* * *
In no time, four portraits were completed.
Na Kang-In put down the pen and spoke.
“Only these four people left the alley towards the main road just before the fire was discovered. If the arsonist was fleeing the scene, they are likely one of these four.”
The youngest detective murmured, “Wow. It’s hard to tell who the real detective is here.”
The second team leader quickly gave instructions to the detectives.
“Identify these people. Start by finding out who among these four doesn’t live there, and focus the investigation on anyone with connections to the victim!”
“Yes, sir!”
Na Kang-In’s task was done. He stood up.
Detective Park Ki-jung spoke, “If we need to ask more questions, we’ll give you a call. So, can I get your number…?”
After Na Kang-In left, the second team leader looked at the portraits and said, “Like the rookie said, it’s hard to tell who the real detective is. Hey, how are you guys doing worse than a civilian? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
Park Ki-jung grumbled, “You’re the same, boss…”
“Are you slacking off?”
“I’m on it, I’m on it.”
The second team leader raised his voice slightly, “Rookie! Scan these portraits and distribute them!”
“Yes, sir!”
***
After giving his phone number, Na Kang-In returned to the PC bang.
It was almost dinner time.
Cha Eun-seo asked, “Oppa, are you cooking dinner again today?”
Whether to sell food or not was up to Na Kang-In. The primary business here was the PC bang, not a full-fledged restaurant. Selling special dishes occasionally was enough to attract customers.
The AI spoke.
[The operation budget is insufficient.]
“Let’s sell food. I need to make money too.”
Na Kang-In earned money by working as a cook here. His hourly wage was 20,000 won. Cooking for two hours would earn him 40,000 won.
Considering his cooking skills, the wage was low.
However, he could use the PCs and the staff rest area bed for free. He could also eat the food he cooked for free. Living here meant all his room and board needs were covered.
Cha Eun-seo quickly updated the PC bang’s order program with a notice. It announced that they would be selling special dishes for dinner tonight.
Upon hearing the notification and seeing the announcement, customers cheered.
“Awesome!”
“We have to eat here tonight!”
“I’m going to eat twice!”
“I need to call my friends over.”
***
The dinner service received an enthusiastic response.
After his two-hour cooking shift ended, Na Kang-In sat down to eat.
Cha Eun-seo joined him, “This is really delicious. I waited without even clocking out just to eat this. Totally worth it. I’m so wise.”
The night shift part-timer, Yoon Ah-reum, agreed, “Definitely. Kang-In oppa’s food is really tasty.”
College student hacker Ahn Sung-hwan, who only came to help during busy times, showed up even though he hadn’t been called.
“I came because I heard you were cooking today.”
Cha Eun-seo, while eating, mentioned, “You know that fire in our neighborhood yesterday? It was arson. They caught the culprit.”
It had been less than three hours since Na Kang-In had returned from the police station.
“Already?”
“Yes. The news just reported the suspect’s emergency arrest.”
Yoon Ah-reum exclaimed, “Oh my! So it wasn’t an accident? I almost died because of an arsonist yesterday? What a jerk!”
Ahn Sung-hwan was equally agitated, “Wow. Scumbags like that should be punished in the name of justice. Eun-seo, what kind of person was it?”
“I only read that they caught the suspect, so I don’t know the details.”
Na Kang-In took out his phone, which he had put away while cooking. He had one missed call. It was from Detective Park Ki-jung.
Na Kang-In called him back.
“You called earlier?”
“Oh, Mr. Na Kang-In. I wanted to let you know that thanks to you, we caught the culprit.”
“You solved it quickly.”
“Hahaha, it’s all thanks to you, Mr. Na Kang-In. Three out of the four portraits you drew are of local residents, but one isn’t. That person is an electrician who knows the victim and borrowed money from him. The picture becomes clear. I can tell you this much because it will be officially announced soon.”
Park Ki-jung hesitated before adding,
“This is just my guess, but they probably strangled the victim or gave them sleeping pills. They thought the evidence would be gone once the body was burned.”
“That sounds right.”
“And about the portrait you drew of the suspect. Is it okay to make it public?”
Na Kang-In still didn’t understand why he and AI Zijin were here. He needed more information to determine if it was safe to be publicly active.
But there was no need to live in complete hiding.
“As long as you don’t mention that I drew it, it’s fine.”
“Oh… so you don’t want your identity revealed.”
“Yes.”
“I should recommend you for a commendation.”
“Please don’t. I was just doing what needed to be done. Besides, I don’t like that sort of thing.”
“I know that there are people who find receiving awards burdensome, so I understand. Thank you again.”
Na Kang-In ended the call.
Cha Eun-seo asked,
“Oppa, what did you draw? Was it a picture?”
“It was just a little doodle.”
Cha Eun-seo replied knowingly,
“You must have drawn it really badly. You don’t want anyone to know you drew it.”
Detective Park Ki-jung looked at the scanned sketch on his smartphone, then glanced at the suspect’s face again.
“It’s really well-drawn, just like a real photo.”
A fellow detective next to him said,
“It’s better than a photo. It emphasizes the suspect’s features, making it look more realistic than a picture.”
“Where is the paper with the sketch?”
“It’s already attached to the investigation records.”
“If Mr. Na Kang-In becomes a famous artist later, that sketch could be worth a lot. We should’ve asked him to draw another one.”
A junior detective approached them excitedly.
“Guys, drugs were found in the arsonist-murderer’s wallet.”
Park Ki-jung stood up abruptly.
“What? Are you sure it’s drugs?”
“It hasn’t been sent to the National Forensic Service yet, but it looks exactly like meth.”
“If he carried it in his wallet, he must be an addict…”
Park Ki-jung clapped his hands.
“Now the picture is clear. He probably needed money for drugs and borrowed some. When he couldn’t borrow more, he killed the victim. Then he bought drugs with the money.”
The fellow detective said,
“This case is getting bigger and bigger.”
Park Ki-jung suggested,
“Let’s contact the narcotics division.”
“We’re not taking all the credit ourselves?”
“They’d be upset. We need their help to catch the dealer too. Where’s the team leader?”
***
That night, the police chief gathered reporters and announced the progress in the arson-murder case.
The suspect tried to cover up the crime by setting the building on fire after committing the murder, resulting in the complete destruction of a five-story building. Most of the evidence was lost due to the fire.
Despite this, the police apprehended the suspect the next day. All collected evidence pointed to him. Crucially, pieces of the victim’s skin were found under the suspect’s fingernails.
The suspect’s name and face were not disclosed. The drugs found on the suspect were also omitted from the announcement to avoid alerting the dealer.
The announcement was featured on the evening news and posted on various online community forums.
Comments poured in:
– Wow, our police are top-class.
– They caught the suspect quickly and found crucial evidence under his nails.
– Right, if it had been a few days later, that evidence might not have remained.
– How did they identify the suspect so fast?
***
Detective Park Ki-jung answered a call from the team leader while riding in a van.
“Yes, we’re on our way. Oh, how would he know? What? The chief? He gathered reporters? Why? Sigh. Got it.”
After hanging up, Park Ki-jung checked the news on his smartphone.
“Wow… our chief proudly boasted to reporters about catching the arson-murderer quickly.”
Park Ki-jung’s colleague from the narcotics division asked, flustered,
“What? Why announce it now? We’re on our way to catch the dealer!”
“Exactly.”
Park Ki-jung passed the drug-related information to his narcotics division colleague. They agreed that Park Ki-jung’s team and the narcotics team would jointly arrest the suspect and share the credit.
The narcotics officer grumbled,
“Damn, if the dealer sees the news, he’ll flee immediately.”
After confirming the details, Park Ki-jung said,
“Don’t worry. Our chief didn’t reveal the suspect’s name or photo. He didn’t mention drugs either. He’s been a cop for years; he wouldn’t blurt that out.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“Unless the dealer knew about the arson-murder beforehand.”
“Are you playing games with me?”
The junior detective driving the van asked,
“We’re almost there! Should I turn on the siren and speed up?”
Park Ki-jung scolded,
“Do you want to announce our arrival to the dealer?”
“What?”
“We’re not catching a robber. Go quietly. Follow all traffic signals and don’t speed.”
Catching the drug dealer was simple. However, new information emerged from the scene.
Looking at a piece of paper lying around, Park Ki-Jung said, “Hey, seems like there’s a drug party happening right in the middle of Seoul. This guy supplied the drugs there.”
“Really?”
“We’ll know for sure if we go there, won’t we?”
“We need backup for this. Ki-Jung, thanks. Because of you, our team’s performance is going to soar.”
“Why are you acting like this? We should share the credit, right?”
“Well… if things get this big…”
“I have the note with the party’s time and place, don’t I?”
“Of course, we’ll share. When’s the party?”
“From tonight until tomorrow morning.”
* * *
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