บท 18: Crime Scene

*A Few Hours Earlier*

Gayoon pulled up in front of a dilapidated house. It was swarming with the local police and there were 'DO NOT ENTER CRIME SCENE' markers put all around the place. The residents and passerbys of the area were crowding around it, curious about what had happened but the police were holding them off.

"What happened here?" one of the bystanders asked.

"It's a murder scene," a policeman informed her. "Stay away please."

There was a loud murmur among the crowd. Gayoon walked towards the scene. One of the policemen tried to stop her from entering but she flashed her badge and was immediately let in. Her partner, Kim Taejun, spotted her as she put on her gloves. Tall and lanky, Taejun was one of her batchmates from the police academy and also one of the most good looking detectives at the precinct. A lot of the female officers had a crush on him and threw Gayoon plenty of shade for being his partner but she did not care about their opinions.

Taejun approached her. "You're late," he snickered. "It's a good thing the Chief isn't here otherwise he'd have chased you around with a stick."

"No more chasing arounds!" Gayoon complained, entering the threshold of the house. "I was already chased around by one crazy lunatic this morning!"

"Granny wants you to get married?"

"Granny wants me to find a guy and shack up with him," Gayoon groaned.

"You can always come live with me," he offered hopefully. He had been courting her for years but Gayoon always shrugged it off and turned him down

"No thanks," she laughed. "I don't have time for all that. I like my job more."

"Oh come on!" Taejun whined. "It'll be great if we could get together someday."

He sighed out loud, keeping pace with her.

"Uh huh and be bombarded by your bad joke-"

Suddenly Gayoon slipped.

"AHHHHH!" she screamed as she tumbled over and fell headfirst into a large, shallow hole on the floor.

"Gayoon!"

Taejun bent over the hole Gayoon had fallen into. Her screams had attracted the nearby police officers. She landed on top of what looked like a…

"Fresh corpse?" she exclaimed in disgust. "Who the hell left this place unmarked and unprotected?"

She fell right on top of the dead body which was covered with mud and fresh blood. The person had died only a few hours earlier and someone had attempted to bury her but it seemed like they did not have time and simply abandoned the effort before running away. The blood on the corpse and the mud from the unfinished grave stained Gayoon's clothes.

One of the rookie policemen spoke up, "I'm sorry sunbae!" he apologized. "I forgot to tape the site! And the new chemical used around the crime scene turned out to be slippery. We didn't realize someone could fall in!"

Taejun extended his hand to help Gayoon climb up the grave. She was irritated by the turn of events. Her clothes were completely stained and she was going to smell like a corpse soon.

"You should go home and change," Taejun suggested.

"I can't even go back home!" she exclaimed. "That old woman won't let me in if she sees me like this! Ugh, I'll just have to tough it out somehow for now. I'll go buy some new clothes later."

Taejun shook his head in amusement. Gayoon was as stubborn as ever. Her grandmother's fury was only an excuse; she just did not want to leave the crime scene without investigating it.

"So what do we have here?" she asked, brushing the dirt from her clothes but in vain.

"Her name was Jung Jihyun," Taejun stated. "28. Stabbed to death with a sharp object, presumably a knife. She died merely two hours ago so the body is still fresh. Whoever tried to bury her was probably seen by one of the neighbors so the killer escaped."

"Where are the forensics?" Gayoon demanded. "Why aren't they here yet?"

"They're stuck in traffic," Taejun muttered. Gayoon let out a frustrated sigh. Stuck in traffic her ass! She knew very well that the infuriating doctor was probably hogging up on his daily donuts. How did he manage to eat so much even around dead bodies, she would never know.

"Secure this site!" she barked at the rookies who yelped and immediately began to tape the area. There were so few policemen that they had to use inexperienced rookies to inspect the crime scene. It was a good thing the murder is not so horrific otherwise she would have had a bunch of sick newbies who would throw up at the sight of the corpses.

"What do we know about the killer?" she asked Taejun.

"The witness there will be able to say," he pointed towards a woman in her forties, who looked nervous. "Let's ask her."

Gayoon nodded and they approached the woman. She looked a little terrified at the sight of so many policemen. Seeing a lady officer, she felt somewhat at ease.

"I won't be arrested, will I?" she asked nervously. "I've known cases where the police arrest the witness! I swear I didn't do it!"

"Relax," Gayoon assured her. "We'll only record your statement. Tell us what you saw, Miss…?"

"Mrs.," she corrected. "Mrs. Kang Hana. Well, I can tell you what I know and saw."

"This house belonged to a restaurant owner, Han Mido," she began to narrate. "She works at the new burger shack, not so far from here. I think it's called B-Treats. She lived here with her daughter Jihyun. This morning , when I came out of my room to water my plants, I noticed Mido was digging here. When I called her, she became frightened and ran off. I was a little curious so I came over to see what it was and discovered poor Jihyun, dead."

"How come no one heard the screams?" Gayoon frowned. "She was stabbed. Surely, someone must have heard her?"

"Well…" Hana bit her lip. "Jihyun was mute. She could not talk. Mido always saw her as a burden even though Jihyun was a hardworking girl. But no matter how much Jihyun tried to appease her mother, Mido would always lash out at her. The police were informed several times but Jihyun refused to testify against her."

Gayoon felt her blood go cold. No matter how many times she came across such people throughout her career, their monstrous deeds never failed to horrify her. She would do anything to get one glimpse of her own child. The separation was the hardest thing she had ever had to do and it was a decision she regretted everyday.

But these monsters were on a whole different level. They murdered their own innocent children for simply existing. Gayoon's anger was beyond words. She would not rest until she found that murderer.

��Is there a picture of her?" Taejun asked.

"There should be some inside," Hana replied. Without a word, Gayoon went inside the house and after a few minutes, came out holding a frame. It was a woman in her fifties with Jihyun.

"Is this her?" she asked.

"Yes!" Hana said. "It's Mido."

Gayoon turned to Taejun. "You stay here and watch over the crime scene," she instructed. "I'll go and ask around in the burger joint."

"Alright," he nodded. "And please do get some clothes. You're starting to stink."

She threw him a dirty look before heading towards her car. Buckling herself, she revved on the engine.