Chapter 16

Case #2: File 3

“You mean ethylene glycol?”

“Yes, I did a blood test and GC also confirmed it. I also checked her kidneys and both are damaged even though she had no history of drinking, ever. It was only recently damaged and there’s only one answer,” Ailee said over the phone.

“The ethylene glycol,” Amber agreed.

“I’ll check if she had any antifreeze in her garage,” Victoria offered as she exited the room through the door that was connected to the garage.

“Did you come across any antidepressant compound in the blood test?”

“Wait... Nothing came up. Why?”

“We found Prozac, Lexapro and Celexa in her medicine cabinet. Those are the strong stuff.”

“I’ll have her hair analyzed. Maybe it’ll tell us something.”

“Found it!”

“We’ll drop off the drugs and the antifreeze after we make our last stop. Send the CSU over.”

“Consider it done. I’ll be waiting.”

Amber got off the phone and went outside to see what Victoria had found. It turned out that there was a half-filled bottle containing antifreeze stored near the car; it wasn’t even in a cabinet and it was just resting on the floor. Amber opened another evidence bag so Victoria could put it inside before they decided to leave the house for the [Spin! To a better future]’s office.

D  E  F  L  E  ( x )  T  I  O  N

It hasn’t been long since the news got out but the staffs found themselves answering the phone without rest; the call would end but the phone will ring again with another curious caller on the other line. It was busy throughout the building and they were slowly getting annoyed by the ringing.

“Sir, we’ve got detective from Seoul PD. They wanted to speak to you.”

The person in charge stood up from his seat and went out of his room to welcome the detectives.

“Morning. We’re here to ask about the late Hye Gi-ssi.”

“Let’s have the talk outside. The café is just across the street.”

“We don’t mind but may I ask why?”

“The phone has been ringing off the hook with the press calling about Hye Gi-ssi, who happened to represent our organization for the upcoming competition and she had generously donated to the organization. It’ll be quieter at the café.”

“Yes of course. Lead the way.”

They walked over to the café as soon as the light turned green for pedestrians. Once they settled in with a cup of black coffee for the founder of the fundraiser and a cup of latte for both Victoria and Amber, they sat at a secluded place where they could talk privately without anyone overhearing them.

“Excuse us for our late introduction. My name is Detective Song and this is my partner Detective Liu.”

“Ah yes. I’m Nam Woong.”

“Let’s begin. When did Hye Gi-ssi start to contribute to your organization?”

“She has been supportive of our cause when we first met at a conference detailing of our projects on charities and money we had raised to help orphaned kids. She was especially touched because she was an orphan herself and she wanted to help. So about six months ago, she came to the office and offered to sponsor our events.”

“Exactly how much has she spent?”

“It’s around 1.5 million won, though it’s just the rough estimate. We were grateful for the money and because of it we were able to held competition throughout the country and raised 13 million won in a short period of time.”

“That’s quite a lot of money. Do you perhaps have official receipts of money transaction?”

“As a matter of fact, we do. We keep track and document every amount of money received and spent. I’ll have it faxed to you if you want,”

“May I ask where you were this morning around three to six? It’s just a standard procedure,” Amber added the last bit so as not to offend him.

“Um... I was at the office. I slept there. It’s been busy lately and I have to prepare for the upcoming competition and check every detail,” he answered as he sipped the bitter coffee.

“Anyone can prove that?”

"You can check the surveillance camera. I never left the building until now."

"We'll check into that. Is it okay if you send us the list of your employees and volunteers along with the donors?”

“It’s going to be long and not every volunteer volunteered in every event; sometimes we even get new ones. As for the donors, I’m afraid that it’s going to be difficult. Most donors preferred to be anonymous.”

“Then we’ll have the names of the regulars and the volunteers for the upcoming competition.”

“That can be arranged. I’ll have it sent around noon.”

“Thank you. Here’s my number and please call if you remember anything else.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back,” he said as he read a text on his phone.

“Of course, we won’t keep you. Thank you for your co-operation.”

He stood up from his seat and brought along his coffee with him and the two watched him as his back disappeared from view. They took their time to finish their coffee and even ordered a slice of cheesecake each for take-out.

“So what’s next?”

“Let’s drop the meds and antifreeze at the lab.”

“Sure you go ahead to the car. I gotta get this call, it’s Sulli,” Amber said as she stepped out of the café for some privacy, watching Victoria get into her car.

“Sup Ssul. What’s the matter?”

…

“Of course it’s okay. Just you don’t really call me unless you had something to talk about.”

…

“Are you okay? It doesn’t matter if the apartment’s burned down so long you’re safe.”

…

“Okay, make sure you lock the doors and windows before you go out. And eat your breakfast.”

…

“Bye Ssul!”

Amber ended the call and jogged her way to the car so she won’t make Victoria wait any longer. To her relief, Victoria was leisurely using her laptop to do some research and was sipping on her tea from the thermos.

“What did she say?”

“She called because she might have burned down the apartment earlier,” Amber replied as she took over the laptop and putting on her seat belt.

“Forget about the gas again? Better not have her cook anytime now.”

“Can’t stop her. I’ll just renew my insurance and hope she won’t be inside when it burned.”

“Don’t joke about that!” Victoria retorted as she punched Amber’s arm.

“I’ll invest in a gas detector which will warn her of the gas level when it rises above the safe level. That should do the trick.”

“That’s much better.”