Chapter 301: Wrong Step
Chapter 301: Wrong Step
Gayoon was in Junwan's cabin, briefing him on the case's progress.
"The boy's name was Shinho and he lived with his mother in a rented apartment," she informed him. "Her name was Choi Hyeri but her son's surname was Kang, indicating that she had given him his father's surname even though she was not married."
"How many men did she know with the surname, Kang?" Junwan asked.
"We only came across one," Gayoon replied. She put a picture on his desk. It was of Kang Danny.
"Isn't he the hotshot doctor?" Junwan frowned.
"Choi Hyerin used to work at his hospital," Gayoon stated. "And also, the sack we found with the body belongs to that same hospital. Kang Danny is known to be a casanova and Hyeri might have been his mistress for a time."
"Did he give a DNA test?" Junwan asked. "And even if he did test himself, it's all speculative evidence. No one actually saw him with the boy. And as per this report here, Choi Hyeri killed herself a few months ago. Her son had gone missing even before that. Which means that the boy could have been abducted by someone and the sack incident could be a coincidence. Or the sack was taken from Choi Hyeri's home before the kid was kidnapped?"
"Possible," Gayoon said. "However, Choi Hyeri was diagnosed with cancer shortly before her death. And also"
She took out the file which Junho had managed to acquire. Since she could not tell Junwan how she got hold of it, she had to resort to lying.
"We found this in one of her bank lockers," Gayoon stated. "It is a file containing the truth about Shinho's parentage and a DNA test which Hyeri had secretly conducted. If she knew that she had cancer, she could not leave her son alone, can she? So she might have contacted Kang Danny and ordered him to take his son away. If she had these papers, then perhaps she used them as leverage to secure a future for her son. If Shinho was with Danny all these months then it could be possible that Danny killed him to keep his secret hidden. There were many bruises and cuts found on the body, indicating abuse."
"Could have been his mother as well," Junwan sighed. "I'm not discrediting your theories, Gayoon but rather pointing out other possibilities. It is quite obvious to us that Kang Danny has the strongest reasons to kill his own son. But the evidence we have is all speculative and nothing more. We need solid evidence."
Gayoon rubbed her temple, her head aching from all the frustration. Junwan was correct. The evidence she had only proved that Danny was the father. Since there is no proof that Shinho lived with the Kang's, it would be impossible to arrest him for questioning. Danny could simply state that he had no idea about Shinho's existence.
And whatever Shinho had told her about his time in captivity, it was obvious that neither Doyoung nor anyone else in that house had a clue about the boy's existence. Moreover, Kang Danny must have wiped out the evidence from the crime scene. It had been over three weeks since Shinho had died which meant that the lead time for gathering evidence from the scene was over. Any clue from that place would be deemed as unreliable in the court.
"I'll dig further," she sighed.
"I know that you want to arrest him quickly," Junwan said. "But remember, Gayoon. If you charge him right now, he'll become alert. You need to grab his jugular vein and crush it. Once you have the irrefutable evidence, that's when you attack."
"I know," she smirked a little. "I learnt that much from you at least."
Junwan smiled back and nodded. He had taught her well and was proud to see that she had grown into a fine detective on her own. Gayoon bowed and left the office. She texted Minho to ask him about his search for the file on the illegal organ harvesting but he was also having no luck in finding it. Kang Danny had hidden his tracks well.
Did he find the box and destroy it? Gayoon wondered. It was a possibility but they would still have to try.
She checked her watch and to her surprise, it was nearly 2 PM. Jina's school would end in half an hour!
Grabbing the keys to her car, she rushed towards it. She still had some time but the household staff were on their weekly holiday, so Jina would have to be dropped off at Mina's apartment. Minho would pick her up from there later at night.
She got into her car and drove off.
.
Jina was waiting outside the school gates, waiting for her mother. She had her earbuds on, listening to a song. None of the ghosts were with her that day. Yumi was off to stalk Ahn Jaewan as usual while Casper was staking around his murder spot again. This time, Shinho went with him as he was curious about Casper. Jina did not have math classes that day since the teacher was sick, so she did not mind him accompanying Casper.
Someone lightly tapped her from behind. It was one of her seniors, Lila. Jina never spoke to her but had seen her around the school a few times.
"Yes?" she asked.
"You're Hwang Jina, right?" Lila asked. "Hi! I'm Lila. My dad and your dad are business partners."
The girl flashed a smile at her. Jina returned the smile and bowed.
"Hello!" Jina greeted back. "Glad to meet ya!"
"Are you waiting for your parents?" Lila asked. "I'm waiting for my chauffeur too. Do you mind if I wait here with you? My friends have gone home and I don't really wanna wait out here alone."
"Sure!" Jina chirped. "If they're late, you can come with me! My mom's a cop, so she can drop you off."
"That's so cool!" Lila exclaimed. "Thanks! You're really nice."
Then she snapped her fingers, as if an idea struck her. She quickly reached for her bag and took out a bottle.
"You must be thirsty, standing here for such a long time," Lila remarked. "Here, have some juice."
She's so nice! Jina thought. "Thank you!" she said gleefully and took the bottle. Lila watched as she opened the cork and took a sip.
"Here, you should have some as well," Jina said but Lila shook her head.
"I'm fine! You seem parched. Have some more."
Jina nodded and took another sip before frowning. Her stomach was beginning to rumble all of a sudden.
From behind a wall, Siwan and his other lackey, Greg, was watching the girls. Lila flashed a thumbs up to them. Meanwhile, Jina was beginning to feel bouts of pain in her belly.
"UGHHHH!" she moaned, dropping the bottle. Seeing her like that, made Siwan happy. Finally, she was losing her voice!
He came out of her hiding place and walked towards her. Lila stood there, proud of what they had done.
"Her mouth has been glued!" Lila laughed.
"She won't speak ever again!"
Siwan smirked at Jina whose eyes were closed. She had bent down, not talking.
"You'll never be able to use that voice of yours ever again," he said spitefully. "You've tormented me a lot! Now it's payback-"
Suddenly, Jina doubled over and vomited out blood from her mouth. The trio stood there, shocked at her state. They had no idea what was happening. The glue was supposed to shut her mouth but why was she throwing up blood?
"What's going on?" Greg asked, panicking. "What's happening to her?"
Jina fell on the ground, unconscious. Her face had lost all color and she was weak after the vomiting.
"What's going on here?"
Siwan froze in his spot. Danny was rushing towards them while Gayoon had also pulled up her car.right behind them.
"JINA!" She screamed upon seeing her daughter's state, running to carry her up.
"Don't!" Danny warned. "Let me apply first aid on her otherwise it'll be too late!"
Gayoon was confused but Danny did not waste a single second and immediately checked Jina's pulse.
"Her pulse is weak," he muttered. Gayoon watched helplessly as he pressed on Jina's tummy. She was sobbing hysterically at the sight of unconscious Jina. Danny glared at Siwan who was still standing there, confused. His father glanced at the fallen bottle and picked it up. He sniffed it before handing it to Gayoon.
"Glue," Danny informed her. "Your daughter was fed glue."
"What?" Gayoon shrieked. "DRINKING THIS CAN KILL A PERSON! WHO WOULD"
Both of their eyes fell on Siwan who was horrified at the revelation. The other two had run away from the spot, leaving him to deal with the adults on his own.
"Let's take her to my hospital," Danny said. "She needs immediate attention."
Gayoon had no other choice but to relent. Jina's state was worsening every second and even if Danny was a criminal, he was still the best pediatrician in the country. For Jina, she would have to put her ego aside and save her child.
Danny carried Jina to his car while Gayoon followed. Siwan was still distraught over what he had done and wanted to explain.
"Dad I didn't know-"
A threatening glare from Danny shut him down. His father was not pleased with what he had done and it was going to create a massive explosion at home that night.
He watched as the adults left with Jina. His heart was filled with guilt and fear over what he had done. The lady said drinking glue can kill someone. Was the little girl going to die?
"What have I done?" he sobbed.