Chapter 182: Madness and Motive

2022-05-20

We laid out photos of all the victims. Looking at the timeline, the first was Zhao Kaifang, twenty-seven, a manager at a financial company, single, lived alone. Next was Luo Xiaolu, twenty-five, a white-collar worker, also single and living by herself.

The third victim, Zhou Mei, was thirty-five, married, working as a supermarket cashier. Then there was Zhang Libo, thirty-seven, a mechanic, married. And finally Zhang Xiaowen, twelve years old, a fifth grader currently on winter break.

We stared at their photos, each one paired with their personal backgrounds scribbled underneath. But no matter how we looked, we couldn’t find a clear connection between any of them. Their jobs? Completely different. Take Zhao Kaifang and Luo Xiaolu—both white-collar, but in totally unrelated fields.

Even gender didn’t match up. There were both men and women, shattering my earlier guess that the killer only targeted single young women. The second incident alone proved that—the victims were obviously a family of three, far from single women. There were even men among the dead, like the father in the second case.

Their ages were all over the place too. The two white-collar victims were in their twenties, but the working couple were pushing forty. Their daughter was just twelve. Clearly, age wasn’t a decisive factor for the killer either.

So that raised the real question: what determined who the killer chose? If this was just random, why these households and not others? Was it all coincidence, the killer simply picking people at random and deciding they’d become evidence of his work?

I frowned and tugged at my hair. There are people out there like this, of course—people we struggle most to catch.

From this case alone, it’s clear the killer switches up tools a lot. Besides a fingerprint-less dagger of unknown source, there’s nothing else. There’s nothing etched or marked on it, so we can’t even trace the manufacturer, let alone the buyer.

A killer’s methods often reflect their personality. Someone who acts quickly and decisively is sharp and ruthless. A killer who uses a dagger likely doesn’t mind the sight of blood. A twisted killer enjoys dragging things out. But this particular murderer’s two crimes—their methods just didn’t line up. It almost felt like two different people. Killing style is like a fingerprint—it reveals the killer’s true self and can’t easily be masked.

Looking at the timeline, I was sure the killer already had a list of intended victims and would eliminate them one by one. With only two cases so far, though, it was nearly impossible to tell if the killer followed a schedule—did they strike every day, every other day, or whenever they felt like it?

Analyzing motive is about piecing together the clues left behind. This is something I’m good at, a bit of a psychologist’s game. So far, there are only two possibilities: random killings or planned ones. Maybe the killer had some link to these five, a connection we just haven’t found.

Truth is, we barely understood any of this. Worse, our killer was clever, with a broad knowledge and a mind as dark as they come—someone who feared the light. Judging from the brief contact I had, the killer’s psyche was warped, finding comfort in darkness and avoiding the sun.

And that made sense. No one just goes mad for no reason. Something major must’ve set them off—trauma as a child or some big shock later in life. They end up fighting the world or themselves, trapped in a mindset no one else can really grasp.

With people like this out there, would any of them have a record in a psychiatric hospital? A violent mental patient breaking out to kill wasn’t impossible.

Those people, though, are kept under the strictest security in the hospital. I knew Dongxing City’s setup well, even if I’d never actually been inside that area. Without paperwork, no one could get in. Because what was held there couldn’t be called human anymore—just demons locked in human flesh.

Team Leader Shao spoke up, “There’s still one person from these stories we haven’t found. On the way back I had Mary check out the shop. Turns out the owner’s Wang Chunli, not a local. We’ve tried all her phone numbers and they’re out of service. All we know is Wang Chunli went out with some man one day and never returned.”

Team Leader Li glanced at Team Leader Shao and said, “Yeah, we checked that too. I was just about to say it but you beat me to it.”

He shot Xiao Liu a look while nudging him, “Well, Xiao Liu, you wanted to investigate, right? Get to it.”

Team Leader Shao looked at Team Leader Li, rubbing his teacup as he said, “Really? If you already knew, why didn’t you assign someone earlier? Only waited until I spoke up and now you want to look into it. Some people… you have to wonder how they got their position.”

Team Leader Li snorted, “Not that it matters, but it’s getting late. You should get some sleep. For someone so young, you sure have a lot of gray hair—worrying too much?”

Gu Chen looked at Team Leader Li and said, “He’s just trying to snatch our credit, plain and simple.”

I said, “If I’m right, it would’ve taken the woman boss some time to get familiar with the stray cats. I’m afraid she’s already become a meal for them, dragged off somewhere.”

Guan Zengbin said, “But even cats can’t eat bones. Where did all the bones go?”

Suddenly, I recalled all those stacked boxes in the warehouse. One of them had been opened, but I hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Now, though, I realized the woman boss’s remains might be in that very box. On that thought, I called Xiao Liu right away.

Xiao Liu answered, surprised I’d called. “Wu Meng? What’s up?”

I didn’t hold back. “Go to that shop’s warehouse and check the unopened boxes. If my guess is right, you’ll find bones and bits of flesh inside.”

“Got it,” Xiao Liu said. “Thanks for the tip.”

I didn’t reply.

Gu Chen glanced at me. “Why bother helping him? When he needs something, he sticks with you, but once trouble comes, he runs faster than anyone.”

I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. You’re coming with me tomorrow.”

“Where to?” Gu Chen asked.

“Dongxing City Psychiatric Hospital,” I replied.

Sure enough, Xiao Liu found a pile of bones. He went off to investigate which man left town with Wang Chunli.

I barely slept that night. No matter how many times I turned over, sleep wouldn’t come. Closing my eyes, I’d see countless green eyes watching me, hear the killer’s shrill laughter, or see the little girl’s head roll toward me—all scenes playing over and over.

Even in pitch darkness, it felt like someone was standing there, smiling at me without end.

Why hadn’t he killed me? He’d had the perfect opportunity. His hand was on the dagger…

No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t figure it out.

At dawn, Team Leader Shao led a group to Dongxing City Psychiatric Hospital. I had mixed feelings about that place. On one hand, it hid my deepest secrets—my losses to Wu Zui happened there, twice. On the other, I had some fondness for it. There was Wang Ergou, who was always kind, and people with ideas as wild as their hearts.

Sometimes, maybe they just don’t fit in this world. They aren’t crazy at all.

We were greeted once again by the charge male nurse. Seeing Team Leader Shao with me, he joked, “Back again? Did the probation not work out? Trying to dump trouble on us again, huh? Think we’re not busy enough?”

I grinned. “I’m just fine. Off all my meds now.”

“You just love causing a fuss,” the nurse replied. “You know what kind of illness you have, but here you are getting mixed up in all this, day after day. Pretty soon you’ll be back for good.”

“Where’s Wang Ergou?” I asked. “I miss that guy when he isn’t around.”

“His girlfriend’s here. The two of them are all over each other—I can hardly watch. Such a good girl, wasting her youth on a psych patient.”

I laughed. “You’d better keep an eye out, then. Letting them be alone together can’t be hospital policy, right?”

“Get out!” the nurse protested. “That’s their business, not mine. Now tell me, why are you really here? Don’t tell me you missed me.”

I looked him in the eye. “We’re working a case. I’m worried a violent patient might have escaped. Do you have any records? Thought I’d also take a look at Area A—maybe something will turn up.”

“No way,” the nurse replied. “Area A is for the highest security patients. There’s no way anyone’s getting out of there.”