The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 43

Impossible. I’d just gotten some surprising information: that grandfather’s son had been working at a casino but was fired after being caught on charges of theft. Apparently, he had even gotten into the company in the first place by receiving bonus points through the “miners’ children” special admission track.

Has the son been reinstated?

Not yet. I need to indict the father and see what happens to the son.

Seeing him like this, Prosecutor Joo truly was a man without blood or tears when it came to his goals. To indict someone he suspected was innocent, just to watch the son’s movements? Knowing it was an objectively unavoidable situation, I barely managed to swallow the sigh that was about to escape and continued with the interrogation record.

“What did you do with the deceased’s belongings?”

“I threw everything away that day. I cleaned everything out, too.”

“Do you remember what was among the belongings?”

“There were just tons of cigarettes.”

A large amount of nicotine had also been detected in Koryo-in Mr. Kim. I had forgotten about it for a moment since it wasn’t the cause of death.

Thinking “this is it,” I pressed him further about the cigarettes.

“When you discovered the deceased Koryo-in Mr. Kim, what did the room smell like?”

“Smell? There wasn’t any particular smell. It’s an old inn, so it smells a bit musty.”

“Didn’t it smell like cigarettes?”

“…No. It was the same as usual.”

The grandfather gave up on contradicting his previous statement. Since he wasn’t the real culprit, he probably didn’t understand the intent behind the questions.

“At what time did Koryo-in Mr. Kim check in?”

“Around 5:00 PM.”

“Did you ever see him leave the room until he died?”

“He never came out. I gave him a room on the first floor, and I can see that room from the office where I eat and sleep.”

With that answer, all his statements regarding the cigarettes became lies.

I took the blue notebook I use for investigations out of the drawer and noted down the grandfather’s lies.

The miner’s statement and the nicotine levels detected in Koryo-in Mr. Kim do not match. Since the blood nicotine concentration was high even after death, he should have smoked at least two packs immediately before dying. If he smoked indoors, the inn room would have reeked of cigarette smoke; if he smoked outdoors, he would have had to leave the room frequently for long periods.

I asked again.

“I don’t think there were only cigarettes among his belongings.”

“There was a passport and a wallet, too.”

“But you mentioned cigarettes first. Surely the passport or wallet would have been more important.”

“…To my eyes, they were all the same.”

“Abandoning a body is a crime, yet you aren’t bothered by the deceased’s identification or cards?”

Under the repeated questioning, the grandfather shifted his body as if uncomfortable and adjusted his posture. I added to my notebook again.

Did the real culprit know about the high nicotine concentration detected? It seems they instructed him to mention the cigarettes among the belongings first.

Recording these doubts wouldn’t stop the indictment of someone who had turned themselves in, but I wanted to do my job properly. I asked further.

“What about his cell phone?”

“I don’t remember. I just threw away the whole bag.”

The grandfather seemed to be having trouble with the constant questioning about the belongings, and he suddenly looked at me with an annoyed expression.

“Prosecutor, how long do I have to keep answering? I’ve told you everything, but this young man keeps asking strange things.”

“Officer Lee, wrap it up. I think we’ve heard all the important statements. An arrest warrant has also been issued in the meantime.”

“…Yes, Prosecutor. I’ll wrap it up. Mister, I’ll print out the record right away, so please read it and let me know if there’s anything to correct. And we’ll schedule the lie detector test.”

“Hey! I told you I’m not doing that.”

The grandfather waved his hands; his fingers had protruding knuckles and his skin was rough. They were hands that clearly showed the marks of hard labor in his youth.

“Mister, even if you don’t agree, you’ll have to do it once the warrant comes out. If we apply for a warrant, it just takes time and is troublesome for both of us, so why don’t you just do it beforehand? You even turned yourself in. Please, I ask for your cooperation.”

“…Do I have to do it if the warrant comes out anyway?”

“Yes.”

“Fine, whatever. I’ll do it.”

The grandfather, who answered bluntly, flipped through the record I printed out for him carelessly. Since he was elderly, I wondered if he had trouble reading, so I asked:

“If it’s hard for you to read the text, shall I read it for you in the inner office?”

“I only spoke the truth, so I’m just looking through it roughly.”

After reading the record half-heartedly and stamping it with his thumbprint, the grandfather left the investigation room with a correctional officer who had arrived upon being contacted by Prosecutor Joo. I shared the record on the work program and typed rapidly on my keyboard.

That man didn’t abandon the body. You heard it all, right? Are you really going to indict him?

I told you already. The evidence is clear, so I have no choice. And even if he gets a sentence, it won’t be long. He’ll probably be out in a year. Because of his advanced age, he might even get a suspended sentence from the start.

Is that grandfather the second collateral you mentioned, Prosecutor Joo?

Yes.

The second message arrived after a short pause.

I was waiting for the miner.

I still wanted to argue with his decision, but Prosecutor Joo’s expression, with his back to the window, caught my eye. Outside the window behind him, it was dark. A heavy snow was fluttering down on Haneul for the first time in a while, and he was taking off the blue thimble he always wore and rolling it between his fingers. He seemed to be deep in thought.

His face, when he finally looked up, conscious of my gaze, looked more exhausted than I’d ever seen him—more than when we worked late until 11 or 12 at night.

I had never thought that Prosecutor Joo Taeson was the type of person who could wear such an expression. Had I only seen him as a man made of steel?

This time, I sent a message with a softened heart.

It could end up being us being played by the real culprit. You’re giving them exactly what they want.

A firm reply from Prosecutor Joo arrived.

On the contrary. For the first time, it’s us who have started playing with them.

I chewed over that sentence several times.

Is it true? As Prosecutor Joo said, have we really started playing with the real culprit?

I pondered the timing of the miner’s confession and its significance. How must the real culprit, who dumped the body, have felt when Prosecutor Joo sat on this case for two months—a case the police had closed as having no charges, and the National Forensic Service and the coroner had concluded was an accidental death?

So the real culprit was anxious. Because you wouldn’t close the case, Prosecutor. Having the miner turn himself in wasn’t part of the original plan.

If this case had fallen into the hands of any other prosecutor, that miner would never have confessed. It would have been dismissed as an accidental death immediately.

The real culprit wants to cover up the case quickly. When someone appears to turn themselves in, the Prosecutor is forced to make a disposition and close the case one way or another.

I chewed on it carefully and then sent a message again.

The real culprit is someone who definitely has a channel to hear investigation intelligence. It’s a decision that can only be explained by them knowing the case hadn’t been dismissed. Or, they work in something related to investigations.

Exactly.

Prosecutor Joo asked an additional question.

What do you think will happen if we indict the miner as the real culprit wants?

After thinking it over carefully, I gave my answer.

If the son is reinstated after the indictment, then the person has the power to reach even the casino. Someone who can hear investigation intelligence while also interfering in the casino. The list of suspects will narrow down significantly.

It was inevitable that the face of Oh Jahyeon, who had injected Philopon, popped into my mind.

Someone related to drugs, someone with influence over the casino, and someone who would inevitably have a point of contact with retired miners: a director of the Danhyeon Casino World.

Moreover, Oh Jahyeon even had a history of bragging that he knew a prosecutor at the Danhyeon branch.

The voice of Prosecutor Joo Taeson, saying he wanted to hold Oh Jahyeon’s weaknesses, vividly returned. In front of my momentarily dazed eyes, the message window blinked again.

You’re quite good at figuring things out on your own when you use that good head of yours just a little.

The messenger chimed with consecutive notifications.

Officer Lee Chaeha, the problem is that you always puff the smoke.

Fortunately, perhaps Prosecutor Joo Taeson has not defected after all.