Chapter 644: A New Victim

Late that night, a secret conversation quietly took place online:

“Mr. Xu, the police are onto me. That detective Chen is really something. When he lays out the truth, it’s like he saw everything himself.”

“You’re just unlucky that he got involved in your case.”

“I need a favor from you!”

“You want me to kill Chen? If you do it yourself, I’ll give you the poison for free; if you want me to do it, not even a billion would persuade me.”

“No, I need more of your undetectable poison. I need two doses. You don’t have to deliver them to me directly; just use them for random killings. I’ll pay you for them.”

“You want to commit serial murders to divert the police’s attention? Clever.”

“Can you do it?”

“One life, one million.”

“I can afford it, but I can’t pay now. The police are watching me.”

“No problem. We’ve worked together before. I trust you. Pay me after this blows over.”

“Thank you so much!”

On November 26th, Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi stood at the crime scene. Divers were searching the river bottom, hoping to find something, maybe the syringe Wang Mengqi used after the murder.

A diver emerged from the water, yelling, and the police gathered around, asking what he found. The diver replied, “Nothing, just got pinched by a crayfish… There are crayfish in this water.”

“Probably crawfish,” Old Zhang laughed.

Everyone dispersed, continuing the search. Lin Dongxue remarked, “Old Chen, we’re putting all our resources into investigating Wang Mengqi. I suspect he might be involved in other cases.”

“This isn’t his first murder?”

“One of his competitors died suddenly three years ago on his way home; another died suddenly after a night of drinking. His biological mother died suddenly during the night after a successful surgery. None of these deaths were suspicious on their own, but four sudden deaths around the same person are very suspicious.”

“How many doses of poison has Xu Fa sold?” Chen Shi sighed. “This case is just a glimpse into the truth.”

A diver surfaced again. Old Zhang asked, “What pinched you this time?”

“Found a gold necklace…” the diver replied, holding it up.

By the end of the morning, they had retrieved various items from the river: bottles, rings, dentures, lighters, mostly mobile phones. The most shocking find was a baby’s skeleton in a burlap sack, but that was another case for the local precinct. They found no evidence related to their case.

No wonder some scavengers use strong magnets on ropes to fish good stuff out of the water.

“Well, we found nothing. A morning wasted,” Lin Dongxue sighed.

“That’s how investigations go. You can go from zero to a hundred in a moment. Let’s go eat. I heard there’s a good grilled fish place nearby.”

“Sure! Sure!” Lin Dongxue clapped excitedly at the mention of grilled fish.

After a delicious meal of spicy grilled fish, Lin Dongxue received a message from Peng Siyue, asking them to return. In the afternoon, they headed back to the station. Peng Siyue was preparing to autopsy a body, with Lin Qiupu also present. On the table lay a young man, thin, with no obvious external injuries.

Chen Shi felt a chill, “Another murder with the same method?”

Peng Siyue nodded, “He was a university student. This morning, someone found him sitting with his arms crossed, leaning against a tree, facing the girls’ dorm. They thought he was waiting for someone. Later, a classmate touched him and realized he was dead. He had been ‘standing’ there all night!”

“Is it the undetectable poison?” Chen Shi asked.

“His blood potassium levels were high. Look here…” Peng Siyue pointed to a round red mark on the victim’s arm, left by a needle-free injector.

Lin Qiupu added, “The victim had no known connection to our suspect. But surveillance footage shows a man in a black jacket entering the campus yesterday, similar to the one seen in the park. Check it out.”

“No connection?” Chen Shi suddenly realized, “Is Wang Mengqi trying to create random murders to divert suspicion?”

“That’s insane! All the police are watching him, and he still commits a crime?” Lin Dongxue said.

“Seems like we need to see him again.”

They found Wang Mengqi at Geng Qing’s house. He calmly came outside to talk. Chen Shi got straight to the point, “Where were you last night?”

Wang Mengqi smiled, “I’m on vacation, spending time with Geng Qing. We were at a hotel last night.”

“Which hotel?”

He named the hotel.

Chen Shi said, “I admire your nerve, killing Geng Changle and then comforting Geng Qing without a trace of guilt.”

“Say whatever you want!” Wang Mengqi sneered, “Without evidence, all your theories are baseless. I suggest you stop wasting time on this case. It’s pointless.” He gave Lin Dongxue a smug look.

His arrogant attitude was infuriating. Chen Shi said, “Mr. Wang, your arrogance won’t last long.”

“Goodbye!” he replied mockingly.

As they left, Geng Qing followed them, “Why do you keep questioning him? Did he have something to do with my father’s death? That’s impossible. My dad and he got along well.”

Lin Dongxue said, “I’m sorry, we can’t disclose anything.”

“Please, tell me. I don’t want to be kept in the dark. Last night he said we should stay at a hotel because the house brings back memories of my dad. But we ended up arguing all night. I want to know why the police are after him. Whenever I ask, he gets angry. He’s been acting strange lately, and I’m scared. Please tell me, I can’t take it anymore!” she cried.

Lin Dongxue understood her feelings. She too had secrets kept from her by Chen Shi, leading to many arguments. But she couldn’t tell Geng Qing the truth; it would devastate her.

As she hesitated, Wang Mengqi came down, looking stern, “What are you telling her? Trying to drive a wedge between us?”

“That’s enough!” Geng Qing yelled, “What are you hiding? Have you done something wrong? Why have you been so volatile lately?”

Wang Mengqi frowned, not knowing how to respond. Lin Dongxue said, “He’s not a murder suspect!”

Both Geng Qing and Wang Mengqi were stunned.

Lin Dongxue lied out of compassion; she didn’t want Geng Qing to bear the brunt of the truth. She continued, “We’re just verifying some details. We’ve questioned others multiple times too. Don’t overthink it.”

“Exactly!” Wang Mengqi seized the opportunity. “The police are just inefficient. They could have called instead of coming over.”

Geng Qing, her doubts eased, hugged Wang Mengqi and cried. Lin Dongxue told him, “Wang Mengqi, treat Geng Qing better. She’s your closest person now.”

Wang Mengqi watched them leave with a complex expression on his face.