Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 24 Ghost Hotline - Serial Murder Case 4
"Chen Yingying, 22 years old, went to the hospital for treatment three months ago after self-harming. She had five centimeters of stitches on her wrist and was diagnosed with moderate depression and the possibility of paranoia. Her registered address is in Sanqu Township, 30 kilometers away."

As Xiao Chen recounted the story, a second photo was posted on the whiteboard in the police station office, with some basic information written below it.

When the faces of the two deceased are placed side by side, there is a striking resemblance.

Zheng Yan immediately said, "Check if Qu Li also has depression."

Then a problem arose: "Why would Chen Yingying, who lives 30 kilometers away, go to the crime scene?"

Was she there on business and thus targeted, or was she led there by the murderer? The two crime scenes are quite far apart, so why did the murderer choose these two locations?
Xiao Chen: "I'll ask the traffic department to help me check the surveillance footage on the road from Chen Yingying's house to the crime scene."

Zheng Yan nodded, looking at the photos and continuing to analyze: "The two victims are of similar age, and the preliminary judgment is that they both have signs of abuse/self-harm, but how did the murderer know that they had this in common? Why was Qu Li killed in the community where Qu Li rented an apartment, while Chen Yingying was killed at a bus stop that has no connection?"

“The murderer must have a way of knowing them, or they might be acquaintances, and they might be familiar with this bus stop, or perhaps they are from that area.” Tan Ming immediately realized.

"Yes. If the murderer knew them beforehand, then the two victims must have had some overlap in their social relationships. They might have been classmates, or they might have known each other because of something."

After a preliminary analysis, Zheng Yan emphasized the current focus of the investigation.

"The forensic and autopsy results aren't available yet. First, investigate the social relationships of the two deceased. Did they go to the same hospital? Did they join the same mutual aid association for vulnerable groups? ... At the same time, don't forget to have the Haicheng police station keep an eye on Peng Siyan, who is connected to Qu Li."

Everyone quickly received their tasks and set off.

Tan Ming drove the two forensic investigators to Chen Yingying's house, taking a moment to chew on two small red bean buns, choking so badly that his neck stretched out for two miles.

Although Sanqu Township is called a township, it is actually located not far from the southeastern district of Jiujiang. In recent years, it has been developed into a leisure resort.

However, the environment where Chen Yingying lived was really bad. The exterior of the building could not be changed, and the interior of the house was also in a bad state. It was dilapidated and empty, and the few belongings it had were messy and covered in dust.

“She has moderate depression and has lost all interest in taking care of her living space.” Tan Ming shook his head.

Then he walked to the sink, picked up the mouthwash cup and looked at it, and then checked other commonly used items.

"The bottom of the mouthwash cup was still wet, and the frequently used items showed signs of recent use, so she must have left not long ago. Yesterday, or even early this morning. There was only a toothbrush, and no roommates."

The forensic investigators also said, "There was a bag of snacks that had been eaten, and the potato chips inside weren't quite soft yet. The opened medication for treating depression was still on the table."

It was as if Chen Yingying had only gone downstairs to throw out the trash temporarily, and everything at home was just like it was during normal life.

So why did she suddenly go out? She has paranoia, and people like that are most afraid of interacting with strangers and being in unfamiliar environments.

Tan Ming thought of a possibility—

Chen Yingying trusted the murderer, so she followed him out of her home and was taken 30 kilometers away, where she was murdered.

This person could be her friend, family member, or doctor.

But there's an unavoidable point in this speculation: why didn't Chen Yingying struggle?

She knew to go to the hospital after self-harming, which shows she had the intention to save herself. Hanging is a time-consuming and painful method of death; why didn't she struggle, but instead seemed to calmly face death?
unless……

Tan Ming immediately called the forensic doctor, Lao Li: "Lao Li, remember to check whether Chen Yingying took a large amount of sleeping pills or was injected with something before she died. Check Qu Li's case as well."

He then assisted in the forensic examination, scanning the entire room. They didn't find the phone, but he looked through some of Chen Yingying's books and clothes. He discovered that, like Qu Li, her clothes were mostly dark-colored and not very fitted, suggesting she had likely experienced sexual misconduct as well.

After checking the room and finding no obvious signs of a second person, Tan Ming and the local police visited nearby residents.

The neighbors who lived in the same building rarely saw Chen Yingying. The few times they saw her open the door, it was always to go out and throw out the trash. She was wrapped up tightly, like a pale and powerless wandering soul.

The restaurant owner outside the residential area did remember her.

“She would come to eat occasionally, and she would sit in the innermost seat with her head down, so you couldn’t see what she looked like at all.”

"But the day before yesterday, I think, she came and ordered a plate of rock chicken. That was the first time I saw her face clearly. She was so thin she barely had any flesh on her bones, but she seemed quite happy. I rounded it down to zero for her, and she even looked up and smiled at me."

This was the person who had spoken the most among the dozen or so people he had interviewed, and Tan Ming became somewhat wary.

"You seem quite interested in her? Nobody else in the neighborhood even remembers whether they've ever seen her."

The owner chuckled sheepishly, "She once reminded me that a man was staring at my daughter and told me to be careful. I could tell she mustered a lot of courage to say that, so I remembered her and even gave her a free plate of fried noodles."

It turned out to be this reason.

When asked if he had seen Chen Yingying with anyone else, the boss shook his head and said no.

“She doesn’t come here often. She always comes alone and doesn’t talk to anyone.”

Tan Ming was not surprised.

It is quite normal for people suffering from depression and paranoia to experience this.

After asking around, they only had this one valid lead, and they hadn't found any suspects yet. Tan Ming sighed and made video calls to the others.

"So, did you find anything related to Chen Yingying at Qu Li's house?"

Xiao Chen's camera was focused on a box of medicine: "Qu Li also has depression."

"As expected. What about the visits?"

"Someone saw her leave with a man on Saturday afternoon, it was Peng Siyan. The surveillance footage can also prove it, but we still haven't found out where they went."

Tan Ming asked, "Do you think Peng Siyan could be the murderer?"

“Right now, he is the only suspect. He is definitely involved in the abuse or sexual assault of Qu Li. Chen Yingying seems to have had a similar experience, but it is not yet certain whether that person is related to Peng Siyan.”

Ultimately, it's all speculation; there's no substantial evidence pointing to any particular suspect.

After a couple of sighs, Xiao Chen analyzed, "You didn't find Chen Yingying's phone. Did the murderer think there was some suggestive information on it, so he took it? If the murderer and Chen Yingying communicated through the phone, they must have met through some other channel beforehand, such as a physical clinic or an online depression support group. However, Qu Li's spending records indicate that she has never been to a hospital or mental health clinic, and we didn't find any such group chats on her phone."

"That's one direction for our investigation," Tan Ming said. "There must be other channels we don't know about. There's someone who definitely knows more about these things than we do."

A psychiatrist at a hospital.

(End of this chapter)