Chapter 41 41 So it seems that this person is simply a pervert...
While Guan Xia was pondering, Pang Le had already begun his analysis. "I think the best way for you to utilize your talents is to cooperate with the police, but... after thinking about it carefully, I don't think it's a good idea."
Guan Xia immediately sat up straight and looked at Pang Le seriously.
Pang Le rarely uses his brain, and was a little uncomfortable being looked at like that by Guan Xia. He shifted his body before saying, "Judging from the few times you provided clues to the police, you always faced the murderer head-on and observed some subtle details. If you really cooperate with the police, you are a complete layman in criminal investigation techniques. The only way you can use your talents is to follow the police to investigate. I don't know if the police will allow you to go to the scene with them. If you really go, unless the murderer returns to the scene, your talents will be completely useless. Also, investigating is hard work. Do you really need to go to this extent?"
Pang Le added, "I'm not trying to dissuade you, nor am I saying I don't support you. I just think you've finally gotten to live your current life, and even if we need to change, we shouldn't make it too turbulent. Life is so twisted..."
Pang Le racked his brains trying to find an adjective, but ultimately couldn't come up with one. He simply said dryly, "The turn is too sharp."
Guan Xia thought for a few seconds and decided to tell Pang Le about his simple plan and listen to his opinion.
Guan Xia said, "Here's what I thought. That night, through the photo Lu Tingfeng gave me, I thought of a suspicious person. Later, when I got home, I used the sketch of the girl in the photo to successfully find a related report on a case. Although Xu Nian didn't tell me much, he did tell me that the girl was killed and died of suffocation. The murderer hasn't been caught yet, so the suspicious person I recalled is a new clue in this case, and it's very likely that he is the murderer."
Guan Xia was speaking seriously when Pang Le suddenly spoke up, "Wow, you're amazing! If I remember correctly, that girl wasn't even from your school. You didn't know each other at all. You just passed by each other at most. How could you remember her in such a short moment? You really don't have hyperthymesia?"
Pang Le asked suspiciously, and it seemed that he really wanted to take Guan Xia to the hospital for a check-up.
Guan Xia quickly shook her head. "I'm really not. According to Xu Nian, I just have a deep memory for certain scenes or people. Okay, don't interrupt me. I haven't finished yet."
Seeing Guan Xia's serious expression, Pang Le also became serious, "Okay, okay, go ahead and talk. I'm listening."
Guan Xia continued, "This incident gave me some inspiration. If I could encounter someone suspicious who looked like a criminal suspect while just strolling through the food court during my university days, then I wonder if I've also come face to face with the murderer in other places in my 25 years of experience. I just don't know what crimes happened nearby, so I can't connect the dots and don't find it suspicious."
After Guan Xia finished speaking, Pang Le immediately gasped, "That makes sense. If that's the case, then your Conan-like physique might not have been a recent development. It's just that the cases that happened in the past weren't as close to you as they are now, so you didn't realize it."
Guan Xia nodded. "That's what I thought, too. So I was thinking, is it possible for me to cooperate with the police? They could screen cases based on my life trajectory over the years and let me see photos of the victims to see if I can remember anything?"
Guan Xia looked at Pang Le with some expectation, trying to get a positive answer.
But Pang Le was silent. After a moment, he grinned and said hesitantly, "If it's Pingjiang District, I think it's okay. Xu Nian and his men solved two cases in a row because of your clues. But if it's other districts, or even other cities or other provinces, this..."
Although Pang Le didn't say it explicitly, Guan Xia understood that Xu Nian believed her because they had had contact and had a certain understanding of her. But once she left Pingjiang District, she would really be just an ordinary person.
It seems that this approach is indeed not feasible, and Guan Xia was immediately deflated.
Pang Le couldn't bear to see Guan Xia looking depressed, so he patted her and said, "Don't give up so quickly. I don't understand the internal investigation process of the criminal police, but we do know some professionals. Why don't you ask Xu Nian? Maybe he can help."
Guan Xia thought about it, and although she still felt it was unlikely, she still held out a glimmer of hope.
After talking about this and that for a while, Pang Le stood up and said, "The information has been delivered, and we've finished talking. I'm leaving now."
Guan Xia sent Pang Le out and glanced at the time. It was almost dinner time. Her mind was a little confused and she didn't have the energy to continue watching the drama, so she simply made dinner in advance.
Just after finishing eating, the doorbell rang again. Guan Xia looked through the peephole and was surprised to find that it was Xu Nian.
Opening the door, Guan Xia asked in surprise, "Why are you here? Is the case over? Or are the clues from last time useless?"
Guan Xia calculated in her mind that only four days had passed since the last time she chatted with Xu Nian.
Xu Nian smiled after entering the room and said, "How can it be useless? In fact, you gave us a correct answer. We are now working backwards based on this correct answer."
Guan Xia smiled in surprise, "Really? That man is really the murderer?"
Xu Nian nodded.
Guan Xia poured Xu Nian a glass of water, and they both sat down on the sofa. Xu Nian said, "After we talked that night, I applied to my superiors the next day, and the application was approved. I came to you today to talk to you about this case."
Guan Xia was originally leaning lazily, but upon hearing this, he subconsciously sat up straight.
Xu Nian said: "The girl in the sketch you gave me was named Huang Man. She was the victim of the 1117 case in 2019. In addition to her, there were five other victims. They were Wei Xueyan from the 922 case in Linshan City in 2011, Peng Xuanxuan from the 910 case in Lian City in 2013, Cen Xing from the 1102 case in Lian City in 2013, Zhang Ying from the 1019 case in Taoyang City in 2015, and He Yijia from the 926 case in Ningguan City in 2017. These five cases were not related enough. Therefore, although the same murderer was suspected during the later investigation of the 1117 case, they were ultimately not successfully merged. However, because you provided very critical new clues this time, the six cases have been merged, and traces of the murderer have been found in the relevant surveillance videos of the deceased's life trajectory."
Guan Xia subconsciously held her breath when she started listening, and only breathed a sigh of relief after Xu Nian finished his last sentence.
Guan Xia recalled the cities and times Xu Nian mentioned, and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my goodness! This murderer is active throughout Dingyuan Province, and the crimes are concentrated in September, October, and November. He also commits crimes every two years."
Xu Niandao said, "Yes, this murderer has already had a very mature modus operandi since the first case discovered in 2011, Case 922. Even in the subsequent crimes, his technique has not undergone any new changes. This shows that the murderer is very confident in himself and thinks that his method is perfect."
Guan Xia understood, "In other words, the case as early as 2011 was not the murderer's first case."
Xu Nian nodded. "That's our guess. We're still searching for the first case."
Guan Xia let out a long breath. "Six cases, six deaths, and there's a possibility it's even more than six. This murderer is so cruel. Who is he? Why did he kill so many people?"
Xu Nian said, "The suspect is Xia Wenguang, 39 years old, from Jianyang City, Dingyuan Province. Currently, because the murderer cleaned the crime scene so thoroughly, there's no direct evidence to prove he's the killer. Also, given his extremely high psychological defenses, it's difficult to get a confession from him within 24 hours. Once he's detained and then released, the second interrogation would be even more difficult. So, for now, we're just keeping a close eye on him. The cities involved in the several cases are all working hard to find evidence."
Guan Xia looked at Xu Nian in surprise. "That means it's difficult to find evidence to convict him directly before we find his first case?"
Before Xu Nian could speak, Guan Xia couldn't help but ask, "This murderer is not only cruel, but also very cunning. Is he the highly intelligent criminal in a detective drama? What does he do?"
Xu Nian said: "He graduated from Dongning University with a law degree in 2002. After graduating in 2006, he returned to Jianyang and interned at a law firm called Ruihai for two years. He then resigned and opened a B&B in the suburbs of Jianyang. His parents died in 2009 and 2000 respectively. His father died in a car accident and his mother died of cancer. He got esophageal cancer in 1994 and lived with her until 2000. We have investigated and found that his parents had a good relationship when they were alive. According to the interview, they rarely quarreled in their lives. When his mother was ill, they only had a dispute over the cost of treatment, but in the end they insisted on treatment according to his father's ideas. As for him, he has been an excellent student since childhood. Although he is a little taciturn, he has had many suitors since he was a child because of his studies and appearance. But strangely, he has never been in a relationship, including when he was in college and after graduation. Until now, he is 39 years old and still has no history of love."
Guan Xia got goosebumps after hearing this. "So, it seems like this person is simply a pervert. Aside from her mother's early death from illness, her upbringing was practically perfect compared to most people. And yet, she still killed so many people. Is he a born sociopath?"
Xu Nian shook his head. "Because we don't have solid evidence, we can't bring him to justice right now. Without a confession, we can't know his motive for murder for the time being. But now that he's in our sight, he can't escape. Once we find his first case, all our questions will be answered."
Guan Xia sighed a little. The work of a criminal police was more complicated and difficult than she had expected. She had thought that since she had provided such an important clue, solving the case would be a matter of course. But now, after hearing Xu Nian's calm words, she realized that she had thought too simply.
Take this case for example. Although there is only one criminal suspect, the crimes he committed involve five cities. There are even related cases that have not been discovered and no one knows which city they are in. Just think about it and you can guess that there are more than hundreds of police officers busy with this case. With such a heavy workload, even with Xu Nian's trust and help, will there really be other districts or other cities willing to cooperate with her and give it a try?
Guan Xia really wanted to give herself some confidence, but after putting herself in the other person's shoes, the little bit of courage she had just built up immediately deflated.
Xu Nian keenly noticed the change in Guan Xia's state and couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"
Guan Xia hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking out, "Well... this case made me think... I might have come face to face with the murderer in other places since I was a child, but because I didn't know about any crimes nearby and had never been questioned by the police, I never had any suspicious points connecting them to the case. I can't help but think that if I could see a photo of the deceased, maybe I could remember something."
Guan Xia's words were not as straightforward as what she had said to Pang Le before, but Xu Nian understood. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "If it's a case in Pingjiang District, I will definitely cooperate with you to the best of my ability, but once we leave Pingjiang District..."
Xu Nian hesitated for a moment and added, "I can only say that I will try to communicate with my superiors, but I can't guarantee the specific results."
Guan Xia didn't show it on her face, but she couldn't help but sigh in her heart. It seemed that things really weren't going well.
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