12 A Murder in the Realm (2)

Huh?

A nerve twitched on Jina's head. The guy looked like he was in his mid twenties and yet, he spoke with a snobbish authority. Judging from his accent and polished looks, Jina guessed he had lived abroad and only returned recently.

Hobin studied the woman in front of her. She was a few years older than him but much shorter. Her face was too innocent looking to be a cop and he sensed an air of elegance oozing from her. The silky brown hair and carefully maintained skin along with the neat clothes she wore screamed that she was from a well-to-do if not rich family.

Yet, the woman carried the natural charisma of a leader. If he had met her elsewhere, he would have probably flirted with her.

Too bad, he was not friendly with cops.

"We were stuck in traffic," she said in a cool tone. "But we're here now. Who the hell are you? You're not with the CSI because you're not wearing their uniform."

Hobin sighed and took out his ID and badge. He had been given a special badge by the Commissioner to show off his status as a Police Consultant.

"You're from the Commissioner's office?" Jina frowned. Jiwoon, as if remembering something, stepped forward to hiss something in Jina's ears.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Jina whispered.

"I forgot!"

Jina shook her head and turned to the man. "Mister...er…"

She read his name again. "Ohm Hobin," she said. "My partner just told me that she received the news about your involvement in this case. Let's begin the investigation-"

"I don't have to," he cut through. "I've already checked the bodies. If you weren't late, you could have investigated with me and I could have told you all about my observation. Now I'll have to stand aside, waste my time until you're done investigating."

He said all of this with a sarcastically sweet smile which was annoying Jina to no end. What the hell? Why was he so antagonistic towards the cops?

"Team, let's check the victims' bodies," Jina instructed them. She shot a disapproving glare at Hobin, who stepped aside to let them investigate. Jina put on a pair of plastic gloves and tied her hair into a tight bun before walking over to the bed.

Up close, the bodies were in a worse condition. They had been hacked randomly with a very brute force. The blood was drying up into a sticky goo and even parts of their skulls were coming out.

"Whoever did this had a lot of rage in their heart," Jiwoon said as she moved Sungil's head.

Jina did not reply but noticed that there were a couple of tea cups on the bedside table. She picked one up and sniffed it. Hobin had come up behind her to study the bodies again.

"Sleeping pills," he stated. "Someone mixed those in their tea before killing them off."

"That means whoever killed them, knew they drank herbal tea before going to bed," Jina said.

"Cho Sungil is an expert combatant," Hobin added. "The killer knew they did not have a chance to take on him alone so they mixed the pills in the drink."

"But the kids are still missing," Jina muttered. She turned to one of the cops who was taping the area.

"Where are the children's rooms?" she asked.

"The room next door is the son's and the daughter's room is downstairs," the cop replied.

"You guys search for any clues you can find," Jina instructed her team before heading towards the son's room. To her annoyance, Hobin was also coming with her.

They entered the room next to the master bedroom. The walls were painted a pasty orange with several cartoon characters on it. A crib lay at one corner which was large enough for a child of around 6 to 7 years old and several toys were strewn across the floor.

"There are no signs of forced entry," Jina noted. "No bloody footprints either."

Hobin was observing some pictures which hung on the wall. It was of the victims and their children. The parents were smiling with the kids sitting in between them. The boy looked hardly older than five while the girl was in her mid teens with a small smile which did not reach her eyes. Hobin observed how the parents had put their hands around the girl but she was not holding any of them.

Meanwhile, Jina was checking the crib for clues. There was a bloodied fingerprint on it.

"I need the forensic here!" she yelled. A forensic assistant came rushing inside.

"Get this fingerprint here," she said, pointing at the print. The assistant quickly got to work, taking a picture of the mark before extracting it using his tools.

"I'll go and check the daughter's room," Hobin announced. Jina nodded and returned to investigate the boy's bedroom. There was nothing else in it but she was merely buying herself some privacy.

Once the forensic assistant was done collecting the sample, he strode out of the room. Jina casually walked towards the door and slowly closed it.

"Now tell me," she said out loud. "Who killed you?"

She turned around to face the ghosts of the couple who were just murdered. Ever since she had entered their bedroom, she had noticed their presence. They were trying to get everyone's attention but to no avail. No one could hear them or see their pale figures except for her.

"Y-you can see us?" Mari asked in astonishment. "We were trying for such a long time to attract attention!"

"I can see you," Jina replied. "But we don't have much time. You must tell me. Who's the murderer?"

The two ghosts hesitated. They were reluctant to reveal their murderer's name. Sungil looked torn between sadness and love while Mari was silently weeping.

"We never thought a day like this would come," Sungil finally said, his voice cracking up with unshed tears. "Death was easier than this…"

Mari hugged her husband, trying to control her tears. Jina stood there, feeling sorry for the couple who had just lost their lives.

"I know that your deaths were unfair," she began. "But I promise you that I will find the culprit."

"If only it was that easy for us," Sungil lamented. "I wouldn't have hesitated if the murderer was an enemy. But what to do when the killer isn't an enemy, but the person you love the most?"

Jina lowered her eyes. She was well aware of that pain. Going against enemies was nothing but when loved ones are the ones holding the knife, death becomes a welcoming option. After all, her friend Shinho faced the ultimate betrayal from his own father and lost his life.

"Your children are with the murderer," Jina revealed. "And if you don't say the identity, they might die as well."

"Our son is with her?" Mari gasped. Suddenly, she realized what she had done. She let the truth slip.

"With her?" Jina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I-I…" Mari stammered but Sungil held her hand.

"It's okay," he said firmly. "We have to reveal the truth."

He looked directly at Jina and took a deep breath. "The murderer is…" he began.

….

Hobin walked into the daughter's room. Unlike the son's room upstairs, the walls in that room were completely white. There was a study table at one corner and a bed across it. A small wardrobe stood next to the table and an empty computer table sat in another corner. Hobin put on his gloves and checked all the drawers.

The wardrobe had been emptied and everything essential was gone. He noticed several papers in the dustbin which had been burnt but not properly. The fire had died out sooner than the killer expected because some of the papers were still intact. He took one out and saw that it was a cheque which had been written on but crossed out because the signature was wrong. He took out more papers and all of them were pages from a cheque.

"Woof!"

Hobin was startled when he heard a dog bark. A Jack Terrier came out from underneath the bed. It was wagging its tail, staring at him.

"Ahh, a witness," Hobin muttered. "Come here, boy!"

He stepped towards the dog to pat him. The dog, as if sensing something, came forward and let the stranger pat him.

"Now," Hobin said. "Show me your memories."