Memory Lost - Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Who’s Being a Psycho Part 1

“Jin Lan Heng is not the killer.

His biggest difference from being a psychopathic killer is: when I tried to verbally anger him, he was a bit stunned and he explained himself patiently.  He did not show too many emotions or any impulsive behaviors.  We could say that he has a very good mental state and has a strong ability to adjust himself.

If our killer is someone who has great resentment and hatred towards women, when he is humiliated by a woman, he would definitely not be able to stay calm.  Furthermore, Jin Lan Heng does not like extreme sports and is reluctant to spend money on women.  Have you ever seen a psychopathic killer mind so much on the details when hunting his prey?  Have you seen one who would continuously reason with you and would not spend any money until he is given some freebies?”

The Land Rover is speeding in the night.  Bai Jin Xi talks about many things causing everyone in the car to laugh.

Xiao Zhuan says after thinking for a moment, “But could this all just be his disguise?”

Jin Xi answers, “That’s not possible.  Firstly, they did not know that we would be investigating them undercover, so the chances of them disguising themselves are very low.  Secondly, although some things can be disguised like when I asked whether or not he liked bungee jumping, he could have answered no due to being cautious, the key thing is: if he is a psychopath, when his emotions are provoked suddenly, his reaction, expression, and body language is something that he won’t be able to control or hide.  But we did not see any of these reactions from Jin Lan Heng just now.”

Xiao Zhuan, Cold Face and the others all nod.  Chatterbox says smiling, “Xiao Bai, I used to think that you were only familiar with criminal psychology, but I never thought that you were such an expert in studying psychopaths!”

Everybody laughs.  Jin Xi laughs as well, but her eyes are looking out the window at the many neon signs passing by as she falls into deep thoughts.

Han Chen glances at her with the corner of his eye and doesn’t say anything.  Both of his hands are on the steering wheel as he continues driving.

“Who is the second suspect eliminated?” Xiao Zhuan asks, “My guess is Situ Yi!  He seems like a gentleman and leaves a good impression.  Jiang Zi Yi, on the other hand, you can tell that he’s a twisted psychopath just by looking at him.  He’s crazy, yet he acts like a proper person in front of others.  He’s just like a lunatic.  It has to be him!”

Chatterbox supports, “Yeah, since Miss Xiao Zhuan also feels that Situ Yi is a gentleman, it definitely can’t be him!”

“Pfffft……” Jin Xi lets out a giggle.  Han Chen and Cold Face also smile.  Zhou Xiao Zhuan is furious.  He gives Chatterbox a punch and then glares at Jin Xi, who’s in the passenger seat, “Xiao Bai!  It’s all your fault!”

Jin Xi claps her hands together and apologizes, “Sorry, sorry!  But I couldn’t say that my name was Han Chen.  This name is too guyish.  And I still can’t remember Chatterbox’s or Cold Face’s name.”

Cold Face and Chatterbox are speechless, “……”

Xiao Zhuan comments, “……Oh, so that’s the reason.”

“But you’re wrong.  The second suspect who is eliminated is actually Jiang Zi Yi,” Jin Xi says, “Putting aside his crazy behavior, his one main trait is that during dancing and reciting poetry, he showed many detailed expressions.  Although we don’t know why he had such emotions, those emotions were very strong and real that affected others.  The poem also had very clear logic from start to finish.

And I’ve said before that a real psychopath’s emotions are very shallow.  It’s because he actually can’t feel normal people’s emotions.  This is why he’s merciless and don’t have sympathy.  He might hide it well usually, making him seem like he has sympathy for others.  For example, he might do some charity, express sadness and grief, but if you want him to express the kind of strong and unique emotions that Jiang Zi Yi had, he won’t be able to.  He will become stiff and it’ll be hard for him.

And according to the others at the clubhouse, Jiang Zi Yi has always been like this.  It’ll be harder than herding cats for a psychopathic killer to pretend to have strong emotions, on top of the fact that there’s no need for him to.  Moreover, have you seen a psychopathic killer enjoy expressing himself like a crazy lunatic in front of a crowd?  Because they realize their differences from others beside them, they are usually introverts and are good at hiding themselves.  Therefore, if we have to say who’s really crazy, Jiang Zi Yi is just crazy on the surface.  The psychopathic killer is the one who’s truly twisted.”

“What about Situ Yi then?” Cold Face asks.

“Based on our current findings, Situ Yi matches all the traits of this case’s suspect completely: handsome, a gentleman, single, rich, a big change in the family when he was little and has had a conflict with the police in the past.  He is also very good at hunting for his preys while keeping a low profile.  He led a girl out of the clubhouse almost without anyone noticing.  And he has very acute senses, where he felt that Han Chen and I stood out of place,” Jin Xi says, “Whether or not he’s the killer that we’ve been looking for, we still need to investigate further.  But objectively speaking, in the whole City Lan, he’s the only one left who fits the profile.  Just like the phrase that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once said……”

She turns her head to look at Han Chen.  The corners of his mouth are revealing a smile.

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth (Sherlock Holmes),” all five of them in the car say together.

_____

Tonight, the three suspects are brought to the station again.

Jin Lan Heng was approached by the police when he walked out of the clubhouse by himself.  He had wandered the whole night and couldn’t catch any girl.  Seeing the police appear suddenly, he was quite surprised but followed them helplessly and feeling a bit upset at the same time.

Jiang Zi Yi was getting intimate with a woman in the car when the police knocked on the window.

As for Situ Yi……When the police knocked on his mansion’s door, he and a woman were drinking red wine and dancing the waltz.

1am in the morning.  Inside the interrogation room.

The first to be questioned is Jin Lan Heng, just like before.

Watching him through the glass window, Jin Xi feels funny but apologetic at the same time.  She says to Han Chen, “I’ll go in with you.”

Han Chen glances at her, “Okay.”

They walk into the interrogation room together.  Jin Lan Heng stares at Bai Jin Xi with his eyes wide and expression changing.

Jin Xi chuckles and says, “I’m sorry, Young Master Jin.  I was on an investigation at the clubhouse just now.”

Jin Lan Heng’s face turns a little red.  After holding it in for a while, he says finally, “It’s okay.  Us citizens have to support the work of the police.”

“Let’s start,” Han Chen interrupts, “Name?”

The questioning session with Jin Lan Heng is rather short and to the point.  Han Chen makes it explicit to him that it’s regarding a murder case.  Due to Han Chen’s cold expression and imposing manner, they’re able to make Jin Lan Heng spit out everything without much effort.  He explains why he was answering cautiously last time:

“This officer lady also knows that the clubhouse is where I often go to make friends.  But the people in this circle have to promise to keep a low profile to avoid any troubles.  On the night that you were asking about, September 11, I was with a girlfriend that I met at the clubhouse, so I tried not to mention her if I could avoid it.”

Han Chen and Jin Xi look at each other.

Han Chen asks, “What was the girl’s name?”

Jin Lan Heng clears his throat before telling them two women’s names.

Outside of the interrogation room, Chatterbox and the others are out of words watching this.  Chatterbox says quietly, “This fellow.  He sure is shameless!”

The session with Jin Lan Heng ends quickly.

Han Chen says, “Please complete the paperwork outside.  A police car will take you home.”

Jin Lan Heng waves his hand quickly, “No need, no need.  I’ll call a cab myself.”  He gets up and glances at Jin Xi.

“About that……Officer lady, can I ask one more question?”

Jin Xi smiles at him and is especially gentle while saying, “Please go ahead and ask, Young Master Jin.”

“Hehheh, do you have a boyfriend?”

Jin Xi is a bit stunned.  She smiles and just before she answers, she notices Han Chen tossing his pen away with the corner of her eye.

And then he raises his head and stares at Jin Lan Heng, “What do you think?”

Jin Xi is speechless, “……”

Jin Lan Heng is dumbstruck, “Ah?”

He looks at Han Chen and then looks at her.  A hint of embarrassment finally brushes across his eyes.  He pushes open the door quickly and follows another officer out.

The brightly lit room returns to its quiet state.  Jin Xi places her hand on her forehead.  She blocks the view of Chatterbox and the others as she turns around and glares at Han Chen while saying softly, “Why did you say that?!”

Han Chen has his head down as he flips through his notes.  He doesn’t look up hearing her question.  He continues sitting with his legs crossed.

“What did I say?”

It’s true that he didn’t say anything, but……

Jin Xi scolds, “Bastard!”

She doesn’t want to talk to him anymore!

And inside the monitor room, after a moment of silence, the three of them exchange looks with each other.

In the end, Chatterbox decides to speak first, “Alright, you guys can probably tell by now.  Since you guys found out about it today, I have no choice.  As a member of the Black Shield Team, I have one serious request: you must not tell anybody about this!”

_____

Compared to Jin Lan Heng, Jiang Zi Yi is quieter.  He also seems to be very irritated and upset——after all, he was asked to come out of the car.

But once Han Chen and Jin Xi explains the reason for asking him to come, he reveals a sarcastic laugh, “An alibi?  Even if I tell you what I was doing that night, I don’t have any way of proving it.  It’s because the person who can prove it is unwilling to expose herself.  I also don’t want you guys to bother her.  Therefore, it makes no difference to tell you or not.”

Jin Xi stares at him quietly for a moment.

“I am waiting here for the sun to rise; I am waiting here for the sun to set; Loneliness awaits ahead of me……”

Jiang Zi Yi jerks his head up and looks at her as he hears her recite the poem word for word.

“It’s written so well,” Jin Xi says softly.  She has no more complimentary words.

After hearing her recite the poem, Jiang Zi Yi keeps quiet for a long while before speaking, “September 11 is my girlfriend’s birthday.  She should be 28 years old this year.  Our son should be 3.  I was home the whole night, together with her.”

_____

Even though Jiang Zi Yi has no one to be his alibi, after some investigating, it’s confirmed that his girlfriend died from a car accident three years ago.  And that day is indeed her birthday.  Therefore, the Black Shield Team chooses to believe his words.

But Bai Jin Xi gives Jiang Zi Yi a new assessment, “Although he’s just crazy right now, from the way he talks, it’s possible that he is already showing signs of schizophrenia and paranoia.”

Xiao Zhuan asks, “What does this mean?”

“It means that he’s not far away from being a psychopath.”

Everyone falls into silence.

In the prosperous city, there are many empty souls.  We all think that we will live this way for life.  But some people will live busy lives, while some will live impudently and depravedly.  But in the end, they all lose themselves the same way.

_____

Outside of the interrogation room.

The five members of Black Shield Team observe Situ Yi sitting in the room alone from outside of the window.

His intricately made suit, his slightly rolled up sleeves, and his calm and handsome face.  Even though he has been brought here by the police in the middle of the night and has been waiting for a long time, he doesn’t seem the least bit bothered or anxious.

Compared to last time, Jin Xi starts to examine him even more closely.

His face is very clean.  His skin is fair white and tight.  It’s easy to tell that he has been taking care of his face in order to have such great skin.  There are no stains on his collar and his suit has been ironed straight.  His fingernails are clipped neatly.  He’s wearing Prada leather shoes and very well textured socks.  His whole person seems exquisite and meticulous.

And on the table in front of him is standing a cup of red tea which Xiao Zhuan poured for him.  The tea has turned cold, but he hasn’t taken a single sip.

Right now, they’ve gathered the alibi of the previous two suspects.  The biggest suspect in the case is none other than him.

“Leader, what should we do now?” Chatterbox asks.

Han Chen is staring at Situ Yi as he answers, “Leave him by himself for a while longer.”