Chapter Text
Minho
The hallway was awash with crimson, blood streaked across the hardwood floors like a macabre red carpet, beckoning them further into the house. Minho ducked under the police tape, then held it up slightly to allow Seungmin to follow him through. Around them, forensic investigators buzzed about, taking photos and samples, placing little flags beside anything potentially relevant.
A young police officer stepped carefully into the hallway and joined them, shaking their hands, bowing slightly. This man had been the first on scene, Seungmin had told him during their car ride, responding to a call from a neighbour concerned about strange noises in the house.
“Senior Inspector Lee. Inspector Kim.” He greeted. “Victim is Shin Ae-sook, eighty seven years old, she lived alone. I believe she was stabbed to death, her body is still in place for you to look at, forensics are waiting to collect her for autopsy.”
“Talk me through your arrival.” Minho instructed as they walked carefully down the hallway, the plastic covers on their shoes crinkling as they picked their steps around the evidence, following the smears of blood into one of the rooms.
“I arrived and found the front door ajar, when I called out I got no response so I pushed it open. The hallway, as you can see, made it obvious the victim was injured so I called for back up. Then I headed into… here.” He broke off as they finally made their way into the living room where the body of the victim lay. “I checked for a pulse and breathing, but she was already dead.” The man finished, swallowing hard.
“You did well.” Minho assured him, noting the man’s pale complexion as he stared at the woman. “Is this your first time finding someone like this?”
“First time I’ve been on my own for it.” He replied quietly. “It was a long wait, standing with her, waiting for someone else to arrive.”
“You did excellently, your wait, while uncomfortable, maintained an uncontaminated crime scene which is vital. Head home and take the rest of the day off, okay?” Minho instructed, smiling faintly as the man straightened and nodded.
“Thank you, Sir.” He said, and then all but bolted from the room as they snapped plastic gloves onto their hands.
“Kids.” Seungmin murmured with a snort, watching him go. Then he crouched down with a sympathetic tut. “Hi Miss Shin.” He greeted softly. “I’m sorry this has happened to you, we’re going to make sure you’re taken good care of now.”
Minho smiled, it was a quirk of Seungmin’s, but one he didn’t mind.
“Definite stab wounds, I can see at least seven.” Seungmin reported, head tilting as he took her in. “Judging by the drag marks I think he stabbed or bludgeoned her at the door, she fell and then he dragged her in here.”
“Some of the stab wounds happened here.” Minho noted, glancing at the spatter across the screen of the old television set.
“Yes, and I’d say she died here.” Seungmin agreed, gesturing to the large pool of blood.
“Unlikely to have been a robbery, she’s still wearing her jewellery, and the place is too neat.” Minho mused. “Does she have defensive injuries?”
Seungmin stooped to study her hands, finally reaching out to touch the body as he shifted them into view. “No, her hands and arms are unscathed.”
“Could be someone she knew, or as you say she could have just been taken by surprise.” Minho mused.
“She wouldn’t have been hard to overpower, poor thing.” Seungmin murmured, placing her arms gently back down, patting them with a gloved hand.
Seungmin remained with the body, checking her pockets, going through his mental check list, ever thorough.
Minho moved on, looking around the room. As he’d said, it wasn’t in disarray, trinkets and framed photos lined some bookshelves, presumably Miss Shin’s children and grandchildren smiling from ornate metal frames. The coffee table held a half drunk mug, he leant down to smell it, green tea with honey, if he had to guess. Beside the mug there was a book, a shopping list, a very old mobile phone, and a blue pen.
He went to move on, but something clanged in his brain, stopping him from shifting his focus. He turned back to the coffee table, frowning. The mug wasn’t particularly noteworthy, slightly chipped, stained inside with age. He stooped to smell it again, wondering if that was what wasn’t sitting right with him. Still green tea, honey… perhaps lemon. No telltale scents like almond that would set him on edge. He shook his head, turning his attention to the book. It was a classic murder mystery, ‘I Killed.’ by Jeong Hae-Yeon. Minho picked it up and leafed through it, looking for anything hidden within the pages, or writing on the book itself. Nothing. An unfortunate coincidence, a grim sort of irony, but still not the issue. The shopping list was classic, unremarkable, heartbreaking in the inclusion of snacks for her grandchildren. The phone would be processed by people far cleverer than him, which left… the pen.
Minho squinted at it, it was a classic blue ballpoint pen. The cheap type you could buy in bulk, the sort of thing he saw all the time in offices and banks. What was bothering him about it?
Seungmin finished with the body and nodded for the forensic investigators to begin the gentle, delicate process of preparing Miss Shin for transportation. He joined Minho with a quizzical expression.
“You didn’t get very far.” Seungmin teased.
“I don’t like this pen.” Minho grumbled, frowning at it.
Seungmin nodded, leaning to study it himself, eyes narrowed.
Then it hit Minho. “The shopping list is only half written, she was in the middle of writing it, and it’s in black ink. So, why is this blue pen here?”
“Did she lose the black pen and grab the next one she could find?” Seungmin asked.
“No, look here.” Minho pointed at the sofa where Miss Shin had likely been sitting before her unwanted guest arrived. The pen was sitting on the cushion, uncapped, like it had been placed down thoughtlessly for just a moment. “There’s something about this I don’t like.”
Seungmin nodded, humouring him. He trusted Minho, they’d worked together in the force for years, and while Minho was his senior officer, the two partnered whenever they had the chance. “Well, it’s a cheap pen, we see them all the time.”
Minho nodded, that fact felt important. When had he last seen a pen like this? He closed his eyes, wracking his brain for the image, then it came to him.
“Oh.” He said softly, turning to look at Miss Shin just as she was being zipped into a bag. “We’ve seen this pen before. Twice. Two other stabbing victims, neither had any reason to have a pen near their body.”
Seungmin blinked, surprise morphing into that slow smile that said he was impressed but didn’t want to admit it.
“The student with the broken arm?” Seungmin asked, clearly recalling the blue pen in his dorm room. “You said at the time he must have stolen the pen from the university, since all the rest of his stationery was expensive.”
“Yes, him. And that young mother in the yellow dress, remember she was found in her front garden? Her handbag was on the floor beside her, and the only things that had fallen out of it were her phone, keys and…”
“A blue pen.” Seungmin agreed, eyes lighting up. “Very different victimology, but all stabbed at home, no witnesses, no obvious enemies, all with a blue pen left behind.”
Minho nodded. “Lets finish going through this scene, then head back to the station to go through other recent stabbings, I don’t remember any others that fit, but I’d like to check.”
“If you’re right, if these three are linked… We’re looking at a serial killer.” Seungmin pointed out quietly, keeping his voice low enough to not catch the forensic investigators attention.
Minho nodded simply, then tilted his head for Seungmin to continue out of the room. They walked gingerly through the hallway and into the kitchen where nothing appeared out of place. They worked methodically through the house, each room subject to scrutiny, but by the end they agreed that it appeared the killer hadn’t gone any further than the hallway and living room.
Another police officer was waiting for them when they stepped outside.
“Sirs.” She said, catching their attention. “I’ve spoken to the neighbour who called.”
“What did they have to say?”
“He heard some banging and clattering when he walked his dogs past the house, she’s usually quite quiet so he wanted someone to come check on her. He didn’t think…”
“It’s a good thing he didn’t go in to check, or he might have been killed too.” Seungmin said quietly.
Minho nodded at the officer and headed down the steps towards the car. They paused to strip off their plastic shoe covers and gloves, then collapsed into the car with a sigh.
“Dibs on not telling the boss we’ve got a serial killer.” Seungmin muttered as Minho pulled away from the curb.
Minho laughed. “I’m hoping I’ve remembered it wrong and those other two pens were totally different brands.”
“You never remember anything wrong.” Seungmin said, his voice filled with displeasure at having to pay Minho a compliment.
“I can already see the paperwork mounting on my desk.” Minho groaned, thudding his head against the steering wheel as they waited at a red light.
Seungmin snorted, and when Minho looked up he saw a woman one car over looking at him with concern. He gave her an unconvincing smile, then pulled away.
Seungmin wheeled his office chair over to Minho’s desk, then dropped into it with a groan.
“Go on, ruin my day.” Seungmin huffed, squinting at the screen as Minho searched through the crime scene photos.
There it was, that same damn blue pen beside the young woman and the student. Minho sighed, biting his lip. He sent the photos to the printer, then stared at the paper copies, as though they would tell him something more.
“It’s probably a coincidence.” He tried, but the words were sharp on his tongue.
“You go tell the boss, I’ll check other recent stabbings.” Seungmin said, his refusal to deal with anyone in authority outside of Minho was frustratingly consistent.
Superintendent Jung had his own office. While Minho was jealous of the peace it must afford, it did place an uncrossable gap between him and his subordinates, which Minho wouldn’t want. It made the man unapproachable, meaning the younger officers came to Minho instead for support or advice. Minho wondered if this was by design, Jung happy to shirk his duties and pass them to others. As he knocked on the door frame he looked in with dispassionate eyes, Jung was on his phone, on what looked like a dating app which he locked quickly at Minho’s knock. Poor Mrs Jung, he thought as he stepped inside.
“Sir, I’ve returned from the Shin crime scene.” Minho reported, stepping inside and sitting before he was asked to. The man would leave you standing if you gave him the chance.
“Anything to report?”
“She was an elderly lady, I believe she was stabbed to death in her home, although we’ll need to wait for the autopsy to be sure.”
“Some local teenager probably. Her wallet taken?”
“No signs of robbery, sir. The wallet was still in her bag with cash inside.”
The man harrumphed, frustrated Minho wasn’t playing along, or that the killer wasn’t playing along perhaps.
“There is something else.” Minho began, choosing his words carefully. “Sir, do you remember the young woman who was stabbed in her front garden?”
“Of course.” Jung blustered, quite obviously lying.
“Well, when you looked at the crime scene photos you said something looked off.” Minho continued, lying himself now. “And I’ve finally figured out what was setting your instincts off.”
The man had barely glanced at the photos and told Minho to ‘just solve it, Lee’. But the man always reacted best when something was his idea, and Minho needed him on board right now.
“Right, yes of course. I remember. Something just didn’t sit right with me.” Jung agreed readily.
“Her handbag had fallen to the ground when she did, but all that had fallen out of it was her phone, keys and a pen.” Minho continued. “The pen, I now believe, was planted by the killer. The same pen has now been found in two other crime scenes, both stabbings taking place in or around the victim's homes.”
Jung’s eyes narrowed in thought.
“So you spotted the pattern long before we did.” Minho added, it was heavy handed, but Jung wasn’t someone you could manipulate with subtlety.
“Yes, of course. The pen. I see.” Jung nodded, “Show me the pen in situ at each scene?”
Minho produced the photos he had printed and passed them to Jung. “Each victim had no use for that pen. The student had expensive stationery in his room, he wouldn’t have used a cheap ballpoint like that. The woman was walking to her house, she wouldn’t have had a pen in her hand, but she would have been holding her phone and keys. And now, the elderly lady. She had a black pen she was actively using, we found it uncapped.”
“A serial killer or a gang initiation?” Jung murmured thoughtfully, tapping his fingers against his desk.
Minho blinked. He hadn’t thought of that. He supposed even the densest work-shy boss could come up with an original thought once in a while. Still, the theory didn’t ring true for him.
“I’d lean towards your first instinct, a serial killer. Gang initiations tend to be more showy and the victimology isn’t usually this… inconsistent.”
“Right.” Jung nodded decisively. “Lee, this is an excellent opportunity for you. Get your name on the board for an important investigation. I’m assigning you as the inspector in charge of this investigation, take the manpower you need and keep me updated.”
“Yes, Sir.” Minho agreed, internally smirking. Jung was a lot of things, but at least he was predictable. Predictably lazy.
“I assume you’ll want your little Kim?” Jung asked.
“Yes, the boy knows how to work.” Minho said stonily.
Jung laughed, nodding, as though they were both in on the same joke. “Got to use that youthful energy while it lasts.”
Minho took his leave and rejoined Seungmin at his desk.
“Let me guess, he’s passed responsibility to you?” Seungmin asked with a wry smile.
“Of course.” Minho agreed. “Said I can keep my little Kim, too.” He tickled Seungmin’s neck until he leant away, nose scrunched, looking like a grumpy cat. “Did you find anything?”
“No other stabbings this year, fatal or otherwise, have had a pen dropped nearby.” Seungmin said, scrolling to show Minho the list he’d checked. It was a depressingly long list, the city had fallen into a knife crime glut of late.
“Okay, so we need to figure out what connects these three victims.” Minho mused, arranging the photos on the desk in front of them. “The obvious options are out: work or school. They’re all in totally different stages of life. Student, stay at home mother, retiree.”
“They don’t live near each other either, each is a totally different neighbourhood.” Seungmin added, pulling up each victim's personal details.
“I think we need to go through their banking history, see if they’ve got any businesses in common. Can you start with the student?” Minho said, smiling as Seungmin began to scoot his office chair back over to his own desk. He gave Minho one last sardonic smile, then he was in work mode, noise cancelling headphones finding their ever present home on his head.
Minho mirrored him, tidying his desk, sweeping Seungmin’s empty takeout coffee cup into the bin with an indulgent sigh. Then he began combing through the life of the first victim, the woman in the front garden.
After a few minutes, his email pinged. Seungmin had created a shared spreadsheet to input names of businesses into. Minho navigated into an empty cell and inputted a <3, mouth almost twitching into a smile when he heard Seungmin’s aggrieved sigh as he deleted it, then inputted >:(, then deleted that too.
Hours later, they’d found nothing. It was impressive really, three people who lived in the same city, and seemingly hadn’t crossed paths at all.
The testing of links became more tenuous, checking if the student and young woman had grandparents with links to Miss Shin, or conversely if her children or grandchildren had any links to the younger victims. Still, no luck.
This is why you enjoy the job, you like a challenge. Minho reminded himself, biting frustration back. It wouldn’t be satisfying if he found the answer immediately every time.
Still, a serial killer was in his city. It was easily the biggest case he’d been assigned, and he was eager to prove himself, to do a good job. Seungmin left as the sky darkened, patting Minho’s shoulder on his way out.
Minho remained at his desk as the office emptied and the moon shone. He had to solve this, and quickly.