Sha Qing

Chapter 17: A Game Between Black & White (2)

"No problem!" Biqing's face brightened in an instant, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to the desk.

Only then did Leo realized that there was a chess set on the table— the wood-carved black and white pieces were on standby at their respective posts.

"I've been studying the news for several days and I have always wanted to talk to you about some of my ideas, but you're always busy." Li Biqing enthusiastically pressed him on a chair, and began to release an exclusive research report.

His first sentence surprised Leo: "I don't think there's only one killer!"

"... Make it clear.

"Four homicides, four chess pieces— I found a pattern. For the two who were killed from shooting, black pieces were left on the scene, and for the ones who died from throat cut and neck stab, white chess pieces were found —does this have any sort of meaning? Why did the killer use two completely different ways of killing? We must know that for serial murderers, from their first victim onward, their methods are generally fixed. The patterns and words they intentionally leave are the same, which is a kind of self-affirmation and a way of flaunting their own abilities. A bare-handed person may change to use a knife or a gun in the pursuit of a more powerful weapon, but for a person who is already proficient in using firearms, why didn't he use the weapon-on-hand, but instead chose a more difficult weapon, for example, a pen?"

Li Biqing said in one breath, and then inhaled some fresh air. He saw Leo staring at the chessboard in front of him, so he went on to say, "Looking at the opposing nature of chess, I can't help but have some guesses. There isn't only one killer, but two: one playing using the black pieces and the other playing using white pieces. They are playing against each other using the ways they are good at, their own expertise, in killing people. Maybe they had already discussed in advance, and the two had an agreement on their scope and limits."

The seasoned federal agent immediately grasped the crux of the question, "Then, in regards to this scope and limits of choosing a target, it's related to the chess pieces left behind, right? The three pawns and one knight."

"Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to add." Li Biqing scooped out the pieces one by one from the chessboard, and placed them in front of him. "Three pawns: a traffic police, a city police, and a prison guard; then a knight, the director of the DEA office. The chess pieces correspond to the hierarchy they represent, which proves from another angle that this is not a normal serial killing, but a game between white and black; it is a competition between cold and hot weapons, a game where two killers use the city as a chessboard and human lives as chess pieces!"

Leo frowned deeply. Although it's only a hypothesis, if Li Biqing's speculation proves to be true, then the FBI would undoubtedly face one of the most difficult kind of criminal this time: one with professional knowledge, rich killing experience, sharp killing methods, and a cold blooded, unforgiving mind with complete disregard of human lives. Their gap against ordinary murderers who drank alcohol and drugs or those with distorted childhood, was just like wild cats against Bengal tigers—although both are felines, their degree of attack and danger varies greatly. The most troublesome thing was that it multiplied into two.

Li Biqing stood next to his chair and continued to express his personal point of view, "Also, I think that the interval between each homicide revealed a lot of subtleties. The second one happened immediately after the first one. The third case occurred on the eighth day after the second case, and the fourth case three days later —1, 1, 8, and 3. Are these numbers accidental, or are there any connections and patterns that we haven't discovered yet? It's a pity that there is too little first-hand information in my hands!" He stared at the dark-haired federal agent with extremely regretful and longing eyes, then raised his hand to clenched the other's shoulders, "I need on-site investigation reports, autopsy results, evidence analyses, and confidential files, not the speculative and exaggerated news gimmicks from televisions and newspapers!"