My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 19

“That means he’s good at weaseling his way out of things and acting like he’s in charge. And to mobilize eight lawyers at 7 AM? That’s no small feat.”

One or two, I could understand. He might have a few close friends. But a whole eight?

“Are they all from the same law firm?”

“Even if they are from the same firm, it’s still significant. Lawyers tend to be arrogant [self-important]. Would they really show up at 7 AM just because they were asked?”

Lawyers are the kind of people who might request a trial date change on the very day of the trial because they’re still recovering from the previous night’s drinking.

Of course, the court wouldn’t accept that, and the client would suffer the consequences, but they wouldn’t care.

Those kinds of guys showing up at 7 AM?

“And you can tell from the current situation.”

“What situation?”

“We got a warrant for the case and seized the video and departure records, but did we specify who we were looking for?”

“Huh? Ah, no, we didn’t.”

“Exactly. We didn’t.”

From the start, the warrant didn’t include a name. It just gave us the authority to act.

The police take the video with the warrant and analyze it.

“Ah, I see. Someone must have tipped him off.”

The manager can access the departure records for that day and see who took out a yacht. Naturally, they would have contacted the owners of the yachts that departed on that date.

The seized video covers only that one day.

“No reaction from anyone else?”

“No one else reacted. I see. You’re right. He’s reacting so quickly because he feels guilty.”

“Yes.”

Kim Woo-sun nodded at Park Do-joon’s words. It’s definitely suspicious.

He’s coming forward before we even issue a summons? And he knows the details of the case for sure?

“He must have given them a ride on his yacht.”

At Park Do-joon’s words, Kim Woo-sun paused, then said,

“Still, there’s no way out for him in this situation, right? Honestly, looking at the records he submitted…”

“He submitted something?”

“It’s here.”

Kim Woo-sun handed the documents to Park Do-joon, who reviewed them. It was a kind of statement. Of course, it couldn’t be considered an official statement yet because the investigation into Park Geo-sik hadn’t even begun.

“He went out in the morning, took a yacht out to sea, and came back three days later….”

That was his claim. And he actually submitted supporting evidence: a record of the yacht’s movements.

It’s true that he spent time enjoying the sea around Incheon.

“It’s definitely suspicious. It’s just circumstantial evidence, though.”

The circumstances are suspicious, but that doesn’t mean we have concrete proof.

“It seems like it was probably a spontaneous murder.”

“Huh? How do you figure that?”

“Because he was at sea for three days.”

If it was a planned murder, he would have returned immediately. But he stayed out at sea for three days.

“That suggests he needed time to process things in his head after a sudden event.”

And in the meantime, the body, carried by the currents, washed ashore, revealing the murder to the public.

“The scene is the yacht, but it will be hard to find anything on the yacht now.”

Since a murder took place, Park Geo-sik would have cleaned it thoroughly. Since it wasn’t a matter of blood splattering but drowning, there wouldn’t be much physical evidence.

Moreover, if he threw the evidence into the sea, it would be impossible to recover.

“And there’s no way a warrant for Park Geo-sik’s yacht will be issued.”

“Ugh. That’s right.”

The warrant we already have is related to CCTV footage and departure records, not a warrant to search Park Geo-sik’s yacht.

‘Park Geo-sik is probably counting on that.’

In the current situation, Park Geo-sik is likely anticipating the police to request a warrant.

But there’s virtually no chance of finding evidence on a boat that has been cleaned for three days at sea, and the moment that warrant is denied, he will use his connections to counterattack.

“If that happens, the police will inevitably become hesitant to investigate further. He’ll paint it as a frame-up, claiming they’re trying to pin the blame on him regardless. And since they haven’t found any solid evidence, his claims will have some credibility.”

“Then?”

“Then the case will probably be quietly shelved as unsolved.”

“You think so?”

“It’s the card I would play if I were Park Geo-sik.”

To become a proper profiler, it’s not enough to understand the other person. You have to become the other person and think like them. The problem is that it’s almost impossible in reality.

Actors who use method acting are said to suffer trying to break free from the character. It’s no wonder that profilers, who immerse themselves in the minds of criminals, struggle to maintain their own mental well-being.

‘I suffered a lot because of that before the regression, too.’

I learned how to create distance later, and that’s how I was able to escape from the thoughts of criminals.

“So, it’s impossible for us to attack him directly. No, if what you say is true, wouldn’t requesting a warrant just give him the excuse he needs?”

“That’s right.”

If we request a warrant through legal channels here, we’ll be falling right into his trap.

‘The lawyers will already have decided on their strategy.’

Of course, I have no intention of being manipulated like that.

Park Do-joon thought deeply about the case, struggling to find a weakness that Park Geo-sik hadn’t anticipated, something he didn’t know about.

‘If I were… if I were Park Geo-sik. Park Geo-sik… Park Geo-sik.’

Park Do-joon was thinking when he suddenly felt something was off. If it was a completely random encounter, as Park Geo-sik claimed, if they had never met before, there would be no problem at all. But if Park Geo-sik knew them, if he really did give them a ride on his yacht, that’s a connection that needs to be investigated.

“When Park Geo-sik’s boat was boarded, what was the connection between Park Geo-sik and the two people?”

“Huh?”

“The boat Park Geo-sik owns is a personal yacht. It’s not something you can just rent around here.”

It’s difficult to even get close to one, let alone rent it, without the owner’s permission.

And Park Geo-sik doesn’t strike me as someone who would easily lend out his boat.

“Would you lend a yacht worth billions of won [millions of dollars] to just anyone?”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

It makes sense when you think about it. The police were so focused on the fact that the incident happened there, but they never considered how this incident came about, where it happened, or how they met in the first place.

‘I can’t blame them, though.’

The police are an organization that primarily handles things after they happen, not prevention. So, most of their thinking is focused on post-incident processing, and they don’t spend much time considering the possibilities that led up to it.

“It’s not just anyone, it’s someone from a constitutional agency [an independent government organization].”

The head of the Incheon Election Commission. Who could ask such a person to borrow a boat?

Moreover, the two deceased are young and not particularly well-established.

Neither of them comes from a wealthy family. Kwon Mi-joo is slightly better off than Lee Hyung-woo, but that’s about it. They don’t move in circles where people can afford yachts worth billions of won.

“How did they meet….”

“They probably never contacted each other directly. Someone in the middle must have made the arrangements and passed them on.”

Even if the parties contacted each other, it would only be once or twice. So, even if the police investigate Park Geo-sik, there is a high probability that they won’t be able to uncover such a connection.

“Then… um, maybe it’s through Kwon Mi-joo’s side?”

“Kwon Mi-joo?”

“Yes. She’s a doctor, so she might be able to ask….”

“Impossible.”

First of all, the hospital where Kwon Mi-joo and Lee Hyung-woo work is located in Busan. Would people who work there know the chairman of the Election Commission in Incheon? Even if they did, would they have a close enough relationship to ask to borrow a yacht worth billions of won?

Moreover, it’s not just borrowing the boat; Park Geo-sik has to move the boat as well.

Could they really ask for such a huge favor?

“It’s impossible. Even if she’s a resident. Even if the professor likes her, she can’t ask for this kind of favor.”

“Is that so?”

“Besides, if my guess is correct, it was borrowed for a proposal, and proposals are usually planned by men.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Sometimes confident women say they will propose, but in reality, it’s usually the man who proposes, not the woman. And there’s also testimony that they planned to register their marriage after their honeymoon.

“Then, would Lee Hyung-woo have asked to borrow it?”

“That’s more likely. But not through a doctor.”

Even among doctors, there is a huge social hierarchy, and a mere male nurse cannot ask a doctor to borrow a yacht.

“Now that I think about it, why did he lend it in the first place?”

Although they live in the same country called Korea, the two people live in completely different worlds. From the beginning, there is almost no possibility that the two people would even be aware of each other’s existence.

One is in Incheon, the other is in Busan. Both were natives of their respective regions.

‘Hmm. Someone definitely introduced them. But who could it be?’

It’s not a doctor. A mere nurse cannot ask a doctor for such a favor. Then a relative?

‘No. If it was a relative, it would have come out already.’

The funeral hasn’t been held yet because the investigation is still ongoing, but the death of Lee Hyung-woo has been conveyed to his family and relatives.

If a relative had asked for the favor, they would have come to the police station already.

‘It’s not a school connection either.’

Park Geo-sik graduated from a school in the Seoul metropolitan area. Of course, he may have made connections there, but would that be enough to warrant lending a yacht?

Even if it’s a student connection, it would likely be through a professor, and it doesn’t seem likely that a professor would ask to borrow a boat.

Even if a professor and a student are close, there is an insurmountable social barrier between them.

‘The sea….’

Park Do-joon was thinking when he suddenly had an idea. Lee Hyung-woo definitely served in the Navy. Then where would he have served?

Park Do-joon immediately rummaged through the business cards he had received and called the friend he had met last time.

-Ah, Detective, what brings you here at this hour? Did you find the culprit?

“That’s not it, but I’m calling to confirm something. Lee Hyung-woo said he served in the Navy, right?”

-Yes. I served with him.

“Do you know which fleet he was in?”

-He served in the Second Fleet.

“The Second Fleet?”

The Second Fleet is the fleet in Korea that is in charge of the Yellow Sea. Of course, Incheon is also in that area. In fact, there is a naval base in Incheon.

“Then did he serve in Incheon for a long time? Or does he know anyone among the high-ranking officers?”

-I don’t know much about Incheon. I don’t know either….

Even if they enlisted together, they wouldn’t necessarily be assigned to the same unit. Of course, he knows the approximate location, but he doesn’t know the exact affiliation.

-But what level of high-ranking officer are you talking about? A sailor would only know the captain.

“Probably a general.”

-A soldier has no business meeting a general….

Well, that’s true. Generals are just a headache for soldiers. Every time they visit the unit, they have to do all sorts of hard work.

From cleaning to picking out stones from the parade ground, and some crazy guys even tell them to apply shoe polish to the asphalt to make it black.