A Devil's Mind

by Gangxueyin

  Suddenly, Han Yin laughed. He crinkled his nose and shook his head. Then he pointed to the interrogation room and said to Ye Xi, “That interrogation just now . . . if any of my peers ever see that, they’ll laugh their heads off.”

  “What? You’ve figured it out?” asked Ye Xi, pleasantly surprised.

  “Yes. But I need to find some answers. Could I trouble you to give Gu Feifei a call and also send over an assistant to swab or check for anything on Wang Wei’s clothes and shoes and run a test on them? Then have Gu Feifei bring some luminol, and we’ll all go to Round Mountain.”

  It was now past midnight. Han Yin, Ye Xi, Gu Feifei, and other officers hurried to Round Mountain.

  Wang Wei’s uncle opened the courtyard gate, and Han Yin rushed to the garage. He took out the key he’d found at Wang Wei’s house, slowly inserted it into the big padlock on the garage doors, and gently turned it. The lock clicked and opened. Gu Feifei sprayed luminol around the house, uncovering large traces of blood in the eastside bedroom, the living room, and the kitchen.

  These results confirmed Han Yin’s suspicions, and he said, “Wang Wei secretly duplicated the garage key. At some point, the lock on the garage doors could no longer confine him, and that’s when he would peek at his mother and her lover having sex. But that’s not all. He also witnessed his father kill and dismember them, and there’s a great possibility that he helped his father dump the body parts. This experience rendered him impotent. And it was just this kind of experience that excessively fascinated him about Yin Aijun’s dismemberment.”

  “And the evidence we’ve just gathered proves your theory? That this was where Wang Wei chose to dismember his victims?” asked Ye Xi.

  “Correct. I believe Wang Wei helped his father dispose of the parts. And he probably used his father’s old dumping site as the place to kill and dismember his victims and imprison Xia Jingjing.”

  “So, if that’s the case, we can circumvent Wang Wei and find the father.” Ye Xi now understood.

  “But his father’s dead!” Gu Feifei said.

  “Maybe we can ask Wang Wei’s uncle,” said Ye Xi. That was exactly what Han Yin was thinking.

  From the time the police arrived, the old man had been squatting outside the door and smoking. When he heard someone mention his name, he came inside.

  “Sir, would you have formed the impression that Wang Wei’s father had used this place for—”

  “If the comrade police officers have something to ask, please just come out with it. No need to beat around the bush. I heard what you were saying when I was outside. Wang Wei’s mother and the pretty boy didn’t run off together; my brother killed them.”

  “Okay, then. If Wang Wei’s father killed his mother and her lover, where do you think they’d have dumped the bodies?”

  The old man looked down and gave it some thought. Then, in a low voice, he said, “Probably Old Mountain Forest. You city people call it Round Mountain National Forest.”

  “But that’s old-growth forest, full of all kinds of dangers. Very few people who go in there come out in one piece,” said Ye Xi.

  “That’s right. But my younger brother knew Round Mountain National Forest like the back of his hand. When he was a kid, he used to love going in there and went almost every day, plucking wild fruits. It banged him up, but he never got lost. I remember one year, a bunch of university students from the big city went exploring out there. Of course, they got lost, and my brother helped rescue them.”

  “That forest is gigantic. Can you be more specific about where in the forest?” Han Yin asked.

  “I can’t say for sure. I never went in too deep. Maybe he threw them in a cave.”

  “Like Old Karst Cave? But that wouldn’t be possible! People sightsee there year-round. How could so many years go by without someone discovering the bodies?” asked Han Yin.

  “No, no, no!” The old man waved his hand. “You’re talking about Old Karst Cave, which is open for sightseers. That’s just a small part of it. Most of the caves on the mountain haven’t been opened for development. The small branches of entrances and exits of the karst cave groups are uncountable. When I was young, my brother used to say that he went into the caves to fool around.”

  “It’s definitely a possibility, old sir,” said Gu Feifei. “At the time of Tian Mei’s autopsy, didn’t I say that the temperature of the place where her body was chopped up was fairly low? Cave temperatures are stable in all seasons, at about 59 to 64 degrees. So, if the corpses were chopped up in a cave, it would be consistent with the characteristics of the body parts.”

  “This case is just one snag after another. At least we know the potential range of sites. But it won’t be easy to find the right one,” said Han Yin.

  “It won’t be so hard. Even with a broad range, we can request instructions from the municipal PSB and send out various groups to search the caves. The crucial point is whether we can be certain that Wang Wei’s father really did dump the body parts in the forest at that time,” Ye Xi said.

  Gu Feifei’s phone rang. After listening for a minute, she nodded at Han Yin and Ye Xi. “We should be able to find out for sure. My assistant said they discovered calcium carbonate on Wang Wei’s clothes. We often see stalactites in karst caves. They’re just deposits of calcium carbonate. With the uncle’s information, I’m confident the dismemberment site is in a cave in Round Mountain National Forest.”

  “Excellent! I’ll go back to the city and ask for the PSB chief’s instructions,” said Ye Xi. “Only a few hours until dawn. I really hope Xia Jingjing can hold on.”

  “Considering the modest temperatures, Xia Jingjing’s loss of fluids might be far slower than we imagine, so rest easy,” said Gu Feifei.

  The next morning, the municipal PSB assigned around a thousand police officers to Round Mountain for the search and rescue operation.

  J City PSB Chief Wu Chengqiang took command of the police force, which was armed and divided into a number of groups. They met up with canine units and headed for Round Mountain National Forest.

  The area was a well-preserved natural forest of old-growth trees. Long ago, it had been classified as a key ecological preservation zone, so there had not been any large-scale exploitation of the land. It was only after the discovery of the Old Karst Cave system on the east side of the mountain that there had been any construction regarding tourism, but its scope was fairly limited. Moreover, exploitation of the caves only accounted for one-third of the entire area.

  Naturally, the police wouldn’t be able to search the whole mountain. Because the residential area of Round Mountain was mainly concentrated on its south side, the police concluded that the cave where Wang Wei’s father disposed of the body parts would not be especially deep. It was only due to the steep topography, density of the vegetation, and the fact that people never went in there that the bodies had never been discovered, so the scope of the search was focused at the base of the mountain.

  They finally found the cave after three hours. Just as the old man had said, where Wang Wei’s father had dumped the body parts was also where Wang Wei had murdered and dismembered his victims, in a little branch cave belonging to the large karst cave system. Its mouth was hidden behind dense vegetation and was about six feet high and twelve feet wide. Right inside was an open space of about forty square feet. Several bizarre green stalactites hung from the roof. Further in, the area grew increasingly narrow and appeared to reach an unfathomable depth.

  Xia Jingjing’s mouth was taped and her hands and feet bound. She was lying on her side on a bloodstained rug. Around her was a pool of blood. Not far from her head was a pile of white bones with two skulls on top. There was also a set of butchering knives and equipment. Xia Jingjing was unconscious and dehydrated.

  The news of Xia Jingjing’s rescue was announced over the police radio. A wave of applause and cheers rang throughout the mountain forest. Kang Xiaobei was moved to tears.

  The interrogation room

  Again,
Wang Wei was brought in for questioning. He was still in good spirits.

  Ye Xi handed him a bottle of mineral water. He grabbed it, removed the cap, and took a few loud gulps. Then, after letting out a belch, he faced Han Yin and Ye Xi.

  Ye Xi smiled. “Don’t bother acting tough. We’ve rescued Xia Jingjing and found your mother and her lover’s bones, along with sufficient evidence that you murdered and dismembered people.”

  As she spoke, Ye Xi threw down several photos taken in the cave. Wang Wei went through each picture with a calm demeanor. Then he picked up the bottle and drank what was left. He caressed the empty bottle and said, “I saw Father in the kitchen, cutting up Mother, piece by piece. He cut off her head and her arms, split open her chest, yanked out her organs—heart, liver, lungs—and cut her thighs into sections. He saw me there, but his hands kept working away, never stopping. Afterward, I found a cloth and helped him clean the blood from the bedroom and the sitting room, and I helped him put the pieces of the bodies into a hemp bag. Then, he brought me with him to the forest, where he dumped the corpses. I remember sitting in the car, not feeling even a little sad or scared. I was extremely happy. He took me back to see her a few times . . .”

  The crazed and cruel Wang Wei signed a confession for Wang Li’s murder. As he was being led out of the interrogation room, he suddenly turned and smiled at Ye Xi. He said, “Oh, I also killed Yin Aijun, but I’m too tired to talk about it. Let’s have another go tomorrow, shall we?”

  Ye Xi turned to Han Yin, who just shook his head and smiled disdainfully.

  At midnight, Han Yin was awaked by a phone call. It was Ye Xi. Her voice was despondent. “Wang Wei killed himself. He bit his tongue off in the holding cell and bled to death. It’s all my fault! I should have made them monitor him more closely.”

  “Don’t blame yourself. Really. He had already chosen death, regardless. You couldn’t have stopped him. None of us could.”

  EPILOGUE

  Although the criminal who committed the Wang Li murder and dismemberment never stood trial—and this was the source of some regret—the case could still be considered a success. This also meant that the Yin Aijun case would again be filed away. It was possible that either Ma Wentao or Xu Sanpi were the killers, but the evidence against them was lacking. Ma Wentao had died, and his original manuscript had been burned. Even Han Yin considered that the death of Yu Meifen, who could have testified against Ma Wentao or Xu Sanpi, was just another case of “dead men (or women) tell no tales.” In addition, Yu Meifen’s death was—following Gu Feifei’s repeated measurements of the body’s positioning, distance, and location of the blood stains, and following a computer program designed for crime reconstruction—ruled an accident.

  J City International Airport

  Just before entering the security checkpoint, Han Yin looked around. Even though the night before Ye Xi had come to the guesthouse and sadly said farewell and that she wouldn’t be able to see him off the next morning because of a meeting, he was still hoping she’d somehow appear. Perhaps if she did, he’d manage to get out the words that had stuck in his throat the night before when he was looking into her eyes and thinking about their time together.

  Strangely, he did see a familiar face, but it wasn’t Ye Xi. It was Gu Feifei.

  “Disappointed, right? Not who you were hoping for?”

  Han Yin smiled, stepped forward, and vigorously shook Gu Feifei’s hand. “Thanks for coming to see me off.”

  “Well, it’s almost that time, so let’s just get down to business,” she said, looking very serious. “I came to see you off, but I also wanted to offer an invitation.”

  “An invitation? To what?” Han Yin asked, puzzled.

  “I just received notice. Now that the case is closed, I’m going to be transferred to the Serious Crimes Support Division. The department has just been set up and will assemble an elite team in all the various fields of forensic authentications, operational analyses, network information, criminal investigation, etc. Its main function will be to provide the appropriate assistance in vicious and particularly hard cases around the provinces, municipalities, and regions. The Ministry and Support Division has specially commissioned me to extend this invitation to you. I know you can’t just drop your teaching gig, so we can give you some time to think it over. When you’re finished mulling it over, give me a ring.”

  Han Yin smiled. “All right. I’ll consider it and give you my answer.” Han Yin was a little surprised. He loved teaching, but this opportunity was also unique. He’d have to think hard about it.

  “Then I’ll wait for your answer. Have a safe trip now!” She waved to him with a smile.

  “All right, good-bye!” Han Yin waved back, turned, and entered the security gate.

  January 9, 2013

  Gaoshen Village, the unofficial anniversary of Yin Aijun’s death

  Because the precise date of Yin Aijun’s death was unknown, her father, Yin Dexing, had chosen the date she went missing from the university for the anniversary of her death.

  It had been seventeen years. The passage of time had long since worn away the sorrow in his heart. Every time Yin Aijun’s memorial was held, it was like visiting a child who now lived far away. He would thus look forward to this day. He could chat with her about ordinary things, tell her about the latest developments in the village, relate how the friends from her childhood were doing now, and talk about the lives of her dad, mom, and sister.

  This morning, the skies were bright and clear. In the valley, the wind was calm, and the trees were still. Yin Dexing’s heart was filled with pleasure and happiness.

  He came to his daughter’s grave. Strangely, a pungent smell of tobacco pervaded the area. Yin Dexing was reminded of his long-stemmed pipe. No, it was a stronger smell than that. Had someone else been there?

  He set his basket of snacks down on the ground. There was a small white box on Yin Aijun’s grave. He curiously picked it up and opened it. He jerked his head away in shock and closed his eyes in fright. Inside was a shriveled human finger.

  The police had said they’d only found nine of his daughter’s fingers. Was this Yin Aijun’s missing digit? But who . . . who could have put it here?

  Yin Dexing grasped his daughter’s finger and looked in every direction. Then, way off at the base of the mountain, he spotted a swaying, shaking figure walking away. Desperately, heedlessly, Yin Dexing ran in anger after that figure. The wide valley resounded with his breathless, heartrending shouts. “Stop! Who are you? Who the hell are you? You murdered my daughter! Are you satisfied?”

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo © 2015 Gangxueyin

  Gangxueyin was born in 1975 and has lived all his life in the coastal city of Dalian in Liaoning Province in China’s famed Northeast. Though his original career was in information technology, he describes himself as always having been “an out-and-out fanatic” about every sort of suspense and mystery novel. He has a special preference for literary works that reveal human nature, examine the inner world of criminal minds, and reason with tight logic. He also credits the novels by American writer Thomas Harris, which feature the fiendish cannibal Hannibal Lecter, with having made a major impression on him.

  Gangxueyin began to write seriously in 2011, and in the following year his psychological suspense novel A Rainy Night of the Grim Reaper was published. His second novel, A Devil’s Mind, blends actual cases with literary creation.

  ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR

  Photo © 2015 Paul Mooney

  George A. Fowler lived and traveled widely for over thirty years in the Asia-Pacific region as a US Marine, a student of Chinese and Malay, and a researcher-writer. For twenty-three years, he was a commercial banker. He coauthored Pertamina: Indonesian National Oil and Java, A Garden Continuum while living in Indonesia in the early 1970s. He received a BA from St. Michael’s College, the University of Toronto, (1975) and an MAIS (China Studies) from the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washingto
n (2002).

  Since 2002, George has been a commercial translator of Chinese, Indonesian, Malay, and Tagalog and a published literary translator of Chinese and Indonesian. He has translated novels by Lin Zhe (Zhang Yonghong) and Zhang Da-Peng from Chinese; novels and short stories by Marah Rusli, Kwee Tek Hoay, Korrie Layun Rampan, Triyanto Triwikromo, Ben Sohib, Azari Ayub, and Gunawan Maryanto; and a collection of poetry by Taufik Ikram Jamil from Indonesian.

  In translating Gangxueyin’s A Devil’s Mind, George benefitted greatly from the generous assistance he received from FANYI, the University of Hawaii–based Listserv of global translators of Chinese and most especially from his erstwhile banking colleague and good friend of long-standing, Ch’i Li-man Lievens.