Madness of the Heart

The business of the barbecue restaurant is booming, Mingshu said he would roast pork belly for Xiao Yuan, and he was really seated, but it was Xiao Yuan who roasted pork belly.

There are actually waiters who specialize in barbecue in the store, but many people prefer to grill by themselves. Only customers who come alone will let the waiters stay aside to help with the roast because they are too lonely.

When Mingshu came here alone, he ate the pork belly roasted by the waiter. He roasted it himself, but he never mastered the heat, either the lean meat was roasted to death, or the fat meat was not roasted dry.

This time with Xiao Yu'an, I finally don't have to bother the waiter anymore.Xiao Yu'an was in charge of roasting, he was in charge of eating, they cooperated tacitly, and within a short while they wiped out a basket of lettuce with meat.

Of course Xiao Yuan also ate, but he did not eat as fast as Mingshu, and his posture was much more elegant.

"Brother, you don't look like eating barbecue." Mingshu smiled, "Like eating Western food."

"Eat yours." Xiao Yuan threw two slices of freshly cooked beef tongue into Mingshu's plate, and the oil was still bubbling.

Mingshu held back his greed, "You didn't put green peppers, onions and garlic cloves in the lettuce just now, these three are the soul of this barbecue restaurant."

Xiao Yuan had already wrapped a portion of pork belly with lettuce, and only used salty dipping sauce, nothing else.

"Come, come, I'll wrap it up for you!" Ming Shu wrapped up a lettuce leaf according to the standard eating method in the shop, "Here!"

Xiao Yu'an refused to answer, and said slowly: "I suddenly have an idea about the murderer."

There has never been a rule between the two of them that "you can't talk about the case during meals/dates". Mingshu himself is the one who will discuss it with the team members as soon as he has an idea, so he immediately withdraws his hand, "What?"

Xiao Yu'an said: "Now we can basically confirm that Luo Xiangfu is not the No. 1 victim. During this time, Yi Fei has not relaxed the investigation of backlogged cases and missing persons, but until now, it can be said that it has almost been fruitless."

Unknowingly, Mingshu put the pork belly wrapped in lettuce that Xiao Yuan prepared for Xiao Yuan into his mouth, chewed a few mouthfuls and swallowed it, subconsciously defending his deputy team, "Yi Fei has too many things on his hands, and he is too busy Excuse me."

"No. He has tried his best." Xiao Yuan shook his head, "An elite criminal policeman tried his best but got nothing. Either there was no previous victim, and Luo Xiangfu was the No. 1 murderer, or the victim has not been found yet. His family and friends have not reported the crime, he is still somewhere, waiting for us to find him."

Ming Shu was stunned for a moment, "I can understand that the victim was not found. But Luo Xiangfu was killed on July 7, and the previous victim must have been before that. It was June at the earliest, and it may have been several months ago. Alone Why didn’t his relatives and friends call the police after disappearing for such a long time inexplicably?”

"What if it's an old man with a very withdrawn personality?" Xiao Yu'an said: "Suppose this old man lives alone, is estranged from his children, or has no children or friends at all, and his only hobby is street photography. There are only neighbors and vendors in the vegetable market. Say hello to him occasionally. One day he disappeared, and the neighbors are not particularly warm-hearted people, and they don’t like to gossip with the neighbors. After a long time, I realize that he hasn’t appeared for a long time, and I probably won’t ask around.”

Mingshu said: "This is the current situation of many lonely elderly people."

Xiao Yu'an said: "Although Luo Xiangfu has a wife and son, he is also very lonely. The murderer chose him, maybe it is because he has no one to care about."

"Is no one caring about one of the common points among the victims?" Ming Shu's thinking became active, "The murderer's next target may also be lonely male middle-aged and elderly street photographers. They are either rejected by their families like Luo Xiangfu, or He was a lonely old man."

"There seem to be a lot of street photographers, but in the city's population base, they are actually very small." Xiao Yu'an said and put beef on Mingshu's plate, "give a few more restrictions, such as middle-aged and elderly people , Lonely, bad habits when shooting, this range will be even smaller. If you lock the murderer's target, you can also lock the murderer."

"I..." Mingshu wanted to say "I'll arrange it now", but when he looked down at the beef on the plate, he remembered that it was still in a barbecue restaurant, so he had to hold back for a while.

"Don't worry." Xiao Yu'an said, "I haven't gotten to the point yet. There is one thing that has been bothering us before. The popular science playground is huge, and there are some places with good concealment. Since the murderer chose the popular science playground, why didn't he arrest Luo Xiangfu?" Buried in a more secluded place?"

"She's handing us clues." Mingshu had already guessed this way.

Xiao Yu'an asked, "Why did she give us clues?"

Mingshu said: "Don't you just want to challenge the police? Brother, we have discussed this before."

"It has indeed been discussed, but it has not been discussed thoroughly." Xiao Yuan put down the barbecue tongs, her eyes fixed, "She took the initiative to hand over the clues because she hid the victim too well the last time she committed a murder, and no one called the police. After committing the crime, he failed to enjoy the excitement and pleasure of playing games with the police."

Ming Shu pursed his lips and lowered his eyes to think.

The murderer hid the victim too well, so this time he deliberately buried Luo Xiangfu in a place where he might be found?

Where was the last victim hidden?

"We can also think in a different direction." Xiao Yu'an said: "In fact, people have inertial thinking. The murderer killed Luo Xiangfu in the popular science playground. The second is because there is no surveillance in the popular science playground, and there are very few people at night. Another point, which is the most important point for her, is that she is familiar with the popular science playground, and it is her safe zone."

Mingshu immediately understood, "If she kills Luo Xiangfu there, she may kill a victim there!"

Xiao Yu'an nodded, "According to the law of serial murderers, the more people they kill, the more likely they will be unscrupulous. Only when they commit crimes at the beginning, they will be extra careful. Luo Xiangfu is buried in such an obvious place, the murderer may have two considerations." , These two are not in conflict, one is that the murderer has become arrogant, and the other is that a victim has already been buried in the most hidden place."

Mingshu almost devoured the remaining meat at a speed of wolfing down, and rushed to the cashier to pay.

Xiao Yu'an packed up the belongings of the two of them, and walked slowly outside the door.

On the way back to the city bureau, Mingshu gradually came to his senses, "Brother, were you trying to divert my attention just now?"

Xiao Yu'an said calmly, "What attention?"

Mingshu snorted, "You didn't think of so many things all of a sudden, you planned to let me have a good meal, and analyze them one by one with me when I get back to the game!"

Xiao Yuan smiled.

"You just want to avoid eating the pork belly I wrapped for you!" Ming Shu said, "Why can't you eat green peppers, garlic cloves, and onions? If you don't eat the soul if you eat barbecue meat, then the barbecue meat will be for nothing!"

Xiao Yuan said, "The smell is too strong."

"The food tastes that way, okay?" Mingshu said angrily, "Tsk, you taught me at home that you shouldn't have a partial eclipse. I think it's you who is partial to a partial eclipse?"

Mingshu has a good appetite now, and is especially easy to raise. He can eat expensive things, and he can also eat the one-dollar sesame seed cakes on the roadside.But it was not like this when I was young. I was a little bit expensive and a little bit delicate. Among other things, I even hated fruits.

I don’t eat bananas, because I’ve eaten astringent ones, and they have shadows; I don’t eat apples, because they are too common and not tasty; I don’t eat grapes, because they are sour;

It's useless for others to say that "children can't have a partial eclipse", but Xiao Yu'an said it works.

Xiao Yu'an handed him the peeled apple and told him not to be a partial eclipse, and he listened to it. Every time he encountered something he didn't like, he thought about Xiao Yu'an's words and ate it happily.

Over time, the problem of partial eclipse will be cured.

Now, it is Xiao Yuan who is more partial to eclipse.

"I'm not a partial eclipse. I choose food according to my own preferences." Xiao Yu'an said, "I don't like raw green peppers, garlic cloves, and onions. Why do I force myself to eat them?"

"Damn!" Mingshu was shocked, "You didn't say that before!"

"Oh?" Xiao Yuan glanced away, "What did I say before?"

Mingshu brings up the old story again, "You say you don't like what to eat, you have to overcome it! Imagine it is delicious!"

Xiao Yuan smiled and remained silent.

Ming Shu said: "Don't keep talking!"

"I was thinking about how to explain it to you." Xiao Yu'an said.

Mingshu was happy, "I still know how to explain."

"of course."

"Boss Xiao, can you explain?"

Xiao Yuan cleared his throat, "I was only a teenager when I forced you to eat fruit."

Mingshu: "..."

Age is no excuse!

"You're too young to be reasonable." Xiao Yu'an said solemnly: "It was only later that I realized that you shouldn't be forced to eat something you don't like. Because even if you eat it, you won't be happy."

Mingshu thought to himself, no, I ate very happily...

"The older I get, the more I feel that people should live a more casual life. Eat more of what you like, don't eat what you don't like, and eat less if you have to." Xiao Yu'an said: "When I was a teenager, I was unreasonable. You are 28 this year and you are a policeman again, so you should be reasonable. I don’t want to eat green peppers, garlic cloves and onions, our reasonable Ming team shouldn’t force me to eat.”

Mingshu slapped his thigh, "Boss Xiao, why are you so nonsense? You are right everywhere!"

"You call me boss, of course I have to reason with you." Xiao Yu'an said.

"Then I'll still call you..." Mingshu was almost speechless, saying a certain title when doing "homework".

Xiao Yuan raised his eyebrows, "Huh?"

Mingshu blushed, turned his head to look out the window, "Forget it!"

Back in the serious crime team, Mingshu immediately called a meeting for the team members who were still in the bureau.

Yi Fei knew that he and Xiao Yu'an must be going out to investigate the case, but after the meeting, he still felt a little startled.

"It's no problem to investigate the middle-aged and elderly men who live alone among the street photographers." Yi Fei said: "But the previous victim was buried in the popular science playground. Can this be confirmed?"

"Not for the time being, but the possibility is not low." Ming Shu said, "That's why I have to look for it."

Fang Yuanhang said: "Master, the popular science playground is not small, so it's hard to find, isn't it?"

"But for the murderer, there are not many places with the best concealment." Mingshu enlarged the floor plan of the popular science playground on the projector, and drew a circle with an infrared pen, "The first is here, the south exit of the playground, because Close to the demolition area, here is actually a mixed area of ​​playgrounds and old residential areas. People throw garbage here during the day, and it stinks in summer, and no one will approach it at night; It grows uncontrollably, blocks the sun, and has extremely poor drainage below. Now it has become a muddy area, and some people call it a 'swamp'."

Mingshu moved the floor plan, and said again: "There is also the toilet in the center of the playground. There are 12 toilets in the playground, and the center is the largest, with two floors. It's the most 'stylish' public toilet. But now, it's the dirtiest place on the playground."

"Master!" Fang Yuanhang raised his hand, "There is another place where the corpse may be hidden."

Mingshu asked, "Where?"

Fang Yuanhang said, "A haunted house in the North District."

The team members started talking in low voices, and Mingshu found the haunted house on the floor plan.

"Haunted houses are not scary at all. They are not comparable to the ghost schools and hospitals imported from abroad, but they are scary because someone was possessed by evil spirits a few years ago." Fang Yuanhang said: "There are many theories in Xicheng District. One of them is that there are lonely ghosts staying in the haunted house at night, and many people who don't believe in evil have certain mental problems after going on an 'expedition'."

"This abandoned haunted house is indeed evil, but it is not the focus of our search." Mingshu said.

Fang Yuanhang was puzzled, "Why?"

"Although it is terrifying, most people will not go there, but a few people will be attracted by it. In other words, it is not safe for the murderer, understand?" Ming Shu said again: "The murderer's ideal hiding place The ground is a place where no one will come near."

After dawn, the police once again set up a cordon at the popular science playground. The Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Xicheng Branch cooperated to search the three areas designated by Mingshu.

At noon, a partially waxed body was found in a "swamp" under a grove.

"The time of death was at least three months." Wearing a heavy mask, Xing Mu carefully turned over the corpse, "Lahua preserved the characteristics of the scars. Like Luo Xiangfu, this victim suffered repeated blows on the neck and a broken cervical spine. The age cannot be judged yet, and we need to go back for further autopsy."

Finding another victim was a breakthrough, but difficulties followed one after another-the source of the corpse could not be determined.

The victim did not have anything to prove his identity, his family members did not call the police, and the DNA comparison found nothing.

"This shows from the side that, as we expected, the victim did live alone, had no friends, and had no one to take care of him at ordinary times." Ming Shu stayed at the forensic identification center, holding the autopsy report handed over by Xing Mu.

The victim was 70 years old, older than Luo Xiangfu.

Mingshu said to himself: "Start with the older ones, and gradually increase the difficulty. Luo Xiangfu was killed on July 7, and this victim was killed in April..."

Xing Mu sighed, "If he has children, then these children are too much. My father has been missing for so long, and he doesn't care about it. Even if it's just to call the police."

"Then we have to investigate." Mingshu stood up from his seat, looked at the picture on the autopsy report, and quietly clenched his right hand.

Xing Mu asked: "How to check?"

"It's easy to handle, but you have to work hard." Mingshu said: "The victim, like Luo Xiangfu, is a street photographer. He may be withdrawn and not sociable, but in this small circle, someone must have seen him. Let's go to various places. Street shoots gather at the gathering places, and someone always remembers who hasn't shown up for more than three months."

Two days later, 73-year-old Hui Chengxian was invited to the serious crime team.

He is the handsome old man that Ming Shu and Xiao Yu'an saw in Huayun Center.

"This is Lao Chen's photo. I took it for him at the beginning of this year." Hui Chengxian took out a printed photo and sighed regretfully, "Old Chen used to like to take pictures at the Huayun Center. When we get together, we just chat for a few words, and sometimes we don’t talk, and each shoots his own. He has a good eye, not only can take pictures, but he also knows how to match them.”

Mingshu picked up the photo.

The old man in the photo has rebellious eyes and looks a little fierce. He is wearing a dark blue sportswear and does not look old.

"Old Chen hasn't been to Huayun Center for a long time. I didn't expect that something happened to him. I thought he went abroad with his daughter." Hui Chengxian shook his head, "I should go and ask."

Hui Chengxian didn't know what Lao Chen's name was or where he lived, but he only remembered that Lao Chen said that his home was near the popular science playground.

The photo, surname, and approximate residence are already very important information. Soon, the source of the corpse was finally determined.

The victim, Chen Quanhan, lived alone in Pu'ouxin Street, Xicheng District. His daughter, Chen Mi, was not abroad. She opened a restaurant with her husband in Dongye City.

Upon hearing the news of his father's death, Chen Mi had almost no mood swings, "I have nothing to do with him for a long time, please don't use his affairs to disturb my life."

Yi Fei frowned, "He is your father, please cooperate with the investigation."

"I don't have a father like him. I have cut off contact with him for more than ten years. I don't know who he has grudges with or who he knows." Chen Mi said: "We only have a blood relationship, which is actually equivalent to Stranger. Sorry, I can't cooperate."

Mingshu suddenly said: "Your father mentioned to the street photographers he knew that you are abroad."

Hearing this, Chen Mi's eyes showed strong contempt, "He is like that, hypocritical to the extreme, he used to dream that I could go to a well-known foreign university and shine in the lintel, and then he dreamed that I would work abroad. As for me, I am just an ordinary A person who can no longer be an ordinary person cannot satisfy his delusions, you see..."

With that said, Chen Mi stood up, turned around and lifted the T-shirt.

On her back, there were many dark scars in all directions.

"It was all cut by Chen Quanhan with a knife and whipped. After so many years, the scars can't be completely erased." Chen Mi smiled bitterly, "My mother died when I was very young. Every time I take the exam, as long as my grades do not reach Chen Quanhan's As expected, he abused me. I tried to find the police and the neighborhood committee, but it was useless until I was rescued by my current husband.”

Chen Mi paused, and then said: "When I was weak, you didn't help me. Now that Chen Quanhan is dead, you want to get clues from me? I can only say that I don't know anything, and I don't care. If you want to know how he died, go and find out yourself."