Chapter 108: Pieces of the Puzzle #5
As the amount of sleeping pills decreased, the amount of information that Tae-hyuk gathered increased. The total amount of drug farms inside the prison numbered seven. Most of the Chinese inmates confined in Blue Dragon Prison worked there.
The warden, along with a great number of guards, was involved. This place was literally a gigantic drug factory.
'Come to think about it, there are definitely some strange things.'
Blue Dragon was very active in accepting foreign prisoners. It was very difficult to deal with foreigners who had different cultures and languages, but that didn't mean that there weren't separate benefits.
'There is probably a certain amount of profit from exploiting the labour force.'
He also knew why they mobilized the Chinese inmates. The country of China had an enormous penalty for drug-related crimes. China was a country where people were sentenced to death for smuggling drugs without any chance of retrial, regardless of nationality.
Once, a young woman travelling to China was asked to show her bag at the airport. Surprisingly, the contents contained drugs. She was arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling by Chinese police officers who had suddenly appeared.
In the end, there were many ghost stories about the death penalty.
‘Although they're growing drugs, the Chinese prisoners obviously won't tell anyone unless they're interested in committing suicide. The security is based on fear of their lives. The Chinese criminals are eligible.'
Now Tae-hyuk knew why the warden was acting so strangely in regards to the Park Sung-yul case.
'He didn't want the detectives to find out this information.'
Drugs were being harvested from seven farms. Obviously, they would use the connections with numerous criminals to trade it. The warden was trying to prevent it from being exposed, at the expense of Park Sung-yul.
‘His expression at the time meant this.'
The missing pieces of the puzzle were slowly being found, but not all of the problems were completely solved.
'The warden is using the Chinese inmates to grow drugs. What's going on with the Japanese prisoners then?'
Perhaps there were other crimes besides drug trafficking in the Blue Dragon Prison. After a few days of searching, Tae-hyuk found the place where the Japanese army buried their gold. As if it was a joke of fate, the drugs were growing on top of it.
Tae-hyuk muttered quietly.
"If I call the police using the name Phantom and uncover the drug farm, the warden can be sent to jail. But what's the fun in that? Besides, I still have two weeks left,so it's best if I can handle both the Park Sung-yul and the drug cases at once."
He came up with a perfect plan to solve both cases simultaneously.
“Anyway, I'll have to talk to Shin Chang-ho."
It had been almost two weeks since Phantom left for Blue Dragon Prison.
Kang-suk was organizing the files of the victims killed by Park Sung-yul at the Central Investigation Headquarters. There were dark circles under the eyes of Joo Hyun-ho, who was sitting opposite of him.
He was in charge of several additional cases and was unable to leave for a few days.
"There is still no contact from Phantom?"
“Yes. I would like it if he gives one or two pieces of useful information."
“Doesn't he have to get in touch with you first?"
"Yes. Then there will be something big later."
"Hahaha! Big? Sunbae, that word is always associated with Phantom now. Won't there be some big corruption?"
“Hey! Don't say that!"
Dururu-
At that time, Kang-suk's phone on the table started to ring. Hyun-ho wanted to know who was calling.
“Ah, I’m sorry. It's just a little brother I know."
Then Hyun-ho dropped his head and muttered,
“Ahh, Phantom… Why isn't Phantom…"
Kang-suk ignored the grouchy Hyun-ho and answered the call. It was a call from Seo Tae-hyuk.
"Uh, Tae-hyuk.
–Kang-suk hyung, it's been a while.
“Yeah, have you been studying well?"
–Ah, I'm studying hard at my one month short-term studying course. Anyways, Noona asked me to tell you that she was thankful for the food last week.
“Ha-ran… She should tell me something like that directly. Um."
Seo Tae-hyuk's sister, Seo Ha-ran, was staying in a dormitory academy on weekdays and only returned home on the weekends. Unfortunately, both of Ha-ran's younger brothers were away from home. Kang-suk was uneasy about Ha-ran being left at home alone, so he went and met her every week, bringing along her favorite foods.
–I can feel comfortable about her safety thanks to Hyung. Thank you.
“What is this? I didn't do anything. And thanks to this, I get to have a date with Ha-ran every weekend… Huhu."
–Then please look after her for the last two remaining weeks as well.
“Yes. Study hard and don't worry."
Kang-suk smiled and hung up. Then Hyun-ho, who was listening to the call, said,
“I guess that is Sister-in-law's younger brother?"
“Hey! How many times have I said that she isn't your sister-in-law? Hup hup. He is very good at studying, so a foundation sent him to a program abroad. Thanks to him, I have a date with Ha-ran every weekend."
“So that's why you disappear every weekend. Don't you feel sorry for me, who has to work the night shift every weekend?"
“Okay, I understand. Do you want to go for dinner this evening? At any rate, don't I have to work hard so that my little brother isn't ashamed? We'll have a break at the end. Let's get back to work."
“Yes.”
Kang-suk scratched his head and turned his attention back to the papers piled on the desk.
“There are so many reports that I have to write. Ah, yes. I have to go to the aquarium this weekend with Ha-ran. Doesn't she like dolphins?"
The piled up fatigue disappeared as he imagined her happiness.
“The next puzzle should be this one."
Park Sung-yul was very happy about his game with Cho Kang-suk. Even he struggled to solve some of the puzzles created in his head.
There were still 10 puzzles remaining. How long could he enjoy this in the future? Just imagining it caused a smile to form on his face. It would be interesting to watch the detective be perplexed by his gifts.
However, the more expensive and delicious the food, the more slowly he needed to eat.
"Ohuhuhu… Detective, you should be my best rival, like how the Joker is the foil to the Batman."
These thoughts gave Park Sung-yul the greatest pleasure, and before he knew it, Park Sung-yul realized that he had a strong erection. It felt like he was the protagonist of a movie. The thought of being more special than everyone else stimulated him.
Park Sung-yul realized that he was transformed when killing someone. But now, the confrontation with Cho Kang-suk was the only way to relive his desires.
"Huhuhu… Then I'll give you the best puzzle."
He smiled and took out the sketchbook kept under his bed. There was a strange poem that couldn't be easily interpreted. If he sent this along with the letter, what would be Cho Kang-suk's expression?
The first puzzle was a tutorial. The difficulty was easy and it was simple to deduce the elementary school where he went. But now it was different. He had spent a month preparing the best puzzle, and it absolutely wouldn't be easy to solve.
“Detective Cho Kang-suk… I think about you all day – is this love? If so, I definitely love you. Ohuhu…"
Park Sung-yul's twisted affection exploded towards the detective who had caught him.
Even if only three people gathered together, there had to be a leader among them. It was the same with the inmates in the prison. If someone asked for the name for the leader of the Korean inmates, everybody would recall the same face.
Shin Chang-ho, part of one of the three major crime organizations in South Korea, 'Gallery.' He was a human beast with a stocky, large body, giving him the nickname 'Brown Bear'. The reason why he was imprisoned despite his power was simple: the boss was in danger of being caught by an enemy's trap. In return, Shin Chang-ho was promised the number three position in the organization after his release.
It was already three years ago. After four years, he would return to the ranks of Gallery. In Blue Dragon Prison, there were several inmates belonging to Gallery. He told them that he would be a high ranking official in Gallery after his release. No one was able to ignore Shin Chang-ho.
“Well, I just need to think of it as a long vacation."
Shin Chang-ho made full use of the one hour of exercise time. It wasn't because he wanted to show off a strong look to the other inmates, it was just that exercising was part of his life. Around Shin Chang-ho, some criminals from Gallery guarded him with menacing glares. They were like bodyguards.
At that time, someone approached Shin Chang-ho. A bodyguard threatening him with a scary voice,
“Who is approaching?"
Shin Chang-ho received a towel from another bodyguard and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He confidently looked at the person approaching. A half shaved head and a rotten face. It was the newcomer who became well-known in the prison in only two weeks.
“Tobacco Seller Newbie, what do you want from me? I'm sorry, but I don't smoke."
“Shin Chang-ho. I have something to suggest to you."
The bodyguards growled at the newcomer,
"This bastard…! Do you know who you are talking to?”
“You guys should know better than me. Shin Chang-ho, 37 years old. The boss of Gallery is known to have raised him, but he is actually from a small orphanage in Seoul."
Then Shin Chang-ho's lips twitched. Although Tae-hyuk didn't say a lot, only a few people in Gallery knew this information.
“…How did you know?”
“The method doesn’t matter. Let's just focus on what we each need."
"Hoh. It sounds like the newbie has something I want."
"Of course. You have a sister that is two years younger than you named is Shin Seo-yeon. Of course, you aren't actually siblings. You were just in the same orphanage. However, once you left the orphanage together, it was like you were brother and sister."
"……!"
Shin Chang-ho's eyes widened. How did the newbie know about Seo-yeon?
"She hid herself after you went to jail. Don't you want to know where she is now?"
Shin Chang-ho glared at the other person for a moment.
"…Newbie. Who the hell are you?"
"Don't you want to know? Why she had to disappear."
"…I want to know."
“Then I will tell you if you give me what I want."
Tae-hyuk laughed as he looked at the puzzle piece that could solve both the Park Sung-yul and drug cases at the same time.