The Ultimate Inspector, Kang Ji-hyeok - Chapter 68



Only Noblemtl

I felt so miserable.

The word ‘again’ hidden in the message sent by some unknown son of a bitch bothered me.

‘Again? So you know that I died in the future and returned? Or is it just a language habit?’

I looked at the message and thought about it, but no answer came.

bang.

I slammed the desk.

It didn’t matter since everyone had already left work at night.

“At times like this, the best thing to do is work.”

I checked the investigative reports piled up on the desk.

“Let’s start by filtering out the non-indictment cases.”

It was removed from the prosecution.

These are minor incidents, but they seem to be enough to cause controversy.

Of course, it may be a big deal to the parties involved, but there are cases where a person is punished simply by filing a complaint, without having to investigate.

Things like adultery, mutual assault accusations between family members, and things like that······.

“I ate a meal that cost over 30,000 won at a restaurant, but I didn’t have any money······.”

If you apply the crime of escape using hierarchy, it becomes fraud.

“He pretended to go to the bathroom without his owner knowing and escaped through the window. He was caught on CCTV, but… he’s innocent.”

I don’t know if it’s luck or if they know the law, but in this case, it’s considered default and they’re not guilty under criminal law.

Of course, under civil law, default on debt is subject to pressure from various angles.

“What is this? You’re saying that I gave a check for 100,000 won, bought something, and got change back, but you didn’t give it back?”

This is also a strange situation.

If you know that you have received more change than the amount due and still do not return it, you will be charged with the crime of ’embezzlement of lost property’.

But if you didn’t know, it doesn’t apply.

“Because I can’t prove that I knew this······.”

Bam.

It is easier to handle such cases without prosecution.

“···You were fighting with your friends and ended up urinating in your friend’s food bowl?”

There was footage captured on the CCTV inside the room.

It was an incident where a friend of mine was fighting with someone while playing Starcraft and got hit by a photon rush, and then peed on the table that his friend had prepared.

“You’re being ridiculous. If you didn’t want to get hit by the photon rush, you should have continued to scout. This is also one of the tactics······.”

But it was a tactic that would have made my friends feel bad if I had used it on them.

“It is a case of destruction, but I think it is sufficient punishment for the fact that the relationship between friends was broken up due to the accusation.”

This was also thrown out without prosecution.

Stop.

Then my hands stopped on the incident report.

“A man and a woman who met by chance at a suicide club agreed to commit suicide and attempted suicide with nitrogen gas and helium gas, but only the man died and the woman survived?”

The incident was caused by a 25-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman.

It was a case where the man’s family asked the woman to be charged with murder.

Police investigation found that before committing suicide with nitrogen and helium gas, he parked his car between trees in the forest with the outside doors closed in case someone opened the car door and ran away.

“That’s a pretty clever idea. They completely wedged the car into the tree so the doors wouldn’t open······.”

Evidence photos also showed scratch marks on wood on both doors of the car.

“If the woman had survived and only the man had died, this would be considered instigation or assistance in committing suicide under criminal law.”

However, the man’s family demanded that the murder charges be applied.

“The woman survived······.”

The incident report had something unusual.

The point is that there was almost no investigation into the woman involved in the incident.

“There’s a lot of information about the man. But in reality, the police only called the woman involved in the incident to the station and conducted a brief investigation for about 10 minutes.”

As I read the report, my insight kicked in. This was definitely something going on.

“Wait a minute, the doctor’s report clearly shows that propofol was used on the man’s side, but there’s no data on the woman’s side.”

It was certainly a strange incident.

It was like a puzzle piece that didn’t fit together properly, and it scratched my nerves sharply.

“Even if it is understandable that the police’s initial investigation focused on the deceased, it is strange that no investigation was conducted at all on the woman who assisted the suicide.”

Lack of investigation into women is a problem that occurs all over the world.

During the investigation, there is a bias that women and minors will not commit crimes.

So, when I was a detective, there was a theory that the police left out women and minors in the initial investigation of the case, which resulted in unsolved cases.

“After DNA began to be used effectively in forensic science, it was discovered that many criminals were women.”

But the stereotype that men are more violent and more likely to commit crimes than women, which has persisted for thousands of years, still persists.

“The defendant is Lee Hyeon-ju······.”

I checked the profile related to the woman.

widely.

I took the incident report apart and placed it on the table.

“I need to look into this case again.”

I felt a cold sensation running down my spine.

* * *

“Do you want to investigate this case?”

“that’s right.”

“···Anyway, you still take on difficult cases.”

“But this is a bit strange. I think it’s a good choice.”

The next morning, Ji-cheol and Hye-jin confirmed the case I had chosen.

Hyejin said seriously.

“Looking at the report, I see a detective I know.”

“Aside from that person, isn’t there another detective in the same department who isn’t in the report?”

“Another detective in the same department? Oh, there’s a good junior there.”

“Who is it?”

“My name is Kim Ha-jin······.”

“Your name is Kim Ha-jin?”

“Yes. Do you know Detective Kim?”

“He’s my high school junior.”

I was living so quickly that I forgot.

Detective Kim Ha-jin, who was my partner in my past life, or rather, in my future life.

I never thought I’d hear his name again!

“Let’s meet up sometime.”

“All right.”

Hyejin quickly went out into the hallway to make a phone call.

Ji-cheol looked at the report quietly and then went to find his work.

“Then, I will ask around about my boyfriend’s friend.”

“Good idea. If possible, don’t say he’s an investigator from the prosecution, but say he’s a civil servant colleague of the dead man.”

“Same company?”

“Yeah. That guy was a civil servant.”

“All right.”

“Don’t forget that the basis of investigation is asking around.”

“Yes. Now I understand for sure.”

“It looks like a small sprout, but if you pull it out, sweet potatoes grow in clusters.”

“Old story! Inspector.”

Ji-cheol checked the man’s profile in the report and then left.

As he left, Hyuna smiled and handed me a coffee.

“I still smell like a soldier?”

“He used to be just a soldier. He’s gotten a lot better.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I took a sip of my coffee and smiled.

Ji-cheol, who was always lively, was a pleasant character.

Hyejin came into the office.

“I made an appointment with Detective Kim Ha-jin. He said he’ll come to our office.”

“okay.”

I was a little excited at the thought of seeing Hajin, who was such a good partner and younger sister to me.

During the remaining time, other cases were dismissed and this case was reported as a key case.

– Are you going to take on this case? Anyone can see that this is a case that will probably end with aiding and abetting suicide.

“Considering that, the initial investigation was sloppy and there’s something strange about it, Chief Prosecutor.”

– Okay, I see. Let’s do that.

Chief Prosecutor Lee Cheol-joong spoke bluntly but not coldly. It was probably the best conversation he could have had.

– Ah. And Inspector Kang.

“Yes, Chief Inspector. Go ahead.”

He hesitated for a moment.

Then he spoke briefly.

– Come to my house tomorrow night.

“yes?”

– Se-hee’s birthday is tomorrow, and his wife said she wanted to invite you. She said it was a surprise.

‘It’s Sehee’s birthday?’

That’s what I saw on the calendar.

I was surprised at how busy I had been to the point of forgetting about it.

– He said he didn’t invite you last year because he was too busy, but he told me to definitely come this year. If you can’t come because of work, he said he’d take your place and do your work······.

Chief Prosecutor Lee Cheol-jung, who is known for his coldness and is called the ‘Antarctic prosecutor’, spoke with a joke thrown in, which was unusual for him.

“Okay. Mother-in-law… No, I guess I’ll have to see my mother too since it’s been a while.”

It was a difficult proposition to avoid.

I accepted it unconditionally.

I finished my story, carefully swallowing the mistake of almost calling her mother-in-law.

“Whew. That was almost a disaster.”

Sigh.

I hung up the phone and looked up at the spring sky starting to turn blue.

‘Sehee, I’m sorry. I forgot your birthday.’

Tears welled up in my eyes without me knowing.

I remembered that morning when I was exhausted from my undercover work.

“I’m sorry. But tomorrow is your birthday, so let’s go on a date for the first time in a while.”

“You even remembered my birthday? Thank you.”

On the day we promised to go on a date for the first time in a long while because it was her birthday, she was brutally murdered by a drug cartel.

Kuk.

My fist was clenched.

‘Sehee, I’m working hard right now. I plan to end this revenge soon. What do you think? Is that sky like spring here?’

Come to think of it, I had a lot of old memories today. It was probably because I was going to meet Hajin soon.

dripping.

Meanwhile, someone knocked on my room.

“Detective Kim Ha-jin is here, sir.”

According to Hyejin’s words,

Suddenly.

I got up from my desk without realizing it and opened the door quickly as if I was being pulled by something.

It was just as I knew it.

A neat leather jacket.

A stylish two-cut with short hair and mousse applied to the top.

A high nose and eyes without double eyelids.

A slightly thin but nice looking body.

He became a detective before me, but he always took care of me like an older brother.

Kim Ha-jin was standing in front of me.

I greeted him calmly, holding back tears that threatened to pour out.

“It’s been a while, Hajin.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Detective Kim Ha-jin.”

Kwak.

I hugged him.

Only then could I know for sure that the guy was really Hajin.

“Isn’t this a bit too formal for a first greeting, Inspector? I’m going to spill Detective Kim’s coffee.”

Hyejin, who was standing next to me, scolded me with a surprised look on her face.

Only then did I carefully release the hug and step back.

“I thought you might like it, so I bought two shots. Is that okay?”

Hajin handed me two shots of iced Americano.

Sigh.

I smiled without realizing it.

“I like two shots, thanks.”

“Phew. That’s a relief, Inspector.”

It was an awkward atmosphere for anyone but me.

As of now, Hajin is my junior in high school, but unlike back in the day when he was wild and reckless, we only met a few times and greeted each other because he was studying for the entrance exam.

Because I was trying to cut off our past relationship, I was more careful when I met him in high school.

‘It’s a memory that only I have. The countless nights with him and the scenes where he risked his life at the scene of the crime······.’

Only then did I face reality.

To break the awkward silence, I asked him to sit on the sofa.

“I have some questions to ask about the case, and I’m also happy to see you as my high school junior, so I think I went a bit too far.”

“No, sir. Isn’t he the most popular prosecutor among our detectives these days, Prosecutor Kang Ji-hyeok? I am honored.”

“Okay, you two go ahead and talk. I’ll wait outside.”

Hyejin clenched her fist and shouted “fighting” at Hajin before leaving.

“I’m not in charge of that case, but I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Hajin told me first.

As expected, this guy has a strange charm that makes others feel comfortable.

Whenever I needed something, he was always the first to scratch the surface.

Hajin glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

‘Well, I guess I can’t keep you here for long since you came to see me during work.’

I asked him questions carefully, reestablishing their relationship.

We were once detectives, but now I’m a prosecutor and he’s a detective.

I tried to choose my words carefully so as not to appear as if I was trying to dig up the internal police investigation.

“I’ve read the entire investigation report on this assisted suicide case, and what I’m most curious about is whether they conducted an initial investigation into survivor Lee Hyeon-ju at the time.”

Hajin pursed his lips and lowered his eyes.

It was a habit that came out when I was thinking about how much to say and what to hide.

I know him well.

“Then let me change the question. I think you’ve investigated quite a bit about the deceased, Mr. Ji In-hu.”

“I remember it was to determine whether it was suicide or murder. The detectives investigating at the time said that there was a good reason for Mr. Ji In-hu to commit suicide.”

I looked into Hajin’s eyes and asked.

“Does that story sound like there are more facts hidden beyond what’s in the investigative report?”