11:59 (31)
11:59 (31)
I'LL GIVE MASS RELEASE IF WE REACH 500 COINS FOR WIN WIN
....
Junwan was looking over at the files of CCK's murder cases. The investigation team had sent him their daily reports and every word made him sick to the stomach. Twenty years ago, the police could not catch the CCK due to their incompetence but he hoped that this new team would be able to get some clues. Gayoon had been working tirelessly to get her hands on the murderer but every time they got closer, the killer vanished again.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," he said. Gayoon entered the room.
"Sir, have you read the reports I have sent?" she asked.
"I did," he sighed. "You think it's a copycat killer? And the real CCK may be in a coma?"
"The timing of his disappearance coincided with Dr. Nam's coma," she explained. "Moreover, his habits of late night hunting and eating at exactly 11:59 PM also matches Hwang Minho's story. The wife gave us the date when he was found in the forest. It was a few hours after Hwang Minho and his sister escaped from the CCK's lair."
"Then if Nam is in a coma," Junwan said. "The current killer might be a copycat."
"It's a possibility," Gayoon replied. "Unfortunately, Nam is in a lifelong coma and won't wake up. So it'll be impossible to punish him."
The very thought of it was making Gayoon fume inside. If Nam was the CCK, then the victims would get no justice at all. While he slept in a peaceful coma, his victims' souls were writhing in sadness and agony, waiting for a justice that would never come. She clenched her fist, trying to control herself.
Junwan could read her mood. "Gayoon, I know you're mad that the killer would get away on the basis of his medical condition," he said gently. "But as a police officer, you should know that not all cases can be solved."
"I know," Gayoon nodded, looking at her feet. "If everything was fair, then we would not have a job, would we?"
Junwan chuckled at her words. "I know you can solve this case. If there's one detective who can crack this mystery, it's you Gayoon."
But Gayoon was not so sure of her own capabilities. So far, she only hit deadends and the only way for her was to talk to the dead girl. And it was one method she was not keen on using.
"I will try my best, sir," she said. Junwan nodded and dismissed her. Gayoon was about to leave when the door burst open and a middle aged man walked in. She was taken aback by his sudden appearance but slightly bowed at him before leaving.
"What news do you have, Jooyeon?" Junwan asked. "Did you look into the case I have asked for?"
"I did," Jooyeon replied. "Lan Dongwook. Twenty six year old IT professional who was married to Kim Sungmi. The police found him with a bloody knife, standing over his wife's body."
"So he killed her?" Junwan questioned.
"The fingerprints on the knife were his," Jooyeon stated. "And his DNA was all over the crime scene so he did kill her."
I knew it, Junwan thought in aghast. How could he believe a criminal like that? And that too someone who got the tip from Hwang Junho?
"But there is something interesting," Jooyeon went on. Junwan leaned forward as Jooyeon took out some papers and a pendrive.
"Before her death, Sunmi was researching ghostly possessions," Jooyeon revealed.
"What nonsense?" Junwan scoffed.
"At first she was searching for things like schizophrenia and DID," Jooyeon said. "But the week before her death, she was researching ghosts and spirit possessing a human's body. She even wrote on different forums about it where she got a few answers. One of them led her to a man called Heo Shinjin, a freelance exorcist."
"So did she meet this Heo Shinjin?" Junwan frowned.
"Apparently he was out of town so he could not meet her," Jooyeon shrugged. "And before they could set an appointment, Sunmi was killed by her husband."
Ghosts? That was Lan Dongwook's defense? The boy had mentioned something about a white orb but there was nothing of that sort in the police report.
"And these are pictures of the crime scene which were taken right when Dongwook was arrested," Jooyeon said, pushing an envelope in front of him. Junwan opened it and saw the picture of Sunmi's dead body lying on the floor. She had been brutally stabbed to the point that her intestines were sprawled across the ground. Her expression emitted a look of pure fear.
But there was something else which caught Junwan's eyes.
"This thing here…" he pointed at a faint white dot which hovered near Sunmi's body. It would have been negligible had the halos around it not been visible. It was similar to the one in Hwang Junho's picture.
"What about it?" Jooyeon asked.
"This was in Hwang Junho's picture!" Junwan claimed. "I saw it!"
"It might be a printing problem," Jooyeon replied. "Can happen."
Under ordinary circumstances, Junwan would have believed that but this was different. Junho and Donwgook, two seemingly unrelated individuals, were somehow connected by this one tiny white dot. Was it truly a coincidence or something more?
"I will look into this," Junwan said. "But no one should know about our conversation. Hwang Junho might be on the run but it does not make him any less dangerous. The man managed to evade the law for over twenty years and that is not an easy feat. He might have very powerful friends who are backing him. If they get to know about this, he might flee the country."
But why didn't he? Junwan wondered. Even though he said those words, he could not help but doubt himself a little. Hwang Junho could have escaped the country and yet he stayed back. Junwan knew because he got reports of Hwang Junho popping sporadically every now and then, as if trying to make his presence known.
"Understood," Jooyeon said. "I'll look into more couples who might have gone through a similar case and bring the reports to you."
Junwan nodded and the hacker left the room. Once he was gone, Junwan was lost in his own thoughts.
What are you trying to tell us, Hwang Junho? He wondered.