“Frankly speaking, we didn’t found anything solid. Just some wild guess based on the analysis we got. I will continue. Let’s begin with the motive. Shall we?”

“Wild guess?” Donghae whisper just loud enough for himself to hear. Will it be enough to solve the case?

“My team and I think that the biggest possibility for the motive would be…love grudge.”

“Love grudge.” Yesung said in a sudden, making all head to twist at his direction.

“Yes, that’s right.” Kyuhyun click on the laptop again and the LCD now showing a flow chart. “Summary of their backgrounds. See the similarity?”

“Cheating on their partners.” Eunhyuk said calmly.

“Yes, a bunch of cheaters.” Yesung continues.

“It seems.” Kyuhyun continue. “After doing some research on their backgrounds, we found out that each and every one of them, have record of cheating on their partners. My guess, the killer hate this kind of cheater, maybe, he been cheated too… or being used by his lover, making him develop the hate to kill them all. Psychology imbalance.”

Donghae barged into his speech, “Humm… true also. I have been thinking about the possibility that their lover might have killed them due to love. But after questioning session with each of the suspect, I can’t find the similarity between them. So, it might as well say that the killer doesn’t actually related to any of the victims. Bigger chance that the killer is actually an outsider.”

“A stalker?” Eunhyuk asked bewilderedly.

“Exactly.” Kyuhyun said firmly. “An intelligent stalker.”

“Unfortunately…the theory is too vague. Got another proof to support the motive?” Yesung pointed out.

“Not really but, we can only deduce in this way first since we are positive that the killer is actually the same person.” Kyuhyun continue with a head shake. “Next, move on to the murder methods. General knowledge: stabbing his victims with a 15mm width knife until death. Love to kill at midnight, especially on rainy days and his favourite place is inside the dark alley. I think it’s best that Yesung explain this using his psychology theories. Yesung please?”

“Yes, thanks Kyuhyun. Let me explain further.” Yesung stands up while Kyuhyun already sited down.

“Firstly, stabbing his victims till death shows that he loves to torture people. He has so many methods to choose but he picks this one. He loves to kill his victims in slow death mostly because he loves to see them suffer with pain. We can say that he enjoys screams from his victim, that’s why he hit them continuously before actually killing them.”

Yesung scans the audiences before continue, “Besides, he is a good observer because he knows how to choose his victims, which is basically people that cheated in their love relationship. He wanted to punish them. Maybe due to his own reasons. Favourite season is rainy days, might because of he thinks that rain will be able to cleanse his soul or simply because he thinks that rain can wash away all evidences. Smart killer… Lastly, he kills at night simply because it’s convenient. If I were the killer, I will choose the same way.”

“Very true, more information?” Donghae agreed to him.

“Yes sir! I think that he loves the feeling of in control. That’s why he stabs the third victim on his thigh to avoid him from escaping. Not only that, he choose to drag the victim from the place he escaped to the original position, then he killed him on the exact location. This clearly shows he wanted to control his victims, where they should die, how they should die and such.” Yesung stop to take his breath.

“But I notice something.” Eunhyuk blurted out. “The first case clearly show the traces of struggling but it become lesser as the killing goes. Weird?”

“Not really, Hyukie.” Donghae spoke before Yesung, making all eyes landed on him now. “This simply shows that the killer is gradually becoming more experience. The first case, the killer is still an armature; he doesn’t know how to kill properly. So, struggle happen between him and the victim. But, as he gain more experience, he knows how and what methods to kill his prey, making less chance for the victims to fight against him. See? ”

“Ahh…I see now.” Eunhyuk nodded a few times.

“Precisely! Smart hypothesis, Donghae hyung.” Kyuhyun said with a smile.

“Yes, I afraid you are right. This means that we have less chance in catching him since he become smarter than before. In addition to that, his actions become more aggressive in each case.” Yesung swallow his imaginary saliva before continue. “As we can see here, the analysis of each injuries that the victims have…” he switch the photographs on the screen and finally, showing another flow chart, “The next victim in each newer cases, have more injuries that the previous one.”

“Meaning?”, Eunhyuk put his hand under his chin and his eyes narrowed, he doesn’t get the point. “He developed the passion of killing?”

“Not quite. Actually, he develops the intense feeling of hate.” Yesung explained.

“Huh?” Eunhyuk looked at Yesung confusedly. “Hate?”

“That’s right. Well, your theory is acceptable also, that he might develop the passion of killing. But, my theory is that his hate had increasing each day, causing him to divert his feelings to the victims. He begins to torture his prey before actually killing them. The first victim doesn’t really show any injuries due to hitting, only because of struggling. But, starting from the second victim, the killer started to hit his prey, torturing them, especially the last victim, Lee Taemin, being stabs continuously until all his organs damaged. He started to divert his hate on so much violence.”

“That’s why he hit the second victim’s head on the wall, then he drag the third victim on the floor and again, hit his head on the wall also and finally, the last victim, being hit and punch brutally before he die. I get your point.” Eunhyuk gradually understand it.

“Yeah. And the amount of stabbing also indicates an important point. The first and second victims only being stabbed twice, the third one increases to five stabs and finally, the last victim with ten. See the coherent there? The killer increases the amount of stabs in each victim, which means, he is becoming more insane. Unstoppable.” Yesung sighed heavily.

“I afraid so.” Donghae is speechless.

“Well, that’s all from me. Let’s continue again with Kyuhyun.” Yesung excuse himself and replaced by Kyuhyun.

“I just want to present solid proof that we have at this moment. Firstly, killing weapon- knife of width 15mm, length is still unknown, might be any kind of knife in the market. Then, shoe print taken from the fourth scene, size of 9, presumable to be leather shoe due to the pattern of it. The thread we found, also from the last victim, made from normal cotton- might be any clothing on the market too. Again… nothing really solid, unfortunately.” Kyuhyun face turn solemn. “Nothing such as DNA or finger prints, which mean that the killer is wearing glove while doing his duty. Not even a strain of hair could be found. Basically, we got nothing.”

“Devastating!” Yesung grunted while putting his hand on top of his head in a stressing manner.

“Talking about the last victim, Lee Taemin, the killer actually stabs him continuously before he died. When the killer stabs him with too much force, the tip of the knife can actually penetrate until the bones, causing damage to it. There are several obvious cut on the surface of his bones.”

“Cuts on the bones?” Donghae asked confusedly.

“Yes, the bones have several cuts due to the continuous stabs on the victim’s body. The knife is actually hitting the bones a few times due to the stabbing force made by the killer. Thus, a pattern is formed on its surface. This is due to, when the person is still alive; the blood will flow into the cuts and staining it with obvious red marks because the blood flow will eventually clot in there, forming a clump of red blood. Vice versa, when the person is dead, there will be no blood clotting process happening, so the pattern will be different. The cut on the bones will not be stained red.” Kyuhyun explained with one go.

“So?” Eunhyuk asked quite loudly.

“This indicate that the victim, Lee Taemin is stabs continuously until dead. Understand?”

Everyone nodded again but they just remain quite.

“That’s all from me today.” Kyuhyun closes his fail and taken his seat again.

“Thank you both of you. Hyukie…please present yours.” Donghae spoke while looking at him.

Eunhyuk nodded. “I will talk about the witnesses in each case. The first victim, Park Woo Yong is the only child in his family, work as a bartender in Sunrise bar. I gather the information from his colleagues that sometimes, he will himself for money. He even has several fights with his ex-boyfriend, Lee Jun Hee. However, he is not the suspect because on the day he died, Lee Jun Hee is not in Korea. But, we later found out that on the night he died, he is out on a date with a guy name Ripper, definitely a fake name and I can’t find this man on system. Sadly, his friends never saw this guy before as they only heard about him from the victim. No description is available. It’s a dead end.”

“Mysterious guy eii…” Yesung blurted out. “Maybe one of his customer.”

“That’s a possibility. Next, Lee Jung Ho, 25years old, works as a secretary in a small company by the name Triumph, a snack food company. Just engaged with a lady name Jeon Hyu Sung. I collect data that this engagement is actually arranged by both family, and he is actually in love with someone else. Many times that Jeon Hyu Sung come and beg for him at the company and cried endless time. The day before he died, she swore that she will kill him if he breaks the engagement. Many workers heard about that.”

“She is a suspect?” Kyuhyun asked with interest.

“I afraid not. We make an assumption that she might hire someone but the possibility is too mild. It’s just a useless thread from her. But, we do investigate deeply about Jung Ho’s lover. Her name is Jang Hyo Yun, work in a café as waitress. On that night, she is working extra shift until the next morning, so we exclude her from the list of suspect. Once again, we got ourselves another dead end.” Eunhyuk sighed in desperation.

“Lovely…” Kyuhyun said in sarcastic tone. “Next, Kim Heechul?”

“Kim Heechul, 25 years old, working as a lawyer in a famous law firm, The Justice. Still single though. That’s why his brother Kangin becoming the main suspect. But, we do found out that he might be in a relationship with a guy name, Yamadate Yokute, a Japanese businessman.”

“Yamadate Yokute? The name is so familiar.” Yesung is deep in thought.

“Of course he is. He is one of the richest men in Japan for textile business. He is a tycoon. I read about him in magazine last time. Unfortunately, he is married. Am I right?” Donghae direct the question to Eunhyuk, earning a nod from the other.

“Yes, it seems so. Kim Heechul and Yamadate Yokute met each other in a national function and eventually, developing a love affair. It becomes quite an issue that time when his wife, Madam Withney Ryosuke found out about it. They had a big fight that she wanted to file a lawsuit to Kim Heechul.”

“I can recall now. I remember they had a divorce last year, right?” Yesung pointed out his question. “Because of Kim Heechul?”

“Might be.” Eunhyuk answered. “From the witnesses, I gain information that both of them still contacting each other, but we can’t be sure that they are actually in a relationship.”

“Umm…so difficult.”

“It is difficult… Yesung ahh...” Eunhyuk sighed again. “Last but not least, Lee Taemin, 19 years old, works in Cutie Supermarket. Once again, I get an insight from his best friend, Onew that he is currently in a relationship with their boss, Kang Sung Jung even though he actually has a boyfriend by the name of Bang Kwang Ming. Same as before, his boyfriend is not in Korea until next month due to a business trip to Japan. Conclusion, he is not the suspect.”

“Correction. Conclusion, we don’t have a suspect. Yet…” Kyuhyun suddenly add in.

“Yes, it seems. Cruel fact, isn’t it?” Eunhyuk answered sadly.

Silence suddenly invades the room as everyone feels hopeless against this case. Now, everyone diverted their gaze on Donghae, hoping he would say something to smoothen the tension.

“That’s all for today?” Everyone nodded in synchronization as a reply to Donghae’s question. “I must admit that this case had certainly tested our patient.  But I believe that truth will prevail soon and in the end, justice will certainly win this war. All we need is perseverance and more effort. Success will certainly be ours. Thus, we will end this meeting now. Dismiss.”

“Yes sir!” they shouted together.

------------ Meanwhile, in a court room---------------------

“As I was saying, there is no solid proof or any evidences to subject my client to the murder case. I hope considerations will be taken into account. Please don’t make the wrong judgment as it can change someone’s life- to the worse or better.” Leeteuk present his speech with superiority, gaining several nods from the audiences there. “That’s all from me, Thank you.” He bows to the juries and then, to the head-of-judge before taken his seat.

“Very well said.” The head jury spoken before gesturing Leeteuk’s opponent to speak, “Please present your speech. Why the defendant must be sentenced to jail? You have five minutes to end your speech.”

“Thank you, your supreme honour.” He stands up before facing Kangin, giving him a faked smile. “The defendant, Kangin, have many evidences that shows his motive to commit the crime. He hated his brother, Kim Heechul, threaten to kill him, which eventually, he did… ”

“That’s a ridiculous accusation, your honour!” Leeteuk stands up immediately. “You have no solid proof to say so; it’s only a theory of yours with no based.”

“It’s my turn to speak, your honour. I don’t want any disruption from the defendant.”

“Of course. Please don’t interrupt during the speech. Mr. Leeteuk.” The judge spoke again.

“I am sorry for my rudeness.” Leeteuk bow to everyone again. “Please proceed.”

“Yes. As I was saying, Kangin finally loses his temper and ended up killing his own beloved brother, Kim Heechul.” Kangin flinched upon hearing the accusation made.

“Moreover, he doesn’t have any alibi on that night to prove that he is innocent. Frankly, it’s hard to believe that he is present at the crime scene because of the call he claimed, had been received from the unknown killer. The police can’t find any cell phone on the crime scene that belongs to his brother so his points can’t be proven. It might be his own drama to put the blame on others. Thus, all points had said it clear, that this man is the killer that responsible to the death of Kim Heechul. Therefore your honour, he must be sentenced to jail for what he had done. That’s all from me. Thank you…”

“That’s all from you, Mr. Lee Junki? Very well. Please be seated. Now, after hearing lots of points from both sides, the court had decided to take 10 minutes breaks in order to make discussion among the juries. Decision will be made after the time frame.” After announcing that, all the juries left their place and held a small meeting in a specified confine room.

Kangin’s heart is beating in fear. He wipes away the excess sweats on his forehead. The decision made by the jury will determine his future. Nevertheless, he is grateful as Leeteuk never given up hope on him. No matter what happen, I will accept with an open heart. He tries to calm himself.

Leeteuk also feel the same way as Kangin. His hands sweat continuously due to the pressure he is having right now. For him, this is the hardest case he ever handles so far. But deep down, he knows that he is on the right side. I know that you are innocent, Kangin ahh… if I lose this case; I will fail it again in the higher court. Believe me. Leeteuk pray silently.

The ten minutes feel like hell for both of them. Finally, it’s time.

“Welcome back again. Please be seated.” The jury said in a stern manner. “After discussing deeply about the case, we have come to a conclusion. We have decided, that the defendant, Mr. Kangin…” everyone gulped in nervousness. “had been released from the accusation for the murder case of Kim Heechul due to insufficient proof. The decision is final.”

Leeteuk jump in happiness while running towards Kangin’s side, “Kangin… finally…” he shouted.

“Yes. Finally…” Kangin cry in disbelief. “I am free! I am free!”

“Yes, you are free. I am glad. I am glad.”

“Thanks Leeteuk. You save me. I owe you for life.”

“Yeah…you better remember that.” Leeteuk chuck. “You better repay me later.” Leeteuk said jokingly.

“I know…no words to convey my feelings. Thanks Leeteuk. Thanks…” after so many thanking session, they end up hugging each other in tears.

This is the happiest moment in Kangin’s life since his brother death. However, he still has those uneasy feelings that bulging him. As long as the murderer is still out there, he will not rest. He vows to find him, no matter what it takes. Even it means- to lose his life.

My own theories.... ^^

Hope you like it!