Sha Qing

Chapter 16: A Game Between Black & White (1)

In a conference room of FBI's Chicago office, after the projector finished playing the murder scenes and the evidences, the dark room fell into a brief silence.

The lights turned on, and Alfred, the leader of the Chess Serial Homicide task force broke the solemn air with a slightly hard tone, "We don't have enough clues for the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) to provide sufficient information."

Rob then said, "For the instantaneous attack late night on the street and the shot that came outside the prison wall, to have no additional clues, it can be considered as somewhat understandable. But it's inconceivable that there aren't any witnesses or even surveillance footage of the murder inside the DEA office."

"No witnesses, no video materials, no remnants that could reveal an identity, no traces for us to trace. The murderer planned carefully beforehand, his methods were neat and clear, and his efficiency was like a killing machine ..." The young detective, Mike, grew more and more frustrated.

"Don't be so downtrodden, guys; you can't be like this- not before putting up a fight!" Leo knocked the table with his knuckles and raised his voice to boost morale. "There is no seamless murder in this world. As long as it is simulated, there will be some flaws. You know, sometimes, the key to solving a case lies on a seemingly insignificant hair. Go and investigate again carefully, the scene, exhibits, murder weapons, vehicles, probes, possible witnesses, even a half of a cigarette butt on the roadside stone cracks. In short, thoroughly check everything you can think of! We'll urge the behavioral science analysts to give us a profile, even if it's just a vague outline."

Alfred perked up, and said, "I'll take a few people with me to the crime scene again; Mike, you go to the forensic department to see what's new. Leo, please take care of the BAU."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

It wasn't until midnight that Leo and Rob were able to come back to the lakeside villa. The two were so tired that they didn't even want to eat dinner. After saying good night to each other, they took a cold shower and went back to their respective rooms to rest.

Leo spent more than half an hour lying on the bed, unable to fall asleep. He looked at the simulated portraits of 'Sha Qing'-he brought in his suitcase from Portland and as usual, affixed it to the wall behind the table so that he could see it as soon as he turns his head over. The silver moonlight spilled in through the window, lighting the three different faces, and each gave the impression of being quiet and evil, like a beast lurking in the dark forest, staring at him deeply, as if they would speak through the paper at any time.

Sha Qing, why are you always one step ahead us on finding and killing those serial killers? Is it because you are of the same type of people, you smell each other's blood in the vast crowd? Or is it your instinct on tracking down a prey as a predator? Leo asked himself silently then glanced at the quiet and unmoving fake portraits of the man on the wall.

In the end, he still couldn't fall asleep so he got up in order to find some beer in the kitchen refrigerator. As he passed by Li Biqing's room, he noticed a soft white light shining under the door.

It's already 1 AM and he hasn't gone to sleep yet? It seems like he often stays up late ... Leo frowned disapprovingly then knocked twice on the door.

The door wasn't locked so he just pushed it open, walked in, and saw the stunned owner who wasn't expecting a visitor this early in the morning.

"...You haven't gone to sleep yet?" Biqing asked in surprise.

Opposite the door was supposed to be an empty white wall but now, it was filled with various shapes of paper, densely covered with text. If you look closely, the newspaper cuts are marked with dots and lines by either a red or blue permanent marker.

Leo thought that the scene was familiar. He immediately thought of a wall or a large blackboard in the FBI's crime division office, which was also covered with photos and texts related to the cases.

"I'm the one who should be asking you this. Don't you have a class tomorrow?" Leo approached the wall full of newspaper clippings and various media reports about the four serial killings in Chicago. It wasn't difficult to see that the collector was extremely serious about this and had a deep interest in it.

The inner detective of this guy is acting up again, he thought, then warned the other in a serious tone, "Didn't I say to not involve yourself with the police? It's not your responsibility, Biqing, so stay away from the case!"

Li Biqing was unwilling so he refuted, "Why? I'm not interfering with whatever you guys are doing. Indeed, this is not my responsibility, but it is within my interest-you cannot deprive me of it without a just cause! Besides, you permitted me to make some contributions last time!"

"I did agree, but that was before you were targeted by a serial killer! Didn't you also promise me that you wouldn't put yourself at risk anymore? What happened to that? If it wasn't for Sha Qing who killed Reggie in time, the bloody body found in the rose bushes would have been you! You clearly knew that the other party was a murderer but you still followed him heedlessly! Have you ever thought of the serious consequences of your stupid and stubborn behavior?" Leo's eyes were tinged with some anger. "When you were doing these things, haven't you considered how much worry the people around you would feel? What if something happened? You want my sister, Molly, to be heartbroken?"

Li Biqing bowed his head slightly, and after a while, whispered, "I'm sorry, I've broken my promise again ... But, I can't help but do something! Leo, you know this feeling right... if a certain desire drives you to act, your thoughts, emotions, and even your blood are urging you to do it! You can't turn a deaf ear to these voices unless your heart is dead!"

Leo was silent, and in a muffled voice, he said, "Now, I regret that I promised Molly that I'll take care of you. You know how dangerous my job is. If this care comes at the cost of your life being at risk, maybe, I should let you go."

""

"You're wrong. If I am put in danger, it wouldn't be because of you. Even if I didn't know you, I might still have met Reggie, or another psychopathic guy. To be honest, I've met a few people like that before -they always seem to think of me as a soft persimmon, so they always want to pinch me. Do I have the words 'easily bullied' written on my face?" Li Biqing looked up at him, with a confused face.

Leo sighed softly and thought that the expression on the other's face made him look more and more like a cooked glutinous rice dumpling that was rolled in sugar -it was pure and harmless, and also liked by all ages.

Leo's thoughts of letting him go broke down again.

In any case, leaving this guy alone would probably lead to more serious consequences, At least with him by my side, I could protect him, but if he is left alone on the street, who's going to help him in case of danger?

"If my personal interests had really caused you so much trouble, I will leave and find another language school. After I finish the course and Dr. Clement writes me a recommendation letter, I will accept his kindness then help and work with him." Li Biqing said with determination.

His last words hit Leo's soft spot.

No! I don't want you to become my colleague at all, even if you're not in the same department! The federal agent rubbed his eyebrows in frustration and sighed, "Okay, you won. I won't stop you in your interests any longer, as long as it doesn't interfere with my work.Remember, you can contribute, but you can't intervene!"

"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.