until he sent me a text telling me he wanted to get together, away from the city, over the May 1 holiday. My defenses totally collapsed. And during those few days together, I gave myself over to him completely and know I’m in love with him.”

  “What excuse did you use this time?” Ye Xi asked, with a hint of scorn.

  Xue Min smiled awkwardly and said, “I told him if he wanted to maintain our superficial marriage, then he could no longer interfere with my freedoms; otherwise I’d file for divorce!”

  Han Yin could tell that Xue Min still didn’t understand the severity of the situation. All she wanted to do was make every effort to exonerate Mou Fan. But yesterday evening, when Wang Wei felt humiliated and insulted, would it have driven him to commit a third murder?

  Suddenly, Han Yin’s heart beat fast, and he felt an ominous premonition. Over the past two days, the media attention on the Wang Li case would certainly have stimulated Wang Wei’s intense desire to act. And last night, he had again been stimulated. Would he have the same motive as Zhao Chaoming of Wu Family Hillside in his final crimes, to mess with the police in order to cover up his impotence? Kang Xiaobei . . . member of the task force . . . girlfriend . . . Xia Jingjing . . . lost contact all night . . . Had Wang Wei chosen someone close to the police as the target for his next crime to challenge the task force?

  Han Yin sprang out of his chair and threw open the front door. He shouted at Kang Xiaobei, “No more bullshit! Call Jingjing’s home right now and find out where she was last night!”

  Seeing the serious expression on Han Yin’s face, Kang Xiaobei didn’t dare question him and pulled out his phone and called. A few words were exchanged, and he anxiously said, “Jingjing hasn’t come home from being out last night! Her dad thought she was with me. What is it? Is she in trouble?”

  “Come here!” Han Yin said. When Kang Xiaobei stepped into the living room, Han Yin looked him in the eye and said, “As a policeman you have to understand that being impulsive and reckless won’t solve your problems, and if you can’t stay cool and dare to disobey our orders, then get the fucking hell out of here! Got it?”

  Kang Xiaobei nodded. “Take it easy, Brother Yin. Whatever you say.”

  Han Yin turned to Ye Xi, who had no idea what was going on. “Xiaobei’s girlfriend, Xia Jingjing, may have been kidnapped by Wang Wei.”

  “What?” Ye Xi said, stunned. Then, she grasped the situation and pointed to Xue Min, sitting on the sofa. “Get your phone and call Wang Wei. Pay attention to how he sounds and ask where he is!”

  Xue Min said in a trembling voice, “My phone’s upstairs.”

  “Then go up and get it! Hurry!” said Ye Xi. “And don’t let him know anything’s wrong!”

  Xue Min ran upstairs. A few seconds later, she came back down and called.

  “There’s no answer at home, and Wang Wei’s phone’s off. What’s going on? Haven’t you come for Master Mou? What’s Wang Wei got to do with this?”

  “There’s no time to explain. Just sit down and listen,” Han Yin said. “Do you and Wang Wei have another place in the city? Has he rented an apartment? Does he possibly have an independent space?”

  “We only have our house. I see the bank statements and credit card transactions. There have been no big withdrawals or purchases.” Xue Min paused, then said, “There is an old house on the outskirts.”

  “Quickly, tell us about it.”

  “When we became officially a couple, I heard him say that the year before, his father had passed on and that his mother had passed before that. He never wanted to talk about her, only that she’d been sick and died. He had a house on the outskirts of town, in Round Mountain. An uncle on his father’s side, who lives next door, looks after the old place. We rarely went there. Occasionally he’d stay there after we fought.”

  “Write down the address.” Han Yin handed her his notebook and pen.

  When she’d finished, Han Yin gave the book to Ye Xi for a quick look. Then, in a conversational tone, he said, “How about we handle it like this? You take Xue Min and have her keep trying Wang Wei. If she gets through, trace the call and get her to ask him where he is. If he won’t say, she’s got to think up a reason to get him to come home. Wang Wei probably uses the house on the outskirts to dismember the corpses. He might be keeping Xia Jingjing there. Xiaobei, a group of officers, and I will head there ASAP.” Then Han Yin sighed deeply. “If Wang Wei’s at home, we have to be careful and keep him under a close watch.”

  “All right. That’s what we’ll do.” Then Ye Xi issued an order of her own. “Please, be careful!”

  32

  A WRETCHED LIFE

  Round Mountain was located north of the Old River, a little more than twelve miles from the Old River Bridge. It was J City’s most renowned scenic spot, with a famous hot-springs tourist village and the Round Mountain National Forest Park nearby. The nearly one-million-year-old wonder, the Old Karst Cave, was also nearby. Han Yin had long known of this area but had never figured it would be linked to a serial killer.

  The residential area of Round Mountain was mainly concentrated a mile to the south of the park. Han Yin, Kang Xiaobei, and the others had no problems finding Wang Wei’s old house.

  A little before ten o’clock, Ye Xi called Han Yin to say she’d taken Xue Min home and found Wang Wei’s car parked in the area. She equipped Xue Min with a wire and sent her in to feel out the situation. Over the wire, Ye Xi heard Wang Wei say he’d just arr
ived and that his phone had died. He appeared very calm and asked Xue Min mundane things, like whether she’d had breakfast yet and what she was going to make for lunch. Han Yin reminded Ye Xi to stick to the plan and have Xue Min come up with an excuse to spend the night elsewhere so they could provoke Wang Wei and ensure Xue Min’s safety.

  Wang Wei’s little two-story country house was at the westernmost end of a row of houses near a brook. Because of the direction of the flow of the water, the yard looked irregularly shaped, like a triangle. Also, the gate faced east, while the other people’s gates faced south.

  Kang Xiaobei spoke with the man next door, a feisty-looking old codger who admitted he was Wang Wei’s uncle, and after seeing the policemen’s badges, he opened the gate to Wang Wei’s yard.

  Once inside the yard, they could see that the place was very clean. There was a garage on the left side with two padlocked iron doors. Across from it was an outhouse. On the right side, about fifteen feet away, was a small building with a red-tiled roof and whitewashed walls. The old man unlocked the door and let them in.

  There was a large sitting room with two rooms on the east and west sides. The two rooms near the front window were bedrooms, and the kitchen and a storage room were in the back. Along the side of the storage room was a stairway leading up to the second floor. Han Yin discovered that the second floor had probably not been used since the house was built. The second floor had no furnishings.

  Kang Xiaobei ran through all the rooms in the house, but there was no trace of Xia Jingjing. Then Han Yin and the others carefully checked the building, but apart from the bedroom on the east side showing signs of someone having recently slept there, all the other rooms were covered with thick layers of dust. There were no traces of blood or other signs of murder or deception.