Chapter 15

At the police station in the early morning, those who had worked through the night were bleary-eyed, almost mechanically continuing the work in their hands by biological instinct and inertia alone. Inside the small office separated from the large office by only a glass wall, all three people were jolted fully awake.

Captain Li’s stubbly lips moved. After all, he had been a criminal police officer for decades. What kind of pervert had he not seen? Shocked though he was, he was not so frightened that he lost his composure.

The young man in the white coat further explained the characteristics of Whale-Fall Orchid. “This incense has another feature: it disperses quickly. From the moment it’s lit to the moment the scent disappears, it only takes about ten minutes.”

That was why, even in the sealed mortuary, when so many of them had rushed inside to search for evidence and traces left behind by the suspect, not a single person had smelled incense in the air.

Shen Juan leaned back slightly, resting against the chair, her face deep in thought. Gu Shuge looked at the other two people, then moved a little closer to Shen Juan. She felt a chill down her spine, her whole body cold and faintly afraid. After being afraid for a while, she suddenly came back to herself and reminded herself, You’re already a ghost. Why would you still have a living person’s sensation of chills down your spine? And so the coldness along her back receded from top to bottom, and she became an ethereal, insensate soul-body again.

Gu Shuge regretted reminding herself of the fact that she was dead just to get rid of her fear. Even if those real sensations were only habits left over from when she had still been human, they were much better than this drifting, weightless feeling now.

She could not help moving a little closer to Shen Juan again.

Just then, the office door was pushed open once more. Liu Guohua came in, carrying a pile of breakfast. When he saw Shen Juan was there, he froze for a moment.

Captain Li quickly explained, “Ms. Shen, Mr. Liu here has extensive expertise in criminal investigation. I’ve already submitted a report to my superiors to have Mr. Liu assist us in solving the case as an expert, and the higher-ups have already approved it.”

The meaning behind these words was that since Gu Group wanted to intervene, they would make it convenient for them. This case was difficult to investigate, and their people would witness it firsthand and join the investigation. If, in the end, they still failed to find the culprit, then they should also understand the police’s difficulties. After all, they had already done everything they could.

In truth, this idea had not come from Captain Li, but from an order directly issued from above. However, if he, as the officer directly in charge of the case, submitted the request, appearances would be better. So he had taken responsibility for it.

Even Gu Shuge could hear the meaning ​stolen content​inside those words, so it was impossible for Shen Juan not to understand. She said, “That works too.”

Liu Guohua was not one person, but a whole team. He could obtain information from the police, then combine it with the clues his own team had found and independently search for a direction in the investigation. Simply put, he was only here to obtain first-hand information from the police. It did not stop him from conducting his own investigation.

Liu Guohua understood this as well. He put down all the breakfast, which was nothing more than flatbread, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, soy milk, and the like. First, he drew out a tissue and wiped his hands, then said, “The police have more convenience when handling cases. I’ve wanted to cooperate with Captain Li for a long time.”

Captain Li felt somewhat ashamed. After all, their police team was finding a fallback for an investigation that was not going smoothly. This case was too big and its impact too terrible. If they ultimately failed to solve it, they would be in a very troublesome position, and a large batch of people from top to bottom would suffer for it. But if they had the understanding of the victim’s family, then at least in terms of public opinion, things would be somewhat better.

He waved a hand and greeted them. “Have you eaten? Want to have some together?”

As soon as he said it, he felt a little uncomfortable. At a glance, Shen Juan was the sort of person who went in and out of luxury cars and moved among upper-class receptions and Western restaurants. How could she eat these breakfasts full of street-side everyday warmth?

“No need,” Shen Juan answered.

Captain Li did not insist. He grabbed a steamed bun and stuffed a bite into his mouth, saying, “Then please wait a moment. We’ll fill our stomachs first, then discuss the case.”

Naturally, Shen Juan was not going to make people who had worked overtime all night investigate on empty stomachs. Through the glass wall, she saw the young officers in the hall outside still working at computers and files. There were also some questioning witnesses so intensely that spittle flew as they spoke. They probably had not had time to eat breakfast yet.

She took out her phone.

Gu Shuge was right beside her and could not help stretching her head over to look at the screen.

It really was a photo of her when she was little. It should have been from when she had just learned to walk. She was wearing a little dress and toddling unsteadily across a square. As if hearing someone call her, she turned back, and her small face crashed right into the camera. She was smiling, and behind her, a flock of snow-white pigeons spread their wings and flew into the air.

Gu Shuge’s mood became as brilliant as colorful flowers blooming in spring.

Shen Juan unlocked the screen. When she saw the wallpaper, her fingertips also paused for a moment. But it was very brief, so brief that even Gu Shuge beside her did not notice that tiny lapse.

She edited a message, instructing Lin Mo to buy breakfast and bring it to the criminal police team.

Over there, Captain Li and Liu Guohua finished off their steamed buns in two or three bites, then washed them down with a cup of soy milk, and that counted as finishing breakfast. The young man in the white coat had not left. Seeing there was food, he stayed behind to freeload breakfast.

Captain Li wiped his mouth, swallowed his food, and said, “This case is very tricky. The criminal has a strong awareness of counter-surveillance, and he seems quite experienced. Not a single angle captured by the cameras is usable—the colleagues in the technical department are still conducting facial and image analysis. Let’s first build a psychological profile of the offender.”

After saying that, he looked toward Shen Juan. Shen Juan showed no intention of avoiding it.

Captain Li did not force the matter.

In fact, from the perspective of motive, Shen Juan currently had the strongest motive. Gu Shuge’s entire inheritance had been passed to her, and aside from Gu Shuge herself, only Shen Juan and the staff who had handled it knew about that confidential will.

According to the usual direction of a plot, it was very possible for her to kill for wealth.

Yet almost no one suspected her.

On one hand, the police had investigated her very early on. Starting from one month before Gu Shuge returned to the country, Shen Juan’s entire itinerary had been handed over to the police, and the police had not found anything suspicious. On the other hand, everyone knew that two years ago, she had transferred all the inheritance she received from her husband into Gu Shuge’s name. That incident had caused a huge stir at the time. The assets under Gu Yi’an’s name were no less than what Gu Shuge owned back then, and with Shen Juan inheriting that fortune, plus her influence inside Gu Group, it would not have been difficult at all for her to push aside an heir who had an empty title but not the slightest real power.

But she had not done so. She had continued willingly working for the Gu family.

Combining these two aspects, her possibility of read the original at bailiantales.com committing the crime had fallen to the lowest point.

“The criminal has a very strong sense of ritual,” Liu Guohua said first. While swallowing his breakfast, he had already learned about Whale-Fall Orchid from the young man in the white coat. “First, the person captured by the surveillance camera is definitely the culprit himself. Since he wanted to personally complete the ritual of dancing before the corpse, he would not have entrusted it to someone else. Second, his actions carry an intense personal color. So there is a major entanglement between him and the deceased herself, rather than him being a hired killer.”

He stated two points first. No one objected to either.

“He must have a very good background. First, he arranged a flawless car accident, and then, when the police were almost about to close the case, he suddenly stole the remains. He has a strong mentality of treating this as a game. In that kind of environment, the incense he chose for the ‘ritual’ must be something he often uses and likes,” Captain Li continued.

Liu Guohua agreed as well.

Shen Juan said, “Not necessarily.”

The other three had not expected her to speak, and immediately turned to look at her. The young man in the white coat was surprised. He thought the captain’s analysis made a lot of sense, so he said jokingly, “Ms. Shen, when it comes to making money, running companies, driving the development of upstream and downstream industries, and contributing to the national economy, we can’t compare to you. But when it comes to solving cases, you’re not as good as us.”

Shen Juan was not angry. She did not even show the slightest emotional fluctuation. She only described her thoughts in an extremely calm tone.

“His background may not necessarily be good. He may be an entrepreneur who came from hardship and struggled up from the bottom, or he may be a less-favored member of a nouveau riche family.”

Captain Li froze. Liu Guohua hurriedly helped his boss continue. “How so?”

“Besides dispersing quickly, Whale-Fall Orchid has another very important feature. After its scent dissipates, the product formed by its burning will float upward, then slowly sink to the ground. Because this incense is very unique and its fragrance is beautiful, someone, I don’t know who, compared the process of its sinking to a whale fall. That is also where the name of this incense comes from. That’s why components of the incense were left on the white daisies.”

The young man in the white coat asked, “What does that have to do with his background?”

Shen Juan organized her words and continued, “I agree that this incense is something he likes, but he may not necessarily use it often, because this incense is bailiantales.comvery rare and also extremely, extremely expensive. Sometimes, even money may not be enough to buy it. Its strange fragrance is captivating and leaves too deep an impression on people. Over time, the origin of its name was gradually forgotten. Only families with a century of deep heritage might still remember some of it. So he may not have been wealthy for long, or although he had access to it, he did not have enough money to encounter it often or understand it deeply. From that, I judge that he belongs to one of those two categories.”

The young man in the white coat looked a little embarrassed. He had only just found information about this incense, and the materials indeed had not mentioned the origin of its name.

“I believe one reason he chose Whale-Fall Orchid is its characteristic of disappearing within ten minutes. He did not want people to know that he had performed a ritual inside. So he also does not know the ‘whale fall’ characteristic of Whale-Fall Orchid.”

“Why wouldn’t he want people to know he had held a ‘ritual’ there? Maybe he deliberately left traces behind because he wanted to show off?” the young man in the white coat interrupted again.

Gu Shuge had been listening with great focus, and when she was unexpectedly interrupted, she slowly let out a breath. She knew why.

Because this type of criminal often had an extremely high opinion of themselves and placed great importance on personal privacy. The ritual was private, regarded as a kind of mark, a mark they carved onto themselves. How could they show their unique mark to others?

This view came from a professional book on criminal psychology. Its author was a world-famous criminal psychology expert who had handled countless cases. That book was now on the bookshelf in her room.

It had probably been during middle school that she suddenly became fascinated by criminal investigation and crime-related things. It could not really be called sudden, because ever since she was very little, she had thought detective uncles were especially cool.

During that period, she had bought many highly professional books to read. Shen Juan had discovered this little hobby of hers and had not said anything. But a few days later, many books in that field appeared on her bookshelf. Some were even internal materials from research institutes.

Later, as her studies became more intense, she gradually put it aside and never picked it up again. Those books remained on her shelf, forgotten by her.

Shen Juan explained the reason.

It was exactly the same as what Gu Shuge had read in the book.

Gu Shuge was a little dazed. Had Shen Juan bailiantales.comread every book on her shelf? Maybe more than that. If she had only read them once, how could she apply the knowledge so skillfully?

Then had she studied them carefully?

Shen Juan was so busy with work, with endless meetings, endless business trips, endless dinner engagements. Where had she found the time to delve into a little hobby Gu Shuge once had?

Moreover, this hobby was one that even Gu Shuge herself had already forgotten.