"I see, senior. Actually, I've studied similar knowledge before, just not in great detail," he said.
"Take your time. Those with the Entertainer personality type have sharp observational skills and can keenly sense the emotions of others. People of this personality type are often the first to encourage others to speak frankly about difficult issues, readily offering emotional support and practical advice. However, when the problem lies with themselves, those with the Entertainer personality type prefer to smooth things over rather than confront the issue head-on. While individuals with the Entertainer personality type are usually a bit dramatic and passionate, this is not the case when they risk becoming the focus of criticism."
"So, He Sheng, are you suggesting that the killer acted this way because they considered their actions to be dramatic and artistic? It's just that we don't understand it?"
"You could think of it that way. If I'm not mistaken, he's a very arrogant person in his daily life, someone who likes to attract attention with some supposed talent. He's actually quite empty inside, constantly craving attention. This person has a very low presence in reality, is solitary, handles interpersonal relationships poorly, and is likely between 35 and 40 years old, most probably male. His work is likely solitary, which has exacerbated his psychological condition."
I had conducted a rudimentary criminal profile, though not as professional as Liu Yuning when she got serious. She gave a wry smile, as if I had stolen her lines, and stopped talking to me, shifting her attention to the deceased and crouching beside Zhang Keying.
This time, I used instruments like the shadowless reflection tube, the ear bone wood, and the bamboo leaf extractor on the corpse. I found no obvious wounds, no signs of struggle or combat, but there were marks of binding on the ankles, waist, and hands. It seemed this wasn't the primary crime scene. Yet, when Lu Chusheng and I entered the police cemetery earlier, we clearly saw Chen Youfa sitting inside the guardhouse. I had even greeted him then, but he hadn't responded.
Could it be, could it be that he was already dead then?
I must have been greeting a corpse at that time.
But Chen Youfa was able to sit there then. How did the killer manage that?
I suddenly noticed bruises on the deceased's back. Shining the shadowless reflection tube on them, I found that the marks seemed to be caused by some hard object. I returned to the guardhouse and quickly spotted a rope left on the chair. I put it into an evidence bag. If fibers from the deceased were detected on it, it would prove that the rope had been used to bind him.
If there were other fibers on it, they might belong to the killer. However, that could only be determined after testing at the forensic department.
There was surveillance near the guardhouse, but when I reached the camera, I discovered it had been vandalized. A wave of headache washed over me. Who did this scoundrel?
They dared to tamper with the surveillance at the police cemetery?
I summoned Xiahou. Since Gao Mingqiang was less available now, I wouldn't have him handle routine investigations. I asked Xiahou to get surveillance footage from nearby roads and instructed Xiao Yuande to contact the traffic management bureau to retrieve footage from the roads around the police cemetery.
Next, we had to investigate Chen Youfa's social circle. However, I didn't handle this myself; I just assigned the tasks. We loaded the body into the hearse and then drove back.
Upon returning to the provincial department, as Lu Chusheng and I were eyewitnesses, Liu Yuning, according to regulations, placed us in separate interview rooms to recount the events.
"You say you went to pay respects to He Guanghui, and then you encountered a murder?" Liu Yuning looked at me in surprise.
"Yes, we had finished paying our respects and were about to leave when the screams started. We actually found it very strange. Given such a short period, the killer shouldn't have had time to escape, unless..."
"Unless the sound didn't come from Chen Youfa?"
"Exactly. Now that I think about it, although the sound was very similar to his, it seemed to have some static. I suspect it was emitted from some audio equipment. Was anything found at the scene?"
Speaking of that, Liu Yuning produced an evidence bag. "This should be it, right?"
"Oh? You found it? Let's see if we can find any clues! I'm going to perform the autopsy!"
Liu Yuning initially wanted to ask me something, but she gave up, as she wouldn't suspect me.
Upon arriving at the forensic department, I inquired, and Zhang Keying and Xie Chuchu said in unison, "We thought you wouldn't make it in time!"
"Aha! How could I miss something like an autopsy!"
With that, I eagerly put on my rubber gloves. Autopsies should be solemn affairs, but every time I see a corpse, I get particularly excited. It's precisely because of this that I've achieved such proficiency in autopsies; after all, passion is incredibly important.
Before the dissection, we had contacted Chen Youfa's family. His wife knew about his incident, but her reaction seemed indifferent. Upon inquiry, we learned that Old Chen had divorced her long ago, but Old Chen hadn't made it public, making us believe he was still married. Perhaps it was an issue of pride; this old policeman was quite miserable.
I offered a silent prayer to the body. After all, he had once shed blood as a policeman. When dissecting him, I was also facing a colleague.
I started with the throat. As I separated his trachea, I noticed that this person had a very large Adam's apple and numerous bleeding points, indicating recent and rather severe inflammation of the throat. If left untreated, it would likely be very troublesome.
Next, I examined the deceased's chest and abdomen. After removing the ribs, I began to explore his lungs. This person's alveoli showed clear signs of pathological changes. Judging by the internal color, he had likely been a smoker for at least 20 years. One could imagine that Old Chen must have smoked several packs a day, becoming unhappy without his cigarettes, to the point where he couldn't even eat. I had seen many such people before, but they all ended up poorly, developing illnesses in one part of their body or another by a certain age.
As I was thinking, I had already found a significant amount of food residue in the deceased's stomach contents, including what appeared to be chicken and vegetables. Based on the degree of digestion, it seemed to be Old Chen's breakfast. Judging by the time of ingestion, it should have been about 3 hours prior. However, based on all observations and analysis of the deceased's condition, Old Chen had been dead for at least 12 hours.