Part iii

"An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast;

a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind"

-Buddha

Sunny and Jessica waited for everyone in the conference room to settle down. The two-hour time they gave their staff to gather important information was already up and they had to meet for the night's second briefing. Yuri was surprisingly quiet and Taeyeon and Tiffany sat very far away from each other.

"Everyone ready?" Sunny asked. There was silence as everyone glanced at each other. "Okay then, let's start."

"We've been to Park Soyu's house a while ago. We talked to her parents and to her best friend." Tiffany stood up, paced to the front. She twirled her pen with her fingers as she spoke. "The victim called the parents the night before she died. She was grumpy and upset about her new job."

"Did she tell them why?" Jessica leaned her chin over her knuckles.

"No. But they said it was just Soyu being Soyu. It was normal."

"Your point is?" Yuri, who was squinting at Tiffany, asked.

The latter shook her head and sighed. "Doesn't look suicidal to me." She was sure it wasn’t at all. She looked at Taeyeon. "And Dr Kim here found something."

The quiet psychologist was startled upon hearing her name. Her eyes widened when she realized everyone was anticipating for her. "I didn't-"

"Go on. You told me something a while ago." Tiffany urged. She knew something was up and when she found Taeyeon at the kitchen, acting weird. She just tried to forget what happened between them to get their jobs done. She was still pissed at the shorter girl but she hid it well.

With a blow, Taeyeon gathered her strength and stood next to Tiffany. She cracked a stiff smile and the latter smiled back like nothing happened between them earlier. "I, uh, I think Inspector Hwang is right."

"How's that?" Sunny asked, crossing her arms. She has waited for this moment, for her friend to show her wits. The girl has been sulking about being humiliated. It was her time to show them what she got.

Taeyeon, like she always did, pushed her glass back to its place with the back of her hand. She cleared . "When I studied the crime scene, something was missing. Uhm, she called her parents right? But as Inspector Hwang said, the victim didn't sound suicidal at all. You see," Her words came out more freely than they usually do. Her confidence boosted when she saw all the people around her listened. "When a person plans suicide, first off, there would be a note saying goodbye or if you talk to your loved ones, you will always leave a mark that will make them remember you forever."

Sooyoung nodded. She listened closely to find any links on what she found out with the interviews she conducted earlier. "What mark?"

"Anything." Taeyeon played with the board marker she held. "Like deep words that have multiple meanings. Giving away material things would also be an option. And people who already made their plans seemed happier and brighter because finally, they found peace, in death." She added, closing her eyes. "But Soyu has no notes. Her last words were jot remarkable at all."

Tiffany smiled. She knew Taeyeon knew something. She didn't why or how she knew, it was just there. She felt it. It was weird, but, it was there.

"And lastly, where is the bottle of arsenic? Nothing was found anywhere in the house. If you are going to kill yourself, why hide the evidence?" The psychologist frowned. The killer made the victims look like they died in suicide but whoever it was missed a lot of things.

Everyone in the room grew quieter as Taeyeon's words went through their neurons. That's when Sooyoung stood up and went near Tiffany and Taeyeon. She found the link. "Same as Sohee. There was nothing memorable with her last acts or words, no notes too." She looked at Yuri to encourage her to talk.

"She was found sitting on her chair," Yuri then added. "With a glass with we presume as arsenic too. No evidence of the said chemical anywhere at the home. We checked on it since the apartment wasn't cleaned thoroughly after her death." Yuri added. “And the things recovered from her home didn’t include the chemical too.”

The captain of the Seoul PD creased her brows as she signalled the three women in front to sit down. She put her palms over the table. "So they didn't die of suicide. Arsenic, no other evidence. The killer hid it. Same M.O. They were murdered." She wasn't surprised, more like disappointed. They could've seen this immediately if they didn’t dismiss the case earlier on.

Everyone nodded in agreement with her. "But why do that? Put them on the chair?" Sooyoung asked.

"To make us think they really died of suicide?" Yuri said, tapping her finger on the table. She was getting impatient. She needed to catch this guy immediately.

Taeyeon shook her head. "That's one. But it could be more of a sign of remorse." Taeyeon stood up again, picking pictures of Soyu and showing them to the staff. "Look, the killer cleaned the mess. This person was reckless; he forgot a lot of things. But he never forgets to make the victims look like they were at peace."

No one in the room was able to reply as they processed everything. There were no suicides. But there were murders with one killer. There was a reckless person out there who causes pain to others by taking lives away. They have to catch whoever it is, as soon as possible.

"You're good." Yuri remarked at Taeyeon. “How could you have known those with pictures only?”

Sunny grinned proudly. "Of course. She is a genius. Remarkably gifted."

"Genius?" Hyoyeon asked eyes wide. She looked at the woman with anticipation. "You are a genius?"

"I have a hundred and sixty six intelligence quotient. The average IQ score is between 90 to 110. It takes a hundred and forty to be considered a genius. Einstein,” She lifted a hand. “Had a 160 score and Darwin had 165. Cool, right? I also have-" She stopped when Sunny's lips turned to a weird angle and everyone's face contorted. That's when she knew she went off the line again. "I, yeah I am a genius, I think." She concluded.

Yuri cleared . Genius but weird, she thought. "Whoa, a huge brain you got there!”

“It’s not about how huge the brain is.” Taeyeon shrugged.

“That was just a metaphor, Taeng.” Sooyoung giggled.

Everyone laughed again. Yuri shook her head. She couldn’t believe that someone at this day and age wouldn’t know that. “Even Hyo here is remarkably-" She paused to smirk at her friend. "Mentally disabled." She said and everyone laughed. She earned a fake punch from her friend.

Tiffany silently watched everything. She still found Taeyeon weird but she was also more amused by what Taeyeon could actually do. She never thought of the missing evidences first and the girl found out first. Maybe Jessica and Sunny knew what they were doing when she was paired to this genius. “Being a genius sometimes coincide with autism.” She uttered.

The shorter woman tilted her head. “Right, some geniuses showed sign of that condition.”

Tiffany patted Taeyeon’s shoulder. “I know. And I can see an autistic in you.” She whispered but everyone heard.

Taeyeon pouted when everyone snorted. “Do I look like one?”

“You dress like one.” Tiffany corrected.

The poor girl looked down from her toes upward. She didn’t see anything weird with her outfit. Everyone dispersed when she looked around. “Where is everyone?” She scratched her head.

****

Jessica thought she was the only person left inside the con room when she heard the door creaked open. She was back reading their reports just to make sure they didn't leave anything when an equally petite girl entered the room. She looked up and met the eyes of Taeyeon. Jessica smiled a little then yawned. "Hey." She said quietly.

The psychologist was surprised. "Good evening Captain Jung."

The younger woman waved her off. "It's actually," She looked at her watch. "Off hours now. I told you to drop the formalities. You can call me Jessica now."

"I, uh is that okay?" Taeyeon fidgeted.

"Of course." This time Jessica smiled widely at Taeyeon.

"Okay, Jessica."

"That’s better.” The brunette went back to her papers. “Thank you, Taeyeon."

The woman sat down next to the captain and stretched. "For what, exactly?"

"You've been a great help to the case."

"It's our job." Taeyeon stared at the stack of papers on the table blankly. Her mind wandered off again. Her first day was filled with so many things. Working off the desk was her dream but she was real close to going back to her old routine again.

Jessica noticed the behaviour and even if she didn't know Taeyeon that much, she knew something was off. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" The psychologist snapped back to reality. "Yes."

"You're a bad liar."

Taeyeon chuckled a bit before heaving a deep sigh. The jokes pulled on her didn’t waivered her. It was what Tiffany said earlier that night that didn't stop bugging her. She was a psychologist but she didn't know how to use that. She was wrong and she knew better. "Am I not human like?"

"What?" Jessica swivelled her chair to face Taeyeon. The woman just bowed down and somehow she understood the situation. "Well, aside from your brain, you look perfectly fine to me." She waited for a response but she nothing but a small smile from Taeyeon and that was enough. "Don't think that people see you as weird. You're not. Well, maybe a little." Jessica pinched the air teasingly. "But you're you. You're good at what you do and that's what's important."

Taeyeon looked up and somehow she felt lighter.

“Is it about the teasing?”

The girl shook her head. "Inspector Hwang got mad at me." She told Jessica what happened during the interview and it made the captain laugh. "Why are you laughing?" Taeyeon squinted as she repositioned her glasses.

Jessica wiped her tears. "Sorry, but it was funny. You really told them that?" Taeyeon nodded and Jessica snorted. When she gathered herself together, she gently placed her hand on Taeyeon's arm. "First case outside your comfort zone?"

Taeyeon nodded again.

"Maybe you did a mistake. But it was your first time. Tiffany understood. Maybe she was just upset. She's too kind when it comes to these families."

For the first time, someone understood her predicament aside from Sooyoung and Sunny. She felt better. Taeyeon smiled. "Thank you. Sandwich? Juice? Anything?

"Sure." Jessica closed the folders. And at the pantry, they went. They ransacked the cabinets mercilessly for food. And when they got what they wanted, they took seats at the front desk, munching.

Taeyeon stole glances at the girl. “How about you, are you okay?”

“What?” Jessica was taken aback.

“I read your writings, right? I knew something was bugging you too.” She casually said. She wasn’t capable of feeling anything because she grew up and raised in a family that was guided with what’s only right and wrong, no emotions involved. Yes, she could read words, gestures and a lot more but that was just that.

“Do you know Commissioner Jung?”

Taeyeon nodded.

“He is my father. He blames me for these cases. He believed I let Ahn Sohee’s death go, just as that.” She lolled her hand.

“Don’t take it all on yourself, Jessica.” Was all Taeyeon could say. She just said what she learned in books, not in true feelings.

“I know.”

****

"Good morning. Wow, you are early today." The copper haired woman smirked at her best friend who was surprisingly there at her office earlier than her subordinates.

The brunette pouted. "Find it amusing, Tiff?"

"Quite so." Tiffany took off her leather jacket and her Ray Ban before sitting across Jessica.

"I need to see every detail." She pushed the papers towards Tiffany with a grunt. She asked herself when she woke up earlier how she ended up doing this stuff when she can be a singer. But of course, old Mr Jung won’t be happy if she became an idol.

"Dad issues again?" Tiffany asked. They never had the chance to talk since both of them have become busy about the latest case.

Jessica nodded. "We have to catch him, Tiff. We need to prove him that we're way better than what he thinks of us."

"We will, Jessi." The former tried to crack a smile. She was there when her best friend and the Commisioner started arguing about work, even when they are at home. And it urged Jessica to live away from her family. “Let’s go shopping!” She delightedly suggested.

The brunette cooed. “I want!” She deflated instantly though. “Let’s finish with these first.”

“Right, of course.”

Jessica inhaled and pulled one paper from the stack. "I am interested with what happened between you and Dr Kim." She said. The smile on her face grew wider.

"You knew?" Tiffany's eyes widened.

"Well, we had a moment last night. She was upset about what happened."

The other woman creased her brows. She leaned back to backrest. "I think she's better off behind the desk." She said.

"You know what I think? I think she'd get better with you." Jessica grinned. “Come on, give her a break. We both know she’s socially withdrawn. She has hard time dealing with people.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. "I hate it when you experiment. "

The captain looked at her wall clock and it read 7:45 AM. She pursed her lip. Another day was up for her. "Okay, Inspector Hwang you can now go back to your desk. It’s an order, take care of her."

Tiffany pouted. "Fine." She stood up after sticking her tongue out. When she opened the door, her heart almost jumped out of her chest when she bumped into a woman with a shorter height. "Whoa!" She squealed.

Taeyeon was equally surprised. The box she was holding slipped off of her hands. She picked it up and looked apologetically at Tiffany. "I'm sorry, Inspector." She pushed her glasses and she fixed her bangs.

"What are you doing?" Tiffany asked. She noticed how nervous the woman looked.

Taeyeon bit her thumb nail. "I was looking for you. Inspector Kim told me you went in here." She pointed at the door behind Tiffany. "I just want to give you this." Taeyeon handed Tiffany the box. "I am sorry about last night."

The woman raised her brows at the present she received. She opened the box and saw a dozen of red bulls in it. Her brows knitted then.

"I asked Captain Jung if I could give you something and she told me you like drinking coffee and red bull."

"Oh." Tiffany smiled a bit. She closed the lid of the box. She appreciated the effort. Overnight, she has grown to like this girl more. "Thank you. And about last night, it's okay. Just consider the family's feelings next time." She walked pass Taeyeon towards her desk. The shy woman followed suit.

“Okay. So, are we good?"

Tiffany beamed as she opened a can of red bull, considering it as a treat. "Sure. And you're good out there by the way. Never thought of that missing evidence."

"You noticed that I knew something, how?"

"Instincts, my friend." Tiffany proudly said. “You can tell me next time though. I can’t always predict what you’re thinking.”

Taeyeon nodded.

“And oh, I am serious about the way you dress.” She smirked, gaining her love for teasing the girl.

Taeyeon heaved a sigh. There she goes again, she thought. And like it was nothing to her, she didn’t respond. She was ready to leave when she spun her heels but stopped before having a step. She needed to remind Tiffany of something. Her face was unreadable.

"Yes?" The woman asked.

"A can of red bull has 80 milligrams of caffeine. You also drink coffees more than four cups a day." She started.

Uh oh. Tiffany pulled back the cab before swallowing more of the energy drink.

"I figure your caffeine intake is more than 500 milligrams a day. And did I already say it is dangerous? There is a 21% higher death toll to people who has that amount of caffeine every day. And if you're lucky to be still being alive, you most likely have an anxiety disorder now." Taeyeon informed with 100% certainty.

Tiffany, like always, was baffled. "Did you just scare me? Is this how you get back at me?" She asked, looking at her beloved red bull.

"No. Or did I?" Taeyeon asked back. She tilted head to one side.

Even if it was totally unnecessary for someone to inform another person of scary statistics, it made Tiffany's lips tug up. "You gave these to me," She pointed at eleven more cans. "But you just told me not to consume them after all."

"I didn't- I just-" Now Taeyeon couldn't express her reason. "Just take them moderately." She then said softly.

Tiffany was still grinning. "Don't worry. Oh, I know! Let’s just share them then."

And Taeyeon grimaced. “I don’t drink caffeine.”

“You’re no fun!”

Taeyeon, again dismissed Tiffany’s childlike gag and scurried off.

Yuri, who was silently listening from her workplace sneaked to Tiffany's side and again, it startled the woman. "Yah! Yul don't you scare me like that."

"Now I think she is right about the anxiety disorder." Yuri giggled. "God, where did they find her? She knows everything!"

Tiffany shrugged. She stopped her hand from picking the can of red bull. There was a soft smile on her face when she threw the half empty can in the trash. Anxiety and death. Okay, that's really scary. She thought to herself.

“You like her, don’t you? You’re crushing on her!”

“What?”

“Oh, come on. We’re friends since you first held a gun. You never teased me like you do with her.” She shook her head. “So?”

“It’s just fun to see her looking lost when we joke on her.” Tiffany’s voice was defensive. Wait, crushing? On Dr Kim? She didn’t know it but she blushed. No way in hell. She didn’t think about that, though. She paid too much attention scrutinizing the woman, and she never does that. “I don’t like her.” She just said, leaving the thought in the air. She got a full plate right now, crushing on someone wasn’t helpful. And no, she thought again, she wasn’t crushing on Taeyeon.

****

Yuri sat down calmly but her face showed otherwise. She was biting the side of her cheek to somehow release some tension while looking straight at the woman's eyes. She pushed a photo of Park Soyu and waited for a reaction but the woman only smirked. It irked Yuri more. "You clearly know her." She stated.

"Of course. Heard she died." The woman said, not even faltering.

At the other side of the glass that separates the interrogation room and the watch room, Taeyeon, Tiffany and Jessica were listening. The woman they had in custody that lunch was Shin Mi Hyun. She was the girl Soyu's ex boyfriend cheated with.

"Tell me, where were you when she died?" Yuri asked.

Mi hyun looked surprised. "Didn't she kill herself?"

The police officer flared her nose. "We don't believe so."

The woman scoffed. "So I am a suspect now? Great." She rolled her eyes at the figure of authority in front of her. Yuri didn't speak. "I am glad that she's dead. I could've done it myself but whoever did this to her, say thank you for me."

Yuri flared up, slamming the wooden table. "Her boyfriend cheated with you. The least you could do is to feel sorry for the family."

"Okay." Mi hyun straightened up. "Sorry for the family. But for her? Sorry but not sorry, Inspector. She deserved it. She took everything away from me."

"What?"

"Jisuk never loved her. It was me whom he loves." The woman then admitted.

Yuri shook her head. She took out photos of Ahn Sohee. Mi hyun only frowned.

"Who is she now?" the woman asked, brows raised.

"I am going to ask you the same thing."

"Okay, first you are accusing me of killing Soyu and now you're asking me about her? I don’t even know this chick, officer." The surprised woman pushed her seat away from the table. "Go check my alibi."

Yuri stood up with gritted teeth to go do as she told. She slammed the door. She met those three other women's eyes. "What do you think?" She asked Jessica.

The young captain just shrugged. "Taeyeon, what do you think?"

"What?" The other woman shifted.

"You're good at psychology." Jessica smiled softly at her. "So what do you think?"

"She has a reason, jealousy. She was enraged and a woman could do anything for a man. But no, I don't think she killed her."

First, Tiffany was surprised that her best friend dropped the formality. Second, she was also surprised at what Taeyeon was saying. "Why?"

"The crime scene was clean. And with the rage she has, killing Soyu by slitting is more possible. And I think she genuinely doesn't know Ahn Sohee."

Jessica nodded. It was plausible, what the equally short girl said. "Okay. Then she is not our killer."

"We are letting her go?" Yuri asked, surprised at Jessica’s sudden decision.

"Check on her alibi first. Then get Soyu's ex boy friend for questioning."

The tan inspector inhaled then nodded before walking out of the room.

Jessica patted Taeyeon's shoulder with a grin before going out of the room. "Good job, Taeyeon."

The woman just meekly smiled. Blood rushed to her face at the slight contact. "Thank you, Captain."

Tiffany didn’t notice it but the paper she was holding was already crumpled when she witnessed the patting of shoulder and blushing. Once realizing what she has done, she immediately straightened the poor paper. “You look like a pulped tomato.” She said sarcastically while opening the door.

To be continued...

****

Omo! TaengSic is progressing and wait, is our Tiffany jealous?