Memory Lost (美人为馅): Chapter 52 (1 of 2)

Chapter 52: Pure and Passionate Love (1 of 2)

“The killer drove an SUV to the scene to abandon the body;

He dropped the body here so that the police could find it;

The one thing that’s missing is the victim’s purse.”

After Han Chen finishes saying these three points, Qin Wen Long and Bai Jin Xi are both quiet.

Jin Xi stares at the side of his face.  She understands the second and third points instantly.  The black plastic bag contains many items, but there is no purse——which white-collar office lady would not carry a purse?

When she was observing the landscape with Han Chen just now, they noticed that the location of the body was not far away from the road.  The killer could have hidden the body deeper in the woods or behind the hill by walking a short distance.  But the killer didn’t.  This means that he was hoping that the body would be found quickly.

But an SUV?  There are no tire marks left at the scene, so how is he able to conclude this?

Han Chen once again shows off his attention to detail in investigating.

He says, “There are no blood stains or other markings.  This means that the victim was killed at another location and then brought here.  Her time of death was 9pm to 12am last night.  There was rain around 5am this morning and the body had rain water on it.  This means that the killer must have driven and abandoned her body here not long after killing her.

When a person has just died, his/her body is still flexible.  But after a period of time, the body will stiffen.  Once it has completely stiffened, it would be very hard to change the body’s position in a short while.  From observing the body, it is slightly crooked.  It must have become this way during the transfer of the body.  Therefore, it wouldn’t have been a sedan because the trunk would be too small, causing the body to curl up even more.  It wouldn’t have been a van either because there would be enough space so that the body wouldn’t need to be placed in this position, and especially lying down on the side.

_____

Han Chen’s inferences are proven soon after.

In the afternoon, the Black Shield Team compares it with the two previous victims’ information.  They were all abandoned in locations near a road and were discovered by others.  In the list of items, they were also missing their purses.

Due to the locations being a bit remote, there are no video camera footages that they can collect.  However, after meeting with the third victim Zhou Si Jin’s coworkers and office security guard, they know that she has been missing since last Friday after work.  A few days before she went missing, someone at a nearby office spotted her getting into a black SUV.  But the witness did not take special note of the car model or license plate number.

“It’s a nice car nonetheless,” the witness says, “Can it not be a nice car when it’s driven around in CBD?”

Traffic is heavy in the CBD area, so they aren’t able to pinpoint a suspicious vehicle from the surveillance cameras at this time.  And based on the Black Shield Team’s speculation, the killer might have taken side routes around the CBD area to avoid the surveillance cameras.

As for the two previous victims, since it’s been one to two months ago, they aren’t able to find any witnesses.  According to their friends and family, the three victims did not know each other.

After collecting this information, Han Chen and Qin Wen Long decide to continue to focus on investigating the three victim’s relationship with other people.  They want to find more commonalities between them and if there is someone who has interacted with all three of them.

_____

In the evening.

Xu Si Bai looks up from his desk and sees that the sky has already darkened outside of the window.  The lights are sparse in the provincial station office.  The scenery is different from the Jiangcheng station, yet it’s just as quiet.

“Teacher Xu (a polite way of addressing someone in a senior position), the report is finished, “ Xiao Yao walks over to his desk.

“Mm,” Xu Si Bai nods, “Go take it to them.”

Xiao Yao doesn’t move.  She smiles, “I’ll call Big Sister Jin Xi to have her come pick it up.”

Xu Si Bai is a bit stunned, but he lowers his gaze and doesn’t comment.

There’s no way that Xiao Yao would not know what her Boss wants.  She runs back to her seat immediately and picks up the phone.  Bai Jin Xi on the other end agrees to come and will be here right away.  Xiao Yao places a copy of the report on Xu Si Bai’s desk, “Teacher Xu, I have some personal matters to tend to, so I have to get going.  Please give this to Big Sister Jin Xi for me in a bit.”  Before Xu Si Bai can respond, she takes her jacket and dashes out.  She doesn’t forget to leave the office’s door wide open so that Xu Si Bai can see the hallway outside clearly.

The office returns to quietness.

Xu Si Bai sits for a while before raising his head to look at the hallway.

Very soon, he sees Bai Jin Xi appear at the corner of the staircase.  He puts down his pen and watches her come quietly.

She is walking and talking on the phone at the same time.  She must be talking about something happy as she reveals a sweet smile.  She pauses her footsteps with one hand on the railing and starts swaying her body left and right.

Xu Si Bai can’t help but laugh.

She talks for another two to three minutes before hanging up.  She continues holding the cell phone in her hand and doesn’t put it back into her pocket immediately.  The smile on her face is still there, but she has become quiet and gentle.  She lowers her head suddenly and kisses the cell phone screen lightly.  She finally stuffs the cell phone into her pocket and continues walking towards the office.

Xu Si Bai watches her come.

For a second, he almost can’t suppress his feelings and his eyes seem to fog up instantly.  He turns his head away from her line of sight and looks towards a white colored wall.  After a while, he turns his head back looking calm as usual.  He forces a smile on his face as he watches her enter.

Jin Xi was indeed chatting with Han Chen on the phone just now.  He has headed out with a team and might not come home tonight.  Therefore, Jin Xi has decided to go back to her dorm to sleep in a bit.  It’ll be more convenient in case she needs to be called back to work.

The moment she raises her head, she sees Xu Si Bai sitting behind a desk looking at her calmly.

She smiles with her lips together and walks over to him.  She hops onto his table and grabs the report, “Anything important that you found?”

Xu Si Bai stands up, walks to her side and starts reading the report with her.

“In the victim’s stomach, we found residues of red wine, beef, and cod,” he says.

Jin Xi takes a deep breath in disgust, “There are food and drink.  There’s no limit to being a psychopath.”

Xu Si Bai nods.  His eyes are focused on the report in her hands as he continues, “Wine is of the imported Romanee Conti, and the meat is top grade marbled beef steak and cod.  Additionally, I took a look at the autopsy reports of the two previous victims.  There was seafood and ten-year-old Maotai liquor found.”

Jin Xi thinks for a second and then smiles, “That’s interesting.”

She closes the report, slides down from the table and pats his shoulder, “Thanks!  This report is very valuable.”

Xu Si Bai smiles slightly.

Jin Xi takes a look at his simple and neat office and nods, “This place is not bad.  I’m going back to the dorm now, do you want to come?”  It’s Xu Si Bai’s first day here; he’s also staying in the dormitory.

After Xu Si Bai keeps quiet for a second, he answers unexpectedly, “You go back first.  I need to wait for Xiao Yao.”

Jin Xi walks out of his office.  When she reaches the corner of the staircase, she turns her head subconsciously and sees that he is still standing in the office with his back facing her and is taking off his lab coat.  His body dressed in a white shirt and long black pants looks especially tall and thin.  He stands there quietly just like that as if he’s thinking about something.  After a while, he finally fetches his jacket from the hanger and puts it on.  He turns off the lights and walks out of the office.

Jin Xi ducks her head immediately and walks down the staircase quickly.

_____

At midnight.  Jin Xi is lying on her twin size bed staring at the ceiling.  But the image of Xu Si Bai standing in the office by himself floats in her mind.

She feels a bit uncomfortable about it.

Xu Si Bai is a friend whom she cherishes.  In the past few years, they’ve worked together to solve cases and spent a lot of time together.  He’s independent and likes to be by himself, but he cares a lot about her, so she also makes sure that she takes care of him, who doesn’t fit well with others.  There has never been any ambiguity in their relationship, but she can feel their understanding for each other is sincere and loyal like family.

But now……

After she remains quiet for a long while, she lets out a deep sigh.  She rolls to lie on her stomach and buries her head into the pillow.

She only hopes that he’ll be able to get over it.  And that their relationship will not change and continue as is.

No matter what, her feelings for him will never change.

_____

Jin Xi wakes up at dawn.  It’s still very quiet outside.  She gets up and brushes her teeth, but doesn’t get changed.  Instead, she slips back into bed in her pajamas and starts reading the files.

All of a sudden, she hears someone knocking on the door.

“Knock, knock,” evenly and steadily.

She wonders who is looking for her at this hour.

“Coming,” she hops out of bed and pulls open the door.  It’s Han Chen standing in front of the doorway.

The sky is still dark, and his body seems to carry the coolness of the early morning.  His gray jacket is zipped up to his neck while his deep and clear eyes are staring at her.

Jin Xi asks, “……What are you doing here?”

“To take a shower,” Han Chen walks past her directly and enters the place.  Jin Xi takes a look around quickly.  Seeing that no one is in the hallway, she closes the door in relief.