One of Our Own
While Jenny, accompanied by Detective Jeong, packed her bags at her lodging and waited for a taxi to the airport, the stalker showed up.
A minor scuffle broke out as he tried to pull the wailing stalker away from the woman.
"When the taxi arrived and they loaded the luggage to leave, the stalker tried to chase them in his own car. The suspect blocked him. They bickered for nearly ten minutes."
That was the taxi driver's testimony.
"The suspect walked ahead, saying he'd left something at Jenny's place, and someone followed him, huffing and puffing. A while later, the suspect was seen coming down alone."
This was the account of the local supermarket owner.
Then, the landlord, who went in to clean the empty room, found the stalker dead with his neck snapped halfway around.
That was around 2:00 PM.
"The estimated time of death is between 1:40 PM and 2:00 PM. A total of three sets of fingerprints were recovered from the scene. They belong to Jenny, who has already left the country, the deceased male, and the suspect."
The detective from the Yuldo Police Station, who had pinned Detective Jeong as the prime suspect, spoke as if the case was already closed.
"We have witnesses, physical evidence, and a clear motive. Isn't this more than enough?"
"What do you mean, enough?!"
*Slam!*
Team Leader Na Sangdo slammed his hand onto the desk as if trying to splinter it. He was thoroughly displeased with the detective's arrogant attitude.
"Suspect" this, "suspect" that.
It grated on him to see the rookie already being treated like a criminal without any decisive proof.
"Hey, why are you shouting?"
"How can I not shout? You're framing one of my own as a murderer based on a couple of witness statements!"
"I told you, we have physical evidence."
"What evidence? The supermarket owner's words? Did he see Detective Jeong kill the guy? Did he see it with his own two eyes?!"
"How could he see what happened inside the room?"
"Exactly my point. Do you have any other evidence besides that?"
"I told you, we found fingerprints and footprints. The forensics team already confirmed it."
"That's not definitive. He could have left those while helping that Jenny woman pack her bags."
"Even if he's your team member, shielding him like this is..."
"Cut the crap. Where is the place? Give me the address."
"What are you going to do there?"
"Prove it wasn't Detective Jeong's doing. Come on, hand it over."
If it had been an ordinary citizen, the request would have been laughed off, but since it came from an Inspector—a higher rank—Detective Kim couldn't flatly refuse.
Detective Kim looked at his own team leader with a troubled expression.
"Team Leader, what should I do?"
Team Leader Park replied with a single word.
"Give it to him."
"Give it to him? But this case happened in our jurisdiction..."
"Do you think I don't know that? Just give it to him when I tell you to!"
"..."
Team Leader Park of the Yuldo Police Station's Violent Crimes Unit was Na Sangdo's senior from the Police University by two classes.
He could have pulled rank, but he chose not to.
"I'll give you the address, so calm down. But let's make one thing clear. We aren't doing a half-assed job on this investigation either."
"I know. I know, but please understand my position. One of my kids is being accused of murder. How can I just sit back and watch?"
"That's why I'm cooperating. Go see him before you leave. I'll clear out an interrogation room so you can talk."
"Thank you, senior."
Thanks to Team Leader Park's consideration, we were able to reunite with our lost sheep.
"What happened?"
Team Leader Na asked Detective Jeong on behalf of Violent Crimes Team 1.
But Detective Jeong couldn't even lift his head.
"Look up, you punk! Did you commit a crime?"
"...No, sir."
"Right, of course you didn't. How could a detective kill someone? That's ridiculous. Straighten your back, open your eyes, and look me in the face."
This wasn't the usual Na Sangdo, known for his jokes and easygoing nature.
With eyes full of conviction and a commanding presence, he pulled the broken rookie back up.
"What happened this afternoon? Tell me everything, don't leave out a single detail."
Did Team Leader Na's positive energy reach Jeong Uijeong?
The gloom on the rookie's face began to lift, bit by bit.
"After I got Jenny into the taxi, I saw the stalker opening his car door. I figured he'd catch up to her before she could even board her flight, so I blocked him from getting in."
"And then?"
"He started swearing at me. He said his father was a city councilman and that he could easily strip the badge off a cop like me."
"So you hit him?"
"No. I didn't care about the insults. Instead, I took his car keys. I planned to hold onto them to keep him from leaving until Jenny boarded her plane."
"Good job. And then?"
"We went back to the place where she was staying. It's on the first floor of a multi-unit building."
Team Leader Na showed Detective Jeong the note with the address.
"Here?"
"Yes, that's it."
"Why did you go back there?"
"I thought I left my phone there."
"Your phone? You went back just for that?"
"Yes. Besides, if I had his car keys, he'd have no choice but to follow me. I thought it was killing two birds with one stone—retrieving my phone and keeping him pinned down."
"How long were you there?"
"About twenty minutes? I found my phone as soon as I walked in, but I didn't give him back his keys right away. I dragged it out on purpose."
"Was there any physical altercation?"
"He swung at me, but it looked like child's play to me. I didn't get hit, and I didn't hit him back."
"Good. What next?"
"I walked back the way I came and waited for the shuttle bus at the stop. The bus that goes straight to Seongam Station stops there."
"What about the stalker?"
"He seemed to have given up. He was just lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling when I left."
"And then you were arrested at the bus stop?"
"Yes. When they told me he was dead, I thought he committed suicide at first. His mood swings were so severe that I thought he might make an extreme choice."
"You're absolutely sure you didn't kill him?"
"Yes. I didn't kill him."
"Then that's enough. We'll prove your innocence, so hang in there even if it's uncomfortable. It won't take long."
"Thank you."
Now it was time to investigate.
Team Leader Na and Inspector Choi Doyeong headed out first.
Detective Park Inhyeok offered a word of encouragement before following them.
Finally, as I stood up to leave...
"Um, senior."
Checking to make sure everyone else had left, Detective Jeong called out to me in a low voice.
"Yeah?"
"What if it really was me?"
"What are you talking about?"
He spoke as if making a confession.
"What if I actually killed him?"
"Why would you say that? You just said you didn't do it."
"What if I lost my mind again, like yesterday..."
Jeong Uijeong couldn't even trust his own memory.
And this was something that happened only three or four hours ago.
Was it because of me?
Because I suggested he get checked out at a hospital?
Did I make it sound too serious?
He was a rookie detective who hadn't even been in the Violent Crimes Unit for a month. It was the phase where one runs wild without knowing any better.
I had caused my fair share of trouble back when I was at the patrol division.
I was labeled a violent cop and faced countless disciplinary actions.
When a mob of armed thugs rushes you, anyone experiencing it for the first time is bound to panic.
To escape a corner, you have to focus entirely on the situation, and that focus narrows your vision like a racehorse wearing blinders.
When fear reaches its peak, isn't it possible to temporarily lose your grip on sanity?
I had treated a perfectly normal person like a patient.
It was my fault for forgetting what it was like to be a rookie.
The stalker Detective Jeong encountered today was entirely different from yesterday's thugs.
Just an ordinary guy excessively obsessed with a woman.
He wasn't a threat to anyone's life, and a few insults were the extent of his hostility.
Detective Jeong wasn't the kind of patient who would lose his mind over a pathetic loser like that.
"Have you told anyone else about what happened yesterday?"
"Not yet."
"Don't tell a soul. I'll go find the real killer, so you just wait here quietly. You are not a murderer. Absolutely not. Got it?"
"...Yes, sir."
"I'll be back soon."
"Um, senior."
As I stood up, Jeong Uijeong stopped me once more.
"Thank you. For believing in me."
"Of course. I'm your mentor, aren't I?"
I left Detective Jeong in the interrogation room and stepped outside.
Team Leader Na was reporting the progress to the Detective Division Chief.
"Yes, Chief. We plan to find the evidence to prove his innocence ourselves. We'll find it no matter what and bring our rookie back. Loyalty!"
I sent a text message to Cha Donbaek to apologize.
Following the address given by the Yuldo detective, we arrived at a narrow, sloped road barely wide enough for a single car to pass.
Team Leader Na was visualizing the scene, recalling the explanation he had received from the detective in charge.
"Detective Jeong was arrested while waiting for the shuttle bus at that stop over there. He must have met the stalker around here, sent Jenny off in a taxi, taken the stalker's car keys, and walked toward the lodging over that way. The lodging should be... right around there."
At the end of the slope was the crest of a hill.
It was a residential area where old multi-unit villas were clustered together in disarray.
"The estimated time of death is between 1:40 PM and 2:00 PM. Inspector Choi and Detective Park, start canvassing the tenants in the multi-unit buildings and the nearby residents."
I was given a separate task.
"Detective Min, scour all the CCTV footage in this neighborhood. Security cameras, dashcams, whatever you can find."
"Understood."
"I'll go meet the witnesses who gave statements. Alright, listen up before we start!"
Team Leader Na addressed the team with a grim expression.
"I don't ever want to lose one of my people again. One painful memory is enough. You all know what I mean, right?"
"Yes, sir!"
While Inspector Choi and Detective Park answered, my throat tightened, and I couldn't bring myself to speak.
I had thought I was the only one grieving, so I kept my pain to myself.
Seeing how bright and cheerful everyone usually was, I had quietly resented them for moving on so quickly.
But that wasn't the case.
My seniors were simply burying it deep down, letting it simmer in silence.
They, too, remembered their mentor just as I did.
"Detective Min."
"...Yes, sir."
Team Leader Na looked at my face, patted my shoulder, and spoke.
"Your junior is absolutely not a murderer. I can guarantee that on my entire police career."
"I believe that too. I'll make sure to find the real culprit."
"Good. Let's go."
We made our way up the sloped road.
Three hours later, the streetlights flickered on.
Night fell, and workers who had gone out for the day began returning home one by one.
"Did you find anything?"
Team Leader Na, who was waiting at the designated spot, asked Inspector Choi Doyeong the moment he arrived.
"Nothing. The tenants are rarely home during the day. Even if they are, it's just elderly folks with mobility issues."
Since the neighborhood was slated for redevelopment, there were many abandoned houses.
Even when they rang doorbells, only about one in ten homes answered.
"Did the elderly residents who were home hear anything?"
"Nothing at all. The execution was so clean that I suspect a professional. If not, it might be someone the victim knew."
"Right. Let's keep all possibilities open. Good work."
"Did you find anything, Team Leader?"
"Not much. I met the supermarket owner, but his story wasn't any different from what the Yuldo detectives told us."
It was a stretch to label Detective Jeong a murderer based solely on the supermarket owner's statement.
But we hadn't found any evidence to prove otherwise, either.
"Where's Detective Park?"
"Here he comes."
I could guess the outcome just by the sound of his heavy, dragging footsteps.
"Anything...?"
"It's harder than I thought."
Returning empty-handed, Detective Park looked around.
"I don't see Detective Min."
"Yeah, it'll take some time to go through all the CCTV footage."
"I checked on my way here, but none of the security cameras in this neighborhood are working properly. Maybe because of the upcoming redevelopment, but they've already dismantled all the public surveillance cameras."
"We'll have to give up on dashcams too. The roads are too narrow for anyone to park. I asked around, and the only public parking lot is all the way down by the main road."
At this rate, there was no way to prove Detective Jeong's innocence.
We couldn't exactly call in a forensics team in someone else's jurisdiction, either.
"But where on earth is Detective Min?"
Just then, my call went through to Team Leader Na.
"Hey, Detective Min. Where are you?"
—"I just left the shuttle bus depot."
"The depot? Why there?"
—"A delivery vehicle coming down the sloped road was caught on a bus's dashcam. A delivery truck."
"A delivery truck?"
—"Yes. It was recorded at 1:55 PM. It almost perfectly matches the estimated time of death."
Given the nature of delivery trucks, it wouldn't have just sped past.
Perhaps the camera had captured the alleyway leading to Jenny's lodging.
"Which delivery company is it?"
—"Gwangpung Logistics. I'm heading there now."
"We'll head over too. Let's meet there."
The dying embers flared up once more.
This might be our last hope.