Chapter 411 Lu Xiaoshuang's Confession
"How is it strange?" Qiao Jiali asked hurriedly.
Lu Xiaoshuang's words shocked both Zhou Yi and Chen Yan, especially Zhou Yi.
Lu Xiaoshuang said: "The man was wearing a black long coat and trousers, gloves, a hat, a mask and sunglasses."
If it weren't for the screen, Zhou Yi would have rushed in to find Lu Xiaoshuang to confirm.
Isn’t the person Lu Xiaoshuang described dressed exactly like the mysterious man she chased on Daguan Street that day?
Is it Xiao Bing? It must be him, disguised and waiting for an opportunity to follow Lu Xiaoshuang.
Qiao Jiali immediately asked, "Did you see this person's physical features clearly?"
Lu Xiaoshuang shook her head. "No, she was wrapped up so tightly that I couldn't see clearly. And after getting on the bus, she sat in the last row. I was sitting next to the conductor, and I didn't turn around to look."
On April 30th, the temperature in Hongcheng was between 16 and 28 degrees Celsius, which was not very high, but it was still quite hot to dress like that at noon.
"You should have seen how tall and fat this guy is, right?"
Lu Xiaoshuang nodded and said, "She's very thin. As for height, she's probably a little taller than me, but she's wearing a hat, so I'm not sure."
Lu Xiaoshuang is 1.62 meters tall. If she could feel that he was obviously taller than her, he should be at least five centimeters taller, plus the interference of wearing a hat.
Xiao Bing is thin and short, with the physical examination report showing him to be 1.71 meters tall.
In theory, their height and build are also very similar.
It was very similar to the mysterious man in black that Zhou Yi saw that day, but the man in black was running that day, so Zhou Yi's height estimation would have a larger error.
"Lu Xiaoshuang, do you think the other person is a man or a woman?" asked Qiao Jiali.
"It should be a woman."
"Why are you so sure?"
Lu Xiaoshuang stretched out her hand and gestured at her shoulder: "Because her hair probably reaches here..."
Zhou Yi was stunned. Disguised? Using a wig? But there was no wig found at Xiao Bing's house.
But Lu Xiaoshuang's next words made him dumbfounded.
"Oh, when she was buying the ticket, the conductor asked her where she was going, and she said two words: 'to the end.'" Lu Xiaoshuang said confidently, "Even though she only said those two words, I'm sure it was a woman's voice."
Zhou Yi was confused now. A woman?
If hair can be disguised, what about voice?
Although Xiao Bing is a gentle man, his voice is still a normal male voice and it is impossible for him to disguise it as a woman's voice.
Men and women have different voices. Even if a man tries to imitate a girl's voice by pinching his throat, it will be easy for people to tell right away because it will sound very strange.
How come another woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
Or was the person on the bus just a coincidence? A completely unrelated passerby?
After all, no one stipulates that you can't wear a mask, hat, and sunglasses when going out.
In the video, Qiao Jiali asked: "At which station did this person get on the bus?"
"He was at the same stop as me and got on the bus after me."
"Then which stop did you get off?"
Lu Xiaoshuang frowned and thought for a moment: "I'm not too sure about this, because I was the first one to get off the bus when it arrived at the station, and I didn't pay much attention to the others."
"Did you see Xiao Bing in the car?"
"Teacher Xiao? No."
"Are you sure?"
Lu Xiaoshuang nodded: "Of course, there is no one I know in the car."
Qiao Jiali suddenly asked, "Lu Xiaoshuang, would you like some water?"
Lu Xiaoshuang hesitated a little, but nodded. Qiao Jiali stood up and poured a glass of water and handed it to her. Lu Xiaoshuang said thank you to Officer Qiao obediently.
No one in the Third Brigade would treat this girl as a criminal suspect. This is not favoritism, but rather a sign of trust in Zhou Yi and Lu Xiaoshuang.
Conducting investigations and interrogations is a respect for the law and the fulfillment of the duties of the people's police.
After taking two sips of water, Lu Xiaoshuang took the initiative to say, "I can continue."
"At which stop did you get off?"
"Ergangqian Street Station."
Zhou Yi knew very well where Lu Xiaoshuang got off the bus. It was only about fifty or sixty meters away from the Ergang dormitory where he lived, and it was close to the main road. It should be quite safe at noon.
Unless a van suddenly stops and forcibly arrests people on the street, this is usually done by organized criminal gangs because it requires the cooperation of multiple people.
Moreover, this kind of blatant kidnapping can easily be witnessed.
The characteristics of this type of suspect are quite different from those in dismemberment cases.
"After getting off the bus, I went straight to Officer Zhou's home, which is the Ergang dormitory."
"Nothing happened in between?"
"No, I went upstairs and knocked on Officer Zhou's door, but... there was no response." Lu Xiaoshuang hesitated and said, "So I used my key to open the door."
At this time, Xiang Jie's voice appeared in the camera, and he asked in surprise: "Do you have the key to Zhou Yi's house?"
The group of people who were watching TV all turned around and looked at Zhou Yi.
But immediately, Lu Xiaoshuang on TV explained: "No, no, I saw Officer Zhou hide the spare key under the flowerpot at the door of my house. I was worried that something might happen to him in the house, so I opened the door without permission." Everyone's attention also shifted back to the TV.
Zhou Yi was suddenly shocked. Could it be that the murderer followed Lu Xiaoshuang to his home and then knocked her unconscious?
Fortunately, Lu Xiaoshuang said that after she entered the house, she found that there was no one in the house at all, and it didn't look like anyone had lived there recently, so she left.
"Lu Xiaoshuang, didn't you doubt what Xiao Bing said at that time?" Qiao Jiali asked.
"I did... feel something was amiss. Thinking about it, if Officer Zhou really wanted to see me, he would have come directly to the school. If he was busy and happened to run into Teacher Xiao and asked him to deliver the message, then it would have made sense for me to come to the Public Security Bureau to see him."
Although Lu Xiaoshuang is a smart person, she is only a 19-year-old female college student who is inexperienced in the world. No one has taught her how to be wary of others, and she still does not think comprehensively when encountering emergencies.
However... even if she had been more careful at the time, she might not have been able to escape the clutches of the murderer.
Because the murderer is in the dark and Lu Xiaoshuang is in the light.
As long as the threat is not lifted, she will always be in danger.
Even if she contacted Zhou Yi and confirmed that Xiao Bing was lying to her, it would only solve the immediate problem.
The fundamental problem remains.
As for Zhou Yi, even if he suspected Xiao Bing, he would not arrest him just because Xiao Bing told a lie.
At most, just warn him.
But if he really is a perverted murderer who has set his sights on Lu Xiaoshuang, then the warning might only make him angry.
Qiao Jiali asked, "Where did you go after leaving Officer Zhou's house?"
It was not until this time that Zhou Yi discovered that Lu Xiaoshuang's expression began to look a little dazed.
"I plan to go to my grandmother's house first. My grandmother lives with my second and third uncles in a large courtyard. Aunt Zhang's house, facing south in that courtyard, installed a telephone last year. I want to borrow a phone and then call Officer Zhou to verify this."
Zhou Yi remembered that the few times Lu Xiaoshuang came to his house before, it seemed like she came from school.
He also didn't know which bus to take to go to her grandmother's house.
"But I wasn't sure which bus to take, so I wanted to ask someone. After I came out of the No. 2 Steel dormitory, I saw an auntie selling apples on the roadside, so I asked her how to get there."
This information cheered up Zhou Yi, because it meant that there were witnesses to Lu Xiaoshuang going to his home. Together with the bus conductor in front, it could confirm the truthfulness of what Lu Xiaoshuang said.
"Auntie told me I could take bus No. 134, which would take me to Xingnan Road."
Zhou Yi had just lowered his head to eat a piece of wonton when he suddenly looked up when he heard this. He had a premonition that something was going to happen here.
Because the bus stop for No. 134 is on the back street of Ergang Dormitory, you have to go through an alley next to it.
This alley is only about two meters wide. On the left is the wall of the Ergang dormitory area. On the right side there used to be a scrap recycling station, but later due to some incidents, they were ordered to move away and it has been empty until now.
The grass there is taller than a person. When Zhou Yi was a child, he and the children from the neighborhood went there to "hunt for treasure". As a result, the three children lifted up a tire and saw a nest of snakes coiled inside.
The three of them were so scared that they screamed and ran back home. From then on, whenever Zhou Yi passed this alley, he would instinctively walk close to the dormitory wall and stay away from it.
Sure enough, Lu Xiaoshuang said that her aunt had shown her the way and told her to just go through the alley in front and go out. The bus stop was a little further on the right.
"To express my gratitude, I bought a few apples from the aunt. Then I walked into the alley. When I was about halfway there, I suddenly felt like someone was following me. When I was about to look back, someone covered my mouth from behind..." Lu Xiaoshuang's body began to tremble, which was a very obvious reaction of fear.
Afterwards, Zhou Yi made a request to Liang Wei, which was to compare Lu Xiaoshuang's fear reaction during the interrogation with the reaction of Lu Xiaoshuang when she was held hostage by Bai Mao, which was filmed by Ding Chunmei, so as to prove whether Lu Xiaoshuang was pretending.
Qiao Jiali hurriedly asked, "How did they hold you hostage? What did they do after they held you hostage?"
"He...he controlled my body with one hand from behind, and with the other hand, he covered my mouth with a piece of cloth. There must be something on the cloth because it smelled very pungent, but also had a hint of fragrance."
It is ether. The special smell of ether is a slightly sweet fragrance accompanied by a pungent smell.
Ether is also the most commonly used anesthetic, but it is highly volatile and can only be stored in sealed containers.
Qiao Jiali asked, "Did you struggle?"
Tears streamed from the corners of Lu Xiaoshuang's eyes as she trembled and said, "I struggled, but he was too strong. I couldn't get away at all. He dragged me directly into the bushes nearby. I felt dizzy and had no strength left. Then I passed out."
Qiao Jiali asked again, "Lu Xiaoshuang, please recall carefully, from the time they held you hostage and covered your mouth and nose, to the time you finally passed out, how long did the entire process last?"
When Zhou Yi heard this question, he couldn't help but shout in his heart: Sister Qiao, this is a great question!
He turned his head and looked at Qiao Jiali beside him with gratitude in his eyes.
Seeing this, Qiao Jiali smiled slightly.
This question, and Lu Xiaoshuang's answer, are very important.
It can even be said to be one of the keys to confirming whether Lu Xiaoshuang is lying.
Lu Xiaoshuang’s answer was that it was probably more than half a minute, because she struggled desperately at the beginning, but then she felt less and less strength, and finally her consciousness became blurred and she fainted.
Although ether is an anesthetic drug, it does not mean that the smell of ether can make people faint.
According to rumors, there is no such thing as a "miracle medicine" that can make people faint when you cover your mouth and nose, or become obedient when you pat their shoulders. These are all false rumors and exaggerations.
If there is no professional medical inhalation equipment to release anesthetic drugs, pouring ether on a towel to cover the mouth and nose will generally take more than 40 seconds to make the person unconscious. If the time is too short, the person will not be unconscious enough, and if the time is too long, the person will be suffocated to death.
If Lu Xiaoshuang is a criminal suspect or accomplice, and wants to lie and escape punishment by being held hostage, this is an important key point to determine the truth.
Most people are influenced by movies and TV shows and think that if they cover their mouths for ten or eight seconds, they will pass out.
But only criminal police have this experience and know the actual situation.
Ordinary medical staff may not be aware of this because no one uses anesthetics this way in hospitals.
So if Lu Xiaoshuang fainted immediately after answering, she would be suspected.
It is not normal to answer the seconds very accurately, because at this time, who can still count down calmly?
The time is vague, but the scope is consistent, which is the correct answer.
"Lu Xiaoshuang, don't be afraid. You are in the Public Security Bureau now. It is the safest place and no one can hurt you." Qiao Jiali comforted her.
But when people are afraid of being sad, what they can't stand the most is the care of others.
Qiao Jiali's words made Lu Xiaoshuang unable to hold back her emotions any longer, and she began to cry with her head down.
At this time, Liang Wei's voice came from the camera: "Let's put the interrogation on hold for a while. There are some situations that we need to deal with."
Then a hand appears in the camera and the video pauses.
It was not until this time that Zhou Yi realized that Liang Wei had been in the interrogation room the entire time, not in the monitoring room next door, but he had not said a word.
Zhou Yi glanced at the head of the serious crime detachment from the headquarters and knew that he must be observing every subtle reaction of Lu Xiaoshuang at that time.
What he was talking about was naturally that he had reported to Ni Jianrong that Xiao Bing had run away.
Liang Wei stood up and said to the crowd, "This is the first interrogation video. There's another one, which was just sent over by Xiang Jie and Qiao Jiali. I haven't seen the latter part yet, but I'll watch it with everyone later. But before that, I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts after watching this interrogation video."
“Speak freely, don’t be restrained.”
After a brief silence, someone spoke up, "Judging from her reaction during the interrogation, I believe Lu Xiaoshuang, like Xu Liu, is a victim in this case. Her description was very clear and logical, without any ambiguity."
"Furthermore, when she mentioned the bus conductor and the woman selling apples, they were clearly pointed to specific individuals. Especially the conductor, it's easy to find out who was on duty that day. If she wanted to conceal something, she shouldn't have mentioned any clearly pointed witnesses in her description."
Liang Wei nodded and concluded, "Just don't feel guilty."
The man nodded immediately: "Yes, no guilty conscience."
"Does anyone else have any opinions?"
Chen Yan raised his hand and said, "I think the question Sister Qiao asked is very good."
Liang Wei asked with some surprise and joy: "Oh? What happened? Tell me."
Chen Yan told Liang Wei his thoughts on the time it takes for ether to take effect, and Liang Wei nodded in approval. This surprised Zhou Yi because he clearly felt that Chen Yan was making rapid progress.
"Zhou Yi, what do you think?" Liang Wei called out.
Everyone looked at him. After all, he was half a party in this interrogation video.
"Okay, Captain Liang, let me tell you what I think."
"Actually, everyone has just mentioned several key points from the interrogation, so I won't go into detail. I want to go back to the origins of the case and share my perspective. I want to start with the formation of the murderer's criminal psychology and his motives."
"Everyone should know that we at Hongcheng recently solved a dismemberment case, the Zhang Hui case in Donghai Residential Complex. The murderer, Xu Jiaguang, possesses several notable traits: a dysfunctional upbringing, a strong desire for psychological control and physical desire, a paranoid personality, extreme selfishness, and a self-centered nature. Yet, he conceals this well from outsiders, earning a reputation as a kindly person."
"Xu Jiaguang's decision to kill Zhang Hui appears to have been motivated by his son's illness and the demolition compensation he received. But if he had been an ordinary person with a normal upbringing and life experiences, he would never have considered killing and dismembering her body to achieve his goals."
Zhou Yi added: "Although it may sound pessimistic, the fact is that when ordinary people are overwhelmed by life and hardships, their final choice is often suicide, not crime."
This sentence made everyone sigh, because what Zhou Yi said was the truth. The vast majority of ordinary people are cowardly and kind.
Dying is the last courage that ordinary people have when facing despair.
"So Xu Jiaguang's decision to commit murder and dismember a person's body is inextricably linked to his previous life experiences, as these experiences were the true reason for his criminal mentality. His son's illness and the demolition compensation were merely the triggers for his criminal intent."
"Sorry, I've strayed off topic. Let's get back to the grand case. Regarding Lu Xiaoshuang as a suspect, I'd like to analyze the possible formation of her criminal psychology. I'm sure everyone is familiar with Lu Xiaoshuang's personal situation. If the conflict between her and Xu Liu could have been the trigger for her criminal intent, then how did her criminal psychology develop?"
"If she killed someone in a rage during an argument with Xu Liu after a conflict erupted, then it can be considered that she was emotionally unstable and could not withstand the stimulation and killed in passion."
"But what kind of case is this now? It's a premeditated murder with a thorough criminal plan. The murderer must have had reasons and experiences that formed his criminal mentality."
"Lu Xiaoshuang simply didn't possess the conditions to develop such an extreme criminal mentality. She left her parents at the age of thirteen and came to Hongcheng. Although living conditions were difficult, her academic performance was always among the best. Junior high school was compulsory, and although high school had tuition fees, Lu Xiaoshuang was the child of an educated youth, and Hongcheng had a policy of educational exemptions for these children, so the money her parents sent was enough."
"As far as I know, Lu Xiaoshuang only started looking for a long-term part-time job after finishing the college entrance examination. Her goal was to reduce the burden on her family and earn living expenses and tuition. Because university fees are much higher than junior high and high school, and they no longer receive government subsidies."
"So she is a typical student who lives in difficult conditions but studies very hard."
"Then let me tell you about the Zhang Hui case I mentioned earlier. At the time, Xu Jiaguang and Zhang Hui's daughter, Xu Xinxin, had some problems, and we were all helpless. In the end, it was Lu Xiaoshuang who comforted the child and took care of her until we placed her in an orphanage. Later, Lu Xiaoshuang and I even visited the child at the orphanage."
Zhou Yi pointed at the still image on the TV and said, "There's another detail just now. Lu Xiaoshuang said she asked a vendor for directions and then bought a few apples. Think about it, would she have the leisure to buy fruit under the circumstances? The fundamental reason she bought fruit was because she felt embarrassed that the other person had helped her, so she bought some fruit to express her gratitude."
"This kind of subconscious detail is the best way to reflect a person's true character."
"Captain Liang, I'm done."
Zhou Yi did not give a final conclusion because his conclusion was already contained in every sentence.
He did not analyze the alibi and physical evidence because he knew they could be verified in subsequent investigations.
What he talked about was all about criminal psychology and criminal motives.
This is professionally called criminal profiling, a psychological criminal investigation application technology developed by the FBI of the United States in the 1970s.
The core purpose is to reversely infer the personality traits, living habits, psychological motivations and potential social attributes of unknown suspects by analyzing crime scene characteristics, victim information, behavioral patterns and other factors, thereby narrowing the scope of investigation and optimizing the allocation of police resources.
Its essence is "behavioral evidence analysis".
Theoretical research was not introduced in China until the late 1990s, and FBI experts were even invited to provide training. It was not until the early 2000s that initial practical applications began.
Just like the study of micro-expressions, Zhou Yi knows a little about it, but he can’t say he’s proficient in it.
However, this analytical perspective that specifically analyzes criminal psychology has not yet been formed in the case-handling habits of this era.
Liang Wei did not express his opinion, neither agreeing nor denying, and did not even respond, leaving everyone present a little confused.
However, Zhou Yi was very calm, because for him, he had already said what he wanted to say.
He believed that the head of the Serious Crimes Brigade of the Provincial Criminal Investigation Corps must have the answer in his mind.
After all, in his previous life, just three months before his rebirth, the department had held a memorial service for Liang Wei, the former deputy director of the Provincial Public Security Department and chief of the Criminal Investigation Corps, who died at the age of 72.
Zhou Yi heard that Deputy Director Liang’s last words before his death were: If a grand case is solved one day, the case report must be burned for him so that he can rest in peace in his grave.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
