I immediately phoned Song Xingchen and told him to wait for me outside the station. Then, turning the other two, I said we would go looking for Luo Youyou.
"Will your bodyguard get there so soon?" doubted Bingxin.
As soon as we walked out the station, I saw Song Xingchen waiting nearby as he sipped on bubble tea. The man was like a ghost who could show up at any given moment.
We hailed a cab from the side of the road. Song Xingchen sat in the passenger seat with his Tang sword in hand, frightening the driver into nervous silence. The three of us crowded into the back. In order to draw a clear line with Dali, Bingxin sat in the innermost seat, holding my arm the entire journey.
Along the way, Dali chattered endlessly, sharing his worries about what might have happened to Luo Youyou. He swore he would treat her well and never quarrel again.
"She has the face of good fortune,” I comforted. “She must be alright!"
Although I didn't quite believe those words, I knew this wasn’t the time to give up hope.
When we arrived at the address given by Lao Yao, we were greeted by the sight of an incomplete building. This area was part of the urban-rural combination plan and its geographical location wasn’t very good. It was probably developed in line with the trends during the real estate boom from a few years back and was abandoned when they failed to sell the units.
We got out of the car and went on foot. I kept my eyes on my cell phone and when we reached Luo Youyou’s last known whereabouts, I looked around and found tire tracks on the dusty road. Using Cave Vision, I scanned the area and discovered two tiny, white objects.
Upon careful inspection, they turned out to be a SIM card that had been broken into two.
"Song Yang-gege,” cried Bingxin. “There’s another SIM card here. It’s also been broken!"
"Don't pick them up with your bare hands,” I warned. “There may be fingerprints on it!"
Bingxin carefully placed the SIM card in an evidence bag. We walked along the tire tracks until it finally disappeared on the asphalt road.
"Oh no!” Dali pulled at his hair. “The murderer’s gone. Something must have happened!"
I narrowed my eyes and said, "Let’s search separately. Call if you find anything!"
We climbed up the abandoned building and searched all over. I found discarded food packages in one of the buildings and human excrement in the corner. There were four bricks stacked on the floor with the insides burnt. It looked like a simple, makeshift stove.
It seemed like someone had been living here for some time. Was it the murderer’s hiding place? Of course, it could also have been a homeless man.
Right then, Bingxin phoned to report, "Song Yang-gege, I found a body!"
"Whose?" I asked anxiously.
"I don't know. I only see the back. Hurry, come to the south side!"
I headed to Bingxin’s location, only to see a deep hole dug for the foundation. Due to rainwater that had accumulated over the years, it had formed a small pool. There was currently someone floating in that pool.
And judging from the figure, it was a man, much to my relief.
"Let's take a look!" I said.
We went downstairs and walked towards the pool. Bingxin called to inform the others but it would take some time for the police to get here.
As we approached the pool, I noticed scratches on the concrete floor and estimated the distance between the pool and the edge of the water.
"This is the original crime scene!" I yelled.
"Isn't it obvious?" Bingxin shrugged.
"No, I mean, this is the original crime scene of Zhang Bing's murder. It seems like we’ve got the right place. The person who kidnapped Luo Youyou is the murderer!"
I reached out to pull the body towards the edge.
“Aren’t you going to wait for the police?" asked Bingxin.
"There’s no point waiting for them. After all, it’s my duty to perform the autopsy!"
I tugged at the victim’s collar and dragged the body towards the edge. Upon raising the head, I discovered it was Zhou Yang. With Bingxin’s assistance, I managed to lift Zhou Yang's body to the ground.
We laid the body beside the pool. Like the previous cases, Zhou Yang had also been smashed in the head, and then thrown into the water. The preliminary time of death was about four hours ago. If he and Luo Youyou had been kidnapped at the same time, Luo Youyou was probably beyond help by now.
"There are no other wounds except in the back of the head,” observed Bingxin. “It seems that the murderer has quite a lot of experience. He knows the more clues he leaves, the easier it is to catch him."
"You’ve neglected something!” I said, shaking my head. “Look here!"
I uncovered Zhou Yang's T-shirt. There was a puncture wound made by a needle in his back and the surrounding flesh was inflamed. The needle was probably left in his flesh for a considerable amount of time after the murderer injected him with something. We had to wait until we got back to the lab since there was no way of testing the components of the drug now.
I noticed a small bruise on his neck that suggested the victim was squeezed by a large, powerful hand. "Zhou Yang might have been grabbed from behind before the murderer inserted a syringe into his body, threatening to inject poison if he moved. This is a common kidnapping method."
"It could’ve been water!" stated Bingxin.
One of Zhou Yang's belt loops was ripped off, and since most people hung their keys here, the murderer must have taken his keys and stolen his car.
Without any of my equipment with me, I couldn't perform an in-depth autopsy so I covered the body with a plastic sheet I found nearby.
Standing at the edge of the pool, I looked down at the murky waters, wondering if there was anything under the surface. Drown victims supposedly floated to the surface upon death but I had to confirm Luo Youyou’s body wasn’t below. After removing a wooden plank from the scaffolding, I poked around the pool and stirred the muddy waters.
The wooden plank was caught onto a heavy object. My heart sank with the fear of discovering Luo Youyou’s corpse.
Noticing my expression, Bingxin asked what was wrong but I motioned for her to keep quiet as I stuck my ear to the wooden plank and slowly tapped with my fingers. This was another way to use echolocation, though the unsteady flow of the water affected my hearing.
After listening carefully for some time, I asserted, "It’s not a corpse! We’ll get the officers to salvage whatever’s down there when they arrive."
Bingxin breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness!"
We were suddenly interrupted by a call from Dali. "Dude, come quickly. I found Luo Youyou’s–" he panicked.
I felt my chest tighten as I waited for the rest of his sentence. Dali gasped, "Backpack…"
"You scared me half to death!” I rebuked. “Where are you? I'll be there right away."
Bingxin and I headed to Dali’s location. Song Xingchen was already there. Without waiting for us, Dali had already overturned the contents of Luo Youyou's backpack on the ground and said, "Everything’s here."
A pile of clothes and daily necessities, and some cash–the murderer never touched her backpack.
Then, Dali grabbed a corner of the backpack and faltered, "The thread on the top is loose. Luo Youyou has a habit of pulling the thread whenever she’s nervous. She must be in danger."
"Hold on, she may still be alive!" I blurted.