The Ultimate Inspector, Kang Ji-hyeok - Chapter 12



Only Krnovel

Episode 12

“I can just say it… Just leave my girlfriend alone….”

The thin chain snapped and he began to list the facts of his crime.

“Sect. Han Ji-min killed him. I was just watching. He threatened her with my gun and strangled her with his belt.”

“Have you seen it yourself?”

“When I ran to the bathroom, Private Park Chung-deuk was already dead. I quickly called 119, but there was nothing I could do.”

“Why did you kill him?”

“I don’t know that much. There was some kind of transaction between Sergeant Park Chung-deuk and 2nd Lieutenant Han, and my girlfriend, as a third party, helped me with money laundering several times. I was 2nd Lieutenant Han’s close friend… no, I was just a subordinate, I don’t know what the two of them did. It’s true.”

I turned my head.

The lawyer, with a bewildered expression, lowers his head and clenches his fist.

It is clear that this is all Lieutenant Lee Hyeon-su knows.

If I had been more deeply involved, I would not have given this testimony.

As a veteran detective who has caught countless criminals, this is something I know well.

The weakest link among the accomplices is actually the guy below who we don’t know much about.

And then you have to pull on that broken link and scoop out the dirty lump at the top.

Because of Lieutenant Lee Hyun-soo, Han Ji-min has to make a decision now.

The case has now been concluded as a murder case rather than a death case.

Of course I’m still not satisfied.

The maximum penalty for military court-martial is death.

Everyone says so.

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is best, but the law says that it absolutely cannot be done that way.

No. It may not be possible, but at least a prosecutor should be able to seek the maximum sentence under the law.

There is still one step left.

One lieutenant, this X-foot is too much.

Tighten up.

Because I will never let this slide.

“That is all. This concludes the examination of the witness.

The judge speaks to the lawyer.

“Then the lawyers······.”

The lawyer stood up.

Did you even get along with Lieutenant Han Ji-min?

He declared his surrender.

“My client says his testimony is correct. He says he accidentally killed Sergeant Park Chung-deuk in the bathroom because he got angry after he swore at him.”

The lawyer said so.

The judge looks at me with a subtle expression.

“So, are you going to call a second witness?”

“I will do that.”

I see Lieutenant Han Ji-min.

“I hereby request that Han Ji-min be the second witness.”

The judge nods.

“At first, I was curious as to why Lieutenant Lee Hyeon-su was requested as a witness, but now my doubts have been resolved.”

The judge said so.

He, too, seemed to be interested in this incident.

Is there ever a military prosecutor who has investigated so thoroughly in a military court?

“Lieutenant Han Ji-min, please take the witness stand.”

The lawyer stands up and, unusually, requests to be questioned first.

“What does the prosecution think?”

“Let’s do that.”

“All right.”

So, the second witness and the real culprit in this case, Lieutenant Han Ji-min, took the witness stand.

“Witness, based on various testimonies, Private Park Chung-deuk had many complaints, and is it true that Second Lieutenant Han Ji-min, who judged that military life was difficult, asked the battalion commander to transfer him to the so-called boiler room position, which is a so-called ‘dull position’?”

“Yes.”

The lawyer submitted the documents.

“This is an order regarding a change of position decided by the battalion commander and a second lieutenant.”

“I see. It was written by a lieutenant and stamped by the battalion commander.”

The judge admitted the change of position order into evidence.

“Sergeant Park Chung-deuk always expressed his dissatisfaction with Second Lieutenant Han Ji-min, who had been paying such attention to him, and even hurled insults at her during a drinking party to boost morale a month before his discharge. This shows that Sergeant Park Chung-deuk’s character itself is problematic.”

Where can I buy medicine?

I can’t just let it go.

I raised my hand and requested a correction to this statement.

“Should I be threatened with a gun and strangled to death by my superiors just because I have a bad personality? Is that the kind of place the Korean military is?”

Male.

Male.

A few audience members were chatting amongst themselves and making a buzz.

“Attorney, please continue.”

The judge gives him a chance.

Well, since the situation is so unfavorable right now, I would like to hear the testimony of Lieutenant Han Ji-min properly if possible.

It’s something a judge should do.

“How did Lieutenant Han earn so much money?”

“I recently invested in stocks, which are popular among young people. Of course, I also invested in my friend’s club.”

“Is that club in Seoul?”

“Yes. I received the proceeds from that club, but I acted cautiously through Lieutenant Lee Hyun-soo because I was afraid that it might cause problems in my military life. I only served in the military, so I didn’t know much about the world. I’m sorry.”

You have a pierced mouth······.

He was making excuses in the name of testimony with the most apologetic expression possible.

“Here, here is a statement that you received the proceeds from that club. It is a notarized statement, so it is correct.”

A copy of that testimony was also sent to me.

Oh? Okay.

It was here.

It was the luckiest moment of this trial.

An incredible amount of documents came into my hands!

I smiled, raising the corners of my lips.

bingo.

The most difficult knot to find so far has been untied.

This is the moment when the most important problem that I couldn’t properly solve because I couldn’t find this knot is solved.

“I have received the evidence, lawyer. Thank you for your hard work.”

The bewildered lawyer looks at me.

I give him a grateful smile.

“Thank you for finding the important evidence I couldn’t find.”

At the end of the document was written the name of the club and the son of a bitch.

〈Dancing Queen Club.〉

〈President Lee Han-soo.〉

Now my puzzle is all together.

I’m lost. I’m falling over.

I now know why the quiet ‘Guide’ wanted to get involved in this trial.

“Is the lawyer’s testimony finished?”

“yes.”

“Then, what about the prosecution?”

“I would like to request an on-site verification.”

Male.

Male.

A gasp of surprise erupts from the audience.

“On-site verification?”

“suddenly?”

The judge asked with a surprised look on his face, touching his glasses with his hand.

“What do you mean we have to do field verification now?”

I stood up and spoke to the judge with a serious face.

“This is where the final secret lies as to why this incident occurred.”

“That’s an interesting statement.”

The judge’s eyes shine behind his thick glasses.

Attorney Kim Ji-ho stood up and refuted my statement.

“I object. On-site verification during the trial?”

“It’s not far from here.”

The judge looks at me and asks.

“Not far away? Where is it? Is it the place where the murder occurred?”

“No. That’s where Sergeant Park Chung-deuk worked. He was a boiler man. There’s a secret in that boiler room.”

I said, waving the few pieces of paper I had brought.

“This document is a design drawing for the boiler room in the unit. There is a secret here.”

For a moment, Lieutenant Han Ji-min’s eyes distorted.

Han Ji-min, you murderous bastard.

I knew your eyes would distort.

The judge also looks at the design drawings.

“Design drawings alone cannot explain it. So let me show you. You won’t regret it, Your Honor.”

The judge looks amused.

I guess so?

I never thought it would be such an interesting trial.

He too was a man who wanted to find the truth.

That’s what a real judge should do, right?

“Okay, I’ll check it on site.”

“Thank you, your honor.”

The military court was in an uproar.

On-site verification?

Has anything like that ever happened in a military trial?

Detective Kim Ji-cheol was also flustered and asked me cautiously.

“Inspector, you’re suddenly talking about an on-site inspection?”

“Detective Kim Ji-cheol, you found the most important thing we couldn’t find.”

“Understood, Inspector.”

* * *

Suddenly, an on-site inspection began during the trial.

We headed to the unit, which was 15 minutes away from the courthouse.

“Here it is. This is the boiler room where Private Park Chung-deuk worked.”

The judge, the prosecutor, and I, the lawyer, stood before him.

He said, glaring at Lieutenant Han Ji-min, who was standing there in handcuffs.

“Follow me, Lieutenant Han Ji-min.”

Squeak.

The officials entered the boiler room.

“Detective Kim, from now on, make sure you record everything on video. It’ll yield crucial evidence.”

“All right.”

Detective Kim began recording what he saw on the small camera he had brought.

I look at the drawing and see a steel pipe dripping with water.

Stop.

It was a boiler room where the fallen water was forming a small puddle.

‘Where is it? In this boiler room, the place that Private Park Chung-deuk managed······.’

Chiik.

As I passed the steaming hot room and looked at the design drawings, I smiled.

A quick eye gave me confidence on the spot.

“Found it, Your Honor.”

“What did you find?”

Unlike the old, rusty pipes, this one was nicely painted red.

chuck.

I spread out the design drawings and looked at them.

“This pipe is not in the design drawings.”

Attorney Kim Ji-ho also looks at the design drawings and pipes alternately.

“How do I find this? I have no idea.”

I don’t know.

Because you have the eyes and memory of a normal human.

I hit the pipe with the monkey wrench I was holding.

Kwaang······.

As expected, a full sound rang out.

nice.

It was here.

“This pipe is where all the secrets of this murder case are hidden.”

The judge looked closely, touched his glasses, and smiled.

“Come to think of it, steam is coming out of other pipes or water is dripping, but this one is very dry.”

He is indeed a sharp person.

“Your Honor, would you like to give this monkey wrench a good whack?”

Shiver.

At that moment, Lieutenant Han Ji-min’s body began to tremble.

Boom!

The judge hit the pipe with a monkey wrench with a funny look on his face.

Jiying.

A leak has opened up in the pipe.

A few screws that had been roughly placed fell to the floor.

“Your Honor, try again. Pandora’s box will open.”

Attorney Kim Ji-ho looks up from under the pipe.

Boom!

When the judge struck hard, the red pipe that had been hanging open split apart.

“This is!”

grasp.

Inside, white powder was beautifully scattered.

A white, soft powder like flour scattered down the dark boiler room.

“Hey, what is this?”

Attorney Kim Ji-ho, covered in white powder, shakes it off in surprise.

“You’ll have to shake it off. And be careful how you breathe. It’s a new type of drug.”

Everyone froze in surprise.

“Oh, drugs?”

“Yes. Private Park Chung-deuk handled chemicals for the nation’s top cosmetics company. There are cosmetics made by that cosmetics company that have been found to contain narcotic substances and are currently out of stock.”

The incident in which snail cosmetics that were supposed to remove wrinkles were banned from sale due to the discovery of narcotic ingredients was quite famous.

“Yes. I remember. But that······!!”

Only then does the judge look at Lieutenant Han Ji-min with a surprised face.

“You guys! Are you really this much trash!”

The angry judge’s roar.

Attorney Kim Ji-ho’s face turned pale.

“Quickly, break the white powder. If it goes up your nose, you might get poisoned, lawyer.”

“Eww, no! Thud! Thud! Eww!!”

Attorney Kim Ji-ho hurriedly took off his clothes and shook them out, causing a ruckus.

Shh.

I smiled, raising the corners of my lips.

“The two suspects threatened Private Park Chung-deuk into making drugs, which they mixed in water and transported outside.”

Chook.

I opened the contract I received earlier.

“And then, they probably sold it to a popular club. The money from there went straight to Lieutenant Han Ji-min.”

I got my monkey wrench back from the judge and hit the wall.

Thud!

“They threatened him when it was time for Private Park Chung-deuk to be discharged. They didn’t want this information to get out. Maybe they were threatening him to continue supplying him with drugs.”

I took a step closer to the frightened Lieutenant Han Ji-min.

“Han Ji-min, you son of a bitch. You’re forcing a soldier who needs money because his mother is sick to make drugs and sell them for personal gain, and in the military at that?”

I said this while looking at Attorney Kim Ji-ho, who was coughing and shaking off his clothes.

“They killed Private Park Chung-deuk, who was about to be discharged from the military, saying he could do it no more. They did it to cover up their crimes. You defended such a man.”

I approached him with a monkey wrench.

Thud!

And he lightly tapped the white powder on his shoulder to shake it off.

“Who are you defending? Lieutenant Han Ji-min? Or is it Lee Han-soo, the president of the Dancing Queen Club, the final distributor of this drug?”