Chapter 14 - A Murder In The Precinct

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The cell was sealed off as police swarmed in to look for clues. Lim Byungsoo's body lay inside the cell with a pool of dried blood around his head. He had bled out due to his cut throat. A doctor moved his face a little to examine the cut and took notes while the police transferred the nearby prisoners to other cells. The policemen were brushing the surfaces of the walls for DNA and residue while a photographer clicked pictures of the dead body. The knife found near the body was safely kept in a plastic bag and taken away to the evidence room.

Finally, the body was zipped up in a body bag and sent to the morgue. Everyone was wondering only one thing but no one dared to say it out loud: How the hell did a prisoner manage to kill himself?

There was pandemonium all around the precinct at the suicide which had taken place. Even though no one dared to say it out loud but it was certain that there was a security breach. Someone had smuggled in a knife and it was an astonishing feat considering that everyone was checked thoroughly for weapons or sharp objects upon entry. The jailor Kim Sangwoo, a short and thin man in his fifties, was outraged. The guards were wary of their boss' short temper, watching as he paced back and forth in his office.

"How the hell did this happen?" he spat. "A prisoner killed himself inside a cell and you guys didn't even see anything?"

He glared at the guards who looked down in shame. One of them spoke up.

"We checked the CCTV cameras and did not see anything unusual!" the guard stated. "We saw the footage and shockingly, Lim Byungsoo was shown sleeping in his cell all night. Only when the steward went to provide breakfast was when Lim's body was found!"

"Are you telling me that the prison's cameras were hacked?" Sangwoon demanded. "That's impossible!"

Their prison had high tech security cameras which were imported from a trusted dealer in U-State. The cameras were highly efficient and would ring the alarm the moment they were tampered with. Then how come the cameras were showing fake footage?

"Give me the records of all the guards who had entered the precinct last night," Sangwoo instructed. He paused and then added, "Scratch that. Send me the list of all employees who were present in the prison last night! Someone must have given Byungsoo the knife. The prisons don't have knife or any sharp object in them! So who gave him the knife?"

"Yes sir!" the guards exclaimed and saluted before leaving the room. Sangwoon sat on his chair, frustrated. He had no idea who did this but Lim Byungsoo was a high profile criminal. The families involved were very powerful and they wanted to throw him into jail. Moreover, the families also had connections within the central jail. Once Lim Byungsoo was sent there, the criminals would have made his life a living hell.

There was a knock on the door. A doctor entered the room.

"Sir," she said. "I have checked the body. So far, it seems as if he had committed suicide. The position of the knife found near his body along with the angle on his neck shows that he killed himself."

"What about fingerprints?" Sangwoo asked.

"None," the doctor sighed. "There were footprints near the cell but those belonged to the guards' shoes. They walk there all the time so it's hard to pinpoint who was there last night."

Sangwoo wanted to cry in annoyance. How did this happen?

Suddenly, there were heavy footsteps coming their way and within seconds Lee Jonghyun burst into the office with his assistant, Haein, in tow. Sunye also walked in, looking grim. But she was more worried about the way Jonghyun was reacting. Even though she was still new to the firm, she was taken aback by Jonghyun's anger.

Jonghyun strode forward and to everyone's shock, held Sangwoo by the collar. The jailor wheezed in anger as the young man grabbed him.

"How did a prisoner manage to kill himself in a heavily guarded prison?" Jonghyun shouted.

"Who the hell are you?" Sangwoo gasped. "Do you know that manhandling a police officer is a crime?"

"Sir…" Haein stepped in to hold back Jonghyun.

"CEO, don't lose your cool," Sunye advised. Jonghyun glared at the jailor before heeding to his employees' advice. He let go of Sangwoo, the latter panting for breath.

"How did this happen?" Sunye asked in a calm tone. She tried to keep her anger at bay but could not help herself from throwing a brief glance at Jaein aka SD. The man wore a worried expression but Sunye's gut instincts were alarmed. He was definitely involved in Byungsoo's death. She did not know how but it was obvious that SD was somehow responsible for it. Then, why would he make her take up the case? Couldn't he have just killed the man off without going through such a hassle?

"We don't know!" Sangwoo claimed. "The CCTV has been tampered with and there is no evidence of foul play! But the prisoner had managed to smuggle the knife into the prison and hence, was able to commit suicide."

Jonghyun was trying to hold in his anger with great difficulty. He slammed his hand on the table, scaring the jailor. Even though he was a policeman, Sangwoo was cowering in front of the volcanic CEO of LN Partners. Upon hearing the news, Jonghyun's temper flared up. Lim Byungsoo's case was very important to him. The man was in cahoots with many high profile criminals. He was a key in getting them arrested and Jonghyun wanted to use him to root out the evil seeping into the country.

But with him dead, the last key to nab the criminals was also gone.

"The defense is going to request for a mistrial," Sunye stated. "They'll say the accused is dead. Our plea bargain was for naught."

She glanced at SD again. He looked straight at her and for a moment, Sunye thought she saw a strange glimmer in his eyes before it vanished.

"I'll go and inform Mr. Chanwoo about this," Jaein said to Jonghyun. The latter nodded and returned to interrogating the jailor. Sunye wanted to follow but Jonghyun said, "Ms. Han, I want you to stay here with me while I question the guards."

"Y-yes," she stuttered, watching helplessly as SD left the room. Once outside, SD casually walked into the dingy washroom. He took out his phone and dialed Orea's number.

"I hope you have my money ready!" Orea exclaimed.

"It's been wired to your account," SD smirked. "Did you remove all traces from the CCTV cameras?"

"Wiped them clean," she stated. "There's not a single evidence from last night left."

"Good," SD said. "Now it's time for the next step of the plan."

….

"I'll let you know if we find out anything," Sangwoo grumbled. Jonghyun had tried to fish out a lot of information from the jailor but to his annoyance the old man did not know anything.

"It's no use," Sunye sighed. "Whoever did this had it all planned. We need to talk to the victims' families and let them know of the next course of action. Even if he's dead, they can still recover the money."

Jonghyun was about to open his mouth to speak when his phone buzzed. Frowning, he took it out and saw that it was a picture. Sunye looked over his shoulder and her mouth gaped open.

The picture was of Lim Byungsoo in bed with another man and that too in a very compromising position. But the shocking part was not the positions but the other man in the picture with Lim Byungsoo.

"Isn't that…" she began. "Isn't that Shin Hyun, the Minister of Finance?"

"Why is he with Lim Byungsoo?" Jonghyun wondered.