Madness of the Heart

The water in the pond is still pouring out continuously, spreading to the garage not far away, but no one is still in the mood to pile sandbags by the pond.

The employee who first discovered the limbs was too scared to speak. Liu Jia fell to the ground with a pale face and was helped away by two male colleagues.

The rain seemed to have soaked through, and the rain was fading.

But the sparse raindrops still washed the pit, and the turbid yellow sewage submerged the calf again.

Someone called the police and the police will be on the scene shortly.

When this happened, many people were dumbfounded. The logistics department forgot to arrange a bus, and the employees who drove their own cars also forgot to pick up the car and leave. Everyone retreated to the rain shelter of the new building, looked at the pit from a distance, and then There was a lot of discussion.

"How can there be dead people? It's too scary to be buried in such a place!"

"Yes, I often go for a walk by the pond!"

"Was it buried before? Who is it? Could it be a construction worker? I heard that there are often accidents at the construction site."

"People from the Propaganda Department saw it clearly. The leg is not rotten, so it should have just died. Our building has been built for half a year, so it cannot be a construction worker."

"My God, isn't that the person who works here? Is there anyone missing in any department?"

Han Mingming suddenly had a very bad feeling in her heart, and called Sha Chun again, but the phone was still turned off.

She was also carrying sandbags downstairs just now, but now she was all wet, looking anxious and embarrassed.

Behind her, most of the employees of the folk music club fell silent.

This group of people is usually the most noisy, and there is rarely collective silence.

"Tell me, could that person be, yes..." Yang Yan lowered his voice very low, and stretched out his hand to tug on Ran He's sleeve.

Ran He glared at her, and said in a bad tone, "I don't know, don't talk nonsense. The police will come soon."

"But Sha Chun didn't come today, and Director Han couldn't get through to her." Yang Yan said, "Isn't this a coincidence?"

Ran He looked outside, the police car had already arrived, the red and blue light was inexplicably dazzling, a cordon separated the employees who were still near the pond, and several police officers with toolboxes ran towards the pit.

"You'll know when you dig it out." Ran He turned around and said to Yang Yan.

"It won't let us identify the corpse if it is dug up?" Yang Yan said in horror: "I don't want to see it!"

"Hush!" Ran He pinched Yang Yan suddenly, "Come here, listen to me."

Yang Yan rubbed the pinched place, "Why?"

Ran He said: "If... I mean, if that person is Sha Chun, we may be in trouble."

Yang Yan was puzzled: "Why? What does it matter to us?"

Ran He looked back, and other colleagues in the folk music club were whispering to each other, "We bullied Sha Chun before."

Yang Yan opened his eyes wide, "Did you make a mistake? I didn't. You always scolded Sha Chun!"

"Don't you agree?" Ran He gritted his teeth, "Okay, listen to me. If it's not Sha Chun, then everything is easy to talk about, but if it is, the police will definitely send our entire department to investigate. One person, one room, miss each other Ventilation is impossible. At that time, someone will definitely say that Sha Chun and I have conflicts, and you can't get rid of it."

Yang Yan's face turned pale, "I...but I didn't kill anyone!"

"I know!" Ran He said, "But when the police find out that we bullied Sha Chun and spread the word in the group, what will others think of us?"

In a place like the Performing Arts Group, the business can be unqualified, and the ability can not be in place, but the superficial character can't be bad.

Nothing happened to Sha Chun, no matter how hard he was targeted, no one would say anything, and the listener might even joke about it—this is the workplace.

But if something happened to Sha Chun, the nature would change.

"Then what should we do?" Yang Yan was about to cry.

Ran He said: "No matter what others say, we must insist on a harmonious relationship with Sha Chun."

It was the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Nancheng Sub-bureau who rushed to the scene.

When receiving the case from the police station, the deputy captain Xu Qiang did not think it was necessary to report it to the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

Although the police circle of Dongye City is a whole, there are many factional struggles inside.The criminal investigation detachments of several sub-bureaus have their own ideas. Before Xiao Yuan airborne, many pairs of eyes were fixed on the position of the deputy director of the criminal investigation bureau.Xu Qiang overwhelmed the captain of the regular detachment, and he couldn't jump to the Criminal Investigation Bureau for a while.In the past, the captain of the regular detachment had been active with Director Li Dan and Li many times, and wanted to occupy a hole in the Criminal Investigation Bureau, while Xu Qiang joined Liang Chao's team, intending to take advantage of Liang Chao's promotion and gain a firm foothold in the branch.

As soon as Xiao Yu'an came, the plans of the main branch and deputy branch of the Nancheng Branch fell through.

When Xu Qiang was on Liang Chao's team, he reported all cases to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, regardless of size, and asked Liang Chao to "decide".Now the most important departments of the Criminal Investigation Bureau are all under Xiao Yu'an's management. It doesn't matter if Xu Qiang continues to stand on the beam, or not.Thinking that the case at hand was just a corpse washed out by the rainstorm, he didn't bother to report to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, and solved the matter by himself.

The development of things was beyond his expectation.

Xu Qiang's face immediately changed when the trace examiner and the forensic doctor dug out the corpse buried in the pit.

The deceased was a female, with a horizontal circular closed groove in the neck, facial swelling and cyanosis, suspected of mechanical asphyxia.

But what is strange is that the deceased was not wearing ordinary clothes, but stage clothes with fine embroidery, exaggerated makeup on his face, his hands were cut off from the wrists, and the wounds did not respond to life.

This is no longer an ordinary murder case, it is dismembered after the event, and the victim's death has a certain ritual quality.

Xu Qiang didn't dare to keep the case on hold, so he immediately notified the Criminal Investigation Bureau and asked the serious crime team for support.

Because of the torrential rain just now, accidents occurred on several main roads in the city, causing traffic jams throughout the city. Although the serious crime team dispatched the police in time, they were blocked on the road.

"We just watched the performance of the Performing Arts Group a few days ago, and we have to go to them to investigate the case today." Fang Yuanhang sat in the back of the first police car, "The victim is not someone from the Performing Arts Group, right?"

"It's hard to say now." Yi Fei pretended to be sick and didn't go to the show. Unexpectedly, he was really sick a day later. He had a severe cold and a fever. He was put on an IV in the hospital for two days. Wearing a two-layer mask, he spoke in a low voice, "I have been to the land of the Performing Arts Group. Half of it is deserted, and there are buildings to be built around it. It looks like a ghost town at night. It is easy for outsiders to enter. The victim Neither the killer nor the murderer is necessarily someone from the Performing Arts Group."

Mingshu was sitting in the co-pilot, looking at the pictures of the scene sent by Xu Qiang.

The victim's clothes were soaked in mud and water, and the original color could no longer be seen, but the embroidery on the cuffs, collar, and chest were still clearly visible.

Mingshu recognized it. It was the embroidered light gauze dress worn by the female musicians during the performance on Saturday.

"That's true." Fang Yuanhang said: "This kind of new development zone is the most likely to have homicides. Now criminals are getting better and better, knowing that the security and monitoring facilities in the new development zone can't keep up, and the detection is difficult, so they always go to this kind of place." run."

"No." Mingshu raised his eyes, frowned and looked forward, "The victim is probably an employee of the Performing Arts Group."

"Huh?" Yi Fei noticed the tablet in Mingshu's hand, "show me."

Mingshu handed the tablet back, "And maybe we've seen it before."

Fang Yuanhang leaned next to Yi Fei and looked at the photos on the tablet together, "This dress..."

Mingshu said: "It's the costumes we saw in the Jiangnan Theater."

When the serious crime team arrived at the Performing Arts Group, the rain had completely stopped.Under the bright searchlight, the victim was lying on the low platform temporarily set up by the trace inspector, his eyes were bulging, and he could no longer see his true colors.

The appearance of the strangled person changed greatly. Mingshu bent down to observe the strangled groove in the victim's neck at close range.

Both hanging and strangulation leave a groove in the neck, but there is a big difference between the two, which forensic doctors use to distinguish whether a deceased person committed suicide or homicide.

Mingshu looked up and suddenly noticed the red earrings on the deceased's ear bones.

"is her?"

Folk music performances pay attention to the harmony between the performers and the music, so the performers, regardless of gender, wear improved classical costumes, and the accessories also have profound classical characteristics.But the woman playing the guzheng was wearing a red earring with a strong sense of modernity.

Most of the time, the earrings are covered by long hair, Mingshu has sharp eyes, and at that time, he focused on observing the performers, so he could see the earrings clearly.

"Who is it?" Yi Fei asked.

Ming Shu straightened up, his eyes suddenly darkened, "It may be a Guzheng player from the folk music department of the Performing Arts Group."

At this time, the employees of the group's logistics department rushed to find Xu Qiang and said they wanted to call the police.

Xu Qiang, one head and two older, was about to ask his subordinates to deal with it when he suddenly heard the employee say, "A girl from the folk music club is missing!"

Half an hour later, the deceased was identified as Sha Chun from the Folk Music Club.

"Sha Chun, from Kefu Town, Dongye City, 31 years old, graduated from Dongye Conservatory of Music, joined Dongye Performing Arts Group nine years ago, and was transferred from the performance department to the folk music department four years ago, focusing on guzheng and bamboo flute , Pipa, Hulusi, living alone in Jiachuang District, Dongcheng District, the house was purchased by her with a loan three years ago." Yi Fei is reporting the information on the known victims so far, "Preliminary understanding, the relationship between Sha Chun and the colleagues in the folk music department is not the same. Not close, long-term solitary, used to rehearsing overtime, so I got a nickname - 'model worker'. "

"'Model worker'?" For a young criminal policeman like Fang Yuanhang, the term "model worker" with strong characteristics of the times is already very unfamiliar.

"Yes, 'model worker'." Xu Chun, who was a little older, said, "When I was a child, this word was an absolute compliment. The elders in the family all competed to be model workers in the factory. It’s all a matter of face. But now, ‘Model Worker’ has largely become a kind of ridicule with malice and ridicule.”

Mingshu leaned against the wall and listened to everyone's discussion, the tip of his tongue gently grinding on his teeth.

Just 10 minutes ago, he was asking Han Mingming next door who found Sha Chun missing.

Han Mingming is in her 40s, and the position of deputy director of the folk music department is considered a small middle-level position in the performing arts group.

Most of the performers in the folk music department are in their 30s and 40s, and some of them are in their [-]s, but very few.Han Mingming used to play the pipa in the orchestra, but was nominated as the deputy director last year.

Compared with He Lian, the director of the folk music department, she obviously knows Sha Chun better, and she also knows the small groups in the orchestra better.

"Three nights ago, we performed at the Jiangnan Theater, and Sha Chun was one of the performers." Maybe it was the first time he faced the criminal police, Han Mingming was very nervous, and his voice broke and trembled many times, and his eyes were floating all the time Yes, "After the performance, everyone said they were going to have a dinner party, but Sha Chun didn't attend, so he left early alone."

Mingshu has obtained all the monitoring of the Jiangnan Theater and its surroundings that night.

The video shows that at 9:41, Sha Chun left the backstage workshop and appeared at the west gate of the theater at 9:52, and has not appeared in public surveillance since then. At 10:02, Sha Chun’s colleagues walked into the corridor in small groups, and at 10:23, the last group left through the south gate of the theater.

From 9:41 to 10:23, of all the people who appeared in the surveillance, only Sha Chun was alone.

"After that, I never saw Sha Chun again." Han Mingming said: "Our department was closed yesterday and the day before yesterday, and we only gathered for rehearsal today. I found out that Sha Chun didn't come in the afternoon, so I called her and the phone was turned off. I didn't Thinking of her already..."

Saying that, Han Mingming lowered her head and wiped the corners of her eyes with a tissue.

Sha Chun's turned off mobile phone has been found, and it is buried beside her in a sealed plastic bag.

The strange thing is that there is not only a mobile phone in the sealed bag, but also Sha Chun's ID card and three bank cards.On these items, there are only Sha Chun's fingerprints and sweat marks.

Sha Chun must have been killed. The murderer wiped off his fingerprints and sweat to hide his identity, but after that, did Sha Chun touch these items again?It doesn't make sense.If it was Sha Chun who erased the traces that did not belong to her, why did she do this?

There are too many questions in front of us, and too many clues need to be sorted out one by one. For the time being, we can only start with Sha Chun himself.

Mingshu asked: "What kind of person is Sha Chun?"

"This..." Han Mingming hesitated for more than ten seconds, then sighed, "Should I tell the truth?"

"Sha Chun was the victim of the murder." Mingshu emphasized, "She was killed."

Han Mingming nodded, "I know, I know."

Mingshu said: "I need to understand her in all aspects. Director Han, what do you know, I hope you will not hide it."

"Shachun is very unpopular." Han Mingming finally said, "I am her immediate leader now, but I used to be her colleague. I have never had a close relationship with her, but after getting along for a long time, I still know her character and interpersonal relationship." Some. She doesn’t have any friends in the major performance department or our folk music department.”

"Why?" Mingshu thought of Li Hongmei for a moment.

Han Mingming showed embarrassment, "Because she...is less talented, and then...is too hardworking."

Mingshu was quite surprised, "Because you have no talent and hard work, are you isolated by everyone?"

"I've never targeted her, it's not that I isolated her." Han Mingming immediately cleared herself up, "It's because she doesn't match the personality of most of us, and we can't get along with each other. After a long time, it seems to be dissociated from the whole group." outside."

Mingshu asked: "You just said that Sha Chun has no talent. How should this talent be defined in your folk orchestra? I went to see your performance on Saturday night, at the Jiangnan Theater."

Hearing this, Han Mingming brushed her hair uneasily, "You have seen our performance..."

"Sha Chun, is she playing Guzheng?" Ming Shu said: "She is immersed in playing, and she can see that she likes music and Guzheng, and she is included in several songs. I don't see that she has no talent."

Han Mingming showed a surprised expression, "You pay so much attention to her?"

"It's just a professional habit." Mingshu said: "I didn't know she would be killed at the time. Director Han, you haven't explained your so-called 'talent'."

Han Mingming was silent for half a minute, "Sha Chun's comprehension is not very good, generally speaking, he has no aura. In the field of art, without aura, he really can't go far. Sha Chun has almost no original things, and he learns relatively slowly. After she joined the group, she almost followed others and imitated others. Yes, I can see that she really likes Guzheng and other national musical instruments. But liking is not enough, and her talent is not enough to support her this love."

Mingshu touched his chin with his thumb, and did not agree with Han Mingming's words.

If a person's talent cannot support liking, should she give up?

Is it up to talent to like it or not?

This is too superficial and too utilitarian.

"In Saturday's performance, she did have a lot of songs, but do you know why?" Han Mingming said: "Shachun asked for it. She performed, not because she is good, but because she practiced, and others I haven’t practiced. It’s just a rehearsal now, and the personnel are not the ones for the official performance. If nothing happens to Sha Chun, when the official performance comes, she will have to hand over some of the songs to other people.”

Mingshu interrupted, "To whom? Who else is playing the guzheng in the orchestra?"

Han Mingming froze for a moment, then said nervously, "Do you think they have something to do with Sha Chun's murder?"

Mingshu didn't answer directly, "I have to have a preliminary understanding of everyone in your band."

Han Mingming named the names of the six people, and the recorder wrote them down one by one.

Ming Shu said again: "Talent has already been mentioned, what about hard work? Let me give you an example, how hard is Sha Chun?"

Han Mingming thought for a while, "She often takes the initiative to work overtime. We practice a new piece of music together, and she is always the last to leave, and sometimes asks us to stay and practice with her. To be honest, this is quite disgusting. To most For people, work is just work, not a dream. Occasionally, it’s okay to delay personal time because of work, and no one can afford it in the long run.”

"She won't force you to practice together?" Mingshu said.

"That's not true, she doesn't have the power, but..." Han Mingming paused, "But the leaders at the top looked at it, why did Sha Chun work overtime alone? What about the others? By doing this, she was actually setting everyone up." Roasting on the fire. It's like a single doctor who devotes all his time to work, and other doctors can't do it, and other doctors are kidnapped by morality. It's really unfair."

Mingshu can see that Han Mingming has already brought obvious personal emotions.

After Han Mingming finished speaking, she also realized that she had gone too far, and explained to herself: "This is the opinion of many of us, not just me."

Mingshu nodded, and asked again: "In the folk music club, is Sha Chun the only member with insufficient talent?"

Han Mingming said, "That's not true."

Mingshu's eyes are meaningful.

Han Mingming understood, and said anxiously: "Actually, there are very few talented people. As long as those without talent are not so outstanding, it's fine. Sha Chun's problem is that she has no talent, but she continues to use diligence and hard work to gain attention. , unwilling to settle down like someone like her..."

"I understand." Mingshu said: "People who are not talented enough should be willing to be mediocre and not work hard or strive for it, right? Once they work hard, they will become an outlier in the eyes of others, right?"

Han Mingming's mouth was half open, unable to speak for a long time.

In the meeting room, the team members are discussing the known clues intensely.Mingshu came back to his senses and was about to speak when he saw Xing Mu running in.

"Leader, the autopsy report is out."