Chapter 172: Killing in Mid-air

"The victim's time of death was autumn, where did the pine pollen come from?" Qi Fei immediately discovered the suspicious point.

"There is a situation where you will eat pine flower cake in autumn," Zhong Kui suddenly said on the side, "People in Bai Family Village will store a part of pine flowers at home. If a child is born that year, they will use the pine flowers stored in spring to make cakes and distribute them to neighbors, blessing the child to be reunited and happy for a lifetime, and grow up as strong as a pine tree."

"Bai Family Village still has this custom? How do you know?" Qi Fei asked.

Zhong Kui flicked her hair, looking a bit arrogant: "I like to collect useless knowledge. This, it was the day we went to Bai Sanshui to ask questions, I saw it on the folk custom introduction on the wall of the old house on the way."

Xiao Tao tapped the report with his finger and said: "Pine pollen was only found on the last victim Zhang Hongxia."

Wu Shanqiu flipped through the victim's information and muttered: "The last victim Zhang Hongxia is a genuine Jinnan person, and her ancestors for three generations have nothing to do with Bai Family Village."

"Fortunately, these remains are preserved quite well. I found some skin tissues stained with paint and found no penetration and fusion phenomenon," Xiao Tao said, "That is to say, it was applied after Zhang Hongxia died."

"That is to say, these pine pollen and glutinous rice flour were not brought by Zhang Hongxia, but by the killer. Perhaps the container he used to stir the paint had been used to hold pine pollen and glutinous rice flour before."

"But speaking of it, only Zhang Hongxia was painted with white paint. None of the victims of the Demon Mirror Case found this kind of paint," Xiao Tao said.

"Perhaps, it is because this Zhang Hongxia is the last victim," Zhong Kui took the report from Xiao Tao's hand. The photo of Zhang Hongxia's skeleton on it looked more terrifying than other victims because of the white paint, "There is a branch of the Shaivism in Hinduism, Aghori, who will apply bone ash to the whole body, believing that this can purify and accelerate liberation. This killer mixed various religions, maybe he also absorbed a part of the Hindu sect's doctrine. But what is interesting is that no matter which one it is, he is compensating for sins by harming innocent women. I am very curious, what kind of sense of sin made him kill so many people continuously?"

Qi Fei remained silent, turned his head to look at the materials piled up on the table, and heard the voice of Ye Ming as if he had auditory hallucinations. He couldn't hear the specific content, but only felt that he was summoning him.

The sky brightened, and Wu Shanqiu returned to the office biting a rice ball, but saw Qi Fei asleep on the desk.

Qi Fei, who heard the footsteps, opened his eyes with difficulty and straightened up.

"Brother Fei, didn't you go back last night?" Wu Shanqiu asked curiously.

"Ah, when did I fall asleep..." Qi Fei scratched his messy hair and looked at the pile of notes he made, "Oh, by the way!"

He grabbed one of the papers, which had a pile of data that Wu Shanqiu couldn't understand: "We have to go to the Ocean Research Institute again!" Qi Fei's voice was hoarse, but there was no sleepiness in his eyes, "I suspect that Ye Ming found the first scene of the murder back then!"

The police car drove into the courtyard of the Ocean Research Institute again.

Qi Fei rushed to Song Tao's office as soon as he got off the car and handed the ocean current analysis chart he drew at night to him.

Song Tao was quite surprised after seeing it and asked Qi Fei: "Did you draw this?"

"Hmm, I analyzed it last night based on previous materials. You are a professional, can you help me see if it is like this?"

Song Tao asked Qi Fei for the information in his hand, and after comparing them one by one, he said approvingly: "Hmm, you drew this better than our graduate students, amazing."

"Do you mean my analysis is correct?" Qi Fei asked with expectation.

Song Tao picked up a pen and outlined on the drawing: "Your analysis is basically correct. According to the direction of the seawater flow, theoretically, these items can indeed be drifted from the same place. It is just because the time of throwing is different, the place where they go ashore will be different."

Qi Fei pointed to a red dot he drew, which was an area on the coast of Dongji Zhen: "So, they may all come from this place?"

Song Tao nodded and then asked curiously: "Police Officer Qi, why are you suddenly interested in this? I remember you are investigating the 'Demon Mirror Case' in Dongji Zhen. Is this related to the case?"

Before Qi Fei could speak, Wu Shanqiu looked at the red dot on the map and blurted out: "Eh? Isn't this near the air-raid shelter where Lin Suzhen was found?"

Qi Fei nodded: "This can explain why the victim's body was found in different places in Dongji Zhen, but there has never been any eyewitness related to the killer. Because he threw the body directly into the sea at the scene of the crime. Lin Suzhen is the only victim who was not thrown directly into the sea, but in order to cover up, the killer could not take the body far away to abandon it, so the murder scene was near the air-raid shelter where Lin Suzhen was found."

Song Tao heard this and realized: "Ah, you drew the route of the body drifting?"

"That's right, I drew it according to Ye Ming's notebook back then. I think when he came to find Teacher Cui Zhan, it was just like I came to find you now, and he had already inferred the general direction of the body abandonment site."

"Brother Fei, there are a few places that don't make sense..." Wu Shanqiu touched her chin and looked carefully at the area inferred, "The area near the air-raid shelter where Lin Suzhen was found has been searched for several rounds, and police dogs have been dispatched, but it has never been found.

With the degree of damage to the body, the bloodstains at the first scene should be difficult to be completely cleared.

In addition, the place you circled, if I remember correctly, is a cliff, and below is the sea. Could it be that the killer killed people in mid-air..."

"This is also the place I can't figure out, so I came to ask Teacher Song. I thought I analyzed it wrong," Qi Fei was also at a loss.

And Song Tao seemed to have thought of something and said to Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu: "Wait a moment, I'll go find some information." As he said this, he left the office in a hurry. After a while, he saw him holding a few rolls of drawings and putting them all on a conference table on the side.

"Just now this..." Song Tao pointed to Wu Shanqiu, not knowing how to address her for a while.

"Nancheng Criminal Police Wu Shanqiu, just call me Xiao Wu."

"The question of this Xiao Wu is very reasonable. If it is a naturally formed landform, it really doesn't make sense. However, don't forget that Dongji Zhen is artificially built," Song Tao said, unfolding one of the drawings, his fingertips sliding along the contour lines. ===== CHAPTER 173 =====