Skinner's Box (Fang Mu (Eastern Crimes))

by Lei Mi

  The question was: Why had they done this terrible thing?

  The victim's name was Shen Baoqiang; he was male, 41-year-old, and divorced. He had worked as a manager at a fruit wholesale company. The time of death was estimated to have been roughly eight hours before he was left at the crime scene, and the cause of death was a direct result of blunt force trauma to the front of the skull. Further forensic examination revealed that there were lacerations in several places on the victim's scalp, as well as multiple soft tissue contusions around his body, but that none of these had been fatal. The actual cause of death had been an incranial hematoma produced by a severe skull fracture near the right temple. The murder weapon was likely a blunt object such as a hammer. Based on recordings made by the shopping center's surveillance system, the place where the body was discovered was undoubtedly a post-mortem crime scene. Moreover, there were marks and residue on the victim's wrists and ankles that suggested tape had been used, and the predominant theory was that he had been kidnapped, bound, and gagged prior to his death.

  On-site investigations indicated that the perpetrators had entered by way of a first floor window on the west side of the mall. The expansion bolts that had fixed the iron bars of the security grating in place had been removed and tossed aside, and a section of glass to the side of the window latch had been cut out, leaving a hole just large enough for a hand to fit through and open the latch. The padlock on the outside of the roll-up door had marks on it, but it did not appear to have been opened by brute force; rather, they seemed to have been left by a lock-picking instrument of some sort. The on-site investigations had led the police to conclude that this had been a well-planned, premeditated entry, and that the perpetrators had been adequately equipped and determined enough to get in and get out quickly and without a hitch.

  The police looked into the victim's social relations, and following recommendations from the PSB's Criminal Psychology Research Institute, they focused their efforts on finding evidence for any possible vendetta against the victim as well as whether or not he had belonged to any underground groups or secret societies. His home and place of work were searched thoroughly, but nothing suspicious turned up, nor were any strange tattoos or other markings found anywhere on the victim's body. This fact, combined with statements from his family, friends, and coworkers, let the police to rule out the possibility that he had belonged to any secret organizations. As for the ongoing investigations into whether or not the man had fallen victim to a revenge killing, no definitive conclusion had been reached for the time being due to the complex nature of the many business relationships he had formed while trading in the commercial sector.

  The initial investigative results caught Fang Mu a bit by surprise. This case obviously involved a group of perpetrators, and the manner in which the body had been dumped had clear ritualistic significance. That in itself had led Fang Mu to believe the murder might have been committed as a form of punishment by members of some sort of gang, but this theory was inconsistent with the police investigation's recent findings. Following Fang Mu's advice, the police launched yet another series of interviews with informants from the various gangs known to be active in the city, but nothing was learned that seemed to have anything to do with the case at hand. As a result, the police returned the focus of their investigation to the shopping center.

  This was an area that held quite a bit of interest for Fang Mu and his colleagues at the Criminal Psychology Research Institute. Without a doubt, the culprits had carried out a long and careful observation of the place before dumping the body there, and had planned out their course of action in great detail. Their willingness to take such pains and such a huge risk had clearly risen out of some need of theirs. But what exactly had that need been?

  Traditional trains of thought would conclude that by leaving the victim's body in such a public location, the perpetrators had meant to humiliate, to show off, or to lay down an open challenge. Based on what was known of the case so far, however, there had been no obvious motive to humiliate the victim. And if they had done this as a result of a subconscious impulse to either show off or to lay down a gauntlet of some kind, the police would have to consider an even more sobering possibility: that the perpetrators would kill again.

  Smoke curled lazily in the City Bureau's multi-purpose conference room. The prediction of another murder case weighed heavily on the minds of everyone present, and for some of those present, smoking heavily seemed the only way they could divert themselves from their anxiety. As Vice Captain Zheng Lin opened a second pack of cigarettes, he motioned for one of the investigators to give a report of what was known about the case so far.

  The video footage captured by the surveillance cameras made it clear that the perpetrators were very familiar with the shopping center's layout. Research into the mall's staff had ruled out the possibility that this had been an inside job. Due to the fact that the broken window that had served their point of entry was located at an angle to the nearby residential area, as well as the fact that it had been broken late at night, there had been no eyewitnesses to the break-in. By the markings left on the padlock, the police believed that at least one of the perps had some sort of background or expertise in lock-picking, and so they had begun looking into the lock industry around town.

  After the investigator was finished delivering her report, Zheng Lin sat in silence for a long minute or two, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth and smoke shrouding his knitted brows. Finally he waved a hand. "Keep interviewing the victim's family and coworkers and so on. Find whatever you can. That's it for now, folks."

  The investigators stood and filed out of the room. As Fang Mu and Bian Ping lined up behind them, Zheng Lin called out for them to wait.

  "Old Bian," Zheng Lin said as he tossed the captain a cigarette. "I need your help with something."

  Bian Ping and Fang Mu exchanged a look as they sat back down.

  "What a goddamned mess! We still haven't got any leads in the labyrinth case, and now this happens!" Zheng Lin rubbed at his temples, his eyes shut tight. "Why are there so many psychopaths around these days?!"

  Bian Ping broke out laughing, but Fang Mu was taken aback. Zheng Lin's little tirade had reminded him of that strange feeling that had come over him while he was in the shopping center. As he had strode past the display racks on his way to the crime scene, he had definitely felt a sense of déjà vu; it had felt as if then and there something familiar had flitted past his brain, just out of reach of his consciousness. The feeling had only lasted an instant, but in a similar environment or atmosphere it would again present itself, as clear and obvious as an inscription on a steel plaque.

  And then he had it. It was the labyrinth murder case.

  Both victims had been bound and held against their will while they were still alive. Both bodies had been dumped under needlessly complex circumstances and at great risk to the perpetrator or perpetrators. And in both cases, the motive was still unclear….

  "Officer Fang, what do you think?" Zheng Lin asked, breaking Fang Mu from his reverie.

  "Huh?" It took Fang Mu a moment to collect his wits. "What?"

  Zheng Lin appeared somewhat disappointed with Fang Mu's distracted state. He turned to Bian Ping and repeated the question. "What do you think, Captain? What could stuffing the vic's body into a giant teddy bear signify?"

  "We still don't know," Bian Ping said, shaking his head solemnly. "But one thing is for certain; the perps must have felt that this was something they had to do. Otherwise why go to so much trouble? The problem is..."

  "What?" Zheng Lin and Fang Mu both asked at the same time.

  "I could understand if a single murderer felt a need to perform a strange and unique act like that; such are the inner workings of a twisted mind. But an entire group of people feeling the same way? It just doesn't make sense."

  It was true. There might indeed be some common traits that were recognizable across abnormal psychology, but it tended to manifest much mor
e often in the form of individual characteristics. Everyone's situation was different; naturally, everyone had his or her own special psychological needs. It seemed too much of a coincidence for multiple individuals to all have the same desire—to stuff a corpse inside a giant teddy bear and hang it on the wall for the world to see.

  "What were you thinking about just now?" Bian Ping asked in the car as they drove back to the precinct. "Think you're onto something?"

  Fang Mu hesitated a moment and then shook his head.

  He had learned his lesson from the Luo Jiahai case; this time he would keep his mouth shut until he was absolutely sure.

  A few days later, reports began to trickle in from those who had been dispatched around the city to look into various aspects of the investigation. The results were disheartening: no one had uncovered any clues of any value whatsoever. The biggest impediment to their efforts was that without a way to determine the murderers' motive, it was hard to know where they should be looking. And so they had to figure out a way.

  That task, too, was assigned to the PSB's Criminal Psychology Research Institute.

  Fang Mu sat on a stool in one of the Material Evidence Division's labs. On a table in front of him was the bloodstained teddy bear. The thing lay there limp and headless like a discarded toy that had just been stripped of all its fur.

  Doctor Cai, head of the Material Evidence Division, explained that the plush exterior fur of the bear had been made of an imported material. The doll had been hollowed out, but judging by the few scraps that remained stuck on the inside, it had been stuffed with ordinary PP cotton. The examiners had also found some human hair and a few skull fragments and bits of skin and were currently running tests on them.

  "There's one thing I don't understand." Doctor Cai poked at the teddy bear with his finger. "If they really needed to dress him up like a bear, then why not just go and buy an actual bear suit, like an advertisement mascot might wear? Why go to all this trouble to hollow out a giant stuffed animal?"

  Fang Mu had done some internet research and confirmed that the teddy bear used was presently the most common type of super-sized teddy bear on the market, and that it could be bought in just about any large- or medium-sized shopping mall or small-commodities wholesale market. Animal suits worn for advertising, however, had to be custom ordered from a specialized manufacturer. It was no wonder that the perpetrators had not wanted to get such a bear suit; the paper trail from such a purchase would be almost impossible to hide.

  "It can only mean one thing," Fang Mu mumbled. "This teddy bear was very important to them."

  Fang Mu’s mind ran along other theories of twisted minds. So engrossed he was in his thoughts that he barely noticed Doctor Cai stepping out of the room.

  Fang Mu stared at the teddy bear. If the perpetrators' having hung the corpse in plain view in a shopping mall could be interpreted as a desire to put it on display, then why had they first stuffed it inside a teddy bear? They had obviously not been trying to conceal the body, so the act must have been performed out of a psychological need of some kind. And this need must have been strong enough for the murderers to have been willing to take such a big risk.

  So, just what sort of need had it been?

  Fang Mu remembered Meng Fanzhe. In order to overcome his fear of mice, he had decided to raise a cat. In the end, however, Meng Fanzhe's anxiety had built and magnified until it finally came to a head; he had taken the poor animal to the bathroom and, while it was still alive, torn it to pieces and swallowed them one by one. But the killers in the case at hand had apparently acted in a much more calm and calculated manner; the strange scene they had created seemed more like the final act of a ceremony or ritual than anything else. Fang Mu honestly did not know whether he hoped they would try to kill again or not; if this had been part of a serial killing, he would be able to connect the dots and draw conclusions about the murderers' temperaments, family backgrounds, social relationships, and perhaps even their physical traits. But with an isolated case, it was very difficult to form any worthwhile theories.

  What if…this had not been an isolated incident?

  The labyrinth murder.

  The strange feeling of déjà vu resurfaced. In many ways, the victims in the two cases were not at all alike: their physical characteristics and social circumstances, where their bodies had been left, how they had been killed, and so on. However, both crime scenes had the same ritualistic feel to them. Was this all in his head? Or was there indeed a connection?

  Fang Mu glanced once more at the teddy bear on the table and decided to take another look through the evidence in the labyrinth murder file. As he was turning to leave the laboratory, the door opened and Doctor Cai walked back in.

  "Oh, going somewhere, were you?" Doctor Cai held up a piece of paper in his hand. "Well, you'd better hold your horses, because we've found something!"

  CHAPTER

  17

  Crash Reenactment

  "Wanna come in and play?" Liao Yafan tilted her head and winked conspiratorially at the boy.

  The boy on the other side of the fence shook his head violently. Liao Yafan smiled and reached out to tousle his hair. At her touch he straightened and pushed his head upward against her hand, seeming to enjoy the sensation against his scalp.

  "Are you hungry?"

  The boy did not answer; he just smiled shyly and scratched at one of the fence's iron bars with a dirty fingernail.

  "Wait here." Liao Yafan got up and darted across the garden and into the two-story building of Angel Hall. In the kitchen there were still some steamed vegetable-stuffed buns leftover from lunch, so she grabbed a few from the steamer. They were still warm. She was just turning to go when Sister Zhao walked in.

  "What are you up to?" the middle-aged woman asked as she absently rolled up her sleeves.

  "Nothing." Hands behind her back, Liao Yafan darted out the door.

  At the end of the hallway, she saw Teacher Zhou leaning against the window, staring out at the courtyard with a lit cigarette in his hand. The smoke looked bluish in the slanting sunlight, blurring the outlines of his figure like a pastel sketch. Liao Yafan stood still and watched him for a while, feeling suddenly depressed for some reason.

  If this really were a drawing, she thought, she would call it "Sadness."

  She headed on outside.

  The boy was no longer alone at the side of the fence. He was staring with interest through the bars at a little boy who was sitting there shouting numbers and waving his fingers at him.

  "Go on, Erbao." Liao Yafan gave the little boy a gentle shove from behind. "Go play over there."

  Erbao turned in a circle in place but did not leave. He continued waving his fingers at the boy on the other side of the fence and shouting out loud.

  As Liao Yafan handed the steamed buns through the bars to the boy, he asked, "What's he doing?"

  She allowed a small laugh. “He wants to play a finger-guessing game with you." She tried again to shove Erbao to the side. "Just ignore him. Go ahead; eat them before they get cold."

  The boy took a tentative bite. Moments later he was devouring the buns one after another, barely even taking the time to chew.

  "Taste good?"

  "Uh-huh," he mumbled around a mouthful of bread and vegetables.

  "They’re nothing special,” she said with a giggle. “Just some leftover steamed buns, that's all." She laughed more, watching him. "Slow down; don't make yourself choke."

  As soon as Erbao noticed the food, he reached his hand out and stuck his bottom lip out. At first the boy on the other side of the fence just stared at him, apparently unsure of what Erbao wanted. Then, realizing the little boy was asking for some of his food, he handed one of the buns to him. Erbao tried to take it, but his two-fingered hand fumbled and the steamed bun fell to the ground. Suddenly upset, he yelled in frustration and bent to pick up the bun with both hands, whereupon he brought it up to his mouth to take a bite, dirt and all. Liao Yafan moved quickly to grab
it from him and nearly got her hand bitten.

  The boy on the other side of the fence chuckled. "Hey, relax. I'll give you another one."

  The two boys ate their buns together and giggled at each other through the fence. When they were done, they both sat there licking their fingers like a pair of friendly little animals. Liao Yafan stood between them, suddenly feeling very tall.

  By the time he was finished Erbao had completely forgotten about wanting to play the finger-guessing game, so he wobbled happily off to play in the courtyard. The other boy wiped his hands on his shirt and began to rummage through his dirty backpack. As he did so, something fell from his pocket onto the ground next to his feet.

  Liao Yafan bent subconsciously to pick it up, but when she saw what it was, she froze. It was a stack of 100-yuan notes; she guessed there must be a couple of thousand yuan in it at least.

  "Where did you get all this money?" She scowled. "Did you steal it from your mom and dad?"

  The kid pulled a can of cola from his bag, popped it open, and began guzzling it down in a long string of quick gulps that culminated in a loud burp. "No, my dad gave it to me. It's my lunch money for the week."

  Liao Yafan fell silent. She turned the money over in her hands a while before carefully returning it to his pocket. "Careful not to lose it." Feeling uneasy, she pressed her hand against the pocket to check that it was secure. "That's a lot of money."

  "Not really," the boy said as he thrust the can of cola toward her face. "Have a sip."

  "No thank you, I'm not thirsty," she said with a laugh. "Just give me the can when you're finished."

  "What do you want it for?" the boy asked, eyebrows rising.

  "You can get money for it." Liao Yafan patted him on the head. "You didn't know that, did you?"