The sun had risen, but Hakyeon still struggling with his blanket. He was so busy lately and of course it was tiring, so he wanted to sleep more. The digital alarm clock on the bed side table changed from 6:59 am to 7:00 am, and the alarm went off. It’s beeping loudly, making him toppled from his bed.

Aish! Seriously... Why did I set the alarm this loud?

He groaned at the thought of leaving his comfortable bed, warm blanket, and smooth pillow. He slowly crawled to reach the clock, switched it off and trying to put it back on the table when he nudge a frame so it fell to the floor. He got up from his bed to pick up the frame, and ended up staring the picture on the frame for a long moment. At first his lips formed a smile, but then his expression turned angry. He hates to see the picture on it. No, actually he hates himself, for being an incompetent detective. A detective should be able to protect the others. But he can’t.

He was just about to go to the kitchen when he heard his phone ringing. He turned around in a dazed move to take his phone, and sighed when he read the caller name.

“Uh, Sanghyuk-ah. Why are you calling this early? If this isn't urgent—”

“Hyung, this is an emergency. He killed again.”

“What?!” Hakyeon taken aback, feels like his jaw is about to drop on the ground.

“Another victim has been discovered, a woman in her 20s. It’s the same modus operandi and signatures. And guess what? Six of her fingers cut out, exactly like Jaehwan hyung's analysis.”

“I'll be right there. Please call Jaehwan so we can make sure she is the victim of the joker.”

“Alright, hyung.”

Aish! This damn culprit.

***

Hakyeon entered the crime scene, where a lifeless woman was lying on a slide, head nearly severed from her body. Hakyeon examined the victim’s chest, eyes widened when he saw multiple stab wounds there. Seeing this sight might makes him throw up or haunting him into his nightmares, but he has to see it. He is the team leader after all. He has to pretend like nothing happened so his team members wouldn’t notice his fear. He needs to solve this case.

He sighed in frustration, silently cursed the culprit in his mind. Darn it. You’d better hide your tail, you damn psycho. Because when I find you, I’m not just going to cut off your tail, I’ll tear up your skin instead. I’ll kill you with my own hands. I have every right to do it.

“Have you identified her yet?” Hakyeon asked after he felt a little calm.

“Yes, we have. Seo Boram, 28 years old.” Taekwoon replied.

“Time of death?”

“Judging from her condition, she hasn't been dead for a long time, about 7 or 8 hours ago.” This time, it’s Jaehwan who replied him.

“Are you sure she is his victim?”

“It’s the same MO. To be sure, this is his signature.” Sanghyuk replied, showing the one and only unuseful evidence, the red joker card as he bagging it up, “it’s definitely him.”

So it’s really him.

“What about CCTV footage? Have you found it?”

“Unfortunately, there is nothing, hyung. He knows well how to choose a perfect place to commit his murder.” Wonshik sighed. Yeah, he observed the crime scene twice, but there is no CCTV found despite its public playground.

“But it’s strange. This crime scene is too clean.” Hongbin frowned.

“What are you talking about?” Taekwoon asked, completely clueless with Hongbin’s words, so does Wonshik and Sanghyuk.

“Don’t you think this crime scene is too clean for this cruel murder? I mean if he killed his victim this way, there must be a lot of blood scattered here. But as you can see, it’s kind of clean here.”

“Now you mention it. I also think so. The victim had many puncture wounds on her chest, her head even nearly severed from her body, but there is only a small amount of blood scattered here.” Hakyeon frowned at the thought of it.

***

“The victim's name is Seo Boram, 28 years old. She was a teacher at Dreamland Kindergarten.” Taekwoon reported to his team leader as he read his notes.

“According to the victim's older sister, she left home around 7 o'clock in the evening on Thursday, April 27, 2017.” Sanghyuk paused, checking his notebook where he wrote the interview result, “the bus stop is a 30-minute walk from her home. We checked all the CCTVs in buses that were running at that time. She wasn't on any of them. She disappeared during the 30 minutes.”

“From the results of the crime scene, only a small amount of blood was found, means he killed her elsewhere and dumped his body in the playground.” Hongbin added.

“Was there anything else found at the crime scene?” Hakyeon asked even though he already knew what would be the answer. He was just trying to deny the fact, hoping for different answer would come out from Hongbin’s mouth.

“In addition to the joker card, there was nothing that belonged to the suspect. The suspect left nothing behind.” Hongbin replied.

“Have you ever seen The Joker leaving evidence behind?” Taekwoon hissed.

“Never. But I just hope he leaves a useful evidence behind, no matter how small it is.” Hakyeon murmured.

“How can a human be that cruel?” Hongbin leaned his head on the back of his chair, massaging his dizzy head.

“He definitely is not a human, but a monster.” Wonshik responded as he clenched his fist.

“Okay, stop wasting time. We need to do our job immediately.” Hakyeon raised his voice tone to call everyone’s attention back to him, “Taekwoon and Wonshik search the CCTVs near the crime scene. Hongbin and Sanghyuk back to crime scene and check it once again. I will check the autopsy results and then join the crime scene team.”

***

“Judging from the depth and shape of the wound, he first stabbed the victim to death, then slashed and cut off her fingers. The depth of the wounds on his chest is different, indicating that there is still a resistance effort from the victim. But can you see these wounds?” Jaehwan pointing toward victim’s wounds, “the cuts on her neck and fingers were very neat. It can only be done if the victim is dead. The culprit must be very familiar with the killing tools.”

“What do you think he used to kill his victims? Knife?”

“It must be. But the shape of the wounds on their chest and their neck are different. Does he use two different knives?”

“Probably.” Hakyeon sighed, “A person who familiar with knives ... what kind of person is he?”

Jaehwan thought about it, “I have no idea. Judging from the way he killed his victims, he certainly did not like to do murderous ways like any other killer.”

“He must have thought he was a murderer at the top. Tsk. He's nothing more than a heap of rubbish.” Hakyeon scoffed. He stared at the victim’s body. It was too damaged to call a corpse. How can Jaehwan work with it comfortably?

Jaehwan was pulling the white fabric to cover the victim’s body when his stomach growling, alert him to go find something to eat. This case forces him to overwork his body and even made him skip his lunch.

“Ah, my belly is kinda fussy hahahaha. Maybe it wants to join our conversation.” Jaehwan chuckled, caressing his empty stomach.

“Tell your belly to be quiet.” Hakyeon ordered in intimidating tone, causing Jaehwan’s lips to form a pout. The way he pouts was just too cute to be ignored by Hakyeon. So Hakyeon can’t help but smile widely at the forensic doctor.

“It looks like we have to deal with your stomach first.” Hakyeon said as he patted the younger’s shoulder, “I know a good restaurant around here. Follow me!”

“The treats on hyung, right?”

“Who says? Pay for your own meal.” Hakyeon gave an intimidating glare to Jaehwan, but the forensic doctor just stuck his tongue out.

“Let’s see. I’ll make sure you’ll pay for my meal, hyung.”

***

Annyeong ~~

I'm back with a new (cheesy) chapter hehehe

How was it? Let me know your thought, please~~

.: 인형 :.