Close To Midnight

Chapter 31

Chaeyoung suppressed an urge to groan before it reached her throat. "Can you tell me in simple terms what this means?" She didn't come to the lab for the guy to give her a lecture in science or show off his medical degree.

"The heroin trace was in its purest form." One of the forensic technicians explained to her.

"Is it the kind Jung-Hoo's gang sells?" She immediately asked the young woman.

The technician pointed to the report they'd printed. "I'm sorry detective." She said in an apologetic tone, "This isn't the kind gangs deal with. It's too pure it could be be considered morphine."

Chaeyoung crossed her arms over her chest and gave her a pointed look which indicated she needed to explain further.

The woman circled another component on the report. The bold letters read CH3COCl.

"There were traces of acetyl chloride as well." She told Chaeyoung.

She already knew all of this, but what she needed to know was what it meant.

Understanding her confusion, the technician continued to add in a haste. "Morphine and acetyl chloride are treated together to form heroin. And only companies that make painkillers are allowed to use both these components."

Chaeyoung mulled over her words. She was right, drug dealers got heroin directly. They didn't sit around wearing white coats, mixing chemicals and making heroin from scratch.

"That means this has come from-" Her eyes widened.

"Yes, from a pharmaceutical factory." The woman nodded.

Chaeyoung bit her lip, looking a little disappointed. The first victim's note was written by someone who worked at a pharmaceutical factory. That definitely ruled out Nayeon.

"How many factories like that operate in our country?"

"Only one detective." The technician added quickly.

Chaeyoung sighed. This was either a lead or a diversion. Which one was it, only time would tell her.

___

"Detective Chaeyoung." Tzuyu greeted her with a smile as she sat down. Chaeyoung's eyes flitted to Jeongyeon who gave her a curious glance.

She pulled out the report, explaining the findings to them.

"Interesting." Momo muttered.

Chaeyoung looked across the desk. "What is?"

"Victim number 4, Yi-Jun had just gone to see his friend before he was killed." Momo said, passing the report back to Chaeyoung.

Jeongyeon regarded her with her shrewd eyes. "What about it?"

"His friend Jihoon was working at a supermarket at that time." Momo stated with a wide smile.

Tzuyu's eyes brightened up. "Jihoon said in an enquiry that it didn't pay as much as his previous job but he was glad to work in a stress-free environment."

Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon exchanged confused glances.

"Jihoon used to work at SK pharmaceuticals. They make opioid painkillers for cancer patients." Tzuyu smiled and leaned back against her chair.

Chaeyoung reached for the case file, quickly skimming through the papers to find the enquiries related to the fourth victim. Sure enough Jihoon had given statement about meeting his friend on the night of his murder.

Jeongyeon leaned over her shoulder, glancing at the file. "Let's say Jihoon had brought some magazines from his workplace."

Momo added immediately. "Yi-Jun took it from Jihoon during one of his visits to his friend."

Chaeyoung massaged the back of her stiff neck and mused out loud. "And cut out letters from the magazine to write the note that was left behind at the first crime scene."

"This is crazy." Jeongyeon raked a finger through her hair. "Going by this, Yi-Jun is either responsible for the first murder or somehow connected to the first murder."

"Let's not forget that both Yi-Jun and our fifth victim Hajoon knew our last victim Dong-Hyun." Tzuyu announced.

Momo pressed her hands to her face. "This takes us away from Nayeon."

Jeongyeon took a seat next to Chaeyoung. "Drugs are involved. We can't rule her away entirely."

Tzuyu took a sip of her coffee, looking sceptic. Jeongyeon had a single track mind when she believed in something. She'd always preferred to go with facts, Jeongyeon was the kind to go with her gut instinct.

"What does any of this mean?" Momo shifted in her seat, looking over her shoulder as a commotion in the lobby gathered her attention.

"If Yi-Jun is the killer, did the second killer he was working with him kill him? Why would they do that?" Chaeyoung wondered.

"Maybe Yi-Jun decided to go to police." Tzuyu suggested. "So his accomplice decided to finish him off."

"It still doesn't explain why Yi-Jun was seen with Dong-Hyun." Jeongyeon scratched the back of her neck.

"My husband is missing." A woman yelled loudly from the lobby. She must be in her mid twenties, Momo mused. The deep scowl etched between her brows told her she had a bad temper."You won't begin a search yet."

"Madam, you just lodged the complaint an hour ago." The officer at the desk informed her patiently. "We need to investigate before we begin searching."

"Who's going to do the cooking and cleaning if he's not home?" The woman retorted angrily.

Jeongyeon muffled a laughter behind her hand.

The officer sighed. "I don't see how that is the department's problem madam."

"Well he's been gone for three days. I haven't been eating properly. If I starve to death, the police force is responsible."

All four of them turned at the same time, snapping their attention to the woman. Three days ago, the date the Cupid Murderer was supposed to kill the eighth victim. The only day they missed the set pattern.

Jeongyeon grabbed the case file on her desk and ran to the front office, stopping to pant for breath before the angry wife.

"What's your husband's name?"

"Jiwon." She frowned.

She opened the file, pointing at the pictures of the seven victims. "Have you ever seen him with any of these people?"

The woman squinted her eyes at the photos. Her gaze fixated on one particular image. "I've seen this guy with Jiwon." She tapped on a picture.

"Where?" Jeongyeon jolted upright.

"At the library."

"Wait here. We'll call you in for more information." She said in a reassuring tone and then sprinted back to her cubicle.

Three pair of eyes looked at her expectantly.

"Her husband knew our sixth victim Gunwoo."

Chaeyoung knew only one thing for sure at that moment. The web was growing complicated but they were getting closer and closer to the truth.