Chapter 26
"Just one thing to check, just one."
The woman hastily flipped through the notebook Juwon had placed down.
But there was nothing.
The notebook only listed the names of people who had borrowed money, with no mention of the amounts or interest rates.
How on earth did he know?
As the woman shook her head, a man in the corner tightly gripped a ledger.
"What the…"
The man, who had been glaring at Juwon, slowly stepped forward.
He seemed to be the leader of the group, as the others made way for him.
The man holding the ledger spoke up.
"What exactly are you trying to confirm, Detective?"
Juwon replied,
"A man was found stabbed with a sharp weapon nearby. He lost a lot of blood, and footprints stained with what appears to be the perpetrator's blood led to this building."
Behind Juwon, Team Leader Gu Jin-gu whispered to Sergeant Kim Seok-ho,
"Is that what this is about?"
"I didn't see anything like that…"
"I didn't see any bloodstains either. How on earth did the Inspector find that?"
Sergeant Kim shook his head.
Team Leader Gu then gestured to his phone and said quietly,
"Contact the forensic team."
"Got it."
Sergeant Kim picked up his phone.
Meanwhile, the weasel-like man, who had been listening to Juwon, frowned and said,
"So you're suspecting us? Just because we look threatening? There are several companies in this building!"
"We're just confirming. This is the only place open right now."
Juwon's words were true.
It was Saturday. Not many offices in the building were open.
A few offices on the higher floors and "Anytime Loans" on the 3rd floor. That was it.
Just then, Officer Han Geon-woo, who had been glancing at his phone, spoke up.
"The victim's name is Jo Pal-hyeok. Do you know him?"
"Who?"
The weasel-like man frowned as if he hadn't heard clearly, and Officer Han Geon-woo replied with an innocent expression,
"Jo Pal-hyeok. He looked like a total thug, kind of like you guys?"
The burly men's eyes instantly filled with menace.
Whether he was being naive or doing it on purpose, Officer Han tilted his head as if wondering why they were glaring at him so fiercely.
But then, the weasel-like man, who had been muttering the name Officer Han mentioned, suddenly widened his eyes.
"W-wait, Jo Pal-hyeok? Pal-hyeok? You mean that guy whose arms were completely covered in tattoos?"
When Officer Han nodded, the weasel-like man quickly turned his head to look at the man who seemed to be the leader.
Did they know him?
The man's face twisted into a frown.
The weasel-like man then leaned closer to Juwon.
"Is he dead?"
"Do you know him?"
"...He used to be one of us. Not anymore."
"So he left the group, you mean?"
The weasel-like man, glancing around, nodded.
A former gang member had been stabbed.
Was this an attempted retaliatory killing?
Just then, the man holding the ledger asked,
"Is he dead?"
Officer Han Geon-woo answered,
"He's in surgery right now. But he lost a lot of blood, so the medical team isn't making any promises…"
Officer Han shook his head.
The atmosphere in the office instantly grew somber.
Juwon slowly stepped forward and said,
"Even if he left, he was still one of you, right? Don't you want to know who tried to kill him?"
Ju-won's words caused the man's gaze to hesitate for a moment.
But soon, he nodded his head.
At that, the weasel and the burly figures beside him slowly made way for Ju-won.
Ju-won headed towards the water purifier.
The bottom of the water purifier.
Something small and brown was smeared there.
‘Analyze it.’
[It is indeed bloodstains. However...]
Terra's silence continued.
[...It appears to be blood from over a week ago, not something that was smeared just now. It doesn't seem to be the victim's bloodstain from earlier.]
A moment later.
"Thank you, Team Leader Gu."
Gangjung Police Station, Violent Crimes Investigation Team office.
The team leader of Team 2 bowed his head to Team Leader Gu Jin-gu.
"Ugh, I heard the paramedics also had a hard time getting to the scene."
The Team 2 leader, with a hearty laugh, was a small-built but former boxing athlete, nicknamed 'Spicy Pepper.'
At Spicy Pepper Team 2 leader's chatter, Team Leader Gu nodded his head.
"Don't even mention it. Even Officer Han and I had a tough time getting to the main road. Inspector Lee and Officer Kim were quick to notice and ran to the side, arriving quickly. If it weren't for them, we would have been late too."
"Thanks to that, we were able to narrow down the building where the perpetrator fled."
At that moment, Officer Kim Seok-ho approached and asked,
"Ah, have the forensic results come in?"
Between the desks of Team 2 and Team 3, separated by partitions, Spicy Pepper Team Leader and Team Leader Gu were chatting.
Officer Kim Seok-ho, along with Ju-won and Officer Han Geon-woo, gathered there.
Spicy Pepper Team Leader nodded his head.
"Yeah, the forensics team investigated up to the building, and it's confirmed to be the victim's bloodstain. The victim was also part of a loan shark operation called 'Anytime Loan.'"
Ju-won, Officer Kim Seok-ho, and Officer Han Geon-woo nodded their heads.
"Since he's a former gangster who left the organization, we're considering it as a retaliatory or grudge killing. Our guys are out now looking into the details."
Listening to Spicy Pepper Team Leader's words, Ju-won spoke up.
"But when Officer Han mentioned the victim's name, everyone seemed surprised. It seems less likely to be a retaliatory killing."
"Hmm, that could be possible."
Everyone seemed to be deep in thought.
Ju-won asked,
"What about the CCTV?"
"The building's own CCTV was unfortunately under maintenance, and there's no CCTV near the scene. Our team is checking the closest CCTV available, but we can't identify the perpetrator. No one was seen following the victim before the scene, and no one was seen carrying a weapon. Oh, right."
Spicy Pepper Team Leader turned to the table behind him and brought over some documents.
"We inquired with the National Forensic Service."
He then showed the photos attached to the documents to the members of Team 3.
They were photos of the victim's wounds.
"The wound on the victim's hand appears to be from a kitchen knife, but the stab wound in the abdomen isn't from a knife."
There were two wounds.
A wound on the palm from trying to block a knife, and a wound over a span wide on the abdomen.
Looking at the photos, Team Leader Gu asked,
"So what caused such a large wound?"
"They said it's like a 'bbanch.' It's a tear caused by something small and sharp."
Listening to Spicy Pepper Team Leader's words, everyone fell into deep thought.
Everyone thought the perpetrator was likely from the same organized crime group as the victim.
As Spicy Pepper Team Leader said, it could be retaliation or a grudge.
But as Ju-won mentioned, the original organization seemed surprised by the victim's death.
It seems someone took advantage of the victim leaving the organization to settle a grudge...
But then, looking at the photos, Team Leader Gu glanced at Spicy Pepper Team Leader.
"By the way, why does it feel like we're only showing these photos to Inspector Lee?"
Come to think of it, all the photos that Team Leader Ma-eun Gochu (Spicy Chili) was holding were only in front of Juwon.
“Ahaha, did I do that?”
Team Leader Ma-eun Gochu, who had been scratching the back of his head, casually handed the photos over to the former team leader and said,
“Ah, Team 3’s Investigator Lee has been quite the ace lately, hasn’t he? He’s been appearing on TV occasionally and solving cases one after another with ease. So, I guess my hand just naturally went to him without me realizing it?”
While Team Leader Ma-eun Gochu was showing an awkward smile, Juwon was looking at the photos and talking to Terra.
[The first attempted murder, as Team Leader of Team 2 mentioned, was with a Phillips screwdriver. The second attempt seems to have involved swinging a knife. During the second attempt, it appears the victim tried to grab the knife and ended up with a wound on their hand.]
There weren’t many photos of the victim.
They were hastily taken by the detective before surgery to identify the weapon, so the wounds weren’t clearly visible.
While examining the wounds on the abdomen, Juwon pulled out a photo of the injury on the victim’s left hand.
Then Terra spoke up.
[Please hold on for a moment.]
‘Why? Do you think you know what kind of knife it was?’
[No, it’s not that. I’m looking at the direction of the wound on the victim’s hand.]
‘Direction?’
[The direction of the wound on the victim’s hand suggests that the perpetrator was trying to stab the victim while holding the knife with the blade facing toward the victim.]
‘So, the victim grabbed the knife while the perpetrator was trying to stab them? But why?’
[The victim was stabbed in the left abdomen. They also grabbed the knife with their left hand. They probably tried to subdue the perpetrator with their right hand.]
‘They were stabbed in the left abdomen, and in that situation, they tried to grab the knife the perpetrator was swinging?’
As Juwon spoke, Terra projected a simulation into his field of vision.
A blue human figure appeared next to Team Leader Ma-eun Gochu.
‘Oh.’
[You’ve seen this before, but you’re still amazed?]
‘It’s always fascinating, no matter how many times I see it. Anyway, run the simulation.’
One of the human figures held a screwdriver in their left hand and a kitchen knife in their right.
[The weapons shown are common types, so please use this as a reference only.]
‘Got it.’
[The perpetrator likely stabbed the victim with the screwdriver first.]
As Terra spoke, the figure holding the weapon stabbed the screwdriver into the abdomen of the figure in front.
[The perpetrator probably struggled, and in the process, the weapon moved, causing the victim’s wound to worsen.]
‘And then?’
[The perpetrator likely pulled out the kitchen knife they had prepared. It’s highly possible that the perpetrator didn’t believe they could kill the victim with just the screwdriver in one go.]
The figure representing the perpetrator moved their right hand, which was holding the knife.
The knife was aimed at the victim figure.
[The victim probably grabbed the knife in the perpetrator’s right hand with their left hand. At the same time, the victim’s right hand likely grabbed the perpetrator’s body.]
As Juwon listened to Terra, he narrowed his eyes.
‘This is a bit strange.’
With a weapon right in front of them, someone tries to subdue the attacker?
That’s not normal behavior.
It’s not because they’re a gang member and have more guts than the average person.
If a knife is swinging in front of you, no matter how brave you are, your heart would still sink.
[That’s correct, that’s the strange part. Common sense would suggest that the victim would either collapse while holding their abdomen or run away if they could endure the pain enough to resist. But the victim didn’t think these were the best options in that moment.]
‘So that means…’
Juwon’s eyes widened as he pondered.
‘The perpetrator must be someone who, at first glance, seems small enough to be easily subdued.’
[That’s likely the case. The perpetrator seems to be someone who doesn’t fit the image of a large, intimidating gang member.]
