Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Considering time,” Zhao Yu said, while pointing to the little notebook, “The Devil Case happened at least 15 years ago.”
“Yes!” Miao Ying nodded. “SARS erupted that year, didn’t it? Sometimes I wonder if SARS was a result of this case…”
“Probably not. I did my homework. SARS started in November, but this case had already begun in the summer of that year!” Zhao Yu shook his head. “But, at the beginning, it didn’t attract too much attention!”
Miao Ying said solemnly, “The Devil Case is a horrible serial suicide! I don’t know why they give it such a name.”
“I don’t know either. Maybe people couldn’t think of a better term for such a weird thing, so they could only use the word ‘devil’ to explain it?” Zhao Yu guessed. “In the same area, and in a relatively short period of time, nine suicides occurred. That’s definitely not a coincidence!”
“Yes. Their ages, sexes, occupations and family conditions were all different, and they had no obvious mental problems. That’s why it’s really puzzling that these people committed suicides, one after another!” Miao Ying said.
She then added, “The Headless Female Corpses Case, once recognized as the most difficult unsettled case, is mainly considered as such because of its wide time span! But, this serial suicide case is difficult in terms of the murderer’s means of committing the crime. I don’t believe that the nine people really killed themselves. But, no clues can be found to prove that they were murders! As such, it’s really a hard case!”
“We have a psychologist in our group, and I asked her about it!” Zhao Yu suddenly mentioned Wu Xiumin. “She said that if you want to make a person commit suicide, it is possible to do so by providing a psychological hint or through hypnosis. But, she said that the probability is very low!”
He then added, “This all, of course, is closely related to the person’s mentality, willpower, and living environment, so there are really too many variables to measure. Even for the world’s top psychologists, it would be impossible for them to make nine people commit suicide in such a short period!”
“Yes, I did think about the possibility of psychological methods and hypnosis before.” Miao Ying agreed with him. “But, besides this, maybe there are other possibilities, such as some hallucinogens that are unknown to us, or other drugs that can make people depressed?”
“Well, I’ll go back and list all of the possibilities. Then, I’ll apply for reinvestigating it!” Zhao Yu nodded.
“This case is different from others,” Miao Ying said. “Although this case has a great impact, it has not been formally filed by the police. So, there is not much information about it from that year! This makes investigating it really difficult!”
“The Headless Female Corpses Case has been solved. What are you afraid of?” Zhao Yu gently embraced Miao Ying and smiled. “You come back as soon as possible. I look forward to teaming up with you!’
Miao Ying also hugged Zhao Yu tightly, then said, “My father has made arrangements over there in the Criminal Division. That will take the pressure off of you, as whatever happened, your father-in-law will help you!”
“Well, if your father ever heard you say that, would he blame you?” Zhao Yu laughed and asked. “By the way, just mentioning my father-in-law, I realized that I don’t know who my mother-in-law is!”
“Just some rich lady!” Miao Ying said casually. “She’s retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As my dad is really busy, she decided to take more responsibility for the family!”
“Oh…” Suddenly, Zhao Yu recalled what he had learned while he was eavesdropping on Miao Ying’s phone call…
No wonder Miao Ying’s mother had such a proud tone to her voice on the phone!
“Both of them are from Beijing,” Miao Ying said. “The reason why we have settled down in Qinshan is that my father has many friends there, who can take better care of me.”
She then added, “When I was a kid, I always wondered why they didn’t take me overseas and why they couldn’t be with me every day. Later, when I grew up, I realized that the nature of their work was the reason for my loneliness. But, I know, it was also for my good!”
Miao Ying took a gentle breath, then whispered in Zhao Yu’s ear, “Actually, this is better! At least I met you, you bast*rd!”
“Hmm…” Zhao Yu’s ear was itching and felt hot. “Okay, I’ll let you have a good experience with this bast*rd…” Then, they rolled into the bed again.
Over the next few days, Zhao Yu and Miao Ying were practically inseparable and had several special dates. For the last date, they even violated the rules and went to Wellington’s seashore.
However, this happy time was short. Even though he was reluctant to go, Zhao Yu eventually had to leave. The embassy helped him and Su Jinmei with all of the necessary arrangement, and on a sunny morning, they flew to Beijing.
Before Zhao Yu left, he and Miao Ying kissed each other. Miao Ying promised Zhao Yu that she would do her best to return as soon as possible to join him in investigating those cases.
Because Miao Ying’s identity had been kept secret, Zhao Yu had not told Su Jinmei and even Ma Runkui about her. As such, Su Jinmei was very curious on the plane.
She did not understand why Zhao Yu was so happy and was smiling all the way. It was not like him. In fact, Zhao Yu was acting the total opposite of his previous depressed and listless demeanor that he had when he first came to New Zealand!
After arriving at the airport, they were brought to the Central Criminal Division, where they met with Division Chief Jiao and the Division Director. After the two heads were briefed on the details of what Zhao Yu had done in New Zealand, several confidentiality letters were signed, which marked the official end of the New Zealand incident.
The director had heard so many good things about how Zhao Yu had handled the case, so he specifically called Zhao Yu aside and praised him. He also said that, according to Zhao Yu’s excellent performance, he would consider a promotion for Zhao Yu, as well as provide him with new work. They also discussed many other matters.
Specifically, Zhao Yu would have a great chance to become a full-time officer in the Criminal Division instead of being a policeman in the Rongyang Police Branch Office of Qinshan. However, ever since Zhao Yu had met Miao Ying, he didn’t care about titles and promotions anymore.
At this time, in addition to Miao Ying’s return, there was only one thing left that was important. This was the application for the investigation of the Devil Case.
Therefore, Zhao Yu directly submitted an application for investigation. Division Chief Jiao did not expect Zhao Yu to be so dedicated to his work. While praising him, he happily approved the application for investigation on the spot.
However, it was just as Miao Ying said. Because no obvious murder evidence was found in this case, it was never filed. Strictly speaking, it was not a case at all!
So, if he wanted to reinvestigate such a case, he actually didn’t need to do a lot of preparatory work like he did for the Headless Female Corpses Case. Instead, he just had to inform the local police of his intentions, and they would provide support for Zhao Yu’s Special Investigation Group. However, because of it never having been officially filed, the related materials and clues of this case were also the most scarce out of the five unsettled cases.
At the time when the 03 project team was found, the case had just happened. But, Captain Jing did not find any clues at that time. So, after many years, it was difficult to investigate this case again.
