Twisted Madness (4)
“Ah! And that thing you said when you were drunk before, hyung—you paint your fingernails with manicure when you rape women. Just in case fingerprints get left behind…”
Park Jin-tae added that as I was lost in thought. It was a fact I hadn’t known. It wasn’t in the files from the previous Balbari case either.
* * *
“No, I mean, are you seriously suggesting a joint investigation right now? Even for the Regional Major Crimes Unit, isn’t this going too far?!”
Just as I was about to open the door to Violent Crimes Team 3, Team Leader Hwang Woo-sik’s voice—rarely one to rise in anger—boomed from inside the office. Beside the red-faced Hwang, who was raising his voice, Detective Kim Gwang-il stood with his head bowed. His fists were clenched so tight that the veins bulged on the back of his hands.
“Of course we’ll do the joint investigation. On the surface, at least…”
A man with gold-rimmed glasses and narrowed eyes sat at the head of the table. Ignoring the heated Hwang entirely, he rifled through the investigation files. Soon losing interest, he pushed up his glasses and approached Hwang.
“Let me say it again. We just report to the higher-ups that we’re diligently investigating. The real work? That’s ours in the Major Crimes Unit. Does it make sense to share the records we’ve busted our asses for? People talk, you know… You’ve gotta have some conscience. You can’t just stick your spoon in someone else’s finished rice…”
“Fine, but at least conduct the victim interviews properly. The victims are so fed up with the police now that they’re refusing meetings altogether. How the hell did you even investigate to make them act like this? And now you won’t even share the data—what are we supposed to do?”
Even Detective Lee Gyu-cheol, who’d been calming Kim Gwang-il, raised his voice.
“You little patrolman shit thinks he’s gonna die? Open your damn eyes right. You wanna get killed?”
The guy snapped at Lee, then smirked at Hwang and continued.
“I told you. Just pretend to investigate. Slack off appropriately… How nice is that?”
“Fuck off.”
A low but clear voice burst from my mouth.
“What? What’d you just say? Ah! You must be Kang Cheol-gu. Hey, Lieutenant Kang Cheol-gu. We might both be lieutenants, but our seniority’s different. You’re just a young punk riding daddy’s coattails…”
“Cut the bullshit and get out. We don’t give a shit about your files.”
I jabbed my finger into his chest.
“And you! Listen up. Catching the perp? Sure, it’s important. I get it’s tough nabbing lawless scum while playing by the rules. But there’s such a thing as decency. Pressuring rape victims for statements? You shouldn’t stoop that low. Not embarrassing at all, huh?”
A memory hit me late. One of the Balbari case victims had attempted suicide. It stemmed from PTSD caused by the police’s relentless post-incident interrogations. Questions like “How long did the intercourse last?” and “What positions?”—all sorts of perverse shit, forced under the guise of investigation. Realizing this asshole was behind that kind of probing made my fist clench involuntarily.
In the end, the scandal went public, strengthening the “right to request female officer presence in investigations” system for sex crimes.
“You… you cocky little shit…”
He grabbed my collar. His wrist trembled—he was pretty riled up.
“You sure about this? Grabbing my collar costs extra.”
His pupils shook up and down. Not man enough to explode in rage. Even now, he was calculating. My father, the police academy dean; the Major Crimes Unit’s stalled progress. Fear of being humiliated by a junior. All that yanked his hand off my collar.
“Ugh!”
With a harsh breath, he spun around. As he stomped toward the door, he spat each word like chewing glass.
“Kang Cheol-gu, I’ll remember you. Think the world’s yours? That rainbows will just roll out forever? Punk who got here on daddy’s back… Try heading into battle with no files someday.”
“No footprints, right?”
His steps froze. Hand on the doorknob.
“Glued the gaps in his shoes with a glue gun so no footprints could be lifted. Waxed from feet to groin, so no body hair or pubes at the scene. Finished with oral ejaculation—made her swallow. No autopsy, no DNA. Face masked, hard to ID. No clue on height or weight. All seven victims were too terrified, statements all over the place. That’s all your fancy Major Crimes Unit squeezed out of them by pressuring victims, yeah?”
His face slowly turned toward me. Eyes shaking like he’d seen a ghost.
“Turn your head back and watch your eyes. I’ll bill you for the collar grab later.”
His gaze dropped to the floor. Staggering steps.
I opened the third-floor office window. Watched the Major Crimes Unit guy slump into his car.
“How’d you know all that? Were you out checking on it?”
Detective Lee Gyu-cheol’s eyes widened.
“Taehwa Group’s audit team has an ex-cop from Seoul Metro Police HQ. Did some arm-twisting with CEO Hong Gye-young.”
Sad reality: big corp audit teams outmatch most prosecutors and cops in intel. Pour in capital and time, and quality skyrockets. Something all field investigators quietly acknowledge.
“As expected of a mega-corp! Taehwa’s audit team must have channels into Major Crimes records.”
Lee nodded in agreement.
“More importantly, Team Leader Hwang. Any female officers available for support right now? At least sergeant rank with interrogation experience… It’s urgent!”
No time. Before the Major Crimes guys hit yesterday’s victim—before they seal her mouth with pressure—we needed first contact. Slim chance, but had to check if it was Park Si-woong’s MO extended… or a new copycat. For that, we needed a female officer present.
“Well, we could request temp help from Team 2, but…”
Hwang trailed off.
“Why? Problem? If needed, I’ll send an official memo…”
“Not that. She’s got a… unique personality.”
“Just give me name and rank. I’ll request her myself.”
* * *
“Hey, you bastard! You the only cop here? Only one working? Fuck! This guy’s totally nuts!”
As I reached for Violent Crimes Team 2’s door, Team Leader Kwon Tae-sang’s furious roar leaked out. Door shaking like he was that pissed. The moment I entered, a stack of papers flew at my feet—ones Kwon had hurled at the cop in front of him.
I gathered the scattered files and stood. A petite figure blocked my view. A woman.
“Ah, Lieutenant Kang. Sorry you saw that mess. What brings you here?”
Still breathing hard, excitement not faded, Kwon pretended to know me.
“Yeah. Could I borrow one person temporarily?”
“Hmm. We’re all swamped with assigned cases. But got someone in mind?”
He glared daggers at the woman before dodging my request. A polite way of saying he didn’t want to help our team.
“Sergeant Heo Seon-sil. I hear she’s in Team 2.”
Kwon and the petite woman both stared at me.
This her? Sergeant Heo Seon-sil?
Kwon’s face twisted instantly. Cheek twitching in disbelief, then frowning to stifle a laugh.
The woman? Zero reaction.
“Hmph. Sergeant Heo, go help out in Violent Crimes Team 3 for a bit. Think of it as a dispatch.”
After a heavy silence, Kwon issued the order.
“…No.”
“What?”
“I refuse. My current duties aren’t done. I’ll dispatch after resolving this.”
“You stubborn bitch, get the hell out of my sight! Lieutenant Kang, you need this one? Take her! Drag her by the hair if she won’t listen!”
* * *
Violent Crimes Team 3 is in room 301, south end of the building. I walked the hall with Sergeant Heo Seon-sil. Her hunched shoulders looked pitiful.
“I’m your superior—feel free to drop the formalities. Want some coffee?”
“Thank you.”
Finally saw her face properly. Mid-20s, bobbed hair. Short, plain features.
But… her eyes were dead. Unreadable emotions.
That’s weird.
Living as mid-20s Kang Cheol-gu now, but I’m a vet with over a decade on the force. I can read emotions from breaths or glances alone. For me to sense nothing?
“Why was Kwon making such a fuss earlier?”
“I pursued an investigation he told me not to. The suspect I targeted was a local bigwig. Probably why.”
Her defiance against a superior felt oddly like looking at my past self. But this voice? Memory clicked!
The day I first requested Violent Crimes Team 3, the woman’s voice from beyond the partition. Amid the gossip trashing me, she’d recognized my restraint techniques, acknowledged Hyeong-jun and Seok-gu’s takedown power… That was her.
Come to think of it, Heo Seon-sil. Name rang a bell—she was the whistleblower. Reported Team 2 Leader Kwon Tae-sang’s corruption to HQ audit team, flipping the station upside down. I’d only heard about it late from Hwang, since I was always in the field.
‘Dude, there’s this stubborn chick just like you who caused a real shitstorm. Internal report, ballsy as hell. Get this—she did it ’cause it wasn’t justice by her judgment. Total psycho!’
“I don’t know why you sought me, but as I said, I have ongoing work. No time for dispatch till it’s done. Sorry.”
She finally met my eyes, voicing firm opposition quietly.
“Not a temp dispatch.”
Her eyes still blank.
“Join our team. My offer: ‘I fully respect and accept Sergeant Heo’s judgment and sense of justice.’”
For the first time. Her eyes wavered.
If I wasn’t seeing things, they were shining.
* * *
Entered Violent Crimes Team 3 with Detective Heo. Hwang started to say something to me, then shut up upon seeing her. Awkward expression as he beckoned me with his eyes.
“You actually brought her. But… hope I’m not handing you a bomb. Sergeant Heo’s got a rep around the station. Does good work but stirs up trouble. Some call her a sociopath.”
“I’ll take responsibility. We need to bolster the team anyway.”
“Hm. Well, if you insist, Detective Kang…”
Hwang’s voice trembled as he eyed the Team 3 door. Sociopath female detective… I shook my head hard.