Sha Qing

Chapter 9: An Evil Monologue

"Would you like to know what I found on the weapon?" As Dr. Clement strode into the office, he suddenly directed a question at Thea and Leo, who were in the middle of discussing the case. The older man beamed brightly, waiting for someone to widen their eyes in astonishment and ask him to continue. Having not gotten the anticipated response, he sighed in remorse then sulkily announced, "Well, I know you all believe that the opulent, hedonistic child of the Brady family is the culprit, but you are all wrong!"

He whipped out a few pages from the folder and waved them in the air. "Take a look at this. I took a spectral analysis of the murder weapon, and I discovered seminal fluid on the branch that was inserted into the victim's anus. It was quite difficult to spot because those bloodstains obscured it. Nevertheless, although the semen has been mixed and diluted with the blood and the amount is infinitesimally small, this proves that the poor child has suffered sexual assault before his death, or perhaps even after his death—I'm referring to the second victim, by the way. The third victim, Collin, didn't have any other signs on his body, and I am not too sure of the first victim; it's very difficult to verify the situation of the first victim because too much time has passed since he was murdered."

By now, Thea was genuinely surprised. She sifted through the files in disbelief. "It's not possible. A person who despises homosexuals that much will not have intercourse with someone of the same sex... Unless the two homicide cases are unrelated... But judging from the details of each and the suspect's manner of killing, it is undoubtedly the same suspect..."

"Meaning, we've run into a huge contradiction. I tried extracting DNA from some of the remaining semen I was able to collect, and after some great difficulty, I finally managed to succeed using the magnetic bead-based method. After comparing and confirming it, I have concluded that Brandy Jr. is not the true murderer." With this concrete evidence, Dr. Clement expressed to the female detective, "Thea, as much as you might hate to hear this, you've caught the wrong person this time."

Thea crumpled the report tightly in his grip and collapsed on the office chair behind her.

"If it isn't Clyde Brandy, who else could it possibly be?" Leo wondered aloud. His brows were furrowed and his lips were set in a straight line. Li Biqing's hesitant words passed through his mind over and over again: I don't think...I don't think Clyde's the killer.

"Now I can finally grasp the true state of the murderer! Our suspect is homosexual—perhaps he is still in the closet regarding his sexuality—and for strange psychological reasons, he is unable to participate in sexual activities like normal people. Only the corpse and blood of a gay individual will excite strong sexual impulses within him, so he decided to pick a target, then torture and kill them, in order to gratify this desire." Dr. Clement turned to Leo and said, "I can't help but admire that Asian child's intuition. It was his idea about the roses that gave me a burst of insight. Please give me a chance to thank him personally. If possible, I would like to speak with him again, but I do not know if he will be very willing."

Feeling rather conflicted, Leo answered, "I'm sure he'll be more than willing, Doctor."

"There is still one point that I can't seem to put a finger on, however. Why were there no signs of sexual assault on our third victim, Collin? Perhaps I should re-examine him more thoroughly..." murmured Dr. Clement, as he strode out of the office.

That evening, Leo returned to the apartment and saw Li Biqing sitting on the sofa with his legs curled up. A thick notebook rested on his knees, and he was rapidly scribbling something on the pages—the boy seemed to like writing in this position, as Leo often saw him like this. When Li Biqing heard footsteps indicating Leo's return, he glanced up, greeted the other, then buried his head again and continued writing.