Madness of the Heart

Lai Cheng took off the earphones, stretched his neck, and looked in the direction of the smell.

The southern area of ​​"Spring Chao Riverside" is adjacent to the river. There are two small roads next to the greenway that lead directly to the riverside. Although this section of the riverbank is not the private property of the owners, outsiders will not come here.

The riverside is very bleak in winter, and it is rare to see people, but it is very lively in summer and spring, with tents set up, barbecues held, fireworks set off, star gazing... everything.

In order to provide convenience for the owners, at the beginning of this year or last year, the property management set up several tool rooms on the Goose Beach by the river, which are similar to the "containers" where migrant workers live on the construction site. They can be placed inside without taking them home. items.

After autumn, not to mention the tool room, almost no one went to the Goose Nuanshi Beach.

The smell came from a tool room.

Lai Cheng hesitated for a while, then lowered his head and said to Samoyed, "Let's go and have a look?"

Samoyed didn't understand, and tilted his head stupidly, "Oh?"

"Playing the piano to a dog is a waste of expression." Lai Cheng laughed at himself, tugged on the dog's chain, and led the Samoyed towards the path one kilometer ahead.

There is also an access control on the small road. Lai Cheng punched the card and pushed the barrier bar, even if he was out of the community.

Samoyed excitedly dragged him forward, but the closer he got to the tool room, the more inexplicably uneasy he felt.

There are no street lights on the Goose Nuanshi Beach, and the light comes from the greenways in the community and the background light of the city.

Smelling a strong odor, Lai Cheng wanted to pick up a branch to open the door of the tool room, but he couldn't find it after searching for a long time, so he had to pick up a few warm pebbles and threw them towards the door vigilantly.

The door wasn't locked, and it opened a crack when it was smashed, but it was quickly closed again.

Lai Cheng cursed secretly, and had no choice but to walk to the door in person.

Samoyed suddenly became very excited, and before Lai Cheng pushed the door, he rushed over.

The moment the door was fully opened, an unbearable stench rushed over.

Lai Cheng almost vomited, and quickly dragged Samoyed back.But the always docile Samoyed didn't listen to him this time, and went inside desperately.

His stomach was churning, and he couldn't hold his hand. Samoyed rushed in all of a sudden, howling with excitement.He cursed, picked up the rope that fell outside, and dragged the Samoyed out.

The moment he saw the Samoyed again, his heart beat wildly - the white hair of the Samoyed was actually stained!

He suddenly understood what the stench was coming from.

The flashlight of the mobile phone was turned on, and Lai Cheng pushed open the door of the tool room again, his gaze slowly scanning the dark and narrow space.

No, nothing.

But there are large black stains on the ground and walls.

Lai Cheng swallowed hard, looked up from bottom to top, and when he saw the "thing" hanging on the roof, his pupils suddenly closed, he took a slight step back, let go of the hand holding the rope, and let out a frightened cry scream--

"what!!!"

The river wind was particularly strong at night, and the warning belt was blown loudly.The greenway was crowded with residents who came after hearing the news. The owners in the southern and northern districts seemed to let go of their grievances for the time being, rubbing shoulders and waists, looking like a dense human wall from a distance.

The high-power searchlight shines directly on the tool room, illuminating every criminal policeman's face pale.

A male corpse was supported under the ceiling by a steel frame. The sharp ports of the steel frame were pierced through his chest, abdomen, shoulders, neck, and both thighs. The steel frame was soaked with blood from his body.

How to transfer people out is a difficult problem. If the steel frame is removed, some important information on the corpse may be destroyed, but if it is not removed, it will be difficult for forensic doctors and trace examiners to work.

"Leave it for now." Xiao Man had already put on a full set of equipment, "I'll go up and have a look."

Mingshu stood by the door, looking up at the face of the corpse.

The victim's eyes showed two blood holes, and the half-open mouth was also full of blood. If the guess is correct, the murderer should have cut off the victim's tongue.

Gouging out the eyes, cutting off the tongue, and piercing the victim's body with steel bars, how much does the murderer hate the victim?

Thinking about it, Mingshu turned around and looked at the nearby river.

What is the significance of the murderer putting the body here?

This weird pose...

"Ugh-"

In the distance came the heavy sound of the ship, and the quarry began to work in the evening.

And there are fishermen who live by this river.

Mingshu once had contact with fishermen, and they sometimes dried the fish they caught in the huts by the river.

Is the murderer "drying" the corpse?

"The inside has been cleaned, and there is only a set of fresh footprints." Xiao Man walked up to Mingshu, "It was left by the informant just now. According to my initial deduction, those steel bars are made of the same material as the iron gates in this community. Judging from the dust distribution, it was only placed here recently."

"There was an accident in this community not long before the Spring Festival." Mingshu said: "The property management once locked the doors to the greenway in the southern district, preventing residents in the northern district from using the greenway."

Yi Fei said: "The death is so weird, could it be revenge for the Green Lane incident?"

Mingshu shook his head, "It's hard to say."

The steel frame was dismantled, and the body was transferred to the pebble beach.

Xing Mu hurriedly conducted a preliminary autopsy, Mingshu observed the scene for a while, and called Lai Cheng who was shaking.

Obviously frightened by the situation in the tool room, Lai Cheng's eyes were straightened, and he was completely different from Ming Shu when he saw him last time.

"Why do you want to come here?" Mingshu asked.

"Walking the dog." Lai Cheng's face was covered with cold sweat, "When I smell the smell, I'll come here."

Mingshu said, "You still live alone now?"

Lai Cheng nodded dumbly, "My dad has left me alone for a long time."

"No one usually comes here?" Mingshu asked again.

Lai Cheng said, "No, it's cold here."

Mingshu stared at Lai Cheng's face for a while, knowing that if he continued to ask him, he would not be able to ask anything, and was about to ask Fang Yuanhang to take him back to the community, when the corner of his clothes was suddenly pulled.

Lai Cheng's eyes were filled with panic, "You, have you found out who that is?"

The face of the corpse was severely damaged, and there was nothing on the body that could prove its identity. Fortunately, the fingerprints were not destroyed, but the comparison would take some time.

Mingshu wanted to explain a few words to Lai Cheng, but before he opened his mouth, he realized that Lai Cheng's mood was abnormal, so he asked, "Do you know who the victim is?"

Lai Cheng opened his mouth several times, "It seems, it seems..."

"who is it?"

"I don't know, but I think I, met, met him."

Mingshu took a breath of cold air, "Who do you think he looks like?"

Lai Cheng's eyes were red, "It seems to be, it's my dad. I called him just now, but I couldn't get through!"

After speaking, Lai Cheng's emotions finally collapsed, squatting on the ground, crying and trembling.

When Xing Mu stood up from the shroud, he stumbled.Fang Yuanhang quickly supported him, "Mr. Xing, what's wrong with you?"

Xing Mu shook his head, indicating that he was fine.

Mingshu came over, "Teacher Xing?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm a little flustered here." Xing Mu pointed to the position of his heart and sighed, "Why are the cases we encountered recently so cruel?"

Mingshu understood as soon as he heard it, "The victim was thrown onto the steel frame alive?"

Xing Mu nodded: "The deceased had very obvious struggling injuries, and all the places where the steel bars penetrated had life reactions. The cause of death was excessive blood loss, and this is the scene of the murder."

Mingshu's eyes were dark, looking at the victim's mouth and nose.

"In order to prevent the victim's screams from attracting attention, the murderer wrapped multiple layers of adhesive tape on his face. Although it has been torn off now, the traces are obvious." Xing Mu said: "The deceased's limbs were bound, and they were only released after death. Open. I guess, the murderer saw the death of the deceased here, so he tore off the adhesive tape, untied the rope and left."

After a short pause, Xing Mu added: "Before leaving, the murderer smashed the eyes and mouth of the deceased."

Fang Yuanhang said: "The southern area is relatively quiet. Even if the deceased's mouth is sealed, he will still make noise."

Mingshu shook his head, "Listen to the sound of the wind and river water now. No matter how loud the voice of the dead is, it will be drowned out by them."

The body was put into a body bag and quickly sent to the Criminal Investigation Bureau. After comparing fingerprints and DNA, the identity of the deceased was confirmed: Lai Xiuliang, 45 years old, divorced, partner of Liangchen Technology.

He is also Lai Cheng's father.

Lai Cheng came to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, but did not go to identify the body.He has been sitting on the row of chairs in the corridor, not crying anymore, but whispering something to himself as if he has not accepted the fact that his father has been killed.

Xiao Yuan went to the capital a few days ago and is currently in the special operations team.Mingshu is in charge of the crime team alone.

"This case seems to be related to the conflict at the 'Chunchao Riverside' some time ago." Mingshu said: "It has now been confirmed that the steel frame used as the murder weapon was the iron gate that blocked the greenway at that time."

The projector played the live photos, and Mingshu continued: "The iron gate was removed on the night of the third day of junior high school, and it was placed in the material warehouse in the southern district. The warehouse manager said that it will be sold after the new year. But Some of them were stolen. The warehouse is full of waste, there is no lock, no monitoring, and no one usually goes there. It wasn’t until we asked to count the number of steel frames that the administrator found out that some of them were missing.”

Yi Fei said: "Someone stole the steel frames and took them to the riverside. These steel frames are very important to the murderer and represent a certain meaning, otherwise the murderer would not take the risk of stealing them from the warehouse."

Mingshu put down his pen, "So I said that this case is related to the conflict a while ago. The victim, Lai Xiuliang, is the owner of the South District. His family is wealthy and he lives in a villa with a private garden. He represents the rich people in the South District. It is not ruled out. It is possible for owners in the North District who hate the rich in the South District to take action. But there is one thing that is very contradictory."

Ming Shu's tone changed slightly, "Assuming the murderer is the owner of the North District, I don't think the victim should be Lai Xiuliang."

"Lai Xiuliang doesn't live in the 'Chunchao Riverside' at all." Yi Fei said: "Lai Xiuliang has a total of four properties in the main city of Dongye, either villas or high-end commercial buildings, and the 'Chunchao Riverside' is his son's residence. I usually live in Beicheng District, which is closer to his company."

"Yes, why was such a rich man who rarely appeared on the 'Chunchao River' killed?" Ming Shu said, "It's a bit far-fetched."

"But if it has nothing to do with the conflict on the 'Chunchao River', why would the murderer go to such lengths to steal the steel frame?" Fang Yuanhang said: "The murderer could have committed the crime in a simpler way, and there is no need to choose the 'Chunchao Riverside' conflict." The warm pebble beach outside the bank."

The meeting room was noisy, and everyone was expressing their views.

Mingshu listened while thinking, and finally said: "Yi Fei, check out the background of Lai Xiuliang and his company. I have been in touch with this kid Lai Cheng. He has a cold personality, and it is difficult for him to empathize with others. I doubt this. The formation of this character is related to his elders."

It was almost dawn, but Lai Cheng was still sitting in the corridor.

Ming Shu patted him on the shoulder and handed him a cup of hot cocoa, "Can you answer my question now?"

Lai Cheng's hand holding the cup was trembling, and he raised his head after a few seconds, his eyes were empty.

Mingshu said, "Come with me."

Lai Cheng was a little slow to react, but after Ming Shu took a few steps, he still stood up and followed behind like a wandering soul.

Mingshu took him to a small meeting room, turned on the light, closed the door, "sit."

Lai Cheng sat down, his voice hoarse, "Do you know who killed him?"

"I don't know, I don't even have a clue." Mingshu said, "So even if you are sad now, I must find you to find out about your father's situation."

Lai Cheng drank hot cocoa mechanically, "I don't know much about him... He hasn't contacted me for so many days, and I haven't worried about him."

Mingshu saw strong remorse on Lai Cheng's face.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Before the Spring Festival." Lai Cheng said: "It's around 20 in the twelfth lunar month. After the school's winter vacation. He took me to eat Japanese food. I asked him if he would spend the Spring Festival with me. He said that the company had something to do and might not make it in time."

Mingshu asked: "You haven't contacted me since then?"

Lai Cheng said: "He called me on New Year's Eve and asked me to pay New Year's greetings to my grandma. My grandma is in the country, and he will remind me every year."

"Does he know what happened in the neighborhood?"

"I don't know if he knows, I didn't tell him."

Mingshu pondered for a while, then asked, "As far as you know, what kind of person is Lai Xiuliang? Who has he offended?"

"He..." Lai Cheng fell silent as soon as he spoke.

"Think about it carefully." Mingshu said, "You may be able to provide us with important clues."

Lai Cheng raised his head, "Do you think I'm a cold-blooded animal?"

Mingshu was a little surprised.

"He is a cold-blooded animal just like me." Lai Cheng smiled self-deprecatingly, "I think I am a copy of him, I can't feel the pain of others, or every time I see others suffering, I feel so sad. There is still a little joy in my heart.”

"You ask me who he has offended. I don't know. I don't even know what his business is. I only know that he is very good at making money and is very generous to me. He will give me whatever I want." Lai Cheng seemed to recall the scene in the tool room, and shivered suddenly, "Was he killed by the enemy? Will it be my turn next?"

·

In the southern suburbs of Luocheng, Tianyue Hot Spring Villa.

Bathing in hot springs is a great treat in winter.Bathing in hot springs was considered a luxury activity in the past, but now salaried workers can enjoy the fun of soaking in hot springs for tens of dollars.

However, there are very few good springs in the city, and many places under the banner of hot springs use boiled hot water, and the sanitation conditions are worrying.

Tianyue Hot Spring Villa has been the most high-end hot spring in Los Angeles for more than ten years. The per capita consumption is as high as several thousand yuan. If you stay for another night and have a meal, you will spend tens of thousands of yuan.

When mentioning Tianyue, many people shook their heads—"I've never been there, I can't afford to go, that's where the rich go."

However, three years ago, Tianyue Hot Spring Villa was expanded in the east, and a consumption area for ordinary people was developed, and the per capita consumption was controlled within 800 yuan.

Although this price is still much higher than most hot springs in the city, it is no longer unacceptable.At first, some young people came to "explore the way", and later more and more middle-aged people also came with their families.

Every Spring Festival is the best time for business in Tianyue Hot Spring Villa Dongzhuang. People who have been busy for a year are rushing to enjoy life during the holidays. If they don’t make an appointment one week in advance, there is basically no soup to drink.

As for Xizhuang, which only accepts VIPs, there are very few guests during the Spring Festival.

Rich people generally choose to spend in Tianyue on weekdays, but when it comes to holidays, they either go abroad or attend banquets, and rarely come to join in the fun.

Dongzhuang and Xizhuang are connected by a quiet mountain road, presenting two completely different festival scenes.

In the past few days, the waiters in Dongzhuang have clearly noticed that there are more middle-aged and elderly people coming to the hot springs - because almost all young people have gone to work.

Most middle-aged and elderly people have a bad habit of soaking in hot springs, that is, they don’t want to get up after soaking for a long time. In many hot springs, middle-aged and elderly people have fainted in the water, and the waiters are extremely nervous.

When the business hours ended, there were still a few elderly people who did not come out.

The waiter Chen Fang had to rush them.

"Did you smell anything strange?" said an old man.

Chen Fang raised his eyelids, "How can there be a strange smell? We are the best hot spring in Los Angeles."

"It really smells strange, and I smell it too!" Another old man said, "It's coming from below."

Chen Fang thought, strange smell?Isn't it your urine smell?

It is common for customers to defecate in the hot springs. Although the waiters are not surprised, they still feel disgusted.

The old people were coaxed out, and before they left, they still spoke convincingly, "Girl, please check carefully, the strange smell is coming from the drain, if something is blocked, it will not be good if it rots in it."

·

Capital, Special Ops.

No one spoke in the conference room, and Zhou Lan was interrogated in the video.

Xiao Yuan leaned against the table, Shen Xun rested his chin on one hand.

When the picture stopped, Xiao Yuan said: "We have thoroughly investigated the families of these three children. The formation of their extreme personalities has not been affected by the family. In other words, they are born with anti-social tendencies. Before high school, this tendency was eliminated. They hid, found their accomplices in the first year of high school, and their mutual 'sense of identity' and 'sense of belonging' prompted them to commit crimes together."

Shen Xun said: "'Finding each other' is the key to them starting to act maliciously...but teenagers with antisocial personalities are more susceptible to outside influence than adults."

Xiao Yu'an said: "For the time being, I haven't found that they have been influenced by the outside world. All the influences come from within their small group."

Shen Xun stood up and took a few steps, "But you suspect that their behavior may have an external fulcrum, otherwise you wouldn't make this trip."

Xiao Yu'an nodded, "Neither Team Ming nor I can let go of this case. In fact, I came to you this time because of another matter."