The business of the barbecue shop was booming, Mingshu said that he would roast pork belly for Xiao Yuan, but he was seated, but Xiao Yuan was the one who roasted the pork belly.
There are actually waiters in the store who are responsible for roasting meat, but many people prefer to roast by themselves. Only customers who come alone will let the waiter stay aside to help roast because they are too lonely.
When Mingshu came alone before, he ate pork belly roasted by the waiter. He had roasted it himself, but he never mastered the heat. Either the lean meat was roasted to death, or the fat meat was not roasted dry.
This time with Xiao Yu'an, I finally don't have to trouble the waiter anymore. Xiao Yuan took care of the roasting, he took care of the eating, and with a tacit understanding, he eliminated a basket of lettuce with meat in no time.
Of course Xiao Yuan also ate, but he didn't know how fast he ate, and his posture was much more elegant.
"Brother, you don't look like you're eating barbecue." Ming Shu smiled, "It's like eating Western food."
"Eat yours." Xiao Yuan threw two pieces of freshly cooked beef tongue into Mingshu's plate, and the oil was still bubbling on top.
Mingshu held back his greed, "You didn't put green peppers, onions and garlic cloves in the lettuce just now. These three things are the soul of this barbecue restaurant."
Xiao Yu'an had already wrapped a pork belly with lettuce, and only used the salty dipping sauce, nothing else.
"Come, come, I'll wrap it for you!" Mingshu ate it according to the store's standard and wrapped a sheet of lettuce leaves, "Here!"
Xiao Yuan didn't answer, and said slowly, "I suddenly had an idea about the murderer."
There has never been a rule between the two of them that "you can't talk about the case during dinner/dating". Mingshu himself was the one who would immediately discuss with the team members when he had an idea, so he immediately took his hand back and said, "What?"
Xiao Yu'an said: "We can basically confirm that Luo Xiangfu is not the first victim. During this time, Yifei has not relaxed the investigation of backlogs and missing persons, but so far, it can be said that there is almost no gain."
Mingshu unknowingly had put the lettuce wrapped pork belly prepared for Xiao Yuan into his mouth, chewed a few mouthfuls and swallowed it, subconsciously defending his sub-team, "Yi Fei has too many things on his hands, he is too busy. Can be forgiven."
"No. He has tried his best." Xiao Yu'an shook his head, "An elite criminal policeman tried his best, but found nothing, either because there was no previous victim, Luo Xiangfu was the first person killed by the murderer, or the victim had not been discovered, His family and friends have not reported the case either and he is still somewhere, waiting for us to find him."
Mingshu was stunned for a moment, "I can understand that the victim was not found. But Luo Xiangfu was killed on July 2, and the previous victim must have been before that, at the earliest in June, more likely several months ago. A person He disappeared for so long for no reason, why didn't his relatives and friends call the police?"
"What if it's an old man who is very withdrawn?" Xiao Yu'an said: "Suppose the old man lives alone, is estranged from his children, or simply has no children and no friends. His only hobby is street photography, with only neighbors and hawkers in the vegetable market. Occasionally say hello to him. One day he disappeared. The neighbors are not particularly enthusiastic people, and they don’t like to gossip with the neighbors.
Mingshu said: "This is the living situation of many lonely elderly people."
Xiao Yu'an said, "Although Luo Xiangfu has a wife and son, he is also very lonely. Maybe the murderer chose him because he saw no one caring about him."
"Is no one caring about one of the common denominators between victims?" Mingshu's thinking became active, "The next target of the murderer may also be lonely middle-aged and elderly street photography lovers. They are either rejected by their families like Luo Xiangfu, or It was a lonely old man.”
"There seem to be a lot of street photography fans, but in the city's population base, it's actually a very small number." Xiao Yuan said, adding beef to Mingshu's plate, "Give a few more restrictions, such as middle-aged and elderly people. , loneliness, bad habits when shooting, this range will be smaller. If you lock the target of the murderer, you can lock the murderer.”
"I..." Mingshu wanted to say, "I'll make arrangements now." He looked down and saw the beef on the plate, remembering that it was still in the barbecue shop, so he had to hold it down temporarily.
"Don't worry." Xiao Yu'an said: "I haven't mentioned the main point. There is one thing that has been bothering us before. The popular science playground is very large, and some are well concealed. Since the murderer chose the popular science playground, why not put Luo Xiangfu? Buried in a more secluded place?"
"She's giving us clues." Mingshu had guessed so long ago.
Xiao Yuan asked, "Why did she give us clues?"
Mingshu said: "Don't you just want to challenge the police? Brother, we have discussed this before."
"It's been discussed, but it hasn't been discussed thoroughly." Xiao Yuan put down the barbecue tongs, her eyes fixed, "She took the initiative to give clues because she hid the victim too well when she committed the last murder, and no one called the police. I failed to enjoy the excitement and pleasure of playing games with the police after committing the crime."
Mingshu pursed his lips and lowered his eyes in thought.
The murderer hid the victim too well, so this time he deliberately buried Luo Xiangfu in a place where he might be discovered
Where was the last victim hiding
"We can also think in a different direction." Xiao Yu'an said: "In fact, everyone has the inertia of thinking. The murderer killed Luo Xiangfu in the popular science playground. First, because the popular science playground is a place where Luo Xiangfu often goes, she is easy to lead Luo Xiangfu there. The second is because the popular science playground is not monitored, and there are very few people at night. Another point, and the most important point for her, is that she is familiar with the popular science playground, which is her safe area. "
Mingshu immediately understood, "If she kills Luo Xiangfu there, she may kill a victim there!"
Xiao Yuan nodded, "According to the law of serial murder murderers, the more people they kill, the more likely they will be unscrupulous. Only when they first commit the crime will they be extra careful. If Luo Xiangfu is buried in such an obvious place, the murderer may have two considerations. , these two do not conflict, one is that the murderer has become arrogant, and the other is the most hidden place, where a victim has been buried."
Mingshu almost devoured the rest of the meat at a speed and rushed to the cashier to check out.
Xiao Yuan packed up their belongings and walked out the door slowly.
On the way back to the city bureau, Mingshu gradually recalled, "Brother, were you diverting my attention just now?"
Xiao Yu'an said calmly, "What attention?"
Ming Shu snorted, "You didn't suddenly remember so much, you planned to let me have a good meal, and then analyze it with me when you return to the bureau!"
Xiao Yuan laughed.
"You just want to avoid eating the pork belly I wrapped for you!" Mingshu said, "Why can't you eat green peppers, garlic cloves and onions? If you eat barbecued meat without eating the soul, then the barbecued meat will be eaten for nothing!"
Xiao Yu'an said, "The smell is too great."
"Is that what you eat!" Mingshu said indignantly, "Tsk, you taught me at home that you can't have a partial eclipse. I think you are the partial eclipse, right?"
Mingshu now has a good appetite and is particularly easy to care for. He can eat expensive things, and can eat biscuits that cost a dollar on the roadside. But it wasn't like this when I was young. I was a little expensive and a little squeamish. If nothing else, I had a special dislike for fruits.
I don't eat bananas, because I have eaten astringent ones, and there are shadows; I don't eat apples, because they are too common and not delicious; I don't eat grapes, because they are sour;
Others say that "children can't have a partial eclipse" is useless, but Xiao Yuan said it works.
Xiao Yuan handed him the sliced apple and told him not to be a partial eclipse, and he listened to it. Every time he encountered something he didn't like to eat, thinking about Xiao Yuan's words, he ate it happily.
Over time, the problem of partial eclipse will be cured.
Now, Xiao Yu'an is actually more partial.
"I'm not a partial eclipse, I choose food according to my own preferences." Xiao Yu'an said, "I don't like raw green peppers, garlic cloves and onions, why do I force myself to eat them?"
"Fuck!" Ming Shu was shocked, "You didn't say that before!"
"Oh?" Xiao Yu'an swept away, "What did I say before?"
Mingshu recalled the old story, "If you say you don't like to eat, you have to overcome it! Imagine that it is delicious!"
Xiao Yuan smiled silently.
Mingshu said, "Don't stop talking!"
"I'm thinking about how to explain it to you." Xiao Yuan said.
Ming Shu was delighted, "I know I need to explain."
"Of course."
"Then boss Xiao, can you explain?"
Xiao Yuan cleared his throat, "I was only a teenager when I forced you to eat fruit."
Mingshu: "…"
Age is no excuse!
"You're too young to be reasonable." Xiao Yu'an said solemnly, "I found out later that you shouldn't be forced to eat things you don't like. Because even if you eat, you won't be happy."
Mingshu thought to himself, no, I had a great time eating...
"The older I get, the more I feel that people should live a more casual life. Eat more what you like, don't eat what you don't like, and eat less if you have to." Xiao Yu'an said, "I was unreasonable when I was a teenager. You are twenty-eight this year, and you are a policeman again. You should be reasonable. I don’t want to eat green peppers, garlic cloves and onions, and our reasonable Ming team shouldn’t force me to eat them.”
Mingshu slapped his thigh, "Boss Xiao, why are you so foolish? You are justified everywhere!"
"You call me boss, of course I have to reason with you." Xiao Yuan said.
"Then I'll call you..." Mingshu almost hesitated, saying a certain title when he was doing "homework".
Xiao Yuan raised his eyebrows, "Huh?"
Mingshu blushed, turned his head to look out the window, "Forget it!"
Returning to the serious crime team, Ming Shu immediately called the team members who were still in the bureau for a meeting.
Yi Fei knew that he and Xiao Yuan must go out to investigate the case, but after a meeting, he was still a little scared.
"It's no problem to check the middle-aged and elderly men who live alone among street photography enthusiasts." Yi Fei said, "But the previous victim was buried in the popular science playground. Is this certain?"
"Not for the time being, but the possibility is not low." Mingshu said, "That's why we have to look for it."
Fang Yuanhang said: "Master, the popular science playground is not small, it's hard to find, right?"
"But for the murderer, there are not many places with the best concealment." Mingshu enlarged the floor plan of the popular science playground on the projector and drew a circle with an infrared pen, "The first is here, the south exit of the playground, because Close to the demolition area, this is actually a mixed area of playgrounds and old residential areas. During the day, people throw garbage here. In summer, it stinks and no one will approach it at night. The second is here, a small forest. Uncontrolled growth, shade from the sun, and poor drainage below, it has now become a muddy area, which some people call a 'swamp'."
Mingshu moved the floor plan and said, "And here, the toilet in the center of the playground. There are 12 toilets in the playground, and the center one is the largest, with two floors above and below. The most 'styled' public toilet. But now, it's the dirtiest place in the playground."
"Master!" Fang Yuanhang raised his hand, "There is another place where the corpse is likely to be hidden."
Mingshu asked, "Where?"
Fang Yuanhang said, "The haunted house in the North District."
The team members whispered, and Mingshu found the haunted house on the floor plan.
"The haunted house is not scary at first, and it is not comparable to the ghost school and ghost hospital imported from abroad, but it is scary. Some people were trapped in it a few years ago." Fang Yuanhang said: "There are many theories in Xicheng District. One of them is that at night in the haunted house, there are lonely and wild ghosts staying there, and many people who do not believe in evil have some mental problems after going on an 'exploration'."
"This abandoned haunted house is indeed evil, but it is not the focus of our search." Mingshu said.
Fang Yuanhang was puzzled, "Why?"
"Because it's scary, most people won't go there, but a few people will be attracted by terror. In other words, it's not safe for the murderer, understand?" Mingshu added: "The murderer's ideal hides the corpse. The ground is a place that no one will ever approach.”
After dawn, the police pulled up the security belt again at the popular science playground. The Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Xicheng Branch cooperated to focus on the three areas demarcated by Mingshu.
At noon, a partially waxed body was found in a "swamp" under a grove.
"The time of death is at least three months." Xing Mu wore a heavy mask and carefully turned over the body, "Lahua preserves the characteristics of the scars. This victim, like Luo Xiangfu, suffered repeated blows to the neck and fractured cervical vertebrae. The age cannot be judged yet and needs to go back for further autopsy."
Finding another victim was a breakthrough, but difficulties followed one after another—the source of the corpse could not be determined.
The victim did not have anything to prove his identity, his family did not call the police, and DNA comparison found nothing.
"This shows from the side that, as we expected, the victim really lived alone, without friends, and was usually unattended." Mingshu stayed at the forensic identification center, holding the autopsy report handed over by Xing Mu.
The victim was 70 years old, older than Luo Xiangfu.
Mingshu said to himself: "Start with the older ones, and then gradually increase the difficulty. Luo Xiangfu was killed on July 2, and this victim was killed in April..."
Xing Mu sighed, "If he has children, then these children are too much. His father has been missing for so long, yet he doesn't care. Even if he just calls the police."
"Then it's up to us to investigate." Mingshu stood up from his seat, looked at the picture on the autopsy report, and squeezed his right hand quietly.
Xing Mu asked, "How to check?"
"It's easy to handle, but it's hard work, brother." Mingshu said: "The victim, like Luo Xiangfu, is a lover of street photography. He may be withdrawn and not sociable, but in this small circle, someone must have seen him. Let's go to various places. Street shooting gathering places to look at the platoon, there is always someone who remembers who hasn't shown up for more than three months."
Two days later, 73-year-old Hui Chengxian was invited to the serious crime team.
He was the handsome old man Mingshu and Xiao Yuan saw at Huayun Center.
"This is Lao Chen's photo, which I took for him earlier this year." Hui Chengxian took out a printed photo and sighed regretfully, "Old Chen used to like to take pictures at Huayun Center, and we sometimes met each other. When I get on, I just chat a few words, sometimes I don’t talk, and I take pictures. He has a good eye, not only can take pictures, but he also knows how to match.”
Mingshu picked up the photo.
The old man in the photo has unruly eyes and looks a little fierce. He wears dark blue sportswear and does not look old-fashioned.
"Old Chen hasn't been to Huayun Center for a long time. I didn't expect anything to happen to him. I thought he and his daughter went abroad." Hui Chengxian shook his head, "I should go and find out."
Hui Chengxian didn't know what Lao Chen's name was and where he lived, but he only remembered that Lao Chen said that his home was near the popular science playground.
Photos, surnames, approximate residence, these are already very important information, and soon, the source of the corpse was finally determined.
The victim, Chen Quanhan, lived in Puouxin Street, Xicheng District, and lived alone. His daughter, Chen Mi, was not abroad. She opened a restaurant with her husband in Dongye City.
When he heard the news of his father's death, Chen Mi had almost no mood swings, "I have no relationship with him for a long time, please don't use his affairs to disturb my life."
Yi Fei frowned, "He is your father, please cooperate with the investigation."
"I don't have a father like him. I have cut off contact with him for more than ten years. I don't know who he has a grudge against or who he knows." Chen Mi said: "We are only related by blood, which is actually equivalent to Stranger. Sorry I can't cooperate."
Mingshu suddenly said: "Your father mentioned to the street photographers he knew that you were abroad."
Hearing this, Chen Mi's eyes showed strong contempt, "He's just like that, he's hypocritical to the extreme, he used to dream that I could go to a well-known foreign university and be honored at the lintel, and then he dreamed that I would work abroad. As for me, I'm just an ordinary person. A person who can no longer be ordinary can't satisfy his delusions, you see..."
Having said that, Chen Mi stood up, turned around and lifted up his T-shirt.
There were many dark scars on her back.
"It was all made by Chen Quanhan with a knife and a whip. After so many years, the scar can't be completely removed." Chen Mi smiled bitterly, "My mother died when I was very young. Every time I take an exam, as long as my grades don't reach Chen Quanhan's. As expected, he abused me. I went to the police and the neighborhood committee to no avail until I was rescued by my current husband.”
Chen Mi paused for a while, and then said: "When I was weak, you didn't help me. Now that Chen Quanhan is dead, you want to get clues from me? I can only say, I don't know anything, and I don't care, If you want to know how he died, go and find out for yourself."