My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 49

“The house was already empty when the police arrived.”

All that was left was a mattress, but even that was gone. It was thoroughly cleaned, and there was a strong smell of bleach everywhere.

“Before we even called them?”

“Yes.”

“Just as I expected.”

From the start, he had anticipated that the police were aware of the situation surrounding the case.

So, when those guys were caught, they would have been immediately informed.

However, who made the call remains unknown.

“By the way, it doesn’t seem like we can implicate that guy.”

Kang Chang-soo spoke to Park Do-joon with concern. Kang Dae-hwang, in his shock and anger, mentioned Jeon Bu-man in detail, but the other two are insisting that Kang Dae-hwang is the main culprit and that they have never even heard of someone named Jeon Bu-man.

“What about their cell phones?”

“Very coincidentally, they say they lost their phones and had to get new ones.”

“When? Yesterday?”

“Yes, they bought them yesterday, but they claim to have lost their old phones about five days ago.”

“‘Accidentally’… How absurd. This must be what their lawyers told them to say.”

Deletion? Frankly, it’s meaningless. With modern technology, even if you delete something, a forensic search can recover the deleted records unless it has been repeatedly overwritten by an expert.

Knowing this, they came up with the excuse of losing their phones and submitted new ones instead.

Because there will be nothing on them.

“No one admits to knowing Jeon Bu-man, and they’re all claiming Kang Dae-hwang is the main culprit.”

Park Do-joon was lost in thought.

‘Forensic investigation? No, it’s impossible. They already know and have prepared for it.’

The five lawyers present are not just five in number. Two are former judges, and three are former prosecutors.

Considering how rare it is for a former judge to come to a police station, it shows how desperately they are trying to save Jeon Bu-man. Would those guys not know the police’s investigation techniques?

“Profiler Park Do-joon, is there any way to handle this?”

“There probably isn’t. Frankly, profiling isn’t magic.”

He can provoke the other party or read their actions to predict their crimes, but getting them to confess is a completely different matter.

He managed to get Kang Dae-hwang to tell the truth by provoking him and taking advantage of his clumsy lawyer and desperate state, but Jeon Bu-man and his lawyer are not the type to fall for such tricks.

“They probably won’t say anything no matter what I say.”

If they don’t react, there’s nothing to read.

“Besides, look. Isn’t the police station quiet?”

“Why is that?”

“The people who are usually around are missing, aren’t they?”

“Who?”

“The reporters.”

“Ah… you’re right.”

You can expect one or two reporters to be almost always present at the police station. Inexperienced reporters wait at the police station, ready to report on anything that breaks.

But even those reporters are gone. It’s not like there are only one or two news outlets, yet no one is rushing to cover this case.

“It means the media is already being controlled.”

“Damn it.”

Kang Chang-soo frowned at Park Do-joon’s words. He had been tracking this case for years. The perpetrators are almost within reach. But there’s no way to catch them.

“In this case, Kang Dae-hwang is the one at a disadvantage.”

The other two are claiming that Kang Dae-hwang is the main culprit. Moreover, Kang Dae-hwang is the only one who knows Jeon Bu-man.

“They’ll probably say that Kang Dae-hwang has always had a severe inferiority complex towards Jeon Bu-man.”

“You think the judge will believe that?”

“There’s no reason not to, especially since it’s already been decided. Besides, the teachers will testify as well.”

“Ah…”

Kang Chang-soo was reminded of the teachers at the school who were desperately trying to protect Jeon Bu-man. Would they not try to protect Jeon Bu-man? Of course, they would.

Naturally, with the testimony of those two and the teachers, Kang Dae-hwang’s claims would seem like a desperate struggle to drag everyone down with him, driven by an inferiority complex.

“So, Jeon Bu-man will walk free?”

“Probably.”

“Damn it!”

Kang Chang-soo cursed at Park Do-joon’s words.

“These damn sons of bitches.”

There’s no way the ignorant Jeon Bu-man gang could have done this on their own. Probably some guys who know about crime, like lawyers or at least close aides, told them roughly how not to get caught.

Otherwise, there’s no way they could have destroyed the evidence so quickly.

‘Certainly, I don’t remember such a case.’

It would have remained a cold case forever.

‘It’s right in front of me…!’

Park Do-joon bit his lip.

He’s a profiler, not a psychic. In this situation, even he can’t find any evidence.

‘There probably won’t be any CCTV [closed-circuit television].’

Judging from the smell of bleach at the scene, it was probably cleaned thoroughly.

People usually say it smells like bleach, but strictly speaking, bleach has no smell.

If you open the lid and smell it right away, there’s no smell at all.

The scent that people call the bleach smell is the odor produced by the bacteria dying during the sterilization process.

If that smell is all over the room, it means the entire room was disinfected with bleach.

Professional cleaners use something other than bleach, so there’s no way that smell would be present.

In other words, some non-professionals came and cleaned everything up.

‘I can somehow implicate the three guys….’

But there’s no way to catch Jeon Bu-man, the main culprit. A car was seen entering the entrance. Park Do-joon stared at it, and the car slowly turned and stopped in front of the police station.

“Huh? What’s going on? Is someone coming?”

“Why?”

“It’s the chief of police, isn’t it?”

“The chief?”

Sure enough, people inside the building rushed out and bowed 90 degrees.

The driver got out of the car, went to the back door, and opened it. A man emerged from the door opened by the driver, receiving their greetings.

“Hong Woo-jong?”

“Who is that?”

Kang Chang-soo asked, not knowing who he was.

“He’s a first-term assemblyman [member of the national assembly] from the New People’s Party.”

“Just a first-term assemblyman? Why did he come? Ugh, seeing that arrogant attitude from a mere first-term assemblyman, I can’t see any hope, really.”

Hong Woo-jong. A presidential candidate before the regression and the person who contributed decisively to his death.

‘And… damn it! I can’t remember that.’

That’s all he remembers.

He was a presidential candidate and the guy who tried to kill him.

‘No, it doesn’t matter. It means only one thing.’

He searched his memories for a long time. And he realized one thing in common. Other memories were fine.

Only the memories related to the case were blurry.

‘The fact that I can’t remember means it’s related to the case. And that case can’t be small.’

It was a case where a presidential candidate tried to kill a current police officer, and even fellow police officers were involved.

There’s no way such a case could be small.

‘But why is that guy… Ah, is that it?’

Park Do-joon smiled without realizing it when he realized one possibility.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Just because.”

“Just because?”

“It’s funny that a mere first-term assemblyman is acting like that, but there’s something else too.”

At this time, Hong Woo-jong was a first-term assemblyman.

And he continued to be elected until the moment he died, becoming a multi-term assemblyman and eventually rising to become a presidential candidate.

“Something else?”

“That guy is here to be a lackey.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“That’s the level of a first-term assemblyman.”

Just like Kang Dae-hwang was doing all sorts of chores at the bottom despite being part of their gang, it’s the same for assemblymen.

A first-term assemblyman cannot refuse to be a lackey for a multi-term assemblyman.

It’s natural, since they still have to beg for nomination rights.

“There are often cases like that. Cases where it’s burdensome for a multi-term assemblyman to step in, but difficult to stay still.”

“Like this case?”

“Yes.”

If Assemblyman Jeon Gu-wan, who is in charge, comes to the place where Jeon Bu-man is being investigated, it will become a big deal. But Hong Woo-jong is just a first-term assemblyman.

He can come under the pretext of a simple inspection.

“Of course, it’s a bit funny that he’s leaving his district to come here.”

“Damn it…”

That’s right. Hong Woo-jong came to exert pressure.

To end the case with just three people.

“What should we do? At this rate, Jeon Bu-man will be released.”

“Well, it’s a problem.”

In these kinds of crimes, you have to catch the main culprit. Otherwise, the main culprit will constantly increase his subordinates and commit crimes repeatedly.

Do they reflect or stop out of fear?

No, in this situation, the criminal learns that they can eventually cover up the case with power.

Of course, they commit crimes even more enthusiastically.

Because they can cover it up with their power no matter what they do.

“What should I do with that guy….”

Park Do-joon organized his thoughts and pondered what to do. Of course, he can’t do anything to Hong Woo-jong right now. He’s not a criminal.

It’s obvious that reporters won’t report it either.

At that moment, a good idea popped into Park Do-joon’s head.

“There’s a saying, ‘If you can’t stop the message, attack the messenger.’”

“What?”

Kang Chang-soo tilted his head at Park Do-joon’s words. He didn’t know what it meant. But Park Do-joon was already zooming in and taking pictures of Hong Woo-jong, who was arrogantly receiving greetings.

“I’m going to try using Yi Yi-jei [using evil to fight evil].”

“Yi Yi-jei? You can defend with that?”

“I can. Because it’s not just me who knows.”

Park Do-joon smiled.

***

“What is this?”

A single email arrived for the assemblymen of the New People’s Party, to which Hong Woo-jong and Jeon Gu-wan belonged, and the Future Party, which could be called their rival. In most cases, the staff who checked it ignored it, but some people who were well-versed in politics immediately took it to the assemblyman.

“Where is Hong Woo-jong’s district?”

“Daegu.”

“Why would a guy like that go to Seongnam? Does he live there? Is there anything related to the case?”

An assemblyman’s visit to a police station is something that can never be easily done. Because of the nature of the group that conducts investigations, it can be linked to pressure if there is even a slightly related case.

Naturally, even if they exert pressure, they usually do it unofficially with something like a phone call.

“His house is in Gangnam. He has nothing to do with Seongnam.”

“Is that so?”

The assemblyman had a hunch.

It’s not his district, and there’s no case… Why would a guy like that visit a police station in Seongnam?

“Usually, it ends with a phone call.”

But it didn’t end with a phone call, and he went directly.

“This, I think there’s something going on? Is that guy a first-term assemblyman?”

“Yes, he’s a first-term assemblyman.”

“Hmm, then this went through a messenger.”

He also knows. That they often use first-term assemblymen as messengers. Just because they’re assemblymen, does that mean all 300 assemblymen are the same? There’s no way.

First-term assemblymen are different from re-elected assemblymen. And just because they’re first-term, does that mean they’re the same? That’s not true either. Even among first-term assemblymen, district assemblymen are different from proportional representation assemblymen.

In fact, proportional representation is just a promotional seat, so they just fill it according to the issues of the time.

So, they are mostly ignored even among assemblymen.