Chapter 192 Part 1: Sequence of Murder
Without saying anything, Chen Xiaolian placed the woman’s driving license into his pocket.
“Hey, return it to me!” said the woman. She appeared agitated.
“Enough! Stop yelling!” said Chen Xiaolian who went over and grabbed her arm. He continued, “Now, come with us. We suspect that you… en…”
He was not familiar with the laws of the UK.
As a forensics expert, Colombo quickly chipped in, “We suspect that you are engaged in making illegal transactions through indecent behaviour. Now, come with us!”
“No! You cannot do this! I did not do anything! You have no right to… Damn it! Unhand me, you bastards!”
Chen Xiaolian ignored the woman’s struggles and he seized and shoved both her arms to her back.
Colombo was stunned and he was at a loss at what to do. He said, “That, are we really going to take her…”
Chen Xiaolian struck the woman’s neck with a palm strike, knocking her unconscious. Then, he swung her over his shoulder and said, “Carry her bag!”
“… … eh? Oh oh oh, all right!” Colombo stuttered and he quickly picked up the handbag that was left on the ground.
Seeing Chen Xiaolian carrying the woman over, Phoenix and Dr Mu emerged from the clump of bushes.
“What are you doing?” asked a frowning Phoenix.
Chen Xiaolian pointed upward toward the sky and said, “Did you not see that the sky is getting brighter? It seems that the killer is not coming… we might as well bring her back with us.”
“Bring her back?”
Chen Xiaolian shook his head and answered, “This is not a good place to discuss this. Let’s go!”
After saying that, he carried the woman and ran out of the park.
Phoenix quickly contacted the other members and they met up by their cars.
Chen Xiaolian shoved the woman into the back of the car. He also produced a rope to tie up the woman’s hands. Turning around, he glanced at Phoenix and said, “What are you staring at? Come help out!”
Phoenix narrowed her eyes as she inspected the rope that Chen Xiaolian was using to tie up the woman. She blurted out, “Black Widow’s spider silk?”
Something akin to a smile flashed through her eyes and she said, “You sure know how to make good use of everything.”
As she spoke, she produced a blindfold and proceeded to blindfold the woman.
“Out with it, what exactly are you planning?”
After hearing Phoenix’s question, Chen Xiaolian pointed up to the sky, exhaled and said, “We may have made a mistake.”
“What?”
“You see, we have been observing the trunk and waiting for the rabbit to come [1]. In the end, the rabbit did not appear,” Chen Xiaolian pursed his lips to the side and continued, “What is the problem?”
“Maybe Jack went to kill someone else,” Phoenix answered after giving it some thought.
“That is possible,” said Chen Xiaolian who nodded his head. Then, he said, “However, there is another possibility… maybe, we’ve been found out. Do not forget, the Jack created by the system might be the same one as in history… we’ve seen him before. He could go through walls. He might be a ghost or some spirit entity. Hell only knows that he is.
“He might have noticed us back when we were running over to set up the ambush. We were able to hide ourselves within the bushes. But, he might have a stronger hiding ability. Perhaps, he could even become invisible… those are all possible.”
“If so…”
“So, if merely observing the trunk and waiting for the rabbit won’t work, I want to cut down the trunk and bring it home!” Chen Xiaolian grinned and continued, “That way, the rabbit will come to us!”
…
Lun Tai, Bei Tai and the others had already returned. When Chen Xiaolian told them about his plan, both Lun Tai and Bei Tai was shocked. Then, Lun Tai laughed, “This idea is quite interesting.”
“Idiot!” Naturally, the one who objected was Dagger. It was questionable as to whether he was simply born with a ridiculing face or if Chen Xiaolian had a hate-inducing aura around him. Looking at Chen Xiaolian caused a feeling of dislike to rise within him and he spoke out harshly, “To think you would suggest such a stupid idea. What if the killer chooses to give up on this target and chooses to go after a different person? What a joke!”
Chen Xiaolian ignored him and asked Colombo, “Mr Colombo, there are five victims recorded in history. Last night, the first victim had fallen. Now, we have the second victim with us… now, I need the information of the other three victims.”
“Eh? Oh…” Colombo combed through his mind and said, “The other three victims are Annie Chapman, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly.”
“Good, the location?”
“Err… Annie Chapman was killed in Hanbury Street while Catherine Eddowes died near Bishop Street. As for Mary Jane Kelly, she was found dead in her apartment at Dorset Street,” answered Colombo. As expected of one who had researched up on this case for years, he was highly knowledgeable about those information. Pausing for a moment, Colombo then said, “The third and fourth victims died in outdoor areas. Only the fifth victim died in her own home…”
“Map! I need a map!” Chen Xiaolian hastily said.
Colombo quickly produced his mobile phone and opened up a map of London.
“We need to take advantage of the time!” Chen Xiaolian quickly said, “The fifth victim died in her own home… in that case, I believe the system will let the story progress in the similar manner. There should be an exact address for the fifth victim, just like in history! Thus… we’ll now split up. One group will go find the fifth victim and bring her back!”
“I’ll go,” said Lun Tai.
“Damn it! Guild Leader, are we just going to stand by and watch as they muck about?” Dagger roared furiously: “If you people were to do that, you might beat the bush to startle the snake and scare the killer away! When that happens, we won’t be able to catch the killer, and we will fail to complete the quest. How will you take responsibility when that happens?”
“That’s enough, Dagger,” Phoenix interrupted Dagger and said, “I feel that Guild Leader Chen Xiaolian’s idea is very interesting. There is no harm in giving it a try.”
Phoenix turned to Chen Xiaolian and said, “If that is the case, let my team members go find the fifth victim.”
Chen Xiaolian looked at Phoenix and hesitated for a moment before saying, “All right.”
“The fifth victim’s name is Mary Jane Kelly. Historical records states that she lived in Dorset Street. Err, the street is still here. However, the old building is probably no more…”
“Since we have her name and a general idea on where she is, it won’t be a problem,” Phoenix quickly said: “Monster! Titan!”
The pair of twins and the monkey-carrying Monster quickly moved over. Phoenix said, “You’ll be going. Remember, Dorset Street, Mary Jane Kelly. Find this woman and bring her back!”
“All right, no problem, Guild Leader,” Monster answered in a muffled voice. The Titan brothers simply cast a glance at Phoenix. Without saying anything, they left together with Monster in a car.
“Then, the other two… we’ll go find them and bring them back.”
“That… I fear that might prove difficult. The historical records did state where they were killed. However, they had no fixed residence…” said Colombo, a bitter smile on his face. “So…”
Chen Xiaolian thought of something. He then looked at the unconscious woman in the back of the car and said, “There might be a way.”
…
Mary Ann Nichols woke up and found herself lying on a sofa. She immediately jumped up, and she looked around in fear.
She was in Colombo’s living room. The forensic expert was clutching his scalp as he stood beside, muttering, “Damn it, I must be out of my mind. I am actually helping you in a kidnapping case… Heavens, I will get in trouble for this.”
“Don’t worry, Mr Colombo. I assure you, when we leave, you will not be in any trouble.”
Chen Xiaolian patted the forensic expert on the shoulder. Then, he pulled over a chair and sat before Mary Ann Nichols.
The woman looked at Chen Xiaolian in fear.
“You people… who are you people? You are not the police! This is not the police station!”
“Calm down, lady,” Chen Xiaolian sighed.
“No! I want to leave! Let me leave!” She screamed and tried to run toward the door. However, Lun Tai grabbed her with one arm and pushed her back down onto the sofa.
“You people… could it be, you are Yuri’s men? Damn it! I did not go to Yuri’s place to look for business! I have been doing my business in the park this week! I swear! I swear!” she cried out. It appeared that she had misunderstood the situation.
Chen Xiaolian pursed his lips to the side before saying, “We are not Yuri’s men. Lady, please calm down first. We want to ask a favour from you.”
“I don’t have anything, Mr… I have no money, I have nothing valuable. My purse, my mobile phone… my handbag, you can take it all. You can take all of it, but please do not hurt me.”
Chen Xiaolian looked at the poor woman before him and he gave out a gentle sigh.
She was no longer young and was likely near forty years old. No matter how thick her makeup was, it could not cover the haggard look of age on her face.
No doubt, she was someone who had to struggle just to live, a pitiful person living in the bottom rung of society.
“Listen up, we are not the police, nor are we part of a gangster group. And we are certainly not sent over by Yuri… … the reason we came looking for you, is because we want you to help us out a little. Furthermore… as long as you obediently cooperate, not only will we not harm you, I promise, you will be able to earn quite a bit of money.”
Chen Xiaolian pulled out a stack of pounds and placed them on the table.
“… … …” The woman was stunned. However, the stack of pounds on the table was very attractive in her eyes. Chen Xiaolian noticed that she could not restrain herself from secretly glancing over to the stack of money.
Chen Xiaolian deliberately put on a smile and picked up the money before stuffing it back into his pocket – the woman’s eyes had been following the stack of money as it was moved.
“You people… just what is it that you people want from me?” asked the woman as she swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Chen Xiaolian smiled. He attempted to make his smile appear more amiable.
“You usually find work around Whitechapel, right?” asked Chen Xiaolian.
“I… …” The woman appeared hesitant to answer.
“Lady…”
“Call me Polly. That is what everyone calls me,” The woman said as her eyes darted around.
“All right, Polly,” Chen Xiaolian smiled and said, “You see, we already know what it is you do. As for us, we are not the police, we are not responsible for arresting those who commit illegal activities… those things have nothing to do with us, do you understand? You do not need to worry about it.”
“… …” Polly thought it through and answered, “All right.”
“Now, just answer a few of my questions, all right?” Chen Xiaolian smiled.
1. ‘Observe the trunk and wait for the rabbit’ means a narrow-minded or inexperienced way of working. Once upon a time, there was a lazy farmer who saw a rabbit run into a trunk and died (there was a loud commotion of sorts that day). As a result, the farmer was able to fix himself a sumptuous meal that night. Since then, the farmer stopped farming and instead chose to wait near the miraculous trunk, waiting for more rabbits to ‘come’.