Chapter 39

Chapter 39 – Aid #3

Kang-suk gave a brief outline of the hippo case .

Shin Se-ho would just follow him anyway if he moved to another place . The dangerous part was having a conversation without any sensitive information leaking out .

“… Wah . So they drink water until they die . They weren’t forced to do it?”

“Hey! Keep quiet! There are ears listening . ”

“Aigoo . Sorry . ”

Hyun-ho bowed exaggeratedly .

Kang-suk laughed . Although it had been more than seven years since they graduated from university, Shin Hyun-ho was still the same old Shin Hyun-ho .

The two people had met at a university reasoning club . Cho Kang-suk and Joo Hyun-ho liked reasoning out mysteries, and won the TV program ‘Mafia Game . ’

Hyun-ho was the so-called ‘chaebol’ who owned several buildings in Gangnam . By only breathing, he could earn hundreds of millions of won in a month .

Kang-suk always wondered why Hyun-ho became a profiler . Hyun-ho had responded to that question with:

–I can’t be satisfied with only fiction, Sunbae .

Kang-suk felt goosebumps when he thought of the Hyun-ho of that time .

“Hyun-ho . These are my personal thoughts . ”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad that you became a profiler . In many ways . ”

“Ahaha! Thank you for praising me, Sunbae . ”

After exchanging some conversation, Kang-suk and Hyun-ho rose from their spot .

Kang-suk went to the counter and paid before saying .

“Hyun-ho, start your car now . Run away!”

At Kang-suk’s words, Joo Hyun-ho ran out .

Shin Se-ho, who had been watching the two people at ease, was amazed . Cho Kang-suk and Joo Hyun-ho had suddenly disappeared from right in front of him .

Today’s scoop was over . However, this wasn’t enough to make Shin Se-ho give up .

@

After the cafe, Kang-suk and Hyun-ho headed to the bathroom where the second murder occurred .

Kang-suk sat in the passenger seat and stretched out . If this case were ever to be exposed to the media, then it wouldn’t just end with him taking off all his clothes and begging .

Hyun-ho turned on the police signal since he wanted to see the scene quickly .

Cho Kang-suk said .

“Oh, have you eaten lunch? Let’s go to eat after seeing the scene . Hyung will pay!”

“Ey, you’re just going to eat jajangmyun again . Furthermore, I’m not hungry . From now on, I will be seeing something truly delicious . ”

Hyun-ho laughed like he was truly having fun .

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re either a genius or a psycho . ”

“Genius is right, Sunbae . ”

“Aigoo… Ah, that is the bathroom . ”

Kang-suk sighed and pointed to a building across the street .

“The poor owner, it seems like it was just recently built . Now that a murder has happened, he will need to sell it . Even so, there aren’t many public baths or saunas in the area . ”

“I agree . ”

After parking the car in the area, Kang-suk headed to the scene of the crime . The policeman on guard stared at the gleaming BMW with wide eyes . Then he nodded with a convinced expression after seeing Joo Hyun-ho exit the driver’s seat .

“Detectives, you’ve worked hard!”

“Jong-wook as well . ”

“No! Then come in!”

All the evidence had been collected from the scene of the incident, including the dust .

Kang-suk pulled out the investigation file from his bag . The evidence was placed according to where they were found .

Hyun-ho scanned the investigation file and pointed to where the body was .

“Then I’ll be looking at this . Sunbae should recreate how the body was found over there . ”

“Hey! Why should I recreate it?”

“It is needed for the investigation . ”

“Sheesh . ”

Kang-suk grumbled, but reluctantly followed Hyun-ho’s instructions . If Hyun-ho didn’t become a police officer, then he would be a criminal . However, Kang-suk had to recognize his abilities .

Kang-suk lay down on the floor in the same shape that was drawn, bending his arms and body as much as possible .

Hyun-ho couldn’t hold back his laughter .

“Hahahaha! Sunbae! You look like a deep fried shrimp . ”

“… This bastard . ”

Kang-suk got up and put Hyun-ho into a headlock .

“Keeek! I-I surrender! Give up!”

“I knew you would be like this . Are you a complete pervert?”

“B-But I think I know how he killed them . ”

Kang-suk freed Hyun-ho .

He knew how the victims had died . They had drunk a large amount of water, causing their breathing to be blocked and their internal organs to rupture . However, the mystery of how it happened was still unsolved . Yet, Joo Hyun-ho had solved it after only five minutes .

“It seems like I did well to bring you over . Yes, Joo Hyun-ho brain cells are still working . ”

“Yep . Now leave it to me!”

Joo Hyun-ho noted some of the evidence .

First of all, the victim had been biting a long tube until she died, with leather straps tied around her neck . Finally, there was a bucket filled with various foreign substances .

“The victim was in an immovable state with her arms tied behind her back . ”

“That’s right . He then forced them to drink a lot of water… Ah, damn . Crazy bastard . I will surely put him in jail!”

Kang-suk directed some killing intent towards the criminal . However, Joo Hyun-ho’s reasoning was just beginning .

“Their neck was tied down with a leather strap, and the water was in the bathtub?”

“… I said it in the car . ”

“Then that means that her head was completely submerged . If that was the case, then she should’ve immediately drowned . ”

“But she didn’t die straight away . ”

“Yes . She was able to breathe in a certain amount of air through the tube, which could be referred to as a lifeline . ”

There was a long, plastic tube found in the evidence, the victim holding it until the moment of her death . There were the clear teeth marks on one side .

“So, she struggled in a tied state…”

The victim’s body was full of small wounds .

The coroner said that she was probably floundering about .

“Yes . It seems like the perpetrator blocked the tube connected to the victim’s mouth and then released it, in order to enjoy her suffering . ”

Crunch .

Kang-suk broke the file he was holding .

“Of course, the culprit wasn’t satisfied with just that, so he used this . ”

Hyun-ho pointed to the bucket next .

The capacity was one litre .

“The victim drank water desperately . Why? Well, just imagine it . The victim’s eyes are covered and her body is tied up . The culprit then blocks the tube to make her choke . ”

“……”

Kang-suk’s face turned red as he desperately tried to hold back .

“Then the bucket appeared . There was clearly liquid in here . Water wasn’t the only liquid in her body, was it? Milk, soy sauce… There was also cooking oil . This is the reason why . ”

Hyun-ho put the tube in the bucket .

“One litre . She had to desperately drink it all in order to breathe . ”

First was milk . Then there was soy sauce . Finally, the cooking oil . He gave her increasingly hard things to drink .

Despite being nauseated, she had to drink in order for her to breathe . Desperately…

“If she drank it all, then she could breathe again . That’s why the bucket was empty at the moment of death . And…”

This time, Hyun-ho put the tube in the bathtub .

“Lastly, the hippo placed the tube here . The victim started to drink litres of water that she couldn’t finish . In the end…”

The stomach became engorged, and the victim drank water until the moment of death .

All this was done in order to live? If she drank one litre of water then she could breathe . Just one more sip… If she took one more sip, then she could breathe . She believed in something that hadn’t been promised, and drank the water in the bathtub . And in the end…

The desperate act of trying to live drove herself to her ultimate death .

“This crazy bastard!”

Kang-suk howled like a beast at the terrible truth . The hippo used the victim’s will to live as a murder tool .

“My reasoning is up to here . Uh, by the way, there is salt . Then, the last thing the victim drank was salt water? What was he thinking when he made her drink that? Sunbae…? Um . I will tell you my profile after you calm down a bit . ”

Kang-suk was ready to shoot a gun if the hippo appeared in front of him .

Eventually, he settled down after 30 minutes .

“I’m sorry . I was a little excited . ”

“No problem, Sunbae . I’ll tell you what I’ve figured out about the hippo now . ”

Hyun-ho gave his rough profile containing the hippo’s age and personality to Kang-suk .

After finishing, Hyun-ho said .

“My job is over . Now it is Sunbae’s turn . Please catch the killer . Ah right . This is a personal favor . Once you arrest him, can you leave the psychological analysis to me? I’m interested in the criminal called the hippo . ”

Hyun-ho laughed like he was happy .

Kang-suk replied .

“… That isn’t hard . But I don’t know if the bastard will be able to speak properly . ”

If Kang-suk caught him, then there would be a punch in the face .

Kang-suk’s eyes were filled with killing intent .

@

There were only two days left until the next full moon .

Tae-hyuk knew who the hippo was, his job, what he looked like, what he liked, all of those things .

The problem was that he knew the hippo too well . He knew information that only the hippo would know . If he wasn’t careful, then he might be framed as the hippo .

“I have to avoid being falsely accused, no matter what . ”

Tae-hyuk laughed bitterly as he thought of the identity of the hippo .

Tae-hyuk knew where he was . If he beat the hippo’s head with the iron pipe and took him to the police station, then the murders would no longer happen . However, there was no evidence that he was the hippo, meaning there would be no reason to hold the hippo .

The most obvious thing to do was to catch him attempting to commit a crime .

He had packed a few hidden cameras from the voyeur incident a while ago so they would be very useful .

Tae-hyuk smiled at the hidden cameras on the table . Then he would go and install these at the hippos’ third crime scene…

At this moment, Tae-hyuk realized that he had forgotten one important thing . He couldn’t remember the exact place of the crime .

“Wait a minute . Obviously the hippo killed the third time at the… Ugh, damn . It was definitely an aquarium . I don’t remember the exact aquarium!”

Tae-hyuk looked at the blacklist . The exact name wasn’t written down .

“Well, there aren’t many aquariums . Eh? Wait a minute . Aquariums are even open at night . It isn’t a place to commit a crime, even if there are no customers .

The hippo didn’t kill the victims instantly . He enjoyed watching them die slowly . If so, doing it in an aquarium would be impossible .

Tae-hyuk connected to the Internet on his smartphone and searched for an aquarium that wasn’t open . There was only one place .

Tae-hyuk checked the location .

The aquarium was approximately five kilometres from his home .

“… Isn’t this closer than I thought?”

It was around 15 bus stops away . In such a nearby place, a bizarre murder would take place two days later .

“Then tonight, I will go and install the trap . ”

Tae-hyuk had no intention of ending it with the camera alone .

He had the crime skills to help him .