After the two bodies were taken away, the officers who went out to investigate called and reported that they found the scene of the first crime. Xiaotao and I drove there immediately.
It was about two kilometers away from the dump site. There was a pool of blood on the ground with some fallen teeth lying around and several tire tracks, including an obvious brake mark. Although few people took this road, there was still the occasional car. After the incident, any vehicle passing by would have interfered with the crime scene, and the pool of blood was run over by tires.
Xiaotao assigned several officers to snap pictures of these tire tracks and take them back for screening. Additionally, she contacted the transportation department and immediately requested for the surveillance videos of this section of the road.
I squatted down, meditating on the road for a while. "The surveillance cameras definitely didn't catch anything!" I announced.
"Why do you say that?" asked Xiaotao.
I unlocked my cell phone and found a speed limit app used by drivers which I downloaded for handling cases. As soon as I opened the app, I could see the position of the monitoring cameras on this section of the road.
"This road is relatively remote,” I remarked. “There are only two intersections with cameras. The perpetrators avoided these two parts and used the side road."
I pointed to the sand particles on the brake marks which were mixed with some grassy stems. "These debris were attached to the tires and were thrown off due to inertia at the moment of impact, landing here."
I scanned the area and reflected for a moment. "The perpetrators drove two cars."
"How can you tell?"
"I can’t tell based on what we currently see. It’s my deduction based on the fact that there were at least five people, including the female victim,” I explained. “Earlier, when I was performing the autopsy, I found that the rape happened two hours ago, which means it started on the road. It's a bit crowded for five people in one car to be having sex. So I think it's more likely they came in two cars! The two cars were in the back and front, sandwiching the male victim in the middle as they forced him to run barefoot on the road. Finally the man’s strength gave out and was hit by the rear vehicle."
"That makes sense!" Xiaotao concurred.
I walked along the brake marks and came to the edge of the road where I found traces of trampled weeds, indicating that the car stopped at the time. This was probably where they got off and carried the body. There was half a footprint on the dirt road beside the grass, matching those found at the scene.
When I closed my eyes, I could picture the scene at the time–four young people, probably high on drugs, brutally tortured and toyed with the two victims, then ran away after disposing of their bodies in a hurry.
This was a thrill kill with no clear motive or purpose. The victims were probably people they didn't know. In truth, this sort of crime was the hardest to solve!
Xiaotao proposed we returned to the station immediately to work the case overnight but I shook my head. "It's too late. There’s no point working through the night! Go home and rest well. We’ll continue tomorrow morning."
"I can’t stop thinking about the girl who was tortured to death,” Xiaotao frowned. “I wish I could arrest them right now!"
I patted her on the shoulder. "I’m just as angry as you are!"
"I’m really depressed. Won’t you accompany me for the night?"
"Alright!" I said.
After Xiaotao instructed the others to go home, we headed back to her place. When she removed her coat, I got a look at her holster that was hanging on her waist, gun still in place.
I turned grave at once, "Didn't I remind you about this?"
"I forgot!” Xiaotao caressed her forehead. “This is the last time. I won’t take it home tomorrow!"
While Xiaotao went to take a bath, I turned on the TV, already accustomed to her home. A short while later, Xiaotao came out of the shower, dressed in baggy pajamas, perky breasts peeking from underneath.
She walked towards the couch wordlessly, sat down, then leaned into my arms, her soft breasts pressing onto me. Her body still exuded moisture and heat from the shower and her wet hair smelled of shampoo.
My heart pounded like a drum as we remained in this position for about ten seconds. Then, Xiaotao said, "I’ve been an officer for so long and I’ve seen many cases. Every time I come across those horrible, cruel ones, I think to myself, maybe this is the worst one. But then something else always trumps that and I’m faced with more cruel and inhuman criminals. Sometimes I can't help but wonder, how can people be so evil? We’re obviously the same kind, so why kill each other?"
It seemed Xiaotao was really disturbed by the case tonight. But I couldn't answer her question. All I could do was comfort her, "When I catch those scum, I’ll stare at them for ten whole seconds and give them a taste of agony."
Xiaotao looked up at me and smiled, "Then again, what’s this about your eyes? You never told me."
Due to my promise to Song Xingchen not to mention the Eyes of Yama to outsiders, I gave Xiaotao a vague explanation. "It’s just another ability, nothing special."
Xiaotao’s face inched closer to mine, "Why can't I see anything different from before?"
There was a hint of a smile in her bright eyes. As her face drew closer and closer, we started to kiss. She hooked her hands around my neck and languidly rested on top of my body.
"Don't be depressed!” I urged. “Let’s watch some TV!"
"I don't want to watch this," she pouted, unhappy with my choice of program–a variety show called “Super Brain.”
I changed the channel and asked, "How about this?"
Xiaotao shook her head like a little child until I turned to a children's channel that was playing "Babloo Dabloo.” Though I didn’t think she would like watching this, I asked and Xiaotao actually nodded.
With my arms around Xiaotao, we watched two episodes of Babloo Dabloo. Whenever something funny happened on screen, Xiaotao would giggle, her breasts vibrating against my arm. We were merely separated by thin pajamas so the feeling was very obvious–two soft, plump breasts rubbing my skin repeatedly. And worst of all, I was wearing a sleeveless tank top.
My cheeks burned and then returned to normal every time she stopped laughing; on and on, even my body reacted shamefully.
I stole a look at the beautiful, smiling girl in my arms as the impulse to make love to her boiled inside. But on second thought, being intimate now would be taking advantage of her.
Besides, I liked the way our relationship was and didn’t see a need to speed things up.
At the end of the two episodes, Xiaotao was quiet and unresponsive. Looking down, I realized she was breathing steadily and had fallen asleep in my arms. I carefully adjusted my position and picked her up in a princess hug, gently placing her on the bed.
When I returned to the living room, Xiaotao’s gentle fragrance still lingered on the couch. Babloo Dabloo was still playing on TV so I sat there watching another episode, and eventually found it rather interesting.
Deciding to take a quick shower, I headed to the bathroom where I found a box of men's underwear on the shelf where Xiaotao stored her sanitary napkins. There was a note saying: I bought this at the supermarket. I don't know if it suits you. Anyway, you can’t keep wearing dirty underwear after your shower!"
The crumples in the note were caused by repeated splashes and drying. Learning that Xiaotao had prepared this early on, I couldn’t help but feel moved.