AN: Hello again! Thank you for reading this story and I hope you're enjoying the ride so far. I need to tell you that this chapter contains some semi-graphic descriptions of violence and death. If this is not to your taste, you have been warned. Nevertheless, I put a ton of research into this and it was super fun to write :-)
chibianimefan26: Oh, it makes me so happy that you like the relationship between Mei and Hana. It's a blast to write tbh! Lmao yeah, I'll gladly gang up on her with you if she didn't donate. Yes! Seven is gorgeous! :D Sorry for that cliffhanger hahah, I hope the quick update makes up for that though this one ends on another cliffy. Hehe, you'll see this chapter. Yeah, I see lots of not-so-secret sneaky Pokemon Go Players at my university all the time. We have a couple of gyms, so it's fantastic :D Thank you so much! I'll do my best :)
Chapter Ten
Murder with a Cherry On Top
People say you get used to seeing dead bodies when you are a detective, yet Mei never did. The saying somewhat offened her, whoever came up with it probably never even worked a single day in the homicide department. She may not scream, cry or shout at the sight of a corpse but the familiar feeling of dread overwhelmed her everytime.
Death wasn't something you get used to, period.
Apart from maybe your friendly neighbourhood sociopath, death in all shapes and sizes left marks on people. In a way, it reminded you how easy it was to die. However, the most morbid thing about death was how sudden it can happen, almost like a casual, daily occurrence. People make the end of a life out to be this big event and find themselves stumped once they realize it's not.
Whether they died or not, time was mercilessly marching on.
Nevertheless, to Mei it felt like time stood still as a dreadful silence blanketed the room. In the middle of it was the body of a middle-aged man, drowning in a pool of his own blood that started to soak the expensive oriental carpet beneath him. It looked like he had been stabbed in the chest, but she couldn't be sure from the distance. Shaking like a leaf caught in a vicious thunderstorm, the young waiter's whimpers were the only sound that occasionally broke the silence.
Mei, Seven and Kyu stood next to him at the door, frozen in place and hoping against reason that this was simply a bad dream. Apparently, they weren't the only ones who have been alerted since the rest of the RFA, minus Yoosung and V, joined them only minutes later.
Once they caught sight of the body, all colour drained from their faces.
"Nobody touches anything," Kyu was the first to find her voice, sounding as calm and collected as ever. "Call the police and an ambulance. I believe some of their staff is in attendance. Make them aware of the situation, but try not to draw attention to yourselves otherwise we'll have a panic on our hands. We need to keep the crime scene clear from civilians, understand?"
The words hung heavily in the air, confirming the reality of the dead body. It wasn't just a bad dream.
"Naturally, I'll inform the police right away." Jumin's voice was suprisingly steady, yet his ridgit stance betrayed his shock. "I'll have Yoosung watch the door to keep guests from entering this area."
With just a phonecall, the business heir had summoned a swarm of bodyguards. One of them swiftly but gently grabbed the arm of the sobbing waiter and dragged him away from the doorstep. Mei was thankful, not only because the man clearly needed help and a good psychiatrist after this, but she couldn't bear to watch him breakdown any longer.
"Name and occupation, in case you know it." Kyu demanded monotonely. Her face was as expressive as stone when she turned to the RFA members, who were still huddled together at the door. "Speak up, I don't have all day."
While many people criticized Kyu for her unempathetic nature, Mei had always apprechiated her stoic approach to these situations. If there was one ability you gain when working as a homicide detective, it was pushing your feelings on the backburner for the sake of finding the truth. However, once they closed a case and went back to the comfort of their homes, it wasn't so easy to keep previously buried emotions at bay.
"This is Jihun Wong, the owner of a local culinary art school I'm funding." Jumin couldn't keep his eyes off the dead body. No emotion betrayed his features, but the detective could tell they had been on good terms. "His wife died from cancer a couple of years ago, but he has a daughter I believe. Eun Wong."
While Kyu kept interrogating Jumin, Mei pulled herself together and cautiously approached Jaehee. Her friend looked as though someone had sucked the life out of her, brown eyes blown wide like a deer caught in headlights.
"Jaehee?" Mei grasped her shoulder gently, hoping not to frighten her. "We'll need the guest and staff list in case we need to search for suspects. Could you get those for us?"
"S-Suspects? … W-what," she stuttered, voice shrill and piecing. "Are you implying this is murder?"
Everyones attention was on the young detective, silently begging her to dismiss the question. She hesitated for second and glanced at the body of Jihun Wong, before shaking her head at herself. Sugar-coating wouldn't help anyone.
"We don't know that yet. I need to examine the body first and check his medical history in case he had any chronical illnesses." Mei didn't have it in her to smile, but she hoped that a matter-of-fact explanation would provide comfort. "Murder is a possibility though."
The stunned silence that followed her words was suffocating. Mei had to remind herself that most people go through their life without ever seeing a dead body, much less a possible murder victim, so their reaction was to be expected.
"Jaehee, we need the documents," she repeated gently. "Please?"
Probably grateful to leave, Jaehee dutifully hurried down the corridor. Her movements were robotical when she grasped the golden handle and disappeared behind the grand oak door that lead to the still on-going party.
"I can dig up Jihun Wong's medical history." Seven offered, seemingly unfazed, and Kyu raised an eyebrow at him. He heaved a sigh before rushing into an explanation, "I'm good with computers and the police can access medical records for investigations, right? If you lend me the password to your database, I can look up information on him while you investigate."
The older detective shared a look with Mei, silently asking whether they could trust him. She nodded at her partner, signaling her approval, but the look in the woman's hawk-like eyes promised a thourough interrogation once this was over.
"Okay, I'll allow it." Kyu grumbled, clearly uncomfortable with the idea. "But if I catch you using it for anything else, you'll be behind bars before you can even blink."
"Aye, aye ma'am." Seven mock-saluted. "No funny business."
Conjuring a laptop out of thin air, the man began to work his magic. At first, Mei was suprised how composed he was. Then again, he was a secret agent and eventhough his profession mainly entailed hacking, he had probably seen his fair share of brutality. Not for the first time, she wondered what he had to go through to be this calm and collected.
"It's your turn, Watson." Kyu threw a pair of blue latex gloves at her. She caught them just in time before they could hit her face, the familiar texture making her fingertips tingle. Conscious of a pair of golden eyes watching her, the detective pulled them on expertly and made her way over to the dead body with confident steps.
This was routine, eventhough it shouldn't be.
"Do you always carry these around in your pocket, Sherlock?" Mei raised an eyebrow at her partner and wiggled her gloved fingers in hopes of lightening the mood. "Or is latex a new fashion trend that I missed?"
Kyu just rolled her eyes, not gracing her with a verbal answer.
Briefly, Mei wondered where it all went wrong. Just a few minutes ago she was having fun with her friends and talking to the man she was in love with. Now, she was back to being a detective, standing in front of a dead body while wearing a pretty evening dress. She didn't even get to dance or try the buffet.
"M-mei, are you sure about this? I don't think you should touch the body."
It was the first time Zen had spoken since they entered the room and she had almost forgotten that he was there. His concern for her warmed her heart, but this was her job. Mei took a few seconds to study him and concuded that he was a little too pale around the nose. Cold sweat was forming on his forehead, glistening in the light of the chandelier, and there were goosebumps crawling up his perfect skin. Those were tell-tale signs of shock, he needed to leave the room.
"I've done this too often for my liking, but yes I'm sure." Mei sighed, forcing a rueful smile on her face. "Maybe you can go outside and help Yoosung with the guests?"
With the speed of an arthritic grandma, Zen nodded and headed after Jaehee. Mei really hoped he would be okay since he shouldn't be alone in his state.
"How far along are you?" Kyu demanded more than asked, fixing Seven with her stern gaze.
"Jihun Wong has been diagnosed with a minor case of diabetes, otherwise he's been healthy." Seven replied, frowning at his screen. "He is fifty-two, barely at the age when heart attacks become a risk factor."
If he wasn't terminally ill that only left one possibility: something or someone killed him. Judging by the look on his face, Seven had come to the same conclusion. Mumbling a quick thanks, Mei crouched down in front of the body and checked for any signs of breathing and tried to find a puls on his carotis artery.
Nothing. He was as dead as they could be.
Instead of dwelling on the numb sensation in her chest, the brunette busied herself with examining the victim. A couple of grey strands were hidden among the neat, black hair and the depth of his winkles placed him around the age of fifty, confirming the data Seven had pulled up. He had laugh lines, she observed with a heavy heart, and must've spend lots of time outside, judging by his light tan. Small dark brown, almost black crumbs were stuck in his beard.
Now that she was closer, Mei was sure that the blood came from several stab wounds. They were scattered across his chest with no discernable pattern, possibly done in quick succession. Weird ... with such a large number of open wounds, he should've lost a lot more blood. Of course, his white shirt was basically soaked in the stuff and dripping, but otherwise he was spotless.
It made absolutely no sense.
If someone came at you with a knife, you'd try to defend yourself and it would probably turn into a pretty messy fight. However, Mr. Wong was laying on the carpet almost peacefully, with no feathers ruffled apart from the glaring wounds on his chest. She knew she was missing something important, so she decided to take a closer look and came to a horrible conclusion. Mr. Wong might not be the only victim.
The party guests were in danger. Hana was in danger.
"Don't stall." Kyu's impatient command ripped her out of her stupor. "Give it to me straight."
"The victim suffered several stab wounds to his thorax, most likely stemming from a broad, sharp object. No visible hemmorage and the lack of injuries on his hands indicate there was no struggle," Mei announced monotonously, pointing a gloved finger at said areas. "The amount of blood, his body temperature and the fact that rigor mortis has yet to set in places the time of death around an hour ago, around half past two. His arms show no sign of a recent insulin injection."
Kyu seemed intrigued. "That's not all, is it?"
The former doctor shook her head. Turning on her smarphone's flashlight, she waved her partner over to the corpse, shining the artificial light into the man's eyes and mouth. "Dilated pupils, slight discolouration of the tongue and lack of saliva indicate severe poisoning. It was the cause of death, the stab wounds have been added by the culprit post mortem. That's why there was no struggle."
"So the culprit went out of his way to hide that cause of death was poisoning. Since there are no needle marks on the victim's arms, it couldn't have been mixed into his insulin injection. That only leaves us with one likely possibility." Kyu pinched the bringe of her nose in an attempt to preserve her sanity. "This turned out to be a lot messier than I thought."
Impatiently, Jumin tapped his foot on the ground. "What do you mean?"
"It means that Jihun Wong hasn't been targeted specifically. Or in other words: he was poisoned by something at the party that everyone had access to, meaning that the proverbial murder weapon is still around. It's possible that one or several items on the buffet are contaminated with poison."
It felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over her. Hana had eaten a lot from the buffet and while she wanted nothing more than to check up on her sister, her hands were tied. She needed to do her job and find out what type of poison it was and fast. It was the only way she could help Hana in case she was poisoned too.
"My guards just informed me that the ambulance has arrived." Jumin's calm facade was crumbling at the edges. "What should we tell them?"
"Tell them everything we know so far, but to standby for now. We might need them as backup, but having them rush into the building might cause a panic among the guests, which is the last thing we need right now." Kyu warned. "We should avoid spreading the news and inform everyone once the situation is under control. What about the police?"
"They're on their way. Inspector Kim will be here shortly. I'll inform Assistant Kang and the security about our proceedings. Please excuse me. " He retreated back into the hallway to make another phonecall. Mei was glad that Kyu took charge and kept the situation under control. A panic among the guests would make finding the culprit like searching for a needle in a moving haystack.
"Your thoughts?" Kyu asked, taking a step closer to her.
"Whatever poisoned him killed him quickly, too quickly. The culprit was probably trying to hide the cause of death because early discovery would ruin their plans," Mei deduced and her partner nodded. "They are targeting the party guests or rather as many as they could get. The culprit doesn't even care who they end up killing. I wonder why though."
"If he died an hour ago and they are planning to kill more people it's likely that they are still around," Seven pondered, his smooth voice soothing her nerves. "They watch their plan unfold in case something goes wrong like with Mr. Wong here. It's quite bold, but not unthinkeable."
Mei nodded. "We need to prevent anyone from leaving the party and find out what poisoned Mr. Wong to prevent further victims. I don't want anyone else to get hurt and depending on the poison, we don't have much time."
The sound of heavy footsteps drew everyone's attention to the grand oak door, which parted to reveal a stout man in uniform. His black mustache throned over the grim frown on his thin lips, twitching slightly as he tipped his beige hat in greeting. Inspector Kim was pretty much the embodyment of the policeman cliché; lazy and only interested in how many donuts he could gobble up in under a minute. Appearance aside though, the man couldn't be further from that. He took care of the Cheon siblings after their parents had died and you can't become Chief of Police just by eating donuts.
"Don't worry, we've already taken the necessary actions," Inspector Kim assured them, surveiling the crime scene with a critical eye. "Kyung, Mei … we keep meeting over dead bodies. Despite the circumstances, it's good to see you again."
"That's the curse of being a detective, I guess." Mei replied when she noticed Kyu didn't have any intentions to. "And likewise, Inspector."
"Don't stop on my account, continue the investigation." He stopped in front of them and held out two police jackets. "My officers will keep everything under control. We're going to comb the perimeter and search the security feed for clues. Poison, right?"
"Yeah, stay clear from the buffet. We're also looking for a sharp, broad object. Something like a knife, probably pretty bloody."
"Why is it always knifes? That's so old-fashioned, not to mention messy." Inspector Kim complained, exhasperated. "It's like most murderer's only reference are the slasher movies they watched as teenagers when their parents left them alone for the first time."
Mei chuckled at that, feeling a sense of calm wash over her once she had slipped her arms through the sleeves of the slightly oversized jacket. With the police on sight, ambulances and medics on standby, it made another death by poison a little less likely. Inspector Kim ordered three of his colleagues to stand guard by the crime scene and her partner quickly briefed him on the situation.
Meanwhile, Mei glaced at Seven out of the corner of her eyes. The hacker was sitting in an antique chair near the entrance, balancing his laptop on his knees, absorbed in whatever he was doing. He appeared to be calm, albeit a little nervous, and she was about to approach him when the door opened again. It was Jaehee.
"Inspector Kim ..." She adjusted her glasses before handing him her clipboard. "This is the list of every attendee and the staff."
"Thank you, Miss Kang." Inspector Kim said, flipping through the stack of pages. "Can we narrow down the list of suspects? We can't interrogate the entire world."
Mei brainstormed a couple of possibilities, then shook her head in frustration. "The cooks or the waiters?"
"Probably. They're the obvious choice in this scenario," Kyu added while scratching her chin in thought. "However, at this point, it could've been anyone. We need to pinpoint the timeframe, then eliminate possibilites."
It was painful to admit, but it was the truth. They may know the cause of death, but they had nothing on the culprit.
Inspector Kim pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do we at least know what from the buffet was poisoned?"
"There were crumbs in his beard," Mei supplied. "From the texture, I'd say it was either bread or cake."
"I assume most people at the party probably ate bread and cake," he replied grimly. "Since the masses haven't fallen unconscious yet, I'm guessing it's not all of them."
"Depends."
"On what?"
"The type of poison," Mei clarified. It would be great if Min-Jun, the flamboyant chemist from their agency, would be here right now. He'd have it figured in minutes, but he was on vacation with his girlfriend somewhere on the Bahamas.
"Isn't that just peachy," Inspector Kim groaned, voicing what everyone thought. "I'll get a paramedic to take a sample of Mr. Wong's blood while we wait for forensics. I suppose they'll need to analyze it in order to create an antidote. Meanwhile, I'm kindly asking anyone who's not part of the investigation team to leave the scene. If you're anxious to help, watch over the guests and look out for any signs of poisoning."
While Jaehee looked like she would love nothing more than to leave this room, Seven was a different story entirely. Before he could protest though, Kyu stepped in. "Please let Jaehee Kang and Luciel Choi stay, we still need to ask some questions."
Inspector Kim halted, but gave in nontheless. "If you think it's for the best."
The door closed with a soft thud, leaving the remaining people in silence.
Not one to play the waiting game, her partner turned towards her. "Any idea why the victim died earlier than the culprit had planned?"
"His diabetes might've sped up the effects of the poison." Mei shrugged, taking more to herself than to the group. "If I'm correct, it killed him in less than ten minutes after consumption … must be a chemical with a small LD50."
"Meaning we can be certain that one and a half hours ago, the food was already poisoned. Guests who have arrived after 13pm are off the hook." Kyu deduced. There was a reason why Kyu was a renowned ace detective. She could always put the pieces of a puzzle together with a speed that had others reeling in their seats. It was as though her mind connected things differently, her partner really was amazing.
"Where are you getting that from?" Jaehee asked, perplexed.
The older detective was about to open her mouth, when Seven answered instead. "The buffet opened shortly after the party started, around 12am. They found the body around 14:30pm, he died 13:30pm and if Mei's assumption is correct, he ate the poisoned food 13:20pm. If you substract the time it took him to get the food, considering the long queue at the buffet, you end up with roughly 13pm. That means the food must've been poisoned before that time, making everyone who arrived afterwards innocent."
"You're saying that everyone who arrived before that time is a suspect." Jaehee summarized.
"Precisely," Kyu said. "Miss Kang, when was the food prepared?"
"Mr. Han places great value on freshly cooked meals, so the food was being prepared just when the party started." Jaehee answered, confused. "That'd be around 12am."
"A one hour time window for our culprit to strike," the older detective mumbled before addressing her audience again. "A look at the CCTV might not be a bad idea, though I doubt we'll find much there."
"You're right," Seven exclaimed all of a sudden, drawing everyone's attention. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, as though he had been caught by his parents with the hand half-way down a cookie jar. "Ahem … well … I have access to the security cameras and while you were investigating, I looked at the feed. Problem being, the cameras don't cover the buffet area. I guess whoever installed them wanted to be polite and not film people while they're eating."
"I thought I told you not to do anything else," Kyu growled.
"Anything suspicious?" Mei asked, ignoring her furious partner. "Like someone interacting with the victim around the time of death?"
"I'm sorry, but nothing that'd strike me as abnormal." Seven frowned at his laptop. "The last person he talked to was his daughter, though he did look like he wasn't feeling well and his actions confirm your timeline. He left his daughter to go to the bathroom at 13:27pm."
Mei perked up. "Could you see what he was eating?"
"No, when he came back from the buffet his plate was already empty. He must've eaten it on his way back or while he was talking to someone." His words were confident, yet the wrinkle that appeared between his eyebrows betrayed his frustration. If she read him right, he had probably hoped that he could've been more helpful. She knew the feeling well. It had accompanied her every step when she started out as a detective.
"Thanks, Seven." Mei smiled, the first genuine one after recent events. "Knowing that our assumptions on the timeline check out helps us move forward without questioning the foundation of our deductions."
The young detective was rewarded with a tentative smile that warmed her heart and reawakened the butterflies in her stomach. Before she could enjoy the feeling however, the door bust open again, revealing a disgruntled inspector with his beige trenchcoat billowing behind him. He had two paramedics in tow, who were rushing to get blood, saliva and cell samples from Mr. Wong.
"We've secured the area and called forensics. Luckily, nobody appears to be poisoned so far," he muttered and pushed a hand through his greying black hair. "However, some guests report that they feel faint. It might just be the excitement, but I don't want to take any chances. Updates about the poison would be amazing about now."
Kyu looked at her. "Mei, can you give us some insight?"
"I've tried," she protested. "I majored medicine, not chemisty."
"Try harder then."
She'd get wrinkles early, if she kept frowning like that.
"Well, his soft tissues are tearing like nothing I've ever seen," Mei grumbled, "so it's a strong chemical."
"How did it kill him?"
"First, the poison paralyzed him, slowly making his limbs go numb." Mei explained, trying to stay scientific. She would have to swallow her discomfort and deal with the images that her description conjured. It was nightmare fuel. "Then his muscles spasmed out of control, which caused the asphyxiation."
"It was a nerve agent?"
"Yeah and that only leaves a list of thirty possible drugs unless, of course, our culprit experimented and cooked up something new." Mei muttered, clicking her tongue. "I just pray it's not Botulinum based, that one is pretty popular these days. It's stops acetycholinesterase from splitting acetycholin which leads to pretty much instant death."
"You can get your hands on Botulinum pretty easily." Seven infered, rapidly typing away at his computer. Mei wondered what exactly he was doing, but it seemed he hadn't given up on helping out with the case. He really was incorrigeable, but she wouldn't have it any other way. Not to mention, his serious expression was incredibly attractive.
"It's used in small amounts in Botox. You can get it via the darknet or order it from a factory under the name of a plastic sugeon." he continued, only stopping his explanation to adjust his slightly askew glasses. "I can check for recent buyers, but that requires hacking, which is illegal unless I have your permission."
"You're already doing it, aren't you?" Kyu crossed her arms over her chest when the hacker shot her an amused grin. Seven was back in his element and as foxy as ever. "Fine, continue. Mei, why are you so worried about whether the poison was Botulinum based?"
She fumbled with the sleeve of her police jacket. "The issue is that its LD50 is incredibly tiny, only one nanogram per kilogram can kill a human. Within ten minutes apparently, if you have diabetes. In case it's actually Botulinum, they must've diluted it. It'd have been even faster otherwise and too obvious."
"Translation, please." Inspector Kim grumbled. "Not all of us have a degree in medicine."
"You should make washing your hands after binging on donuts a habit, Inspector." Mei winked at him, but sobered quickly once she saw his stony expression. "If it was mixed in while the food was being made, and they were generous with the measuring cup, simply touching it could end you."
"If it's such a strong poison, we can't wait for forensics to confirm." Inspector Kim pressed on urgently. "We need to get everyone who came in contact with the buffet to the hospital."
"We don't even know whether I'm right," she reasoned. Mei would prefer to wait for forensics or for any other miracle to happen. Maybe the dog from Blues Clues would show up and leave them footprints that lead to the correct answer. "We've got no choice but to wait until they've identified the poison. Without the correct antidote, even the hospital staff will be helpless."
"She's right," Kyu admitted reluctantly, softening her infamous stern gaze. "For now we should establish a list of subjects and start interrogating."
Well, Mei thought darkly, maybe this was karma.
She had wished for a lead earlier and now she got one. Of course, she had no idea whether this case was connected to the mysterious hacker, but the guess wasn't too far off considering the RFA appeared to be the main target in every incident. Coincidences can only go so far and then again, she never really believed in them in the first place.
As far as evidence collection went, the police found the bloody shirt of a male waiter in the staffs laundry room. It was obviously what the culprit wore when he stabbed Mr. Wong, so when forensics arrived they immidiately transported it to their lab for DNA tests. The way they were acting reminded her of a bunch of starved vultures, but she was glad they weren't wasting any time. It would take a few days, but if they found even the tiniest hair of the culprit, the case was as good as solved.
Moreover, Inspector Kim discovered the bloodied knife in the kitchen's dishwasher. It fit the measurements of the victim's stab wounds and at this point, Mei was thinking that the culprit was getting kind of sloppy. Sure, the fingerprints have been wiped off, but the dishwasher?
Really?
After those discoveries, Kyu and her had ruled out the majority of the guests. It was simply too time consuming to disguise youself as staff, mingle with the crowd, stab Mr. Wong, get rid of the evidence and re-enter the party without being discovered. Not to mention that most of the guests were famous in one way or another and would have been easy to recognize. Also, guests couldn't enter the kitchen and the rest of the employees only area without gathering attention.
In comparison, the staff was operating in the background and had more opportunities to interact with the food without raising eyebrows. It would have been easy for them to help Mr. Wong into a secluded room once he began to feel dizzy. Nobody would question a concerned waiter, who was talking care of an unwell guest.
At least, not until now.
So in conclusion, they narrowed it down to the waiters and needed to question them.
That was easier said than done because doing interrogations at the crime scene was against protocol. Usually, they would have to present a solid list of suspects to their direct superiors and summon them to the precinct. It was to ensure that none of the potential murderers could sue them later for causing them stress and trauma.
Inspector Kim spent a good ten minutes on the phone, arguing with the police's lawyers about special circumstances, until Kyu ripped it out of his hand and started yelling into the speaker. Mei was torn whether she wanted them to cave in or not, but she knew they would. It was hard to argue with her partner when she was convinced that they were doing the right thing.
It only took one minute and a few curse words for Kyu to get the permission.
"Thanks for slowing down our progress. If someone else dies because you held us up, make sure to send their family a postcard in apology," she had scoffed at one of the lawyers. "Or maybe a flower basket? I'm sure your single braincell will come up with something."
Well, that was one way to win an argument.
Soon after, Inspector Kim assembled the waiters and waitresses in front of the kitchen, which was their new makeshift interrogation room. They had pushed all the pans and pots to the side, leaving only the semi-clean white tiles of the counters in sight. The bright light was eeriy, but the suspects weren't supposed to be comfortable.
One after another, they interviewed the staff members, asking the same questions over and over with no results. Until a tall man with thick, brown hair and a pair of rimless glasses entered the room. He was skrawny and as pale as a ghost, looking very much like the kid that got bullied at school for being a nerd and forced into doing homework for others.
"That's one of the guys who has been kidnapped." Kyu whispered to her. "Auuro Nam. He disappeared around a year ago."
Shocked, Mei turned towards her partner. The woman had a photographic memory and was rarely wrong about these things. But if he was really involved in the missing person's case—a victim no less—then that would connect this murder to the organization they had been chasing for one and a half years. Not only that, but Auuro would be the main suspect.
"Are you sure?"
Kyu nodded curtly and took out her phone to look up his file in the database. Meanwhile, the young detective took a seat in front of the man and pushed play on the old recording device.
"Auuro Nam, right?"
"Yes." He nodded, smiling nervously. "How may I help you, detectives?"
"What were you doing between half past one and half past three?"
"Let's see ..." Auuro mumbled, lost in recollection while Mei grabbed a pen to take notes. "Around one I was handing out prosecco glasses to party guests, then I went to help the catering sevice with the tables. After that I was on refill duty, so I was busy with that until the officers collected me."
Mei flicked through the notes from previous interviews, stopping at a particular page. "One of your coworkers told us that he saw you leaving the dining area in the middle of refill duty. Care to explain?"
"Y-Yes, of course!" He sat up straigther in his seat, shifting from left to right. "I accidentally spilled some red wine over my blouse, so I had to get changed. If you don't believe me, you can ask my colleague Hoon Kwon. She saw the entire thing happen."
"Why are you so stressed? There is no reason to be nervous, Mr. Nam, unless you know why I'm asking these questions."
"It's only n-natural to be nervous in a situation like this," he defended. "Besides, it's obvious that someone died and you're searching for the murderer. It's the only logical explanation for the swarm of medics and officers. You think that the culprit is one of us. The others may not say it out loud, but I know that they're all thinking it too."
Mei shared a look with Kyu, who was now heading towards the door. She nodded once, confirming that Auuro Nam was indeed one of the missing people, and opened the door to speak with Inspector Kim.
"Call for Ms Hoon Kwon," Kyu told him. "We need her to confirm what Mr. Nam told us."
While they waited, Mei contemplated the possibility of an accomplice. It would certainly make things a lot easier for the culprit. They'd have someone who would provide an alibi for them and they could've dicided tasks between themselves, such as getting rid of evidence. If Auuro Nam really was the culprit, then Hoon Kwon was probably his accomplice.
It was just conjecture though. She had no evidence and it felt like she was grasping at straws. The black handles of the kitchen's clock were steadily marching on. It was taking them a bit long to fetch Ms Kwon.
"Is this your first time in a catering job?" Mei asked Auuro conversationally.
"Wow, are you a fortune teller?" He seemed perplexed. "How did you know?"
"Intuition." Mei replied, an enigmatic smile sneaking onto her face. Judging by the curious look on his face, her answer wasn't enough, so she elaborated, "You don't strike me as a guy who has done this for years. You were nervous enough to spill wine on your blouse. Basic mistakes like that rarely happen to experienced waiters and you're quite young."
"Guess you caught me." Auuro laughed awkwardly, raising his hands in surrender. "This is my first time working for a catering service."
The door creaked open and closed, confident steps nearing their table before stopping at a respectful distance. Mei and Kyu raised an eyebrow at the officer in front of them, who let out an annoyed grunt. Behind him was another officer, holding onto a middle-aged woman in a waitress uniform, who was glaring daggers at everyone. Her brown locks were sticking up in odd directions.
She obviously didn't come willingly.
"Where did you go to get her? Hawai?" Kyu asked sarcastically, clearly irritated with the officer. "Or maybe the lost city of Atlantis?"
"We found her in the women's bathroom," the officer answered quickly. "She was trying to escape through one of the windows. That's why we took so long."
"I'm innocent," Hoon growled.
Right. Of course.
The other officer, who was still restraining her despite the handcuffs, dragged her towards another chair and made her sit down. Meanwhile, Kyu took Mei to the side with a serious look on her face.
"It's like I'm seeing ghosts today. Ms Kwon is another kidnapping victim, disappeared nine months ago."
"I guess that answers the question of whether they're accomplices."
"There is coinicidence and then there is this." Kyu muttered, unknowingly echoing her thoughts from earlier. "They're definitely working together and probably prepared their statements in case they were caught. No matter what we ask them, they'll have an alibi. We need to make a thourough background check on them later."
Mei nodded. "If they really are who we think they are ..."
" … then they are our culprits." Kyu finished for her. "Even if the interrogation is fruitless and we turn up empty-handed, the crime lab will tell us for sure. What I'm interested in is what they know about their kidnappers. This is clearly connected to the RFA somehow, so unless they spill, I need you to interrogate your flower field stangers."
A sinking feeling settled in her chest. While she agreed with everything her partner had said, demanding answers from her friends was the last thing she wanted to do. She would be intruding on their privacy and while she would love to find out more them, especially about V and Rika, she was afraid they would resent her for it. They were the first people outside of work she could call friends, she didn't want to lose them.
Narrowing her blue eyes at Ms Kwon, Mei stalked forward and slammed her hands on the table. The woman startled, but composed herself quickly to return the glare.
"Well, I'm not telling you anything."
Mei sighed in agony. As per usual, their main suspect didn't want to talk without a lawyer. Thanks to this stubborn lady, she'd have to probe into her friends' lives. Great.
"That's well within your rights, ma'am."
The waitness relaxed, giving a faint smile of triumph. "I assume I'm free to go then?"
Mei kept her eyes on Ms Kwon, returning the smile with one of her own. "You're free to accompany my colleagues to the police station."
Lost in thought, Mei made her way down the hallways, dodging police officers and medics that loitered around in case of emergency. It was as though the air was humming with tension, caused by whispered conversations and wary glances that were shared among the personell. She spotted a young woman among them, eyes swollen and red from tears, which refused to stop pouring out no matter how hard she tried to rub them away.
It was Eun, Mr. Wong's daughter. They had the same black hair and laugh lines.
A police woman was holding her hand, talking to her in gentle whispers. However, Eun didn't appear to be listening, if her blank stare and lifeless expression was anything to go by and Mei couldn't blame her. Not only was her father killed today, she had lost her mother to cancer. At the moment, the woman was probably trying her best to disconnect from reality.
Denial was the first of the five stages of grieving.
The sight almost made Mei tear up, waking memories of her own loss.
Losing someone you love was the worst thing in the entire universe. It was even more terrifying to lose both of your parents, the people who love you more than anything. Continuing to live your life after that was like trying to navigate through a dense wall of fog. Even now, Mei was still prone to taking wrong turns and felt so very lost without them. Everyday, she wondered what her parents would think if they could see her now.
Would they be proud? Would they be disappointed in her?
Mei tried to imagine telling her mother about her job or about the RFA and Seven. Her heart sank when she realized that she couldn't decide what her mother's reaction would be. She had been barely fifteen when she died, stuck in the rebellious teenager phase her sister was in now. They had bumped heads a lot, she got along better with her father, but felt an overwhelming sadness that she never had time to get to know her as a person rather than just her mother.
Shaking her head, Mei got her head out of the clouds.
This was not about her, she needed to focus on the case. Images flickered in and out of her inner eye as she tried to make sense of the information. The party, the hacker, the murder, the kidnappings … they're all connected. But how?! She was missing something crutial. It was on the tip of her tongue, driving her insane.
Mei must've been standing there for longer than she thought because she startled when cool fingers grasped her elbow gently.
"Are you okay?" Seven asked, sounding worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Mei replied hoarsely. It was stupid lie that anyone would've seen through, but then again, she had never been a particularly good liar. Still, she wasn't willing to share her thoughts with him right now. Even if she wanted to, it felt as though her pent-up emotions were constricting her throat, making it impossible to form words.
As though he knew what was going on inside her head, Seven's hand absentmindedly slipped from her elbow down to her hand, locking their fingers. "What's going on?"
"We've got two suspects," she started, grateful for the change of subject. "I'm pretty sure they're guilty though we need to wait for the lab results to get proof. That's gonna take a couple of days, but the police is keeping them confined until then."
"Sounds good," Seven commented, but she could hear the strain in his voice. "Where's the catch?"
"They won't talk without a laywer." Mei huffed, biting her lower lip. She shifted her blue eyes to the floor, studying the patterns on the carpet. "I don't know if they're trying to buy time for themselves or someone else. Their motive is still unclear and because of that I was ordered to interrogate you guys."
Seven's grip on her hand tightened in a comforting way, which was when Mei realized that it hadn't been absentmindedly that he had locked fingers with her own. She stared at their intertwined hands in awe, a radiant blush crawling up her cheeks.
"Well, it just so happens that I need to talk to you too, Miss Detective." Seven grinned, eyes twinkling mischievously behind striped glasses. "Let's make a deal. I get to kidnap you for a while and you can interrogate me, okay?"
"O-okay."
As soon as the word left her lips, he grinned and tugged at her hand, leading her towards a secluded room. Once the heavy door closed behind them, he let go of her ... much to her dismay. She had enjoyed the feeling of his cool skin against hers and just the thought of their intertwined fingers made butterflies flutter in her stomach.
Mei coughed in an attempt to compose herself. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Remember what you said in the car?" Seven asked and she nodded eagerly. "Well, turns out your crazy conspiracy theory wasn't so crazy after all."
"Wait … you don't mean …"
"Elly's disappearance wasn't an accident," he continued, picking up speed. "A veterinarian named Dr. Seok Nam gave her an adrenaline shot, I saw it on his clinic's CCTV feed. Not only that, but there was a suspicious janitor at C&R, who snuck out of the building shortly after she ran from the penthouse. I know it's a stretch, but I think they are working together with the hacker."
Wait. Was Dr. Nam related to Auuro Nam?
"Okay," Mei said quietly, trying to process the new information. She stayed silent for a while, the feeling of betrayal settling in her stomach. "How long have you known?"
Seven flinched guilty, averting his eyes. "A couple of days. I … I just didn't want to make you worry. I'm sorry."
"I've never completely given up on that theory, so it doesn't make much of a difference. Except that I'd rather know and worry than guess and worry," Mei explained softly and he nodded. "Still, what's the connection to this case?"
He sighed in relief, shooting her an apologentic smile. "Earlier when you said it might be Botulinum, I checked Dr. Nam's monthly bills from the clinic and guess what I found."
Botulinum, judging by his tone.
"Oh wow," Mei gasped, "that can't be a coincidence. Wait, wasn't he at the party today?"
If the good doctor was actually related to one of their suspects, then he was most likely their poison supplier. Unless, of course, there was a new anti-age beauty trend for cats that she wasn't aware of. At least, they knew the type of poison now and could get antidotes ready in case something happened.
"Yeah, I even tried to get some information out of him, but he didn't give much away before he ran off. He was really twitchy as though he knew something bad was about to happen."
Very suspicious. Of course, they needed hard evidence to convict him, but everything pointed to him being guilty. It just made too much sense. The dots were starting to connect and form a cohesive picture in her mind. The party, the hacker, the murder, the series of kidnappings … they really were connected. It was a secret organization, just like Kyu had always suspected. The kidnapping victims, the mysterious hacker and Dr. Nam were a part of it.
They needed to stop looking at everything as separate cases, but rather as one big case.
The main mystery of it being the connection between this secret organization and the RFA. It felt like the scale was finally tipping in her favour.
"It's my turn now."
"Huh?"
"Interrogation, remember?"
"Oh? Are you going to ask me the colour of my panties?" Seven grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. "How naughty of you, Miss Detective. They're red by the way."
"I d-did not need to know that a-and that's not what I was going to ask," Mei stammered and he snickered. "N-nevermind. Do you know anyone who has a grudge against the RFA?"
"I've been asking myself the same." He crossed his arms over his chest and leant againt the wall behind him. "Well, there is our illusive hacker friend, but I have no idea who they could be. We've never had issues with people, except for a few who were angry about the exclusiveness of the parties, but Rika always made sure that everything went smoothly."
"Hm," she hummed, playing with the hem of her golden dress. "Did anyone have a grudge against Rika?"
"No way," Seven protested vehemently. "It's like Yoosung always says, she was one of the kindest people on the planet. Everyone loved her."
For a second, her mind was stuck on how he included himself in that. Did Seven ... love her? Of course, he did. She was his friend and their leader, the glue of the entire group. She obviously meant a lot to everyone and just because they all loved her doesn't mean it was romantic.
Nevertheless, Mei couldn't stop being suspicious of her and V.
"I'm telling the truth." Seven clenched his jaw when he caught her doubtful expression. "Rika would always solve problems peacefully. I can't see her angering someone to the point of planning a series of murders."
"It's not like I don't want to believe you," she reasoned, knowing she was fighting a loosing battle. He would never question one of his closest friends. "I don't know the circumstances of her suicide, but maybe there are some things that you don't know about her."
"You're right, maybe I don't." Seven admitted. "Rika never talked much about herself, she was always more concerned about others. I'm guessing she wasn't honest about her health because she didn't want to burden people. The only one she ever confided in was V and even he couldn't help her in the end. I couldn't believe it at first when he told us, I thought God was playing a prank on us."
She felt for him, she really did, but they weren't here to dance around the topic. This was an interrogation, so she had to ask the lottery question. "Has V ever told you why she commited suicide?"
Ripping off the metaphorical bandaid, Mei went straight to the heart of the issue. It wasn't like she even needed to take his temperature on the subject. He had always been touchy when it came to V.
"No, but he didn't need to." Seven grumbled harshly, golden eyes flashed in warning. "They're always the same reasons, aren't they? It wasn't fair that she left us like that, but it was her decision."
Mei winced although she knew it was just the grief talking. He was hiding it well, but behind all the fun and games, he was still mourning. In fact, the entire RFA was. That's why she didn't want to do this.
Careful not to agitate him further, she stepped in front of him. Grasping one his hands with hers, she squeezed it gently in silent apology. To her suprise, Seven didn't shake her off but relaxed against the wall. It was then that she realized that everything was stressing him out more than he was willing to let on. He was always the one who calmed everyone down with his cheerful, laid-back attitude, but who was taking care of him? It made her heart constrict in her chest.
Seven caught her gaze with his stunning golden eyes, a wry smile playing on his lips. Suddenly, it became very hard to beathe. She felt the overwhelming urge to comfort him, but she didn't know how. As though he read her thoughts, his hand tightened around hers.
Their moment was broken when the door burst open and Yoosung came rushing in.
"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you," he exclaimed, trying to catch his breath. Disheveled strands of blond hair were stuck to his sweaty forehead and his cheeks were flushed as though he just ran three marathons in a row. "I—I don't know how to say this. It's t-terrible and I don't know what to do."
"Calm down first." Seven put his free hand on his shaking friend's shoulders. "What happened?"
Yoosung took a few steadying breaths before his worried purple eyes found hers. Mei's blood froze when she heard his next words.
"Zen just fainted."
*LD50 = lethal dosis (A small LD50 means that only a very small amount of a chemical is needed to kill a human and a large LD50 means you need a large amount. At least that's why Dr. Google told me.)
*post mortem = after death
*rigor mortis = stiffening of the joints and muscles of a body a few hours after death, usually lasting from one to four days (I assume you know the last two since the terms appear quite frequently in detective series.)
To Be Continued ...