Direction of the Wound
"Let's check just one thing, just one."
The woman hurriedly checked the notebook Ju-won had put down.
But there is nothing.
The notebook only lists the names of those who borrowed money, but the amounts and interest rates are nowhere to be found.
How on earth did he know?
As the woman shook her head, the man in the corner gripped the ledger tightly.
"What..."
The man who had been staring piercingly at Ju-won slowly walked out.
Perhaps he is the leader of the big guys, as a path opened when he came out.
The man holding the ledger opened his mouth.
"What do you want to check, Detective?"
Ju-won answered.
"A man stabbed with a weapon was found nearby. He was bleeding profusely, and bloody footprints appearing to be the perpetrator's led to the front of this building."
At Ju-won's voice, Team Leader Gu Jin-gu behind him whispered to Detective Kim Seok-ho.
"Was that it?"
"I didn't see anything, but..."
"I didn't see any bloodstains either. Just how does Detective Lee find things like that?"
Detective Kim Seok-ho shook his head.
Then Team Leader Gu pointed at his mobile phone and said quietly.
"Contact the forensics team."
"Yes."
Detective Kim Seok-ho picked up his mobile phone.
In the meantime, the weasel, who was listening to Ju-won, frowned and said.
"So you're suspecting us? Just because we look threatening? Do you know how many companies are in this building!"
"I'm checking. This was the only place open."
Ju-won's words were true.
Today is Saturday. Not many offices in the building were open.
A few offices on the upper floors and 'Anytime Loan' on the 3rd floor. Here.
At that moment, Officer Han Geon-woo, who was checking his mobile phone, opened his mouth.
"The victim's name is Jo Pal-hyeok. Do you happen to know him?"
"Who?"
As the weasel frowned as if he couldn't hear well, Officer Han Geon-woo spat out words with an innocent face.
"Jo Pal-hyeok. He looked completely like a gangster, just like you guys?"
For a moment, murderous intent filled the eyes of the big guys.
Is he innocent, or doing it knowingly?
Officer Han Geon-woo tilted his head as if asking why they were looking so scary.
But then, the weasel, who was muttering the name Officer Han mentioned, opened his eyes wide.
"W-wait, Jo Pal-hyeok? Pal-hyeok? Are you talking about that guy covered in tattoos so densely that his skin isn't visible on his arms?"
As Officer Han Geon-woo nodded, the weasel turned his head sharply to look at the man who appeared to be the leader.
Is it someone they know?
The man's brow furrowed.
Then the weasel thrust his face at Ju-won.
"Is he dead?"
"Is he an acquaintance?"
"...He was family. Not anymore though."
"Do you mean he left the organisation?"
The weasel, gauging the mood, nodded.
A gangster who left the organisation was stabbed.
Is it a retaliatory murder attempt?
Then, the man holding the ledger asked.
"Is he dead?"
Officer Han Geon-woo answered.
"He went into surgery just now. But he lost a lot of blood, so even the medical staff can't guarantee..."
Officer Han shook his head.
Then the office became gloomy in an instant.
Ju-won slowly approached and said.
"Even if he left, you said he was family, you should at least know who tried to kill him, right?"
At Ju-won's words, the man's eyes hesitated for a moment.
But soon he nodded.
Then the weasel and the big guys next to him slowly opened a path for Ju-won.
Ju-won headed to the water purifier.
Bottom of the water purifier.
Something brown is smeared small.
'Analyse it.'
[It is indeed bloodstains. However...]
Terra's silence continued.
[...It appears to be blood older than a week, not blood smeared just now. It doesn't seem to be the victim's bloodstains from a moment ago.]
A short while later.
"Thank you, Team Leader Gu."
Gangjung Police Station Violent Crimes Team office.
The Team 2 Team Leader bowed to Team Leader Gu Jin-gu.
"Phew, I heard the paramedics also had a hard time getting to the scene."
The Team 2 Team Leader showing a hearty laugh.
He was a police officer with a small build but a former boxer nicknamed 'Spicy Pepper'.
At Spicy Pepper Team 2 Team Leader's friendly chatter, Team Leader Gu nodded.
"Tell me about it. Officer Han and I suffered a lot going into the main road too. If Detective Lee and Detective Kim hadn't been quick-witted and run sideways to arrive quickly, we would have been late too."
"Thanks to that, we could narrow down the perpetrator's escape to the building."
At that time, Detective Kim Seok-ho approached stealthily and asked.
"Ah, did the forensics team results come out?"
Between the desks of Team 2 and Team 3 separated by partitions, where Spicy Pepper Team Leader and Team Leader Gu were chatting.
Along with Detective Kim Seok-ho, Ju-won and Officer Han Geon-woo also gathered there.
Spicy Pepper Team Leader nodded.
"Yeah, the forensics team investigated up to the front of the building, and they say it matches the victim's bloodstains. It's also true that the victim was a guy in the organisation operating the loan company called Anytime Loan."
Ju-won, Detective Kim Seok-ho, and Officer Han Geon-woo nodded.
"Since he's a gangster who left the organisation, we're viewing it as a retaliatory or grudge-driven murder. Our guys went to find out the details just now."
Listening to Spicy Pepper Team Leader's words, Ju-won opened his mouth.
"However, when Officer Han mentioned the victim's name, everyone seemed surprised. It seems less likely to be retaliatory."
"Hmm, that could be true."
Everyone seemed lost in thought.
Ju-won asked.
"What about CCTV?"
"The building's own CCTV happened to be under maintenance, and there are no CCTVs near the scene. Our team member is looking at the nearest CCTV possible, but we can't identify the perpetrator. We don't see anyone following the victim before the scene, nor anyone carrying a weapon. Ah, right."
Spicy Pepper Team Leader turned to the table behind and brought documents.
"We inquired with the National Forensic Service."
Then showing the photos attached to the documents to the Team 3 members, he continued.
These are photos of the victim's scars.
"The wound on the victim's hand looks like a kitchen knife, but the wound stabbing the abdomen isn't a knife."
There are a total of two scars.
A wound on the palm incurred while trying to block the knife, and a wound over a span long on the abdomen.
Looking at the photos, Team Leader Gu asked.
"Then what caused such a large wound?"
"They say it looks like pliers. A wound torn long by something small and sharp."
Listening to Spicy Pepper Team Leader's words, everyone fell into contemplation.
Everyone thought it was highly likely the perpetrator was a gangster from the same organisation as the victim.
Retaliation or a grudge, as Spicy Pepper Team Leader said.
However, as Ju-won said, the original organisation seemed surprised to hear about the victim, so.
It seems someone took revenge while the victim was out of the organisation...
But then, Team Leader Gu, looking at the photos, glanced at Spicy Pepper Team Leader.
"But somehow it feels like you're only shoving the photos at our Detective Lee?"
Come to think of it, all the photos Spicy Pepper Team Leader is holding are only in front of Ju-won.
"Ahaha, did I?"
Scratching the back of his head, Spicy Pepper Team Leader slid the photos over to Team Leader Gu and said.
"Ah, Detective Lee of Team 3 is the ace of Gangjung Station these days. Appearing on TV occasionally, and solving every case he takes on coolly. So my hand went there unconsciously?"
While Spicy Pepper Team Leader showed an awkward smile.
Ju-won was conversing with Terra while looking at the photos.
[The first murder attempt was with a Phillips screwdriver as the Team 2 Team Leader said, and the second attempt seems to have been trying to wield a knife. It seems the wound on the hand occurred when the victim grabbed the knife during the second attempt.]
There weren't many photos of the victim.
Photos taken urgently by the detective to find the weapon before going into surgery.
So the scars aren't clearly visible.
Looking at the scar on the abdomen, Ju-won pulled forward the photo of the wound on the victim's left hand.
Then Terra spoke.
[Please pause for a moment.]
'Why? Do you think you know what kind of knife it is?'
[No, not that, I am looking at the direction the wound occurred on the hand.]
'Direction?'
[The direction of the wound on the victim's hand is the direction in which he grabbed the knife the perpetrator tried to stab him with. When the blade was facing the victim.]
'Did he grab it when the perpetrator tried to stab? But why does this matter?'
[The victim was stabbed in the left abdomen. The hand that grabbed the knife is also the left hand. He probably tried to suppress with his right hand.]
'He was stabbed in the left abdomen, but in that situation, he tried to grab the knife the perpetrator was wielding again?'
As Ju-won spoke, Terra displayed a simulation in Ju-won's vision.
A blue human form appeared next to Spicy Pepper Team Leader.
'Oh.'
[Are you fascinated even though it's not your first time seeing it?]
'This is fascinating no matter how many times I see it. Forget it, just run the simulation.'
One of the human forms was holding a screwdriver in the left hand and a kitchen knife in the right hand.
[The types of weapons represent commonly used ones, so please refer to them only.]
'Understood.'
[The perpetrator would have stabbed the victim with the screwdriver first.]
Simultaneously with Terra's words, the human form holding the weapon stabbed the screwdriver into the abdomen of the form in front.
[The perpetrator would have struggled, and in that process, the weapon moved, making the victim's wound larger.]
'And then?'
[The perpetrator would have taken out the prepared kitchen knife again. Probably, naturally, the perpetrator highly likely didn't think they could kill the victim at once with a screwdriver.]
The form acting as the perpetrator moved the right hand holding the knife.
The knife headed towards the victim form.
[The victim would have grabbed the knife held in the perpetrator's right hand with his left hand. Simultaneously, there is a high possibility the victim's right hand grabbed the perpetrator's body.]
Listening to Terra's words, Ju-won narrowed his eyes.
'It's a bit strange.'
There's a weapon in front of his eyes, but he tries to suppress someone?
It's not normal behaviour.
It probably isn't because he's a gangster and bolder than ordinary people either.
If a knife is moving back and forth in front of your eyes, even the boldest person's heart is bound to shrink.
[Correct, that point is strange. By common sense, he would have collapsed holding his abdomen, or if the pain was bearable enough to resist, he would have run away. However, the victim momentarily didn't think these were the best methods.]
'That means...'
Ju-won's contemplating eyes opened wide.
'The perpetrator is a person small enough that he thought he could suppress them at a glance.'
[That must be it. The perpetrator appears to be a person far from being a large-built gangster.]
_________________________________________________________________________
🔥 Hey legends! Quick updates! 🔥
💥 Support me on my Patreon account!
👉 patreon.com/cyci07
✨ Power Stone Challenge! ✨
If we hit 100 power stones, I'll drop 2 bonus chapters! Let's see if you guys can make me suffer! 😂
💬 Enjoying the story? Leave a review and let me know your favorite moment so far! It helps the novel grow and reach more readers!
Thanks for all your support—you guys are awesome! ❤️