Chen appeared with coffee almost as soon as Lay and Semi arrived in the lobby.

“Jongin’s gone home,” he said.  “He got fed up with people asking questions he’d said he couldn’t answer and he wanted space.  I don’t think he’s going to be back at work for a few days.”

“Don’t blame him,” Lay murmured, passing one of Chen’s mugs of coffee to Semi.

“And by the way, Siwon and about three other really important people are looking for you.  They wanted to know where you’d disappeared to when you were supposed to be working.”

“I’m technically off duty,” Lay retorted.  “And I went to get Xiumin’s alibi.”

Chen looked taken aback.  “What, he spoke to you?”

“No, but I’m pretty sure he’ll speak to Semi.”  Lay turned to the girl.  “I’m going to have to take your phone to show them the texts.  If we have those and can trace where the texts were sent from through the number he sent them by, that’s as good as proof he’s innocent.  Even better if you can get him to give us the phone with that number and the outbound text messages, but that might be asking a bit too much.”

“Fat chance,” Semi agreed before sticking her face in her coffee mug.

Not long after, their surroundings became chaotic as Siwon and his deputy and one or two other heads of departments had heard that Lay had returned after scarpering without permission, and a three-way shouting match between Lay, Siwon and a senior official known as Leeteuk started up.  It only stopped when a furious-looking Kyungsoo stormed up, making the entire lobby go silent, and yelled that they were supposed to be using evidence rather than conspiracy theories, and that five in the morning was way too early for him to be putting up with anybody’s crap, particularly after one of his colleagues had died.  Sipping at the dregs of her coffee, Semi silently pushed her phone into Kyungsoo’s hand, unlocked with the screen on the text messages, and he launched into a long tirade about somebody trying to hack into his computer and bound s and assassins, which caused a number of raised eyebrows.

Eventually, he paused to take breath.

“Has nobody paused to consider that Xiumin might have been framed?” he spat out.  “The guy’s not an idiot.  He’d at least wear gloves before touching my stuff.”

Lay coughed quietly.  “He texted Semi from the other side of the city around the time the murder was committed.  If you can trace the phone signal, it should be conclusive.”

“Why didn’t you trace his phone signal before?” Siwon demanded irritably.

“Because the phone we issued him with is as messed up as his microchip,” Kyungsoo snapped, finally looking down at Semi’s phone.  One eyebrow raised marginally before he tapped the screen a few times and then held the phone up.  “And here we have text messages that he sent Semi from another phone.”

Semi raised her head to see that he’d saved the number under Kim Minseok’s name.  She didn’t bother telling him that everybody else still had a Game of Thrones alibi.

Leeteuk was quick to change tack.  “If you can prove that Xiumin wasn’t in the building at the time of the murder, then what was he doing wandering around covered in blood?”

Lay shrugged helplessly.  “God only knows.”

“Lay!” snapped Siwon.  “This isn’t a laughing matter—”

“I’m not laughing—”

“He’s probably killed someone.  He’s already a convicted criminal and he’s not even supposed to be out of prison!  I am not letting him out of that cell until we know exactly why he has somebody else’s blood all over him!”

Before Lay could respond, Siwon whirled on his heel and stormed off, leaving behind an incredibly awkward silence.  After a moment or two, Leeteuk and the rest of his entourage scurried after him.

Lay deflated with a loud sigh.

“Fat chance he’s going to tell a policeman what he’s done,” Chen mumbled, taking Semi’s empty mug from her.  Lay looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Semi,” he said, “do you reckon you could get it out of him?”

“Me?” asked Semi, surprised.  “I’m pretty sure I can get him to agree that he actually has an alibi he’s refusing to use, but I highly doubt he’ll say anything else.”

“He trusts you, though,” said Lay.  “He’s said so.”

“He also wanted me to delete the texts he sent and erase the number, so I don’t think he’ll be happy when he finds out I haven’t.  And wouldn’t you need a testimony from him, in any case, rather than me?”

Lay snapped his fingers.  “Let me get you a microphone!”

“I don’t think you’re going to wriggle out of this one,” Chen observed as Lay hurried away.

She didn’t.  Ten minutes later, as she stuck the bug to her handbag, Lay and Chen got called away and another police officer appeared to take her down to the holding cells, which were on the first level below ground.  It was an unpleasant atmosphere: everything was concrete and steel bars, or reinforced glass walls and doors, no windows anywhere, and the harsh strip lighting glaringly bright.  Semi tried not to stare too hard at the one or two drunk people curled up in corners, and then averted her gaze when they passed another man, clearly not drunk, who fixed his gaze on her and his lips in a manner that made her feel uncomfortable.  Eventually, the policeman came to a halt, unlocking the door in front of him, and then babbled something into his walkie-talkie before he backed up out of the way.  Semi peeked around the open door.

Minseok was sitting in the corner of the holding cell, somewhat listless, and gazing unseeingly at the floor just beyond his feet.  One knee was pulled up further than the other, and he had his hands draped over it.  A gleam of metal shone on his wrists, both of which appeared not to be damaged, so he hadn’t tried resisting arrest.

Though, considering how much blood covered his face and most of his clothes, Semi reckoned it wasn’t really a surprise that he hadn’t.  It actually looked a little like he was in shock.  He wasn’t even responding to the fact that there were people there.  Or rather, just her, because the policeman who had escorted her had left.  Momentarily disconcerted, she looked around and wondered if she was allowed in without him, or if the police were even allowed to leave her alone.  But then, figuring Minseok was hardly going to hurt her, and also catching sight of a security camera in the corner, she took a step into the cell.

Minseok evidently wasn’t as out of it as she’d at first thought.

“Please don’t come any closer,” he murmured without looking up.  “It’s claustrophobic enough already.”

Semi sighed.  “Minseok….”  But she didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t continue.  He turned his head away and stared blankly at the wall.

Irked, Semi came further into the cell.  “Look, Minseok, it’s almost five in the morning and I really want to go home.  You haven’t even let anybody clean the blood off your face and you’re refusing to talk even when you have an alibi they’re prepared to accept, so—”

He exhaled audibly through his nose and his eyes flickered up to her b