"Officer Zhang, why won't you take me along?" Mu Mian leaned towards the phone, complaining, "I'm a forensic expert. How can you not bring me when a body has been discovered?"
"Mu Mian, why are you eavesdropping on the boss's phone call? Wait a minute, why are you two together in the middle of the night?" Officer Zhang seemed to have stumbled upon some juicy gossip.
Fang Rui, not wanting to listen to Officer Zhang's chatter, hung up the phone. He had a good guess as to why. The victim was most likely Jiang Yun.
"Mu Mian, you're very tired now. Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"No! I've figured it out. The victim is Ms. Jiang. It's nothing special, everyone dies eventually," Mu Mian's expression was calm. "Fang Rui, let's hurry over there, or the body won't be fresh anymore."
"Mu Mian, if the deceased is your relative, you need to recuse yourself," Fang Rui reminded her.
"But she's not my relative, neither legally nor emotionally. I don't need to recuse myself."
"Mu Mian, are you really not upset?"
"Of course not!"
Fang Rui felt that Mu Mian was lying because her hand, tucked in her coat pocket, was clenched tightly. He sighed, realizing that Mu Mian had now mastered the skill of lying.
The call to the police had been made by Sister Chen, the Lin Family's housekeeper, and Uncle Zhang, the security guard. Sister Chen had discovered the body and was guarding the crime scene in the living room. The servants, chef, and family doctor were anxiously waiting at the main gate along with the security guard.
The servants, chef, and family doctor usually lived in the staff quarters next to the villa. They only learned about the incident when the security guard informed them.
Uncle Zhang approached them, "Officers, it's terrible. Someone broke into the villa and killed Ms. Jiang. They've also kidnapped Yan Yan."
Mu Mian asked, "Who is Yan Yan?"
"Ms. Jiang's son. Yan Yan has autism. We must find him quickly. If he's traumatized, his condition could worsen," the family doctor said anxiously.
Mu Mian's hand clenched even tighter. So she had an autistic child. Why wasn't Yan Yan abandoned? Was it because Yan Yan's condition wasn't as severe? Was Yan Yan a smarter, more lovable child?
"Where's the victim? Please take us there," Fang Rui said.
They followed the security guard into the villa. Upon entering the living room, they saw a scene of chaos. The floor was covered in ceramic shards, and a woman lay in a pool of blood. Her chest had been stabbed multiple times and was a bloody mess. Her face, usually stern and cold, now wore a smile. She was smiling, her wide-open eyes fixed on a certain spot.
Mu Mian saw clearly that the woman was indeed Jiang Yun. She had never smiled at her before, but now she was smiling so warmly, her eyes full of love.
Fang Rui and his team were surprised. Jiang Yun's manner of death was almost identical to that of Director Zhang.
They followed Jiang Yun's gaze to a bookshelf. The lower half of the bookshelf consisted of a row of cabinets.
"Could there be another autistic child hidden in there?" Officer Zhang speculated.
Mu Mian walked over, intending to open the cabinet, but Fang Rui grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him.
"Mu Mian, he might be aggressive," Fang Rui said. "Let me do it."
Fang Rui slowly opened the cabinet. Inside, curled up, was a blood-covered boy about fifteen or sixteen years old. He had very small eyes and a vacant stare, and he was tightly gripping a fruit knife. Sensing the light, he opened his eyes and stared blankly at them.
Mu Mian looked at Yan Yan. He wasn't cute at all. His eyes were very small, his mouth was very large, and his face was covered in acne. He didn't look intelligent either.
"Yan Yan, why are you hiding in here?" Sister Chen immediately ran over, but when she saw the blood on Yan Yan, she quickly stepped back, mumbling in horror, "How could this happen? Yan Yan is such a good boy, how could he kill someone?"
Seeing Sister Chen, Yan Yan raised the knife and obediently walked out of the cabinet.
Sister Chen was startled by his movement. She quickly hid behind Officer Zhang, shouting, "Officer, help! Help! Is he going to kill again?"
Yan Yan saw how scared she was of him and sadly lowered his head.
Fang Rui carefully gripped Yan Yan's hand and took the knife from him. Yan Yan was very obedient, offering no resistance as he handed the knife to Fang Rui.
Seeing this, Sister Chen approached again, feeling guilty. She crouched down and softly asked Yan Yan, "Yan Yan, you didn't hurt your mother, did you?"
Yan Yan nodded.
"Then why were you holding the knife?"
"No... knife," Yan Yan struggled to squeeze out a few words. He pronounced each word with great effort, but his voice was muffled and unclear. Without careful attention, it was impossible to understand what he was saying. "Ma...gic... wand! Mom... dead, I save her!"
"Who told you this was a magic wand?" Fang Rui asked.
Yan Yan's expression changed instantly. He suddenly lunged at Fang Rui, opening his mouth wide to bite Fang Rui's arm. Fortunately, Fang Rui quickly grabbed his chin, and Officer Zhang swiftly moved to restrain him.
Once he realized he was under control, Yan Yan returned to his docile state.
"Yan Yan has likely been hypnotized. 'Magic wand' seems to be the trigger word. When we mention it, they become aggressive," Fang Rui analyzed. "So it will be difficult to learn from the two children who is actually controlling them to kill."
Sister Chen was terrified, frozen in place with shock.
"Did Yan Yan's mother love him very much?" Mu Mian suddenly asked.
"Yes. Ms. Jiang was very busy, but she would set aside one day each week to come here, talk with Yan Yan, play with toys, and occasionally take him to the amusement park. However, due to Yan Yan's special condition, he wasn't well-suited to be exposed to many people, so Ms. Jiang never publicly acknowledged Yan Yan. She wanted Yan Yan to grow up happily. She was a good mother." Ms. Jiang was very generous to Sister Chen, paying her a monthly salary of 100,000 yuan, so naturally, Sister Chen had a good impression of her and only spoke of her virtues.
In reality, Jiang Yun didn't love Yan Yan that much. Otherwise, she wouldn't have left Yan Yan in this villa, only seeing him once a week. During their meetings, she would only give him gifts, rarely helping him bathe, eating meals with him, or reading him bedtime stories. She might have truly loved Yan Yan, but her love was purely material. Yan Yan didn't lack material things; what he lacked was companionship.
"Why do you all call her Ms. Jiang? Shouldn't it be Mrs. Lin?" Officer Zhang asked curiously.
"Mr. Lin passed away five years ago. He left all his assets to Ms. Jiang and Yan Yan. After Mr. Lin's death, Ms. Jiang told us not to call her Mrs. Lin anymore. She said she didn't like that title and didn't want to be seen as a man's appendage. Ms. Jiang is a strong, independent woman. She has managed the company very well."
Fang Rui noticed signs of a struggle in the living room. There were bloody ceramic shards on the floor. This crime scene was slightly different from the one at the orphanage.
Mu Mian examined the body's surface. The victim had been stabbed ten times, and each wound was very deep. The killer must have used all their strength to inflict these wounds. She discovered a wound on the back of the victim's head where the scalp had been cut open. White ceramic fragments were stuck to the cut scalp.
