When the Mouse is found before he can tattle

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WHEEIN knocked on the door of Yoongi's room. When she heard the grunt of approval, she pushed the door open. Yoongi was now seated in a rocking chair, gazing out of the only window in the room. In his hands was a rosary of glass beads.

He opened his eyes and revealed the tranquility within them. She wondered how could the vibe in this room be so different when compared to the rest of the mansion. When he spoke, his rough voice was a complete contrast to the peaceful look on his face.

"Oh, you're the sister. Where's ye uptight brother?"

"He's busy investigating Mrs. Kim's, uh, death scene," Wheein croaked.

Yoongi beckoned her to take the seat before him. She settled herself in it before beginning with her questions but Yoongi beat her to it.

"So, it wasn' 'er, uh?"

Although his question threw her off, she could agree with his sentiment.

"Yes, it wasn't her. We don't know who it could be," Wheein admitted.

"But that's why you're here, eh? You still suspect it's one of 'em?" Yoongi asked with a sly grin.

"You got me there," Wheein smiled. "What can you offer that may be of help?"

"Nothin' but clews, missy. I ain't gonna know until I see the evidence; it's all jus' instincts and guesses," he scoffed. "And who's gon give an ol' nutter like me the evidence, eh? One oughta have a smart uniform and all like you folks."

Wheein took that he meant clues when he said "clews" and replied accordingly:

"People shouldn't judge a book by its cover. My brother for instance, likes to think that Ms. Son is very suspicious, because of her, well, mannerisms," she giggled.

"You're a smart gal, innit? Ye brother too, but jus' a tad short-sighted. She is iffy bu' not too much I reckon. At least, not in this case. Try digging up abou' 'er past, 'er resume and all; mayhaps you migh' find somethin' of interest. Otherwise, she's jus' a piece of interior decor tha' suits this sinful place."

"Thank you," Wheein said. "But that's not what I came here for. I wanted to know everything you could tell me about Park Jimin, the manservant. And of course, your take on the murders."

"Finally callin' 'em what they are, eh?" Yoongi chortled.

Wheein didn't answer. Her expression remained sombre.

"Well, tha' boy was definitely a sly 'un, always shufflin' abou' and lookin' like a sinner. 'e was close to the ladies, see," Yoongi explained, as if remembering something from a long-forgotten memory.

"Do you mean that he was a ladies' man?" Wheein asked, feeling very foolish.

"Ar, no, not at all. Friendly with the ladies. Got along with 'em better than us men. 'E joined barely two months ago so I kept trying to ask 'im abou' all those, well, manly talks in 'is second week. I was gon' offer 'im the chance to confess to 'is sins, if you know what I mean."

Wheein stifled a laugh. It was cute of the old man to act priest so that Jimin could confess to his "sins". Since most of his family no longer spoke to him and neither did he, he must've tried to strike a conversation with the workers so that he could make up for the loneliness she was sure he felt.

"Ah, he wasn't a ladies' man then. Anything other than his nervous behaviour that was suspicious?"

"Now I wonder why you should say tha'," Yoongi said, his eyes twinkling. Wheein was puzzled.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Ain't 'is nerves mighty suspicious? Couldn't it be tha' e's 'iding somethin'?" Yoongi spoke carefully, as if he was afraid the walls had ears.

Wheein didn't speak so he took it as a green light to keep going. He bent forward, a conspiratorial look clouding his face.

"Betcha must've thought tha' 'e was afraid of you people. Tha' 'e was, but do you know the real reason behind it?"

"Fear of police?" Wheein suggested but wasn't as sure as before.

Yoongi only smiled. Feeling a little irritated, she asked:

"What do you know, or think you know?"

"I ain't sure, missy. It's a hunch. But you have the resources to answer tha' question. Remember the little things, my dear girl. They're often the most important clews. That's all I'm gon' say. All of this is off the record."

The last line wasn't a request, but a statement. Wheein decided to respect that and bowed herself out of the room.

As she walked back to Joohyun's bathroom, she remembered the motto she had maintained ever since she had begun work in this line of occupation.

"Details, Wheein. It's always the details," she repeated to herself.

*

Hoseok was speaking to Hong Joshua regarding Kim Joohyun's death.

"You were right, Joshua. We checked the box of bath salts that she frequently used and somebody had added dry lime to the very top of it. It's not in the rest of the box, just the top half, so I'm assuming it was a recent addition. What did you say the most probable time of death could be?"

"Oh well, you didn't need to tell me that I was right. Of course, I was."

"Could your conceited arse give me the time of death?" Hoseok rolled his eyes.

"One time of death, coming right up! Well, it's got to be somewhere around quarter past nine, half past nine latest. I suppose she stepped in the bath around nine?"

"Matter of fact, yes. Quite accurate," Hoseok confirmed.

"I thought so. I suppose she entered the bath first and then added the bath salts. Weird notion, but to each his own, I suppose. It would take about five minutes to get the dry lime to react with water and maybe five minutes (unless she fell asleep) for her to realise that she was burning up. Probably it was too late to do anything if she was fully immersed in the water."

"That's what doesn't make sense. In the technical sense, it simply doesn't. Had she added the bath salts before and stepped right in, she would've known what was up. It had to be someone who knew that she added bath salts before having a bath," Hoseok said, more to himself than Joshua.

He didn't speak for a while. Hoseok almost thought that he had disconnected, until he checked and realized that he was still on the line.

"Jisoo?"

"And who can that be? On whom do you have your suspicions, my friend? Someone from the family, perhaps? The Kims, right? Your new buddies?"

"They're no friends of mine, Jisoo. They're all unpleasant people. And I mean it when I say that," Hoseok declared grimly.

He chuckled nervously.

"What do you need to sound so ominous for, Hobes?"

"I apologize for creeping you out. Maybe it's just something to do with this place, y'know?"

"Major Addams family vibe, huh?"

Hoseok snorted. "The Addams were happy misfits. These are unhappy, unscrupulous people."

He looked up from the floor and saw Jaewook hurrying towards him, his face completely white. Something wasn't right, judging by his face.

"I'll talk to you later, okay? There's some business I need to attend to," Hoseok said and ended the call before giving Joshua the chance to respond. He turned his full, undivided attention to Jaewook.

"What is it, officer? Something wrong?" He queried.

"Sir, we found him!" Jaewook croaked.

"Found who?"

"Park Jimin, sir, the manservant. In the bushes, right in front of the room where they keep all the laundry. Choked to d-death, sir. By his own boot. Somebody must've pressed it against his neck. How they got a hold of it, I cannot fathom," Jaewook said shakily. He shivered; whether it was from the cold or from the ghastly method of killing, Hoseok couldn't tell.

For an entire minute, Hoseok stood silent, flabbergasted by what had just been revealed to him. He recalled what Park Jimin's words were to him when he first interrogated him.

"Something felt very, very wrong in that room, sir."

As a matter of fact, something felt very, very wrong in the House of Kim. Someone in this place - yes, it had to be someone from this place, of that he was sure - wasn't quite as sane as they seemed. And somehow, underneath his own nose, that person had managed to kill two more people, from the same house.

Just then, Wheein appeared on his side, breathless. She looked as though she had news, but all that faded away when she saw the look on his face.

"Hoseok? What's the matter, brother?" She hardly called him that term of endearment, unless they were alone.

"Park Jimin is dead. Murdered," was all he managed to let out, face ashen.

"What?" Wheein exclaimed, looking frantically from Hoseok to Jaewook.

Jaewook bit his lip and nodded. "I-I found him, outside the gardening shed, among the bushes. He was choked. The place where his body was hidden was very hard to notice and quite easy to miss, but I suppose it was meant to be found. This is all so crazy-"

Wheein didn't let him finish. She turned to her brother, who looked as if somebody had cracked an egg by breaking it on his head.

"He knew something. Or maybe he saw something, I-I don't know. That's why he was so nervous around us. He would've have told had we-"

"Taken his nerves seriously? Yes, we should've taken the poor guy's scared self seriously. Now poor mouse, he will never squeak again," Hoseok scoffed sardonically.

Jaewook looked uneasy. Maybe his superior was taking the case too personally. How was he to know whether or not someone looked guilty or not?

But Wheein knew better. She signalled Jaewook to do the usual procedure and he took the bait so that the two siblings could have a private chat.

"It's not just your fault, brother. I was there, too. I heard his responses. I saw his expressions. And I call myself an idiot for believing so much in details yet failing to see the most obvious ones. Too many things in this case are being taken from granted, Hoseok."

It wasn't an opinion that she had offered; it was a plain fact. Hoseok had to agree with her on that.

"You're right, Whee-Whee. Maybe Joohyun had her death coming and we couldn't foresee that but we're sure to blame for Jimin's murder. And that's why we have to solve this case," he declared.

Wheein smiled. "That we will, brother. This won't be one of the unsolved mysteries of Korea, I won't let that happen. Not on my call."

Hoseok looked at her, shocked. "How did you know that I said that? Or even thought of that, for that matter for I don't remember saying it out loud."

"You talk in your sleep," she replied. Hoseok's brow cleared. However, there was one question that burned him the most. He decided to voice it out.

"Who did it?"

"I don't know. It could be one of them or all of them," Wheein said, beginning to trace the steps to the path Jaewook had taken.

"It could be one of them or all of them, brother," she continued. "But we're gonna find out who the hell is behind these crazy murders and why, mark my words."

A smile tugged Hoseok's lips.

"That we will, Whee-Whee."

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