Monster - Chapter 3
Chapter 3: The Killer's Photo
"Captain Lu, the autopsy report is out. Cheng Lina was definitely not assaulted in any way, and there were no valuable clues left on her body," Shen Fan said, walking over to Xing Meilu's workstation with a stack of freshly printed reports in his hand.
To work under Xing Meilu, you had to be efficient.
Although you couldn't tell from her appearance, she was indeed the police officer with the highest case-clearance rate in Center City's northern Inspectorate.
"What about the phone?" Xing Meilu, who had been looking at related files on her computer, turned and looked up to ask seriously upon hearing her assistant's voice.
Because she often had to go out, her shoulder-length hair was tied into a ponytail. She wasn't in uniform, instead wearing a loose denim jacket over a round-neck T-shirt, with a pair of jeans and some worn-out high-top sneakers. Unlike women in other professions, Xing Meilu's style could almost be described as having no style at all.
"The phone didn't have any valuable information either…" Shen Fan sounded a little dejected as he said this. He took a black phone sealed in a clear plastic bag out of his pocket and handed it to Xing Meilu.
This wasn't standard procedure, but Xing Meilu said nothing. She took the phone and began tapping on it through the plastic bag. The security lock had already been disabled, and she quickly saw the various colorful apps on Cheng Lina's phone.
She opened the commonly used chat tools and text messages but found no valuable information.
Xing Meilu continued her search with great patience.
"Xiao A'Lu, time to eat."
Just as Xing Meilu and Shen Fan were frantically searching Cheng Lina's phone for any possible traces, a languid female voice broke the tense atmosphere.
Xing Meilu hated being associated with the word "little." Shorty, little girl, little police flower… those were one thing; it was inevitable that a few older colleagues would affectionately call her that. But a baseless nickname like "Xiao A'Lu" was something only Saya would ever call her.
Saya McConaughey, an external pathology expert for the criminal litigation department. They were old acquaintances, but Xing Meilu didn't like her.
Saya was around thirty, about 178 centimeters tall. She wore a grayish-white long-sleeved shirt, the hem tucked into dark trousers, which made her appear even more tall and graceful. She had a beautiful face, with long, slightly curly brown hair cascading down. When her deep blue eyes looked at Xing Meilu, they always held a hint of a teasing, playful smile.
This was probably why Xing Meilu disliked her. They were both adult women, yet she was a full head shorter than Saya.
And Saya particularly enjoyed seeking her out, which was incredibly annoying.
"You go eat first," Xing Meilu answered distractedly, her fingers tapping on Cheng Lina's phone.
Meanwhile, upon seeing Saya, Shen Fan straightened his back and tensed his muscles, causing his shirt sleeves to bulge, making his toned physique obvious to anyone looking.
Saya didn't look at him. She leaned her elbow familiarly on Xing Meilu's shoulder, not looking at the phone, but at Xing Meilu's vexed, doll-like face.
Xing Meilu was about 156 centimeters tall, with delicate and soft features. If you didn't look at her eyes, her face always had a certain unblossomed youthfulness to it. When she was out in plainclothes, she was sometimes even mistaken for a student.
Xing Meilu ignored her and continued tapping on Cheng Lina's phone. The cold light of the screen reflected in her unusually focused eyes.
"Did you know? There are apps now that can create a mirrored copy of any content you want to hide on your phone," Saya said, poking Xing Meilu's soft, round cheek with her index finger. She chuckled, unfazed by the angry glare the other woman shot her.
"I'm looking," Xing Meilu muttered. She was, of course, aware of the kind of software Saya was talking about, but Cheng Lina's phone had so many apps that she had been scrolling for ages without finding it.
"Found it."
Perhaps Saya's presence had "inspired" her, because Xing Meilu really did find the hidden content. She first tapped on a purple app, and inside, she found another account Cheng Lina used to contact people.
There, she discovered a long chat history between Cheng Lina and Yang Lian, which confirmed their theory that the two were running a honey trap scheme.
In her chat with Yang Lian, Cheng Lina mentioned that she had met a girl at a bar who called herself Lou. Judging by her clothes, she was a naive rich girl, and a lesbian who seemed to have a crush on her. So, she wanted Yang Lian to help her extort a sum of money from this girl named Lou.
In the chat log, at Yang Lian's request, Cheng Lina had also secretly taken a photo of the girl named Lou.
In the photo, Lou was dancing on the dance floor. She looked to be in her early twenties, wearing a loose white tank top and a pair of black skinny jeans. She had a slender figure; though thin, the lines of her exposed skin were beautiful, suggesting she exercised regularly.
The Lou on the dance floor was clearly unaware that Cheng Lina was secretly photographing her. Her long, straight black hair was draped over her shoulders, and she wore a pure black choker around her slender, pale neck. She was lost in her own dance. The blue lights of the bar cast a deep indigo hue over her, making her look hazy and joyful, like some kind of sweet fruit in the dead of night, luring the gazes of others, making one want to draw near and have a taste.
Although only half of her face was visible in the photo, one could still see her youthful and pretty features. When Cheng Lina took the picture, the girl named Lou was smiling, revealing small, sharp canine teeth and shallow dimples on her cheeks. This made her seem very approachable, but the first things Xing Meilu noticed were the missing corner of her ear and what appeared to be a faint, crescent-shaped scar on her left eyebrow.
"Quite a beauty," Saya, leaning on the back of Xing Meilu's chair, couldn't help but praise when she saw the photo.
Xing Meilu's brow was tightly furrowed as she stared intently at the photo on the phone.
Her reaction was a bit unusual. Saya and Shen Fan waited for a moment, but she didn't move her gaze from the picture.
Given Xing Meilu's typically upright character, they naturally didn't jump to the conclusion that she had "fallen for" the girl. So, very quickly, Saya asked:
"Do you know her?"
"She does look like someone I know," Xing Meilu nodded. Her memory had always been excellent.
She remembered a murder case from two years ago. A young female employee at a red wine company was found dead on the building's rooftop, stabbed with an object resembling a sharp spike. She had been to the scene at the time and had questioned the employee's colleagues, including her direct supervisor, who looked a bit like this Lou in Cheng Lina's photo—the potential murderer.
A Miss Lin, she seemed to recall.
What was her name again?
Xing Meilu couldn't remember for a moment. She put down the phone and began typing furiously on her computer, searching for this two-year-old homicide case. At the time, the CEO of that red wine company, Yan Ting, had been a major suspect, but due to a lack of evidence and significant resistance during the investigation, the case eventually went cold. And Xing Meilu generally remembered her cold cases very clearly.
She remembered that CEO, Yan Ting, particularly well. She was a bit taller than herself, with a powerful aura. Everything from her clothes and demeanor to her makeup and temperament exuded an air of superiority. Her reputation in Center City was also very high; she was a successful female entrepreneur famous throughout Leviathan.
But the person Xing Meilu had interacted with the most was the victim's direct supervisor, yet she couldn't recall her name. This could only mean that the supervisor had been so unremarkable at the time that she had left no impression.
Thinking about it now, that in itself was rather strange.
Xing Meilu's mind raced, oblivious to the questions from Saya and Shen Fan beside her. She quickly pulled up the relevant files for the cold case on her computer.
Victim: Bai Xuan. Age 20, PMC intern at Dudian Red Wine Company.
Direct Supervisor: Lin Sandie. Age 25, PMC Supervisor at Dudian Red Wine Company.
The name of the murdered employee's supervisor appeared on the computer screen.
Xing Meilu quickly pulled up Lin Sandie's photo, then picked up the phone again. The three of them compared the photo on the phone with the one on the computer monitor and couldn't help but gasp.
In the file photo, Lin Sandie's face was serious and proper. She wore a pair of dull, gold-rimmed glasses, and her long black hair was combed into a simple bun, with only two strands hanging down by her ears. She had none of the vibrant energy from the photo Cheng Lina had taken, instead giving off a restrained, conservative, and neat impression. But they could tell at a single glance.
Lin Sandie and this woman, a suspected serial killer, looked exactly the same!
Could this ordinary office worker, Lin Sandie, be Cheng Lina's murderer?!
Author's Notes
Lin Sandie: I'm just sitting at home, and trouble falls from the sky. I'm the one who should be gasping, okay?!
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