Chapter 72: A lily of death.

They were called to an apartment in a residential area. Police cruisers were already parked outside of the building. A small crowd had gathered, curious residents that were being kept back by police officers.

Lilies!

The overwhelming scent of those flowers was the first thing that Liwu smelled. It made her wrinkle her nose, just before her trench coat was snagged by a protruding umbrella hanger near the door.

[+20 points: Ripped coat.] Her system sung.

Linlin did not bat her eyes at Liwu’s bad luck. Her fingers had grazed Liwu’s in the car and she managed to see this happening. Her system had leveled up yesterday, providing a probability of something happening. “You were destined to snag your coat,” she said dryly. “One hundred percent chance. Of course, if I had stepped in, it would be zero.”

Liwu put her coffee cup to her lips and took a small sip. As she lowered it, she said, “Tell me when it predicts my death.”

A detective that was talking to police officers broke away and walked towards them. “Are you from the SOB?”

Liwu showed him her badge. “What do we have and how is it system related?”

He shook his head, “I am not sure if its related but we have had eight victims in one year. They are all teenagers, found with a white lily stuffed in their mouths.”

Linlin chimed in, “Purity, death, funerals.”

The detective nodded. “We figured that part out after the first case. What we cannot figure out is everything else. Suspect, motive, evidence…we have nothing. City hall asked us to pass it on to you.” His lips curled downwards. He seemed to disdain the idea of passing on the case.

Liwu had seen this many times and she did not care.For her, eight young victims were too many. “What the hell were you waiting for to call us in? More bodies or more grieving parents?”

The officer looked offended. “Hey lady, just because we don’t have computers in our brains does not mean that we cannot do our jobs. We are just as qualified as the rest of you to…..”

“Okay.” Linlin cut him off. “My partner can be insufferable at times but that is because she is passionate about her job. Now, let’s see the corpse and give the parents of those poor children an explanation.”

He led them to the bedroom. In the center, on the bed, lay the ninth victim: a teenage boy, pale and still, his lips parted around the cruel bloom of a white lily. He was dressed in his red pajamas, making it likely that he had been killed sometime during the night.

Death aside, he looked so peaceful.

But the desperate cries of his parents outside were anything but peaceful.

Liwu sniffed the air. She thought something was off! A single lily in the victims mouth but the air smelled like a farm of lilies! Had the murderer sprayed the perfume everywhere?

The coroner for their precinct, Dr. You Juan had already arrived. She adjusted her augmented spectacles when she saw Liwu and Linlin. “Took you two long enough.”

“I brought you a coffee but it spilled on the way.” Liwu lied. It was just that giving the doctor treats often escalated them to the top of the line when it came to autopsies and all things DNA and evidence related. “Do you have a cause of death?”

“It appears to be suffocation.” Dr. You replied. “The lilies were inserted postmortem. Whoever did this wanted symbolism because they are not related to the death in any way.”

Liwu bent her back and looked at the shoulder. She noticed an injection mark on the hand. “What is this?”

Dr. You shrugged. “I can’t tell you until I examine the body on my table. For now, all I have is speculation. Maybe he got a shot for something, but it looks two days old to me.”

There was some noise from the doorway and Liwu turned around. Her husband had made an appearance! The police officers were excited to see him, like he was there to solve the case. “I can’t believe this,” she muttered.

Weijun cleared his throat nervously, “Whispers of a serial killer in my city. I had to come, Liwu.”

She snorted. “You are not a cop. Don’t you have a company to run?”

Weijun gestured to the bed. “A serial killer in my city targeting teenagers! The news does not get worse than that. Parents will pull their children out of schools! I don’t know how this did not reach my ears sooner. I received the files on the old cases on my way here and did some reading. You know, lilies are also popular in wedding bouquets.”

Liwu and Linlin looked at him like he had just farted. Loudly.

Weijun laughed. “Or death and purity. Something to do with the soul.”

They nodded.

Some officers chuckled nervously. The city’s most famous playboy was scared of his wife. Who knew?

Liwu gestured at the officers of the Bureau at the crime scene. “Let’s begin with the lilies. No two flowers are completely alike and the department of agriculture logs all genetic material, pollen samples, microbial communities and chemical residue from flowers before they are released to the open market. If we find the florist, we are closer to finding the killer.”

“Yes ma’am.” One officer responded loudly.

Linlin pointed to another officer. “Use our tools to scan for any residue that does not belong here. Even the smallest particle. If a system host was here, we need to know.”

Liwu pointed to Xuanji. “The first case is always special. Start by digging into victim number one, if we know why he…”

“She.” The detective that had briefed them said.

So, Liwu corrected herself, “If we know why she was killed we will be able to figure out the motive for the rest.”

SOB officers scrambled, pulling out their devices and activating their systems. It was time to prove what made them special.

The body was bagged and taken away from the crime scene. Techs started packing up the sheets, mattress and pillows. Liwu and Linlin walked through the room, examining windows, bathroom, the victims school bag and other personal items. The more they understood about the victims habits, the easier it would be to find out why he was chosen.

“His medicine cabinet is literally a pharmacy.” Weijun commented. “I count six empty pill bottles, one almost used up and three full ones.”

Liwu moved closer to look at the pill bottle he was dangling. “Naproxen.”

Weijun gave her another and she read the label, “Belimumab.” She frowned. “What illness did the kid have?”

“I have something.” Officer A Mei, who had been put on the flower discovery shouted, racing to the bathroom door. “I know where the lily came from. It is a close match to the sample of lilies registered by ’Grandmother’s special flowers farm.’”

Before they could respond, Xuanji shoved the officer aside. “According to his records, the kid had lupus, he was dying. Guess who he visited frequently in the last month in the company of his parents? It is a system host who can do what someone in this room can do.”

Weijun pointed to himself.

Liwu looked at Linlin.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep