My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 149

“However, the perpetrator is creating other victims and trying to reveal the identities of the deceased through magic circles and demon worship. This means the perpetrator wants the death to be processed after the murder, not just the murder itself.”

“Huh?”

The detectives listening couldn’t help but gape, as they hadn’t considered that at all.

“Death processing, you mean…?”

“There are many things they could be after. But in general, it’s probably money.”

“Money…?”

“It could be insurance money or inheritance. If the purpose of the crime is money rather than murder, then they can’t wait five years.”

Insurance doesn’t pay out for disappearances. Inheritance also doesn’t happen until death is confirmed after five years.

“Hmm, money, you say?”

“They’re doing this for money?”

“Insurance cases often involve manipulating the situation. There have even been cases where people cut off their own hands to prove they were murdered.”

“……!”

“If you look at a case in a complicated way, it becomes endlessly complex. But if you try to look at it simply, it’s very simple.”

If the magic circles and demon worship are all elements of confusion created by the perpetrator, then the essence of the case is murder for money.

Of course, there are plenty of such cases.

“Wait, so those two people really died unfairly?”

“Yes, the key in this case seems to be the location, not the two victims.”

“The location?”

“An abandoned, enclosed space, a space difficult for others to access… It’s hard for a third party who isn’t the owner to know about such a space.”

I feel sorry for the two victims, but they were essentially victims of random, unprovoked murder.

For profilers, random murder is one of the most perplexing types of murder.

Because the cause is unknown, and it’s difficult to identify the perpetrator.

“Random murder?”

“That’s probably the case for those two.”

The two have no connection in terms of job, age, or place of residence.

One is in their 20s, the other in their 30s.

One works for a large corporation, the other is a sole proprietor.

“In such cases, three things are important. First, how did they disarm the two people and commit the murder? Second, how did they secretly find the abandoned place? Third, how did they know this place would be discovered?”

“Indeed…”

The place where they were found is a space that ordinary people don’t know well. The first discovery site was said to have been vacant for more than five years, and the second discovery site for more than a year.

“It’s a location that ordinary people can’t easily know. But at the same time, it’s a location that will inevitably be discovered by people someday.”

“So you think the perpetrator is involved in the real estate business?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve already checked. Both places were listed with real estate agencies.”

“What? But the second discovery site has an illegal building?”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t list the land for sale.”

When listing land with a real estate agency, you just need to notify that the building is illegal. In fact, the land was listed by the original owner’s children to sell after their father went to prison.

Since the crime was committed there and the father went to prison, they probably didn’t want to hold onto it.

Moreover, it’s not like that place is a promising redevelopment area.

“A real estate agent can see that record.”

“That’s definitely true.”

“And if they’re a real estate agent, they have plenty of time, right?”

Due to the nature of the real estate business, they often have to wait indefinitely for customers. So what do they do during that time?

“They watch TV or read books, I guess.”

“So they like to read books…?”

As the police listened to Park Do-joon, they began to form a rough picture of the suspect in their minds. And then Park Do-joon showed them the completed picture.

“The perpetrator is probably in their 20s or 30s and is a social misfit. Their parents are wealthy, and they are likely being ignored by their parents.”

“They’re in real estate, though?”

“Business is relative.”

Some people make a fortune in real estate, while others are told they’re just ‘doing’ real estate.

“Moreover, if their parents are well-off, they’re even more likely to receive such treatment.”

If their parents are wealthy and socially successful, they are very likely to disapprove of their child doing real estate.

“Especially considering the image of real estate… no, real estate agents in Korea.”

“The image of real estate agents isn’t good.”

“It’s not just that it’s not good, but there’s a strong feeling that it’s something older people do.”

In reality, most real estate agents are in their late 40s. There are hardly any real estate agents in their 20s or 30s.

“In fact, real estate agents in their 20s and 30s tend to be treated as social outcasts.”

“Hmm…”

If such a person is a sociopath with a mental disorder and is also intelligent, they may very well try to kill their parents.

“They probably weren’t the type who couldn’t study from the beginning. But they probably had difficulty working in a normal job due to a lack of social communication.”

A fairly specific profile of the perpetrator has emerged, but that doesn’t mean all the problems have been solved.

“We can’t know who fits that type.”

It’s not like there are no real estate agents in their 20s, so we can’t just shake them all down.

At someone’s words, Park Do-joon smiled bitterly inwardly.

‘Just ask me to spoon-feed you everything [do everything for you].’

It would be nice if they could investigate on their own with this much information, but humans are so cunning that if you give them ingredients, they ask you to cook, and if you cook, they ask you to spoon-feed them.

“You guys have to figure that out! Are we the only police? You’re police too, you guys!”

Everyone flinched at the team leader’s words, who seemed to know that.

And someone, perhaps annoyed by the team leader’s words, spoke up as if protesting.

“But other profilers are saying these are demon-worshiping criminals?”

“Then investigate that way.”

“No, if profilers give two different opinions, doesn’t that create confusion in the investigation?”

“Do you think profilers are answer keys for you to solve?”

Park Do-joon cleared his throat at the team leader’s sharp words.

“Team leader, answer keys don’t come out these days.”

“Huh?”

Sure enough, some of the younger police officers looked puzzled because they didn’t understand the word ‘answer key.’

“What’s an answer key?”

“Did you have an answer key that showed the personal information of repeat offenders?”

“Ah, I mean, there used to be a book called ‘Answer Key’ that compiled problem solutions from textbooks.”

“Huh?”

“They don’t come out anymore.”

As the atmosphere flowed strangely, the team leader, unable to watch any longer, shouted.

“Anyway! If you have any complaints, go investigate, you bastards! How many police officers are attached to this case? Divide up and investigate!”

“That’s…”

“Since when did the police investigate with a predetermined answer?”

The police officers couldn’t say anything at those words. Park Do-joon smiled bitterly as he looked at them and said.

“Hasn’t it been quite a while? Since that happened?”

“Tsk, stupid bastards…”

It was obvious. Because the majority of profilers say the perpetrator is a demon worshiper, they want to go that way.

‘This isn’t a problem that’s been around for a day or two.’

There is no single answer to crime. And crime evolves. Naturally, investigative techniques and the abilities of the police who investigate must also evolve.

But that doesn’t happen. Investigative techniques are improving little by little, but the speed is hopelessly slow.

Even if new investigative techniques come out, the speed at which they spread to the front lines is ridiculously slow.

When the younger generation tries to talk about new investigative techniques, the senior officers, citing their experience, treat them like clueless rookies.

Korean investigations are skilled at following predetermined answers.

That can track down a majority of criminals, but it’s slow to track down new criminals.

“They say crime is diligent.”

“Tsk, calling these guys police…”

The team leader shook his head.

“Go and think carefully and volunteer. If this is really the right way, take all the credit.”

“Yes, sir.”

The detectives nodded and left. Park Do-joon stared blankly at the scene and said.

“What do you think?”

“What else? Well, the team leader of the other investigation team will send someone on their own.”

I know. I explained it so diligently, but most of them… no, almost all of them will try to investigate the demon worshiper side, and in the end, each team will send rookies who are powerless and have no experience.

“What’s the point of improving investigative techniques? You have to try to learn them.”

The team leader clicked his tongue as he watched the detectives walk away.

“So what are you going to do? It’s strange to just stand still in this situation, isn’t it? You have to reduce the number of victims, right?”

“So I’m thinking about it. Of course, it’s been reduced a lot, but it’s still uncertain to identify the criminal.”

“Tsk.”

“The good thing is that I can use methods that other police officers can’t.”

“What is it?”

“Moonlight Law Firm.”

Park Do-joon smiled and said.

***

“You were right, sir. With the consent of the bereaved families, I checked the records and found that they had installed a new app. How did you know?”

“The victims are both burly men. And judging by the method of the crime, the perpetrator is also a man. But how can a man get a man to come out? Besides, there are no signs of resistance on either of them. So, what made them unable to resist?”

“You mean this app?”

“Yeah. There’s nothing that makes a man more unguarded than the presence of a woman. Besides, no matter how much I looked through the police’s list of evidence, there were no victim’s cell phones.”

The police thought the perpetrator might have it as a trophy to commemorate the crime.

“But in this kind of case, the word trophy doesn’t mean anything.”

“Because it’s a random crime?”

“Even if it’s not a random crime and they really became sacrifices to a demon worshiper, it’s the same.”

Random crimes are just crimes committed to vent one’s anger or to hide something else, so there’s no need for a trophy.

A trophy is something you take to reminisce about your murder.

But this murder is just a process to achieve one’s purpose.

Of course, there’s no need for anything like a trophy.

“Then?”

“That means they got rid of the cell phone. But the key is why they got rid of it.”

It’s common for murderers to get rid of the victims’ belongings. Usually, they get rid of the belongings to make it difficult to identify who the other person is.

“But in this case, they didn’t pay much attention to the other items. No, if they wanted to hide the identity of the deceased in the first place, they wouldn’t have left things like faces and fingerprints.”

The bodies were damaged, but not so damaged that they couldn’t be identified.

In fact, there were items around that could prove the identities of the dead victims, so it wasn’t difficult to confirm their identities.

If they wanted to hide the identity of the body, they would have paid attention to that.”