The Untouched Crime

by Zijin Chen

  “I don’t think that’s it,” Zhao said firmly. “We barely have the slightest grasp on this killer even though he has committed five murders. It’s clear that this person is very good at covering his tracks. There is no way that he was unaware of the risk those fingerprints would pose.”

  “He was probably less experienced for his first murder,” someone suggested. “After he killed his victim, he panicked and left the murder weapon. Then in subsequent attacks, he knew that the police already had his fingerprints, so there was no need to hide them. It’s just another way of taunting us, like the notes.”

  “That’s possible,” Zhao answered. “But in the past few cases we collected the fingerprints of thousands of residents in the area and never found a match.”

  “It’s impossible to collect the fingerprints of everyone in the area,” the officer pointed out. “It would be very easy for the killer to go unnoticed, especially if they don’t even live near the crime scenes.”

  “I think the killer lives somewhere in west Hangzhou, because all five cases happened there at night,” Zhao said. “If the killer had to travel to scope out the location and wait for the moment to attack, it would be much harder to coordinate.”

  “People move around a lot nowadays. If the killer wanted to avoid the police when they were collecting fingerprints, it would be easy to just pick up and leave.”

  Zhao nodded. “The fourth characteristic is the note found at the scene of every crime. He is clearly taunting us. And those Liqun cigarettes in the victims’ mouths—I don’t know what to make of that.”

  “Maybe the killer wanted to leave a few red herrings to put us on the wrong track,” Yang said.

  Another officer nodded. “That’s the only explanation; otherwise it doesn’t make any sense.”

  “So what do we do now?” Yang asked.

  “We’re going to split up into groups,” Zhao said. “Yang, your group is responsible for investigating the surveillance tapes and making inquiries about the friends and enemies of the victim. Song, you’ll lead a second group to find out which local stores carry this kind of jump rope. I also want you to ask the forensics experts to check the ink and the paper on that note to see if we can learn anything new there. I want a third group with as many people as possible to interview as many residents near Wenyi West as possible. Ask if they saw anything out of the ordinary last night, and see if anyone has been acting suspiciously over the past few days. I hope you can bring me some good news. Otherwise we will have to go back to gathering fingerprints. In this case the victim wrote the word ‘local,’ so pay attention to local residents.”

  Just as the meeting ended and Zhao was preparing to return to his office, an officer burst into the room. “We just got an important clue, sir,” he said to Zhao. “The West Hangzhou Police Station got a report from a woman last night. She works at a bar downtown and claims that a man in his forties grabbed her while she was on the way home from work. The man pulled her onto a grassy area near Wenyi West Road and sexually assaulted her.”

  The time and place of the assault coincided closely with the homicide. It was about two hundred feet away from the concrete area, with just a few shrubs and trees between the two.

  Captain Zhao squinted. It looked like he would need to investigate the sexual-assault case before continuing on the homicide.

  Chapter 6

  The next morning when Zhao arrived at the station, Investigator Yang followed him to his office.

  “Here are the files from the district Public Security Bureau. Apparently the suspect has been grabbing and assaulting women for several months now. He finds a girl walking home alone, pulls her violently to the grass, threatens her with a knife, and then sexually assaults her. When he finishes he makes a couple more threats and then walks away with the confidence that he won’t be reported. News stations have picked up the story several times.”

  “Then why haven’t they caught him?” Zhao asked, incredulous.

  “The guy always crouches on a quiet stretch of road, waiting for the perfect opportunity so he won’t be caught. The district bureau opened a case after the first report but didn’t prioritize it, because he didn’t go so far as to rape the victims. But in the past few weeks, the assaults increased to one every few days. By the time eight victims had come forward, the district bureau increased their night patrols and found a suspect on the surveillance cameras, though he always wears a baseball cap to hide his face. But as they checked other cameras in the area, they discovered that he has a strange habit.”

  Zhao was immediately curious. “What strange habit?”

  Yang hesitated awkwardly. “The camera footage shows that he occasionally defecates in elevators near the park.”

  Zhao rubbed his chin in bewilderment. “He goes into elevators and defecates?”

  Yang nodded. “He goes into the elevator wearing that cap and takes off his pants right in front of the camera. He doesn’t wipe, just zips up and leaves.”

  What the hell? Zhao thought it was all very strange. This guy was clearly a pervert, but was he the serial killer as well?

  Zhao took the report and scanned the pages briefly. He thought for a moment before asking, “Have you contacted the woman who reported the assault last night?”

  “I arranged an interview with her in her apartment in an hour.”

  “OK. Where does she live?”

  “Just north of Wenyi West Road, in an apartment building southwest of Zhejiang University.”

  “Zhejiang University?” That caught his attention. He had an old friend at the university who might have an explanation for why the killer never left footprints. “I’m coming with you.”

  “Are you sure?” Yang asked. He knew it was rare for the captain to personally investigate such a low-profile case—for any captain to go in the field, really. Yang and the other investigators of the Hangzhou Bureau were responsible for menial fieldwork. Captain Zhao headed the Criminal Investigation Division; most of their time was spent providing strategic advice and authorizing others to take action.

  “Yes, we’ll go together.” Zhao nodded.

  An hour later, Zhao and Yang knocked on the victim’s door. Her name was Ms. Liu and she was from northern China. Zhao saw that she was beautiful even without makeup. She had a great figure too.

  The woman told them that she was a waitress in a bar and she worked nights. She usually came home late, around midnight. She was so unsettled by the assault that she had asked for the next day off.

  Zhao didn’t pry. Whether she was a waitress or earned money doing other work was irrelevant to the case.

  After asking some preliminary questions, Zhao finally asked, “Could you please give us a detailed account of what happened to you the night before last, Ms. Liu?”

  “Do you think you can catch that pervert?” She gave him a worried look.

  Investigator Yang was surprised. Police officers did their best not to make any promises, and he and Zhao needed to think of the best response. Before Yang even opened his mouth, Zhao said, “Definitely. But in order to do so we need more information. The statement you gave at the police station is not thorough enough.”

  “OK.” Ms. Liu nodded. “The night before last, before midnight, I got off the bus, and I started walking on Wenyi West Road towards my apartment. I didn’t see anyone else on the street.”

  “How far do you think you went?” Zhao asked.

  “I just walked from the bus stop to that open space. I don’t know, three to five hundred feet?”

  “Right. Continue.” Zhao took note of the distance.

  “A man in his forties wearing glasses started walking towards me. He looked like . . . um . . . well, he just looked normal. He sort of had a long face, without any wrinkles. His hair wasn’t too short or too long. He looked like a respectable guy.”

  Zhao interrupted her. “Was he wearing a hat?”

  She shook her head. “No, but he was carrying a shoulder bag . . . like a leather Gucci bag. Basica
lly I remember thinking he looked like he had a lot of money. I never would have expected him to do what he did. The police at the police station told me that the cameras show some guy wearing a hat, but I think he hid the hat in his bag or something, because if he had it on before, I would have been a little warier.”

  Captain Zhao nodded. Some of the victims remembered him wearing a jade bracelet. He seemed to give off an air of wealth. Nobody thought that a refined gentleman would turn around and pull a young woman onto the grass to sexually assault her.

  Ms. Liu trembled as she continued her story. “We had walked a few steps past each other when I heard footsteps running towards me. I didn’t even know what was happening. That monster grabbed my hair and pulled me toward him. He showed me his knife and dragged me all the way to the open space, threatening to kill me if I screamed.”

  “I know that you reported the incident to the local police station. But could you please tell me . . . how he assaulted you?” Zhao cleared his throat. “Did he force you to give him a hand job?”

  The girl frowned, disgusted. She looked at her feet as she answered. “No, he threatened me with a knife and then made me watch him jerk off.”

  “He didn’t make you do it? He did it himself?”

  The girl nodded.

  “How long did this last?”

  “Oh, he came pretty quickly,” she said, then blushed, shooting a glance at the officers. They waited. “It lasted one to two minutes,” she said as delicately as possible.

  Zhao felt uncomfortable, but he forced himself to keep asking questions. “Did he leave after that?”

  “Yeah. He, he finished his business, looked nervous, and ran off. I was terrified. I waited a long time before getting up, and then ran to my building to report it to the security guard. Then I went to the police.”

  Zhao listened closely but felt that something was not quite right with her story. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. Once again, he confirmed the location of the crime, just 150 feet from the murder. The two cases were only separated by grass and a copse of trees.

  When they finished the interview, Zhao asked Yang to take him to Zhejiang University. He wanted to have a chat with that old friend of his.

  PART 2

  THE TRAGEDY OF THE LOGICIAN

  Chapter 7

  The first day of the fall term at Zhejiang University was unbearably hot. Yan Liang, a mathematics professor, waited for the next elevator.

  Sun streamed into the hallway and cast his shadow on the wall. Professor Yan was so hot his scalp itched. He longed for his air-conditioned classroom.

  Ding! The doors opened and Professor Yan quickly stepped inside.

  “What the—?” Professor Yan nimbly moved to the back of the elevator, avoiding an unpleasant pile in the corner.

  He squatted to look more closely at it and gasped. It was feces.

  He started to sweat. His classroom was on the sixth floor and he didn’t want to walk up six flights of stairs. If he could just hold out for a minute, he would be fine. He held his nose and pressed the button for the sixth floor.

  The ride felt like the longest of his life. Then the elevator jerked and the doors remained shut. He pressed the “door open” button and the emergency button, but it took several minutes before he finally got out again. When the doors finally opened, Professor Yan stumbled out and sucked in the fresh air. Glancing up, he suddenly felt rooted to the spot. A group of his students wrinkled their noses at the foul smell emanating from the elevator. He said in a loud voice, “Wait, wait, let me explain.”

  “Don’t worry, Professor, we all have accidents,” one of them said. “We promise we’ll keep it a secret!” They all suppressed laughs, and one student even handed him a small pack of tissues. Turning red, he ushered them into the classroom.

  He usually liked to start the year off with something lighthearted and had prepared a humorous lesson explaining why math was the “father of all academic disciplines.”

  But this year the students found him funny long before he had a chance to introduce himself. Instead, he taught two uninspiring lessons of mathematical logic. By the end, he just wanted to go home.

  As he gathered his books, a male student read something on his phone to his neighbors. “A man has been lurking around west Hangzhou and repeatedly assaulting young women walking home alone late at night. According to a victim’s description, the man is in his forties, has short hair, wears glasses, and looks respectable. The Xihu District Public Security Bureau reported that surveillance cameras have filmed him defecating in elevators. The police are making every effort to catch the criminal and are ramping up night patrols in the area.”

  As the student continued to read, more eyes focused on the professor. He matched the description perfectly.

  Professor Yan was organizing his lecture notes when he noticed that the feel of the room had changed. Looking up, he saw suspicious expressions on his students’ faces. He flushed.

  At that moment, a girl came running back into the classroom. “Professor Yan!” she exclaimed. “The police are here. They say they want to speak to you.”

  The students saw two uniformed officers waiting at the door. Captain Zhao looked sternly at Yan. “Hurry up. We’ve been looking for you,” he said impatiently.

  The students all turned to look back at Professor Yan, surprised. They wondered if their teacher would leave the classroom handcuffed.

  For a second, Yan couldn’t move. He looked at Zhao, angrily stuffed his last few papers into his briefcase, and walked towards the door with his head hung low.

  Chapter 8

  Professor Yan clenched his teeth and glared at Zhao and Yang. “What are you doing coming into my classroom like that? In uniform, no less!” he hissed. He spied a Police Tactical Unit vehicle in the parking lot, the kind that typically transported criminals to police stations, and he was thoroughly irritated. “And you’re driving a PTU. Thanks to you, I have now lost any shred of credibility I had with my students.”

  Zhao frowned. “What do you mean? I was on a case on Wenyi West Road and decided to swing by and see you. I’m sorry I didn’t have time to change out of uniform.”

  “OK. OK. What’s the matter? And don’t ask me about one of your cases; you know I hate that. If you want to have dinner, I would be happy to go some other time. Just remember to come in civilian clothes.” He quickened his pace. The last thing he wanted was to interact with the police today.

  Zhao followed close behind and smiled. “Fine, let’s grab something to eat. I’ll change my clothes in the car.”

  Yan spun around. “Zhao, I know we’re old friends, but what are you doing here?”

  Zhao was a little embarrassed. “Actually I’m working on this case,” he began in a low voice.

  “That’s enough! I left the force five years ago. I’m just a teacher now. I don’t want to have anything to do with the police anymore; do I make myself clear?”

  “I thought you might say that. But you know I wouldn’t ask for help if it were just some ordinary case. You heard about last night’s murder on Wenyi West Road, didn’t you?”

  “No, and I don’t care.”

  Zhao coughed and pretended not to have heard Yan’s answer. “It’s been in the news. For three years there has been a serial killer at large in west Hangzhou. He leaves a note that says ‘Come and get me’ at each crime scene. Sound familiar?”

  Yan couldn’t help but feel a wave of schadenfreude wash over him as he heard about Zhao’s tough case. “Yesterday was the fifth case, I take it?” He looked at Zhao. “But what does this have to do with me?”

  “Come on, Yan, you were on the special task force for the Zhejiang PSB.”

  “I don’t want to talk about the past. If you don’t have anything else you want to talk about, then I’m going home. Good luck with your case, and please don’t come back; it’s a waste of time.” Yan turned to leave.

  Zhao caught his arm and said in a low voice, “If you don’t want to t
alk about the case, that’s fine. I just have one question. How did the killer pull his victim over seventy-five feet of grass without leaving a single footprint?”

  “Crossing grass without leaving a footprint?” Yan’s eyes flashed with curiosity, but he quickly resumed his disinterested expression. “Cops are the ones who are supposed to solve cases. Not professors.”

  “How about you just talk to me as a friend for a second? What do you say?” Zhao said.

  “That’s your only question?” Yan asked, hesitant.

  Zhao nodded. “That’s it.”

  “If I give you an answer, you won’t bother me again?”

  Zhao laughed. “If that’s what you want, yes.”

  “I have one condition,” Yan said.

  “Go on,” Zhao said, smiling, ready to hear his request.

  “You’re a high-ranking officer; you have some power in your bureau. I want you to put some pressure on the guys in the Xihu District PSB. Make sure they catch that pervert who’s been hanging around in west Hangzhou lately.

  Zhao’s smile melted. “Do you mean the one on the news today?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have any leads?” Zhao asked earnestly.

  Yan pointed towards the elevator bay. “See that elevator on the left? I found human excrement in it this morning. I think it might have been left by the pervert.”

  Zhao ordered Yang to contact the university security team to review the footage from the elevator’s surveillance camera. He then turned back to Yan. “Don’t worry, it won’t take long to get this guy. I’m going to handle it instead of the district PSB.”

  Yan looked surprised. “Why would you take on such an insignificant case?”

  “Because we believe that this pervert also committed the murders.”

  “Really?” Yan was unconvinced.

  “Last night, one of his victims told us that the assault occurred right next to the scene of the murder. The timing is close enough that one person could have committed both crimes. Right now our number-one priority is to catch that sick bastard. You’re making me curious, Yan; why are you so interested in this case?”