Chapter 398: Couple Killers (1/2)

She pointed out several other needle holes on the victim’s arm. Only one made it to the blood vessel while the others weren’t in the right place. The victim’s skin was swollen and inflamed. It seemed like these murderers weren’t skilled in intravenous injections and it took a long time for them to get it right.

”Could this be the cause of death?” asked Xiaotao.

I glanced at the victim's face reflexively. Unfortunately, her facial features were corroded and could provide no clues.

Thus, I proceeded to listen carefully to the victim's chest for a few minutes, then raised her arm and observed the blood vessels. Finally, I came to the conclusion, ”It was the cause of death indeed! The murderer injected a large amount of drugs into the victim’s bloodstream, causing her to remain in a state of excessive excitement until her heart eventually stopped beating because it couldn’t bear the burden. At the time, brain death hadn’t yet occurred and the victim still had a few minutes. If she were rescued then, she could’ve survived. But of course the murderers wouldn’t have cared about that.”

This time, Xiaotao didn’t curse at the murderers but quietly muttered, ”At least it wasn’t a painful death!”

There was no doubt that the victim also suffered from violent rape and again, the murderers left no semen behind. There were clear handprints on the inside of the victim’s thighs which gave me a rough idea of the victim’s position.

As I moved the victim’s joints, I listened with the Echolocation Rod. Then I stood up and shone the flashlight at the beam above. ”The victim was hung from this position!”

”I still don’t see anything…” Xiaotao said, glancing above her head. “It’s only two steps away from the male victim.”

”Yes, the two victims may be a couple,” I added. “The murderers hung the woman here and forced the man to watch as they raped her! They most likely murdered her first before dealing with the man.”

Xiaotao shook her head and lamented, ”I can’t fight the deep sense of guilt in my heart. It’s all because I failed to catch the murderers that these two people died!”

”It's not your fault,” I comforted. “Thrill kills are the hardest to track.”

I continued to restore the crime. The female victim hung from all four limbs with her hands above her head and legs forcibly separated. The rope around her neck was tightly bound. If there was no one to support her body, the woman would’ve been strangled to death.

For entertainment and stimulation purposes, the four murderers injected a large amount of drugs into the victim’s bloodstream. They might have originally planned for death by hanging, but the drugs ended up killing her.

I walked to the window and scanned the open space. The officers in front of me seemed to slowly disappear and the four murderers appeared in the room, ready to carry out a thrill kill.

Recalling every fragment in my mind, I endeavored to restore each of their characteristics. As I paced back and forth, I described, ”The leader is nearly thirty years old, about 175 cm tall, thin, gloomy and unsmiling, and has absolute power in this murder gang. He may have been hurt emotionally, which explains his hatred for loving couples.”

”The second suspect is 180 cm tall, about twenty-five years old, has a big build, energetic, aggressive towards everyone else, and full of rage. He’s the crazy one in the gang but also lacks intelligence.”

”The third suspect is about 170 cm tall, similar in age to the second suspect. He’s cautious, always timid and puts forward opposing ideas, but worships the first two.”

”The fourth suspect is no taller than 170 cm and may be younger than twenty. He’s rebellious, capricious, terrible at communication, and seeks excitement.”

After a short pause, I added, ”The common characteristic of all four suspects is the fact that they aren’t the eldest sons and have no status within the family! As second-generation rich kids, they have immense pride yet suffer from inferiority. They’re poor at dealing with people, cage themselves off from the rest of the world and are empty inside. Only such an extreme method allows them to make up for their inferiority complex and give them a sense of dominance and superiority over others.”