Kevin picked them up bright and early the next morning to take them to the car shop. “Thank you so much for driving us everywhere,” Haruki told him as she climbed out of the car.

He just smiled and shrugged. “It was nothing.”

“Come and visit us some time,” Donghae added. “You too, Kiseop.” The ever-silent officer just nodded politely and waved as he and Kevin drove off.

“He talks less than…I do,” Haruki murmured. Donghae chuckled as they turned around and headed into the shop.

“Hey, it’s you guys,” grinned CL as they opened the door. “Your car’s all set. Bom and Dara have it in the back. It’s that way.” She pointed them through a door in the side of the shop and the detectives found themselves in a giant garage, which was empty except for their car.

“You must be Donghae,” called a tall young woman as she headed towards them, hand outstretched. “I’m Bom. That’s Dara.” She gestured towards the car, where a girl with a ponytail sticking straight up on top of her head was polishing the hood. She only paused for a second to wave.

“So it’s all fixed?” Donghae asked.

Bom nodded. “Can I talk to you for a second? Alone?”

Donghae shrugged and followed her to the other side of the garage as Haruki pulled her phone out of her pocket and smiled at a text she’d received.

“I didn’t want to say this in front of your girlfriend-”

“She’s not my-”

“But what happened to your car…it wasn’t an accident.” Bom looked very grave as Donghae stopped protesting to stare at her.

“Excuse me?”

“Your brakes had been partially cut, and someone replaced your tire with an old spare that wasn’t meant for driving on the highway,” Bom explained.

“Partially cut?” Donghae repeated.

“Whoever did it most likely wanted you far away if am accident occurred,” the mechanic suggested. “The combination of the changed tire and the speed you were driving at is what caused the tire to blow out. It’s a good thing you crashed into the railing, or…”

“You mean it was sabotage?” Donghae asked in disbelief. “How? Who…?”

“Maybe you two have some enemies,” suggested Bom.

The detective shook his head. “No. Just me,” he murmured more to himself than to her. Bom looked confused, but he smiled quickly. “Thanks for letting me know. How much do I owe you for the repairs?”

He’d keep this from Haruki. There was no sense in worrying her. He’d have to be much more careful from now on, though.

The killer wanted him far away from her.

Eunhyuk usually greeted Donghae with a big smile every time he saw the other man, but as Donghae entered the office, Eunhyuk rushed over to him, looking troubled.

“Please don’t freak out or anything, but-”

“What?” Donghae frowned. “Freak out about what?”

“We’re not sure how it happened, but it’s not as bad as it looks, so don’t freak out, okay?” Eunhyuk continued.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your office,” Sungmin replied, as he walked by. “Haven’t you seen it yet?”

There was something in the other man’s demeanor that Donghae couldn’t put his finger on. But he ignored it, pushing past Sungmin and a protesting Eunhyuk and dashed for his office.

The door was wide open, even though he was sure he’d locked it before leaving. His nameplate had been gouged, the words no longer recognizable. He poked his head inside and flicked on the lights, Eunhyuk peeking over his shoulder.

The desk had been flipped over. Papers were scattered everywhere. The pictures and awards he kept hanging on his walls had been smashed on the ground. His bookcase was overturned. It looked like someone had released a savage beast in his office and let it rip the place apart.

Donghae whistled. “I always knew I wasn’t organized, but this…”

“Look over there,” whispered Eunhyuk. There was a single piece of paper tacked to the wall, and Donghae had a pretty good idea of who it was from.

He walked over and ripped it down, Eunhyuk trailing behind him. “What does it say?” asked the blond.

"‘Next time, it’s your life’,” Donghae read quietly.

“Haruki wanted to give this to you herself, but she had some business to take care of,” Donghae explained, handing the flashdrive to Jiyong.

The hacker took it with a nod of thanks and glanced down at the overflowing paper bag in Donghae’s hand. “What’s all that stuff?”

"Stalker photos,” Donghae replied. “Apparently, our killer keeps them in a safe.”

Without warning, Jiyong reached into the bag and pulled out a couple. He examined them for a moment, before whistling softly. “Man, are they all of her?”

“Every last one. Whoever he is, he’s completely obsessed.”

“Dude, is she in this one?” Jiyong held up the shower picture, but Donghae snatched it from him and stuffed it back in the bag.

“Really, Jiyong? Really?” The hacker just laughed and sorted through a couple more photos.

Finally, he dropped the picture back into the bag and looked up at the detective. “I heard what happened to your office.”

Donghae shrugged. “I don’t think I’m really in any danger. It seems more like the tantrum of a jealous guy.”

“Jealous guys can be dangerous,” Jiyong said quietly.

“What do you mean by that?” Donghae asked.

“Nothing. So, where is the target of the killer’s obsession?”

Haruki stepped out of her car and glanced up at the giant building looming over her. She checked the address Jessica had texted her and sighed. This was it. Mirotic Modeling Agency.

After letting her roommate know she and Donghae were on their way home, Jessica had demanded to be picked up early from work so they could go to Club No. 1 and pick up her car. Considering their rooming situation could have gotten Jessica killed, Haruki didn’t think it was her place to argue.

She sighed again and put her phone in her purse. The doors whooshed open and she stepped inside, smiling at the man behind the front desk. “Hi, I’m looking for Jessica Jung? She works here, right?”

“Miss Jung is busy right now,” the man replied. “You’ll have to wait.” He turned away dismissively, but Haruki moved in front of him again.

“No, see, she’s expecting me. I’m supposed to take her somewhere…”

“There you are!”

“Speak of the devil,” Haruki muttered.

Jessica stomped towards her in glimmering six-inch high heels. She was wearing a silver gown that ended at her knees in the front, but trailed about two feet behind her in the back. Her face was so made up, she resembled a plastic doll, and her  hair was twisted in two braids that wrapped around her head. “Come on! Let’s go! My car’s been parked at that club for two days!”

“Don’t you want to change out of…you know.” Haruki pointed vaguely at the ensemble.

At that moment, a young man came rushing out of the elevator, clutching an expensive-looking camera in his hand. "Jessica!” he snapped. “We were in the middle of the shoot! And you can’t just walk out of here wearing that. That dress is expensive!”

“Ugh! Fine.” Jessica stomped her foot.

“Be careful with those heels!” the man yelped.

“It’s okay, Jessica. I can wait-” Haruki began.

“I don’t care if you wait,” Jessica retorted. “What about my car?”

“If it’s already been there for two days, it can wait a little longer,” Haruki shot back. “Just go finish…whatever you were doing, okay?”

Jessica huffed and stomped back towards the elevator. Just before the door closed, she reached behind her and tugged on the train, yanking it inside, so that it swirled around her legs and left no standing room for anyone else.

“We’ll take the next one,” the man told Haruki.

“Uh, ‘we’?” Haruki asked.

“Sure. What, did you think we’d make you wait in the lobby with Changmin? No way, you’d die of boredom,” the man told her. The receptionist, apparently having heard this, rolled his eyes. “You must be Jessica’s roommate. I’m Yunho, one of the photographers here at Mirotic.”

“Haruki,” the detective replied, shaking his hand. “How did you know?”

Yunho glanced over her outfit and smiled politely. “Jessica said you had a…fascination with neutrals.”

Haruki scowled. Damn that Jessica.

The elevator doors opened and Yunho gestured for Haruki to enter first. When they reached the top, Yunho led her down a long hallway, with many dressing rooms branching off the sides.

They entered one, and found Jessica sitting perfectly still in front of a mirror with her legs crossed, while a makeup artist hovered around her, dabbing at her face with various brushes. A petite girl with short blond hair was talking rapidly as she flipped through a notebook. “-and on Monday, you’re meeting your parents for lunch to discuss the funeral-”

“Cancel it,” Jessica ordered in a bored voice.

The girl looked horrified. “Sica, you can’t just cancel your appointments.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want to see them,” Jessica snapped.

“Stop moving!” the makeup artist complained.

“But Sica, it’s the only time all of you are free and-”

“If they don’t have time for me, I don’t have time for them,” the model retorted. She glanced over at Yunho and Haruki, standing silently in the doorway, and smiled slowly. “Fine. I’ll go. If she comes with me.” She pointed at Haruki.

“What? Jessica!” the detective protested.

“Oh, would you?” the girl begged, turning towards Haruki. “Please, please, please? It’s already been scheduled, and if I cancel it for her, then they’ll want to know why, and I’ll have to lie and come up with an excuse, and I-”

Haruki clapped her hand over her ears. “Okay, fine! I’ll go.”

Jessica beamed and bounced a little, causing her makeup artist to rebuke her again. “Thank you, Haruki.”

I hate you. “Yeah, anytime.”

“Oh!” The girl rushed forward, hand outstretched. “So you’re Haruki! Jessica’s roommate, right? I’m Sunny, her assistant! It’s so nice to meet you. And that’s Jaejoong,” she added, pointing to the makeup artist.

Haruki forced herself to smile, but even she knew it wasn’t convincing. “Yeah. Nice to meet you all.”

“Done.” Jaejoong took a step back to admire his work, only to have Jessica push him side and rush out the door.

“Come on, Yunho!”

“Coming!” Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Yunho raced after her. Haruki made a move to follow, but Sunny stopped her.

“Trust me, you don’t want to follow them,” the girl said seriously. “It’s so crowded in there to begin with and when Jessica throws a tantrum-”

“I’ll stay here, then,” Haruki said quickly. Sunny beamed. Jaejoong moved towards her, staring at her face until she squirmed. “What?” she snapped.

“You could use a touchup,” Jaejoong murmured. He reached towards the bottles and jars scattered over Jessica's dressing table, but Haruki quickly waved him off. 

“No thanks, I’m fine.” She never wore makeup. She couldn’t even tell the difference between foundation and concealer.

“Come on, sit over here.” Sunny grabbed Haruki’s arm and dragged her over to an empty chair, practically shoving her into the seat. “So, what do you do, Haruki?”

“I’m a detective,” Haruki replied.

“Ooh, like Sherlock Holmes?”

“No, not exactly-”

“What kinds of cases do you solve?” Sunny asked eagerly. “Thefts? Murders? Mysterious disappearances?”

“Uh, sometimes murders,” Haruki said.

“Really? Like what?”

Haruki just groaned and rubbed her forehead. Sunny didn’t even notice, as she continued asking questions, while Jaejoong stood there, staring silently.

She glanced at her watch. Please finish soon…

Two hours later, Haruki stormed out of the building, with Jessica at her heels. “You’re the one who told me to stay!” Jessica shrieked.

“You didn’t tell me it would take two hours!” Haruki retorted.

“Whatever! Can we go now?” the model snapped.

“Finally we agree on something,” Haruki growled, climbing into the driver’s seat.

“If anything has happened to my car, it’s your fault!” Jessica shrilled as Haruki pulled out of the parking lot.

“Whatever you say, Sica.”

The model huffed and crossed her arms, staring resolutely out of the window as Haruki pulled out of the parking lot. “I need you to tell me how to get there,” the detective said quietly.

“Turn right,” Jessica replied. “So what were you and Donghae doing in Falls Park?”

“Investigating the case. What else?”

“Did you find anything?”

Haruki sighed. “Jessica, even if I did find something, I couldn’t tell you. It’s classified-”

“This man killed my sister, he tried to attack me, and he’s stalking you, my roommate!” Jessica snapped. “If anyone has a right to know what the hell is going on, it’s me!”

She had a point, but the detective wasn’t going to give in this time. “Sorry, Jessica. I really can’t say anything.”

“You’re no fun!”

“You think this is a game?” Haruki snapped.

“Turn left,” Jessica told her.

Haruki waited for the light to change, and to a different street, before picking up her rant again. “My job isn’t fun, Jessica. It’s serious!”

“Whatever,” Jessica muttered again, sinking down into the passenger seat. “Why’d you two have to stay there, anyways?”

Haruki’s hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel. “I told you,” she replied, forcing her voice to sound even. “Car problems.”

“Uh-huh. So where did you stay?” Jessica asked.

“We stayed at a motel for the night. Why?”

“Just curious,” the model said innocently. “So did you get your own rooms, or-”

“What’s with all the questions?” Haruki snapped.

“Really?” Jessica turned in her seat, eyebrows raised. “You guys stayed in the same room? Oh my gosh!”

“What?” Haruki sighed in exasperation.

“So what happened?”

“Nothing,” the detective growled. “He slept on the couch.”

“Oh…” Jessica shook her head and examined her cuticles.

“What were you thinking?” Haruki retorted.

Jessica rolled her eyes at her roommate. “God, you’re dense. Turn here. This is it.” Haruki pulled into the parking lot as the model leaned forward, scanning around the rows of cars for her own. “Ah! There it is!”

Haruki pulled into an empty spot and Jessica sprang out the door, dashing towards her car. Just as she was about to back out again, her phone buzzed.

“Morita.”

“Morita? I thought your name was Haruki.”

“Who is this?” she frowned.

“It’s Hyunseung, you know, from Club No. 1. This is Haruki, right?”

“Yeah, it is. What’s going on?” Haruki asked.

“You know that man that I told you about with the photographs? He’s here right now,” Hyunseung replied. “He just came in and ordered a large coffee…and now he’s opening up his laptop. Oh, look. There are the photos.”

“I’ll be right there,” Haruki replied, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the car door. She reached into the glove compartment and pulled out her gun, hiding it in her pocket.

“You will? Where are you right now?” asked Hyunseung.

“In the parking lot.”

“What?” Hyunseung sounded amazed. “No way! Did you know I was going to call you? Are you psychic or something?”

“No, just a lucky guess. See you in a little bit.” Haruki hung up and hopped out of the car as Jessica drove up behind her.

“Where are you going?” asked the model.

“I…have some business to take care of in there,” Haruki replied, pointing at the club.

“Oh. I’ll come with you.” With that, Jessica pulled into the nearest empty spot and briskly walked towards the building.

“Jessica!” Haruki snapped, running after her roommate. “I thought I told you anything that happened with my case was classified!”

“I’m just getting a latte,” Jessica replied innocently.

Haruki just sighed and followed her into the club. Hyunseung and Yoseob smiled and waved from behind the counter. “How was your hangover?” Yoseob grinned.

“I survived,” Haruki said dismissively. She nodded at Hyunseung. “Well?”

“Well what?” asked the bartender.

“Where is he? The guy with the photos?”

“Oh, him? He’s right there.” Hyunseung pointed at a booth in the corner, where a man was seated alone, his coffee untouched as he typed away at his computer.

Haruki’s heart dropped to her stomach, but she took a deep breath and began walking towards him.

“Hi, Daesung,” she said softly, smiling as the man jolted and stared up at her, quickly sweeping the slips of paper scattered around him into his bag. “Mind if I join you?”

“What are you doing here, Haruki?” he asked.

“My roommate wanted a latte,” Haruki replied. “I didn’t know you came to this place.” Daesung smiled uneasily and turned back to his laptop. “What are you working on?”

"Just some stuff,” he told her. “Haruki, please, I’m really busy…”

“Of course. I just wanted to ask you a few questions. You have a minute, right?” she smiled as best as she could, her heart pounding in her chest.

Daesung sighed. “Fine. Go ahead.”

“Huntingcat.”

The hacker’s eyes widened briefly before he frowned. “What?”

“Amazewarrior.”

The frown deepened, even as his gaze darted towards the exit.

“Ragebeast.”

“What are you talking about, Haruki?” Daesung asked. His voice was calm, revealing only the tiniest tremor.

“Do those words mean anything to you?” Haruki asked. The hacker shook his head. “Really? Well, I’ll tell you what they are, then. They’re the usernames used to contact three of the victims of the serial killer I’m investigating. Did you know that?”

“Why would I?”

“You really don’t know? Jiyong managed to trace them all back to the same person,” Haruki continued, her voice dropping to a hiss as she met Daesung’s eyes unflinchingly. “You’re sure they don’t mean anything to you?”

“One hundred percent sure,” Daesung replied.

Jessica had stopped talking and was now staring at them. Haruki’s hand balled into a fist as she narrowed her eyes. Daesung shifted and glanced up to the right. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Haruki. You’d have to ask Jiyong-”

“You’re lying to me,” Haruki snarled. “I know you are.” Photos of Sulli and IU’s crime scenes flashed through her mind.

“I’m not, I swear-”

“Stop it.” Krystal’s skeletal face, Jessica’s tears as she talked about her little sister…

“Haruki, I’m not-”

“Stop it!” Hyorin’s primal shriek echoed in her yell. The detective jumped up and drew the gun from her pocket. She cocked it, leveling the muzzle to Daesung’s head as all around her, the other patrons screamed.

“Haruki!” Jessica shrieked.

Daesung trembled as he glanced up at her, and this time, the guilt was unmasked in his eyes. “Damn it, Daesung,” Haruki said quietly. “What exactly are you hiding from me?”