Memory Lost (美人为馅): Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Giving Up Love for the Rest of Life Part 4

That night when Situ Yi was detained by the police, Shao Lun was walking around the station.  He was hoping that Situ Yi would be charged.  But he was afraid of being exposed at the same time.

And two days later, when he saw Situ Yi released without a single wound, only calmness was left in his heart again; a calm sense of anger.  He knew this would be the outcome, didn’t he?  It’s okay, he had already prepared a big present for Situ Yi!

It’s just that when we woke up after being drunk that night, he discovered that the woman was still tied to the chair without a single wound.  She looked at him full of fright.

He lifted up his wine bottle and gulped down a mouthful again.

And then he started to pick one out of the torture instruments hanging on the walls around him.  He had observed every wound on each of the dead bodies many times before.  They had been engraved deeply in his mind.  He closed his eyes.  The wooden bat and the sharp knife hit and stabbed the woman’s body……until she was dead.

“I’ve already told you everything,” he raises his head and looks at them, “Can I ask you guys one thing?”

Han Chen says, “Go ahead.”

“I lost.  I couldn’t drag Situ Yi into jail.  But I would like to ask you all to investigate Shao Shuang’s death.  Situ Yi is definitely a psychopathic serial killer.  Please catch him.”

Han Chen keeps quiet for a second before lifting his gaze towards him, “Situ Yi can’t rid himself of being connected to these few cases that you have committed either.”

Shao Lun is stunned.

Chatterbox explains, “There’s something that you probably didn’t know.  The first three victims were actually tortured by Situ Yi.  After you stalked him for a long while, it caught his attention.  I’m afraid that every move you made was all under his control.  He installed cameras in your home and added sleeping medicine to your water, especially wine.  Therefore, every time you brought a woman home and drank wine, you fell asleep.  He then snuck in and tortured the woman in your place.  At the end of it, he put the weapon in your hand, making you think that you did it.  Only during the last victim, since he was under watch by the police, he was probably only able to stay home and watch you commit the crime.”

Shao Lun’s eyes open wide.

“We’ve already found the footages in his house that recorded the whole process,” Han Chen says, “Therefore, he will also be charged this time.  Additionally, we will thoroughly investigate the previous missing girls’ cases, including Ruan Shao Shuang’s.  He won’t be able to escape.”

Shao Lun’s facial expression changes a few times: shock, self-depreciating, beyond belief, resentment, relief……in the end, he returns to calmness.  Slowly, he smiles blankly.

“One last question,” Xu Nan Bai speaks, “When you tortured and killed those girls, did you feel a sense of happiness deep down inside?”

Shao Lun keeps quiet for a long long time before answering, “No.  I only felt numb.”

_____

They’ve spent quite a long time interrogating Shao Lun.  The Black Shield Team takes a short break in the monitor room before preparing for their next session to interrogate the main suspect: Situ Yi.

Everyone is sitting in front of the desk at break time watching the surveillance video.  They found it last night while they searched Situ Yi’s place.  He must have seen the police raiding Shao Lun’s home and discovering the cameras, so he got in his car immediately and tried to leave the province.  He erased some of the videos on the hard drive, as well as breaking his laptop.

Unfortunate to him that their IT person was able to recover the hard drive successfully this morning.  And besides finding the videos related to these few cases, they also find videos on previous cases showing the entire process of how he tortured and killed the victims.  The evidence is irrefutable.  It’s impossible for him to escape now.

Chatterbox sighs, “Xiao Bai said previously that purses as souvenirs are not personal enough for Situ Yi.  It seems to be the case.  This fellow sure is a psychopath.  He recorded the whole process so that he could enjoy them over and over again.  This is the best souvenir, isn’t it?  And expensive purses are indeed only suitable for Shao Lun as souvenirs.”

No one comments.

The videos for the more recent cases are actually blank most of the time.  It’s because Shao Lun rarely stayed at the farmhouse.  He would only bring his “preys” there.  Cold Face fast-forwards the video.  They see Shao Lun fall asleep after drinking wine.  The woman looks around in fright as she calls for help, but no one responds to her.

Until Situ Yi walks in.

The woman’s face immediately shows a surprised and joyous expression.

And then her expression quickly turns into disbelief and is full of fright again.  It’s because Situ Yi is smiling slightly while holding a torture instrument and walking towards her.

……

The events that follow are unbearable for the investigators to watch, so they turn it off.

_____

The interrogation session is to be carried out by Qin Wen Long and Cold Face; Xu Nan Bai is participating as a listener like before.

In the interrogation room, Situ Yi, who was arrested in the middle of the night, is smiling politely as usual looking like a gentleman.

The moment everyone sits down, he speaks.  His words are enough to shock everyone.

“I admit to everything.  These were all done by me.  I confess.  I will also tell you the location of the previous dead bodies and cooperate with your investigations, as well as the trial.  But, I don’t want to talk about my past.  And I will not answer anything that is personal.”

In the next few hours, regardless of what Qin Wen Long asks, his smile remains as he answers everything related to his crimes, but he keeps his mouth tight about his past.

At the end of it, just when he is handcuffed and is about to be led away, he takes a look at Qin Wen Long and the others, “Oh right, please tell him for me: he imitated me very well.  Tell him not to hate me anymore.  It wasn’t me who chose Ruan Shao Shuang.  It was fate.”

_____

At night, the police start digging in places where Situ Yi had provided.  They really do find five female bodies which have already turned into skeletons.  Many months later, both Situ Yi and Shao Lun will be sentenced to death, but this is all in the future.

It’s several days later and after working hard for one day and night, this case can finally be deemed resolved for the time being.  It’s already the morning of the next day when the Black Shield Team makes it back to the city after digging up the bodies.

Cold Face and Chatterbox are riding in Han Chen’s car.  The sky isn’t fully lit yet.  Cold Face and Chatterbox are sleeping in the back seat.  Han Chen’s jacket collar is flipped up to help block off the cool morning breeze.  His eyes are bright as he drives quietly.  After a while, he looks down at his phone beside him.

The phone contains a few text messages from Jin Xi yesterday.  She first reported to him that her wounds were already a lot better.  She then asked him about the progress of the case.  At night time, she sent him another text to say goodnight.  But he had been busy throughout the day so he wasn’t able to respond much to her.  He simply sent back: “Going well.  Wait for me to come home.  Be good.”

Thinking about it, he smiles slightly.  And thinking about her waiting for him at home as she recovers from her wounds, a bit of sweetness and softness spread inside his heart.

As he passes by a supermarket, a thought springs into his mind: perhaps he should go buy a certain item today.

His phone rings.  The crisp sound of the ring tune wakes up the two in the back seat immediately.  They both raise their heads and sit up straight.

Han Chen takes a peek at the name flashing on the screen, and his face turns cold right away.  The phone continues to ring relentlessly.  He finally puts his earphones on, picks up the call and says in a cold voice, “What’s the matter?”

—End of Arc 3—