Criminal Psychology 44
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Three Graves 07
The only thing scarier than finding a body, is finding a body that was buried alive. The only thing scarier than finding a body that was buried alive, is finding a second one.
Lin Chen stood next to Xing Cong Lian, feeling like everyone was looking at him in a strange manner.
Under the banyan tree, the painter’s body had already been put into the body bag, the black zipper gently closed, covering his last expression.
The sun had risen higher, yet the lake breeze had cooled. Lin Chen tugged on his shirt and walked to the edge of the dirt, looking in.
Inside the pit, under where Li Sa had laid, there was a girl. A very young, pretty girl.
The girl wore a long, white dress, had long, black hair, and looked tranquil, like a cute doll. Even though her dress was dirty and her face was covered in dirt, her expression was full of warmth, like having a cup of hot cocoa in your hands in a coffee shop on a cold winter’s day.
Thinking of hands, Lin Chen’s gaze followed the girl’s arms, traveling up.
Like he suspected, the girl’s hands were crossed on her chest. Those hands that were supposed to be white and tender, were now chapped, covered in dirt and blood.
“How did you know there was someone underneath?”
From his back came a cold inquiry. Lin Chen removed his gaze to look behind him.
The forensic expert stood far away, clenching his hands, obviously trying to keep his cool.
“Because I was once a student here.”
“You being a student and you knowing there was another body have nothing to do with each other!”
“No, it’s because I was a student here that I know a lot of things about this school.” Lin Chen paused, trying to find a more suitable phrase to explain why he unexpectedly knew. “This banyan tree has a really rustic name, it’s called Lovers’ Tree. In college, there will always be weird legends. As for the legend about this tree, it goes, ‘two lovers, if they hold hands and lay beneath this tree and make a wish, will be together forever, even after death.’”
Most legends are just absurd. When Lin Chen first heard this story, he only thought it was weird that students who have received a formal college education still believed the kind of story you wouldn’t even find in cheesy romance novels.
It wasn’t until one day, when an old man took him by the hand and whispered the Lovers’ Tree story to him, that he realized legends were only made up by older people to mess with the youth.
But according to the current situation, it seems like someone has turned that legend into reality.
“So you thought there was another body underneath because of a school legend? What connection does this girl have to this painter, are they lovers?” The forensics expert asked hesitantly. Even he couldn’t believe that this fairy-like girl would fall in love with an extremely ordinary painter. But this thing called love never seemed to be logical.
“I’m not a god, I wouldn’t know.” The question was a little too much, he truly didn’t have an answer.
“Oh! So you guessed there was someone underneath?” Jiang Chao pulled the forensic expert away and shooed him back, asking his own questions.
“You could say that. I wasn’t the one who buried them, so I could only guess.” He felt a little helpless, but he realized, if he didn’t explain this clearly, he’d be labeled as a fraud. So, he took two steps back, away from the pit. Looking at the dirt beneath the banyan tree, he said, “First, these are buried bodies. The location is inside college grounds. This means that whoever buried Li Sa hid it unintentionally, which means this piece of land has a lot of meaning.”
“Makes sense, continue.”
“Even though the same location means different things to different people, this banyan tree is particularly notable for what I just mentioned. Of course, the legend about lovers holding hands and not parting in death only makes me think this might be a case of lovers’ suicide…” he said, looking at the dirt beneith his feet, “But, under the banyan tree, only the dirt near Li Sa’s body looks like it’s been moved. Any other surveyor would have come to the conclusion that there was only one body here.”
“Yeah, so hurry up and tell us why you thought there was another body buried under the first one! There is a thick layer of dirt between these two bodies. If you hadn’t said to dig around, we wouldn’t have found the other person.”
“Because of Li Sa’s hand.”
“What’s wrong with Li Sa’s hand?”
“There is a lot of damage to both of Li Sa’s hands, this says that he personally dug this grave. I think the reason he dug this grave by hand was to bury his lover.”
Lin Chen had been speaking softly, and once he finished the sentence, you almost couldn’t hear him.
The officers by the tree solemnly put down their shovels. Jiang Chao looked at the girl with a little more sympathy. The people by the tree stood in silence. No one said anything, or rather, no one knew what to say.
At that moment, a crisp sound shattered the heavy atmosphere.
Someone was applauding, the claps, one by one, came slowly.
The culprit was an elegant, white-haired housekeeper. He was dressed in a well-fitting suit, with a tie around his neck and a dark red handkerchief in his front pocket.
“I’ve got to hand it to our Yong Chuan College, the most famous psychology graduate to come out in ten years really knows how to make up stories.” That person’s tone was haughty and unyielding.
Lin Chen gazed at him, once again lamenting his luck.
Even though Xing Cong Lian reminded him to be careful on Yong Chuan grounds, seeing as it was the Chen family’s territory, he never would have thought that at Yong Chuan College, in this manner, he would run into the Chen family housekeeper again.
It really catches you off guard…
“Hello, Master Housekeeper.” He bowed slightly and greeted the housekeeper. He then lifted his head and bowed again, this time towards the person on the left of Chen Ping, “Xu Vice Principal, long time no see.”
Chen Ping lowered his eyes to the young man in front of him.
First, an underling reports that Lin Chen is once again at Yong Chuan College, so he rushes to the school, only to find out that a murder had been committed on school grounds. This made him furious!
To put it in a trendy way: Lin Chen you motherfucker, you’re doing this on purpose aren’t you? Why is it that when something goes wrong, you’re always there?!
Even though he was feeling highly irritated, Chen Ping needed to maintain the pride a big family’s housekeeper should have. That’s why, when he saw Lin Chen, he could only scoff with restraint at the other person.
But Lin Chen? Lin Chen was polite and mild-tempered, as usual. Truthfully, every time he tried to chase Lin Chen towards a lower job, all he got as a response was that same bow.
A lot of times, Chen Ping thinks Lin Chen doesn’t care that he’s been ostracized by various families, and that he cares even less about whether or not he’ll be sleeping in a bungalow or a basement. The key is, he thinks that Lin Chen just genuinely does not care about them.
Why doesn’t he care?! What right does he have to not care?!
The more Chen Ping thought about it, the angrier he got. He indignantly shouted at the officers on the scene: “My Yong Chuan College is the scene of a murder, and you guys are investigating like this?!”
Jiang Chao looked at the aggressive old man, dumbfounded.
“Mister Housekeeper, do you have complaints about the way the police are investigating?”
Again, came that lazy tone. Again, came that slightly smiling end pitch. Chen Ping felt like he had heard this voice before. He turned towards the voice and, once again, saw the police officer that defended Lin Chen at Hong Jing Experimental Elementary.
“If you have a complaint, you can file it at the station. This is a crime scene, after all. If you come and go as you please, you’ll cause trouble for us police while we’re collecting evidence.” Xing Cong Lian replied for the still in shock Vice Captain JIang.
Jiang Chao immediately came to, turning to glare at the two intruders, shouting: “Who are you guys, coming in so casually?… Little Chen, Little Chen, accompany these people out!”
Chen Ping gave a cold smile: “This is Yong Chuan College, this is the Vice Principal of Yong Chuan College. Are you saying that having such a huge incident happen at the school, the police won’t let people from the school understand the situation?”
“Understanding the situation is no problem, but random people cannot enter the crime scene as they please. Thank you for understanding.” Said Xing Cong Lian.
“I don’t think Yong Chuan is under Captain Xing’s jurisdiction, and shouldn’t he be considered a random person?” Chen ping asked, pointing to Lin Chen.
“But I am a police officer, and Mister Lin Chen, unfortunately, is a consultant of the Hong Jing brigade. Therefore, compared to you, we are a little more qualified than you to be standing here.” Xing Cong Lian said politely, with a smile on his face. However, the meaning in his words did not give any face.
Seeing the smile on the young man’s face, Chen Ping finally realized that he had been brought into a ditch…
“Good… Good!” Chen Ping gave a cold smile and pulled out his phone, dialing a number, “Is this Liu Ju? It’s Chen Ping, I’m at Yong Chuan College… Yes, something has happened at the school, could you…”
“There’s been a situation at the scene.” Chen Ping’s gaze swept across the faces of Lin Chen, Xing Cong Lian, and that officer that was about to escort him off the scene. He then turned around and walked towards the exterior of the forest. He was walking slowly, as if purposefully letting everyone at the scene hear what he had to say: “Someone discovered a second body that should have been impossible to discover. I think that person is highly likely to be a suspect… but your people seem to be defending him… I just wanted to ask you, what’s going on?”
The person on the phone replied and Chen Ping’s tone calmed down: “Okay, then I’ll leave it to you…”
He finished speaking and hung up, standing firm right outside the police line, staring at the people inside.
Jiang Chao looked around, feeling like the forest still reverberated with the old man’s cold voice: “Did he complain to the director?” He asked Xing Cong Lian.
“It looks like it?” Xing Cong Lian smiled helplessly.
The next second, Jiang Chao’s phone started ringing.
From the phone came a barrage of cursing and scolding. Even from afar, Xing Cong Lian could hear the angry voice coming from the speaker.
Jiang Chao hung up and lifted his head to look at Xing Cong Lian. He looked drained, and wore an expression of shame.
However, Xing Cong Lian understood clearly. He went over to pat Jiang Chao on the shoulder and asked: “What, do we need to assist with the investigation?”
Jiang Chao nodded his head heavily, but leaned down to whisper in Xing Cong Lian’s ear: “Ah, but don’t worry, our boss is probably just playing the part, acting for the old man to see.” As he spoke, he pointed his lips towards the edge of the forest, where the housekeeper was standing.
After he finished, he resumed his embarrassed expression and cleared his throat. He said loudly: “Ol’ Xing, I’m so sorry, I’ll have to ask you and Mister Lin to come back to the station with us in a bit!”
Hearing this, the officers on the scene all looked offended.
“What are you doing just standing there? Has the evidence been collected? Has the corpse been examined? Hurry up and do your job!” Jiang Chao shouted.
At Jiang Chao’s command, the officers resumed their work.
The pit below the banyan tree was quite deep, so two officers, with the instruction of the forensic expert, started to lift the girl’s corpse from the grave.
Lin Chen and Xing Cong Lian walked together. Seeing Lin Chen’s furrowed brows, Xing Cong Lian couldn’t help but softly comfort him: “This isn’t your fault.”
The girl’s body was slowly lifted.
Then, something below the body suddenly caught the attention of the forensic scientist.
He carefully knelt at the side of the pit and gently brushed aside the dirt. Only to uncover a bright red cloth!
“I think… I think there’s another person underneath…” He shouted to the two people near him.
Hearing that, Xing Cong Lian’s expression finally changed into one of shock.
“Looks like my suspicion has been cleared a bit?” Lin Chen said to Xing Cong Lian, wearing an identical expression.
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