Chapter 148 - What He Saw
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....
Jina quickly rushed to the place where Jiwoon had told her to meet. It was the same place where Jongwha was killed. She ran down the corridor of Jongwha's floor where Jiwoon was standing.
"What is it?" Jina asked. "What did you find?"
Jiwoon was holding a photo album and she handed it to Jina. "The painting we're looking for from the Dalton case is also related to this murder-suicide," she revealed. "I think that there's a connection between the cases and the painting."
Jina sighed inwardly. She was not surprised that Jiwoon made the connection because she had been working for a long time on the case. It was inevitable.
"The painting is called Beezan," Jiwoon went on. "I've already confirmed it with the witness from the Park's case. I also think that whoever is behind all these murders, is the one who attacked your house yesterday night."
"I know about the claw marks but it still doesn't make sense," Jina muttered. She shut the file and faced Jiwoon. "My family doesn't have any copies of this painting. Then why would the killer try to break into my house?"
Jiwoon thought hard. "Who else was in the house at that time?"
"My sister and the babysitter, Soobin. Do you remember her? The girl from the orphanage murder?"
"I do…" Jiwoon trailed off. She was still a little bothered. There was something wrong but they could not figure out what it was.
"We should tell the school to send a memo to the students and teachers," Jiwoon suggested. "That if they find this painting, they must return it immediately. Or if they have news about it, they should let us know. After all, it is an expensive painting. I don't think it'll work but we might get some news about it."
"I'll tell them," Jina nodded. "And let's-"
A door nearby opened and to their surprise, Siwan came out of the apartment next to the Park's.
"Thank you so much doctor for stopping by," Baro's mother was saying. "He feels much better now!"
The sounds of children playing were coming from the apartment. It seemed that there was some sort of celebratory party going on.
"Don't worry about it," Siwan said with a smile. "Thank you for inviting me. I hope he feels better now."
He thanked her and turned to leave when he spotted the two detectives. His face lit up when he saw Jina.
"What are you doing here?" Jina asked.
"Baro's mother invited me to his birthday party," he informed her. "Since he's no longer my patient, I accepted the invitation."
"Did you meet Soobin? How's she doing?" Jina asked.
"I talked with her in the morning. She's scared but is determined not to let it affect her. The incident was frightening. Is your sister okay?"
"Miyoo was bouncing around on her grandfather's lap today," Jina sighed. "She's fine! She was a little scared last night but she'll be over it. Your brother gave us strict orders not to leave her alone even for a second. He'll even give her a free therapy session today which my grandfather agreed to without any hesitation…"
Siwan chuckled at that. Everyone knew about the love Hwang family held for free stuff and discounts. He then turned to Jiwoon and greeted her.
"I see you're here too, Detective," he remarked. "Are both of you here to investigate this case?"
"Yes," Jiwoon replied. "Is Baro doing well?"
"He is. He even asked about you. Maybe you should stop by and say hi to him."
"I've already stopped by earlier and gave him a present," Jiwoon stated. "Anyways. I should get going. I need to check the transaction records of the past victims."
With that, she left them alone.
"She doesn't talk much, does she?" Siwan asked.
"She's a little reserved," Jina agreed. "But she's my right hand woman!"
"It's kinda strange…"
"What's so strange?"
Siwan was pondering hard. "I feel like I've seen her somewhere," he admitted. "Long before you introduced us. I feel like I've met her before but I can't remember at all."
"Really?" Jina frowned. They were now stepping into the elevator. "You've met her before? Could be possible. None of us really know much about Jiwoon's past. She never told us."
"You worked with her for years and you don't know anything about her?"
"I only know that the Commissioner taught her at the Police Academy," Jina shrugged. "Besides, she's not comfortable talking about it. I felt that maybe it's too traumatizing for her. Hence, we never asked."
"Uh huh...Anyways! Where are you heading now? Did you bring your car? Should I drop you off?"
"To the hospital, actually. I need to check up on Soobin. Yoonmin has my car so do you mind giving me a lift?"
"Let's go then!"
The elevator came to a stop and they headed for Siwan's car. Jina got into the passenger's seat while Siwan sat in the driver's seat. He revved up the engine and they sped towards the hospital.
"I hope Hobin is not getting too obsessed with the cases," Siwan said. "He tends to go overboard with his theories."
"He's doing fine so far," Jina informed him. "But why did you make such a strange request? What happened to him in the Wang Taehee case?"
Siwan was silent for a while. He was reluctant to discuss what he had seen and what Hobin was capable of doing. For the first time in many years, he was scared but not of his brother. He was scared for his brother.
"Is it something to do with his abilities?" Jina revealed. She decided to be upfront with Siwan about Hobin and his memory reading abilities.
The car came to an abrupt stop and Siwan was shocked. How did she know?
As if reading his mind, Jina said, "I found out while working the orphanage case with him. He...he ended up revealing it to me. I didn't tell anyone else. But if you want me to stop Hobin from investigating Wang Taehee's case, then you'll have to tell me."
She was staring at him, demanding answers. Siwan debated for a while before letting out a deep breath.
"I think...I think that the memory reading is only part of Hobin's powers but not all of it," he admitted.
"Why do you think that?"
"Because on the night of Wang Taehee's execution," he began. "I saw Hobin's true form."