When I reached the crime scene, there were 2 police cars and a forensic photographer taking the crime scene photographs. A bit away from the cars stood Jin Ho and Min Ji talking to two other police officers. I parked my car and walked up to the crime scene to take a look at the body. The body was located in the same fields where the first victim was discovered. The body was curled up like a fetus and was burnt just like the previous victim. As I was looking at the body Jin Ho, Min Ji and the officers jogged up to me.
"Sorry ma'am we didn't see you standing here," one of the officers told and bowed.
"It's ok. I was just looking at the body. Who reported the body this time?" I asked as I looked at the forensic photographer getting the pictures clicked.
"It was the same guy who reported the first murder" the officer replied.
"What? That's interesting" I said as I looked at the officer.
"Where is he? We need to talk with him" I asked the officer.
"He has gone to his home to leave his dog along with one of the officers," he told as he scratched his forehead nervously.
"You do know that you aren't supposed to send the person anywhere, no matter the emergency, then how could you commit such a blunder? He was the first person to report the first crime and he is also the first one to report the second crime. When he is suspicious shouldn't you have handled the situation more carefully?" I asked him harshly being completely pissed at his stupid actions.
"I-I'm s-sorry ma'am. This is my first time as a first responder, so I committed a mistake" he told with his head hung down with guilt.
"That isn't an excuse. Since this is your first time, you must have been 100 times more careful" I told him and looked at my watch which read 6 am.
I looked at Jin Ho and Min Ji and signed them to come with me to my car. Once we reached my car, I turned toward them and sighed.
"Hey, guys! Did you both even get a wink of sleep?" I asked them jokingly seeing their panda eyes.
"Ahh...Soo Min, please don't talk about sleep, I already feel sleepy. We were having a movie marathon with our cousins, and we finished it by 4 am, so we slept only for an hour" Min Ji told with a pouty face.
"Oh god! That explains why you both look so dead. By the way, Jin Ho, when you talked to this guy who reported the crime, what did he tell? And what's his name?" I asked as I turned towards Jin Ho who was looking at me.
"His name is Kang Dong Chul and he is 35 years old living with his wife, mom, and a dog about 20 mins away from here. He works in a high-profile IT company and his wife is a novelist. He usually brings his dog for a walk early in the morning before he gets ready for his office. So, while coming this way, he has discovered the body and immediately reported it."
As soon as Jin Ho finished talking about Dong Chul, the first responder brought Dong Chul in front of us. He was tall and tanned. He looked very educated and screamed 'rich'. I scanned him up and down and he didn't look nervous, rather looked very calm.
"So, you are Dong Chul? I hope you can spare some time to talk with us?" I asked him.
"Sure, let's talk," he said and we got into my car and kept the doors open for air circulation.
"How were you in the same location both the times? It feels very suspicious" I said as I looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"I can understand very well. I take my dog for a walk every day on this path and I didn't expect to find another body in the same location. There is no need to suspect me since I don't kill people. I have a family to take care of and a high-paying job. I moved to this area so that I can be peaceful but now I don't think it's possible" he said as rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"When did you move to this area?" I asked him once he looked at me.
"It's been 6 months since I moved here. You might think why so far away from the city, it's because this place is my father's ancestral property and I decided to renovate and move in here. And another thing is, the dog I have is a hunter dog, previously owned by my friend who was a police officer. So, the dog is trained to detect suspicious things" he said with a serious face.
Whatever he said seemed to be very credible, so I told him to go back and turned to Jin Ho and Min Ji, who was looking at the Crime scene technicians working at the crime scene.
"Jin Ho, Min Ji! We should meet chief today, remember?" I asked them as their faces revealed that they forgot about it.
They immediately scurried towards my car after giving instructions to the police officers in charge of the crime scene and got into my car. We sped off to the police quarters to report the case proceedings.
$
Once we reached the Police quarters, we went to the Chief's cabin and took a deep breath before entering the dreaded room.
He was speaking to someone on the phone when we entered the room. He looked at us and nodded showing that he acknowledged our presence. Once he kept the phone down, he looked at us and waved his hand at us indicating us to talk about the case proceedings.
"Sir, we weren't able to identify the first victim but we know the gender and age alone. The second victim was found today early morning in the same location. Currently, the crime scene team is working and the body has been sent for autopsy" I told him and waited for his reaction.
"So basically, you are saying there is no movement in the case?" he asked with a raised brow.
I nodded in reply and he sighed and massaged his forehead.
"When you get a lead, I want you to report to me immediately. Now you can go" he said and picked up his phone to call someone.
We bowed and left his room and walked to the elevator when Jin Ho's phone rang. He nodded in the phone and cut the call.
"The crime scene search is over. Now we need to wait for the results" he said as we entered the elevators.
I nodded as we went down in the elevators. It was 10 am and I already felt drained. Once we reached the 3rd floor, where our cabins were located, we entered my cabin. We started to look at the first victim reports again, to ensure we haven't missed anything.
"Were there any CCTVs located in the road? Or any cars parked nearby? If so, we can utilize them for evidence" I asked Jin Ho.
"No, there were no CCTVs nor vehicles parked nearby. This road is deserted and houses are located one street away" he told as he rubbed his face due to exhaustion.
Min Ji was looking at the missing person database if she could find anyone fitting the profile of the first victim and we were busy reading the files. It was already lunchtime when I got up from the seat to stretch myself. I looked at both of them who were working seriously, so I decided to take them for lunch and get a break.
"Guys, enough of work. Let's take a break and go out for lunch" I said as I started putting on my coat and taking my purse, phone along with my car keys.
Both of them closed the files they were looking at, grabbed their belongings, and came out of the room, where I was waiting. I locked the room and we went to the elevators to go down. We went to the parking lot and drove off to our usual hangout spot. Once we entered the restaurant, we ordered the food and were chatting, when Jin Ho's phone rang. He picked up the phone and talked to the person, while we waited for him to convey the message to us. Once he cut the call, he looked at us with a tired face.
"The medical examiner called; the autopsy report is ready. And he asked us to meet him when we come to collect the report" he said.
Right at the moment, the piping hot food was served at our table. We began eating our food hurriedly and once we finished, we paid the bill and left to collect the report.
$
Once we entered the premises, the faint smell of dead bodies surrounded us. We reached the medical examiner's cabin and knocked before entering. The moment we entered he looked at us and nodded. He wasn't a very friendly person, always cold and serious. I assume it might be due to his job or that might be his personality.
"Hello doctor, were there any interesting findings?" I asked him as we took a seat on the big couch against the wall.
"There wasn't much to be discovered except one. I guess this piece of information might help you move the case. This victim wasn't burnt as badly as the one before, so I was able to find something related to his bones. This victim seems to have been suffering from Bursitis in his shoulder. There was a big lump in his shoulder and on analyzing his bones I came to this conclusion" he said while adjusting his glasses.
"Thank you, doctor, I think this information will help us," I told while Jin Ho collected the reports. We left the office and went to the car parking.
Once we got into the car, I said, "I think now we have a major pointer to move our case. Min Ji, I want you to get a record of people suffering from Bursitis in the shoulder from small hospitals, once we get the forensic reports in our hands. Jin Ho, I want you to search the same in bigger hospitals."
"By the way, Min Ji, do we have information on the shoeprint?"
"No, the team investigated all the shops that customize shoes but we didn't receive any. I think the impression is very light, so that's why it's difficult I guess" she said while I nodded at her.
"The forensic reports are ready; I just now received the mail," Jin Ho said from the back of the car.
"That's great then, you guys can get on with your work. We are one step closer to identifying the victims" I said as I drove my car to the police quarters.