“Where were you on the night of the fourth, Zhoumi-sshi?”

Zhoumi let out a deep sigh. “I’ve already told one of your officers the other day.”

Donghae narrowed his eyes, his piercing gaze not moving from the Chinese man, who let out another sigh as he shifted a little to make himself more comfortable in his not-so-comfortable metal chair in the interrogating room. Sungmin and Kyuhyun were watching the pair from outside, just in case their boss needed backup.

“I was at a bar.”

“Which bar?”

“Club No. 1.”

“What time did you arrive?”

“Sometime after my closing time. I don’t remember; that was more than three months ago!!”

Donghae tapped on his notebook impatiently.

“With whom did you speak with while you were there?”

“I don’t know. Hundreds of them, maybe,” Zhoumi replied in a flat tone, tugging distractedly at his wrist which was cuffed to the table before him.

“Did you meet up with anybody?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who brought you home?”

“My girlfriend, apparently.”

“What did you two do after she brought you home?”

 “I DON’T KNOW!!!” Zhoumi yelled, kicking the table with all of his force and struggling to stand up. “Can you stop questioning me like I’m a criminal or something? The last I heard of, I’m innocent till proven guilty, so stop treating me like I killed somebody!! I’ve already said I don’t know anything about Jess’ murder incident last time, okay?? I’m innocent!!! You’ve got the wrong guy!!!”

Donghae stayed calm in his seat, obviously used to criminals (or innocent people) acting up like that. He watched as both Sungmin and Kyuhyun rushed in to restrain the cursing and swearing Chinese man. For a man who wasn’t a native speaker of the Korean language, he sure knew a lot of colourful words and didn’t hesitate to use them all on the officers.

“You’re not very helpful, Zhoumi-sshi. I’m afraid we’ll have to hold you here longer until we can get your full cooperation,” the inspector said, gathering his things and leaving the room. Zhoumi was then marched off to a cell, protesting all the way.

Kyuhyun came out to join Donghae on the way back to the office, since Sungmin alone was more than enough to take care of that man, even if he got violent.

“Inspector Lee, Zhoumi was seen leaving the hotel where the second body was found. I just got the news from Chief Han,” the computer whizz said, scrolling through his tab. “This definitely makes him look even more suspicious.”

The inspector nodded his head. “How about his background check?”

“I’ve been trying to get his information but there doesn’t seem to be any records of him entering this country,” he replied. “He might have come under an alias, or he’s really an illegal immigrant.”

“That still doesn’t clear any of our suspicions; in fact it makes him look worse. I’m starting to worry if we’re just missing a link here and the man really is in the clear…” Donghae started, suddenly recalling flashbacks of Hyukjae standing up for the man even though he couldn’t prove his innocence. “Do you think Hyukjae would know a bit more about it? I mean, I did send him there in the first place… Wait, has he even been coming to the office lately?”

Kyuhyun shrugged. “He probably would. If I remember correctly, it was you who insisted on sending him there, but then you didn’t believe a word he said about Zhoumi, although his way of investigating could probably be better.”

Donghae