Chapter 478: The Death Row Inmate’s Demand

Chen Shi took a look at Xiaoli’s information and asked the ponytailed man, “You must be quite familiar with your peers in this industry within the city, right?”

The ponytailed man hesitated, “Uh… I know a few.”

“Do me a favor. Help me find out if any other girls around 25 years old, slightly overweight, who smoke, drink, and have latent syphilis, have gone missing recently.”

“Officer, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but I don’t have that kind of pull. I’m just a worker here, not someone with many connections.”

“If you help me with this, you’ll gain a new contact—me, a police officer. It won’t hurt you. Plus, these criminals are targeting sex workers, cutting off your income stream and challenging the police. I’m giving you a chance to contribute. If you don’t want to help, I’ll just ask someone else.”

The ponytailed man’s attitude shifted immediately. Smiling, he said, “Officer, I’ll help. If I assist you this time, can you give me a heads-up if there’s going to be a crackdown?”

Chen Shi laughed, “You’re quick to negotiate. Don’t worry, we’ll meet again.”

Thinking this was a promise, the ponytailed man was delighted and exchanged contact information with Chen Shi.

Back in the car, Lin Dongxue asked curiously, “What’s it like in there?”

“Just like any regular massage parlor. I got Xiaoli’s information.”

“I called our colleagues at the station to look into it. The main perpetrator of the 714 case, Shen, was caught two years ago, along with an accomplice named Zhou, who is a woman and Shen’s girlfriend. Zhou was also a sex worker. After a conflict with a colleague, she called her boyfriend Xu to settle the score. Xu kidnapped, tortured, and murdered the first victim, taking her bank card PIN and then dismembering her. They made 400,000 yuan from that and continued targeting sex workers, roaming and committing crimes until they were caught.”

“Using murder as a source of income, those two are truly inhuman. What else?”

“Police suspected there was another accomplice, but Shen and Zhou were tight-lipped. They were both sentenced to death, taking all the blame themselves and never revealing the third accomplice’s whereabouts. That person is probably still at large. Chen Shi, I think this case might be the work of that accomplice. The methods are too similar.”

Chen Shi pondered for a moment, “We need to talk to Shen.”

“Will he talk? He’s on death row. What can we offer him?”

“Let’s try. After so long in prison, he might have a different outlook.”

They bought some roast chicken, beer, peanuts, and other snacks on the way to the labor reform and correctional team in the suburbs. After explaining the situation to the guards, they waited in the visitation room. Chen Shi said, “Being a cop has its perks. You can meet infamous criminals anytime. Not everyone gets this chance.”

“Criminals aren’t celebrities. Normal people wouldn’t want to meet them, except someone like you,” Lin Dongxue replied.

Shen, a death row inmate who had killed five people, entered wearing a prison uniform, with a shaved head and a sleazy expression. He was shackled to the table by the guards and remained docile throughout.

Shen glanced at the two, his gaze lingering a bit longer on Lin Dongxue but without being overly lecherous. He smiled and said, “Officer, I’m getting executed next month. Why the sudden interrogation? Something happened outside?”

“You have a keen sense,” Chen Shi said. “I won’t lie. There’s been a copycat crime, likely by your accomplice who got away.”

“My accomplice was caught and is in the women’s prison,” Shen replied.

Chen Shi opened the food on the table, and Shen’s eyes lit up. He licked his lips repeatedly. Chen Shi asked, “Want some?”

Shen nodded vigorously.

“If you tell the truth, you can have this last meal before your execution. I’m not bluffing. You can eat all this roast chicken, peanuts, sausage, and even a pack of Hongta cigarettes to take back to your cell.”

Shen chuckled.

“Do you want it?” Chen Shi asked.

“Yes!” Shen replied.

“Will you talk?”

Shen just laughed and shook his head.

“Guess you don’t want to eat then.”

Shen shook his head again, “No, officer, I do want to eat.”

“Then talk!”

Shen just laughed ambiguously again. Lin Dongxue said, “Stop playing games. We don’t have time for this. We’ll just leave.”

Chen Shi played along, “It seems he doesn’t want to talk. Let’s have the guard take him back.”

“Wait!” Shen extended a hand. “I haven’t had any good food in a long time. Even if you poisoned it, I’d still eat it! But I’m not stupid. I know police don’t offer free meals. I have one request. If you meet it, I’ll talk. If not, forget it.”

“What’s the request?” Chen Shi had a guess—it was either food or women.

“Bring my girlfriend here. I want to see her. After that, I’ll tell you everything.”

Lin Dongxue’s face twitched, “Just to chat?”

“It’s awkward to say in front of a lady, but you know what I mean. We’ll do our thing. By the way, her period is on the 7th, so get her here within the next couple of days. After that, you’ll have to wait until the 10th.”

Lin Dongxue snapped, “Who would fulfill such a request? Do you think we can’t solve this without you?”

Shen smiled slyly, “Then forget it. Take the food away. It doesn’t matter to me. One more meal or not, I’m still going to die.” With that, he stood up, ready to leave.