Chapter 156 - Sunny Daze (2): Faceoff

Mirae arrived at the Police Station once again wearing her mask and sunglasses. She headed straight for the cell where Shun Oguri was held. Hyun Jung, Eli and Sunye were already there along with a few other police officers. A coroner was examining the body which was hanging from the ceiling.

"How did this happen?" Mirae demanded. "Wasn't he under protective custody?"

"He was," Hyun Jung replied. "But according to the guard, he stepped out for a minute to use the washroom. When he came back, Shun Oguri was hanging by the bars. He used his belt to strangle himself."

The coroner who was examining the body stood up. "He was hung by the belt," he concluded. "However, it seems that he was effectively paralyzed before he died."

"Paralyzed?" Eli questioned. "Someone drugged him?"

"No," the coroner replied. "He wasn't drugged. His vital point was hit." 

He pointed at a small area behind Shun Oguri's head. Upon closer look, they could see a little bruise had formed.

"It was done by hand," the coroner explained. "It's usually undetectable and is used as a technique in martial arts to subdue opponents. However, it seems that Shun Oguri had sensitive skin. Which is why the bruise formed quickly. Once he was paralyzed, they hung him using his belt."

"It's not his belt," Mirae and Sunye said together. They looked at each other, startled.

"His belt was taken away before he was arrested," Mirae said.

"He wasn't wearing one during interrogation," Sunye agreed. "This belt belongs to the killer."

Hyun Jung took out a pair of gloves and entered the cell. He climbed on a stool to inspect the belt. "This looks very expensive," he commented. The belt was tightly wrapped around Shun Oguri's neck. "There aren't any initials on it but it looks like it was custom made. It is not something one would find in any ordinary store."

"That's just strange," Mirae frowned. "Why would someone just use an expensive custom made belt to kill Shun Oguri? If the maker of the belt recognizes his own work, he may be able to easily identify the murderer! Isn't the killer just giving himself away?"

"Or he's trying to frame someone," Sunye suggested. "The killer used a custom made belt on purpose so that we catch the owner."

"Or maybe the owner is the killer," Eli said.

"The killer isn't stupid," Mirae stated. "He would never use such an obvious method of killing. This murder was done for two reasons. Firstly, to get Shun Oguri out of the way. Secondly, to frame someone else to distract us."

"You seem to know a lot about this murder," Eli accused. 

"I'm simply using logic," Mirae countered. "Which killer would use an expensive custom made belt to kill someone? They'd just give themselves away!"

The two women glared at each other. While Mirae knew that Eli was simply being suspicious of her as a cop, the latter's accusatory tone was irritating her.

"The masked lady is correct," Sunye said, cutting the tension between the two women. "However, we cannot also rule out the fact that the killer might be stupid enough to use his own belt for this. Let us find the owner first and bring him in for questioning."

Hyun Jung, who completely missed the encounter between the two, got down from the stool. "We'll send his body for post mortem," he said. "And see if we can get more clues."

He turned to Eli. "Search for the belt's owner and bring him in," he instructed. "Meanwhile, we'll look into the activities of Shun Oguri and check up on his rivals."

"Are we going to work with her?" Eli frowned. By 'her' she meant Mirae.

"Yes," Hyun Jung said, raising an eyebrow. 

"She has no authority here!" Eli protested. "We don't even know who she is! How can we just work with her like this?"

"No one told you to," Mirae snapped. "I'm an independent detective. I can work on this case on my own and get access to the necessary information faster. Now whether you wanna work with me or not, is up to you. But I daresay, my sources of information are faster and more reliable. Far more than yours."

"How do we know you didn't carry out this killing?" Eli questioned her.

"He died under your custody," Mirae shot back. "How do we know you didn't kill him?"

Eli was about to retort when Sunye said crossly, "Please focus on the case. Arguing with others won't help you Detective."

Eli shut her mouth. Glaring at Mirae one last time, she turned on her heels and walked away.

"I apologize for her rudeness," Hyun Jung said. "She is suspicious of everyone."

"Don't be," Mirae said quickly. "That's her problem. Being suspicious is fine with me but attitude matters. I'll be off now."

She turned to Sunye. "Would you be leaving now? I can drop you off. It is pretty late at night."

"Thank you," Sunye smiled. "I will take my leave, then," she added to Hyun Jung who bowed in return. With that, she followed Mirae out of the police station. 

Mirae led her towards her car. Since she came to the police station, she did not bring her Porsche but borrowed one of KJ's SUV. It did not stand out nearly as much as her own car but it was still an expensive one.

"Where do you live?" Mirae asked.

"Downtown," Sunye replied. "Just off the main street. Sky High complex."

Mirae revved up the engine and they set off. 

"I know you're the CEO of Abyss," Sunye stated. "Chairman Song had mentioned that you will be interested in this case since Shun Oguri was a member of the Cartel."

"I'm not surprised that you knew," Mirae said. "I had an inkling you knew from the beginning."

"Thank you, by the way, "Sunye said. "For protecting me from Shun when he tried to attack me. Even though he couldn't have harmed me anyway. But still…"

There was a hint of sincerity in her voice.

"Don't worry about it unni," Mirae said. "Can I call you unni? Since you're older?"

"Suit yourself," Sunye shrugged. 

"You were really impressive back then," Mirae complimented. "The way you handled Shun Oguri. We had a tough time making him crack but you hammered him well."

"I was merely testing him. He cracked on his own. If he was any smarter, he'd have offered to give up information on the Cartel in exchange for clemency."

"Would you have given him clemency?" Mirae asked.

"I would have," Sunye said. "Cannot promise anything for Song Tamlin."

"What will you do now? He's dead. Look for the partners?"

"I wish I could," Sunye sighed. "But those people were foreigners. It would be hard to have them arrested. Song Tamlin will probably use other methods to take care of them."

"I am curious though," Mirae frowned. "Why did you take up this particular case? That too for Song Tamlin?"

Sunye thought for a while before finally answering. "What happened to Soyeon was horrific. She is the precious sister of someone I had once loved."

Sister? Mirae thought. As far as she knew Song Soyeon was an only child. Could this mean, she was talking about…

"Are you referring to Song Tamlin's nephew-"

"My house is right around the corner," Sunye cut through. "I'll get off here."

She indicated towards a superstore ahead. Mirae nodded and pulled over. 

"Please don't tell anyone," she requested. Mirae understood what she meant and simply nodded. Sunye smiled at her and got off, shutting the door behind her. 

She watched the older woman walk off. It seems everyone has their own fair share of secrets, Mirae thought.