Jimin
The four of us fitted in Taehyung’s car with Jungkook and Misun sitting at the back while I took my usual seat, next to Taehyung. The radio was playing quietly, breaking the awkward silence. I looked at Taehyung who was tapping his fingers against the staring wheel and I sighed, knowing I had to start the conversation.
‘Have either of you ever investigated homicide?’ I asked curiously.
‘Kind of. Usually, mine had more to do with gang related shootings or stabbings or you know, the occasional explosion,’ Jungkook said, with a slight chuckle.
‘Something like him too. Worked with some gangs because of my undercover work,’ Misun said.
‘Ah another thing in common then,’ Jungkook replied with a cheeky grin. He may be one of the youngest, but he was definitely on the cheekier side.
‘What was it like? I mean working undercover?’ Taehyung asked as he took a turn.
‘Complicated and stressful. You always had to be on the look out and be careful that you don’t end up slipping,’ Misun explained. ‘Then again, I can imagine it’s a walk in the park constantly working homicide or with gangs and narcotics,’ she said.
‘I can’t complain. I get plenty of action and adrenaline rushes. I prefer that to the endless paperwork,’ Jungkook replied.
‘I guess for us, it’s that we see a lot of murdered people and horrible sights. That part never gets easy but it motivates us to work harder,’ I explained as she nodded.
‘I honestly really admire people like Namjoon and Hoseok who get their hands dirty to investigate for evidence or clues,’ Taehyung said and I nodded in agreement.
‘Everyone has something to give,’ Misun said. I could not help but smile slightly.
‘Exactly. So, ma’am, how do you want to do this?’ I asked.
‘With you not calling me ma’am. My name is Misun,’ she said with a smile to which I nodded. ‘We’ll take a look at the crime scene first. Then we’ll start to talk to any witnesses and gather any intel from the hotel including any camera footage,’ Misun said.
‘Well look at her already getting into her role as time leader,’ Jungkook said with a cheeky grin. I wasn’t sure if he was admiring her or simply teasing her.
‘Don’t tease Jungkook. She may be younger but she’s still team leader,’ Taehyung said with a slight smile but also warning in his voice. Taehyung always believed in showing ultimate respect to superiors, unless, they were wrong. Then he would not have trouble telling them.
‘Hey I’m just being friendly. Lighten up, jeez,’ Jungkook complained. From the mirror I saw Misun roll her eyes, forcing me to hide my own smile. ‘How much further?’ Jungkook asked impatiently.
‘Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who’s always going ‘are we there yet?’ all the time,’ I said but Jungkook just shrugged, but smiled.
‘We’re here,’ Taehyung said as he pulled into the driveway, just as I saw Yoongi pulling in next to us.
‘The others are here too,’ I said as we got out of the car. I nodded towards the others as Misun took the lead. I ended up walking next to Hoseok.
‘I can’t believe we’re already going on the team’s first official crime,’ he said, somewhat a little excited.
‘Yeah, I hoped we’d get some time to get to know each other or something but unfortunately, crime doesn’t wait for anyone,’ I said.
‘Too true my friend,’ he said. I looked at him with one eyebrow raised. ‘Sorry…too soon?’ he asked, suddenly seeming nervous but I quickly shook my head, wanting to reassure him.
‘Not at all. Took me by surprise but I like it. I like happy people,’ I said with a bright smile which he quickly copied.
‘Well, you’re in luck. My friends and family say I’m a happy pill that remind them of the sun. I guess that’s why they call me Hobi most of the time instead of Hoseok,’ he said.
‘Can I call you that?’ I asked to which he instantly nodded. ‘Awesome. My friends normally call me Chim, especially Taehyung,’ I said.
‘Where did I come in?’ Taehyung asked, coming up from behind us. ‘I heard my name,’ he said, with a cheeky grin of his own.
‘We were just talking about nicknames and how you often call me Chim,’ I said.
‘That or mochi. Doesn’t he remind you of mochi?’ Taehyung asked, making Hoseok laugh a little as we made it to the elevator.
‘I guess so,’ Hoseok replied. ‘What about you?’ he asked.
‘Taehyungie or Tae,’ Taehyung replied with a smile.
Misun
We reached the room which was surrounded by cops. There was yellow tape everywhere to stop people from coming in. I took a deep breath before I pulled the tape up and walked inside, with the boys following right behind me.
I stopped in front of the officer who seemed to be “in charge” for now. ‘Good morning ma’am, sirs,’ one of them greeted as he stepped forward. I nodded at him as did the others. ‘I’ve been told to make sure no one goes in and to secure a perimeter, but leave everything to you,’ he said as I nodded.
‘Of course. What do we have Officer Ethan?’ I asked as I took a quick look around the room. The male victims were sprawled onto the bed, the once white sheet completely stained with blood. Yet, the room did not appear messy – almost as if there was no fight. There weren’t even any blood splatters which might have indicated close contact, not to mention the fact they were face down.
‘Two male victims. One of them is Kim Dong-Hyun,’ he began.
‘Wait, THE Kim Dong-Hyun?’ Jin asked, forcing all of our eyes to fall on him. His eyes had gone wide and his mouth was open.
‘The one and only,’ Officer Ethan replied with a sad sigh. I looked over at the boys, but my eyes stuck on Namjoon who looked a bit confused.
‘Is he famous or something?’ he asked as he scratched the back of his neck. He really did have a habit of doing that whenever he was either shy or nervous, or possibly embarrassed.
‘Dude! Have you been living under a rock or something?’ Jungkook asked.
‘Yeah! Kim Dong-Hyun has been recently mentioned a lot in the media for being such a young businessman who was doing revolutionary things!’ Hoseok exclaimed.
‘I don’t know what’s so revolutionary about what he was doing. It’s been done before, he just evolved it,’ Yoongi hummed in response.
‘Maybe but his aim was to use it with poorer people and not just let it be something for reach people,’ Taehyung argued back.
‘Guess you have a point,’ Yoongi replied as he looked around the room, his eyes falling on his laptop. I could almost see the cogs in his brain starting to work as he pinpointed things he needed to look at.
‘What about the other victim Officer Ethan?’ I asked. The young officer licked his bottom lip as he pulled out a plastic bag which contained a wallet.
‘I did not touch anything except for this which was lying on the desk. I checked for ID. His name is Park Han-Gyeol,’ Officer Ethan explained.
‘He appeared a lot on Dong-Hyun’s social media. They were close,’ Jin confirmed.
‘Maybe a whole lot closer than it seemed,’ Jimin said, pointing to the bed. They were both tangled together.
‘Let’s not start assuming things. They could have been simply sharing a bed and this was staged to throw us off,’ I said as I took a step forward. I took a closer look at their hands, more specifically their rings. ‘Although, there is something quite interesting here,’ I mumbled.
‘What are you seeing?’ Jungkook asked as he also stepped forward to look.
‘Two rings. On his left, his has his wedding ring but on his right, he has a matching ring with Han-Gyeol,’ I said, pointing to the rings.
‘Um Officer Ethan, was there any signs of break in into the room?’ Jimin asked as the officer shook his head.
‘None at all,’ he replied. ‘Only reason people realized was because they had a reservation for breakfast with a client but didn’t show up. An employee came to check and opened the door and found them like this,’ he explained.
‘That won’t exactly narrow any suspect lists. A lot of people could have had the key card to the room – employees, manager, a friend,’ Taehyung said with a shrug.
‘Namjoon,’ I called out as he stepped forward. ‘I know you need to examine them, but if you were to give a preliminary observation, what would it be?’ I asked.
‘Like you said, need to examine them but, first observations suggest close range shots, very close one. Dong-Hyun has burn marks showing already from it being close,’ Namjoon explained. He knelt a little forward as he lifted the arm of Han-Gyeol with a gloved hand. ‘Judging by temperature, I’d say, they’ve been dead for about ten to twelve hours, placing it between midnight and two in the morning,’ he explained.
‘Could a silencer have been used?’ Taehyung asked as Namjoon nodded.
‘Possibly. I actually think so but the autopsy and ballistics can also confirm that,’ he said.
‘Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. Hoseok, I want you to start taking the photographic evidence and then move on to forensics. Namjoon, call the department to help you with transportations of our two vics so you can start the medical examination,’ I said as they both nodded.
I turned to Yoongi and pointed at the laptop. ‘I want you to go through the laptops and phones and any other electronic device in here that could help. I want financial statuses and whatever you can gather about their social lives,’ I said.
‘Got it,’ Yoongi said with a nod. ‘I’ll let Hoseok finish with taking photographs and I’ll collect my own evidence,’ he said as I nodded.
‘Jin, I want you to go through the hotel camera feeds. See if you can catch anything, focus more on the time window Namjoon indicated,’ I said as he nodded.
‘On it. I’ll also check garage and any surveillance from close by,’ he said.
‘Taehyung, Jimin, I want you to start interviewing the hotel staff and the guests staying here. Start first with the ones on this floor and also the client they were supposed to meet,’ I instructed as they both nodded.
‘Jungkook, you’re coming with me. We’re going to go inform the wife and then try to interview her,’ I said.
‘Well, that’s going to come as a shock – her husband dead while in a bed with another guy,’ Jungkook said, making me unsure whether he was being sarcastic or concerned for the woman.
‘We need to gauge her reaction Jungkook so pay attention,’ I said as he smiled.
‘Of course, ma’am,’ he said as he pretended to salute, making me roll my eyes. ‘Hey, how are we going to go there if we both didn’t bring ours?’ he asked.
‘You can take mine. We’ll be staying here for quite some time,’ Taehyung said as he fished out his keys from his pocket and threw them at me. I caught them mid-air, making Jimin whistle slightly.
‘Good catch,’ Yoongi commented as I just smiled a little.
‘Thanks Taehyung. Let’s go Jungkook,’ I said as he nodded. The two of us left the room and went to the elevator. The ride was silent until we reached downstairs. We hurried towards the car and the two of us got in.
‘So, first stop wife huh?’ he asked as I took out my tablet. I typed away the name into the database to get the address.
‘A lot of murders do happen by people who know the vic,’ I said as I put in the GPS and started driving. ‘The spouse is often the first and most obvious suspect, especially if he was having an affair,’ I said.
‘It would definitely give motive,’ he said as I took a turn.
‘Still, we can’t count out others. We’re dealing with someone popular and rich who I am sure had plenty of enemies,’ I said as he nodded.
‘They weren’t kidding when they said we’ll be dealing with big cases. We’re certainly starting with a big one Mimi huh?’ he asked.
‘Mimi?’ I asked, arching one eyebrow as I stole a glance at him. He chuckled and shrugged but didn’t say anything. I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I continued to focus on the road.