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A History of Murders - Day Ten and Day Eleven - Afternoon and Evening

Ye opened the files sent by Zhou and whistled out loud.  He quickly read through them and almost cheered.

"Qin, check all our mail and see if we got any replies from our list.  Zhou just sent us two case files: one from Japan and one from Taiwan.  Looks like we have a serial killer.  I'll call the prosecutor and request he come over right now."  Qin ran to his desk and searched through the emails just as Ye's phone rang.  A contact in Taiwan.

"Hello, yes.  I received a case file from Zhou Zishu, the coroner.  His colleague there sent it.  What's the name on yours?  Ah, different name, different case.  It's on its way?  Good, check with Chen Lin about what she sent to Zhou.  Yes, I'm just starting to set up a board with these two new murders.  Yours is number three so far.  Yes, when I summarize everything arriving today and tomorrow, I'll email you a copy.  Yeah, we reached out to everyone we could think of, where we know he traveled in the last five years.  Ok, thank you for your timely response.  I'll be in touch."  He set the phone down carefully so he could control the urge to slam it.  "Qin, another on its way.  Have them set up the bigger board, as well as the small board."  He dialed the prosecutor's office.

"Hello, this is Captain Ye Baiyi.  May I speak with prosecutor Mo Huaiyang, please?  Thank you." Hold music.  "Good afternoon, sir.  I wanted to update you on our progress on Duan and possible murders in other jurisdictions.  We have three cases of similar murders: Japan, and two in Taiwan.  How much of them do you want to see?  No, I believe there may be more in the future.  Ok, if agreeable to you, tomorrow when I see how many more arrive, I'll summarize and send you a report.  Yes, I read the first two and I'd like to reread them, and study enlarged pictures.  But the wounds are consistent as written in the coroners' reports.  Yes, sir.  I will be in touch.  Thank you."  He walked down the hall to his supervisor and knocked on the door.

"Sir, we've received three reports on cases similar to the Gao murder.  Zhou requested assistance from at least 20 of his colleagues and our office contacted law enforcement throughout SE Asia.  That was only a few days ago.  We are setting up two boards in the conference room.  Mo Huaiyang demanded regular reports as information comes in."  The colonel regarded him solemnly.

"Keep me informed.  Schedule a briefing tomorrow afternoon with the whole team, prosecution and me, and the chief.  We may want to inform the commissioner if this gets much bigger.  We've collected enough evidence for the death penalty, but with more victims, the procuratorate may arrest and bring him to trial more quickly." Ye nodded and returned to his office.  He pulled up the files and read through them again, blowing up the pictures to study the wounds.  On a pad, he noted the dates of the murders, starting with the first.  As new ones came in, he intended to put them in order and look at the damage.  If he guessed correctly, the earlier ones would be clumsy but with practice, the killer's skill increased, and the wounds became cleaner.  He wondered about defensive marks, if any of the victims had a chance to fight back, or if he restrained them in some way.  He wrote out a note on that.  Had other injuries been inflicted?  Had any of the women been sexually assaulted?  Who found the bodies and where?  Could they detect a pattern or a type of victim?

"Sir," Qin entered.  "We received another file and letter from Shanghai.  The police commissioner heard about it and requested information on the particulars of our research.  I replied that you would respond as soon as you were out of a meeting."  He handed over a hard copy of the missive.  "I'm not qualified to answer."  Ye grunted and read the email.  He typed into his computer and sent it off.

"There.  I told him everything I told my senior.  Let everyone know we have a conference tomorrow at 6 pm.  Commissioner on down to sit in and discuss everything we have.  Here's a list of what I want people to search for in the files."  He gave Qin his notes.  "Make copies.  Get pictures and details up on the boards and leave space for notes.  Concentrate on the wound and location of the body.  Also, what is the primary site of death? Everyone to read every file independently and we compare thoughts tomorrow."  He waved the junior away and turned to read the latest arrival.