Chapter 14: The Na City Case (Part VII)

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Han Junshan asked, “Where is the evidence?”

Wen Rou replied gently, “According to the autopsy reports, among the more than forty bodies discovered, the vast majority were female, all aged between twenty and thirty.”

Lei Chen added, “During this period, we also conducted a missing persons investigation, but no one reported anyone missing.”

Li Rui said, “His chosen victims were mostly women who had fallen on hard times. The reason is simple: such women generally have no family or friends, or very little contact even if they do. When they disappear, no one pays attention. That’s why Jia Wenming committed many crimes and remained undetected until a little accident happened on a snowy day three years ago.”

Han Junshan showed no skepticism and gestured for Li Rui to continue.

Li Rui continued, “That day, Jia Wenming, as usual, was scouting the streets for a suitable victim. He quickly spotted a woman carrying a branded handbag. She was dressed elegantly, standing motionless on the street late at night, so he mistakenly took her for a streetwalker and approached her to strike up a conversation. Because of his handsome appearance, it took only a few exchanges before he got her into his grasp. He then took her home and, after his usual brutal acts, strangled her and threw the body into the cellar.”

Han Junshan asked, “What do you mean by the accident?”

“Fate played a cruel joke—the woman didn’t die!”

“Not dead?” Han Junshan was puzzled. “Then where is she?”

“She woke up in darkness and cold, realizing she was in a cellar. It was pitch black, and she could see nothing, but the stench was suffocating…”

As she groped around, she found she was surrounded by soft flesh, some sticky, and she could feel limbs. Terrified, she saw light at the cellar’s entrance and tried to escape, but no matter how hard she kicked, the door wouldn’t budge.

At that moment, Jia Wenming suddenly appeared, holding a hammer. She immediately knelt and begged for mercy, promising to do whatever he wanted. After a moment’s thought, he agreed.

To keep her under control, Jia Wenming lured another woman the next day—a streetwalker. Experienced as he was, he drugged and bound the woman tightly. Then, from another room, he brought the first woman over and handed her a rope, threatening that if she didn’t strangle the streetwalker, he would kill her himself.

Under duress, the woman strangled the streetwalker. From that point on, she became Jia Wenming’s another mistress.

Yes, another mistress. Because she soon discovered the house was rented, and besides Jia Wenming, another mistress lived there.

Wen Rou nodded and said, “This explains why Liu Meixin’s bag was found in the cellar, yet the autopsy detected no DNA of Liu Meixin.”

“Is that other mistress the tenant?” Han Junshan asked.

“I can only say this hypothesis is highly probable,” Li Rui said. “Jia Wenming thought this woman was beautiful and a respectable lady, easy to control, so he chose not to kill her but to use her as bait to lure outsiders coming to do business, then rob and kill them.”

Han Junshan looked at Wen Rou. “How do you know they were outsiders coming to do business?”

Wen Rou hesitated slightly; Li Rui’s ideas were always wild and he never consulted her in advance. When problems arose, she had to help patch things up.

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Fortunately, she knew him well enough to understand what he was thinking without prior communication.

“Chief Han, here’s the situation. Based on the autopsies these past few days, we found that the victims’ times of death can be divided into three stages: The first stage was from around 2008 to 2013, with ten female victims, each killed roughly six months apart. In other words, the killer murdered one woman every six months during this period.”

“The second stage was from 2013 to 2015, with twenty-two female victims, almost one per month—extremely frenzied.”

Han Junshan asked, “What about the third stage?”

“The third stage is the past three years, with ten victims—three women and seven men.”

Han Junshan frowned. “This indicates a drastic change in the killer’s choice of victims during that period, but it doesn’t prove they were outsiders coming for business.”

Wen Rou explained, “Chief Han, we have another clue.”

“Oh?”

“We conducted further autopsies and forensic tests on the seven male bodies. From the clothing of five, we found soybeans and business cards of soybean dealers. Therefore, we have reason to suspect some of these bodies were out-of-town merchants coming for soybean trade.”

“Naching is famous for producing high-quality soybeans, and soybean merchants there make a fortune. For the greedy Jia Wenming, naturally, he wanted to profit from this too. But he wasn’t interested in becoming a soybean dealer; he wanted to ‘take out’ the soybean merchants. Rather than building wealth from scratch, he preferred to rob the existing.”

“But soybean merchants are mostly men, and his looks wouldn’t work on men. So he needed a woman to do the ‘seduction’.”

“So that’s why Jia Wenming didn’t kill Liu… that woman?” Han Junshan asked.

Liu Meixin’s identity was special, so Han Junshan dared not jump to conclusions.

“For a vulnerable woman facing the threat of death, there’s no chance to resist,” Wen Rou said.

Li Rui said calmly, “Perhaps under Jia Wenming’s evil control, through threats and temptations, her heart underwent a profound change, and she ultimately became his accomplice.”

Following Jia Wenming’s instructions, she successfully lured an out-of-town merchant. Because she was naturally delicate-looking—and Jia Wenming even mistook her for a streetwalker—her seductive efforts were hard to resist.

Then Jia Wenming used paint thinner to drug, kill, and rob them.

Since the paint thinner supply ran out quickly, Jia Wenming and the woman went back to Old Cui for more. So far, this woman is the only witness to crimes committed together with Jia Wenming.

Afterward, she fully devoted herself to Jia Wenming.

Han Junshan nodded. “Though this hypothesis is bold, it is logical and supported by some evidence. But it’s far from enough to stand as courtroom proof.”

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Li Rui nodded. “Of course, these can’t be considered evidence yet, but…”

“Don’t keep me in suspense. Speak plainly.”

“If we assume this woman has become Jia Wenming’s accomplice and their murderous robberies are nearly flawless, why did they move?”

Lei Chen speculated, “Could it be because the cellar was full, and they wanted to find another place to hide bodies?”

Li Rui shook his head. “If that were the case, the risk would be too great.”

Han Junshan said, “If they moved, it means they decided to leave this place for good.”

Li Rui nodded. “Chief Han, do you remember what I said on my first day here?”

Han Junshan rolled his eyes. “You said that since so much time had passed, the suspect might have long fled, and even if we searched all of Naching, it would be useless.”

Li Rui smiled. “Chief Han, you have a great memory—word for word!”

“Don’t joke with me, I know you well. You never lose an argument, show no respect, and dare to joke about anything,” Han Junshan snorted coldly. “If you could fix that bad habit, maybe you’d get promoted.”

Wen Rou quickly intervened, “Chief Han, you’re right to criticize. This guy really needs a lesson. I’ll sew him up with needles later!”

Han Junshan laughed, “Look at you, Wen Rou, so tactful! And you, well, you’re hopeless—no sense of appreciation!”

Li Rui looked embarrassed. “Don’t gang up on me, Chief. I’m talking about the case here, honestly. Why the personal attacks?”

Han Junshan sneered, “I don’t have time for that. Since you’re talking about the case, then tell me—what’s the next step?”

Lei Chen said, “Should we start by investigating Jia Wenming’s social connections?”

Qi Wei said, “Team Leader Lei, the city police have already checked. Jia Wenming’s parents died long ago, and all other social contacts have severed ties with him.”

Lei Chen sighed. “The assistance notice has been issued. Jia Wenming may indeed have left the city long ago, so…”