Chapter 19

Upright

“Officer Chen, you should take care of yourself too.” Yin Tao looked at the tired Captain Chen with concern.

“Sigh, it’s fine.” Captain Chen put down the case report in his hand and said to Yin Tao, “There aren’t many criminal cases of such a vile nature in City A. Moreover, the murderer is likely to continue commiting crimes. We have to arrest the murderer as soon as possible.”

Looking at Captain Chen’s solemn expression, Yin Tao felt even more respect for him.

“Dr. Yin, you came at the right time.” Captain Chen opened a case analysis report. “According to the modus operandi of the case, there’s a high chance that the same person committed the three murders. You’re young and meticulous. Help me take a look at our profile analysis of the murderer. Is there anything we missed?”

Yin Tao took the report and started reading it seriously.

Murder victim one: Zhang Yong, male, 43 years old. He had a history of gambling, whoring, and involvement with the triad. The fatal wound was in the abdomen. After his death, his body was dumped in Song River, New City District.

Murder victim two: Sun Yang, male, 6 years old. He was quite mischievous and willful when he was alive. He was suffocated to death. After he died, his body was dumped in Song River, New City District.

Murder victim three: Zhang Wei, female, 31 years old, mall salesperson, bad service attitude, hot tempered, fatal wound was on the neck, multiple knife wounds on the body, location of death was in the rented apartment where she lived alone

…

Yin Tao seriously considered the common thread of each case and said to Captain Chen, “Captain Chen, when my master and I dissected the bodies, we found that each of the victims died in a very direct manner. The location of the fatal injuries was very accurate. The murderer could have tried to end their lives as quickly as possible.”

“You mean that the murderer is a seasoned criminal.” Captain Chen looked at Yin Tao and added, “The murderer’s mental fortitude is also very good. There are almost no traces of the crime in the cases. He cleverly avoided all the surveillance cameras.”

“Not necessarily seasoned, but he must be a highly intelligent criminal. Moreover, the murderer should know a lot about human anatomy.” Yin Tao took out the autopsy report of the third case and said, “Especially the third victim. He was stabbed deeply more than 40 times and yet he did not lose a lot of blood. Every stab avoided the position of the bones.”

“Hmm, we’ve also roughly analyzed the motive of the murderer.” Captain Chen sighed helplessly. “I’m afraid he’s a self-proclaimed ‘righteous man’ again. The three victims are not related at all, but they’re all people with character or behavioral flaws.”

“Yes, the murderer probably placed himself on the side of justice.” Yin Tao thought of the man with the black-rimmed glasses in the surveillance footage and said to Captain Chen, “And it’s very likely that the murderer usually seems like a good person.”

Captain Chen noticed that Yin Tao seemed to have made a new discovery and hurriedly asked, “Why? What kind of image do you think the murderer should have?”

“The murderer is very strong, so he shouldn’t be too skinny. He thinks that he’s righteous, and his modus operandi is neat, so his image shouldn’t be too sloppy.” Yin Tao said as she inserted the USB she was holding into the computer.

When Captain Chen saw the photo of a man that Yin Tao had opened up, he asked in surprise, “Who is this person?”

“It was a passerby I met with Bai Luo and Xia Jin yesterday.” Yin Tao saw the disappointment that flashed across Captain Chen’s face and added with a smile, “Although I’m not sure of his identity, in my heart, this is probably the image of the murderer.”

Captain Chen listened to Yin Tao’s description carefully. Because of Dr. Zhang and Su Ning’s praise, he trusted the young lady’s capabilities.

“This man appeared in the apparel store where Zhang Wei worked when she was alive.” Yin Tao paused for a moment before continuing, “At that time, Zhang Wei was arguing with a customer.”

“An eye witness?” Captain Chen looked at the man’s photo and said to Yin Tao, “You suspect that he couldn’t stand Zhang Wei’s attitude towards customers, so he killed her?”

Yin Tao could tell that Captain Chen didn’t agree with her. She explained, “I’m just making a wild guess. When we were eating with Bai Luo and Xia Jin yesterday, we met a man who secretly took photos of a girl. This man in glasses was also present.”

Yin Tao looked at Captain Chen and slowly said, “At that time, this man very righteously stepped forward to testify against the culprit.”

“What did you think was wrong with him?” Captain Chen studied the man’s photo again.

“He was a little agitated. He clearly didn’t know the two girls who were secretly photographed, but he showed extreme disgust and even hatred towards the man who secretly took the photos.” Yin Tao’s expression gradually became serious.