"Yesterday I saw someone passing by in front of my house, he was wearing black clothes, you couldn't see his face. It rained a lot last night too. When I went out to take out the trash, I was shocked to see the cats lying on the street." said a housewife who witnessed the deaths of street cats next to her home.
Anna came with one of the police officers who told her about reports of a stray cat that died unexpectedly. After she was removed from the special investigation team by Captain Steven. Now Anna's just on her job to deal with a cold crime case.
"A total of 16 cats. If you look at the characteristics of the cause of their death, it's poison." Haesu said he's one of the police colleagues.
Anna's face seemed so sad to see 16 cats lying lifeless because of the crime of an irresponsible person. Suddenly Anna remembered Howl and the cats who lived in Howl's house.
Howl is a guardian deity but why did he let 16 cats die so easily. Anna begins to lose her faith in Howl. But on the other hand, Howl is not a figure who looks like a fraud. Even the hundreds of cats living in her house looked so happy. Anna is such a dilemma.
"Fine. Thank you for your testimony. If you see anything suspicious, call us immediately." Anna said.
"All right. But please quickly get rid of the cat's lackey, it's disgusting!" She said with a cynical expression, and then walked into his house.
Anna could only stand still when she saw the old woman's facial expression that seemed to dislike cats. Her face is clear that cats are just disgusting creatures and are not fit to live side by side with humans. Despite feeling very upset and wanting to reply to her words, Anna still had to keep her mouth shut so as not to cause any bigger problems.
"It seems like this cat case is not just one or two times. Not long ago, about two days ago, a high school student found a dead cat in the back of the school. When I checked the CCTV footage, I didn't find anything. But I found a 200 gram pack of cyanide at 100 meters from where the cat's body was found. I was thinking, what if the perpetrator was one of the students at the Hanlim school. But I tried to ask some students, but in the end the principal forbade me because it would bother the students." Haesu said.
"All right. You've worked so hard. I'm going to find CCTV that might still work in the area." Anna said.
"Fine. I'll finish the cat's body soon."
"I trust you. Bye!"
Anna hastened away to search the trail in a densely populated area in hopes that she could soon catch the perpetrator who had killed the innocent street cats.
Nearly two kilometers of Anna walked down the street and every crossroads. There's not a single CCTV camera on. Even though this area is very quiet and very prone to crime. Small, narrow alleys and at least street laps make it easy for criminals to plan their actions.
"Ah! I forgot. Cyanide! Right, I should've looked for a place where someone could buy cyanide!" said Anna, who then took her phone to find out where she could buy cyanide.
Anna tried to contact one of her close friends who worked for the Gangnam police forensics team.
"Oi! Are you busy?" Anna asked.
"What's wrong? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?" asked Maru.
"Maru … I want to ask you something."
"What?"
"Can't cats recognize the scent of poison? Like cyanide poisoning?" Anna asked.
"Why are you suddenly asking about it? You're investigating a case? But why are you asking about cats all of a sudden? Isn't it what you're investigating Doctor Kang's murder?" Maru asked, sounding surprised by Anna's question.
"I got kicked off the team,"
"What?! You're expelled!!" Maru said sounds so surprised.
"Why did you overreact?"
"Wait a minute! Wait a minute! You're Captain Steven's favorite son, why you got kicked out all of a sudden. No, I don't. It must be because you made a mistake, right?" asked Maru.
"Don't bring it up! I'm trying to move on from that case. Now all that matters is my question …" Anna said.
"Oh okay. I understand. To my knowledge, the cat has a keen sense of smell. So it's impossible if he doesn't recognize the smell of cyanide. But cats won't understand if it's poison."
"What do you mean?" Anna asked, unable to understand Maru's words.
"The cyanide has a unique smell. Like scorched almonds. Maybe cats can recognize the smell of toilet cleaners because they have a pungent scent. The cat can understand if it doesn't get the scent. But if the cat's smells almond, I'm not sure if the cat's can recognize it or not. Furthermore, if a cat food that smells more pungent, it may be difficult for cats to recognize the smell of cyanide as a poison or not. Moreover, it is rainy season and entering winter, if the victim is a street cat, the cat is very hungry, and the smell does not function properly, it is certain that he will not know if what they eat is cyanide. It could be a possibility," said Maru trying to provide a detailed and understandable explanation.
"Ahh … you're right. They're his starving street cats. They won't care if what they eat is rotten or poison. It was so cruel …" Anna said she looked so sad when she realized the painful fact about stray cats.
"Are you sure the perpetrator used cyanide?" Maru asked.
"I'm not so sure, because the lab results haven't come out yet. I'm just trying to figure out what might happen. Okay. We'll tell you if the perpetrator actually used cyanide. Then how did the perpetrator get such a thing?" Anna asked.
"Cyanida can't be easily obtained. But if you have a permit or you're a person who works on a seaplane, angler or works for a chemical company that's clearly licensed, you can easily get cyanide." Maru replied.
"The ship? Fisherman?" Anna murmured as she thought of something she was looking for in her memory.
"I have to leave immediately. Is there anything else you want to ask?" asked Maru.
"No, it's not. Thank you. Next time I buy you a meal," Anna said.
"I'll collect it later. Okay, bye!"