Skinner's Box (Fang Mu (Eastern Crimes))

by Lei Mi

  If Professor Qiao were still alive, Fang Mu would have someone with whom to troubleshoot his problems. The professor would tell him whether or not he was, after all, fit to be a cop. But on the other hand, if Professor Qiao had not been killed in such a horrible manner, would Fang Mu still have been so determined to join the police?

  It was a question he had never given any serious thought. After graduating, he had become almost obsessed with passing the entrance exams to get into the Changhong City Municipal Public Security Bureau. If Bian Ping had not taken steps to "poach" him, it was likely that Fang Mu would now be working under Xing Zhisen as a member of the criminal police force. He did not know whether he had joined the police out of personal interest or for some other reason. If it had not been for the fact that Tai Wei, the last time they had seen each other, had told Fang Mu that the reason had everything to do with a subconscious desire to fulfill the final wishes of the departed professor, then it was quite possible that Fang Mu would never have thought to seek an answer to the question.

  Perhaps it was not that he had never thought about it, but merely that he had always avoided the question.

  Unconsciously, Fang Mu turned his head to glance out of the corner of his eye at Professor Qiao's photograph. If you can hear me, then tell me…what should I do?

  Just then his cell phone rang.

  Tai Wei was sitting in the jeep looking bored out of his mind. He glanced up just in time to see Fang Mu race through the cemetery gate and leap into the passenger seat.

  "Quick, take me back to my car!"

  Traffic on the way back to Changhong City was much lighter than it had been going the other direction. Just over an hour after he left the university, Fang Mu's jeep was nearly flying into the courtyard of Changhong City No. 11 High School, sirens blaring.

  The main entrance had been cordoned off with police tape. Outside a group of onlookers had gathered. Fang Mu ducked under the police tape and a criminal police officer led him straight to the crime scene.

  Changhong City No. 11 High School had a fairly long history. First built at the end of the Cultural Revolution, the school had remained at the same location ever since. Many of the original old-fashioned buildings still stood, as did several ancient trees that towered above everything around. Not far away, in the shade of one of them, Zheng Lin stood sullenly smoking a cigarette.

  He sent the cop that had accompanied Fang Mu off on an errand, and then led Fang Mu the rest of the way to the crime scene.

  It was two o'clock in the afternoon, a time of day when the courtyard should have been swarming with children. But the whole way there they did not see a single student.

  Fang Mu noticed. "Where are all the kids?"

  "They got sent home. There's been a murder, so the school authorities thought it prudent to give the students the rest of the day off." Zheng Lin had an annoyed look on his face. "Where've you been? You took your sweet time getting here."

  "I was out in the countryside," Fang Mu lied, "following up on a lead in the Luo Jiahai case."

  "Well, we've been waiting for you." Zheng Lin's expression softened. "Didn't you say last time that the Fushima Mall murder case had a ritualistic feeling to it?"

  "Yes. Why?" Fang Mu asked, feeling a sudden dread that slowed his footsteps like mud.

  "Have a look at this over here," Zheng Lin said, pointing. "Tell me if you think your so-called ritualistic feeling is even stronger with this one."

  Wordlessly, Fang Mu broke into a trot.

  The crime scene was located in a flowerbed next to a storage house. The victim was male, around 60-year-old, about 175 or 180 centimeters tall, and weighed perhaps 75 kilos or so. His corpse was in a sitting position, completely naked, facing north with his back to the flowerbed. There was no sign of his clothing anywhere nearby, making it likely that this was not the primary crime scene. The victim's head was bowed and an incision was visible between the loose folds of skin on the underside of his neck. The wound appeared to be deep enough for whatever had caused it to have sliced through his trachea. His arms had been arranged in front of him so that they were embracing what was the strangest part of the whole scene.

  It was a plastic mannequin, and it was apparent that "she" was a model of a young girl. It was wearing a white flowered skirt with a bright purple hem and its hands were draped across the victim's shoulders.

  The mannequin seemed frozen in place, as if it had been stopped in the middle of rising upward from the victim's body and the thing's eyes stared ahead with a look that was both fervent and completely blank. Fang Mu circled back around to the front of the victim and was startled by the sight of his own reflection, just to the right of the body. He looked up and saw the storage house's windows. Leaning close, he peered through the dirty windows and could see a pile of dilapidated old desks and chairs, as well as a broom, dustpan, and other cleaning supplies.

  "What do you think?" Zheng Lin walked over to stand next to Fang Mu, eyes darting from the victim to the mannequin and back. "Anything to go on?"

  "I won't get in your way?"

  "Not at all. We've gathered just about all the material evidence we can, so go to it." Zheng Lin looked around the area, and then back at the markings on the ground left by the forensic investigation team. "They haven't finished with their post-mortem examination, but this weather's not going to affect the evidence very much, so you've got some time."

  Fang Mu nodded. Zheng Lin barked an order, and the investigators waiting nearby got back to work.

  "Have you determined the cause of death yet?" Fang Mu asked, glancing over his shoulder at Zheng Lin.

  "Hemorrhagic shock, according to the forensic investigator's preliminary conclusion." Zheng Lin pointed at the wound on the victim's neck. "His throat was cut. Looks like it went clean through his windpipe, too."

  "Time of death?"

  "Last night, some time between ten p.m. and three in the morning."

  "Oh yeah?" Fang Mu pondered this a moment. "The body would have been dumped at night, too. How come it wasn't discovered until this afternoon?"

  "A school janitor came across it while doing his rounds." Zheng Lin pointed at the storage house next to the flowerbed. "This area is off limits to the children, so he didn't see it until he came to get something from the storage house. Also, have a look at the flowerbed there..."

  Although most of the plants in the flowerbed had lost their leaves, they still grew densely enough that the body was hidden from view behind them to all but the most discerning eye.

  "When the janitor opened the storage house door there, he would've had a better angle from which to see behind these bushes, which is why he discovered the body when he did."

  Fang Mu nodded, pursing his lips as he watched a gloved forensic investigator swab gently around the victim's hands before prying them apart so that a pair of cops could slowly remove the "little girl" from his dead embrace.

  "Oh, hey!" Fang Mu exclaimed, his eyes suddenly wide. "What's that?"

  The others looked to where he was pointing, and all exclaimed at the same time.

  A tangled plaid handkerchief lay across the base of the victim's private member. The forensic investigator used a pair of tweezers to delicately poke at the handkerchief.

  "I think it's tied around it." He used the tweezers to grasp the victim's manly organ and lifted it for a better view. "Look, this handkerchief's been tied in a knot around the victim's penis."

  "Shit!" Zheng Lin swore. "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

  Fang Mu squatted over the body and inspected the handkerchief closely, then looked back at the "little girl" that had been placed to one side.

  "Zheng, ol' pal," Fang Mu said thoughtfully. "If someone trussed your dick up like that, what would you do?"

  "What do you mean, 'do'?” Zhen Lin blurted loudly. “What would you be able to do?" He crossed his legs unconsciously, as if to protect himself from an imaginary attacker. "You wouldn't even be able to take a piss. Not to mention...anyt
hing else."

  "Exactly. You wouldn't be able to do anything else." Fang Mu looked at the victim, and then suddenly pointed at the "little girl" sitting off to the side. "Including violate her!"

  CHAPTER

  24

  Retrieval

  On the afternoon of November 22, an unidentified male body was discovered within the school grounds of Changhong City No. 11 High School. Because the victim was completely naked and no personal items were found at the scene that could help identify him, the police posted a city-wide notice in the media petitioning for information from anyone who might know the victim to please come forward. The next afternoon a city resident, a certain Mr. Ma, contacted the police and claimed that the victim was his father. This was verified when the police arranged for him to come in and formally identify the body.

  The deceased was named Ma Chunpei, male, 57-year-old, of Han ethnicity, unemployed, widowed and living alone. Prior to his death he had resided in an apartment building in the Red Park District, 83 Taipei St., Entrance No. 3, Apartment #1 on the fourth floor. He had fathered one son named Ma Guang, a cashier at a state-owned enterprise. Because Ma Guang had had very little contact with the deceased, he had not known his father had gone missing until the day after the body was discovered when he saw the police notice.

  The deceased had lived alone and had very little contact with his relatives and neighbors. He had, however, been involved in a local mahjong club, the other members of which turned out to be quite familiar with him. Police interviews revealed that the day before the incident, the deceased had been wearing a black wool coat over a beige knit sweater, navy slacks, and a wool cap. However, none of these articles of clothing were found at or nearby the crime scene.

  The time of death was placed some time between 22:00 the evening of November 21 and 03:00 the morning of the 22nd. Cause of death was established to have been hemorrhagic shock. There were no apparent injuries to the victim's head, but numerous soft tissue contusions were found in multiple locations on the victim's legs and arms. None of these, however, were fatal; the fatal wound had been a deep cut in the victim's neck that had severed his trachea. The murder weapon was determined to have been a sharp object of some kind, but it was unknown whether it had been a single- or double-edged blade. There were traces of tape around the deceased's wrists, ankles, and mouth, indicating that he had been bound and thus probably kidnapped.

  A plaid handkerchief had been tied around the penis of the deceased. Tests revealed that the handkerchief was made of ordinary cotton and had been manufactured between 15 and 20 years ago. It was found to contain traces of body fluids which further tests showed to be semen and vaginal secretions. These were found to be of the O male blood type and AB female blood type, respectively. After conducting a DNA comparison, investigators concluded that the semen on the handkerchief had come from the deceased, but that it had been ejaculated some years ago. According to Ma Guang, the son of the deceased, this handkerchief had not belonged to his father, nor had he ever seen it before in his father's apartment.

  The plastic mannequin that had been found with the victim had been a child model manufactured by a certain factory in the south and was sold at multiple locations in the city, making it extremely difficult to track down a purchase history. The skirt worn by the mannequin was made by a certain children's clothing brand that was stocked by clothing outlets in every large- and medium-sized shopping mall around the city. As with the mannequin, it would take time to identify the purchaser. As for the underwear worn by the mannequin, the specific manufacturer was unknown, so its source could not be identified.

  Police investigations into the social connections of the deceased revealed that he had graduated from university in 1982 and had worked at a certain state-owned enterprise as an accountant. Ten years ago the company had gone bankrupt, and after being given a hefty severance, the deceased had found employment with a succession of private enterprises; however, none of these jobs lasted very long. At 55 years of age, the deceased retired to scratch out a meager existence on his pension, but his days after that were quite bleak. He had enjoyed very little by way of social connections; he had been introverted and tended to keep to himself. He had not incurred any grudges as far as anyone knew, but his relationship with his only son had been strained. The police interviewed the son, Ma Guang, several times, and asked why he and his father had not gotten along. At first Ma Guang had tried to evade the subject, but later, after quite a bit of patient maneuvering, the police had got the story out of him.

  About seven years ago, out of the blue, a young woman had begun calling the house quite frequently. The person she had been looking to speak with was none other than his father, Ma Chunpei. One time she had even come knocking on the door. At the time Ma Guang was still unmarried. When he saw the clothes and makeup this woman was wearing, he had guessed that she probably worked in the sex industry. His father Ma Chunpei had remained very evasive about the matter, as if he had a secret of some sort. A few days later, Ma Chunpei's wife had discovered 7000 yuan missing from the safe they kept in their home, and after confronting him about it, Ma Chunpei had confessed that he had taken the money to pay the young woman's medical bills. His wife had then grilled him for answers, and Ma Chunpei had further revealed that the young woman's condition had been syphilis; but as for what his relationship to her had been, he would say nothing. Suspecting that her husband had enjoyed improper relations with the young woman, the wife had fallen gravely ill from shame and resentment, and had passed away a year later. Ma Guang had always attributed his mother's death to his father's perverted misbehavior, and thus had remained cold to him ever since the funeral. After Ma Guang had gotten married he had seen even less of his father.

  In view of the complexity of the case, as well as obvious differences between it and the typical homicide, the Changhong City PSB again sought the council of the Criminal Psychology Research Institute.

  In fact, even if the Municipal PSB had not commissioned the Criminal Psychology Research Institute to participate in the handling of the case, Fang Mu would still have been keenly interested in it. The bizarre MO and the careful arrangement of the victim's body at the post-mortem crime scene were both strong indications that the murderer had abnormal psychological tendencies. Furthermore, Fang Mu agreed with Zheng Lin that the crime scene had borne an even stronger ritualistic feel than the previous ones. The killer's placement of the mannequin on top of the victim could not have been done arbitrarily; it must have been done to express some sort of emotion. So what had the killer been trying to say?

  First of all, the victim's body had been stripped completely naked. The reason for the killer's having done this could not be as simple as wanting to conceal the man's identity; nor had that been the killer's intention, otherwise he could have completely dismembered the victim or mutilated his face. No; his reason for leaving his victim naked must have to do with an emotion that was somehow connected to sex.

  Second of all, the murderer had chosen a plastic mannequin whose model was the representation of a young girl. If he had simply wanted to convey a sexual message at the crime scene, then this method would obviously have been completely unnecessary. Furthermore, that the killer had used such a model could indicate that in his mind, the ideal objects of sexual intercourse were young girls. However, the mannequin had been wearing a skirt; this obviously was not an article of clothing that fit the current season. Police tests had confirmed that the skirt was brand new and had never been worn by a real person. If the murderer had committed his crime on the spur of the moment, it would have been quite difficult to find a summer skirt among the department stores' winter wares. This implied that the killer had prepared the skirt months before, and it proved almost without a doubt that the murder had been premeditated. In other words, the mannequin and its skirt had been items indispensable to the killer's plan.

  Another thing of interest was that panties had been put on the mannequin. This sort of action was profoundly full of
meaning. To prove this point, Fang Mu had made a special trip to the major shopping malls across the city and had a look around. On the day in question, several women's clothing store shop assistants had witnessed a young man as he systematically looked beneath the clothing of mannequin after mannequin. Even more outrageous was the fact that the man had asked some of the store clerks whether they sometimes put panties on the mannequins. The results of Fang Mu's investigation indicated that putting panties on the mannequin had been, as far as the killer was concerned, a move that was entirely necessary. He had apparently done this out of a very particular psychological need.

  Finally, and most intriguing, was the presence of the handkerchief that had been wrapped around the victim's member. The victim's son had asserted that the handkerchief did not belong to his father, but test results proved that it had indeed been used by the victim at least once in the past. Not only that, the handkerchief seemed to have been used to wipe off the victim as well as a female with type AB blood after the two of them had had intercourse. So there seemed to be only two possibilities: either the victim had kept this handkerchief in secret over many years, or the murderer had. Either way, it meant that the handkerchief had been an item of great importance. Fang Mu was leaning toward the second possibility, because the police had conducted a thorough search of the victim's residence and come up with no trace of any such item; furthermore, it seemed rather unlikely that the victim had always carried the handkerchief with him wherever he went. This meant that the deceased was not a victim chosen at random by the killer; there must have been some sort of connection between the two—not to mention the fact that the female with type AB blood who had had intercourse with the victim very possibly had a great deal to do with the case.

  The forensic team said that when they examined the body, it had taken them a long time to extricate the man's member from the handkerchief. Because it had been tied so tightly, the examiners had exerted an enormous amount of effort before they were able to get it completely off. One of them had joked that if it had been tied this tightly around the victim's cock while he was still alive, then it would have burst from his urine backing up within 12 hours. As Zheng Lin had said, with his tallywhacker trussed up like that the victim would not have been able to do anything. And this must have been the murderer's intention.