Absurd But Also Scientific

Mei Wa's gaze lingered on the notebook's only two deductions—height and weight—for a moment. Then she decisively pulled out her phone.

"That idea is worth a try." She quickly finished telling Walter, her fingers already dialing her superior.

"Sir, the scene-of-crime expert has proposed a breakthrough plan." Her voice cut through the clamor at the scene.

A note of clear skepticism came from the other end of the phone.

Mei Wa lowered her voice and added, "The killer may well be Killer β, the one behind the Downing Street case."

After a brief silence, the attitude on the other end shifted. The Downing Street case concerned the nation's standing and the royal family's security. At this point, doing anything was better than doing nothing. And so this seemingly far-fetched idea received approval from the highest levels.

Once the order came down, all the officers at the scene began withdrawing in an orderly fashion, leaving only a cordon around the perimeter to keep the area sealed off.

Mei Wa received explicit instructions from her superiors to remain at the core of the scene and wait with the scene-of-crime expert for this unprecedented plan to test mosquito remains for blood DNA to be carried out.

"Looks like we'll be here a while longer." Mei Wa put away her radio and turned to Walter.

Beneath the Oak Hotel's namesake tree, only the two of them and the crime-scene markers scattered across the ground remained. It was so quiet they could hear the leaves rustling.

Walter clearly hadn't expected his offhand suggestion to provoke such a huge response.

He stood beneath the oak, looking somewhat awkward, and occasionally waved away the mosquitoes around him. The gesture was meant not only to keep them from biting him, but also to stop his DNA from mixing with a swarm that might be carrying the killer's genetic material.

"This is unbelievable." He muttered, his voice full of disbelief. "A spur-of-the-moment idea actually got approved."

Mei Wa replied calmly, "When the machinery of state is running at full power, even the most far-fetched ideas will be carried out with everything it has. Ordinary people can hardly imagine the astonishing efficiency a fully sovereign state can display when it invokes its powers. That's the power of the state. To achieve its aims, it can mobilize every resource without regard to cost."

Walter gazed at the teams assembling in the distance and asked curiously, "Who's going to carry out the plan? Surely we're not calling in a pest-control company?"

Mei Wa's expression turned serious. "The Sanitation and Epidemic Prevention Force will take full responsibility. Also, this is a high-level operation. You'll need to sign a confidentiality agreement later. I hope you'll understand and cooperate."

Walter nodded at once. "Of course. I'll cooperate fully. After all, I'm just a police scene-of-crime examiner."

Military personnel arrived at the scene in fully enclosed protective suits and began their work. Trained in professional decontamination, they quickly established an operational zone.

Mei Wa and Walter were politely but firmly escorted beyond the safety line. They put on the gas masks provided by the military and watched from the edge of the cordon. Thick chemical mist spread through the woods at an astonishing rate, soon shrouding the entire area in a haze.

"Decontamination is only the first step." Walter spoke through his gas mask, his voice muffled, his gaze following the figures barely visible in the mist. "The real challenge is collecting all these mosquitoes that might be carrying crucial evidence."

Mei Wa didn't answer. She simply watched in silence as the forest before them underwent this special treatment. The military operatives appeared and disappeared in the dense fog.

Walter's voice sounded muffled through his gas mask. "To be honest, I'm not sure this method will work. If it fails, I won't be held responsible, will I?"

Mei Wa turned to look at him. Her voice from behind the mask was calm and assured. "The highest levels personally approved this operation. Even if anyone is held responsible, it won't be you."

"That's good." Walter breathed out softly. A white cloud briefly condensed on the inside of his mask, then dissipated.

The decontamination continued. A mechanical hum rang out through the dense chemical fog, but they couldn't make out what methods the military was using to collect the bloodsucking mosquitoes.

Mei Wa's phone vibrated. She walked quickly to one side to answer. "Go ahead."

Her deputy's voice came from the other end. "We found information on Alexander Duggan. He served in Afghanistan and was declared dead in action ten years ago. The strange thing is, the military files they provided are almost entirely blank. There's no substantive information at all. Based on what we have, he likely belonged to an undisclosed Shadow Unit. That's everything we've managed to dig up so far."

Mei Wa rubbed her temples hard, her voice edged with restrained agitation. "No, there should be more. I'm sure I've seen this name somewhere, but I can't remember where."

She took a deep breath. "Use the highest-level clearance to access every classified file. My gut tells me his information has to be tucked away somewhere."

"Chief, do you think this Alexander is β?" her deputy asked cautiously.

Mei Wa glanced at Walter, who was still standing by the cordon, and lowered her voice. "No, he's more likely Jackal, the killer behind the Munich assassination attempt on a presidential candidate. But right now, I need solid evidence to prove my gut feeling."

Her deputy hesitated. "Chief, aren't we looking for β?"

Mei Wa surveyed the scene shrouded in chemical mist and lowered her voice. "Listen. If we really can't find any trace of β, then Jackal, whose methods closely match β's, is β."

She paused, letting the weight of her words settle.

"We need to get everything on Jackal and be ready to present him as β. That will be enough to appease Downing Street and Buckingham Palace. Trust me, the department's higher-ups will appreciate this plan. Compared to a killer who tried to assassinate a German presidential candidate, an assassin who dares to strike in the heart of the United Kingdom is clearly more likely to get their attention."

She went on, "If we can't find the real killer, a scapegoat whose methods closely match the crime is the perfect solution. That's the way of political games."

"Now carry out my orders," Mei Wa told her deputy over the phone.

"Understood, Chief. I'll access the classified files and find everything we have on Alexander Duggan," her deputy replied.

Mei Wa ended the call and gazed through the drifting chemical fog at the forest where the work was still underway.

She lifted her gas mask slightly, quickly scratched her itchy cheek, and put it back on.

After a moment's thought, she called her deputy again. "There's one more thing."

"Go ahead, Chief," her deputy replied at once.

"Prepare several false identities with connections to the Underground Dark Web," Mei Wa instructed in a low voice. "Post high-value assassination bounties on various dark-web sites, with rewards tempting enough to draw β or Jackal out. Remember, everything must go through encrypted channels. Don't leave any trace that can be tracked."