Criminal Investigation Notes

Chapter 21:

There was a slight chill in the air.

Su Hui ignored Song Rongjiang and continued speaking: "Soon after, the first case happened. At that time, your secret crush on Pei Weiwei grew stronger, so you gathered the courage to do something. You went to confess to her. The sudden confession frightened the girl, and she rejected you in fear. For her, you were just a stranger whose face she couldn't remember."

Currently, there is no concrete evidence to prove that Song Rongjiang knew Pei Weiwei.

Su Hui's hypothesis is speculative and lacks empirical evidence.

He is speaking with a confident tone.

This hypothesis was not mentioned in the previous investigations conducted by the police. Su Hui's premise disrupts the timeline of the psychological crime and deduces this result. He believes that this is the closest to the truth.

This conclusion was not fabricated but deduced based on the investigation of the case, understanding of Song Rongjiang, and interviews with many people. It was based on a trace of evidence.

In the document given to him by Tan Ju, Lu Junchi spent a lot of time investigating Song Rongjiang's driving routes at night. He would regularly appear near Pei Weiwei's school and home on weekends and Sundays, which was beneficial evidence.

Su Hui deduced the suspect's psychology based on these clues.

There are many definitions of criminal psychology.

Su Hui believes that understanding criminal psychology is not about the obscure theories but about being able to speculate on their past thoughts and predict their next actions when facing a criminal.

This is an unproven deduction. Without enough solid evidence, those who explore criminal psychology are like walking on a tightrope, and any misstep can lead to a fall into the abyss.

But once this situation is confirmed, it will create a path that did not previously exist above the abyss.

In countless possible pasts, deducing the only remaining possibility, which is the unique truth...

"During the time when you were rejected, you had an argument with the first victim, and then in a fit of anger, you killed her... At that time, your thought of killing was impulsive, and your killing was analyzed as compensatory killing in psychology." Su Hui said in a deep voice, "The person you wanted to kill was Pei Weiwei."

Song Rongjiang was no longer as calm as before, his hands trembled badly. He no longer denied Su Hui's story but emphasized, "I didn't fucking plan to kill her at that time."

This kind of reaction was already an implicit admission of Su Hui's story.

Moreover, Song Rongjiang's words reflected a crucial point. What does "at that time" mean? Did his thoughts change over time?

Su Hui continued, "The death of the first victim was almost accidental. In a fit of rage, you committed the act of killing. When you came to your senses, everything had already happened..."

"After that, your life lost balance. You hastily disposed of the body, knowing that you would definitely be discovered by the police. Under this tense pressure, you began to relish the pleasure brought to you by the first killing and found that you enjoyed it. So, you killed the second girl."

As Su Hui spoke, he observed Song Rongjiang with blurred vision. He couldn't see his specific expression, but he could perceive that his face was twitching slightly with each inhalation of cigarette smoke, and his smoking frequency had increased.

Su Hui knew that he had hit the mark again.

"When you were describing the second victim to me, there was a very interesting sentence. You said that after you killed her, you felt 'she belonged to you'..." Su Hui probed, continuing, "So after that, you became even more determined to kill Pei Weiwei..."

At this point, Su Hui deliberately slowed down his pace of speaking, "Because you wanted her, completely and solely to belong to you."

At that time, Song Rongjiang should have understood that as long as Pei Weiwei was alive, there was an unbridgeable gap between them, and only by her death could they truly be together.

But Pei Weiwei was different from the other victims. She was like a treasure in his heart, a woman who belonged to him alone...

In the interrogation room, this was a psychological duel without swords.

"Su Hui slowly said, 'So at that time, you had an idea. You wanted to kill Pei Weiwei, but didn't want anyone to know. You even fantasized that after you died, your soul could merge with hers...'"

"Shut up!" Song Rongjiang suddenly stood up, making the table and chairs creak. The tables and chairs were already nailed to the floor, but he shook them so much that they seemed to be on the verge of falling apart.

Song Rongjiang suddenly realized that he seemed to be in a subtle passive state. If this were a card game, he had already played all his cards, and he had no idea what Su Hui was holding.

Su Hui looked up at him and said calmly, "See, don't I understand you a bit?"

His next sentence hit the mark even more, "You chose Pei Weiwei because she was too much like Tao Li, and she was younger and closer to your memories than Tao Li..."

"The first two victims were Pei Weiwei's compensation victims, and Pei Weiwei was Tao Li's compensation victim. There is a double compensation relationship in this case."

"How did you know about Tao Li?!" Song Rongjiang hammered the table with his fist, his knuckles bleeding. The man in front of him suddenly saw through his thoughts, and his mind began to spin.

Song Rongjiang thought that his relationship with Tao Li was rarely known back then, and no one would know now, not even her name, which he had been avoiding mentioning.

After coughing a few times, Su Hui continued, "There are many methods for classifying serial killers. One commonly used method is to differentiate whether the offender is organized or not. Organized criminals are meticulous in their behavior, planning carefully and good at concealing their crimes. They will carefully choose each target and try to evade criminal responsibility. There is also a type of criminal who is not organized, emotional, and may choose a victim randomly, even someone they meet on the street."

But serial killers are not just these two extremes. Most offenders are hybrid killers who switch between organized and disorganized forms of crime.

"There's an interesting phenomenon: when an organized serial killer is discovered by the police, they often become chaotic and enter a disorganized state. On the other hand, when an unorganized serial killer is pursued by the police, they become increasingly cautious and learn to cover up their crimes step by step.

Song Rongjiang is a typical representative of evolution from unorganized to organized crime. His target had also changed from random people to Pei Weiwei.

"I also know one thing. After you killed Pei Weiwei, you returned to the crime scene more than once to relive that feeling. Returning to the scene is something many serial killers do, and it helps you relive the crime process better."

"The police have long investigated your profit records. Almost every few days, your income suddenly decreases, while fuel consumption increases. Based on the changes in fuel consumption and income reduction, this change began before Pei Weiwei disappeared. I guess you were planning how to hide her body, looking for a place, and then digging the grave, killing and burying her."

"Numerous pieces of evidence are enough to prove that you have been to the same place in the dark night. According to the time, fuel consumption, and surveillance camera records along the way..." Su Hui said, unfolding a map of Huadu and drawing a range on it.

"Pei Weiwei was killed within this circle. And you will visit the place where you committed the crime again in the cold night and relive it repeatedly."

Song Rongjiang looked at the map and swallowed his saliva. The range included the place where he buried Pei Weiwei, and he had visited her more than once. Su Hui was right again.

Song Rongjiang admitted that no matter how he guarded himself, the person in front of him had opened his heart and peered into his secrets. This feeling made him shudder.

He admits that he is a monster, but why can Su Hui interpret the psychology of this kind of monster?

He is like a hunter specializing in capturing them, and all those well-thought-out lies and traps seem like nothing but mere tricks in front of him.

"Unlike the other two victims, this time the murder occurred in a remote and uninhabited location, and you strangled her..."

"That's why there's no evidence left in the car."

Under Su Hui's description, Song Rongjiang's thoughts seemed to go back more than a hundred days ago, when Pei Weiwei stopped breathing in his palm...

The weather in April was still a bit cold, but his heart was hot, and he repeatedly stroked her pletely possessing the young girl.

There was no emotion in Su Hui's voice, and he was as unyielding as a block of ice: "After meeting Tao Li, I became more and more convinced of this...you killed Pei Weiwei, who looks a lot like Tao Li, because you wanted to be with her forever."

Song Rongjiang looked up at Su Hui. The man in front of him was gradually tearing open his chest, as if using his hand to pick apart his brain. How did he know?! Those were facts that the police couldn't discover even after months of investigation!

Song Rongjiang's heart pounded in his chest like thunder, and he felt that Su Hui was getting closer and closer to the answer he had been carefully concealing...

No! He only had a few days left to live, and Pei Weiwei was still waiting for him there...

A sweet smile of the young girl appeared before his eyes.

In this world, only he knew where she was!

Su Hui's voice continued to speak in Song Rongjiang's ear, unhurriedly: "I investigated several locations. Was it the small park where you used to go on dates? The West Mountain you climbed together? Or...the walnut grove behind your school?"

"She belongs to me! No one can take her away!" When he heard the last location, Song Rongjiang suddenly went crazy and rushed over. He grabbed Su Hui's collar, and Su Hui felt himself being forcefully lifted up, his lower back hitting the back of the chair. Then, Song Rongjiang's hands wrapped around Su Hui's throat.

She belonged completely to him!

Song Rongjiang's hands gradually tightened, and Su Hui couldn't breathe for a moment. The thick palm pressed against his throat and veins, creating a feeling of impending death.

But there was no fear of death on Su Hui's face. He just looked at Song Rongjiang calmly.

As if he was anticipating this moment.

TN:And that ladies, gentlemen, and non-binaries, is how you drive a psychopath into confessing. Take notes.

On an unrelated note, I convinced someone to lend me their laptop so, YAY. I'm working overtime to get the chapters done before I descend into laptop-less hell again so I might be releasing the chapters every day. 

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