A SECRET INTERNET CLUB
A SECRET INTERNET CLUB BRAIN TEASERS
PUZZLES AND ANAGRAMS
The NCI team was assembled to analyse the cases.
The Fourth Fanfiction story. Out of the blue, there was an upload of another fanfiction story.
It contained a prediction of the fourth murder. A new nightmare. The number of copycat crimes was spiralling out of control. It was pretty unsettling for the NCI team.
 
‘There are cars passing by. A man is in his car. He phones a girl, ‘Hello, I’m the one who called you yesterday.’
‘I see you,’ the girl responds. She tells him that she would go over to see him.
  
Something clicked in Kim Hyun Joon’s brain. He pointed out that it was similar to the Ahn Sang Cheol case. In that murder case, Park Jae-Min had lured Park In Hye to meet him through an online transaction and then, he kidnapped her on the orders of Ahn Sang Cheol.
‘If they upload the new story, there must be a new advertisement,’ Ha Sun Woo suggested.
Nana Wang was reading the online advertisement. ‘It just says that the gathering time is 3.50 p.m.’
Yoo Min Young fearfully noted that they had only three hours to find the location, the unsub and the victim.
How would they figure out the location? Make no bones about it. The profilers were pretty proactive and they showed great imagination and creativity in their investigations. Their judgement, sometimes based on instincts, was seldom flawed.
The fan fiction provided a clue; it mentioned a bus stop in front of some department stores.
   
Kim Hyun Joon mentioned a passage in the fanfiction story which was of utmost significance. He puzzled over it.
‘I could feel The Reaper’s phantom that was chasing me. The Reaper shattered into pieces and scattered all over. They jumbled up in front of my eyes.’
     
The resident genius, Lee Han could not pass up the opportunity to impress the others. He was convinced that it referred to anagrams. If the word ‘Reaper’ got scattered and the letters were mixed up, what new words could be created? Unscrambling the word was an intellectual exercise that excited them.
  
R.E.A.P.E.R.
There are three vowels: E.A.E.
On top of that, there are two letters that are repeated. E.E. & R.R.
What new words can be formed from it?
‘PARERE’. In Italian, it means ‘to like’.
Yoo Min Young volunteered the fact that the word ‘Parere’ was often used to name restaurants or cafes.
         
The very proactive Nana Wang was already searching for the locations of eateries with the name ‘Parere’.
When Team Leader Kang asked for the cafes with the name ‘Parere’, she could rattle off the names: ‘Parere’, ‘Amio Parere’ and ‘Parere Special Rateau’.
     
Their hard work had paid off. They quickly moved into action to take the unsub by surprise.
Nobody thought that it would be a wild goose chase; the profilers were certain that they were on the right track. 
Knowing that the NCI did not have a lot of manpower to carry out the covert operation, they quickly secured the assistance of the site support team.
The task force that was hastily set up was split into three teams, and they lay in wait in three separate places for the murderer to appear .
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A DISARRAYED MIND
Meanwhile, Lee Han and Yoo Min Young were at their computers to analyse the latest developments.
The Phantom Club originated from a mystery-solving website, ‘Journal Holmse’. The first copycat murder victim, Ko Joon Hee, was the initial administrator of the website.
Lee Han surmised that the initials, J.H. on her ring could have stood for Joon Hee but Yoo Min Young argued that it may not be the case. J.H. could be the initials for the website, ‘Journal Holmse’.
The duo worked together with Nana Wang to search for more information from The Phantom Club website since the ‘Journal Holmse’ website was closed.
They discovered by deduction that Kang Chi Hwan, a classmate of Ko Joon Hee, was also a member of The Phantom Club.                        
Team Leader Kang had a vague recollection of Kang Chi Hwan as he had asked some questions about The Reaper during the NCI lecture. The inquisitive student had wondered why The Reaper had stopped killing after escaping from prison.
   
An interesting fact about Kang Chi Hwan cropped up. His mental illness had led to his early discharge from the army. Kang Chi Hwan and Shin Hye Mi were presently operating The Phantom Club but it was the latter who had sent money to the Mystery World account.
    
Since the data was of utmost importance to the investigation, Nana Wang was instructed to send Kang Chi Hwan's file to Kim Hyun Joon immediately.
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THE STAKEOUT
Kim Hyun Joon and Ha Sun Woo held a stakeout in their car near the café, ‘Parere’. They had a hunch that the killer would be there. One could not deny that they had an advantage; they had the luxury of knowing beforehand the time of the crime. And, they were ready to spring into action.
   
It seemed foolhardy for the unsub to attempt kidnapping or murder
in broad daylight. The busy place did
not afford him any measure of privacy. It would provide witnesses for the
kidnap or murder, if it occurred there and then.
But, who was the unsub and who was the victim? It was 3.50 pm.
The profilers were tense.
  The unsub, Kang Chi Hwan, received a call to warn him of suspicious intruders who had accessed their website. Kang was impulsive, and wanted to change his plans. He did not weigh the risks. Fortunately for the profilers, he was undone by his own impulsivity.     The two profilers, who were surveilling the area, decided to get some fresh air as well as to look around.       
Kang Chi Hwan, oblivious of the profilers' presence, decided to walk over to his prey to introduce himself. He explained to the naive young girl that it took him a while to find a parking lot.
When she asked for the camera, he informed her that it was in his car, along with the accessories. Inviting her to accompany him, he even offered to give her a free ride.
          
Kim Hyun Joon and Ha Sun Woo were studying the scene and observing the crowd that thronged around the area. Upon receiving the file on Kang Chi Hwan, he scanned the area for the unsub again.
      
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the suspect. Kim Hyun Joon leapt into action. But, the girl was already in Kang’s car. He gave pursuit. Man versus machine; it was a foregone conclusion – it was a hopeless case.
Kim Hyun Joon lost them in the milling crowds and heavy traffic. The other law enforcement officers were alerted of the sighting of the suspect.
                 But luck ran out for Kang Chi Hwan. He did not get away clean as the crime was high-risk; he had executed his crime in broad daylight and in the middle of a road which was clogged with traffic. The tyres of his car were screeching as he swerved it violently to avoid a deadly crash.      
The suspect dragged the girl out and herded her into an eatery which was jammed with customers.
 
Kim Hyun Joon arrived with his gun pointed at the criminal. In a commanding voice, he told the young criminal to put down his knife. Pandemonium followed.
    Facing the resistance of the young criminal, Kim Hyun Joon bellowed his name, 'Kang Chi Hwan!'  Kang Chi Hwan hollered for everyone to get out. In the murder game that he was playing, he anticipated an exciting fight with the profiler alone.  The Reaper was seen in the crowd. It was likely that he had wanted to keep on top of things and also to keep an eagle eye on his young apprentice. The young killer was becoming like him in every way. But, the young man, who was still honing his murder skills, could do little on his own. He needed the help and guidance of the experienced sicko. In order to pacify the would-be murderer, Kim Hyun Joon was forced to put his gun on the floor.        |