My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 270

Even then, it’s rare for them to actually order that much. There’s the storage issue, for one. They probably ordered every two weeks or so.

But according to the doctor, the dogs were clearly malnourished. That means they were deliberately starved to increase their aggression.

“Come to think of it, that’s right. They don’t need to buy feed anymore.”

Once their purpose was served, there was no reason to keep feeding the dogs.

Would guys who raised dogs to kill people really care for them after the job was done? Not likely. And considering they were starving, they probably hadn’t ordered any food for quite some time before the incident.

“Hmm, a place that hasn’t ordered recently? Ah, there’s one.”

When I mentioned a place that hadn’t ordered recently, the shop owner readily nodded this time. Naturally, from a human perspective, there’s no need to pay attention to a place where business has stopped.

“I can tell you about that place.”

As expected, he nodded and told us.

“Ah, I’d appreciate the address.”

“You wouldn’t be able to find it even if I gave you the address. It’s inaccurate. I’ll take you there. Young-shik, watch the store for me.”

Perhaps realizing it was a case involving a major corporation, or maybe fearing a possible attack, he was more proactive than before, leading the three of us.

“Senior, isn’t this intimidation?”

“Intimidation? No.”

“Huh?”

The team leader chuckled beside me.

“We didn’t threaten him. We just warned him by talking about a plausible scenario. The police’s job includes preventing crime. So, warning someone about something that could threaten public safety or well-being can’t be considered intimidation.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Yeah, and honestly, if Daeguk finds out that the shop owner refused to cooperate and we couldn’t find the culprit? Do you think they’ll just let it slide?”

Park Do-joon wasn’t making things up. He was just stating what could actually happen.

“That’s right. And Daeguk probably has spies planted inside the police force. Our information is probably being passed on in real-time.”

In other words, Park Do-joon wasn’t trying to scare him, but genuinely warning him. And there’s a big difference between intimidation and a warning.

“Wow.”

Lee Ji-soo clicked her tongue.

“I told you, being a profiler isn’t just about reading the criminal’s mind.”

Reading the surroundings, making judgments, and persuading people are also part of a profiler’s job.

“Our rookie has a lot to learn.”

“Ah, did I choose the wrong profession?”

The three of us chuckled at Lee Ji-soo, who seemed to have lost her energy, and followed the shop owner who was already heading out. After nearly 50 minutes, we were finally able to park the car.

The place we arrived at was a bit different than expected. Or, in some ways, it was exactly as expected.

“What in the world is this? What’s that smell?”

“Ugh!”

The closer we got to the dog farm he led us to, the worse the stench of decay became.

As we entered, we could see the scene as it was.

“What is that?”

A pile of dog carcasses in one corner. Dozens of dog carcasses were piled up. And they were all half-burned.

“W-What’s going on? What happened here?”

Park Do-joon calmed the flustered owner and said,

“Please step back. It could be dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“Yes, this is a crime scene.”

“What do you mean?”

“If they raised dogs here to cause the accident, as the information suggests, there’s no reason to manage them anymore once they’ve achieved their goal.”

The shop owner flinched at those words.

“Of course, they’d dispose of the dogs and run away.”

They wouldn’t want to stick around and get caught, especially if they were being tracked like this.

“This is an evidence site. Please don’t come in.”

The shop owner nodded vigorously and stepped back. Park Do-joon watched him and then looked around again, saying,

“It seems like this is the place.”

“Looks like it.”

If this was just a dog meat farm, there would be no reason to kill and burn all the dogs before leaving.

“We need to call the other team first.”

The team leader frowned and took out his phone.

“Doesn’t look like there’s anything left?”

“Probably not.”

Park Do-joon couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

# Learning from Others’ Mistakes

The police raided the dog farm. With a group of dogs of the same breed being collectively disposed of, and traces of them being burned, the police had no choice but to consider this place a likely crime scene.

But as Lee Ji-soo predicted, there was nothing left.

“Everything has been taken care of. This shack too.”

The dogs were dead, and even the small shack where the criminals lived was burned to the ground.

“The only thing left is some feed.”

Even the feed was mostly burned. And it didn’t seem like there was much of it to begin with.

“Looks like they poured gasoline and set it on fire before leaving.”

“Wouldn’t a little gasoline be enough to burn all the dogs?”

When Park Do-joon asked the forensic investigator, the team leader shrugged and said,

“The dead dogs aren’t going to come back to life and say, ‘This is the owner.'”

“I guess not.”

Dogs are just animals, so as long as they were killed for sure, that’s all that mattered. Instead, the really important things, like any documents or receipts that might have been in the shack, were completely burned.

“This is driving me crazy. There’s nothing left.”

Not a single piece of trash, not a single receipt.

Park Do-joon clicked his tongue as he looked around.

“Looks like they were determined to erase everything. Right?”

“Yeah, looks like it. What do you think?”

“Someone ordered this.”

There’s too much money involved to think that Hong Geun-jong was targeted because of some personal grudge. If they wanted to kill Hong Geun-jong, they could have just hired a killer to shoot him from afar.

Since firearms are illegal in Korea, the country would be in an uproar for a while, but the goal of revenge would be perfectly achieved.

“But someone, whoever it is, needs it to look like an accident.”

“Probably. And someone who absolutely can’t get caught ordered it.”

The team leader had a rough idea of who it was. But profilers shouldn’t jump to conclusions, so he couldn’t say it out loud.

“Is it impossible to track them down like this?”

“It might be virtually impossible.”

They set fire to everything, erasing all traces, so there’s almost nothing left. In the case of the shack, they poured so much gasoline that even though it looks like it burned a long time ago, you can still smell gasoline inside.

“Looks like they released the dogs and then burned everything right away.”

“Looks like it.”

Based on the state of decomposition and such, they must have disposed of everything immediately after the incident.

“Hey, try to find something, anything.”

Park Do-joon turned his head at the voice.

“Why is the Gangwon Provincial Police Chief here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Do you think Daeguk Group would just sit still?”

Of course, they’re putting all sorts of pressure, and the police chief is trying to curry favor with them.

“It’s tough. There’s nothing here.”

People were shaking their heads. If even the forensic team says there’s almost nothing left, then tracking them down is practically impossible.

“Do-joon, what do you think?”

“Well, let’s take a look around.”

If science can’t find evidence, then all that’s left is profiling. People leave behind more than they think.

“Can we identify anyone? With this much fire, I doubt there’s any DNA left, let alone a piece of toilet paper.”

“That’s true, but…”

Park Do-joon kept looking around, trying to find something that could identify them. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“About this place.”

“Huh? What about it?”

“How did they communicate?”

“They probably used cell phones, of course.”

The team leader said as if it were obvious. He had called the police from here. That means this area has cell phone service.

“You want to track their cell phones? Well, it’s not impossible, but if they were this thorough, they probably used burner phones [disposable, untraceable phones]. They’ve probably been disposed of by now.”

That’s the most likely scenario. And once a burner phone is disposed of, it’s impossible to track. You can identify the number, but you can’t find out who was using it. But that’s not what Park Do-joon was asking.

“That’s not what I mean. There’s no electricity here, right? Did you see any utility poles on the way here?”

“Huh? I didn’t see any?”

He didn’t see any utility poles on the way. Moreover, there are no villages or houses nearby. To avoid people, the criminals obviously settled in a place where there were no people.

“Then how did they charge their phones?”

“Huh?”

“And the shack is collapsed, so I don’t know the exact shape, but isn’t that a refrigerator?”

Park Do-joon pointed to a large pile in one corner. It was buried under the collapsed ceiling, but judging by its size, it had to be a refrigerator.

“To be honest, if you’re going to hide and live here, a refrigerator is essential.”

“Yeah, but there’s no electricity. So, what’s the solution?”

“That would be a generator, right?”

“Anyone see a generator?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“There must be an electrical wire coming from outside. Look for it. They probably cut the wire and left.”

There’s no way they would have bothered to retrieve the wire when they were running away. After searching for a while, one of the investigators raised his hand.

“There’s a wire here.”

“Let’s go.”

The police officers rushed to follow the wire, which led to a makeshift shed with a discarded generator inside.

“That’s pretty big. Usually, manual generators aren’t that big, are they?”

“Those are usually only used for short periods of outdoor activity.”

Of course, there’s not much need to consume a lot of electricity. If it’s just a generator to power a light bulb or charge a cell phone, you can buy one cheaply on the market.

“Considering the amount of electricity a household uses, a small generator like that wouldn’t be enough.”

You might be able to turn on a light bulb for a short time while camping, but to run a refrigerator and use various amenities, a small generator wouldn’t have enough capacity.

“Moreover, those generators aren’t designed to run for long periods of time.”

As a result, their durability isn’t very high. But a place like this needs to be set up with 24-hour operation in mind. Because there’s no electricity at all.

“But this… it’s impossible to track, isn’t it?”

Someone said with a hint of jealousy.

“It’s really old. Looks like they bought it used… Wow, it’s over 20 years old.”

A 20-year-old generator. They wouldn’t have been planning the crime 20 years ago, so they probably bought it used to avoid being tracked.

“Hmm.”

Park Do-joon approached the generator and banged on the fuel tank, making a loud noise. And inside, there was a sloshing sound of oil.

My Job is a Profiler