When Tai Wei was about to leave, Fang Mu asked him how things were progressing on the hospital murder case. Tai Wei hesitated for a moment, and then admitted that Fang Mu's suggested line of attack hadn't worked out. Fang Mu did not look disappointed in the least, but instead just frowned and stared out the window for some time.
"How about the seven-one case?" he said at last.
"I'm not entirely sure. As you know, that case is being handled by the State Enterprise and Nonprofit Institution Investigative Division, so I don't hear much about it, but I suspect they're as stumped as us." Seeing Fang Mu's frown grow deeper, he asked, "Why, what are you thinking?"
Fang Mu said nothing.
"Wait, are you thinking," Tai Wei hesitated for a moment, "that all these crimes were committed by one person?"
After a long time, Fang Mu slowly shook his head. A thin, bitter smile played across his lips. "I myself am finding it difficult to say what exactly I'm thinking," he said, meeting Tai Wei's eyes. "Rationally, this does not seem like the work of one person, because in all three crimes, the murder method, the victims, the characteristics of the crime scenes, and those of the killer's own psychology were much too different. Still, I can't shake the feeling that there's something connecting them." Noticing that Tai Wei was now following his every word with bated breath, Fang Mu smiled awkwardly and said, "However, this could all just be in my imagination. You shouldn't take it too seriously."
As Fang Mu was walking him out, Tai Wei seemed to suddenly think of something. "Did you ever read that letter Ma Kai wrote to you?" he asked.
Fang Mu hesitated for a moment before admitting the truth. "No. I burned it."
Tai Wei was extremely taken aback. "You burned it?" The way he saw it, that letter had been an almost ideal document for the study of criminal psychology, so for someone this interested in the field-not to mention this concerned with empirical research-to simply burn it up without even reading it was mindboggling. He was about to ask why when he saw that the words "Don't ask!" were practically scrawled across Fang Mu's face.
Jeez, thought Tai Wei, what was that saying again? Oh, yeah; geniuses are all crazy.
CHAPTER 16
Dragging a broom and dustpan, cleaning woman Zhang Baohua climbed wearily to the fourth floor of the MultidisciplinaryBuilding. This was supposed to be Tian Cuixia's responsibility. Zhang Baohua didn't know how that old shrew had gotten so lucky, but after getting divorced, she had been able to marry the boss of a snack food wholesaling company. And then recently, after the wife of Pang Guangcai, one of the electricians from the maintenance department, was killed, police had come snooping around and discovered that he and Tian Cuixia had once had an affair. Even though she was proven to have had no part in the murder, she was obviously not going to stick around there any longer, so without even a word of warning, she quit. Since there already weren't enough cleaners to begin with, the maintenance department had had no choice but to temporarily assign the job of cleaning the MultidisciplinaryBuilding to Zhang Baohua. Her reward would be an extra 200 renminbi a month.
After quickly cleaning several rooms, Zhang Baohua glanced down at her watch. It was already almost 7 a.m. According to regulations, the whole building had to be finished by eight. Thinking of the three floors she still had left to clean, Zhang Baohua massaged her waist and then pushed open the door to Room 404.
Huh? she thought. What were people doing studying here this early?
Amid the empty desks in the classroom two people sat side by side. In the faint morning light, Zhang Baohua could just make out that one of them was dressed all in red.
If they had come there to study, why'd they leave the lights off?Hmph, she thought, they probably just snuck in here last night to have sex.
Curling her lips in contempt, Zhang Baohua switched on the light.
Eating as fast as they could, Fang Mu and Du Yu hurried to the MultidisciplinaryBuilding, but when they arrived they discovered that there was no reason to worry about being late for class. Several hundred students and teachers were already gathered outside the building, the scene as noisy as a food market. But although everyone was saying something different, they all wore the same panicked expression.
What had happened?
Fang Mu was about to ask one of the students beside him, when he noticed police cars parked on the street side of the building, their lights flashing. His face fell. Could someone else have died?
Abandoning Du Yu, he did his best to squeeze through the crowd. When he finally made it to the front, a policeman abruptly blocked his way.
"Can't you see the police tape?" he asked.
Behind him, a blue-and-white cordon separated an empty space in front of the building from the crowd of onlookers. The main door was wide open, and policemen could be seen rushing up and down the stairs. Through the window of the on-duty room, Fang Mu watched one of the building attendants haltingly explain something to an imposing veteran officer. In the chair beside them sat a cleaning lady. She was holding a cup of water with both hands and shaking all over, her eyes absolutely blank.
Suddenly there was a disturbance within the crowd. It was the dean, a rather heavy man, doing his best to wade through the onlookers. Once he had pushed his way to the middle, he lifted the loudspeaker he was carrying and turned it on.
After clearing his throat, he began to speak at the top of his lungs. "Students, teachers! All classes in the MultidisciplinaryBuilding have been canceled for the day! Makeup times will be posted at a later date. As for all other buildings, classes will proceed as scheduled. Again, all classes in the MultidisciplinaryBuilding are canceled for the day! Classes in all other buildings will proceed as scheduled!"
An excited murmur ran through the crowd, for even though they were all terrified of what might have happened inside the MultidisciplinaryBuilding, the prospect of skipping class that morning was still enticing. Yawning, students who had been up all night returned to their dorms to get some sleep, while those who hadn't yet eaten hurried to the dining hall. Whoever was inside the building, whatever had happened to them-it all seemed much less important than catching a few more hours of sleep or eating a good breakfast. After all, the lives of other people were just that-other peoples'.
Very quickly the crowd dispersed. Figuring that even if he waited around no one would tell him what was going on, Fang Mu also turned to leave. But just as he was about to walk away, he spotted Tai Wei's jeep parked outside the building.
Fang Mu was surprised. What was he doing here? Shouldn't this case be handled by the State Enterprise and Nonprofit Institution Investigative Division? And if so, why was he getting involved?
Fang Mu thought for a moment, and then he pulled out his cell phone and called Tai Wei.
The phone rang for a long time before Tai Wei picked it up. He sounded exhausted.
"Who is it?" he grunted.
"It's me. What's going on?"
"Oh, Fang Mu. How'd you know I was at your school?"
"I saw your car. What are you doing here? What exactly happened?"
"There weren't enough people on duty so I'm helping out for the time being. It's another goddamned murder."
"Who?" asked Fang Mu, his voice anxious. "What happened?"
"Don't ask. Right now I'm extremely busy. I'll contact you in a few days." Then without saying anything more, Tai Wei hung up.
Although it was clear from his abrupt tone that Tai Wei was upset, this was hardly surprising. Even as a cop, to be faced with one murder after another like this was enough to make someone curse-out their best friend.