Chapter 213: Murderous Memories
by xennovelChapter 213: Murderous Memories
Detention Center, Interrogation Room.
Xiao Yu meets the suspect Yu Shaoyang once again.
He then takes Yu Shaoyang out of the center and heads straight for the villa.
“Where are you taking me?”
On the police car, Yu Shaoyang asked, his hands cuffed.
“To the murder scene you mentioned,”
Xiao Yu replied coldly from beside him.
“…”
Yu Shaoyang fell silent, his face gradually paling.
Xiao Yu gave him a glance, clearly recognizing his avoidance.
Many things haunt people’s hearts; some they simply refuse to face.
Embarrassing incidents, wicked deeds, guilt… far too many.
At the villa, Xiao Yu and Guo Qiang first escorted Yu Shaoyang into a bedroom.
“According to your statement, you claim you strangled Wang Mei here?”
Xiao Yu pointed to the large bed, his gaze icy as he looked at the downcast Yu Shaoyang.
“Mm.”
Yu Shaoyang replied softly, “Y-yes, here.”
“What did you use?” Xiao Yu pressed on.
“A telephone cord…”
Yu Shaoyang’s eyes involuntarily darted toward the bedside cabinet and then to an old landline phone.
When he saw the phone, his eyes went wide and he froze.
Because that landline was completely intact!
Xiao Yu was also scrutinizing the phone.
Under the scrutiny of ‘Falcon’s Eye’, the landline indeed appeared untouched.
There were no signs of excessive pulling; it seemed perfectly normal, just hanging there.
Guo Qiang handed over a pair of latex gloves.
After putting them on, Xiao Yu picked up the phone and placed it to his ear…
Beep beep…
A strange glimmer flickered in Xiao Yu’s eyes.
The landline cord could indeed be fatal under the right pressure.
However, after being tugged excessively with enough force to kill,
even if the surface wasn’t torn, most of the internal copper wires would likely snap.
Could it really be of such quality?
The forensic team arrived and began testing the cord.
Testing for what? Fingerprints, perhaps?
Not fingerprints, but for… grease!
It’s well known that human skin secretes grease.
Suppose this cord had strangled someone—would you expect any greasy residue?
The result… was nothing!
Xiao Yu’s expression darkened.
Two possibilities emerged:
1. The suspect Yu Shaoyang really used the landline cord to strangle Wang Mei.
But then, the landline was switched!
2. Yu Shaoyang is lying; he never used the cord to kill.
The murder was fabricated!
Which possibility holds more weight?
Turning his head, Xiao Yu stared at Yu Shaoyang’s face, scrutinizing every expression.
He saw shock, confusion, and disbelief…
That expression was as if Yu Shaoyang himself couldn’t fathom why the landline cord was intact.
Studying his expression closely, Xiao Yu could finally conclude… the first possibility was true!
…
In the villa’s kitchen.
“After strangling her, I panicked. But… in that moment I felt all my blood come to a boil, an inexplicable thrill washed over me.”
“I knew I had to dispose of the body. Then, I devised a plan.”
“I went out and bought a large suitcase, planning to hide her in it. But… her corpse was so rigid that it couldn’t be bent or fit into the suitcase…”
Pale-faced, Yu Shaoyang recounted the sequence of the murder, straining to remember every detail.
“Stop.”
Cutting him off, Xiao Yu frowned, “Rigid corpse? So you waited a long time after strangling Wang Mei before thinking about disposing of the body?”
Typically, a body begins to stiffen 3 to 6 hours after death.
In other words, from the moment of death, the body gradually loses its warmth.
Once its temperature matches the surroundings, the body cools and external conditions have a significant effect.
The greater the temperature difference, the faster the body cools and stiffens.
So what was Yu Shaoyang doing during those 3 to 6 hours?
“I… I think I might have…”
Unsure, Yu Shaoyang ventured, “fallen asleep?!”
Xiao Yu: ???
What kind of state is this? You killed someone and then fell asleep?
Even Guo Qiang, an experienced detective, was left dumbfounded.
What kind of mentality is that?
“Are you sure you fell asleep?”
A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Yu’s eyes.
“I…”
Yu Shaoyang strained to recall, finally confirming, “I did. When I woke up, her corpse was lying beside me. I was completely shocked!”
Something didn’t add up… Xiao Yu and Guo Qiang exchanged looks, both reading each other’s thoughts.
No normal person could possibly fall asleep in such a state.
Yet Yu Shaoyang inexplicably did. The problem was huge.
Of course, his psychological instability couldn’t be ruled out.
“Continue,”
Xiao Yu asked coldly, “What happened next?”
“Then…”
Yu Shaoyang whispered, “Since the corpse couldn’t fit into the suitcase, I was forced to improvise. In the end… I thought of dismembering it!”
“A kitchen knife? Dismemberment?” Xiao Yu frowned.
“Y-yes!”
Yu Shaoyang nodded. “I first used a kitchen knife to cut through her skin… but I can’t quite remember the rest. At that time, I was in a daze—so tired, yet exhilarated, as if in a fog… When I came to my senses, her body was already dismembered… her arms, legs, even her head—chopped off and laid out before me… all arranged in the suitcase!”
A bizarre gleam flickered in Xiao Yu’s eyes.
How could that be?
A kitchen knife would never be effective in dismembering a corpse, especially one that had stiffened.
It simply wouldn’t work!
Tired? Excited? In a daze? And then… lucid?
These keywords whirled rapidly in Xiao Yu’s mind as he analyzed the case.
At the same time, he recalled that both forensic experts and detectives had found no signs of post-mortem dismemberment at the scene.
From the bedroom onward, Yu Shaoyang’s account of the murder was riddled with inconsistencies.
And then, the dismemberment phase also had its own set of issues.
Is it possible that…
Someone else, during the murder of Wang Mei, used a method to put Yu Shaoyang into a stupor?
Then, that person went on to kill Wang Mei?
After Yu Shaoyang woke up and took her corpse to the kitchen to dismember it,
this person reappeared, leaving Yu Shaoyang in a state of mental confusion.
They removed the body, dismembered it, packed it into the suitcase, and placed it right in front of him.
Then they ‘awakened’ a dazed Yu Shaoyang,
making him believe that he had dismembered the corpse himself.
Xiao Yu’s mind raced, struggling to comprehend.
Could it be true?