Chapter 53: The Spirit of Inferences
9 am in the morning.
The criminal investigation team's conference room is fully seated by the Black Shield Team and other key investigators who are participating in this "nurse's uniform" killing case meeting.
Qin Wen Long emphasizes the seriousness and the importance of the case, while Chatterbox and Xu Si Bai report on the findings at the scene and the results from the autopsy respectively. A few of the veteran investigators also express their views.
It's now Bai Jin Xi's turn to summarize the suspect's profile based on criminal psychology and Han Chen's overall work report.
Jin Xi flips through the papers in her hand. She can't help but lift her head to glance at Han Chen who's sitting not far away in a few rows in front of her.
He's listening very attentively. One leg is crossed on top of the other and his hands are resting on his knee. His black jacket accents his angular side profile.
The image of what happened in the morning naturally floats into Jin Xi's mind——
He was sitting on her tiny bed while she was lying in his embrace. He said, "If I win, whatever I want, you have to give it to me."
She obviously understood him. Her heart pounded rapidly but she played dumb, "Oh, what do you want then?"
As a result, he stared at her with his beautiful rich brown eyes.
"I want you to dream with me."
……
Jin Xi's face blushes thinking about it. Han Chen seems to notice as he tilts his head to look directly into her eyes and then shifting away.
Just one look from him, Jin Xi's heart thumps.
He's too hateful. This cold and reserved scoundrel!
"Jin Xi, it's your turn," Chatterbox says.
Jin Xi stands up immediately. Xiao Zhuan, who's sitting beside her, sways her arms, "Good luck, Xiao Bai!"
_____
In the first row, besides the Chief, there are a few other people who Jin Xi doesn't know. They're probably leaders of related departments. She stands in the light, clears her throat and starts to speak:
"Firstly, the suspect's age is between 30 to 40 years old. He is good looking and has a great demeanor. He is in a high management role in a business company, has high income and in women's eyes, he is an attractive man.
The three victims are all highly educated, in the working class and are pretty. Since the suspect has been successful in abducting them, his looks, his job, and income won't be too shabby. Furthermore, we found some high-end wine and food in the victims' stomach. Even if they were forced to eat by the suspect, it shows the suspect's quality of life and preferences. Furthermore, due to his adeptness in his method and his serious mental illness, this is definitely not his first time committing the crime. Therefore, he won't be too young and it is believed that he is in the 30 to 40 age range."
The audience is quiet, listening with their full attention. Jin Xi smiles slightly. Her pretty eyes sweep across the room before continuing:
"Secondly, since all three victims worked in CBD, we can assume that the suspect also works in the area or has an apartment there so that he can conveniently observe and search for his targets.
He is a classic 'organized' serial killer. He is highly intelligent and is able to plan and carry out the entire process to kill calmly and perfectly. And in most cases with organized killers, during the process of torturing the victim, they would use alcohol——this has to do with the way their brains are structured and their insensitivity. They need alcohol to stimulate their excitement. This is quite apparent in the autopsy report. He must have a lot of wine at home and is a heavy drinker, but he most probably hides it very well during work.
Thirdly, the two key items at the scene are the nurse's uniform and the missing purse. At the moment, we cannot conclude why the suspect has taken the victims' handbags and kept them as souvenirs. It could be an obsession. Or he may believe that the handbag is a woman's most beautiful accessory, or he detests women with high-end handbags. Anything is possible.
The connotation of a nurse's uniform is easier to explain. First off, he made the victims change into the uniform before torturing them to death. This meant to hate and mockery, not love.
But here's the problem: who is it that he hates and wants to ridicule?
It's not a real nurse, and it has nothing to do with the hospital. Otherwise, he would have killed nurses directly. It may have been easier to attract young nurses than abducting white-collar women.
What he hates is still these outstanding working women. And his 'obsession with nurses' could be due to a past childhood experience or a past relationship. Since he did not rape any of the victims, I'm leaning more towards the former.
His stance is very clear. He wants to take revenge on 'a woman who wears a nurse's uniform' and not a 'nurse.' This indicates that when the past event happened, he was already able to differentiate between things. Therefore, he must have been a teenager and not a young child.
What is it that could make a teenager hate an 'outstanding woman wearing a nurse's uniform' so much?"
Jin Xi pauses, takes a look around and says in a clear and calm voice, "Either he saw his mom in a licentious activity, or he was hurt directly——he was forced to change into a nurse's uniform and was sexually assaulted."
"Pfffft……" the Chief with a head full of white hair spurts out his tea. The investigators in the back rows are also showing embarrassment or laughter.
Jin Xi is rather composed. She's just stating the facts. She even thinks that the latter has a greater possibility because the killer tortured the victims mercilessly. His feeling of hatred is too strong.
She lifts her eyes and catches Han Chen looking at her instantly.
Cold Face is expressionless as usual, but his gaze is full of concentration. Xu Si Bai's gaze is gentle and calm. Chatterbox and Xiao Zhuan, on the other hand, are showing expressions of admiration.
Jin Xi smiles faintly and says her concluding points:
"Based on his ruthless, calmness, patience and extreme reasoning, his mental illness is very serious. Therefore, the following are some classic traits of intelligent psychopaths:
When looking for the suspect, please pay attention to: He is very articulate and his speech is influential and appealing. This will make normal people feel that he is attractive. But if you spend enough time with him or have long talks with him, you will discover that his speech lacks continuity. In many of the small details, they lack logic and he changes subjects frequently. It's because people who are mentally ill, their thought process lacks a 'central organizer.' They naturally can't guarantee what they say and think are focused in one direction. This is a common defect of a psychopath.
The second trait is that he is impulsive and can get angry easily. He is emotional. People who are familiar with him will feel that he is temperamental. And when he is impulsive, he will very easily go commit a crime.
His emotions are very shallow. He is unable to feel emotions, which is why he is able to disregard other's lives. But he may still be able to cite classic phrases and speak bombastically about his feelings.
Due to the shallowness and deficiency of his speech and emotions, as well as the state of his mental illness, he has strong desires for excitement. Therefore, based on his job and income, he enjoys activities such as bungee jumping, parachuting, car racing and others of the like, and not golf, musical, or other slow tempo activities.
Lastly, which is also the most important, is how we can shrink the search area and identify him among the crowd. Besides the traits above, there is one key point."
Jin Xi picks up the water bottle, takes a sip, ponders for a second and speaks again, "Adeptness to committing the crime, consistency in the process, and a clear trademark all indicate that this isn't his first time. And due to some reason, the bodies in the past have not been found by the police. So why is he abandoning the bodies in the open this time? Is he trying to capture the police's attention?"
The investigators are all discussing quietly among each other.
Someone asks out loud suddenly, "Could it be that he's trying to provoke the police? Just like T from before?"
Jin Xi nods and answers quickly, "Then why is he choosing to provoke us at this time?"
That person isn't able to answer.
Xiao Zhuan has followed Jin Xi for a long time, so he understands a bit of criminal psychology. Thus, he raises his hand to answer with his face blushing slightly, "He must have experienced something that upset him suddenly. For example, a loss of a family member, being dumped by his lover, or diagnosed with an illness, right?"
The other investigators start to nod.
This is how it goes in American series, right?
But Jin Xi shakes her head and says crisply, "Wrong!"
Xiao Zhuan is dumbstruck. The others are in silence.
Jin Xi's eyes are looking straight ahead, but the image of "his" malicious expression floats across her mind.
She explains, "Even though a psychopath's action is triggered the same way, different personalities will result in different reactions from the same trigger, just like us normal people. This killer has very distinctive characteristics: sharp, extreme, sensitive, meticulous, strong focus, and likes to give others the taste of their own medicine. Furthermore, he has avoided the police in the past, which shows that he doesn't care about the police at all. Therefore, if it were due to a loss of a family member, a setback in love, or being diagnosed with a hard-to-cure illness, it would only propel him to act more frequently, ruthlessly and perfectly. That is his own world and it has nothing to do with the police.
But now, he is basically publicizing the victims' bodies, provoking the police openly. This means only one thing——he has been provoked and it is by the police.
This means that two to three months ago, he had been humiliated or angered by the police. It may have been a big traffic violation or something of the like and he was reprimanded by the police. Or he may have been interrogated as a suspect in a certain case which infuriated him.
Therefore, I suggest we check all stations' case records and work journals to find anyone who matches the criteria of the suspect."
_____
Jin Xi receives a big round of applause from the audience. The veteran investigators are still calm, while some of the younger investigators express their excitement and passion, discussing together with their heads down. The conference room is suddenly filled with chatters.
Qin Wen Long, who's sitting in the front row, feels a bit complicated seeing this scene. On one side, he is happy to see that Bai Jin Xi is able to create a report like this, but on the other side……
To be exact, he hired Bai Jin Xi into the Black Shield Team because he saw her talent in criminal psychology. But he originally wanted it to be a supplement to Han Chen and Cold Face's "traditional investigation" methods. In Qin Wen Long's and other veteran investigator's hearts, they still feel that traditional investigation methods are truly the right and proper way for the criminal investigation.
But who knew that after Bai Jin Xi joined the Black Shield Team, her performance would continuously improve whenever there was a big case? Especially when it comes to today's case involving a psychopath. She's all worked up and has given such a lengthy analysis. And now all the young criminal investigators who haven't seen much are all sparkling with their eyes.
This won't do! He must not let them be led away by Bai Jin Xi! He must not let the young lads be immersed in taking the shortcut by using profiling and neglecting their fundamental skills as criminal investigators!
Thinking about this, he turns around immediately and makes eye contact with Han Chen who's sitting in a row behind him. His request is obvious: hurry and reclaim our status back!
But Han Chen doesn't take notice of him. Don't be fooled by his humanly, calm and composed look right now. His gaze is just like the other young lads; it's following Bai Jin Xi as she gracefully walks off of the stage.
Qin Wen Long, "……"
s.hit!
Bai Jin Xi also feels that she performed quite well today, so she's a bit excited. The moment she sits down, Xiao Zhuan grabs her arm and chuckles, "hehhehheh." Chatterbox, on the other hand, looks at her and nods pretending to be profound, "Little Sister Bai, not bad! Big Brother here has a whole new level of respect for you."
Jin Xi can't hold her laughter. She looks up and sees many investigators turning around to look at her. But Han Chen is still sitting straight with a calm looking side profile.
Jin Xi never answered to the "bet" that he mentioned this morning. She simply avoided answering by saying that it was time for work and ran off.
He's the king of scheming, and his ability to capture details and loopholes is incredible. Jin Xi can't tell what he's got under his sleeves.
At this moment, her phone vibrates. It's a text message.
Jin Xi picks it up and smiles.
The sender is Xu Si Bai: "Your speech was very good."
She raises her head and takes a peek at the rows in the front to catch a glimpse of Xu Si Bai's back view. But she quickly shifts her gaze to Han Chen and then lowers her head to reply his text message. Her response is simple. It's just a smiley face blushing. It looks as if it's begging to be praised.
Jin Xi picks up the water bottle to pretend to be drinking from it while she secretly observes Han Chen's expression. She sees him looking down at his cell phone with the corners of his mouth curved upwards.
A reply comes back quickly:
"Don't act so affectionately unless you want me to come over and kiss you right now."
"Choke……" Jin Xi chokes from the water.
Qin Wen Long is standing on the stage again. He talks briefly, expressing his affirmation to Bai Jin Xi's profiling, saying that it can be used as an important clue to solving the case. And now it's Han Chen's turn to go up to report on his work.
Han Chen stuffs his phone back into his pants' pocket and stands up. And everyone including Jin Xi fixes their gaze on him.