Chapter 50: The Same Room

Chapter 50: The Same Room

Chapter 50: The Same Room (5K)

The god of agriculture devoured his son.

In ancient Greek mythology, the god of agriculture Kronos overthrew the rule of his father, castrated him with a sickle, and became the second generation king of gods in Greek mythology.

Later, there was a prophecy that Kronos would also be overthrown by his own children. Fearing that the prophecy would come true, Kronos swallowed all of his own flesh and blood into his stomach, which was extremely cruel.

This painting, "Saturn Eating His Children" by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya, depicts the scene of Chronos eating his own children.

The dark environment, hideous giants and mutilated corpses all make people who have seen this painting feel creepy, and it is also known as one of the most terrifying oil paintings in history.

Du Yu said: "I seemed to hear the sound of bones being crushed."

Mr. Lin said bluntly: "Who would hang a painting like this in their home?"

Xu Yiqing coughed lightly, indicating that it was inappropriate to say such things in someone else's home.

Zou Yi shook his head, hesitating: "It's okay... Actually, I also..."

Zhou Shi's attention was focused on the incomplete sculptures nearby.

Most of these sculptures are made of plaster or marble.

Gypsum is a widely used sculpture material for beginners; marble is not as hard as granite and is easily worn, so it is not suitable for outdoor exhibition.

So it is certain that these sculptures are He Yunke’s personal collection. He does not intend to exhibit them. Some of them are even his practice works.

The sculptures are of different sizes, making them easy to move. Zhou Shi guessed that He Yunke has had this hobby for a long time, and it did not start after he was transferred back to Jiangcheng.

She asked, “When did you start collecting these sculptures?”

Zou Yi replied: "My husband started collecting sculptures when he went abroad for further studies. After he returned to China, we lived in another place. That was when he was most passionate about sculptures. Most of the sculptures here were bought at that time."

Zhou Shi seemed to be thinking about something.

Mr. Lin took out his camera, labeled some items in the house and took photos for preservation. The group's mission was considered completed.

Du Yu quickly wrote something on the notebook, then tore off the paper and said, "I'll give you an address. It's in the Forensic Medicine Department compound. If you have time this afternoon, contact me and I'll arrange for the body to be claimed."

Zou Yi covered her mouth, closed her eyes and nodded.

After leaving He Yunke's home, the group returned to the Criminal Police Brigade's office.

Zhou Shi looked at the photos taken by Lin Sheng and said, "This is a little too coincidental."

Du Yu asked: "What did you see?"

Zhou Shi replied: "The sculptures collected by He Yunke should have been intact. He cut off the limbs of the sculptures himself."

Du Yu doesn’t understand art. He said, “Aren’t all artists a bit mystical? Like the Venus de Milo, I think I remember it correctly? That sculpture only had two arms missing, but I saw a lot of people praising it for being beautiful. Maybe He Yunke thinks the same way.”

Zhou Shi shook his head: "I won't talk about the Venus de Milo for now, but He Yunke must have a special fetish for human body defects."

After the Venus de Milo became popular, some sculptors began to pursue deliberate arm breaking, but those sculptures would focus on the proportion and beauty of the body curves after losing the limbs.

This is obviously different from He Yunke, who bought a complete sculpture and then cut off its limbs himself. The statue will become extremely ugly.

Zhou Shiguan carefully observed the photos of the sculptures. "It seems that He Yunke likes to destroy beauty... Although it is a bit disrespectful to the dead, I think He Yunke is a bit mentally abnormal."

Du Yu frowned, and Xu Yiqing also fell into thought.

"It's incredible. He Yunke liked to cut off limbs, and then he was dismembered. He also liked sculpture, and then he was buried in the Tongque Underground, which he designed."

Someone hated him to the core and knew him very well, so he killed him in the way he was obsessed with!
Zhou Shi proposed another possibility: "It is also consistent with his dedication to art. If He Yunke's body had not been dismembered, I would suspect that he committed suicide."

Du Yu clapped his hands and said, "We still have to start with interpersonal relationships. I have already contacted the director of Fumei Group, the lady you met at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. She and her team will be here this afternoon."

Ever since Du Yu insisted on checking He Yunke's old mobile phone, Fumei Group went from initially disagreeing to being helpless, and finally had to agree, but at the same time requested the person in charge to accompany them.

Du Yu also wanted to investigate He Yunke's interpersonal relationships, so he agreed to Fumei Group's application.

At noon, Zhou Shi asked Xu Yiqing to have lunch with him, but Xu Yiqing felt that there was no need to go out to eat during lunch break, so it would be better to just eat in the canteen of the Criminal Police Brigade.

Zhou Shi readily agreed. Maybe she felt that where you eat is not important, what is important is who you eat with.

The auntie serving food in the cafeteria recognized Xu Yiqing and insisted on giving them each an extra spoonful of meat.

It's not that even a cafeteria lady knew him, the white moonlight of Jiangcheng Public Security. It was simply that on the winter solstice, Xu Yiqing liked the dumplings she made very much and told her with a smile that they were "delicious".

For a cook, it is a great joy to have his cooking skills recognized, which is much more useful than any connections gained through hearsay.

"Doctor Xu, come often!" Auntie teased with a smile: "With your partner!"

Xu Yiqing smiled back, and for the first time ever, he did not emphasize "ex-wife" as he did before.

He got his meal and looked around the cafeteria, only to see Zhou Shi's plate on the table in the corner but no one there.

Not long after I sat down, I saw her walking towards me slowly and carefully, carrying two iron bowls.

Xu Yiqing reached out to take it, but Zhou Shi shook her head repeatedly: "It's very hot, go sit down and don't get in the way."

She placed one of the bowls in front of Xu Yiqing, sat down, twirled her fingers on her earlobes, and blew away the hot air.

The canteen of the Criminal Police Brigade provides free soup and porridge. The soup is seaweed egg drop soup, which has a refreshing taste and is very refreshing, while the porridge is a sticky porridge made from cornmeal.

Xu Yiqing's diet was disordered due to long-term overtime work, and his stomach was not very good. He liked to drink porridge to nourish his stomach. Unexpectedly, Zhou Shi still remembered these details. She drank soup herself and served porridge to Xu Yiqing.

"It's my first time eating here, and it's quite cheap. This plate is only a few dollars." Zhou Shi picked up a piece of shredded potato with chopsticks, and after tasting it, his eyes lit up: "Hmm! It tastes good~"

Xu Yiqing smiled and said, "All government meals are like this, cheap, affordable and delicious."

Zhou Shi said as he ate: "I think there is something wrong with him."

Xu Yiqing was stunned: "Who? Zou Yi?"

"No, it's He Yunke." Zhou Shi said, "Although I also feel that Zou Yi's behavior is a little strange, but I feel that He Yunke has a bigger problem."

"What does it feel like?"

"If I have to name someone who makes me feel uneasy, I would definitely choose He Yunke. Based on my profile, He Yunke is more like a killer than a victim. Whether it's "The God of Agriculture Eats His Son" or the room full of statues with severed limbs, they all reveal a perverted heart."

Xu Yiqing didn't understand psychology. He blew the hot air and drank a mouthful of porridge. His throat and stomach felt warm and comfortable.

“Isn’t that a bit too much?”

"Believe me, He Yunke must have some psychological problems." Zhou Shi said solemnly: "It has even reached a distorted level. However, this kind of psychology is usually caused by a tragic childhood or a rough social experience."

Xu Yiqing said: "But He Yunke has a happy family and a successful career."

"That's why I find it strange... Hmm! This sweet and sour pork is also delicious, you try it..."
-
After lunch, the two found a place in the Criminal Police Brigade's office to lie down and take a nap. Du Yu was tactful enough to give up his desk. Even the policeman next to him hurriedly said that he had to go back home for something, but in fact he was dragged by Du Yu to the stairwell to smoke.

In the afternoon, the female director of Fumei Group rushed to the office of the Criminal Police Brigade with a male secretary.

She was still dressed in business attire, but not as formal as on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The brown coat and white shirt gave her the impression of a strong woman.

"Let me introduce Yin Lin, the Jiangcheng regional director of Fumei Group." Du Yu introduced everyone.

Yin Lin is tall, but not particularly good-looking. One can tell from her behavior and the determined look in her eyes that she is no ordinary person.

Yin Lin said modestly: "Just call me Xiao Lin. I have heard that all of you are practical talents in Jiangcheng. We in Fumei Group respect talents the most."

Du Yu waved his hand: "Mr. Yin, you are too polite."

Xu Yiqing heard Zhou Shi talk about this woman a few days ago. She was originally He Yunke's assistant and deputy director. After he disappeared, Yin Lin took over He Yunke's position.

So Yin Lin had a motive for committing the crime.

When senior executives like He Yunke go missing, the first beneficiary and enemy are always the first people the police will consider.

So Xu Yiqing and Zhou Shi had been looking at each other since she entered the office, especially when they knew what Du Yu was going to say next, they couldn't miss any changes in Yin Lin's micro-expressions.

Du Yu said with a hint of regret: "Mr. Yin, I asked you to come here. In addition to the matter of He Yunke's phone, I have another piece of unfortunate news to tell you. The body found in the concrete base of the statue last night was confirmed by our forensic examination to be the missing He Yunke."

Xu Yiqing replied at the right time: "Whether it's a DNA paternity test or fingerprints, they can all match. Please accept my condolences."

The identification of dismembered bodies must be done carefully to rule out the possibility that there are multiple victims in the body parts. Every part of He Yunke's body has been identified and can be pieced together to form a complete human body, which is 100% conclusive.

The secretary following Yin Lin widened his eyes with a look of shock on his face.

Yin Lin just closed her eyes and took a deep breath after a long while: "It is true. After the incident last night, I was thinking about all sorts of things in my mind and made the worst-case scenario plan. I didn't expect that Mr. He would still..."

After a pause, she sighed, "How can I explain this to Mr. He's family? How is my sister-in-law going to raise two children alone?"

Zhou Shi looked at everyone and nodded slightly.

Although she didn't show enough shock, this reaction was consistent with Yin Lin's character as a thoughtful and strong woman.

So far, Zhou Shi hasn't noticed anything suspicious about Yin Lin.

Du Yu said: "The family of the deceased, please don't worry about it, Mr. Yin. We, the police, will take responsibility. Finding out the truth about He Yunke's death and catching the murderer as soon as possible will be the greatest comfort to the family."

He made a gesture to the technician next to him and said, "Let's get down to business. Mr. Yin is busy as a noble man, so please finish your work as soon as possible so as not to delay you."

Although the words were polite, they revealed a sense of oppression that could not be refused.

Being polite to Yin Lin was out of gratitude for Fumei Group's investment and construction in Jiangcheng, which boosted economic development and provided many jobs, preventing many young people from running to big cities.

But when it comes to murder cases, Du Yu is always very strong.

Yin Lin didn't know what to say when she saw this. The final mediation she had planned before coming here was too much for her to say after she heard the bad news about He Yunke.

It was easy for the technician to open the unlocked phone. Under the witness of the regional director of Fumei Company, Du Yu retrieved the chat records and call records of He Yunke's chat software for the three months before his disappearance.

Although the phone seemed to have been cleaned by He Yunke before it was put out of use——

He Yunke deleted both the call records and the address book.

But technicians always find a way to restore it. They use a data cable to connect the mobile phone and computer, and the computer runs a program that only the technicians can understand at a high speed.

The expired documents in the chat software were also restored and opened one by one in front of Yin Lin. After asking her whether they could be filed, the serious crime team was responsible for collecting them.

After working for three hours, He Yunke's two old mobile phones were completely inspected.

Yin Lin breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that these two mobile phones had been abandoned by He Yunke for a long time. The company documents inside were all strategic policies and quarterly financial reports from previous years. Even if they were leaked, it would not matter much.

"Then we'll take our leave first." Yin Lin said goodbye to everyone with her secretary who recorded the whole process: "If you need anything, please feel free to contact me. Our company will do its utmost to cooperate with us. This is also a responsibility to our employees."

After everyone left, Du Yu said, "This is the demeanor that a big company should have."

Zhou Shi frowned slightly. "But since the incident in Baxia Village in the first month of the year and the corpse hidden in the statue yesterday, it has been a big blow to Fumei Company... Li Cheng, the village chief who originally supported the sale of the land, died, and the construction of the factory has been delayed again and again. Now, such a terrible incident has occurred in the Citizen Park, which represents Fumei Company's facade in Jiangcheng. It's like someone is targeting Fumei behind the scenes."

Du Yu looked at the series of call records on the computer screen and said, "Let's take it one step at a time. Finding out the cause of He Yunke's death is our top priority now."

Lin Sheng went back to the Forensic Department to be on duty. Zhou Shi and Xu Yiqing were on standby at the Criminal Police Brigade, waiting for Du Yu to screen the call records.

"What are you thinking about?"

Zhou Shi handed Xu Yiqing a cup of freshly brewed coffee. She raided the office snack cabinet and found something to refresh herself.

She knew that Xu Yiqing hadn't had much rest since last night, and the short lunch break didn't help relieve her fatigue at all.

Xu Yiqing was lost in thought. When he came back to his senses, he took the coffee and said, "The first and most bizarre mystery of the whole case is how did the murderer manage to make He Yunke's death several months later than the statue was built?"

Since the dismemberment was for the purpose of making it easier to carry and dispose of the body, He Yunke should have been dead before the concrete was poured, which would have allowed the murderer to throw his limbs and body into the concrete multiple times.

Zhou Shi relaxed his shoulders and shook his hair: "This is actually not a question you should worry about... Why are you so concerned about He Yunke's case?"

Xu Yiqing did not answer.

In fact, Zhou Shi could also guess it.

Or maybe the three of them knew it, but just didn't say it.

The original purpose of the three-person task force was to catch the [accomplice].

They all vaguely felt that the other party was involved in this case and was waiting for her to show up.

In the Li Yueyue case, he helped Zhao Xiaomeng clean up the mess and killed Li Yueyue; in the Baxia Village case, he bought insurance for Liu Zhuhua and set fire to and killed Li Cheng's entire family after her death.

Now, in the case of the corpse hidden in the statue, where would she suddenly appear and leave a provocation?
"Lao Xu, Zhou Shi. We have new findings." Du Yu called them, "There is a suspicious number in the call log."

The two of them leaned over to the computer and Du Yu pointed to one of the numbers and said, "Since He Yunke was transferred back to Jiangcheng, he has occasionally contacted this number by phone. After checking the files with the household registration police, it turned out that this person is a woman who was a high school classmate of He Yunke and also knew Zou Yi."

Xu Yiqing asked: "Is there anything suspicious about this person?"

Du Yu said: "The frequency of calls to her number began to decrease rapidly three months ago, and now it is almost not used. Two months ago, she went to the business hall to apply for a number from a completely new network operator."

Xu Yiqing is very sensitive to time: "Two months ago, not much different from the time when He Yunke died."

Du Yu made a prompt decision: "Prepare the car, don't sound the sirens, and go to her registered address to visit her."

Two police cars, three members of the task force and several experienced detectives drove to an address halfway outside the city.

To get from the Criminal Police Brigade to the Citizens Garden, Xu Yiqing sat in Du Yu's passenger seat and tilted his head to look outside, but he could no longer see the towering bronze sparrow statue.

The scene was in a mess, with a cordon set up to prevent outsiders from approaching. The statue's original site was a smashed concrete base, which looked even more desolate after the rain.

Someone slapped Fumei Group hard in the face, leaving the ground full of broken dirt and a body that looked like it was broken into pieces on the dissection table.

Xu Yiqing was still thinking about that question: how did the murderer stuff the corpse into the completed statue?
This question was so confusing that by the time everyone arrived at their destination, Xu Yiqing still hadn't figured it out.

"It's a high-end residential area." Du Yu looked at the beautiful high-rise building. "Although it's a little worse than He Yunke's house, but to be able to afford such a building in Jiangcheng, you are rich enough. Those who graduated from their high school are all elites!"

There is no need to mention He Yunke. Zou Yi is also a top student at Capital University. I believe that this old classmate named Pan Yao is also doing well.

The group rang the doorbell, and soon a woman's voice was heard.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Is it Pan Yao's house?"

"it's me."

Pan Yao is very beautiful and has a very cool personality.

At first she only spoke through the door, and only opened the door after she saw clearly that it was the police.

But facing Du Yu in police uniform, Pan Yao was not afraid at all, and asked casually: "What do you want from me, police?"

"It's about a criminal case. Can we go in and talk?"

"come in."

Pan Yao opened the door and everyone entered the room.

Du Yu suddenly had a familiar feeling, as if he had been to Pan Yao's house before.

Not only Du Yu, but Zhou Shi and Xu Yiqing also had strange expressions on their faces.

"Excuse me, can I visit your home?" Zhou Shi suddenly said, "Although it may be a little abrupt...but I am also a member of the public security system, and I am not a suspicious person."

When Pan Yao saw that Zhou Shi was a woman, and more beautiful and elegant than herself, she subconsciously felt that she must be rich or noble, and did not seem like a bad person.

Considering that there were police officers present, he was not too cautious: "Don't rummage through things, but you can take a look."

"Can the bedroom be used as well?"

"Well... forget it, just look." Pan Yao reminded again: "Don't rummage through things!"

Zhou Shi pushed open the bedroom door and her eyes immediately widened.

"Yiqing, come and take a look at this."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yiqing walked over to take a look. As soon as he reached the door and looked inside, he was also stunned.

Pan Yao's bedroom has the same layout as He Yunke's bedroom...

It's like it was carved from the same mold!
(End of this chapter)