case 143 | lee felix

1. a chilling discovery

HWAYOUNG

"I'll see you down in ten. Hurry up!" Captain Bang shouts and the whole squad disperses in a frenzy. We were called into the police department right at the crack of dawn regarding a fire in a small deserted gas station.

"Aye aye, Captain," Jisung dramatically salutes.

"Not now, Han."

"Dammit, I don't think I'll have time to get my coffee. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night," I groan as we make our way downstairs. I was up all night filling piles of overdue paperwork and I needed my caffeine fix for the day.

"I'm sure Jeongin started making your daily iced americano the moment he saw you walk in. I've been telling you for the longest time, Hwa, he has a crush on you!"

"You just like to make up stuff to keep yourself entertained."

"Oh, but today is the day I'm right," he smirks in satisfaction and points at the coffee kiosk in front of him as the elevator doors part. Indeed, a certain fox eyed boy stood behind the cash register wearing a smile too big for someone who has to wake up for work before the Sun comes out.

"Two iced americanos for Miss Park and Mr. Han. It's on the house, you guys deserve it for going out this early," he holds out two cups full of the brain freezing liquid, all pearly whites on display as he grins. The borderline overpowering scent of freshly roasted coffee beans always left me feeling invigorated.

"Thanks Innie, you're the best!" I ruffle his hair. Jisung lets out an indecent snort and I nudge him with a glare. He clears his throat and thanks the boy for the coffee before we hear another call to leave.

"I'll see you around then. Thanks again!" I say as we rush out of the building.

"Good luck!" He waves and yells behind us.

We climb into the passenger seats of the Jeep and I notice Jisung looking outside with a calculating expression. The car revs up and speeds off into the distance, when I finally get frustrated by his silence.

"What is the deal with you?" I ask, clicking my tongue.

"Trying to impress her best friend too...interesting...very interesting..." He mumbles.

"What?"

He snaps back into reality. "Don't you think it's weird that Jeongin made coffee for me too? It's like he's trying to win me over to get my approval."

"Or maybe it's because you're also a regular customer and he saw that we both didn't get our drinks today. Stop being so delusional and focus on the case, will you?" I say. I was definitely feeling cranky with an empty stomach and lack of sleep.

"Gee, loosen up Park."

Suddenly, we hear the sound of static on our walkie-talkies.

"Attention squad. There has been a slight change in plans," Captain Bang's voice crackles through the speakers from the other car. "We've received a call to immediately attend to Minister Cho's case. Felix, Hwayoung, I want you two to lead the investigation at the gas station while the rest four of you will come with me. Call for backup if you need any. Over and out."

"Dang it, I thought we would finally be on the field together. Mister Cap has some serious unsolicited favoritism towards that Lee," Jisung says dejectedly. We've never worked a case together during our entire friendship.

"I'm literally right here?" Felix says from the shotgun seat, turning around to give him a stank eye.

"Good, you were supposed to hear that," he rolls his eyes and we burst into laughter. You could always trust him to lighten up the mood no matter what kind of case was.

"Am I the only one who ships them?" Yeji says with a chuckle, knowing she hit the right nerve.

"Eyes on the road please, Hwang. And I'll have you know that the only person my heart belongs to is Cha Eunwoo," he says and we collectively groan.

"If I had a penny for every time you talked about him," Felix dramatically sighs.

"He's the same age as our captain," Yeji sniggers.

"Someone has a thing for older men~" I tease him.

*

"Good grief, the stench of the smoke is so strong even in here," Felix waves his hands in front of his nose as we both put on masks and other protective gear. We had stopped our cars a bit far from the gas station to have a quick meeting.

"Have fun working on your small local case," Hyunjin sneers. We've never been the best of friends and it didn't help that we were both the most competitive detectives in the province.

"I don't see what makes a case about an old man's missing painting worth any more."

"He's not any old man, he's the Minister of Defence! And that painting, for your information, is worth millions. Your pathetic life couldn't pay for half of it."

"Ouch, what's with the unprovoked insults? I'm so hurt," I say sarcastically, clenching my chest.

"Detective Park, Detective Hwang, behave yourselves," Captain Bang warns sternly.

"Sorry Cap," we reply in unison.

"Alright then, this is where we part ways. The fire department doused the flames a while back but they've alerted us that a gas leak can still possibly happen. Good luck and be careful," he says, getting back into the car. It speeds off into the distance, leaving me and Felix alone in the middle of literal nowhere. Who even reported the fire?

"Let's go," he snaps me out of my thoughts. We cautiously approach the gas station, a run down structure which was barely at the point of functioning. The navy blue convenience store board hung haphazardly from the yellowing walls, which were burnt to a caramel shade from the fire. The smoke was just beginning to clear out, allowing us to actually see the car. It was white and dented in the hood. The car was almost spotless otherwise, except for the damage caused by the fire, of course.

"So all that we have is that this car randomly set ablaze last night? No witnesses?" I ask after half an hour of futile searching. We were looking around the convenience store for any sources that triggered the fire till the smoke completely cleared out of the sedan.

"Yeah. And no surveillance cameras around either. Someone saw the fire from a distance and alerted the police but it was only for a moment while driving. The weird thing is that we ran the number plate across the systems and it's a relatively new car. Can't have been abandoned just like that without its owner anywhere around. It has to have appeared here very recently," Felix says, scratching his chin in thought.

I pull out my work tablet from my backpack. "Changbin ran a background check on the gas station and it appears its license was revoked due to a number of safety violations. At first glance, this place looks like it's not been operating but when I checked the convenience store earlier there was fresh food with production dates as recent as two days ago. We have reason to believe that the owner of this car actually came to refill his tank. But this car is their only way out of this desert so shouldn't they be the one calling the police?"

My head spirals with questions. The more we looked, the more puzzling this case got. I was expecting a quick solve like a faulty engine but there was something off.

"Hey, the smoke cleared out! Let's go check it out," Felix says, tiptoeing his way to the car. He abruptly stops in his tracks as I approach the front of the car.

"Is that...blood?" He crouches down and curiously examines the small patch of dried up blood on the pavement. I raise my head to see what he's talking about and I almost get a heart attack.

There was something inside the car.

Or rather, someone.