Chapter Seven
Angel Vessel
When we got back to the office, the phones were off the hook. News reporters were trying to get the inside scoop on the dismembered woman case. I sighed as I finally set down the receiver of the twentieth call.
Myungsoo came over and put a cup of coffee on my desk. "You didn't have to." I said softly. "But, I wanted to." was his reply. I was about to take a sip of my hot coffee when the phone rang.
"Goddamit!" I picked up the phone. "Look, we have no idea who the woman is yet. We are still looking into the case. Now, can you sto-."
"Park Minji-sshi. You should at least let me talk before you start yelling at me." Our boss said. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry sir." I apologized. "It's fine. I need you guys to go take a look in Busan. A woman just called the Busan Police saying she found a body part in her backyard. It's our case. So Busan will let us get involved if it is. I'll get confirmation from them in a few minutes and send in Dr. Cho and the coroner and forensics." he explained. "Yes sir." I said.
"Now get going. PR will handle the garbage reporter calls." and hung up on me. I sighed and looked up. "We're going to Busan." I said to Myungsoo. He nodded and went to get his car.
I pushed the seat back a little and settled in. "Take a quick nap. You look exhausted." Myungsoo grabbed a pillow from his backseat for me.
"I can switch with you for driving." I protested. "It'll just be about five hours, less if I drive a little faster. I don't need a second driver for that." he said. "I'll be awake." I said leaning my head on the pillow. "Alright." He gave me a small smile and started the car. But, with the lull of motion of the car, I felt my eyes drift close.
"It hurts! Put out the fire! No!" I screamed.
"Minji!" Myungsoo shook me roughly and my eyes burst open. I was panting and I felt myself sweating. "Minji!" He called my name again. "Are you okay?" He asked, concern on his face. I pushed him away. "I'm f-fine." I said unclipping my seatbelt. He grabbed my arm to stop me from leaving the car. "No you aren't." His tone was flat. His eyes bore into mine.
I could barely remember the dream. All I knew was the pain that felt so real. The pain from the silver flames.
"I-I just need a breather." and Myungsoo pulled into in his arms. "It's okay. Whatever you dreamed. It isn't real. You're safe." he said softly and my breathing stopped being so ragged.
My hands came up and I hugged him back. "I'm sorry." I said softly. "You're safe." He repeated again. I nodded. He held me for a few minutes before I pulled away. I didn't meet his eyes. "I just had a nightmare. I'm okay now." I said. "Here." He held out a water bottle and I took a gulp of water.
"Are we here?" I asked.
"Yeah. I was about to wake you up, when you started to scream and cry." Myungsoo said softly. His hand came up and I flinched, but he cupped my cheek and wiped away the tears there. "Thank You." I said and pulled away from him. "No problem." He gave me a small smile. "Alright." His face turned serious. "Let's go see what this woman was talking about." and we got out of the car and walked to the house.
I felt my fists curl tightly against my sides when I finally saw what the woman was calling about.
"I had thought a dog died in my backyard. I was coming out here to rake the leaves." The woman was talking to a police officer from Busan. "But when I got close enough to see what it was, I screamed and ran to call the police. "
"Ma'am, where were you before you discovered the body?" they asked. "I was on vacation in Jeju for two weeks. I just got back right before I called the police. You can ask the neighbors and check my passport." she said.
"We will." the officer replied. He looked up when he noticed us. "Is this related to your case?" he asked. I took another look at the torso of the poor woman that was now lying in a bed of leaves and nodded. "Who would do this?!" The woman who reported the torso said, slightly hysterical.
"Ma'am, let's go inside." the officer went inside with her as Myungsoo and I went to examine the torso.
"The cuts were very clean. Sliced right through her muscle and bone in one move." Myungsoo said. "This bastard is leading us on a scavenger hunt. Except we aren't looking for meaningless prizes. We are looking for this woman's body." I said to no one in particular.
"We have no leads yet. But hopefully when we find the rest of body, we can figure something out." Myungsoo put a hand on my shoulder comfortingly.
I nodded. I knew that I needed to talk to Woohyun when we got back to Seoul.
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