Chapter 840: Chapter 443: Bring Her Back for Questioning!
When Jiang An proposed this idea, a look of confusion appeared on the faces of everyone present.
Everyone exchanged glances, and for a moment, no one spoke.
The life backgrounds, marital statuses, and family relationships of the five victims kept circling repeatedly in everyone’s minds.
These women seemed to live in corners that sunlight could hardly reach, their identities, occupations, and experiences shrouded in an impenetrable mist.
After a long while, Zhang Yean’s tightly furrowed brow suddenly relaxed, and she lightly tapped the table, speaking in a solemn tone: "Mr. Jiang, your line of thinking indeed makes sense."
"I’ve thought it over carefully. Among these victims, some have been divorced or single for a long time, and some lost their parents many years ago."
"They are almost in a state of social isolation—there are too few people who genuinely care about them or worry about them."
"Even if they were to disappear quietly one day, it would be difficult to attract others’ attention, let alone anyone actively reporting them missing."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across each face in attendance, and continued to add: "Moreover, the industries they are engaged in themselves operate in gray areas, difficult to be exposed to light."
"Even if they suddenly disappeared, those so-called ’bosses’ would never willingly deal with the police for them or invite unnecessary trouble."
"This, therefore, explains why their identities cannot be confirmed for a long time."
Jiang An listened, slowly nodding, with a hint of approval in his eyes: "The analysis is quite insightful."
"Our most crucial task now is to figure out why the killer is so familiar with their situations."
"How did he target these victims? How did he learn about their unknown backgrounds?"
Everyone present fell into deeper thought following this direction.
Wan, while taking notes, interjected: "Yes, ordinary people go out for entertainment, get a foot massage, at most it’s just for fun, how could they know the other’s family background and history so clearly?"
"Moreover, women working in such settings usually fabricate lies to protect themselves when asked about their privacy by customers."
"Why, then, was the killer able to grasp their real information? Could it be that he already knew them?"
Jiang An took the cue, "Brother, your analysis is indeed experienced."
Wan smiled at these words, waved his hand, and said, "I wouldn’t call it experienced, I’m just speculating based on common sense."
"After all, even if you’ve never eaten pork, you’ve seen pigs run."
Jiang An, with his hands folded in front of him, leaned forward slightly and continued to analyze deeply: "Exactly."
"Generally, those who purely search for thrill-seeking as clients wouldn’t bother to delve into the other’s personal history, nor would they pay attention to the details hidden beneath the surface."
"But the killer not only mastered it but did so precisely and comprehensively."
"This indicates that he might not merely be an ordinary client but someone with a specific connection with these victims—maybe an acquaintance, someone who frequently interacted with them, or possibly someone who gained their trust."
His voice echoed in the quiet meeting room, every word striking at the hearts of the audience.
The outline of the case seemed to become gradually clearer at this moment, yet deeper mysteries lay beneath.
Just after he finished speaking, Wan, as if grasping onto some key information, quickly chimed in: "Mr. Jiang, you mean... could the owner of the Jingxin Foot Massage Shop be problematic?"
Jiang An nodded slightly, and with a calm gaze, analyzed: "That’s precisely the line of thought."
"Think about it carefully, if it were just a fleeting encounter or a casual affair, even if those men out of curiosity asked about their origins during the transaction, do you think a woman like Li Sha would easily reveal the truth?"
"They would mostly choose to fabricate identities and conceal real information—this is their instinct for self-protection, and also the norm in this line of work."
"Yet the killer was able to grasp their names, birthplaces, even past experiences with such precision."
"What does this indicate? It implies that this information was likely not obtained during the transaction."
"Ah! You suspect...?"
Wan immediately became vigilant, his voice unconsciously rising slightly, but then quickly fell into a new confusion, "But the owner of the massage shop is a woman. A woman killing women... this doesn’t make sense in terms of motive."
He recalled the details of tonight’s visit, his tone growing increasingly serious, "I’ve contacted more than one massage worker, and several of them expressed genuine regret over the departure of those women."
"Such emotions... don’t seem fabricated."
"Moreover, when mentioning the owner, they also said the owner expressed regret over the departure of these girls."
As Wan spoke, he couldn’t help but shake his head, his brow furrowed.
"Could it be competition among peers?"
Zhang Yean suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
"Some women, in order to snatch customers and compete for business, might use extreme means to ’get rid of’ particularly popular colleagues?"
"Makes sense! We haven’t considered this direction in depth."
Wan slapped his thigh sharply, "If it’s for business competition, there indeed exists a motive."
But he quickly calmed down, stroking his chin and pondering, "However... if it’s competition among peers, eliminating one could be understandable, but targeting five people consecutively, how deep must the resentment be?"
"The method is too cruel, too risky."
"Would general competition really go this far?"
