Case Files Chapter 23: Angel of Death (3)

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

When they returned to the office, it was already two in the afternoon. The others were already there, and were eating ravenously from takeout boxes.

Ding Ding complained while she ate, “I’m starving. Those doctors talk so little, can’t they lighten up?” 

“Have you guys eaten yet?” Gu Xiang asked Guan Jin and the others, who had just come in.

Zheng Fei wiped his mouth, “Ha, we ate at the Yuxiang shop at the intersection.” 

“Such a luxury!” wailed Lin Bai.

“Professor, can you treat us to a meal?” Chen QiaoYu batted her eyes.

A few plaintive gazes immediately landed on Lu YunYang.

“I don’t dare to waste everyone’s time right now. We just ate a quick lunch today to fill our stomachs. When we crack the case, I’ll treat everyone to a feast.”

Everyone cheered.

“Oh, it looks like someone has already taken up the heavy burden of treating everyone to a meal. Having a new person really is nice.” Wen JingHan walked out of his office.

“Don’t compete with me like this. I’m just a new arrival, so the meal is to thank everyone. As for future meals, of course it should be you, the leader, to treat us.” Lu YunYang smiled.

“Okay, enough chit-chat. Everyone, report what you’ve learned.”

“It’s like this. The victim this time died of asphyxia, and the murder weapon was not found at the crime scene. The scene isn’t very messy, but there were a few footprints that we’re waiting on the forensic results for. There wasn’t anyone at the scene that could provide very useful clues. Guan Jin and Lu YunYang found a female nurse that also walked down that road last night after her night shift, but she didn’t provide much either,” said Chen QiaoYu as she passed out pictures of the crime scene to everyone.

Gu Xiang reported their progress, “At the hospital, we went to inpatient care, where the victim, Li Ling, used to work. Her colleagues and superiors said that she was usually very capable, though she was a little quick-tempered. Thus, patients would occasionally complain about her bad work attitude, but she’s still very professional. She’s also quite honest and doesn’t care that much about fame and fortune, and no one at the hospital had any serious grudges or disputes with her. She had a boyfriend, though they broke up recently. Ding Ding and I looked into it, and the boyfriend went to City G a few months ago. When the murder occurred, he was still in City G.” 

Ding Ding finished, “We then inquired about that nurse that had died similarly on her way home after her night shift. She had been a nurse for over a dozen years, and was a little old-fashioned. She was very serious and responsible, and there were no personal grudges against her either. Everyone had always thought that she had just been very unlucky and encountered some robbers.”

Lin Bai put down his takeout box. “I looked into the sudden deaths that have occurred in this city in the past five years, and four of them are related to doctors and nurses. One of them was a doctor who jumped off of a building, and in the end, it was confirmed as a suicide. The other three cases were nurses. The first one occurred five years ago, and at night, the nurse carelessly fell into a river and drowned. There were no indications that it was a homicide. The second one was the nurse from Hospital Three who died two years ago. After her night shift, she was strangled to death near TongChuan Street. The third occurred half a year ago, and it was the nurse of a small clinic. She was killed in an alleyway near Jinshan Street, also by strangulation. The fourth case is this current one. There are some discussions online, and they’re all either about criticizing public security or mourning for the deceased. Only a few radically say that there might be a murderer or something.”

Wen JingHan nodded, “The nurse’s death from five years ago is very different from this case, and I’ve also borrowed the data and materials from that case. Everyone, examine them, and if there’s no overlapping details, then we can put it aside. As for the remaining three cases, according to Le Fan’s and my analysis, the method in which the three murders were committed were the same. The marks left behind by the murder weapon are the same, the victims all had the same profession, and there were no traces of robbery or sexual assault. Moreover, they seem to all be centered around Hospital Three…”

“Then it’s most likely the same murderer, so should we merge the cases?” suggested Guan Jin.

“Exactly. Let’s do our best to investigate these murders.” Wen JingHan pounded a fist on the table, “There’s a big problem right now, we must first figure out——”

“Their motive?” said Lu YunYang, who had been listening carefully the entire time.

“Mn, let’s hear what you think about this.”

“The key lies in whether or not these victims have something in common. If they do, then the murderer probably killed them out of hatred, money, or some other reason. If they don’t, then it’s very likely to be indiscriminate murder of a specific category of people. In other words, this was done by a serial killer. If that’s the case, then it’ll be troublesome, because those types of criminals are very hard to stop, and they might even get worse,” analyzed Lu YunYang.

“Serial killer…” Wen JingHan drummed his fingers. “A killer that specially targets angels in white ¹. YunYang, you seem to already have an opinion, you think that it’s more likely to be a serial killer.”

“Although the M.O.s are similar, I don’t have more details right now, so I can’t jump to conclusions. However, I’m more inclined to believe that it’s a serial crime.”

“Guan Jin seems to have an opinion on things, right?” Lu YunYang suddenly turned to face Guan Jin.

Guan Jin froze. “I think that it’s very risky for the killer to have chosen to use strangulation. They know that the other person is a young woman, so it’s not like they won’t be able to resist at all. Once they shout or start fighting back, the risk of getting discovered is very high. Unless the killer is adept at using weapons similar to a rope, they usually wouldn’t have chosen such a laborious method.”

“That makes sense, so I’m afraid that he has a reason for using this method,” agreed Wen JingHan.

Guan Jin glanced at Lu YunYang and mouthed, Blabbermouth.

Lu YunYang smiled in acceptance. You’re welcome.

“Let’s split into two groups. YunYang can investigate based on the possibility of a serial killer, and I’ll assign Guan Jin for you to use. Everyone else, let’s summarize these cases, quickly investigate the victims’ social relations, and search for something in common,” decided Wen JingHan.

The veins on Guan Jin’s forehead bulged. He stopped Wen JingHan, who was walking back to his office, and protested, “Boss, why do I have to go with that person?”

“That person?” Wen JingHan looked at Lu YunYang, who was standing at the evidence board and looking at the pictures. He said in an undertone, “Your memory and observational skills are very good, so if you go with YunYang, you’ll be able to help him as well as learn his process of analysis. You should know that inviting such a big name is very expensive, so we won’t be able to keep him for a long time, and I want for us to learn from him. I’ve seen your potential, and he also really likes to follow you around, so that’s that!”

Aren’t you the reason he likes to follow me around?! Guan Jin was very angry, but his leader ignored his anger and happily walked back to his office.

“Little Jin, let’s go to Hospital Three in a bit. I have some questions I want to ask.” Lu YunYang walked over to him.

Guan Jin didn’t even look up. “I still need to organize these case files.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be ‘for me to use’?” Lu YunYang’s smile was very detestable.

Guan Jin looked at him coldly. “How do you plan to use me?”

“How?” Lu YunYang thought for a while, and his eyebrow jumped up. “Of course I’ll take care of you and make full use of you.”

“Full use?”

“I’ll make full use of your professional expertise.”

“I don’t have a car.”

“That’s okay, I’m willing to contribute mine.” Lu YunYang jingled his car keys.

Thus, the newly formed duo drove to the hospital to investigate the case.

“You, a scholar, drive a Maserati Quattroporte?” ² Guan Jin looked around the inside of the car.

Lu YunYang looked ahead. “You’re being biased.”

“I’m just suspicious of your source of income. You don’t still get an allowance from your parents, do you? Fuerdai ³.”

“How rude. I’m an adult, so how could I ask my parents for money? My source of income is very justified, and it comes from publishing books, lecturing, and being a consultant. It only barely supplies my little hobbies, and this car is an older model.”

Even if it was an older model, it would still cost at least two million yuan ⁴2 million yuan is equivalent to around $300k.⁵, okay?

“Your little hobbies include those collections in your house of medieval antiques and Indian tapestries?”

“Ha, Little Jin, your observational skills are very keen indeed, and you’re really knowledgeable, too. I don’t mind——giving you a detailed explanation of the composition of my income and my living conditions.”

“No need, my brain cells are very precious, and I don’t have any space to remember these useless things.” Who do you think you are? No one wants to know about the trivial matters in your life.

*****

“Officer, let me tell you, this is really too shocking and saddening! We’re used to seeing births, old age, sickness, and deaths, but when someone around me is gone because of reasons like this, it’s still very sad,” said the head nurse as she wiped away tears. “Li Ling was very hard-working, and with her gone, this place is a mess, since no one can take on her job. They’re young ladies who’ve just come, and they’re all spoiled…”

Was Ding Ding deaf? What did she mean when she said that the doctors talked very little?! Guan Jin scratched his ear and interrupted the head nurse before she could get even more off topic. “We meant to ask, how was Li Ling as a person?”

“As a person? She was quite jovial, and she got along all right with her colleagues. It’s just that she was a little quick-tempered, so when she got busy, she’d sometimes get impatient and speak a little rudely to the patients, though it’s nothing abnormal. Officers, you should know that there’s a lot of pressure in being a nurse. We work long hours, and there’s high demands on physical strength and energy. It’s hard for anyone to guarantee keeping calm, especially young people——”

“Then did patients have relatively more complaints about Li Ling?” asked Lu YunYang.

“Um…” The head nurse hesitated. “She’s not even here anymore…”

“Hiding the truth during an investigation counts as perjury,” reminded Guan Jin.

“Ah, officer, don’t say it like that! I’m a senior employee, so I’m aware of these things. I just feel sorry for that poor girl…” The head nurse began to tear up again.

“Wait, finish speaking before you cry again,” Guan Jin hastily interrupted.

The head nurse was speechless for a moment. “Um, she wasn’t the most patient, and she did get a few more complaints than the other nurses, but it was still within a normal range.”

“Was there ever any complaints about her messing up?” Lu YunYang asked.

“Never. Li Ling was very professional and skilled, and she’s never made a mistake when taking care of patients, I’m very sure of that.”

After they walked out of the head nurse’s office, Guan Jin sighed. “How come that woman cries so much, won’t she get dehydrated?”

“There is a large amount of salt in tears, and crying too much will indeed result in dehydration and harm to the eyes. However, crying is a good way to express and vent emotions, as well as alleviate stress. Although women like to cry, at the same time, their patience and ability to cope with things are stronger than that of men.” Lu YunYang looked at Guan Jin. “Sometimes, expressing a little weakness doesn’t mean that a person isn’t tough.”

“Are you trying to persuade me to throw myself to your shoulder and cry bitterly?”

“It’s better if you throw yourself into my arms.” Lu YunYang opened his arms.

Guan Jin took a deep breath. “Do you know why I’m so stressed? It’s because there’s always a twisted pervert following me around.”

“Who would be so bold as to dare to follow a police officer from the Special Cases Unit around?”

“…And that person is also very shameless.”

“How frightening.”

 

“…”