Chapter 3: An eerie case
“Who is this?” I took a glance at the unknown number before I asked the caller.
“I am calling from the CID…” the caller replied from another side of the phone.
“Sorry, I have no overdue bank loans nor suspicious transactions on credit cards. You don’t have to waste your time on me. Sue me or demand execution, suit yourself. I will not press 9 for consultation.” Before the caller could even finish his words, I hung up the phone. Nowadays, scammers pretend they are from various public services has mushroomed, whenever I heard the caller claimed themselves from police departments, or from telecommunication services, I will hang up without hesitation.
Employ the swift nunchakus! The nunchakus themed ringtone in Sichuan dialect once again rang before I could even put it in my pocket.
“d.a.m.n, are you done yet?” I picked it up and swear. It was the same caller.
“I am Liu Jian-jun!”
“How do you know my phone number?”
“Don’t you know my profession? It only take few minutes to pull up your numbers. Enough with the talking, come quick, take a cab to Chuntian*, Jiangcheng.” *Chuntian – trans literally means spring.
“Why must I go there?”
“I have a case here that need your a.s.sistance!”
“d.a.m.n, what is it got to do with me? I’m not a cop!”
“The cop can’t handle this case. It involves human lives, are you coming? I’ll visit your shop everyday if you don’t come.”
“What the x, do I owe you my life?”
Above was my conversation with Liu Jian-jun! I hung up the call, decided to head over to Jiangcheng and see what’s going on. After all, curiosity is part of human nature. What kind of case that cop can’t handle and involved human life?
After awhile, my ride reached the front gate of an upscale residential area. I knew I came to the right place before I get off. Because there were a few police cars in front of the gate.
“Liu Jian-jun, Liu Jian-jun, where are you?” I called Liu Jia-jun on the phone the minute I entered the area.
“You’re here? Wait, Let me fetch you!” Liu Jian-jun answered the call.
Few moments later, I saw Liu Jian-jun walked out from a elevator and tip me a wave. When I reached him, he pulled me into the elevator without further ado.
“What’s the situation? There’s a case cop can’t handle?” I asked the quiet Liu Jian-jun while staring at the indicator lights.
“Something is a little off, you’ll know it when you saw it.” the same old cliche, you’ll know when you see.
“Sergeant Liu, Sergeant Liu!” It’s a town house with two units, I saw few policemen when I step out the elevator, they are pulling police tape while greeting Liu Jian-jun.
“Wear shoe cover, mask and gloves.” He said and threw me a pair of shoe covers from another policeman. I sniffed the air but only the smell of blood a.s.saulted my nose.
I followed Liu Jian-jun entered a house and to a bedroom. I saw a woman with a gush of blood hanging out of the corner of her mouth. A white sheet covers her body with the breast spot soaked in fresh blood.
“What’s her profession?” I asked, seeing my feet stepping on the expensive cashmere carpet. Someone who could live in this area must be wealthy or respectable.
“A model. Considerably average in the circle.” Liu Jian-jun replied behind me.
“Oh, escort kind of model, right?” I answered and nodded when I heard his replies.
“What is it with you?” Liu Jian-jun shot me a glare.
“It’s like what you’ve said.” In the end, he confirmed my guesses.
“Homicide? Crime of pa.s.sion? Or what do you call the other kind of murder?” I asked and looked around the bedroom. Up until now, I didn’t find any unnatural thing in this case.
“Ostensibly, any kind of murder is possible. However, when you look closely, you’ll find out that she killed herself. Her suicide method is unsettling for me.” Liu Jian-jun waved at those inspecting cops hinting them to vacate the room, so that he could speak privately with me.
“She ate herself up.” Straight to the point, Liu Jian-jun structured a more acceptable sentence to let me understand.
“Uncover it, you’ll see.” After he finishes his words, he retreat to the door with his hand covering his mouth. 20 years in the service, he could have seen bloodier scene than this. But today’s crime scene makes him felt like puking.
I saw Liu Jian-jun’s face and shine my grin to him. Next, uncovering the white sheet from the corpse, I immediately understand what Liu Jian-jun meant by the ‘CID can’t handle the case.’ I carefully opened the corpse’s half-open mouth with my gloved hand, dug out a small length of unswallowed small intestine.
The stomach of the corpse was tore open and the viscus within was all eaten up. As for the remains of those organs, it was found inside the corpse’s gastral. The gastral was burst due to inflation, exposed the undigested human organ pieces. In her hand, She was holding a strand of intestine that she didn’t manage to eat.
Moving on, I pry open her fingers, studying her polished fingernails. There are some fleshes lodged under her fingernails, looks like it was the result of her ripped off her own stomach. Two of her fingernails was snapped off, revealing the reddish flesh underneath it.
“This woman was rough to herself!” I stood up and said to Liu Jian-jun, who is now leaning against the entrance after I roughly done examined the body. Just as he claimed, the woman devoured herself.
“Done?” He uncover his nose, perplexedly asked. Liu Jian-jun is expecting that I will figure out something like I did back at his home.
“It’s done! I said so earlier, I’m no policeman. Crime solving is best done by your profession.” I wiped off the b.l.o.o.d.y trace on my glove then walked out the room as I speak.
“s.h.i.t, for all the effort to invite you, and it’s now done?” He said, in dismal. Liu Jian-jun then pulled me out of the house and lit up a cigarette.
“Duh~” I striped off the glove and reach my hand to his pocket, found a cigarette and lit it up too.
“You will be busy around these days. Remember, don’t look for me if you’re free, nor if you have any issue. Ciao!” I said. After I done puffing the cigarette, I sniffed the smell of blood that permeate in the air.
“Wait, what do you mean? Have you discover anything?” Liu Jian-jun is a cop, he sensitively detected the hidden meanings in my words then pull me over and threw his questions at me.
“I can’t find anything.” I winked at him then went into the elevator and left the place.
“Wrap up now!” Liu Jian-jun instructed his colleague beside him. He looked at my departing figure and immersed in a deep thought.