The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 202

< #202. Large-Scale Search >

Goam-dong residential area.

A police line is set up, and three officers are controlling the public.

“Ah, please don’t take pictures there!”

“No photos or videos allowed. Hey, kid! You can’t come in here!”

Being a street with a lot of foot traffic, people quickly gathered.

While a cleaning truck was clearing a pile of garbage, the body of a woman wrapped in plastic was discovered.

Oh Gyeong, Hae-su, and the youngest arrived, parked the car nearby, and approached the scene.

“Uwaaaah!”

“Just saying ‘no’ should be enough, why are you yelling at the child?!”

As the police officer was struggling, a deep voice came from behind the child’s mother.

“If the scene is damaged, these officers will be held responsible, so they have to be sensitive. Please understand.”

“Yes? Well, still… Heop!”

The child’s mother turned her head towards the voice, startled to see Hae-su. Then, seeing Oh Gyeong and the youngest behind her, she instinctively took a step back and almost tripped on the sidewalk.

“Oh my!”

Thud.

Hae-su quickly grabbed her shoulder, preventing her from falling. The Violent Crimes Unit, and even Hae-su alone, often encounter situations where civilians are taken aback, so they are quick to respond to unexpected behavior.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes? Ah, yes, thank you. Cheol-min, let’s go.”

Hae-su watched them leave with a heavy gaze.

Humans are self-centered. What is obvious to the police can be emotionally sensitive to a mother if someone yells at her child.

After the child and mother passed, the police officers, who belatedly recognized Violent Crimes Unit 4, sighed in relief and lowered the police line.

“You’ve arrived? I feel much more relieved now that the Forensics Unit is here. As you can see, this street has a lot of people…”

Hae-su replied with a bitter expression.

“Yes… The, the Forensics Unit has been disbanded.”

“…Pardon?”

Oh Gyeong, who was following behind, continued the explanation.

“It was disbanded when the Chief of Police changed. We are now Violent Crimes Unit 4.”

“Ah, but why… The Forensics Unit’s achievements were so great… It made me so proud to be a fellow officer…”

As he went on, feeling regretful, Oh Gyeong grabbed the officer’s shoulder and cut him off.

“Anyway, thank you for your hard work. Please keep up the good work.”

“Ah, yes, yes, I’m sorry.”

It is not appropriate to have personal conversations in front of a newly discovered body.

Hae-su crouched down and examined the body among the trash.

The body was wrapped in cloth, covered with thick kimchi-making plastic, rolled up, and secured with blue tape.

‘Similar.’

Hae-su recalled the murder case she had been reviewing at the station and examined the body with even sharper eyes.

Only the clothing was changed to kimchi-making plastic, but the blue tape was the same, as was the bold way of dumping the body on the street, and even the neighborhood was the same.

Hae-su and Oh Gyeong exchanged glances.

“This feels ominous…”

“I’ll call CSI [Crime Scene Investigation unit] first.”

“Alright.”

They immediately began the on-site investigation, and Unit 4 carefully examined the wounds that could be identified at the scene.

The body was not very decomposed, and the body temperature had not dropped much, indicating that the person had died less than five hours ago.

Based on appearance, the victim was a woman in her late 20s. Like the previous case, there were signs of neck compression and wrist binding. There was also a wound on her side, but this time it was a puncture wound from something sharp, not a knife. It was very small.

There were no wounds on the head.

“Looks like the same guy, right?”

Hae-su narrowed her brows and nodded at Oh Gyeong’s words.

“There are many similarities. This is a case where the method has not been released to the public yet…”

“Youngest, get the initial witness statement, and Hae-su, let’s check the CCTV and black boxes.”

“Understood.”

Oh Gyeong stopped as he was about to leave and tapped his head.

“Ah, wait, I need to tell Team 1 first, hold on.”

Oh Gyeong immediately called the Team 1 leader and explained the situation. Team 1, already troubled by the unapprehended suspect, decided to conduct a joint investigation with Unit 4, known as the ace team of the Gangjin Police Station.

With an overwhelming number of cases, the Violent Crimes Units at Gangjin Police Station had long shifted their primary goal from achieving results to catching criminals quickly.

* * *

At 11 PM, Violent Crimes Unit members who had been out and about began to return to the office one by one.

“Ugh, my legs hurt.”

“Oh, you’re back. Thanks for the hard work.”

Before midnight, the detectives from Team 1 and Team 4 gathered in one place, and a meeting began, based on the data collected, led by Team Leader Kwak.

“…The deceased, Seong Ah-hyeon, is a 27-year-old office worker…”

“…It seems there are no witnesses so far.”

“…No missing person report has been filed.”

After gathering a lot of information, they agreed that the perpetrator was likely the same person from the murder case a month ago.

Despite the bold disposal of the body, there was only one clue: the body disposal scene captured by a distant CCTV camera.

The perpetrator was wearing a padded jacket even though it was still autumn, making it impossible to guess their build. They were wearing a hat pulled down low, with another hat on top, making it impossible to identify their face.

The only thing they could estimate was their height, around 175 cm [approximately 5 feet 9 inches].

The time when today’s victim, Seong Ah-hyeon, disappeared from CCTV after work was 7 PM, while the previous victim disappeared at 4 PM, leading them to believe that the perpetrator was either self-employed or unemployed.

The method of killing was clean, with minimal blood splatter, and the two victims had no overlap, suggesting a low possibility of being an acquaintance.

Team Leader Kwak roughly drew a map of the Goam-dong residential area on the whiteboard and explained.

“This is where the first body was dumped, and this is where the second one was, only 2 kilometers apart. And from here to here is a CCTV blind spot. So, the car had to exit through either number 1, number 2, or even number 3 alleyway, right? But no suspicious car exited after the body disposal.”

Oh Gyeong continued.

“We’ve looked at 10 hours before and after the body disposal… We’ll have to investigate all the cars by checking their license plates.”

At Oh Gyeong’s words, the detectives all sighed quietly. This kind of legwork is the standard in investigations, but the thought of the hard work ahead made them sigh.

It would be worth it if they found the perpetrator, but the problem is that it’s often fruitless.

Then, Hae-su raised her index finger and stepped forward.

“Wait a minute, where was the first victim last seen on CCTV?”

At Hae-su’s question, the Team 1 leader answered.

“There, CCTV number 37 near Samjung Butcher Shop.”

Hae-su circled that location in red.

“The point where the second victim, Seong Ah-hyeon, disappeared is after exiting Goam-dong Subway Station Exit 4… in front of Hongju Bakery, here.”

“That’s right.”

Hae-su circled the points where the victims disappeared and drew lines connecting them to the locations where the bodies were dumped.

“This is the route they could have taken to avoid CCTV.”

The two routes overlapped considerably. Seeing that, several detectives exclaimed.

“Wow…”

“Ha, are there so few CCTV cameras in that neighborhood?”

“There’s no place with more CCTV cameras than our country. Other countries have a much harder time investigating than we do.”

Hae-su waited for the silence before continuing.

“The distance from where they disappeared to where the bodies were dumped is not that far. All within a 5-kilometer radius. The perpetrator may not have used a car for the crime. The crime was likely committed here, in this blind spot.”

Some nodded, while others tilted their heads in doubt.

This opinion had been raised since the body disposal locations were found to be close. Hae-su was simply adding more concrete evidence.

Team Leader Kwak voiced his disagreement.

“Even if there are no CCTV cameras, the distance from here to the crime scene is quite far. Not using a car? It would be impossible to forcibly take them on foot. They would have plenty of opportunities to escape or ask for help, and there are many people living there.”

Forcibly dragging someone for over a kilometer in a crowded area while threatening them? It seemed impossible no matter how he thought about it. That’s why the other detectives thought the perpetrator must have used a car.

Then, the youngest raised his hand and said quietly.

“How about we search the area designated by Senior Shin Hae-su first and then check the vehicles later?”

He was suggesting doing both. If the highest-ranking officer, Team Leader Kwak, had said it, everyone would have complained, but since the youngest, who had to run the most, said it, they simply shook their heads without a word.

Oh Gyeong, representing them, grabbed his shoulder and said.

“That’s true, but we need to know who we’re looking for. At this rate, we might just let the perpetrator go even if we meet them, making them more cautious and harder to catch.”

Then Hae-su snapped her fingers and continued.

“That’s what we’re aiming for. If it’s the same perpetrator, they committed the crime again in just one month. The disposal was very bold, and they didn’t feel like the investigation was closing in, so they’ll become even bolder.”

“In that case…”

Oh Gyeong, who had been frowning at Hae-su’s words, nodded in agreement.

At Oh Gyeong’s interjection, Team Leader Kwak continued.

“The crime cycle could shorten further…”

At Team Leader Kwak’s words, the youngest slapped his knees with both hands and stood up.

“So, we’re conducting a search for crime prevention before a third victim appears!”

Somehow, only the four members of the former Forensics Unit stood up, looking at each other.

The Team 1 detectives looked up at them with their mouths half-open.

“So that’s why they call them the Forensics Unit, Forensics Unit.”

“I know, right? How can they be so in sync?”

Team Leader Kwak clapped twice and pointed to the clock, saying.

“Alright, alright! It’s two o’clock now, quickly go home and get some sleep! Be here by six. Search as many houses with lights on as possible before people go to work. Hurry up and leave!”

“Ughhh.”

“We’re dead tomorrow, ugh.”

“Four hours, no, is it three hours? I’m just going to sleep here.”

At Team Leader Kwak’s command, the detectives quickly left the office like scattering cockroaches. Even one minute of sleep would give them strength for tomorrow’s investigation.

* * *

The next day, Team 1 and Team 4, along with three patrol cars from the Dongbu District Police Station, conducted a large-scale search.

They carried photos of the perpetrator taken by CCTV, showed them around, and asked for cooperation. If they cooperated, they would roughly look around the house.

The youngest, climbing the uphill road, said to Hae-su. He was already sweating profusely, even though he was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

“Senior, this will definitely prevent crime, right?”

Hae-su nodded with a determined expression.

“Yeah, definitely.”

And if they were lucky, they might even catch the perpetrator. Perpetrators who suddenly confront detectives and deceive them, as seen in movies, hardly exist. Detectives with sharp instincts can often sense suspicious behavior with a high probability through small actions when they meet the perpetrator.

“Yes, even though it’s tough, it’s rewarding. I’m really glad I joined the Forensics Unit.”

Hae-su chuckled, patted his shoulder, and moved on.

* * *

Three days later, Hae-su and the youngest were climbing the same uphill road. The youngest had a soboro bread [a sweet bread with a crumbly topping] in one hand.

Crunch crunch.

“Eat slowly, eat slowly. It’ll be a problem if you get indigestion.”

Hae-su handed a banana milk [a popular flavored milk drink in Korea] to the youngest, Woo Gang-cheol. The youngest crunched on the bread, accepted it, and lowered his head.

“Yes, thank you. I’m worried about when the perpetrator will strike…”

They had been searching the same area for three days. It was close to a thousand households, and there were many places they couldn’t check because no one was home, so it would usually take a week to thoroughly check every place with this number of people.

They even revisited suspicious places, pretending there was a mistake.

“It’s okay, even if the cycle gets faster, they’ll move at least a week later. If they know we’re searching, they’ll delay it even further, or maybe they’ll stop now…”

Chijik-

At that moment, a radio message came from Team Leader Kwak at the station.

-This is Kang Hana, all search personnel pay attention, a suspected kidnapping has been reported. The location is…

Hae-su and the youngest widened their eyes, looked at each other, and immediately ran out.

* * *

Stab-

“Walk, keep walking.”

Jang Ha-yeon’s hands and feet trembled. There were so many people around her right now, and she felt like she could grab the person right next to her and ask for help, but she couldn’t.

The man kept whispering in Ha-yeon’s ear as if chanting a spell.

“Just look ahead and walk. Don’t make eye contact with people on the street.”

How long and where would she have to walk in this state? As the walking time increased, her head gradually cooled down, and she was able to think more rationally.

There was a group of men ahead. If she ran towards them, she would be able to escape immediately.

As soon as she decided, she immediately took action.

Thud thud thud-

“Please save me!! That man is threatening me with a knife!”