The Ultimate Inspector, Kang Ji-hyeok - Chapter 80



Only Noblemtl

After checking the scene of the incident, I received a call from the National Forensic Service.

Should I say that I’m lucky?

The autopsy doctor in charge was Noh Mu-cheol.

“This is prosecutor Kang Ji-hyeok.”

– Jihyuk, where are you now?

Dr. Noh was clearly excited.

“This is the scene of a suicide.”

– What? You want to do an investigation like this these days? Suicide? Are you kidding me?

“I wasn’t joking. Why are you so excited?”

– The guy who said he died today.

“Are you talking about Oh Hyeon-nam?”

– You know that too? Where on earth did the investigation go wrong?

In that moment, an insight occurred to me.

“That body. It’s not Oh Hyeon-nam.”

– Yes. No. I almost missed it because they were all burned, but I found out through a dental examination. According to the data sent by your team’s secretary, Lee Hyun-ah, Oh Hyun-nam had five implants a week ago.

“Implant?”

– Yes. They pull out the natural teeth and implant new ones, but the supporting metal in the gums doesn’t burn. But this person doesn’t have a single implant.

Heart pounding.

My heart was pounding.

Hold on.

I changed my phone to speaker phone.

“Okay, I understand. Please perform an autopsy and provide a detailed report.”

– Anyway, these days detectives are doing their investigations haphazardly······. Tsk tsk. If Secretary Lee Hyun-ah hadn’t given me the dental records in advance, I would’ve just let it slide! I’m a person who talks to corpses. Investigate properly, Kang Ji-hyeok.

The roaring voice of the autopsy of Noh Moo-chul reverberated throughout the crime scene.

Detective Na Gook-hyun had a puzzled look on his face.

“Lee Hyun-ah is also one of us. So let’s not talk about the investigation.”

– That’s right. If it weren’t for Prosecutor Kang’s tip, I would have really done something wrong. Got it. Hang up.

Detective Na Gook-hyun’s face turned pale.

“So, Detective Na Gook-hyun. You just believed the informant’s story and identified the victim by looking at the resident registration card in the wallet?”

Detective Na Gook-hyun bit his lower lip.

It was a face that showed sufficient reflection.

Bam.

I put my hand on his shoulder.

“You must have been very absent-minded and I understand why you’re talking nonsense on TV. Let’s start reinvestigating from now on.”

Detective Na Gook-hyun took out a cigarette and lit it.

“First, examine that car.”

“Are you talking about a car?”

Whew.

The wind blowing from the river dispersed the cigarette smoke.

“Start investigating that car and report back. Then check the CCTV footage of that eagle jacket. Check the guy’s movements.”

“Understood, Inspector.”

Strangely, I felt relieved.

Even if the dead person was not Oh Hyeon-nam, there was clearly a victim who was burned to death.

‘What? Are you relieved just now because I told you that the victim isn’t Hyun-nam?’

My mind suddenly opened.

I feel relieved that the victim is not someone I know······.

“You are disqualified as a prosecutor.”

I muttered and steeled myself.

Human emotions.

I shouldn’t have been swayed by that kind of thing.

“Detective Kim Ji-cheol.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Investigate Oh Hyun-nam’s surroundings. His brother’s phone number is here.”

Wheein.

I sent Ogilnam’s phone number to him.

“Oh Gil-nam. Let’s start investigating from there.”

“Are you the victim Oh Hyeon-nam’s older brother?”

“Yeah. That’s right. My friend. The person I spoke with earlier. I think I missed the basics of investigation because of him.”

“Okay, I understand. I will investigate as thoroughly as possible.”

Secretary Lee Hyeon-a.

She was the first to figure out what I was missing.

It was first broadcast on TV and I didn’t check the basic profile because he was my friend’s younger sibling.

Instead of me, Secretary Lee Hyeon-ah found out all about Oh Hyeon-nam’s profile.

If the dental records had not been found out, the victim would have been assumed to be Oh Hyeon-nam, and the direction of the investigation would have been completely wrong.

Kuk.

My fist was clenched.

“Did you dare to play with you?

My heated head began to spin rapidly.

I had to catch the guy who planned this crime right now.

“Detective Na Gook-hyun!”

“Yes, sir.”

“From today onwards, everyone, prepare to stay up all night and come at us. This guy is no ordinary guy.”

Detective Na Gook-hyun also had an angry expression on his face.

Incidents like this are bound to make people angry.

A guy who wanted to play with the prosecution and the police burned a person to death and showed it to the entire nation.

The more I thought about it, the more my heart raced and my anger soared.

“Ha. Look at this kid?”

I muttered while looking at the Han River with the wind blowing.

It felt like a dirty wind was blowing between the forest of buildings in Seoul.

“You’re hiding over there, trying to toy with us? I don’t know who you are, but just wait a minute, you punk. I’ll definitely bring you to justice.”

It got hot.

I accepted the unknown challenge thrown at me, feeling a bit down after the last incident.

* * *

A few days later, the full story of the incident was revealed, like a broken piece of pottery found in a dirty cesspool.

I put up each photo on a whiteboard in front of the investigators and clerks gathered in the examination room.

“The car that burned at the scene of the crime was the car that a woman named Im Soo-jung reported stolen two weeks before the crime.”

The name ‘Im Soo-jung’ was written next to the burned-out car.

“He’s 25 years old. He’s an aspiring writer, but he says he hasn’t published a proper piece in three years.”

“There are cars there, too.”

“That’s a good question. He bought a car when he moved from the 45 million won jeonse (deposit) apartment he was living in to a 300,000 won monthly rent goshiwon.”

“Huh? Something like that······.”

Hyejin snapped at the surprised Jicheol.

“These days, there are people who give up houses and buy cars. That’s not particularly strange, but······.”

“It’s not particularly strange, but logically it is strange. Let’s not miss this either.”

“All right.”

I was becoming more sensitive as I fought against the architect of this incident. The more sensitive I am, the more I miss even the smallest details.

Secretary Lee Hyeon-a spoke carefully.

“It’s definitely strange. According to my research, Im Soo-jung’s father went missing several years ago. People around him say he must have run up a huge gambling debt.”

“He must have used some of that gambling money to buy a house for his daughter.”

“Furthermore, my mother is currently hospitalized with lung cancer and has overdue hospital bills of 20 million won.”

Only then did Hyejin nod her head.

“It’s definitely strange.”

“I think he also received psychiatric treatment. He received psychiatric treatment for about two years, but stopped the treatment after he bought the car.”

“Then, shall we start by summoning Ms. Im Soo-jung?”

“I would like to do that too, but he has been missing since leaving the goshiwon. There is a high possibility that he is mentally and physically weak.”

Kim Ji-cheol said, frowning.

“···This is a bit much to say. If that’s the case, I don’t think it would be strange if the burnt body in the car was Im Soo-jung.”

Jiik.

I have attached a photo of a body burned to death in a car below.

“Good idea. But the body in that car is this guy.”

Another name was drawn next to the photo.

I connected the two names with a long red thread.

“Junwoo Jeon. He’s 26 years old. He was a baseball player until high school. He was good enough at baseball that he might have been drafted by a professional team.”

Bam.

I pasted a small newspaper article next to that name.

“I searched all night and found this article. He suffered a major injury, rupturing his Achilles tendon while attempting to steal home in a high school senior competition. That’s why he retired as a player. I guess he still walks with a limp.”

A look of regret crossed the faces of the two investigators.

“You know, these days, you have to sell off a few of the pillars of your house to exercise. Because of that, your house is in shambles. The people who lent you money under the pretext of sponsorship are suing you.”

“What cruel people.”

“Because it was money I received with a written promise to pay back as salary or signing bonus when I become a professional baseball player.”

Secretary Lee Hyeon-a said while distributing the materials.

“Because of that, Jeon Jun-woo suffered from panic disorder. After going through that, he started to hate people.”

“Likewise, his mind was so broken that he had to go to a mental hospital, and he must have been working as a day laborer.”

“It couldn’t have been easy limping like that.”

“That’s right. And so, as a victim of the incident… no, perhaps as a party to the incident, he appears before us as a charred corpse.”

“So, did he steal the car and send the video to a broadcasting station because he wanted to make his suicide known to the world?”

“No. The black clothes… That black eagle didn’t limp. I checked the CCTV, but his body type and height don’t match Jeon Jun-woo’s.”

Clearly, it couldn’t be called ‘suicide’.

Because the evidence was too clear to call it suicide.

“It’s hard to tell because it’s burned so much, but there’s something odd about calling it suicide.”

Bam.

I pasted pictures of my bent wrist and ankle bones on the whiteboard.

“There is evidence that the hands and feet were tied tightly enough to bend the bones. It looks like they were tied with cable ties. Of course, those were also burned, but······. Judging by the condition of the bones, it’s highly probable.”

“It would be impossible to tie your own hands and feet with cable ties and set fire to the car.”

Hyejin said with a pitiful face.

I nodded and added.

“It would be even more impossible to commit suicide by pouring thinner on your body, setting it on fire, and then tying your hands and feet.”

The word ‘murder’ was written.

“The incident has been confirmed up to this point.”

Hyejin scratched her head and looked like she didn’t know.

“I’ve been a detective for quite some time, but this is the first time I’ve seen a case like this. It doesn’t add up. The people involved are all unrelated.”

“Yes. That’s right. It doesn’t make sense. But what if we think about it this way?”

Swish swish.

I wrote down Oh Hyeon-nam’s name and spoke briefly about him.

“He was the first person to be reported by the media as the victim of this incident. He is currently missing.”

“I have confirmed that. It is true that he is missing, and he is as mentally devastated as they are.”

Ji-cheol said that he personally asked around to find out the people around him.

“According to his brother, he had been receiving psychiatric treatment and was improving before he went missing. But······.”

Ji-cheol got up and stuck the note he had brought on the whiteboard.

“His brother found this note and said he was scared from then on.”

[The world has abandoned me. I will seek revenge on the world. I am sorry. Brother.]

The note said:

“That’s why his older brother Oh Gil-nam asked the prosecutor to find his younger brother. The police were not even interested.”

“That happens a lot. It’s more likely that they do it on purpose to get more money from their family.”

“Does that mean the police ignore missing people?”

“Hey, Detective Kim Ji-cheol. Do you know how many people go missing in our country every day? One person goes missing every seven minutes. Most of them return within two days. But if we try to find those people, the police work will be paralyzed. That’s—”

Hyejin took the police’s side with an apologetic look on her face.

“About 1,700 missing people return to their bodies every year. I know that much because I’ve investigated it myself! This year alone, the number of missing people has exceeded 70,000―”

Ji-cheol’s voice grew louder.

Hyejin turned her head with an apologetic face.

“Stop it. Hyejin is neither the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency nor the Minister of Public Administration and Security. You probably didn’t come here to fight over such numbers, did you?”

I interrupted Ji-cheol’s story and wrote one more word.

[Designer of the incident]

Ji-cheol sat down with an apologetic expression, scratching his head.

I let out a long sigh and continued my story.

“I think this incident was thoroughly planned by someone.”

widely.

I lightly hit the word designer with my fist.

“This incident was planned. But there’s no way to verify it. Everyone involved is fucking missing.”

The moment I told that story, I was overcome with an uneasy feeling.

Wheein.

My cell phone rang.

It was detective Na Gook-hyun.

I switched to speaker phone.

“What’s going on? I’m a detective.”

– Inspector. I think it would be better for you to watch the news.

Beep.

Secretary Lee Hyeon-a quickly turned on the TV in the examination room.

Breaking news was coming out.

– 10 minutes ago, there was an incident where a person jumped from the rooftop of a 13-story building near Seolleung Station, the most expensive area in Gangnam. This is the video we just received through a quick service.

It was a zoomed-in video of a suicidal man standing on the rooftop railing of a building and screaming.

I muttered without realizing it.

“Hyunnam? Why are you there······.”