Free Web NovelChapter 99: Chapter 98 Multiple Personalities [First update, subscribe!]_1
Xu Dayuan’s brows were deeply furrowed.
"Right, that’s the key issue. Mr. Liu, go find out about that, and also whether Doctor Lu’s acquisition of the case files is legitimate, and whether these files are complete, we need to verify that too. I’ll go interrogate now. He Chunyang has already gone to investigate according to the several time periods mentioned in the files."
Liu Yongxin shook his head.
"The times recorded in the files are not the actual times of the crimes; they are estimated by backtracking from when the victims’ bodies were found, so there’s room for error.
We found that the five victims mainly had unusual jobs, those with a strong degree of mobility, making it difficult to investigate the times they went missing. However, we can estimate the times of victimization of the other six people more accurately, and I think we should focus on investigating the six time periods related to Cui Guanglin."
Zhou Ning paused for a moment, then looked up and quickly said:
"Over five years, the crime scenes were scattered around the outskirts of Qindao, in various urban-rural border areas. In addition to being familiar with the terrain, the perpetrator would have needed convenient transportation. I remember Mrs. Cui mentioned at the banquet that Cui Guanglin had just changed cars a month ago. Can we check the car he got rid of?"
"Changed cars a month ago?" freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Yes, he said it was a new car he switched to a month ago, a grey Teana. I don’t know if the car has been reclaimed yet."
Xu Dayuan quickly made a call, and shortly after, Liu Changhai rushed in.
"What’s up, boss?"
"Hurry up, go to No. 1 Middle School, tow Cui Guanglin’s car back here, the silver-gray Teana, I think it should be easy to find. Also, when you searched him, did you find any car keys on him?"
"No car keys."
Zhou Ning thought for a moment, then looked at Mr. Zhao.
"Mr. Zhao, follow them. If the car keys aren’t on him, they must be in the school. Besides, I always feel he may have hidden something else. The school may seem like a public place, but hiding something there isn’t impossible."
"Right, I get what you mean. We’ll take a locksmith with us. If we can’t find the keys, we’ll just pick the lock and take the car back. I’ll conduct a thorough search with more people. Xu Da, could you request a police dog to assist? They’re better at finding things than humans."
"Okay, off you go. Changhai knows where to get the police dogs, take more manpower with you."
Liu Yongxin raised his hand hastily, saying:
"I’ll go find Doctor Lu. One task is to see if the chemical composition research is done, and the other is to check out the car Cui Guanglin sold before, what kind of car it was, where it went. If we can find it, that would be ideal."
Liu Changhai left with Mr. Zhao, and Liu Yongxin went to the next room.
Zhou Ning followed Xu Dayuan down to the interrogation room next door. Before they went inside, Xu Dayuan cautioned:
"Can you control your emotions?"
"Don’t worry, Xu Da, I can control my emotions. Also, I’ve asked Xiaoyu to go to work as usual today," Zhou Ning replied.
Xu Dayuan was somewhat surprised; however, after a brief hesitation, he understood the intention behind it.
"That’s good. I was actually worried that Zhou Xiaoyu was sinking too deep. It’s best if she can get out of it quickly. I’ll talk to Mr. Bai to prevent rumors in the school."
"That’s exactly what I meant, thanks for handling it, boss."
Waving his hand, Xu Dayuan led the way into the room adjacent to the interrogation room.
Zhou Ning watched the previous night’s interrogation session. Cui Guanglin had remained completely still, but as the video sped up, Zhou Ning’s brows furrowed. How to put it? The man seemed unmoved, but there was a big difference in his expression. Could it be a misjudgment?
He asked about the progress, but the people inside just kept shaking their heads.
"Mr. He has been in there for an hour and a half now, constantly explaining the policies, but all this is meaningless to Cui Guanglin. He won’t even lift his head; just stares straight ahead.
It’s almost the same as yesterday’s behavior: no reaction other than eating and drinking water. I’ll be listening in on your interrogation as if these things have nothing to do with him."
Xu Dayuan nodded, unsurprised by the results.
"Got it, call He Chunyang out."
They both stepped outside, and in a moment, He Chunyang was called over. He grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the table, tilted his head back, and gulped down half the bottle. After he finished drinking, he spat out a mouthful and, staring at the one-way mirror, was filled with indignation.
"This guy is too difficult to handle. He doesn’t react at all; I’ve talked myself hoarse, but he won’t even lift his eyelids."
"Quit your grumbling, take a break. Zhou Xiaozhou and the others have got the test report. I’m going to meet with them!" Xu Dayuan said.
He Chunyang immediately perked up, quickly moved next to Xu Dayuan, and glanced over the report, his excitement beyond words.
"He’s a big fish all right. This guy’s mental fortitude is definitely not ordinary. Looks like we need to think about his weaknesses and then question him based on those. Right now, even if we threw the evidence in his face, he wouldn’t even blink an eye, especially since it’s very likely that he has eleven more lives weighing on him."
Xu Dayuan smiled.
"As I thought, the fatigue strategy is useless, so let’s switch it up, but we don’t need to rush out with the lab report. Without a decisive blow, it won’t have much impact on him, and consequently, he won’t confess to anything else."
Zhou Ning recalled the meeting between the two families. Mr. and Mrs. Cui had said that after giving birth to Cui Guanglin, they had not lived in Qidong and instead went to support the border area. They did not return to their hometown until after retirement to reunite with Cui Guanglin.
Meanwhile, Cui Guanglin had always lived with his grandparents in Qidong. After his grandparents passed away when he was seventeen, he had lived alone for many years. His parents, living with their younger son, didn’t know much about Cui Guanglin; whatever they knew likely came after he turned seventeen.
As for his physical development, especially the vast differences compared to his peers, it caused him to feel inferior and even start to conceal some dark thoughts in his heart. However, they couldn’t ask his grandparents about this now.
"What is Zhou Xiaozhou thinking about?"
Zhou Ning looked up to find Xu Dayuan and He Chunyang both staring at him. There wasn’t much need to hide his thoughts, so he spoke openly.
"I was just thinking that Cui Guanglin’s parents left him to support the border as soon as he was born. He grew up with his grandparents, and maybe the absence of his parents, together with his abnormal physique, caused his psychological development to be unhealthy. This might have led to his inability to find an outlet after medical examinations in the provincial city, prompting him to start planning all this.
If our analysis is reliable, Cui Guanglin’s weaknesses become quite evident. There are two of them—one is his parents. After being separated for so many years, he yearns for more love. The other is his physical blemish—I saw his medical records from the provincial city. He has both male and female organs, although the female set is incomplete..."
Xu Dayuan was stunned. Seeing He Chunyang about to speak, he shoved him aside and gazed into Zhou Ning’s eyes with an expression of disbelief.
"You mean we should talk to his parents and then arrange for them to meet him, attacking his psychological defenses, then have someone examine him? No, this isn’t just a check-up anymore, it should be a medical examination. But how will I find a doctor for you? And should the doctor be male or female?"
"This..."
He Chunyang also started laughing, tugging on Xu Dayuan’s arm.
"Take your time finding the doctor, but we can first reach out to Mr. and Mrs. Cui for a talk. Their child has committed such an act; it’s not impossible to work with them to provide some comfort and persuasion."
"Then let’s get in touch!"
He Chunyang was taken aback.
"I don’t have Mr. and Mrs. Cui’s contact information."
Zhou Ning pulled out his phone, remembering that during the evening when they had just sat down, his uncle had exchanged contact information with them. He dialed the number and asked his uncle for it. He was ready with a prepared statement but didn’t even need to use it, and the unexpected smoothness even surprised him.
"Your uncle doesn’t know about Zhou Xiaoyu’s situation, does he?"
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"I haven’t mentioned it at home. It’s not something that can be discussed, and once the case goes public, there will be no need to mention it."
Xu Dayuan patted Zhou Ning on the shoulder, not uttering any comforting words. They were all in this profession, and such platitudes were unnecessary.
At that moment, He Chunyang had already connected with Mr. Cui’s mobile phone, and it was answered after just one ring.
"Hello!"
"Hello, are you Cui Guanglin’s father?"
"I am."
"This is from the Qidong Criminal Police Brigade. Could you and your partner come over now? We’d like to understand some matters related to Cui Guanglin. Of course, if it’s inconvenient for you, we can send someone to pick you up."
On the other end of the phone, they were clearly startled by this request, but a conversation between a man and a woman followed.
"Who’s calling? The criminal police brigade, saying we need to go there to talk about Guanglin’s matter. It’s not a scam, is it? Scammers wouldn’t ask us to go to the police station! That’s right."
He Chunyang could clearly hear the two people’s conversation, which saved him from wasting too much explanation.
"Are you sure we don’t need to pick you up?"
"No need, no need, we’ll be there in five minutes!"
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Ning looked towards Xu Dayuan.
"For Cui Guanglin’s examination, I think we can consult the head of the emergency department, Mr. He. After all, we can’t take the person away right now. It’s just an external examination, and our goal is not to conduct an exam, but to break through his composure.
A person who has disguised himself as an ordinary teacher for years—being interrogated now and still unable to shed that identity—will only reveal his past crimes when he becomes agitated or loses control of his emotions. Of course, I am even more suspicious that he might have multiple personalities."
A nearby young police officer exclaimed in shock.
"Multiple personalities?"
Xu Dayuan slapped the person and waved his hand at Zhou Ning.
"However you say we should proceed, that’s what we’ll do. I don’t care whether he has multiple personalities or not, as long as he confesses seriously. But if He Shancun finds out that it was your idea to have him come over, he’s probably going to chase you down. Really, what unfortunate associations!"
Zhou Ning stopped in his tracks, not caring about one more name to curse.
