DipNovel Chapter 12: The Little Cutie in the Suitcase
Chapter 12: The Little Cutie in the Suitcase
Drizzle...whoosh...!
The rain fell all night and didn't stop until dawn, only changing from a violent downpour to a fine drizzle, like someone pulling an endless white cloth across the sky.
In the interrogation room, Jiang Chen's fingers flew across the keyboard as he looked at an old laptop that Su Wan had brought over.
Tap tap tap tap tap…
The keyboard clicks were so dense they sounded like machine gun fire.
Su Wan sat opposite Jiang Chen, holding a cup of coffee that had gone cold, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
This man… no, this young man, after being detained for more than twenty hours, experienced interrogation, confrontation, remote case solving, and provocation from the murderer, and now he can still calmly type.
"Aren't you sleepy?" Su Wan asked.
Tap tap tap tap… Jiang Chen’s fingers didn’t stop.
"Sleepy."
"Why don't you take a nap?"
"I can't sleep." Jiang Chen's eyes were fixed on the screen. "I'm waiting."
"What are you waiting for?"
despair.
Jiang Chen's fingers suddenly stopped.
"They're here."
Su Wan was taken aback: "What's here?"
Jiang Chen turned his laptop around so that the screen faced Su Wan.
The above is the novel's update page; the title of the latest chapter is only two characters...
Three Days.
Su Wan looked down and her pupils suddenly contracted.
First paragraph of the main text:
"Three days. The murderer gave the police three days. Or rather, he gave himself three days. Within three days, he would complete his masterpiece. After three days, he would walk into the interrogation room himself... He wasn't coming to confess; he was coming to inspect the work."
Su Wan looked up at Jiang Chen: "What do you mean by writing this?"
Jiang Chen shrugged: "It means exactly what it says."
"You mean, the murderer will turn himself in in three days?"
"It wasn't a surrender," Jiang Chen shook his head. "It was to keep an appointment."
"Whose appointment are we keeping?"
Jiang Chen pointed to himself: "Mine."
drop…!
Su Wan's phone rang.
She looked down and saw a message from the technical department: Jiang Chen's novel had just been updated, and three seconds later, the murderer's email account sent an automated reply email to Jiang Chen's readers' email addresses.
The email contained only one line of text.
"Received. See you in three days."
Su Wan handed her phone to Jiang Chen, her fingers trembling slightly.
Jiang Chen glanced at it and handed the phone back to her expressionlessly.
"See, I wasn't wrong? He's waiting for my updates; every chapter is his command."
"Then why did you even write it?!" Su Wan's voice rose half an octave unconsciously. "If you don't write it, he won't have any instructions, and he won't be able to act!"
"Wrong." Jiang Chen shook his head. "Even if I don't write it, he will still take action. It's just that I won't be able to predict his actions."
Su Wan opened her mouth, but found herself unable to refute it.
This madman... The murderer is a madman, and Jiang Chen is a madman too.
But the latter's madness is on their side.
Thump thump thump…!
There was a knock on the interrogation room door, and Xiao Zhang poked his head in: "Captain Su, Captain Zhou is back and waiting for you in the conference room."
Su Wan stood up and glanced at Jiang Chen: "You wait here, don't wander off."
Jiang Chen raised his hands in surrender: "I haven't even taken my handcuffs off, where could I possibly run to?"
Su Wan snorted coldly, turned around and walked out.
Jiang Chen was left alone in the interrogation room.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
The system's voice sounded in my mind again.
[A sustained increase in host stress levels has been detected; relaxation training is recommended.]
Jiang Chen cursed inwardly: "Relax my ass! There's a serial killer playing cat and mouse with me outside, and a bunch of police officers inside are treating me like a suspect. How am I supposed to relax?"
[Host's emotional fluctuations detected; releasing soothing hormones...]
Jiang Chen felt a warm current flow from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, and his whole body instantly relaxed, his eyelids feeling as heavy as lead.
"Wow... your system has this function... you should have said so earlier..."
Before he could finish speaking, he had already fallen asleep.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was so heavy it seemed like it could drip water.
Zhou Guoping sat in the main seat, his right hand wrapped in bandages, his face etched with exhaustion. Zhao Gang sat beside him, Wang Lei stood against the wall, and Lin Xiaoyu took a statement in the corner.
Su Wan pushed open the door and came in, and everyone turned to look at her.
"Let's talk about the situation at the crematorium first," Su Wan said, sitting down and getting straight to the point.
Zhou Guoping took a deep breath: "Following Jiang Chen's instructions, we sealed off three exits and didn't go in. Around four in the morning, a second flame appeared in the second-floor window, lasting for about thirty seconds before going out."
"And then?"
"After that..." Zhou Guoping paused, "there was no after that. Until dawn, there was no further news."
"At six in the morning, we obtained a search warrant and went inside."
Zhao Gang took over the conversation, his voice low: "The incinerator is hot. There are ashes and residue in the furnace; preliminary assessment indicates that at least three bodies were cremated. Technicians are conducting DNA comparisons, and the results will take at least three days."
Su Wan's fingers tapped lightly on the table, making a rhythmic tapping sound.
Three bodies. A series of murders in the western suburbs, with exactly three victims.
"Any other discoveries?" she asked.
Wang Lei took an evidence bag out of his bag and placed it on the table. Inside the bag was a cell phone with a shattered screen and dried bloodstains on the back cover.
"It was found on the control panel next to the incinerator," Wang Lei said. "The phone was out of battery, and the technical department is trying to extract the data."
"How long will it take to get the results?"
"As early as this afternoon."
Su Wan nodded and looked around: "What are everyone's thoughts on the current situation of the case?"
Zhao Gang was the first to speak: "I think Jiang Chen has a problem."
All eyes were on him.
"Think about it," Zhao Gang counted on his fingers, "He knew the details of the murder scene in the western suburbs; he knew the structure of the underground fortifications; he even knew the incinerator at the crematorium. Is it normal for a novelist to know so many details of criminal investigation?"
Lin Xiaoyu retorted, unconvinced: "Didn't he say he found it all out of research..."
"Looking up information?" Zhao Gang interrupted her. "I've been a criminal investigator for twenty years, and there are some details I don't even know. Where did he find that information?"
"That's because you're ignorant," Lin Xiaoyu muttered under her breath.
"What did you say?" Zhao Gang stared wide-eyed.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing." Zhou Guoping tapped the table. "Zhao Gang's suspicions are reasonable, and Xiaoyu's trust is also reasonable. The problem now is that there's no evidence to prove Jiang Chen's involvement, nor is there evidence to prove his innocence. He's useful to us for now, so let's use him for the time being."
"What if you finish using it?" Zhao Gang pressed.
Zhou Guoping was silent for two seconds: "We'll talk about it after we've used it."
Su Wan remained silent, lost in thought about something else… a line from Jiang Chen’s novel.
"Three days later, he will walk into the interrogation room by himself... not to surrender, but to verify."
If Jiang Chen's prediction is correct, the murderer will commit another crime within three days.
Who is the target?
"Captain Zhou," Su Wan began, "have you found any signs of suspicious activity around the crematorium?"
Zhou Guoping shook his head: "It rained all night, washing away all traces."
Su Wan's brows furrowed even more.
Whoosh...!
The meeting room door was suddenly pushed open, and Xiao Zhang rushed in, panting.
"Captain Su! Captain Zhou! Something's happened!"
Everyone stood up at once.
"What is it?"
"The Chengdong Police Station just received a report that a pink suitcase and a gray woven bag were found in an abandoned factory in Chengdong!"
Su Wan's mind went blank.
Suitcase. Woven bag. Cute little thing.
Sentences from Jiang Chen's novels echoed in her mind like a curse.
"What's in the box?" Her voice was strained.
Xiao Zhang swallowed hard. "The suitcase contained... a woman. The woven bag contained... a man. They were... they were all separated into pieces."
Whoa…!
Lin Xiaoyu rushed to the trash can, bent over, and dry heaved.
Zhao Gang's face also turned pale.
Zhou Guoping clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking.
Su Wan stood still, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down.
"When was it discovered?"
"Twenty minutes ago, a scavenger reported the incident."
"Is the scene properly secured?"
"It's well protected, and the technical team is on their way."
Su Wan turned to Zhou Guoping: "Captain Zhou, I'm going to the scene."
"I'll go too," Zhou Guoping said, standing up.
As the two reached the door, Su Wan suddenly stopped.
"By the way, where's Jiang Chen?"
Xiao Zhang paused, then asked, "In the interrogation room...as if you're sleeping?"
Su Wan gritted her teeth: "Wake him up. Take him with you."
"Huh? Take the suspect to the crime scene?" Xiao Zhang thought he had misheard.
"This is an order," Su Wan said seriously. "If he's the murderer, he might leave clues at the scene; if he's an accomplice, he can help us solve the case. Either way, there's no harm in bringing him along."
In the interrogation room, Jiang Chen was shaken awake by Xiao Zhang. He listened to Su Wan's decision in a daze and was stunned for a full five seconds.
Are you sure?
"Sure."
"Has your captain lost his mind? Taking a suspect to a crime scene? I've never heard of such an operation before."
Xiao Zhang shrugged helplessly: "I think so too. But she said it was an order."
Jiang Chen sighed, stood up and stretched his muscles, his joints making a cracking sound.
"Let's go. I'm curious too, what tricks that madman has up his sleeve this time."
The police car sped through the rain, its wipers swaying rhythmically from side to side.
Jiang Chen sat in the back row, still handcuffed, but Su Wan allowed him to put his hands in front of him instead of behind his back.
The street scene outside the window rushed past, from tall buildings to short buildings, and from short buildings to factories.
"Officer Su."
"Um."
"Aren't you afraid that if you take me to the scene, I might be the murderer and give myself away?"
Su Wan glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
"If you're the murderer, it's good that you've been exposed; it saves me the trouble of interrogating you further."
"What if I weren't?"
"If not, help me solve the case."
Jiang Chen smiled, a smile that was both helpless and relieved.
"Officer Su, do you know that you're the first police officer to dare to gamble like this?"
Su Wan didn't answer, but instead pressed the accelerator harder.
The engine let out a low growl.
Abandoned factory buildings in the east of the city.
The cordon has been set up, and the yellow and white striped plastic tape is swaying in the rain.
Su Wan drove her car directly outside the police cordon. She got out of the car, and the rain immediately soaked her shoulders.
Xiao Zhang opened the back door, and Jiang Chen got out.
His handcuffs gleamed coldly in the rain.
The nearby reporters and onlookers immediately became agitated.
"Is that Jiang Chen?!"
"Jiang Chen has been brought to the scene!"
"My God, he's in handcuffs!"
"I told you he was the murderer! Otherwise, why would he have been brought to the crime scene!"
"No, no, if you were the murderer, would you bring me to the crime scene? Are you out of your mind?"
The flashes went off rapidly, and Jiang Chen instinctively turned his head away to avoid the glare.
Su Wan stood in front of him and coldly said to the reporters, "Police are handling a case; bystanders, step back."
Then he pulled Jiang Chen through the cordon and into the factory.
The factory was filled with an indescribable smell... rust, rainwater, and... the smell of blood.
It's faint, but it lingers.
The technicians are busy, some taking photos, others taking samples.
Su Wan led Jiang Chen deeper into the factory, where two things were placed side by side...
A pink suitcase.
A gray woven bag.
The suitcase was the most common type of rolling suitcase, its pink surface covered in mud and dark red stains. The zipper was half open, revealing a pale hand inside.
The woven bag is a common snakeskin bag found on construction sites. It is bulging and has a dark liquid slowly seeping out at the bottom.
Su Wan squatted down and unzipped the suitcase.
The whoosh of the zipper was particularly jarring in the empty factory.
Inside was a woman's corpse, cut into six pieces and neatly arranged.
The head was at the very top, facing upwards, with eyes half-open and lips purple.
Su Wan took a deep breath, stood up, and looked at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen stood there, staring expressionlessly at the corpse in the suitcase.
No, not expressionless.
Su Wan suddenly noticed... Jiang Chen's lips were twitching slightly.
That's not fear.
That was anger.
"Do you know her?" Su Wan asked.
Jiang Chen shook his head.
"and you……"
"I don't know her," Jiang Chen shook his head, "but I recognize this technique."
He squatted down and pointed with his handcuffed fingers to a piece of cloth in the suitcase.
"Did you see this?"
Su Wan leaned closer to take a look. The piece of cloth was torn from the deceased's clothes; it was wrinkled and had an inconspicuous label on it.
"This trademark belongs to the workwear of a garment factory in the west of the city. That factory went bankrupt five years ago."
Su Wan's heart sank.
"In other words..."
"In other words, this deceased person, like the victim in the western suburbs, is connected to that garment factory in the west of the city." Jiang Chen stood up.
"The killer didn't act randomly. He had a specific target group."
"Did you write these things in your new book?" Su Wan pressed.
Jiang Chen shook his head: "It wasn't written down. This part was deduced by me just now."
Su Wan stared at him for a long time.
crackling sounds...
The sound of rain was deafening outside the factory.
The technician came over and whispered to Su Wan, "Team Leader Su, we extracted two sets of fingerprints from the suitcase. One set belongs to the deceased, and the other set doesn't match."
"Have the mismatched fingerprints been compared with the fingerprints found at the scene in the western suburbs?"
"We compared them. They don't match."
Su Wan's brows furrowed into a tight knot.
Has the killer changed?
Or... is there simply no fixed killer?
She looked at Jiang Chen, and Jiang Chen was also looking at her.
Their eyes met in mid-air, sparking an invisible flame.
"What are you thinking about?" Su Wan asked.
"What you're thinking is what I'm thinking," Jiang Chen replied.
Su Wan took a deep breath: "Do you think the killer and the one in the western suburbs are not the same person?"
Jiang Chen remained silent for three seconds.
"It could be the same person who changed gloves. Or it could be a different person copying the crime. There's another possibility..."
His face was solemn.
"There was no 'murderer' from beginning to end."
"What do you mean?"
Jiang Chen's gaze fell on the pink suitcase, his voice low.
"Perhaps we are not facing just one person."
"It's a group of people."
Boom!
A thunderclap exploded above the factory, causing everyone to instinctively shrink their necks.
Su Wan looked at Jiang Chen, and the thought in her heart grew stronger and stronger...
The suspicion surrounding this person is diminishing.
But the mysteries surrounding him are growing ever larger.