Skinner's Box (Fang Mu (Eastern Crimes)) (50 page)

Little Song approved with a short grunt and pulled out his cell phone. He hurried down the stairs, quickly dialing a number. The two remaining police officers immediately bent down to the body. One pushed its eyelids open, the other felt for a pulse. A few seconds passed before both rose to their feet, shaking their heads in unison.

"Give him CPR!" Commissioner Xing refused to give up. "We might get him back."

As soon as they received their orders, the two officers dropped back down to the body and went about their business, pumping the short man's chest and giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. For minutes, they gave it their all, but the killer's body remained limp and lifeless. Commissioner Xing's face grew darker with every push and every puff of air. The officer giving mouth-to-mouth paused for a second to wipe the blood from his lips. He bent down to continue his efforts, but Commissioner Xing stopped him with a wave of the hand.

"Forget it," Commissioner Xing said, sighing in exasperation. Crossing his arms, he stared at the body for a few long seconds. Then, he quietly instructed, "Cordon off this area. I'll be in Room Six-Twenty-Four."

As he stepped out onto the hallway of the sixth floor, Commissioner Xing walked almost straight into Little Song. The officer was speaking on his cell phone, but the moment he saw Commissioner Xing, he hung up the call.

"What's the situation?" Commissioner Xing felt his heart go out to the woman in Roman 624. He was about to hurry to the room, but Little Song blocked him with an outstretched hand.

"Commissioner Xing, please hand over your service pistol."

"What?" Commissioner Xing almost doubled over, disbelief on his face. "What did you say?"

"Please, hand me your service pistol!" Little Song reached for the gun in his waist. "It is the Bureau's decision!"

Commissioner Xing could only stare blankly. Slowly, his wits returned and he noticed that four police officers were approaching, surrounding him. There were no options. He swallowed his anger and followed their orders. They took his gun and slapped handcuffs on him.

For a fleeting moment, the pain of cold steel digging into his wrists almost triggered his instinct to resist, but it was too late.

"What is this?" Commissioner spat angrily. "What are you doing?"

Little Song methodically sealed his gun in an evidence bag. He turned to his mentor. After a few uncomfortable seconds of silence, he quietly said, "We have just finished searching Room Six-Twenty-Four." He paused, breathing deeply. "And we have found nothing in there."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lei Mi, formerly known as Liu Peng, a teacher of criminal psychology at China Criminal Police University, is well versed in both criminal psychology and forensic science. His career has given him insight into all sorts of crime, perhaps more so than most people learn in a lifetime. Having become known across the internet for psychological thrillers such as his Criminal Minds series, he has attracted countless fans. His major works include The Seven Readers (published as a serial novel from July to September 2006 in Legends from Today and Ancient Times: End of the Month Stories, and won their prize for best suspense story of 2006), Profiler, Skinner's Box, Blade of Silence, and City Lights. Lei Mi currently teaches in Shenyang.