In a Maze...

Chapter 1

The law enforcement building could be regarded as the largest, one of the most well-maintained, if not the most sophisticated one, in the neighbourhood.

Altogether thirty-six floors. On the ninth floor, in a well-lit room, four men were seated around a long table.

The first one, on the left side, rubbing his chin while leaning against the back of the chair, was a man in his early forties. The oldest in the room. Except for a bit of extra skin in his belly, he was a strong, built man. Radiating an aura of experience, he, often, squinted his eyes at the other three present in the room.

Next to him sat a younger man in his early thirties. He had neat features and his eyes were those of a generous man. His hands were interlaced on the table and his posture straight. Once in a while, his eyes would wander to the door, which was closed but not locked.

Opposite him was someone a bit younger than him. A man in his late twenties. His eyes were sharp and observant, radiating confidence but not a hint of intimidation. With his arms crossed at the front, and his body leaning against the back of the chair, he was in a relaxed posture.

The last one was the youngest one in the room, sitting opposite the oldest one. With the defined features and sharp jawline, he could be said to be the most captivating in the room. In his twenties. Despite the soft eyes, he was a self-assured man, with his fairly built body. He was more focused on his watch than the other three in the room.

A few more minutes passed and then all their eyes turned to the door, which had been pushed open. Appeared in the doorway was a man in his forties, neatly dressed and generating a confident, commanding vibe. A file was in his hand. He closed the door behind him and walked straight to the top of the table.

"Morning," he greeted, standing straight at the top position. The file was placed on the table, before him.

Everyone else got off the seats and gave him a bow, with a mutual, "Good morning, Chief."

"Sit down," the chief said, motioning to them to take back their seats, "It's so sudden to call you like this. But an urgent case came to my hand this morning. A murder. I was to form an investigation team and here, you're, the ones I've chosen for this. You've never investigated a homicide case before," his eyes darted to the youngest one, who moved his head slightly in a nod, "Now is the time for you. Anyway, I'll briefly explain the incident first and then you'll need to discuss."

The other four shifted in their seats and straightened themselves. The clear, strong voice of the chief started, "A woman was shot dead in her own room around 3AM this early morning. The room window was broken. But according to the maid, who sleeps downstairs, no gun-shot sound was head, nor was the window breaking sound. She saw her mistress dead, only in the morning, when she had not come downstairs for breakfast. I was there this morning. But surprisingly, no footprint or evidence was left. Now what we have to do is to dig into her profile and find any evidence possible."

"What's her name, Chief?" The second youngest man inquired.

"Park Misook. I've got four copies of her profile to hand to you. The original one will be with me."

The chief detective shifted his attention back to the file and took out four sheets from it. They were distributed to the detectives.

"Read it in detail. And tell me what you think."

A few minutes passed and silence fell in the room.

"She has a stepson?" The oldest detective said, "But they don't live together. Might there be any issues between them?"

"They got along quite well," the chief said, "That is if what the maid said is true. Anyway, that's something we've to find out about more, ourselves."

"About the gunshot though, are we to assume it was by a silencer? Because a gunshot is loud enough even to wake up the neighbours," said the second eldest one.

"A silencer, for sure. That's the only thing possible," the chief's eyes fell on the youngest one, whose attention was still on the profile sheet before him, "Any idea, Mark?"

"Her own son is actually working in Canada," said Mark, "If he's coming back here soon, maybe we can start by digging up more of the information from him? Or from his stepson?"

"Or you all can go to the crime scene and see if there is anything you can find more," the chief suggested, "One thing though, it'll affect our department if this case is not solved or takes too long. You see, she was the wife of the former CEO of Park Import Export Ltd. The pubic is going to keep an eye on this case. It's going to be a pressure. So, you all need to concentrate on this case till everything's solved."

The detectives exchanged glances. The chief continued, "That's all for now. I suggest you discuss, between yourselves, about any ideas you can come up with, now. And then go to the crime scene and interrogate the maid once more if you want to. No one else is allowed there yet. The police might still be there. Hopefully, it won't be a months-long case. I'm going to leave now. We'll meet here this time, again, tomorrow."

"We get it, Chief."

They bowed to the chief detective, who gave them a nod and then left the room, with the file case in his hand.

The detectives seated themselves back and the silence fell. The eldest one looked around at the others and cleared his throat.

"Now that we're in a team together, let's warm up to each other first. I've been more in the drug investigation teams this year. I'm Kang Seongho. And Hyunwoo here is the only one I'm familiar with." His hand reached for the shoulder of the one who was sitting next to him.

"I'm Choi Hyunwoo. Newly wedded and still in a happy bubble. But I'm ready for this case," he cracked a smile.

"And my name's Eun Minsoo. I've been here for about two years. But surprising, this is the first time to be in a team with any of you. Anyway, nice to meet you. I hope we'll perform well, together."

Now the only one left was the youngest, in the room. The others' attention turned to him; he started, "I guess I'm the newest here. My name's Mark Tuan. Been here for nearly a year. This is the very first homicide case for me. I'll participate, well."

"Good," Seongho nodded, "Now coming back to the case, any idea?"

"Like Mark said, we can interrogate Park Misook's stepson. I'm sure we can get something from that," Hyunwoo adviced.

"What if he doesn't cooperate?" Minsoo pointed out, "It might be hard to interrogate a CEO. I've had such an experience. Anyway, it's a good idea. His name?" He took a glance at the sheet before him, "Park Jinyoung, the only son of the late CEO, Park Byungchul. I've seen him once or twice on TV. A little bit of a stubborn type, I think. We'll find out soon."

"First of all, shall we head for Park Misook's house? We might find something useful, there."

The detectives agreed with Mark's words and came to the decision that they all would go together, by one car.