Bai Longfei seemed to have been very nervous, and only now did he feel relieved. He smiled and said, "Of course. Don't you believe in your son's judgment?"
I was sitting at the side, completely confused, not knowing what the two were talking about. Officer Yang sighed and said, "Captain Bai, let me explain this matter."
Bai Qi nodded in agreement. Officer Yang then turned to look at me and said, "You still don't understand why I didn't tell you the details of this case. You know, if this case were to be exposed, it would definitely be a major blow to the prestige of our police in the eyes of the public."
Officer Yang suddenly asked, "You are from another place, right? How long have you been in Zhongwei City? Have you heard about the major murder case that happened in Zhongwei City ten years ago?"
I had never heard of this major murder case that Officer Yang was talking about. I shook my head slightly and continued, "Ten years ago, Zhongwei had just been upgraded from a county to a city. The higher-ups ordered that no unexpected situations that would damage the image of Zhongwei City should occur. But at this critical juncture, a major murder case occurred in Zhongwei City. At the time, people called the murderer a serial heart-digger."
Hearing this, I seemed to understand something and asked hurriedly, "Wait, so a similar case happened ten years ago? But this doesn't make sense. If the modus operandi is the same, then the murderer must be the same person. Could it be that the case back then has become an unsolved case?"
Officer Yang sighed and said, "In theory, that's right. Don't interrupt me. Let me finish my story. The heart-digger was extremely cruel. In just one month, seven victims died tragically at his hands. And without exception, they were all killed by having their hearts ripped out by a sharp weapon. And they could never find where the victims' hearts were hidden."
"At the time, I wasn't the director yet, but I knew how important this case was. All the police officers were on call 24 hours a day, going door to door to inquire about clues, and set up a reward for informants. But even so, the heart-stealing demon still continued to commit crimes under the dragnet."
Officer Yang seemed to recall the situation at that time, looking at me with confused eyes, "I don't remember how long I hadn't slept, I just remember that I was very sleepy at that time. All the police officers in the police station, including the director, were the same, but we didn't dare to sleep, not even a second to slack off. The pressure from the mayor and the people made us breathless all the time. We could only keep looking for clues and give an explanation to the citizens."
"But what's the use? No matter how hard we try and how many police patrols we send, we still can't catch the murderer. Seven victims were killed in just one month. Every day, people talk about it. Some even say it's the work of ghosts, just to prevent Zhongwei from being established. Such voices are getting louder and louder. The mayor called us over several times and scolded us. We were completely desperate at the time. The director even wrote a resignation letter. But at this time, the heart-digger stopped committing crimes and disappeared from sight. There is no trace of him anymore."
Officer Yang had said this, and I guessed the ending, so I asked, "Did you still fail to catch the heart-eating demon, so you pretended to the public that the heart-eating demon had been brought to justice, to comfort the citizens at that time?"
Officer Yang nodded and said, "Yes, in the following month, the heart-digger never appeared again, and our police were helpless. Finally, someone came up with an idea to say that the heart-digger had been brought to justice. This would both appease the people and give the heart-digger an illusion, causing him to reveal his true colors. Later, the director adopted this suggestion, and the people were appeased, but the heart-digger disappeared completely from then on."
Looking at Officer Yang who seemed a little ashamed, I completely understood the importance of this case. If the heart-eating demon who had been executed by the police that year appeared in the public eye again, the Zhongwei City Police Station would definitely lose its reputation on the spot and would never be able to raise its head again. Everyone would understand that the heart-eating demon had not been caught and was still at large for the past ten years.
Bai Qi then said, "A few years ago, after our special case team was established, we came here to investigate, but we still couldn't find any clues. Now that the Heart-Eating Demon has appeared again, you now understand why we rushed here so quickly."
I turned around and asked, "Is it indiscriminate killing?"
"Yes, this is the most difficult part. Indiscriminate killings. We have no idea of the criminal's motives, and therefore we cannot speculate on the criminal's identity. This case is very similar to the case ten years ago, both in terms of the killing method and the indiscriminate killings. The only difference is that this time the criminal used a special courier to lure us to find the victim. I don't understand this, but it is basically certain that the murderer this time is most likely the same demon who ripped out the heart back then."
Bai Qi's words were similar to what I thought, but I still had a lot of questions, so I asked, "If that's the case, then why did this murderer kill again after ten years? Ten years ago, he perfectly hid his identity, so he should have taken this secret to his grave. What made him kill again? According to my thinking, ten years have passed. Even if the murderer was only twenty years old at the time, he should be middle-aged now, with a family and a career. Unless something major happened in his life, he would definitely live a stable life. According to this logic, can we first secretly visit Zhongwei City and perhaps narrow down the target range temporarily?"
Bai Qi said seriously, "Your analysis is very likely correct. This is indeed a method. However, if we continue to search in this way, it will probably take a lot of time and may expose the case prematurely."
I have always been interested in some bizarre cases, and this time is no exception. I feel that my brain seems to be working much better than when I was delivering couriers. I feel vaguely that I seem to have grasped an important clue, but I haven't remembered this clue yet.
"I have another clue, which I forgot to tell Officer Yang. Perhaps this clue can help us find the real murderer."
"Hurry up and tell me." Officer Yang asked impatiently after hearing this.
"When I delivered the empty package for the second time, I was planning to secretly open it to see what was inside, but I was interrupted by my colleagues. I just tore off some tape and hastily put it back on. But when I saw the empty package for the third time, I found that the marks of the tape being torn on the empty package were exactly the same as the ones I delivered the second time. At that time, I wondered if the empty packages delivered three times were all the same. But later I saw that the courier slip on the empty package had no signs of being altered or torn, and I had been in contact with the empty package for a short time, so I couldn't make a correct judgment."
Officer Yang's eyes widened after hearing this, and he said as if he wanted to eat me up: "Why didn't you say so earlier!"
"Don't interrupt, let him continue speaking." Bai Qi stopped Officer Yang and looked at me with interest, as if to encourage me.
Encouraged by Bai Qi, I became more confident in my judgment and continued, "Later, I checked the tracking record of the courier in the internal system and found that this thing did not pass through any station. It appeared directly on the train from Yinchuan to Zhongwei. In other words, if no one tampered with the truck during the journey, then the sudden appearance of this empty package can only be due to one situation. That is, someone quietly put it into the truck when we were sorting the goods in the morning, and this person can only be someone from our courier company!"
Hearing this, Bai Qi and Officer Yang's eyes lit up at the same time. After looking at each other, Bai Qi sighed and said, "I never thought that the clue was right in front of us, but we never found it. We always focused on the relationship between the murderer and the deceased, but no one paid attention to the source of the empty packet. Ji Wen, you are more thoughtful. I, an old man, have to admit defeat."
"In that case, send someone to keep a close eye on that car over the next few days. If anyone is found putting an empty package in it, arrest them immediately!" Seeing that there was hope of solving the case, Officer Yang was so excited that he could hardly sit still. He wished it was daybreak so that he could ambush near the head office and investigate secretly.
Seeing Officer Yang happy, I was relieved and said to Bai Qi, "But I think things are not that simple. I still don't know what Zhang Qishan's purpose is, and how did the murderer leave the scene after killing someone?"
Before Bai Qi could say anything, Lin Yingxue said with some disdain, "What's so difficult about this? We can catch the suspect tomorrow and ask him questions, and we'll know everything. Why waste our brains guessing here?"
I just smiled and didn't say anything, while Bai Qi and Officer Yang also made their own judgments. They stood up and said, "Very good, Ji Wen, the clues and analysis you provided today are of decisive help to this case. On behalf of the special case team, I would like to thank you!"
As he spoke, Bai Qi extended his right hand to me. I immediately extended my hand to shake his and said with a smile, "Uncle Bai, you're welcome. I'm just fulfilling my civic duty. Besides, I didn't help much. I was just guessing."
"Haha, your guesses are more useful than what we have thought of, which really makes us ashamed. Long Fei mentioned you to me some time ago, saying that you have outstanding qualities and can join the special case team. Now it seems that I need to consider Long Fei's proposal carefully. As long as you are talented, we will definitely make use of you! Xiaolin, you should learn more from Ji Wen in the future."
Lin Yingxue, who was standing by, was caught in the crossfire for no reason. She was unhappy and glared at me fiercely. Then she said, "I don't want to learn from him. I graduated from a regular police academy. How can I learn criminal investigation knowledge from an outsider? Don't worry, team leader. I will definitely solve the case before him!"
Lin Yingxue suddenly sang this song, which immediately made Bai Qi speechless, and I, who was caught between the two of them, fell into great embarrassment.