Preliminary analysis: After entering the apartment, the killer struggled with Yao Xiaoyang, finally using a nylon cord left on the living room table (likely used by the victim to tie up her belongings) to strangle her to death. Afterwards, the killer sliced open the victim's chest and abdomen with a knife from the kitchen, his method fundamentally the same as those of the previous murders. What was different, however, was that this time the killer did not drink the victim's blood. The reason for this, police believed, was that it was at this point that the killer discovered the second victim.
The second victim was a six-year-old girl named Tong Hui. She lived next door with her family in Apartment 402. On the day of the crime, Tong Hui's mother and father were at work in the factory, leaving only Yu Huifen, her 70-year-old maternal grandmother, to look after her. According to Yu Huifen, she and Tong Hui had just laid down for an after-lunch nap when, half-asleep, she realized that the girl had jumped out of bed to go play. "Don't go too far," she had said before falling back asleep. Only when the police began examining the crime scene next door did she wake up. It was then that she realized Tong Hui was gone. As for any sounds of movement she might have heard from Apartment 401 earlier that day, the elderly Mrs. Yu had no idea.
The police deduced that Tong Hui had most likely run into the killer while either heading out to play or returning home, and that he immediately changed his plans and decided to drink her blood instead of Yao's. Based on the state of the first crime scene (Apartment 401 of Unit 2, Building 3 in Bright Gardens), the second crime scene (the old site of the original DaMing Fiberglass Factory), and an examination of the victim's corpse, the killer probably strangled her with a rope until she was comatose, tied her up (at which point a button on her dress fell off and landed in the doorway), returned to the bedroom and emptied a duffel bag (large with yellow check), then stuffed her inside and carried her away from the scene. Then the killer traveled roughly 40 minutes southeast on foot before coming across the abandoned Yuanda Ming factory on the side of the road. There he killed Tong Hui, cut open her chest and abdomen, and drank approximately seven ounces of her blood.
Interviews with those living nearby turned up nothing of value, because when the crime was committed, the vast majority of BrightGarden residents were at work in the factory; so even though the killer openly kidnapped Tong Hui in the middle of the day, not a single person noticed. However, an interview on the road between the first and second crime scenes provided an important clue. According to the proprietor of a small Hongyuan Road food stand (located a mile and a half from the second crime scene), he had sold a bottle of mineral water to a familiar-sounding man on the day of the crime. The man had been about 5' 7", very thin, with long, greasy hair, with nervous, bloodshot eyes, and a swath of blisters around the corners of his mouth. He was carrying a large, cloth duffel bag. When the proprietor asked him what was inside, the man responded that it was a dog. Based on the proprietor's description, the police had already made a sketch of the man and begun circulating it with orders for his arrest.
After the meeting ended, Tai Wei was about to leave when the director called after him. "Wait a moment, Little Tai."
The director was a very fat man, and he strained as he changed position in his leather swivel chair. Seeing that Tai Wei was still standing up, he waved for him to have a seat. Then, rotating a tea cup in his hand, the director paused to think for a moment before saying, "From what I've heard, you've been having a JiangbinCityUniversity student help crack the case."
"That's correct. Ding Shucheng of the Changhong City PSB recommended him. He's supposed to be quite gifted."
"And as for your opinion?"
Tai Wei considered his words carefully. "This person is rather interesting. It was under his guidance that we discovered the second victim. Also, his description of the suspect was essentially identical to the one given by the food stand proprietor. He said he would contact me in the next few days. I'm looking forward to hearing his opinion on the case."
"No!" The director held up his index finger and waved it back and forth. His tone was firm. "You will not allow this so-called genius to participate any further. And not just on this case-I do not want to see you using any such methods again."
"Why?" Tai Wei was stunned.
"Have we not suffered enough for that incident already?" The director was nearly shouting. His face was contorted with urgency.
Now Tai Wei was even more at a loss. He stared blankly at the director.
Suddenly the director clapped his hand to his forehead, as if something had just occurred to him. "How long ago were you transferred here?" he asked.
"Four years."
"No wonder." The director's face relaxed slightly. "You can't be blamed for not knowing. Still, you must remember what I told you. That's an order." Saying this, he waved Tai Wei out of the room.
Baffled, Tai Wei returned to his office. He was about to go ask a senior colleague what the director was talking about when his phone rang. It was Fang Mu.
The heavy rain on the night of the murder had caused Fang Mu to catch a bad cold, and the next day he lay in bed from morning 'til night. Once his spirits had lifted a bit, he climbed to his feet and went to the library.
From the materials he had seen during his initial meeting with Tai Wei, as well as his first-hand experience at the most recent crime scenes, Fang Mu had already begun forming some ideas about these murder-and-bloodsucking cases. If most serial killers left a symbol at the scene of their crimes, then what was the symbol of the bloodsucker?
Well, that was obvious. The reason he was even called the bloodsucker was because his symbolic behavior was to cut open his victims after he killed them and drink their blood. Clearly, this excessive damage to the corpse was not done to vent anger or conceal the victim's identity-it came from a special need.
So then, what was this need?
Drinking the blood of the victim could be understood as a kind of "supplement" to the killer's own blood, suggesting that he was regularly filled with fear and anxiety that his was somehow lacking. While the source of this belief was currently unknown, it was certain that the killer's agitation had already reached very serious levels-otherwise he would never have resorted to murdering people and drinking their blood to ease his worries.
The circumstances of the murders bore out this verdict.
The first victim was killed right after she got off the night shift. Her key was still in the door when police arrived at the scene. The killer probably followed her into the building corridor, and then as she opened the door, he seized the opportunity to strike, shoving her inside and strangling her to death. Afterwards, he cut her open, mixed her blood with milk and drank it down.
The second victim was a female doctoral student. On the day of the murder she should have been in class. While taking out the trash, her neighbor noticed that her door was open. She had been killed in the living room, the weapon a flower vase taken from atop the shoe cabinet.
The third victim was a merchant just returned from the morning market after finishing her sales early. She was killed in her own home, a flat-roofed, one-story house. Grabbing her hair, the killer had slammed her head into the kitchen stove and then strangled her to death with a lamp cord. Finally, he mixed her blood with some soybean milk she hadn't sold at market and drank it.
The fourth victim was a divorced female teacher who had just moved into an apartment. The killer strangled her to death with the cord she had used to tie her belongings. Just as he was preparing to drink the victim's blood, he happened to spot a little girl out in the hallway. As a result, she was killed as well.