Chapter 3, Poppy 03

The three men were talking as they walked through the weeds, occasionally stepping on stones, bricks, broken glass and other debris.

Shen Qing and Ni Xiang reported the detailed police situation to Luo Siwei.

The caller was a nearby school worker who had gotten up early to pick wild mulberries behind the school building. Someone then smelled a body and discovered an oversized suitcase in the ditch behind the building. After the suitcase was pried open, a woman's body was found inside.

If these people hadn't happened to come over, who knows how long the body would have remained here before being discovered.

After the Third Branch received the alarm, the forensic doctors on duty were the first to arrive. They confirmed the identity of the deceased among the recent missing persons - Yu Wanying, a female student who had just graduated from Donglan University.

No one expected that the young girl who should have been the protagonist of the birthday party and had a bright future would die on her birthday.

The forensic examiners at the precinct were all doing their jobs. Luo Siwei nodded and greeted the several police officers at the scene. Mu Liancheng, the forensic examiner, was checking for traces nearby. Luo Siwei turned to him and asked, "Old Mu, have you found anything?"

Mu Liancheng shook his head: "There are not many clues around at the moment, but the body is a bit strange."

Female forensic doctor Song Xueyan was measuring and taking pictures of the corpse, and the camera made clicking sounds.

Luo Siwei looked down and saw a large black suitcase placed in the weeds. The zipper of the suitcase had already been completely opened by the forensic doctor.

Lying in the box was a young girl in her twenties. She was about 1.6 meters tall, slender, and weighed less than 100 kilograms.

The female corpse was wearing a white dress, curled up with her chest pressed against her thighs, her arms wrapped around her calves, and her bare ankles exposed under the long dress. If it weren't for the stench of corpses and the flies surrounding her, she would have looked like she was asleep.

Luo Siwei suddenly noticed something. She leaned down and looked at the hem of the corpse's skirt. There were some red marks on it, but they were obviously not bloodstains. The marks were intermittent, showing an arc-shaped mark on the hem of the skirt.

Luo Siwei asked softly, "Is it wax?"

Medical examiner Song Xueyan said, "I noticed the marks on the skirt just now. They might have been left by a burnt candle."

The deceased disappeared on her birthday, and the wax on her skirt looked a bit strange, as if someone had lit candles all around her to celebrate her birthday.

Luo Siwei sniffed carefully and said, "It smells like perfume." And that scent wasn't the result of a small amount of spraying; it was likely the lingering scent of a large amount of spraying. The rich scent of perfume mixed with the stench of corpses, forming an indescribable strange smell.

Song Xueyan nodded: "Perhaps the murderer sprayed the corpse with perfume to cover up the stench."

After observing all this, Luo Siwei looked at the head of the deceased again. The long hair covered the face of the female corpse. She squatted down and looked directly at the female corpse, and then she could see clearly.

There were marks of a rope on the female corpse's neck and some scars on her body, which showed that she had fought with the murderer before her death.

Judging from her figure and facial features, the deceased was a beauty in life, but her corpse looked horrifying. Her once delicate makeup had been smeared, and her eyes were slightly open, her expression a touch of disbelief. Due to strangulation, her face and eyelids were covered in blood spots of varying sizes, and the tips of her nails were cyanotic from lack of oxygen. Mild decomposition had caused swelling of the blood vessels and skin, giving them a bluish hue and a sinister appearance.

Luo Siwei asked Song Xueyan again: "Can the cause of death be determined?"

"It's almost certain she was strangled. There are marks on her wrists from being tied up, and there are signs of assault. A condom must have been used, and the wipes were very clean, leaving no semen stains." Forensic Doctor Song said this as he lifted the corpse's hand and carefully examined the gaps between her fingers. "There's some blood between her fingers, and we might be able to get the killer's DNA."

It seems that this is a vicious murder case.

After the body was photographed, two forensic doctors lifted it out of the suitcase and laid it flat on a plastic mat nearby.

Rigor mortis had long since ended, and the woman's body lay limp, her head tilted to one side.

Luo Siwei followed the forensic doctor as he conducted a detailed investigation, not missing a single clue. As she pondered, she reached out and touched a small hairpin on the side of her head. It was black and old, but she had always worn it. It was a habitual movement for her when she was contemplating something.

Soon, she made a new discovery. Luo Siwei squatted down and pointed to Song Xueyan: "There's something different here."

Ni Xiang and Song Xueyan also looked in the direction of Luo Siwei's finger. The light was insufficient at this angle, and the two of them could not see anything wrong for a moment.

"The straps on the skirt." Luo Siwei suggested.

Only then did Ni Xiang notice that the corpse's white dress had two shoulder ornaments on each shoulder. At first glance, they looked identical, but upon closer inspection, they were somewhat different. The two ornaments were tied in different ways, with the one on the right being more complicated.

Song Xueyan took a close-up photo of the two straps, then carefully cut them off and placed them in the evidence bag: "This method of tying straps is not very common."

Ni Xiang squatted nearby and took notes. She asked, "Why did the murderer tie a belt around the victim?"

In her opinion, the person was already dead, so it didn't matter whether the belt was tied or not.

Song Xueyan continued to examine the body: "There's something even more perverted. Not only is the belt, but the deceased's clothes are also neatly arranged, and the underwear is clean."

As she spoke, she showed Luo Siwei the clothes of the corpse. The underwear the deceased was wearing was white and had lace trim.

Luo Siwei analyzed, "People who die from strangulation usually suffer from incontinence. It's possible that the murderer wiped her body, bought her new underwear, and tidied her clothes after the attack."

Ni Xiang groaned, goose bumps forming on her arms. "Is it possible that the murderer's DNA was contaminated on the underwear, so he changed the victim's clothes?"

Luo Siwei shook his head: "If it's just stuck, just throw it away. Even if you need to change your underwear for another reason, there's no need to buy a lace one."

The killer didn't abandon the body carelessly. After killing the girl, he waited for rigor mortis to subside before carefully placing her in a suitcase. The body hadn't been damaged post-mortem, and the killer meticulously arranged her limbs. Even her hair was smooth, as if it had just been carefully combed.

From these details, it can be seen that the murderer has a morbid obsession with girls.

All of this is more consistent with the characteristics of a murder of passion.

Luo Siwei stared at her for a moment, becoming more and more certain: "The murderer 'liked' her. It's primarily a murder of passion."

Medical examiner Song Xueyan said, "Perhaps the murderer has a strange hobby. Some murderers just like to manipulate their victims like dolls."

As they were talking about this, a middle-aged man in his forties walked over from not far away.

This man is also a criminal policeman under the Criminal Investigation Team of the Third Branch. His name is Han Zhaoming and he is the deputy captain of this criminal investigation team.

He had just led the police officers in a spiral search of the area and had also talked with the school leaders. There was no surveillance nearby, the murderer had left no traces, and the police search had not found any particularly useful information.

Han Zhaoming called Luo Siwei to indicate that he had something to say, and the two team leaders walked together to a quiet place.

Behind the canal, there is a pile of abandoned tables, chairs and benches. From time to time, there are slight noises coming from the old tables and chairs, like the creaking sound when the wood swells after being soaked in water, or the sound of nails scratching against wood. Even in the middle of the morning, the sound can make people's hair stand on end.

Han Zhaoming paused for a moment and asked, "Have you carefully examined the body?"

Luo Siwei nodded: "I have seen it."

Han Zhaoming said, "We just searched around and even went to the girl's rental place. Her ID and cell phone are missing, and her computer is not at the residence either. We have very few clues..."

Old Han pulled out a cigarette. He was a heavy smoker, a habit of chain-smoking when he hit a dead end while investigating a case. Since smoking was forbidden at a crime scene, Han Zhaoming frowned, sniffed under his nose, and tucked the cigarette behind his ear.

Han Zhaoming narrowed his eyes and said, "I've talked to the school. This girl just graduated and seems to be a minor internet celebrity with hundreds of thousands of followers. Her social connections are difficult to trace, and this matter may attract a certain amount of attention... After all, we are only the criminal investigation team of the branch. How about we apply for an investigation to the municipal bureau?"

Luo Siwei knew Han Zhaoming well. He was a veteran detective from the Third Precinct and had always had a good relationship with everyone. However, he was relatively conservative and cautious when handling cases. Because of this, Han, despite his age, only became a deputy captain, allowing Luo Siwei to become captain.

Luo Siwei knew that Han Zhaoming was giving her a good reminder, but she still shook her head. It was not her style to retreat in the face of difficulties.

Luo Siwei looked at the female corpse lying on the ground not far away and recalled his dream last night.

For some reason, the scene before her gave her a sense of familiarity, as if somewhere, or in some place, she had witnessed such a cruel scene before.

Luo Siwei felt her chest was suffocating. She had a premonition that if she gave up at this moment, she would regret it and it would be difficult to find the truth.

"We have to investigate." After thinking this through, Luo Siwei's eyes were firm, and he explained, "If the progress is not smooth, we can ask the Municipal Bureau for help."

Han Zhaoming heard her resolute tone and nodded, "Okay, let's check it out first."

After completing the morning investigation, the police officers returned to the Donglan City Third Branch.

Ni Xiang asked Luo Siwei: "Captain Luo, where should we start with this case?"

Luo Siwei thought for a moment and said, "Start with social connections and insiders, notify the family to come and claim the body, and call the person who called the police to question them."

Ni Xiang responded and hurriedly made a phone call to contact them.

The criminal investigation team of the branch was in a large shared office. Their team arrived a little late and missed lunch in the cafeteria.

Luo Siwei went to the bathroom and washed her hands carefully. She ordered food while walking and ordered a beef rice. The takeaway arrived quickly. Luo Siwei hurriedly ate the beef takeaway and turned on the computer to check the relevant information.

Since this case had been investigated as a missing person case a few days ago, the police had some files, which saved some time in collecting information.

At two o'clock in the afternoon on her birthday, Yu Wanying left the rental house where she lived alone. The surveillance camera captured her walking out of the community gate, and then she disappeared.

A homicide investigation requires a full understanding of the victim and what kind of person Yu Wanying is.

Although no mobile phone or computer was found, the police still obtained a lot of information.

Now, with the internet, it's possible to trace all sorts of relationships, and electronic information platforms have made investigations much faster than before.

Ni Xiang sorted out Yu Wanying's personal information, including files, ID numbers, mobile phone numbers, and a series of online accounts, and sent the entire set of files to the team group.

The file was very detailed, listing all of Yu Wanying's family relationships, academic status, and the amount of assets under her name.

Luo Siwei carefully read the information and found that Yu Wanying had just graduated from Donglan University. She had been admitted to a graduate school abroad and was about to go abroad to study.

The Yu Wanying in the file is young and beautiful. She is 1.6 meters tall. Her father is a middle school teacher and her mother is an administrator in the school library.

Yu Wanying has always had excellent academic performance. She is lively, cheerful, and multi-talented. In every way, this girl has excellent conditions.

Finally, Luo Siwei began to check Yu Wanying's online account.

In the Internet age, those accounts are equivalent to another identity of people.

Yu Wanying, nicknamed "Yu Meiren" on Weibo, started posting self-filmed cover videos two years ago. Because of her beauty and sweet voice, she gradually became a minor internet celebrity, with 300,000 followers on Weibo alone and 200,000 on Douyin.

Luo Siwei watched a video of Yu Wanying singing. The woman in the video, wearing a fairy-like dress and with her hair loose and curly, looked like a runaway princess. When she opened her mouth, she was even more astonishing. Her ethereal voice and beautiful tones made her seem to glow. The online name was a perfect fit for her; she was like a poppy for everyone to admire.

Afterwards, Luo Siwei searched for Yu Wanying on the Internet, but found some "black posts" about her. She didn't expect that this female student who was only a small internet celebrity actually had black fans.

Luo Siwei scrolled through the information for a while and finally figured out the reason. When Yu Wanying first started her account, people focused on her singing and appearance; she always presented herself as pure and lovely. But then, some so-called whistleblowers came forward, claiming that Yu Wanying was just putting on an online facade, that she had numerous boyfriends in real life and spent their money.

Some people were searching for her family affairs, others were pretending to be her junior high and high school classmates to expose her secrets, some said her grades were actually very poor, and her identity as a female college student was a fabrication, and some said she opened the account just to make money and live a luxurious life.

In response to these claims, Yu Wanying posted a Weibo post to address some of the doubts, stating that "the innocent will be cleared." She said that she created these video accounts just for personal interest and did not seek profit from them. Yu Wanying then disabled the reward function.

However, with some revelations that seemed to be true, many of her fans who had been speaking up for her turned against her and believed the accusations against her, and her haters started to criticize her even more vigorously.

Faced with these troubles, Yu Wanying has updated her various accounts less frequently recently. It can be seen that she is trying hard to disappear from the public eye. Her last speech was ten days ago, and the longest period of no update was more than two months.

At present, the police notice has not been issued yet, and people on the Internet still don’t know that this female internet celebrity has been killed.

Luo Siwei opened Yu Wanying's WeChat account again, which contained more than 600 friends.

From the photos in her Moments, it can be seen that Yu Wanying has many classmates and friends. She would go to the playground with those friends, and would often have dinner together and go out to play together. She was always surrounded by people, and she was always the focus of the crowd.

Luo Siwei put his fingers together, supported his chin, and browsed through them one by one.

Judging from the characteristics of the case, it seems that the crime was committed by an acquaintance. Could the murderer be hiding among these people?

Just after lunch break, Ni Xiang received a call. She said a few words and hung up. Then she turned around and said, "The person who reported the case and the family of the deceased have arrived. The forensic doctor has taken the family to claim the body. The person who reported the case has been placed in the reception room."

Luo Siwei made work arrangements for the team members: "Old Han, you will receive the family members later."

Han Zhaoming nodded: "Don't worry, leave it to me."

Luo Siwei added, "Ni Xiang, follow me. We'll go see the family members first, and then meet the people who reported the case. Shen Qing, you'll take the team with you to conduct an investigation."

Ni Xiang picked up the record book, and Shen Qing put on his coat. The other officers also stood up and began their afternoon work.