Ke Xue: This police officer is too martial

Chapter 27 The Real Purpose of the Serial Offender
After calming down, Inspector Megure looked at Makino anxiously: "Are you saying that the criminal's real purpose...is not to kill people, but to set fire?!"

Makino nodded and said, "Yes, I suspect he 'tasted' the pleasure of arson in the first case. The pen he left at the scene and the rapidly shortening intervals between crimes were all due to this."

At this time, the police officer at the side asked: "But... in these three cases, the valuable items in the victims' homes were stolen by the criminals?!"

Makino said helplessly: "Isn't the estimated price of the pen also written in the investigation report? A criminal who intends to rob will not deliberately leave an obviously expensive pen at the scene after each crime..."

"His purpose in placing that pen was to demonstrate to us his 'power' and 'control', which are also the basic characteristics of a serial pyromaniac."

"But his behavior of taking away valuables is indeed somewhat complicated... It seems like he is deliberately disrupting the police's sight, and it also seems like a strange demonstration."

"Speaking of which, why is there no information about this pen in the report?"

Hearing this, the police officer who asked the question scratched his head embarrassedly: "We have investigated, but this kind of pen seems to have been discontinued a long time ago..."

Hearing this, Makino lowered his head and thought for a while.

He always felt that there were some clues in this pen that had not been dug out.

In each of the three cases so far, the prisoner placed a pen.

Since the criminal decided to commit crimes repeatedly, it means that he must have many of the same pens in his hands.

The question is... who on earth would collect so many identical pens?

Writer?

Stationery store owner?

A pen merchant?

Or are you just a simple "fountain pen lover"...?
Thinking of this, Makino shook his head slightly.

There was too little relevant information for him to make a judgment easily.

At this moment, the other police officers in the small conference room also noticed what was happening on Makino's side, and they curiously put down their work and gathered around.

Makino glanced at the gathered police officers and continued, "From the current situation, the criminal's arson methods show a gradual and progressive trend."

"In the first two cases, the fires were set during the day and evening respectively. In the third case, the fire was set late at night."

Hearing this, everyone present nodded in unison.

They also discovered that the time the criminals set the fire was different in each case.

And this is a very, very dangerous signal!

After a moment of silence, Inspector Megure asked nervously, "Do you think he might commit another crime in the near future?"

Makino nodded: "That's right, and this time the 'destructiveness' will probably be greater than the previous three times."

"Because now... he has learned more and more about how to create a 'scene' that suits his taste."

"But there's no need to be nervous. We just need to catch him before he commits another crime."

Hearing this, Inspector Megure quickly asked: "Do you already know the characteristics of the criminal?!"

Amid the shocked gazes of the crowd, Makino said calmly, "The criminal is a male, aged between 30 and 35, and lives in Beido Town. He has some obvious 'physical defects', such as 'short stature' or 'stuttering'."

"He also suffers from mild to moderate hallucinations. Perhaps there are records of his visits or treatments at local hospitals."

Hearing this, the police officers below all showed confused and dazed expressions.

Huh? Wait?

What on earth is this young man talking about?
This is the portrait of the criminal?! It's wrong?! How did this guy know this?!

Seeing the confused looks of his subordinates and colleagues, Inspector Megure raised a smile.

He had the same reaction the first time he heard Makino directly draw a portrait of the criminal.

But now...

Inspector Megure couldn't contain his excitement when he thought that he had already brought Makino into the First Investigation Division.

The next moment, Inspector Megure forced himself to control the expression on his face, turned his head and said, "Takashima, Inoue, the two of you should contact the hospital in the Beido Town area to see if there is any medical record of a similar man!"

"Shirota, lead the team to the scene of the crime last night and ask nearby residents and store clerks if they have seen anyone like this!"

Although the three people who were named were skeptical about what Makino said, since Inspector Megure trusted this young man so much and even gave them direct orders, the three of them did not say much.

After the three of them left, Inspector Megure asked the question that everyone present wanted to ask: "Brother Makino, how did you know that?"

Hearing this, Makino picked up the pen next to the whiteboard and began to write on it while explaining:
"First of all, according to the case file, this criminal is a typical 'serial killer'."

"Such criminals usually choose to commit crimes in their 'comfort zone' in the early stages of their crimes, that is, in their first cases."

"In order to investigate the surrounding environment and confirm the escape route, the crime scene is usually not too far from home or work."

"So the place where he committed his first crime... that 'comfort zone' was Haido Town."

At this point, Makino pointed to the personal information of the first victim on the whiteboard.

"This kind of criminal will be very 'rigorous' when choosing his first target."

"In other words, this target must be the best person who can arouse his strong murderous intent!"

Before Makino could continue to explain, Inspector Megure asked, "But...Brother Makino, we have already thoroughly investigated this Ikutajima.

"He has a very gentle and kind personality. Everyone around him thinks he is a very nice guy. It is hard to imagine that he would offend anyone..."

After Inspector Megure finished speaking, Makino nodded and said, "This is exactly why the criminal wants to kill him. To the criminal, he is a little too 'perfect'."

Inspector Megure: “?”

Makino glanced at everyone present and said calmly, "This is the bad nature of human beings."

"Deep down, people always want to see perfect things broken, especially those who feel they are anything but 'imperfect'."

"You've probably heard that most arsonists wet their beds or abused animals as children."

"These children, because they lack 'control' over themselves, often have a deep sense of inferiority."

"As adults, they desperately want attention and recognition from others... and arson is precisely a way to easily control others and prove their power."

Hearing this, complicated expressions appeared on the faces of the police officers.

As criminal police, they often deal with various criminals.

They knew that what Makino said was right. The motives for many criminals to kill were trivial things that seemed "trivial" in the eyes of ordinary people.

Seeing that everyone seemed to understand what he meant, Makino turned around and wrote down a few numbers with a pen: "If we must find a common point among these three victims... there is only one, which is their age and gender."

When the police officers in the audience saw the numbers written by Makino, they immediately discovered something.

The ages of these three victims are strangely similar, all around 30 years old!
(End of this chapter)