My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 246

“Can I trust you?”

“I am only interested in the truth.”

“Team Leader!”

“Then what do you want to do? Go to the press and say, ‘The suspect escaped. Oops, sorry.’ Is that what you want?”

Everyone fell silent at those words. They were already facing a lot of criticism, and if it came out that they had lost a suspect, they would be torn to shreds.

“And honestly, isn’t it unfair to you that things have come to this because of that bastard of a Chief?”

Everyone hung their heads at that. The Chief had directed the investigation, and they had followed his lead.

“Since things have come to this, we have to grab even the devil’s hand. So, how can we survive?”

“Let’s correct that first. I’m not the devil, but an angel, you know?”

“Angel or whatever, just tell us how to survive.”

“Hold a press conference.”

“A press conference? Are you telling us to die?”

Holding a press conference now would undoubtedly result in them being torn to shreds. And the detectives in the Violent Crimes Unit would take all the blame, facing at least a pay cut, or at worst, dismissal.

“Of course, simply holding a press conference and saying they were wronged, that they didn’t know anything, would have no effect. Especially with a suspected criminal on the run.”

“Then what are we supposed to do? Just die together like this?”

“No, the way to persuade people is to mix 90% truth with 10% lies.”

“10% lies?”

“Yes, if you do as I say, at least the Violent Crimes Unit will survive.”

“The Violent Crimes Unit can survive? What about others, like the Chief?”

“The Chief… who knows?”

Park Do-joon shrugged at the Violent Crimes Unit Team Leader’s question.

“He’ll probably manage to live well on his own.”

“Then let’s do that.”

The Team Leader didn’t hesitate at all. Loyalty to the Chief? There was none of that. It might be different if he were a good leader, but he wasn’t. Moreover, the Chief was at the center of this mess.

‘It’s definitely him.’

Though he didn’t say it, the Team Leader knew. The cause of all this was the Chief. He probably leaked the information too.

Even knowing that it would mean his own death.

“I will tell you how to survive.”

Park Do-joon lowered his voice quietly and said,

“If we do it right, everyone can survive.”

‘Except for the Chief, that is.’

Park Do-joon swallowed the last words inwardly.

“What should we say in the briefing about this case?”

“Are we going to do a *dogeza* or something?”

“*Dogeza* [a Japanese term for kneeling and bowing one’s head to the ground as a sign of deep apology]? Is this Japan?”

“Well, it seems like the most fitting thing in this situation, doesn’t it?”

Between a news article that sensationalized the case without evidence and one with evidence, the latter inevitably carried more weight.

Even though the news came out later, the atmosphere had completely changed due to various factors, such as the image of the criminal being Chinese and the presence of evidence.

“But what should we say today?”

“I don’t know?”

While everyone was wondering, the Violent Crimes Unit Team Leader swallowed hard and stepped forward.

“Ah, everyone, please be quiet. I will brief you on this child murder case.”

At those words, everyone raised their hands. The Team Leader spoke loudly to them.

“I will take questions later. First, this case is…”

He calmly narrated the current situation as Park Do-joon had told him, instead of making excuses from the start, and the people who heard it were stunned.

“The suspect escaped?”

“Good job.”

“That’s what those cops always do.”

As expected, the press conference started with a terrible atmosphere. But the Team Leader forced a smile.

‘Bear with it, bear with it.’

He was prepared for this anyway.

“I will take questions.”

Reporters raised their hands one after another. The Team Leader pointed to one of them. And the first question from his mouth was what everyone was curious about.

“Is it true that you are investigating the bereaved family?”

“Um…”

It was a tricky issue to speak definitively about. If they said they had investigated, they would be criticized for it, and if they said they hadn’t, the bereaved family would raise issues. But Park Do-joon had told him an appropriate answer.

“Yes, we did.”

“Why? Are the bereaved family the criminals, as the article says?”

“No. There are two reasons for that.”

“Two reasons?”

“First, because most cases of child murder, especially of infants, occur within the family, the police have no choice but to consider that possibility when an incident occurs and investigate accordingly.”

This was the planned answer. But that alone wouldn’t appease the dissatisfied reporters. Knowing that, Park Do-joon had created a second reason.

“Second, because there was an internal tip-off.”

“A tip-off? Wait, did you say internal?”

“Yes.”

The word “internal” was a serious issue. Families wouldn’t claim that their own family members killed the child, so it meant that the claim came from within the police.

“So, you’re saying that someone inside the police reported that the bereaved family was the criminal?”

“Rather than reporting, they strongly asserted it. And we had no choice but to verify that assertion.”

The reporters’ eyes gleamed strangely at those words. The police wouldn’t openly investigate based on the assertion of a lower-ranking officer.

“Then, who was the informant when the investigation was conducted?”

“I cannot say. In any case, the investigation is not over yet. Next question.”

As he pointed to another person, the next person immediately took over the previous question.

“Are you suspecting that person is the insider who first reported this case to the media?”

“I cannot say.”

“Are you not investigating?”

“On the contrary. In any case, from our perspective, it is something that happened within our police station, so we believe that we cannot investigate or judge rashly. Therefore, we have decided to receive support from an external audit organization to investigate. That is why we cannot easily speak about the suspected matters of this case. Next question.”

Everyone swallowed hard. External audit organization was needed. That meant the target was of a considerably high rank. There was an audit organization within the police station, but they were not enough.

Moreover, saying such things after calling the reporters was a declaration of war to make the internal organization step back.

If the internal organization proceeded with the audit after saying this, they would inevitably be accused of covering up the case by the reporters.

“Then, what are your thoughts on the suspect’s escape?”

“We regret that part. We were investigating the suspect after summoning them, and we were secretly investigating, but…”

Here, the Team Leader paused and drank water. His mouth was parched because he had to say the most crucial words.

“We believe that the leaked information stimulated the criminal to flee.”

“Are you saying it’s the fault of the bereaved family who complained to the reporter?”

“No. We think the opposite. The bereaved family can be seen as having acted legitimately to protect themselves.”

“Legitimately?”

It was a rather unconventional statement coming from the police, who hated having things reported in the news. But the Team Leader thought that this was the only way he could survive, as Park Do-joon had said.

“As you all know, the bereaved family was accused of being the criminals without any evidence or testimony. There is a big difference between us investigating and it being announced to the outside world. You know that many cases end with no charges? This case is the same. It is true that we conducted an internal investigation, but it would have ended with no charges. But someone deliberately leaked it through the media, causing confusion, and in the meantime, the suspect chose to flee.”

Skillfully blaming the informant who made the inaccurate tip, not the media or the bereaved family.

At those words, someone raised their hand. And this time, everyone just watched her without interfering. It was Seo Joo-ran, who had started this case.

“Then, some people are saying that a false report was deliberately made to the reporter with the intention of causing confusion in order to help the criminal escape. What do you think about that?”

“I cannot confirm that. I think that part is something that I cannot do, and the answer will come after the external audit results. Next question.”

Watching that scene, Park Do-joon turned around and left the briefing room. The important content was all out now.

With this, all the suspicion cast on the bereaved family would be cleared. And they would now be able to confidently catch the fugitives.

The Chief, who was the subject of the audit, would be helpless.

“The problem is how to catch these guys…”

This was the biggest problem, so Park Do-joon couldn’t help but frown.

“There are two current problems. First, where did they flee? Second, how to prove their guilt.”

Public opinion had completely changed.

“The Chief wanted the arrows to fly to the bereaved family through a public opinion trial and for the police to protect him, but that’s not going to happen now.”

In fact, after the briefing, the National Police Agency sent an audit team, and the very next day, the Chief was placed on standby. There was no one who didn’t know what he had done, so there was no way to hide his guilt.

“But it’s still a fact that the criminal escaped, right?”

“He’s still a suspect.”

“Isn’t it almost certain?”

“That’s true.”

Park Do-joon nodded at Jung Yi-yeon’s words. Logically, there was no reason to run away if they were innocent. As the media tightened the noose around them, they desperately chose to flee, and the end of that flight would surely be China.

“But I don’t think they’ve been able to leave for China yet, have they?”

“Yeah, I’ve already checked the departure records. There are no departure records.”

“Still? Why haven’t they left for China?”

Jung Yi-yeon asked back as if it didn’t make sense. If they escaped to China, there would be no way for them to be punished.

“It’s simple. What they want to protect is not their son, but their wealth.”

“Wealth?”

“Yes, anyway, their son… no, let’s call him by his exact name now. Since he seems to be the criminal anyway. In the case of Zhong Hao, he is not subject to punishment.”

Only eight years old. There is no way to punish a child of only eight years old. He is perfectly below the age of criminal responsibility. Since he does not bear any legal responsibility at all, it is naturally impossible to punish him even if they want to.

“But not in the realm of civil affairs.”

It’s murder, no less. In this case, they cannot avoid a civil lawsuit, and they will lose all their assets due to the scale of the incident.

“I guess they have management responsibility [legal responsibility for the actions of someone under their care].”