Hector Brown rubbed his right hand on his chin, and his left hand went to his waist. The rain continued to fall, complicating the work of the forensics team as they illuminated the narrow alley with their flashlights and lanterns. His dark brown locks were plastered to his forehead, and water droplets streamed down his features. The injured hand throbbed under the wet bandage wrapped around it.

He looked at one of the women in the local forensics uniform, who was photographing the objects scattered on the ground.

“Are you sure about this?”

Bethany Moon let out a heavy sigh, snapping another photo of the black high-heeled shoe, then she stood up with an uneasy look on her face.

“It was raining at the estimated time of the disappearance, just like now. If there was any useful trace left by the kidnapper, it's gone down the drain,” she explained again. “Do you believe this case is related to the recent murders?”

“I'd like to find out before the victim, or someone from her family, gets killed, if possible.”

 “Judging by the position of the shoe, the victim lost it when she was abducted,” Bethany pointed to the shoe she was photographing, lying next to the bag with the victim's belongings. For Hector, this was another indication that the kidnapper might be the murderer he and Na-moo were looking for. “Probably while she was struggling to escape. We'll analyze every item left behind, but the chances of finding something are practically nil.”

Hector ran his fingers through his hair, suppressing a resigned sigh. The muggy atmosphere caused by the rain made the air oppressive, and the look on Bethany's face was so cheerful that it just made it harder not to simply scream out of frustration. He cursed the moment he chose to become a detective. If he'd studied administration, maybe he'd be Winnie's assistant in the clinic right now.

Damn it! Even being a bartender at Mints Bar seemed more fun and far less frustrating for the detective; after all, none of those options would have made him leave Winnie alone on their first date, just when things seemed to be taking a turn for the better between them.

One of the rookie forensic experts approached the detective and Bethany. After whispering something in her ear, the young man stepped away, leaving them alone again.

Bethany turned her face to look at the detective, “After we check the phone for fingerprints, I'll stop by the station to drop it off with the other evidence and the victim's belongings.”

Hector nodded in agreement. There wasn't much to do here. There were no cameras near where the young woman had disappeared. Thanks to the storm that had raged all day, there were also no eyewitnesses or parked cars near the alley.

No one saw Hayley Seo disappear.

Only her friend, who reported it, witnessed the incident—through a phone call, as he had said. That's why Hector Brown headed to the taxi stand, three blocks away.

The detective pulled his cell phone from his jeans pocket as he sat in the passenger seat and dialed Na-moo Hwang's number. His partner was off-duty, just like him, but both knew that days off were mere formalities, irrelevant in the face of an emergency.

Especially if the emergency in question was a disappearance that could be connected to the serial murders they were investigating.

✛✛

Gina wasn't at the reception. 

In her place was Mark, a young man with light locks and a thin face, who greeted Detective Hwang as he hurried through the entrance of the police station, heading towards the Violent Crimes Department.

The atmosphere among the officers scattered in the lobby was so heavy that if Amélie didn't know Na-moo had been called in for a possible kidnapping, she would think they were dealing with another murder case.

Hector's eyes were fixed on the young man sitting in front of him. His elbows rested on the gray table, his fingers intertwined, as they reached the department. The boy, with brown hair and almond-shaped eyes, was scratching his neck with his lips pressed together under the detective's inquisitive gaze. 

Behind Hector, the board created for the serial murder case had gained a new photo.

“What information do we have about the  kidnapping?” Na-moo poured out, approaching the small area his team shared.

Hector's face lifted when he heard his partner's deep tone. His brow furrowed slightly when he saw that Amélie was accompanying him, since he hadn't informed the doctor. Then he remembered what Winnie had said about the two of them also having a meeting that day. Na-moo hadn't gone into detail about the incident in the restaurant; if it weren't for the blue-haired woman, Hector wouldn't have known that the fire mentioned by Hwang during his meeting with Amélie had been literal.

He might have chuckled to annoy his partner, perhaps even teased him with a witty joke, but there were more pressing thoughts on his mind at that moment. Soon, the perplexed frown on his face shifted to concern.

“The victim's name is Hayley Seo,” Hector pointed to the board behind him. “She's twenty-three and works as a bartender at Mints Bar.”

“The Minho Bar?” Na-moo raised his eyebrows. Hector nodded.

The young man sitting in front of Hector straightened up when he saw the tall, athletically built, and intimidating figure sitting at the table next to him.

“She lives with her grandmother and her younger sister. She disappeared around 2 p.m., on her way to work. It's been four hours since she went missing and last spoke to Tarley Campos over the phone,” Hector gestured to the boy with his chin. “We also tried to contact the grandmother, but so far we've got nothing.”

“I'm not a suspect, right?” Tarley moved his hands, wringing them in his lap. “I've told you everything I know… I was the one who called the police…”

“You were on the line when she was kidnapped, but you only reported Seo missing two hours after it happened. Don't you find that suspicious?”

The young man swallowed hard, his eyes so wide that Na-moo feared they might suddenly fall onto Brown's table.

“I-I didn't know I could call right away… I thought I had to wait… many cops don't consider a disappearance in the first few hours…”

“You heard someone scream on the phone while you were talking. Did you really think we would ignore that?” Hector retorted.

Tarley shrugged like a cornered child. Na-moo pursed his lips and squeezed his friend's leg under the table, giving him a brief scolding look before turning to the young man.

“What exactly did you hear while talking to Hayley?”

Hector sighed heavily and stood up, pushing his chair back with an agonizing creak, “I'll get some coffee”, he said.

Once the detective disappeared into the hallway, Amélie dragged a chair and sat down next to Tarley.

“Tell us what happened so we can try to find Hayley,” she said gently.

Tarley moistened his lips. When his eyes met Amélie's, the understanding smile she wore with half-closed eyelids encouraged him to continue.

As Hector had informed, Tarley and Hayley worked at the Mints Bar. Hayley had Saturdays off, but she would be covering Tarley's shift starting at 4 p.m. that day—he had done the same for her when she needed to leave work early to meet someone. When Tarley saw the phone ringing with his friend's number, he thought Hayley might be backing out of covering his shift since it was until midnight.

“When I answered the call, I was a little confused because all I heard for a few minutes was the sound of the rain, until her voice reached me. Hayley sounded nervous, said she was being followed, and out of nowhere, she started screaming,” Tarley ran his hands over his face. “I've already told this to the other detective…”

“Your tongue won't fall out if you tell it again,” they all turned to face Hector as they heard him approach.

Detective Brown raised his eyebrows slightly, placing the tray with four disposable coffee cups on his own table. With his hand bandaged, he handed one of the cups to Tarley before sitting at Amélie's table.

“Don't you find it strange to be worried about your friend after hearing her scream, but take your time to contact the police? It's a bit contradictory. If it were any friend of mine, I would have acted right away,” Hector stated with a disapproving tone.

The young man squeezed the cup between his fingers and looked at the liquid in silence. Hector made a “tsc” sound with his tongue clicking against his teeth, and shook his head, then took a long sip of his own coffee.

“Tarley…” Amélie called him, touching his shoulder gently. “What else did you hear?”

“I…,” he shook his head, his shoulders slumping. “I'm sorry. All I know is what I just told you.”

Na-moo leaned back in his chair and blew on his coffee before taking a long sip. The bitter liquid coated his tongue. He inhaled the strong aroma before taking another sip, pondering over what the young man had just revealed.

“Do you know who Miss Seo was meeting when she asked you to cover her shifts?” he asked, leaning forward and locking eyes with Tarley.

“No, she never told me anything about him. She said it was a recent thing and not worth broadcasting in case it didn't work out. All I know is he was older than me. Haye only dated guys with a profession or money, and they were almost always older than both of us.”

“Did she ever mention a last name or profession?”

Tarley rolled his eyes up and squinted. His forehead creased slightly, then his eyebrows shot up, a small exclamation escaping his lips.

“Mr. Minho knew! They went on a date a few weeks ago.”

“Yohan Minho? Your boss?”

“Yes… I'm not sure if I mentioned this before” Tarley shifted his gaze to Hector. “I tried calling Mr. Minho when Haye stopped responding, but his phone just went to voicemail. Even when I called Mints Bar, I couldn't reach him because he left early to handle some business, according to one of my colleagues.”

“Why was your first thought to call Yohan Minho and not the police?” Hector inquired.

“Because sometimes Hayley would arrive at the bar with him. Whenever Mr. Minho crosses paths with one of us on the way to work, he offers us a ride since we're going to the same place. I thought maybe… I don't know…” a sigh escaped Tarley's lips as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I tried to reach out to him, I tried to call Mrs. Seo too, she didn't answer either.”

“Tarley Campos!”

A man with features similar to Tarley's but a few years older strode through the department's entrance. Automatically, Hector tensed, and Na-moo clenched his jaw, recognizing who it was.

“Tay!”

“I just got your message. Why didn't you wait for me?”

“I couldn't wait, brother!”

“Tayron” the name sounded like a growl on Hector's lips. “I didn't know you had siblings.”

Tayron sneered and was about to answer when Na-moo cleared his throat.

“Thank you for cooperating with the investigation, Tarley. If you remember anything else, please contact us immediately.”

Tarley nodded vigorously.

“Please, find Haye. Bring her back safely!”

“That's our intention, but we need you not to spread false news” Na-moo shot a warning glance at Tayron, who chuckled.

“I don't recall writing false articles, Detective Hwang. I'm a journalist who values the truth and seeks out all the details before sharing any information. You should thank me for keeping the locations where all the current victims were found dead and the resemblance to the cases from twelve years ago a secret.”

Hector's eyes widened, and he coughed as the coffee went down the wrong way.

“What's going on? Did you really think we weren't aware of what's happening in Longino? The reason it's not on the front page of the newspapers yet is me!” A half-smile lifted Tayron's cheeks. “Luckily, I was the only one who got tips about the locations where the bodies were found and decided to keep it a secret, for reasons Detective Hwang knows all too well.”

The journalist glanced at Na-moo from the corner of his eye. “But now it's about a friend of my little brother, and I don't want to see her plastered in a newspaper as another victim of the killer the police keep failing to catch. I'm not sure if I can keep this case a secret if something happens to her.”

Before either of the two detectives could process and react to his words, Tayron Campos walked away, leading his brother out of the police department.

Hector muttered half a dozen curses, and Na-moo clenched his fist against the table and stood up. Amélie stared at them, her chin wrinkled and her hands on her hips.

“Okay… can someone tell me what the hell just happened? Who is Tayron Campos?”

“That damn guy is one of the local journalists,” Na-moo replied. “He usually covers criminal cases, but for some reason, we haven't seen him at recent crime scenes. I thought there might be a chance the media didn't know about the cases yet, looks like I was wrong.”

“Okay, but what does he have to do with you?” Amélie watched him cautiously. “Did you guys have a thing?”

Na-moo raised his eyebrows, his eyes blinking in disbelief.

“A thing? The way you say it, it sounds like we had an affair.” He almost laughed. Almost. Instead, he exhaled heavily, releasing the air trapped in his lungs, before continuing, “His father was the journalist who published my father's name in the newspaper twelve years ago, claiming he was a police informant during the investigation that led Captain Kang to Soo-hee Kang and her students.”

“Tayron knows the shit his father pulled by exposing my dad, which is why he said all those things. At the time, he apologized on behalf of his own father, since, unlike his father, he understood that it not only hindered the investigation but also put my family in the killer's crosshairs.” Na-moo's eyes shifted to the captain's office at the end of the hallway, the blinds were closed. “Speaking of which, where is the captain?”

“He had to leave early for a routine check-up, and it's likely he'll get a medical certificate,” Hector informed.

“Go it…” Na-moo sighed, running his hands through his hair. “Did you check where Tarley was when he got the call from Hayley?”

“He said he was at home, I haven't had a chance to verify it yet. I chose to check where the victim's phone was found first. And, I must say, the news isn't very encouraging. Bethany mentioned that the rain washed away the scene, and it'll be tough to find anything that helps us.”

Na-moo nodded, grabbing the coat he'd thrown on the table when he arrived.

“Tarley Campos mentioned he couldn't reach Hayley's family. So, we have three things to do: locate her family, verify Tarley's alibi… and talk to our prime suspect: Yohan Minho.”