I dressed up flamboyantly, ready to go out and kill.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I opened the door, I saw a police officer standing at the door smiling at me.
I was so scared that I almost ran away.
Lu Tingshen said in a fluster, “That murderer is on the move again. My master sent me to protect you.”
Come on!
I’m going to kill, not to get killed.
Your protection will only affect the speed at which I draw my knife.
1
I insisted on going out.
Lu Tingshen also insisted on following me to protect me.
After all, the police have found that the “Red Scarf Serial Murder Case” that has been giving them headaches recently is very likely an extreme revenge against the police or police officers.
Because the names of all the victims appeared in the police archives.
They were all survivors of certain cases.
Therefore, the police speculated that the murderer should hate the police for rescuing these poor people from the criminals. So, after many years, the murderer continued the evil that was stopped by the police back then, to provoke and revenge the police.
Although the logic is a bit off.
But at least it’s close.
My father, as the most powerful criminal police officer in Jiangcheng City, has solved countless cases, and the number of criminals he has sent to prison is also countless.
In case the murderer is coming for him, then I’m very likely to become a target.
After all, the 8 people who have died so far are all women.
Actually, I also want to kill men.
But isn’t that a bit too difficult?
2
I came to the mall.
Jiangcheng in summer is like a natural furnace.
Going out during the day is equivalent to going through tribulations, and going out at night to have fun is the common understanding of the people in Jiangcheng.
At this moment, it’s 9 p.m., and the mall is still brightly lit and bustling.
I looked around, seemingly without a target.
Actually, my target was very precise.
I saw a woman.
She was wearing a pink dress and a bow of the same color on her head. From a distance, she looked like a delicate pink lotus standing gracefully.
Her boyfriend attentively held the dress and put it on her, then pushed her into the fitting room to try it on.
When she came out, she happily spun around in front of her boyfriend.
Her boyfriend was also very perceptive and took pictures for her. The two of them were very satisfied with that dress.
The man paid the bill very readily, and the girl held his arm and coquettishly smiled, with the happiness on her face almost overflowing.
She completely forgot that 5 years ago, a firefighter ruined half of his face to save her from the fire.
“What are you looking at?”
Lu Tingshen probably noticed my strangeness and pushed my shoulder.
I was startled and gave him a disgusted look.
“Do you like that dress?
“I’ll buy it for you.” He pulled my arm and was about to enter the store.
I shook off his hand and said, “It costs several thousand. Can you afford it?
“If you like it, I’ll buy it for you even if I have to go bankrupt.”
It’s said that police officers are highly vigilant, but he’s really an idiot when it comes to me.
He doesn’t notice at all how much I dislike him.
I saw that girl enter the bathroom, so I said to Lu Tingshen, “I want to go to the bathroom.”
He said carelessly, “Go ahead. I’ll wait for you outside.”
He was carrying my bag for me. I stretched out my hand to him. He wanted to open the zipper to get me some tissue, but I stopped him with a look. I snatched the bag back a bit angrily.
After all, besides toilet paper, there were also the tools for my crime in it.
About 5 minutes later, a woman came running out of the bathroom, screaming, “Murder!”
3
The screaming person was neither me nor the victim.
It was someone else in the bathroom.
Yes, I killed the 9th person in the bathroom with witnesses present.
When Lu Tingshen rushed in, he only saw the girl who had just bought the dress slumped on the toilet in the accessible bathroom.
A 20 – cm – long fruit knife was stuck straight into her heart. At this moment, the blood had already dyed her long dress red. Everywhere you looked, it was all scarlet.
And that’s not the scariest part. The scary part was that her face had been splashed with sulfuric acid.
The chemical reaction was still going on, and you could clearly see the skin on her face rotting.
Not to mention an ordinary person, even Lu Tingshen, who had experienced many battles, was shocked.
He glanced at me, who was standing next to her and had lost the ability to react. Then, with sharp eyes, he noticed that the window of the bathroom was open.
He reflexively ran towards that window. I don’t know what he saw, but he jumped out of the window without hesitation.
When he came back, the police had already arrived at the scene.
Only then did he have time to take care of me. He held my arms with both hands and asked, “Qiqi, are you okay?”
How could I be okay?
He promised to protect me, but in the end, as soon as there was a sign of trouble, he abandoned me.
If someone really came to take revenge on my father, wouldn’t I be a goner for sure?
I shook my head woodenly, then hypocritically said, “There’s a dead person. It’s so tragic, so terrifying.”
Actually, if Lu Tingshen hadn’t followed me, it might have been even scarier.
As a witness, it was very normal for me to be invited to the police station for investigation.
However, I had already made comprehensive preparations.
4
The “Red Scarf Serial Murder Case” was originally handled by my father.
At this moment, he suspected that this was a revenge case against the police or himself. And I happened to be at the crime scene. So, it was natural and reasonable for him to suspect that the murderer originally intended to kill me, but someone took my place.
So, when he rushed back to the police station, without saying a word, he slapped me hard.
It was so sudden that no one in the entire police station dared to speak.
In the huge space, it felt like the air current had been frozen.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Didn’t I tell you to stay at home properly?”
“Didn’t I tell you not to wear such bright clothes when you go out?”
He shouted loudly. However, before I could feel wronged, he hugged me tightly again.
His broad palm gently stroked my back. He seemed to be comforting me as well as himself, saying, “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
He looked at the red mark on my face and regretted being too impulsive. Guilt and remorse made his expression extremely complicated.
I’m a well – behaved and sensible daughter.
How could I bear to see my father, who worked so hard for his job, so sad?
I obediently apologized, “Sorry, Dad. It’s my fault.”
Naturally, he didn’t have time to think about what I was thinking in my heart. He hurriedly asked me about the situation at that time.
At this moment, I didn’t have any suspicion of murder yet.
So, he questioned me personally, and a policewoman was taking notes beside him.
I told him that when I entered the bathroom, there was no one waiting outside.
The door of the accessible bathroom was closed, but I didn’t notice anything strange.
Then, after I entered the cubicle, I quickly heard a woman’s scream.
When I came out, I just saw the victim.
My dad frowned and asked, “Was it the victim’s scream or the witness’s scream?”
I thought for a while and said, “It should be the witness. When I opened the door, she screamed and ran out.”
Anyone would run at that scene.
And the reason why I didn’t run was, first, I had just killed someone and needed to do some mental preparation.
Second, I’m a cripple and couldn’t run at all.
5
My right leg was amputated below the knee.
However, after putting on a prosthesis, there is no problem with walking and daily life.
But it’s too difficult to kill someone.
So, my weapon was a long red scarf.
I would find a way to wrap the scarf around the victim’s neck and then pull with all my strength from behind until the other person suffocated.
But tonight, I didn’t prepare a red scarf.
So, the method of committing the crime changed. Could the police still regard this murder case as part of the “Red Scarf Serial Murder Case”?
Another woman who was scared by the victim said almost the same thing as me.
Neither of us heard any movement, and we didn’t see anyone else except each other.
But the forensic autopsy results could clearly tell the time of the victim’s death, which was just in those few short minutes.
It can be seen how fast the murderer’s hands were.
Not only fast, but also accurate.
The moment the fruit knife pierced the heart, the heart stopped beating immediately.
The victim probably didn’t have time to react at all, so she didn’t have time to shout.
As for when the sulfuric acid was splashed, the victim was already dead.
Except for the fruit knife stuck in the victim’s body, the scene was clean, and no evidence related to the murderer could be found.
However, if someone searched my bag at this moment, they might still find a pair of leather gloves in it.
Inside the gloves was a small glass bottle.
6
This incident also greatly stimulated Lu Tingshen.
The murderer killed someone just a wall away from him.
He was very self – reproachful.
He felt guilty towards the victim, or perhaps towards me.
He said angrily, “I shouldn’t have gone to the men’s toilet. I should have stayed at the door of the women’s toilet.”
Instantly, my ears perked up.
I thought to myself, then wouldn’t you become a pervert?
But he was more angry and unconvinced.
He thought the murderer was blatantly provoking him.
But my dad didn’t let him investigate the case. Instead, he asked him to use his skills to protect a useless person like me.
Although he was in the police station, his thoughts were always on the case.
He regretted, “I’m really damned. That window must have been deliberately used by the murderer to mislead me. He must have been hiding somewhere in the bathroom.”
“You’re thinking too much,” I comforted him. “After you chased out, the mall security guards came over immediately. No one left.”
“There must have been chaos after a murder in the mall. He’s a habitual criminal. It’s not difficult for him to disguise and escape among the crowd.”
I pursed my lips and looked at him devoutly.
In the end, I didn’t say anything.
I unconsciously lifted the trouser leg of my right leg, revealing a cold steel calf inside.
So, I can’t wear skirts.
I can never wear them again.
I was once a perfect dancer that my teachers thought had a promising future.
I once wore a beautiful and elegant skirt, standing on my tiptoes, showing my elegance on the stage.
I was once surrounded by applause and flowers.
But now, I can only hypnotize myself over and over again that even without one leg, I can still live like a normal person.
After tossing around for so long, we were both tired.
Lu Tingshen lay on the sofa in the living room, re – examining the case, while I entered my room.
I carefully took out those gloves.
Then, I put them in the small drawer on the right side of the desk.
In the drawer, there was also a red scarf neatly folded.
7
The next day, my dad came home to take a bath and change clothes.
Lu Tingshen asked him eagerly, “Master, was it the ‘Red Scarf’?”
My dad sighed heavily and said, “It should be. The victim, Hou Ning, was a survivor of the ‘Skyscraper Fire Case’ 5 years ago.
“But the method of committing the crime has changed. The tool is a knife, and the victim was disfigured after death. This doesn’t conform to the ‘Red Scarf’s’ modus operandi.
“The ‘Red Scarf’ likes to commit crimes in secluded places at night. But this time, it was around 9 p.m., and it was a place with a large flow of people.”
After their discussion, they came to a surprising answer.
My dad said, “Our direction may be wrong.”
Lu Tingshen asked, “What do you mean?”
“Most serial killers have mental illnesses. They have a strong desire to kill and can find some kind of stimulation, pleasure, etc. in killing.
“These things may be reflected during the crime or after the crime.
“Killing is short – term, but struggling with the police, anti – investigation, and evading pursuit are long – term.
“Killing is a ‘thing’. After a serial killer kills many people, it may be as easy as killing a chicken or a dog. He will become numb.
“Struggling with the police is a ‘joyful’ fight with ‘people’. But after many times, the sense of excitement will become dull.
“This is not a case of rape – murder, robbery – murder, or hired – murder. The murderer didn’t gain any extra benefits from these homicides. So, what supports him to keep killing?”
As expected of my dad.
He was getting closer and closer to the truth.
I secretly opened the door a crack to see their expressions clearly.
Lu Tingshen pondered this for a while, then asked, half – understanding, “Master, what is it?”
“As the difficulty of killing increases, the sense of excitement will also increase.
“The murderer just wants to kill in public, right under the noses of the police.”
My dad said angrily, “He’s not afraid of the police catching him at all. On the contrary, he’s worried that the police won’t catch him.
“Compared with the ‘Red Scarf’, aren’t the fruit knife and sulfuric acid more likely to expose himself?”
Lu Tingshen asked, “Sulfuric acid is a controlled substance. Haven’t they found out where it came from?”
“But the amount is very small, and it’s not easy to find out.” My dad sighed and added, “It may also be a group crime. A person’s energy is limited. It’s very difficult to plan a perfect crime again and again.”
I laughed coldly, unable to suppress my excitement, which was surging.
Later, my dad asked again, “How’s Qiqi?”
Lu Tingshen said a bit confusedly, “She, she’s okay, I guess!”
8
My dad was very surprised.
However, he’s a smart person.
He comforted Lu Tingshen, “Tingshen, I know you want to go to the scene to solve the case. But protecting Qiqi is also part of solving the case.
“I admit I have a selfish motive. Qiqi is my only daughter…”
Lu Tingshen quickly said, “Master, I understand.
“After my dad died, it was you who took care of me. In my heart, you’re not just my master, but also like my father. Qiqi is like my own sister.
“I want to solve the case, but I want to protect her more. I also know that you trust me, so you entrust Qiqi to me for protection.”
Own sister?
These words were quite harsh.
I lowered my head and looked at my leg, smiling silently.
I didn’t know what I was expecting just now.
My dad patted Lu Tingshen on the shoulder and said, “You don’t understand. You’re also the only child in your family.”
He said earnestly, “Protect Qiqi well, and also protect yourself.”
Tsk!
Lu Tingshen was deeply touched, but I sneered.
After my dad left, I came out of the room.
Lu Tingshen made breakfast for me and asked, “Did you sleep well last night?”
I shook my head and said, “I couldn’t sleep.”
During breakfast, I asked tentatively, “Did that person really die because of me?”
Lu Tingshen shook his head, “Not necessarily. For a meticulous murderer like him, the probability of killing the wrong person is very low.”
Speaking of this, he seemed to suddenly think of something and asked me, “Qiqi, when you entered the bathroom, did you feel anything strange?”
I was a bit stunned. He probably thought his question was profound and quickly added, “Well, tell me everything you saw after entering the bathroom again.”
I recalled carefully and even explained clearly where there was a bit of water on the floor.
“From the time the victim entered the bathroom to the time she was killed, the whole process was only 7 minutes. The murderer lurked there in advance and immediately took action when the target entered.
“The surveillance shows that except for that woman who was overly frightened, no one else came out.
“I jumped out of the window to chase but didn’t find any traces. How do you think the murderer disappeared out of thin air?”
His cooking skills were mediocre in the first place, and at this moment, I felt like I was chewing wax.
“Also, the women’s bathroom.” He asked me, “Is it possible that the murderer is a woman?”
Previously, because the murderer could make the victim suffocate in a short time, it was speculated that the murderer was a man with great strength.
Before I could answer, Lu Tingshen said, “A woman with great strength doesn’t conflict with this, right?”
I teased, “If you can’t catch a woman, doesn’t it seem that the police are a bit incompetent?”
If they knew that the murderer was a lame woman, how shocked they would be.
9
Lu Tingshen started to re – examine the case again.
At this time he was like a person whose soul had left his body. His mind and eyes were filled with the case, and he couldn’t notice anything else.
I tidied up and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. With a “crash”, I dropped a bowl.
Hearing the sound, Lu Tingshen rushed over immediately and asked, “What happened?”
I squatted on the ground, looking up at him and said, “There’s a cockroach, a huge cockroach.”
“Where is it?” Lu Tingshen asked.
I pointed under the cabinet and said, “It crawled in there.”
“Is there any insecticide at home?”
I shook my head and said, “No.”
I just looked at him. He frowned at me as if half – understanding: “Can’t kill it? Need to catch it? Right?”
I nodded heavily.
After my leg was broken, I spent so much time lying here alone, slowly enduring the passage of time. Sometimes it was so quiet that I felt as if I had been abandoned by the whole world. The sparrows flying in from the window, the spiders spinning webs in the corner, even the mosquitoes that wanted to suck my blood, all became my companions. Once, I even raised five little mice. Later, one of them bit my wound, and after getting infected, I stayed in the hospital for a month. Since then, it has been very difficult to see these natural creatures in the house. This cockroach came at a very opportune time. I took a pair of leather gloves and put them on Lu Tingshen, and gave him my glass bottle. Soon, the cockroach became my captive.
When taking off the gloves, Lu Tingshen exclaimed, “I tore your gloves. I’ll buy you a new pair another day.”
Actually, it wasn’t. It was the sulfuric acid splashed from the bottle that corroded them. But this glove had just been groping under the cabinet, covering up its original damage.
“Okay!”
I carefully put away the gloves and happily took the glass bottle into the room. The good show was about to start again.
10
At night.
Lu Tingshen was watching TV in the living room. The TV was still broadcasting the relevant situation of the “Mall Bathroom Homicide Case”. At present, the mall has been completely sealed off. The mall staff will surely be questioned by the police one by one. The victim’s family member was crying in front of the camera, saying, “My daughter’s life is so hard. She died so miserably. Please, the police, solve the case quickly and find the real murderer. I want to kill that damned person.”
Her words really made me feel physically uncomfortable. I didn’t understand how she could say such things.
I pushed the door open and came out. I saw a lot of manuscript papers with case information drawn on the coffee table. I picked up two casually and took a look, then said softly, “Let me help you sort out the case. Maybe, by breaking away from your fixed thinking, we’ll get unexpected results.”
Lu Tingshen couldn’t wish for more. Otherwise, he could only talk to himself.
“Since last November, there has been one victim every month. But the date is not fixed. The first eight victims were all strangled to death, and a’red scarf’ would be left beside the victim. The scenes were all clean, and it was very difficult to solve the case. But it’s not completely without clues.”
He took out a hand – drawn map of Jiangcheng he made with a pencil and showed it to me, saying, “Look, the living trajectories of the victims basically overlap in this area. It can be seen that these trajectories are also the places where the murderer often appears. The name of each victim appears in the police file cabinet. They are all survivors of some previous cases. For example, Zhang Yaqing, who died the month before last, was a rich girl. She was kidnapped 6 years ago, but the police rescued her.”
The price was heavy casualties among the police.
“And this Zhu Ting, who died in December last year, was a bank employee during a bank robbery 3 years ago. She was taken as a hostage by the robbers. Thanks to the police’s efforts to rescue her, she was safe and sound.”
Unfortunately, some police officers were injured and some died.
“And this one, Zou Xue, who died last month, was the person involved in the…”
Speaking of this, Lu Tingshen couldn’t help but look at my right leg.
11
I understood tacitly and continued, “She was the one in the ‘Green – screen Villa Bombing Case’. At the same time, my mother, my younger brother, and I had a car accident. My mother and younger brother died on the spot, and I had one of my legs amputated.”
I stubbornly raised my head, not wanting to shed tears in front of him.
Lu Tingshen comforted me, “Master has always felt very guilty. That’s why he’s afraid the same thing will happen again.”
It was said that the car accident was a revenge by the criminal against my father. But until the last moment when I needed to have my leg amputated to save my life, he didn’t come to sign. In the end, it was the leader of the bureau who signed. We were never as important as his cases.
It was Zou Xue’s death that made him realize that this might be a revenge case against him personally. So, Lu Tingshen started to withdraw from the case investigation and wholeheartedly protect me. For this reason, my father reviewed all the cases he had handled and found all the people who might plan revenge. Unfortunately, he found nothing.
I looked at Lu Tingshen curiously and asked, “If you were in his position, would you make the same choice as Dad?”
Lu Tingshen nodded affirmatively almost without thinking, “I would. We are police officers. At any time, we can’t give up our duties. I know it’s very unfair to our relatives, but when we choose to be police officers, we’ve already made our choices.”
Suddenly, he changed the topic and looked straight into my eyes, saying seriously, “So, I won’t get married. I won’t bring the dangers of my work to the person I love deeply.”
Alas!
Congratulations.
You’ve missed the last chance to survive.
12
I pretended not to understand what he said. I put down the manuscript paper in my hand and said in disbelief, “I don’t believe you’re a police officer 24 hours a day. Don’t you get off work?”
“For some professions, there’s no such thing as going to work or getting off work. Because once you relax your vigilance, you’re very likely to die.”
I still didn’t believe it and asked, “So, what were you doing the night Wu Qiaoni died?”
“I was sleeping at home.”
I retorted, “See, you were off work.”
I asked again, “Where were you the night Huang Mingyu died?”
“At home, I guess!”
“See, you were off work again.”
I then asked, “What about the night Cheng Yao died?”
He was speechless, “We’re always on alert, but that doesn’t mean I can predict when there will be a homicide. After all, who would expect a homicide to happen?”
“So, actually every police officer has a family. If you don’t start a family, and someday someone wrongly accuses you of murder, you won’t even find someone to prove that you were at home.”
He didn’t understand the hidden meaning of my words and said with a smile, “I just like to review the case quietly by myself.”
I got up and stood behind the sofa. I used my hands to imitate a scarf and circled his neck, telling him, “Actually, as long as someone’s neck is circled like this, it’s very difficult for an ordinary person to escape.”
However, Lu Tingshen had received professional training. With just my little strength, he immediately grabbed my wrist and escaped from my restraint. At this moment, he suddenly seemed to think of something: “Are you trying to tell me that killing isn’t difficult, but the difficult part is how the murderer put the’red scarf’ around the victim’s neck?”
Then, he got excited: “Why is it a’red scarf’?”
He answered his own question, “The’red scarf’ is bright and eye – catching, and it gives people a very strong sense of stimulation. This should be a color that most women like. Why is it a’scarf’ instead of a rope?”
Do I still need to say it? A scarf is easy to carry. When buying it, whether offline or online, no one will suspect that the buyer will use it to kill someone. The most important thing is, who would think that such a beautiful and elegant scarf would become a weapon to kill themselves?
Although Lu Tingshen isn’t a woman, his professional qualities quickly made him think, “If the murderer is a woman, the victim’s guard will be greatly reduced.”
So, he came to a conclusion: “The murderer used deception to make the victim voluntarily follow her to that secluded place.”
He asked in confusion, “But the victims have different educational backgrounds, intelligence, financial resources, and growth experiences. What kind of trap could deceive them all at the same time?”
He said to himself again, “The murderer can make them feel trust.”
That’s not necessarily true.
13
Seeing that he had reached a bottleneck, I reminded him again, “The name of each victim appears in the police archives. Is it possible that the murderer has the opportunity to see these files?”
Lu Tingshen shook his head and said, “Not necessarily. Because these names are of survivors, and each case is also very eye – catching. Besides checking the police files, the murderer can also learn about their identity information from other channels.”
“But what if? What if the murderer is a police officer? Then he must have super – strong anti – reconnaissance ability, so no evidence was left at the crime scene. What if the murderer is a police officer? Wouldn’t the victims have no guard against him?”
The more I said, the more incredible Lu Tingshen felt.
I continued to ask in a way that seemed like a reminder, “Why didn’t the murderer take away the murder weapon but left the’red scarf’ at the crime scene? Just to let you name the case the ‘Red Scarf Serial Murder Case’?”
Lu Tingshen kept asking, “Why? Why is this? Clearly, it could be taken away. Without finding the murder weapon, it would only be more difficult to solve the case. Why did the murderer leave it? Was she doing it on purpose? Then what’s the purpose? The red scarf isn’t to attract the victim, but to attract the police, to make the police find the body as soon as possible. It’s not a team crime. The method of committing the crime has changed, but the motive hasn’t. The mall case was the last case planned by the murderer. She didn’t plan to escape at all. She just used this way to play games with the police. She wanted to tell the police with her perfect way of killing that some cases can be seamless, can leave no evidence at all, and can make the police have no clue. When this emotion reaches its peak, she will choose the most direct and bloody way of killing and present herself naked in front of the police. So, she set the last murder scene in a mall with a large flow of people. She just wanted to kill in full view. This is what Master said. As the difficulty of killing increases, the sense of excitement also increases. Committing a crime openly must be more exciting than killing secretly in the dark. So, what made him change the plan?”
I thought to myself, it’s because of you.
Suddenly, he seemed to have his “Second Dantian” opened. He got excited as he talked.
He said, “He found something even more exciting than this.”
I couldn’t help but get excited too. I covered my chest with both hands, for fear that my heart, which represented that I was still alive, would jump out of my throat. The little monster in my heart was almost roaring: “Yes, that’s right. So, who is the murderer?”
I wished I could point at myself and say: Look, I’m the murderer.
But at the last moment, he still couldn’t bear to suspect me.
He said excitedly, “The murderer didn’t run away at all. She was at the scene. It was that screaming woman.”
“It’s her. It must be her.”
Alas!
I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
He rushed to pick up his phone to call my dad, but I got there first.
I tilted my head slightly and asked with great interest, “Brother Tingshen, if you were to kill someone, could you do it seamlessly?”
Instantly, the way Lu Tingshen looked at me changed.
14
Not to mention that he’s a well – trained police officer. Even if he were an ordinary person, at this point, he would shift the focus of his suspicion to me.
I’m the daughter of a police officer. I grew up around the police and was influenced by them. I know how to investigate the information of the victim, how to plan a murder, how to destroy evidence, how to carry out anti – investigation, and how to understand the whereabouts of the police and eliminate suspicion.
I meet all the conditions. The only condition I don’t meet is that I’m missing one leg.
But they don’t know that in order to make this steel leg a part of my body and make myself a whole person, I’ve made great efforts.
It won’t be an obstacle to me.
On the contrary, it’s my help. If my right leg hadn’t been amputated and my left leg hadn’t had a comminuted fracture, and if I hadn’t relied entirely on my hands to support myself during rehabilitation, how could the strength in my hands have become so great?
“Impossible.” Lu Tingshen still didn’t believe it. “Impossible, Qiqi. Don’t joke with me.”
Joke?
It’s really ridiculous.
I smiled rarely and said, “Don’t you want to know why the murderer suddenly changed her mind? I’ll tell you. It’s because of you. Why, when we both lost our relatives in childhood, you can grow up to be so outstanding, while I can only crawl in the dark? Why do I have to carry so much hatred in my heart, while you can understand and trust the person who killed your father? “
I asked, “Brother Tingshen, don’t you hate? My father killed your father. How can you still regard him as your benefactor?”
Lu Tingshen looked at me in disbelief, with a heart – broken expression, and asked, “Qiqi, what on earth has happened to you?”
I ignored him.
“The apprentice he taught with his own hands has become a murderer. He should be very shocked, right? You’re a police officer. You can see the files. You’ve received professional training, and it’s easy for you to kill someone. Every time there’s a homicide, you can’t prove your whereabouts. You have a reason to hate my father. This is the motive for murder. There are your fingerprints on the gloves used for killing, and also on the bottle containing sulfuric acid.”
Maybe my expression was too ugly. Lu Tingshen kept shaking his head: “You’re not Qiqi. Qiqi isn’t like this.”
At this time, he would feel that something was wrong with his body. He would suddenly feel a headache and nausea.
He would quickly judge that there was something in this room that could make his body feel uncomfortable.
So, he started to snatch my phone.
15
If it were normal, wouldn’t it be easy?
But now, it’s very different.
His vision would become blurred, and his actions would become slow.
Then, he would become more and more impatient.
The things in the house were thrown around by him, and things were falling to the ground, making a cracking sound.
At this moment, my dad had already answered the phone. He shouted anxiously, “Tingshen, what happened?”
He couldn’t hear my voice, but Lu Tingshen was still struggling and shouting, “Give it back to me. Give me the phone back.”
At a critical moment, I hugged the phone and screamed, “Dad, save me. Come and save me quickly.”
At the right time, Lu Tingshen snatched the phone, but his hand couldn’t hold it. With a “snap”, the phone fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
Shortly after, he also fell heavily to the ground, but he didn’t lose consciousness.
He would see a bright and eye – catching red scarf dancing in front of him.
The strong sense of stimulation would make him try his best to grab it.
About 5 minutes later, I heard intense footsteps outside the door.
My dad shouted anxiously, “Qiqi…”
He desperately pulled the door, but unfortunately, the door was locked by me.
He could only hear the sounds of fighting and struggling inside.
My dad was so anxious that he couldn’t open the door. Coincidentally, he had a gun in his hand. Using the gun to unlock the door was the easiest thing to think of.
With a “bang” of gunfire, it was enough to wake up Lu Tingshen, who was delirious.
As a police officer, when he heard the gunfire, his first reaction must be to draw his gun and resist, but it was too late.
When my dad entered the door, he would see someone pointing a gun at him. So, he would shoot without hesitation.
Even, he wouldn’t realize that it was Lu Tingshen pointing the gun at him.
Because, if he hesitated for a second, the one who would die would be him.
The door opened, Lu Tingshen fell, and all the police officers rushed in.
With shocked expressions, they held their guns tightly, looking around the room vigilantly and sharply.
Their eyes with dilated pupils would see Lu Tingshen lying in a pool of blood, and also see me who was about to suffocate.
A bright and eye – catching red scarf was still wrapped around my neck.
And on that red scarf, the forensic doctor would detect the residues of the first 8 victims.
16
When I woke up in the hospital, the first person I saw was a policewoman.
She asked eagerly, “Qiqi, you’re awake. Hurry up and tell me what happened. How could Brother Lu be the murderer?”
Before she could ask anything else, an older police officer scolded her away, “Xiao Xu, you’re too familiar with Lu Tingshen. You can’t participate in this case.”
“I don’t believe it.” She shouted loudly. “Brother Lu must have been wronged.”
“So many people saw him holding a gun, and all the evidence points to him. Do you think you can decide whether he’s wronged or not?”
Xiao Xu looked unconvinced and asked, “Just because he’s dead, does that mean everything he did or didn’t do is determined by these evidences? As long as he didn’t admit it personally, he’s not the murderer.”
At this time, what could I do?
I could only let my tears flow down.
Actually, this wasn’t entirely false.
When Lu Tingshen was 8 years old, his mother passed away from illness. He and his father depended on each other and were taken care of by their neighbors.
At the age of 12, his father died unfortunately while on a mission. After that, my father took him to live with us. He lived in our house for several years until he was admitted to university and left.
We had a deep relationship, but unfortunately, we understood this relationship differently.
However, I was very clear – headed. From the moment I saw him put on the police uniform, I had been controlling myself.
Until this moment, I was finally free.
That police officer, who seemed strange to me, also asked me, “What exactly happened?”
I kept crying and shaking my head.
Finally, on the verge of collapse, I said, “I don’t believe it. I can’t believe that Brother Tingshen would kill someone.”
17
I told them, “I just accidentally saw the manuscript papers he hand – drew. Although I’m not a police officer, my father has a lot of books on criminal investigation and solving cases. I found that on those manuscript papers, whether it was the careful selection of victims, the repeated consideration of the crime scenes, or the planning of the methods of committing the crime, it all seemed to point to something. I was very curious and asked him, ‘Brother Tingshen, didn’t you notice that the center of the locations is around my house?’ In an instant, the way he looked at me changed. Before I could react, he directly took out a red scarf to kill me. At that moment, I understood everything. ‘No wonder he specifically took out a glass bottle for me to catch the cockroach.’ ‘At that time, I felt that the bottle was a bit strange because the cockroach seemed uncomfortable after getting in. It turned out that the bottle was used to hold sulfuric acid.’ I almost cried my heart out and said, ‘I guessed that he was the murderer of the “Red Scarf Serial Murder Case”, and he also planned to frame me, but I saw through it in advance. So, he wanted to kill me to silence me.'”
The other person asked, “Why would he do that?”
“He said he hated my father. If my father could have arrived at the scene in time back then, maybe his father wouldn’t have died. Then he wouldn’t have become an orphan. He said that all the glory my father is enjoying now was obtained at the cost of his father’s life. So, he wanted to take revenge on him severely.”
I could hardly control my tears. Compared with those actors who need eye drops to shed tears, my crying scene was really excellent.
But actually, there’s no secret.
I just need to recall the scene of my mother and younger brother’s death, and then look at my disabled leg. Not only tears, but even blood could come out.
The man still didn’t believe it and said, “In terms of height and strength, it would be easy for Lu Tingshen to kill you. But you were able to get his phone to call your father for help and hold on until your father came to save you? How did you manage to hold on?”
This was a good question.
18
I looked straight into that person’s eyes, thought for a while, and said, “He probably thought the same way. So, he underestimated me very much.”
The man asked persistently, “What did you do?”
“A cockroach suddenly appeared in the kitchen. I bought a bottle of insect spray. I sprayed it all on his face. I got a chance to breathe. I took his phone from the coffee table and called my father for help, but soon he smashed the phone. But he seemed to be poisoned. Even so, I still couldn’t escape. He still wrapped that red scarf around my neck. Fortunately, my father came in time.”
The man nodded. These were probably the profiling information they got.
The police would surely find that pair of leather gloves and the glass bottle in my house.
There were the lipstick and saliva of the victim, Hou Ning, on the outside of the leather gloves, and the fingerprints of me and Lu Tingshen would be detected inside.
I told the police, “A cockroach suddenly appeared in the house.”
Hearing this, I cried even harder, “The gloves were an old pair I casually took from the kitchen shelf. I don’t remember when I bought them or when I put them there. I usually don’t use such leather gloves. Who knew a cockroach would suddenly appear in the kitchen.”
Actually, it wasn’t that sudden.
If there were no cockroaches in the house, it didn’t mean there were none outside the window. Summer is the breeding season for cockroaches. It’s very easy to find one.
“Because of my injury, I stayed at home alone for a long time and felt very lonely. So, I have the habit of raising the creatures that appear in the house. Brother Tingshen knew this.”
“Wait, something’s not right…”
After all, police officers are always vigilant and sharp.
The man quickly asked, “If you wanted to keep that cockroach, what did you buy the insect spray for?”
19
Alas!
I subconsciously held my breath.
I tried my best to calm myself down. After all, my heart was beating too fast.
I took a breath and said, “It was to deceive my father. He doesn’t allow me to raise these things. I bought it to create a false sense of peace.”
My statement basically had no loopholes.
I dealt with the evidence I could erase and the evidence I needed to create in just those 5 minutes.
Even if they didn’t believe it at all.
But they couldn’t suspect a disabled girl of murder, could they?
Moreover, everyone saw with their own eyes that Lu Tingshen had pointed a gun at my father.
The “Red Scarf Serial Murder Case” lasted for half a year, and so many people died. Jiangcheng was in a state of panic, and the pressure on the police was imaginable.
Now that the “murderer” had emerged and was even shot dead on the spot, even if the police wanted to block the news, there were always people who could get wind of it.
Before the police could close the case.
There was a rumor on the Internet that the real murderer of the “Red Scarf Serial Murder Case” was a police officer.
For this reason, the victims’ families surrounded the police station.
The police understood their emotions.
So, they were helpless about their excessive behavior.
Even though there were still doubts, in order to calm the public anger, the police had to push Lu Tingshen out as a scapegoat.
But the police didn’t make a definite statement. They just said that according to the current evidence, it could only prove that Lu Tingshen was suspected.
But the suspect was dead, and there was no way to interrogate and judge.
No one could say for sure that Lu Tingshen was the real murderer of the “Red Scarf Serial Murder Case”.
A special investigation team was sent from above. They questioned me again and again.
My statement was always the same.
But I had to emphasize, “I don’t believe that Brother Tingshen would kill someone.”
The hidden meaning of my words was, “It was the police who said he killed someone, and it was also the police who shot him to death.”
A few days later, the public opinion became even more intense.
The police could only pretend not to hear.
But somehow, everyone seemed to reach a consensus – whether a homicide would occur next month was the key to determining whether Lu Tingshen was the murderer.
I believe that never before had the police been so eager for someone to die.
20
It was a week after Lu Tingshen’s death that I met my father.
His most trusted apprentice was a murderer.
And he had shot and killed him with his own hands while the apprentice was trying to harm his daughter.
Subsequently, to avoid suspicion, he was removed from this case.
These days, he must have been suffering a lot mentally.
That was the son of his comrade – in – arms, the child entrusted to him by his brother – in – arms with blood – stained hands, the child he had painstakingly cultivated.
Even if he was really a murderer, how could he end his life with his own hands?
He must have regretted it deeply.
His originally gray hair turned completely white overnight.
He was only in his forties, but now he looked like an old man in his sixties.
His expression was very tired, as if he hadn’t slept for many days.
His eyes were filled with bloodshot, like a possessed monster.
He stood in front of me, calm and composed as usual.
But I seemed to see him in a state of madness and collapse.
I smiled at him, full of provocation.
I said, “Dad, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
I took his arm, and for the first time, I felt that he had lost his strength.
Standing next to him, I seemed extremely powerful.
I comforted him, “Brother Tingshen was still a young boy back then. He had misunderstandings about you, so he did this. Don’t blame him.”
These words were like a whip, hitting him hard. I clearly felt his body trembling.
I pressed on, “Besides, you’ve already shot him to death.”
This time, he tried his best to control the shaking of his body.
Alas!
As they say, police officers have a strong psychological endurance. If it were an ordinary person, they might have gone crazy long ago.
I continued to comfort him, “You still have me.”
I deliberately walked with difficulty and said, “Let’s go home!”
21
Many things in the house were probably taken away as evidence.
So, it looked empty.
However, it was still the old, shabby place where I had lived for more than twenty years. I was very familiar with it.
I always felt that I could see my mother busy in the kitchen and my younger brother playing with toys in the living room.
There were yellowed old photos hanging on the wall, but I always felt that the people in the photos were growing.
My mother was getting older day by day.
My younger brother was growing up day by day.
Only my father was always the same, wearing a police uniform.
With a tall and straight figure, a serious expression, and blood – shot eyes.
He was clearly alive, but I had the illusion that he was dead.
During the meal, we were both very silent.
He ate his meal mouthful by mouthful, and occasionally he would pick up a chopstick of food for me.
He might have countless questions in his heart, but he couldn’t ask any of them.
Finally, I couldn’t help but ask, “Has Brother Tingshen been buried?”
“No, the body is still in the morgue.”
“Will the case be closed like this?”
“What do you hope?”
I smiled and said, “If it’s not closed like this, you’ll be a murderer.”
I looked up and stared straight into his eyes, asking, “When you die, how will you explain to his parents in the underworld that you shot him to death with your own hands?”
I chewed slowly, feeling extremely relaxed. There was no sense of guilt on my face or in my heart.
I asked curiously, “What are you thinking?”
He said coldly, “There are still doubts in the case.”
I put down my chopsticks and asked seriously, “What doubts?”
Naturally, he couldn’t ask.
Then I had to do it for him.
“How could a disabled woman kill those people with healthy legs?”
His head, which had been lowered, suddenly lifted.
At this moment, he would see a different daughter.
I smiled and told him, “The mall case happened too quickly. The surveillance outside the bathroom was complete, which was equivalent to a closed – environment crime. In a closed – environment crime, the murderer must have been at the scene. Compared with that woman you don’t know or understand at all, I, your daughter who grew up around you and was influenced by you, am more suspect, right? You came back home in 5 minutes. You weren’t visiting the social relations of the victim or investigating the mall staff. You were investigating where the sulfuric acid came from. Sulfuric acid is a controlled substance and can’t be bought. But there’s a middle school a few minutes away from home. Their chemistry laboratory has it. I just need to spend a little money to get a disobedient student to get me enough sulfuric acid to destroy half of someone’s face.”
I had always been eager to see him break down.
At this moment, I widened my eyes, afraid of missing any micro – expression.
Watching his serious and cold face gradually collapse.
The smile on my face gradually bloomed.
22
The impact of having doubts in the heart and hearing my confession with his own ears was completely different.
He no longer had a chance to escape.
The case he was in charge of had been investigated for half a year. In the end, not only did he not find the real murderer, but he also killed the apprentice he had trained with his own hands.
Now, his biological daughter was sitting in front of him, telling him without any guilt or remorse that she was the real murderer.
As long as he was a normal person, he couldn’t accept this.
I seemed to be able to see all the blood vessels in his body bursting, and every cell in his body resisting this fact.
At the same time, I also felt extreme excitement, thrill, and pleasure.
I told him without changing my expression, “I hate you. Mom hated you, and my younger brother hated you too. We hate that you dedicated all your time to work but brought the dangers of work back to us. I lost my mom and my younger brother. I couldn’t go to school or dance anymore. I couldn’t go back to the past, nor could I move forward to the future. Every day, I just sat here alone, trapped in that damn car accident. I’m sick. The physical disability and psychological defect, these two kinds of diseases are overwhelming me. At first, I was eager to save myself. Later, I wanted to commit suicide. But I found that neither self – rescue nor suicide could relieve the pain, and no one cared. So, between self – rescue and suicide, I chose to kill. I wanted to kill all those people you saved. Maybe then mom and my younger brother would come back to me, and my leg would grow back. Then my world wouldn’t be so dark, and I wouldn’t be in so much pain. I wouldn’t need to listen to the ‘Heart – calming Mantra’ every night to fall asleep. I would still be the beautiful, confident, sunny girl on the stage, full of anticipation for the future.”
The more I said, the more excited and crazy I became.
I gritted my teeth.
I cried out in despair.
I frantically tore at the scars in my heart, like a demonized monster gradually tearing off that layer of human skin.
I tore myself to pieces, and I also hurt others severely.
Finally, at the moment when he let out a wail and shed tears, I gave him a fatal blow.
My finger slowly pointed to the photo frame on the wall.
I told him very ruthlessly, “The evidence is in that photo frame.”
23
If he had taken a look at the old photos of my mother and younger brother these days, he could have found something strange.
As long as he had entered my room once, he could have seen that my desk was filled with books on criminal investigation.
There was a map of the entire Jiangcheng hanging on the wall, and in the drawer, the red scarf that had killed many people was placed undisguisedly.
It was so bright and eye – catching, always waiting for him to discover.
But until now, he had never pushed open my door or opened my drawer.
He walked towards the photo frame with trembling legs.
His wife was still so gentle and youthful, and his son was still so innocent and lovely.
But his daughter had become so strange and terrifying.
He just needed to gently reach out and touch, and with a slight movement of the photo frame, the Polaroid photos with glaring red would fall down.
There were corpses, red scarves, and me in the photos.
Clear and distinct!
What more cases to investigate? The evidence was irrefutable.
“Things are for doing. People are for fighting. At a higher level, it’s ‘human nature’ – human nature is for testing.”
I walked towards him step by step and gently hugged him from behind.
His body was still so tall and straight to me.
But I felt like I was holding a vulnerable child.
I said, “Dad, it’s time to test you. Do you hand over the evidence and send me to prison with your own hands, or do you destroy the evidence and give up your position as a police officer from now on, just being a qualified father? Will you become a Buddha or a demon? You need to think carefully.”
I gently pressed my face against his back, completely entrusting my fate to his decision.
He slowly turned his head to look at me, and I also looked at him with tears all over my face.
I felt helpless and lost, filled with both fear and longing.
Just like when I was in the operating room, waiting for him to sign the “Amputation Surgery Consent Form”.
I said, “Dad, save me. Please save me quickly.”
24 Epilogue
“I’m Wu Qiaoni, a survivor of the ‘Jiangcheng Flood Case’. I fell in love with the police officer who saved me in the water, but I falsely accused him of molesting me during the rescue, which led to his reputation being ruined and his family falling apart. I’m guilty. I’m willing to accept the judgment of heaven and atone for my sin with my death.
——November 9, 20X3″
“I’m Zhu Ting, a survivor of the ‘Bank Robbery Case’. I was stupid and bad. I ignored the overall situation and ran around randomly, triggering a gunfight and using the police as a shield, which led to several police officers being shot and killed. I’m guilty. I ‘m willing to accept the judgment of heaven and atone for my sin with my death.
——December 12, 20X3″
“I’m Cheng Yao, a survivor of the ‘Trapped Hikers in the Canyon Case’. I was selfish. In order to go home as soon as possible, I cut in line, causing two rescue police officers to fall off the cliff and be smashed to pieces. I’m guilty. I’m willing to accept the judgment of heaven and atone for my sin with my death.
——January 24, 20X4″
“I’m Huang Mingyu, a survivor of the ‘Love – killing in the Rental House Case’. I locked the female rescue police officer inside the door, causing her to be stabbed several times and die. I’m guilty. I’m willing to accept the judgment of heaven and atone for my sin with my death.
——February 16, 20X4″
“I’m Fang Kejun, a survivor of the ‘Fried Chicken Shop Explosion Case’. I was greedy for profit. To protect my property, I lied that there were still people inside. After the rescue police officers entered, the shop exploded, causing several police officers to be killed. I’m guilty. I’m willing to accept the judgment of heaven and atone for my sin with my death.
——March 3, 20X4″
“I’m Gao Yutong, a survivor of the ‘Butt – cutting Serial Case’. To protect myself, I concealed the fact that the rescue police officer was killed, making a dedicated police officer remain underground forever, silent. I’m guilty. I’m willing to accept the judgment of heaven and atone for my sin with my death.
——April 28, 20X4″
“I’m Zhang Yaqing, a survivor of the ‘8·16 Kidnapping Case’. After being rescued, to cover up the fact that I was violated by the kidnapper, I concealed the fact that there was a bomb in the warehouse, resulting in one police officer’s death and several police officers’ injuries. I’m guilty. I’m willing to accept the judgment of heaven and atone for my sin with my death.
——May 20, 20X4″
“I’m Zou Xue, a survivor of the ‘Green – screen Villa Bombing Case’. Because of my ignorance, there was a secondary explosion, causing several police officers to be seriously injured. I’m guilty. I’m willing to accept the judgment of heaven and atone for my sin with my death.
——June 29, 20X4″
“I’m Hou Ning, a survivor of the ‘Skyscraper Fire Case’. I was afraid of death. In order to escape, I pushed the firefighter into the sea of fire, causing the firefighter who was putting out the fire to be disfigured. I’m guilty. I’m willing to accept the judgment of heaven and atone for my sin with my death.
——July 17, 20X4″
“I’m Zhou An, the police officer in charge of the ‘Red Scarf Serial Murder Case’. I knew the truth but didn’t report it, covered up for my daughter, broke the law knowingly, and shot a police officer. I’m guilty. I’m willing to accept the judgment of heaven and atone for my sin with my death.
——August 8, 20X4″
On the display screen in the office of the special investigation team, a series of photos of the deceased were being played.
In each photo, the deceased held a note in their hand, with their own confession and the exact time of their death written on it.
These photos were found at the death scene of Zhou An, the police officer in charge of the ‘Red Scarf Serial Murder Case’.
A young police officer said, “According to the handwriting verification, the words on the notes were all written by the victims themselves. Then there are some doubts.”
He pointed at the photo of Hou Ning and said, “The ‘Mall Bathroom Homicide Case’ lasted only about 7 minutes. According to Officer Zhou An’s confession, the ‘Red Scarf Serial Murder Case’ was committed by his daughter, Zhou Meiqi. How could a woman with a right – leg amputation kill the victim in such a short time and also make her write this note before she died? Officer Zhou An was also strangled to death by a’red scarf’, but Zhou Meiqi’s prosthesis was also found at the scene. Without the prosthesis, how could she escape from the scene? Different from the previous victims of the ‘Red Scarf Serial Murder Case’, Officer Zhou An was also wearing a pair of Bluetooth earphones in his ear, with the music of the ‘Heart – calming Mantra’ playing in the earphones.”
He summarized, “I suspect that someone or an organization, in the name of ‘Heaven’, uses the ‘Heart – calming Mantra’ to find killing tools, so as to achieve their goal of judging and killing the victims.”
Someone was puzzled and said, “In the name of ‘Heaven’, judging and implementing punishment. According to their logic, the deceased are all guilty people. But as far as the current case is concerned, the police officer Lu Tingshen had no fault at all. Then why did he die?”
Just as everyone was puzzled, someone pushed open the door of the office and said eagerly, “Lu Tingshen’s body has disappeared without a trace.”
– The End –
