My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 82

“Why do they go to kindergarten?”

“I think there’s an intelligent criminal among them.”

“Intelligent? Is that unusual?”

“Frankly, it’s quite unusual. Intelligent criminals usually don’t kidnap children. Due to the nature of the case, the police investigation is relentless, and the pursuit continues even after the child’s death. Since they’re smart, they can commit other scams much more safely. In fact, the IQ of criminals involved in child abduction is quite low.”

“And you can see that?”

“Yes. When they kidnapped, they moved quite systematically. And looking at their movements and physique, it feels like they’ve been working out quite systematically.”

“Does that mean someone who works out can’t use their head?”

“That’s not it. Well, how should I put it… You can tell by looking at their responses to common sense or reactions.”

They have overwhelming physical and bodily strength. The teacher in the front seat was a female teacher, and the driver was a man in his mid-50s.

If you’re going to physically subdue them, you only need one person.

A single punch would knock them both out.

“But they forced the door shut, preventing it from opening. They devised a very systematic strategy. Moreover, at the end, they had someone break the window with a baton as they fled. That was to make the people inside the vehicle cower and not move.”

“Is that level of intelligence significant? That seems obvious, doesn’t it?”

“Cowering is natural, but the fact that they predicted that behavior isn’t.”

It’s natural for a person to act instinctively, but predicting that and devising a countermeasure is a highly intelligent area.

“Think about the criminals you’ve encountered, Detective. How many of them predicted and responded to the other person’s reactions?”

“So… um… that’s true. Almost none.”

Most of them get angry, throw a punch, and get dragged away. Even if they make a plan, that plan is usually just ‘I’m pissed off, so I’m going to go mess them up,’ and they rarely predict the other person’s movements.

“The leader of this organization is likely a highly intelligent type.”

“And?”

“They’ll naturally think that the police are likely monitoring the victim’s house. So, they need to find another way to make contact. But where could that be?”

They can’t convey the demands through someone else. They need to avoid police surveillance and, at the same time, be able to reliably deliver the message.

“Besides, the victims’ houses are in apartments. Realistically, surveillance is difficult. An organization like this would want a target they can monitor for safety.”

“Surveillance…”

Indeed, ‘The criminal returns to the scene.’ Isn’t that an old adage for the police?

“And, crucially, someone who listens to them well.”

“Who is that?”

“The kindergarten.”

“Ah!”

They already know about the child’s abduction, and the police probably aren’t monitoring it right now. It’s not the scene of the crime, nor are they directly involved.

“But they know all the facts. Moreover, since it’s a large kindergarten, there will be many people there.”

Naturally, an environment is created where they can monitor the situation.

“Ugh, can’t we just disclose it to the media and conduct a public investigation?”

“Absolutely not. That would greatly reduce the child’s chances of survival. Decisively, it will lead to a surge in copycat crimes.”

“Copycat crimes?”

“Yes. The media reports every single move.”

Naturally, that includes police investigation techniques and the progress of the case. And the criminal sees that and kills the child or flees.

“That’s why, generally, child abduction is investigated secretly as a rule.”

“I see.”

“Ah, we’ve arrived.”

In the meantime, the two arrived and entered the quiet kindergarten.

“This is a place where just anyone can’t enter.”

As they entered, a burly man glared at them, blocking their way.

Judging by his appearance, he didn’t seem to be an original employee, but someone hired after the incident just in case.

“We’re police officers.”

“Police?”

“Yes. Is the head teacher available?”

“Just a moment.”

He made a brief call and then led the two inside, and shortly after, the two were able to meet with the head teacher in the head teacher’s office.

“Have you received any contact since the incident?”

“No, nothing like that.”

The head teacher looked uncomfortable. If this incident became known, she might be ruined.

Fortunately, the police were conducting a secret investigation as a matter of course, so it hadn’t been revealed.

“Not even a note or anything?”

“No. Nothing like that.”

‘Doesn’t seem like she’s hiding anything.’

If she were, she wouldn’t have had that annoyed look on her face.

‘Judging by her personality, she’s the selfish type.’

In this situation, if she had even a little bit of compassion, she would have at least asked about the situation when they said they were police officers, or asked if they had found the child. After all, she’s the head teacher of the kindergarten.

But she was only answering what Park Do-joon asked, and only showing annoyance.

‘These kinds of people are surprisingly easy to confirm.’

Clearly, there hasn’t been any contact. But will there really not be any? At that moment, the phone in the head teacher’s office rang.

And the head teacher, who had been complaining about the uncomfortable situation, quickly picked it up as if trying to avoid the situation.

“Yes. This is New Yorker English Kindergarten.”

Then, suddenly, her face hardened. Park Do-joon noticed it immediately. He stood up, put his finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet, put his phone on record, and then turned the phone to speakerphone mode.

-Got it? 3 billion won in cash. You have 24 hours. If you don’t prepare it and bring it within that time, the child’s life is over.

“W-Why are you telling me this…?”

-Just pass it on. You bring the money. And get rid of the police by any means. If the cops follow you, the kid dies, and you die too. So, pass it on well.

Then the phone hung up.

And in the sudden situation, the head teacher was flustered and trembling, and Park Do-joon frowned.

“I thought they might threaten the head teacher, but that was cutting it close.”

“No, why… me…”

The head teacher had an aggrieved expression. Well, it’s not just a threat, it’s a real kidnapper. If such a kidnapper threatened her, it’s natural for an ordinary person to be scared.

“They think the police have intervened.”

Don’t call the police, just bring the money. That’s what all kidnappers say, but no kidnapper excludes the police from their thoughts.

Rather than proceeding without considering the police and getting caught, it’s better to consider police involvement and not get caught.

“But why me? I’m not a parent.”

“Someone who can be contacted directly without raising police suspicion. And someone who knows about this incident but can’t speak up.”

If this fact leaks out, the kindergarten will be ruined. Naturally, from her perspective, she can’t easily reveal it.

“No, did you think the call would come here? That’s amazing.”

Kim Seong-gyun clicked his tongue. He never thought the call would actually come here. It’s not that there haven’t been child abduction cases before, but involving the kindergarten was a first.

“Actually, I wasn’t 100% sure. I just organized the routes the criminal could use to contact the parents.”

Then, they inevitably have to approach through someone who knows about this incident, and there’s no other place besides the kindergarten.

“Could it be because they don’t know the parents’ contact information?”

“That’s probably not it. It wouldn’t be difficult to get the parents’ contact information.”

In case of an emergency, like the child getting lost, there would definitely be the parents’ contact information in the bag, and there are also cases where children wear lost-child prevention bracelets on their wrists.

“But they want to avoid police pursuit. And this confirms one thing.”

“What is it?”

“The leader is definitely intelligent. Their style is too different from the other criminals.”

Just because someone works out doesn’t mean they’re ignorant, but it’s usually the case that they don’t know much about the direction of police investigations.

“Should we call them the mastermind, or the leader? I don’t know who it is, but it’s someone who has been involved with the police. And someone who knows the police’s internal investigation process quite well.”

Otherwise, there’s no reason to use the kindergarten to make contact.

“By the way, what did they say?”

“T-They said to prepare 3 billion won in cash and bring it to a designated meeting place. They said they’d tell me about that later.”

Park Do-joon stroked his chin at the head teacher’s words and fell into thought.

‘3 billion… It’s not a small amount, but it’s not a lot either.’

The victim’s family is well-off. Their assets are a whopping 130 billion won. 3 billion? That’s an amount they can easily get.

‘But 3 billion, huh.’

It seems like a lot, but it’s not a lot for the profit from such a dangerous act.

Just the people involved in the incident are five. And if there’s a separate boss, that’s six or more. If it’s 3 billion and there are six people, that’s about 500 million each.

Of course, it’s not a small amount, but considering the victim’s assets, it’s definitely not a large sum.

In fact, with assets like the victim’s, they could pay even if they demanded 30 billion, not just 3 billion.

But 3 billion, huh…

“What do you think?”

“It feels like they grabbed someone at random.”

3 billion.

That’s the average price of an apartment in this area. If it’s a mortgage loan, they could probably get that much easily.

Not to mention additional assets or additional loans besides the apartment.

“If they specifically targeted someone, there’s no way they’d only demand 3 billion.”

Child abductors aren’t the type to follow any code of ethics, so they’d naturally try to make a big profit in one go.

To earn additional money, they have to commit additional crimes, and the more crimes they commit, the greater the chance of being tracked down.

The best crime is a big one-off.

So, they commit the crime, take the money, and disappear forever.

There’s no reason to earn small amounts.

“This will definitely change the profiling.”

The police are probably already digging into the people around them.

‘This is funny, you know.’

Parents teach their children to be careful of strangers. But most of these child abductions are committed by people they know.

And knowing that, the police start investigating and suspecting the people around them.

But in doing so, they develop a habit of excluding strangers from the list of suspects again.

‘What’s going on…’

Park Do-joon scratched his head. At that moment, Kim Seong-gyun, who was with him, started to have his phone ring. Kim Seong-gyun answered it and said with a look that something had gone wrong.

“They found the vehicle. But it was abandoned?”

“That’s what I expected.”

Park Do-joon nodded. The other party is intelligent. Would such a person not have thought about CCTV [Closed-Circuit Television]? There’s no way.