Chapter 197: Simulation of the Crime (1/2)

Instead of leaving the scene, I called Xiaotao and told her what happened, then I asked her to come here and bring my tools along as well.

When they heard that I’d been attacked, everyone rushed over immediately.

“Are you hurt?” Xiaotao asked the moment she arrived.

“No,” I shook my head. “Do you remember that mysterious guy who saved us that time? He was here again.”

Xiaotao glanced at the cut steel pipe and was stunned. “Your mysterious bodyguard is so good at this it’s terrifying! But why didn’t he just catch those people? He could’ve done so easily!”

I shrugged. Who knew what that guy could be thinking?

I asked Xiaotao to hold the UV lamp and checked the footprints on the ground with my Autopsy Umbrella. There were three sets of footprints—one from the mysterious guy, another from a pair of size 40 sneakers, and another from a pair of size 35 leather shoes. I asked Xiaozhou to take a plaster cast mold of the footprints as evidence.

“Do you think these two people are related to the serial murders?” asked Xiaotao.

“Most likely,” I replied. “They were probably trying to kill me…”

But that was just a guess. If they really wanted to kill me, wasn’t this method a little bit too inefficient? Why didn’t they just ambush me and stab me with a dagger?

I noticed the solidified cement on the steel pipe, yet there were no fingerprints on it. Apparently, the killer was wearing gloves. At that moment, Yuanchao returned from the other side of the alley, holding the exact same steel pipe in his hand.

“I got this at a construction site nearby,” he said.

So the killer didn’t bring it with him in the first place? Why did this seem like a rushed attack?

“Why did you buy sanitary pads, Song Yang?” asked Xiaotao.

“Oh my god!” I slapped my forehead. “Bingxin is still sitting on the toilet waiting for this!”

“You should’ve just asked me,” said Xiaotao. “I’ve got sanitary pads in my bag. Don’t go out alone at night ever again, understood?”

“Okay!” I nodded.

After investigating the scene for a while, we returned to the hotel. In addition to the identity of the killer, I was much more curious about the identity of my mysterious bodyguard. We were still walking by the road, and I suddenly turned and walked in front of an approaching car.

The car stopped with a loud screech, and the driver yelled, “You fucking idiot! Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“What the hell are you doing?” Xiaotao asked with shock.

“I wanted to see if that mysterious guy would show up and save me,” I replied.

“You’ve got to be joking!” cried Xiaotao. “Isn’t that a bit too risky? What if you actually died? If you want to find out who he is, then we should be using our investigating skills to find the answer instead!”

The next day, Xiaotao told Bingxin to rest for the day. We then went out to visit the auto repair shops in town together. There were only a few auto repair shops here, so even before noon, we made a major discovery. There was a mechanic named Cao Dazhuang who went missing last year.

“Did you report him as a missing person?” I asked his boss.

The boss showed me a text message Cao Dazhuang sent to him last year, which read, “Sorry I have to leave without saying goodbye, Boss. My cousin needs help in the city, so I have to go. You don’t need to pay for my salary this month!”

This was a usual ploy used by murderers. I believed that the victim was indeed Cao Dazhuang, but I still required DNA evidence. We asked the boss for Cao Dazhuang’s address, and he replied, “He rented a room in town, but he probably moved out a long time ago.”

We still asked for the address anyway, and tracked down the landlord of the room and asked him about Cao Dazhuang. He informed us that Cao Dazhuang left without saying anything, but his friend had come and helped him pack. The friend even paid his utility bills.

“What was that friend’s name?” I asked.

“I don’t remember,” the landlord shook his head. “It was more than half a year ago after all.”