Mystery Hunter

Chapter 20: A Broken Soul



Luo Jinbao broke out in a cold sweat after the situation was briefly discussed.

“No wonder her face was white when I first saw her. I thought she had beautiful skin…” Luo Jinbao couldn’t stop shivering when he realized he had stolen a dead woman’s phone.

“From the present data to conduct a probabilistic calculation, I already know who the murderer with the highest probability is,” Jiang He stated. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but He Huijuan’s immediate surroundings are devoid of any traces of blood. This indicates that it took some time for the knife to be removed after penetrating He Huijuan’s abdomen.”

“And…”

“When we saw the body, half of the quilt was covered with He Huijuan’s body, and the other half was drooped under the bed,” Jiang He said to Wang Chao. “However, the internal inspection of the quilt revealed a bloodstain, and it is easy to draw the conclusion that the quilt should have previously been entirely covered with He Huijuan’s body.”

Wang Chao shrugged: “That’s right, if the neck covers it, the location of the blood on the quilt corresponds to the location of the abdomen.”

“This means that when the murderer killed her, the knife had to go through the quilt to pierce He Huijuan’s abdomen.”

Jiang He described the situation at the time and said, “At the time, He Huijuan was wearing a pair of sexy underwear. Although I have never had a sexual experience, based on the information I have seen, I believe this woman should have just had intercourse, and the autopsy report supports this.”

“Another point is that even though He Huijuan was lying flat on the bed when we went to see her body, the blood stains were more prominent on the right side of the bed than the left,” Jiang He noted.

“I believe there is a 50% possibility that the mattress on the right side of the bed was squished by He Huijuan’s ‘lover’, and blood naturally flowed to that side owing to gravity.”

“Really?”

Wang Chao was in disbelief as he couldn’t recall such a specific detail.

According to Jiang He, a police officer brought a photo of the crime scene, and Wang Chao examined the situation in the photo.

“Can you remember so many details?” Wang Chao inquired.

Jiang He pointed to his head and remarked, “Yes, I suffer from a disease that makes me this way. I’ll never forget what I’ve seen and heard as long as it’s what I’ve seen and heard.”

Wang Chao was envious: “Who wouldn’t want to develop such a disease?”

Jiang He unexpectedly shook his head and said, “When I was younger, that was my thought as well.”

“Do you not think so now?” Wang Chao inquired once more.

This time, Jiang He did not answer and instead closed his eyes.

Jiang He closed his eyes and reconstructed the scene at the time: “He Huijuan’s face was being touched by the person on the right side of the bed, who was also carrying a knife in his left hand. He stuck their right hand inside the quilt before thrusting a knife into He Huijuan’s stomach and covering her mouth with his right hand.”

“He Huijuan died because of excessive blood loss in just a few minutes.”

“After He Huijuan’s death, the killer did not draw out the knife, but hastily departed after covering her up with the quilt. Maybe he was frightened as he walked out in a hurry and failed to latch the door. This way, he allowed Luo Jinbao in.”

When he heard Jiang He’s analysis, Luo Jinbao exclaimed, “Thank you!”

“Hmm?” Jiang He turned to face Luo Jinbao.

“I honestly had no idea that what I saw was the lifeless corpse of that lady,” Luo Jinbao remarked. “I can assure you that if I had known that she was dead, I wouldn’t have dared to steal from her.”

“How long have you been stealing from this area?” Jiang He questioned.

In the face of a case involving a person’s life, Luo Jinbao didn’t dare to keep his words to himself. “I have been in this community for roughly more than a month but have been observing this family for about ten days,” Luo Jinbao said.

Jiang He nodded and asked again: “You mentioned you knew He Huijuan had a lover when I was at Li Weiyi’s house earlier, right?”

Luo Jinbao nodded: “Yes, I have seen a guy enter numerous times, but I maintained a safe distance from him. He stands at a similar height as yourself. I haven’t seen his face, therefore I won’t be able to identify him. The ‘industry’s’ regulations cannot be breached. It’s not allowed to steal twice from the same family, otherwise one will face severe consequences. So that individual should not be a robber.”

“Can you tell me anything else about this lover?” Wang Chao inquired.

“That’s all I knew. I am a thief, not a psychology expert,” Luo Jinbao was about to cry. And while Luo Jinbao was unaware of the identity of this lover, his phone provided a hint to everyone else.

Two payments—one for 30,000 and the second for 50,000—were made to He Huijuan’s account, according to the Technical Department’s investigation.

He Huijuan withdrew the money shortly after it was deposited into her account. It was unknown where the money was spent.

However, the one who deposited the money was very suspicious. The cash was taken from an unknown person’s account, and the Technical Department’s investigation could not uncover who this person was.

The money did not originate in Longcheng City. It was nearly 180,000 miles from Longcheng City and had nothing to do with He Huijuan.

In other words, whoever paid He Huijuan wanted to keep his identity a secret.

However, this has rendered the investigation more complicated, hence identifying this lover has become of utmost priority.

“What are your thoughts? Who do you think this lover is?” asked Wang Chao to Jiang He, who was silent on the side.

In reality, Wang Chao doubted Jiang He’s capability to answer this question. He was just used to asking Jiang He questions that seemed to have no viable answers, and Wang Chao was a person with bad taste as well. He wanted to see Jiang He’s expression when he couldn’t answer the question. After all, it was not easy to solve a case with someone who was overly intelligent.

Jiang He, on the other hand, let Wang Chao down. “I want you to find someone,” he said. “Seek out He Huijuan’s QQ and other communication channels first, then any of her current classmates who are in Longcheng City. He Huijuan was an exceptionally slothful person. Along with her other pastimes, she played games. They can’t be anyone else; they must either be a classmate or a friend she made through games.”

“The scope is much narrower in this case.”

“But is this reliable?” asked Wang Chao.

“He Huijuan was a person who did not even want to go out for an affair,” Jiang He said. “She only knew people through the Internet. I’m almost certain that her lover is among these people. Furthermore, he must be from Longcheng City; otherwise, the rate of cheating cannot be so high.”

“You can also exclude some people,” Jiang He added. “People earning less than 4,000 RMB are not required to be considered. He Huijuan’s lover must have purchased a lot of game items for her in addition to giving her 80,000 RMB. He resides in Longcheng City and is between the ages of 30 and 40.”

Wang Chao promptly assembled a team of investigators to look into the matter.

“So what do we do now?” Wang Chao inquired.

Jiang He rubbed his temples and said, “Now all we can do is wait for this man to be arrested. I am 60% positive that her lover is the murderer. But I have a lot of questions for you right now.”

“Me? Is there anything you don’t understand?” said Wang Chao, pointing to himself.

“Yes, and there are many,” Jiang He remarked solemnly.

“Why Li Weiyi, who is not the killer, wants to be held accountable for the murderer is beyond my grasp. The information at the scene indicates that this case is not complicated, but because of the involvement of two people, it appears to be extremely tricky.”

Wang Chao was taken aback when Jiang He asked this question. In fact, Wang Chao was perplexed by this question. Even though he was much better than Jiang He in regard to understanding human psychology, even he couldn’t answer this question. Why would anyone take the blame for their wife’s illicit lover?The man was clearly a mortal foe, but why did Li Weiyi do it?

Jiang He and Wang Chao sought clarification from Li Weiyi once more.

Li Weiyi was no longer under suspicion, and he was no longer required to wear handcuffs.

Li Weiyi was currently puffing on cigarettes one by one. Based on Jiang He’s knowledge, the chances of becoming addicted to smoking in just three days were almost nil. He was clueless why Li Weiyi smoked one after the other.

“Did your wife lavishly spend money?” Jiang He inquired.

“No.”

Li Weiyi responded, shaking his head, “Even though she didn’t work, she didn’t usually spend much of my money. My monthly income is not that high. I need to pay off my mortgage, purchase firewood, rice, oil, and salt for my family, and purchase medicine for my mother. There isn’t much left over. One month’s salary is said to be sufficient for expenses.”

“Do you know that the cost of a set of PCs in your home is roughly 10,000 RMB?” Jiang He asked. “Did you know that the authentic cosmetics on your wife’s desk cost over 6,000 RMB?” And your wife’s Apple phone is more than 6,000 RMB?”

“I bought the Apple phone. As for the rest, I am not aware of them.” Li Weiyi shrugged.

“There is a 60% chance that these items were purchased with that lover’s money,” Jiang He said to Wang Chao, who was standing next to him.

“Do you have to bring this up in front of me?” trembled Li Weiyi.

Jiang He was perplexed: “What’s the matter? Did you know your wife was in a relationship with another man?”

“You are a bastard,” Li Weiyi muttered.

This was the second time Jiang He has heard others refer to him as a bastard, and he was not sure where he went wrong.

“Control your emotions.” Wang Chao knocked on the table.

“I know my wife had an affair with another man and slept in the same bed with him.” Li Weiyi clenched his teeth. “No matter how deep I hid, how could I not know? I hope I never found out about it in my life, but that’s impossible. I’ve been aware of my wife’s relationship with an outsider for a month.”

“I just hoped that she was having fun and would eventually return to me.” Li Weiyi cried as he spoke.


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