The NamSeok Mysteries

Two

Hoseok pointed the torch at the stranger's face and then to the thing he was pointing at. Hoseok gasped. "What?! I can't have a dead body in my mausoleum!" he said. "Well, not one that's not had a funeral yet," he corrected.

"Who are you? How do you know it's been killed, and why are you here?" he asked in quick succession, in a higher pitch than he'd liked.

The stranger replied, "My name's Namjoon and I'm here on holiday. This mausoleum is listed as a 'must-see' place in my guide book so I came to take a look. The door was already open when I came, which was only ten minutes ago, and I saw this woman's hanging arm over the tomb so I came to take a look."

Hoseok stared at Namjoon, trying to judge quickly whether this stranger could be believed. He seemed to have an innocent, almost naive, look about him. Hoseok walked towards him and asked him for an ID. Namjoon promptly produced his newly acquired driving license and employee ID. Hoseok seemed satisfied that he wasn't a tomb robber or killer and then faced the torch at the dead woman. "Oh my dear Lord," he exclaimed.
"Do you know her?" Namjoon asked.
"Yes, she's a local journalist, Maggie. What on Earth has happened to her, who would do this to her?" Hoseok asked rhetorically, clearly distraught. "Oh my God, we should call the police!" And just as he said that, he saw that Namjoon was already making the call. While he was doing that, Hoseok spotted a piece of paper in Maggie's hand and was angling his head to get a better look at it.
"They'll be here soon. What's that?" Namjoon asked after ending the call.
"It looks like some sort of code. Can you take a picture of it on your phone?"

"Really? A code?" asked Namjoon, furrowing his eyebrows. "Hmmm, looks like a simple binary code of sorts. Wonder why she's, I mean, was, holding it."

"Oh you know about codes?" enquired Hoseok, intrigued.

Namjoon coughed slightly and told him what his job was and how this holiday was meant to be a break from it. "Bit of an odd holiday, exploring tombs at night," said Hoseok.

"I love exploring when it's dark, you get such a different vibe compared to seeing things in the light," Namjoon said excitedly. Hoseok looked at him unsurely, saying, "Well I much prefer seeing things in the light, putting aside the fact that I was walking the grounds at night, tonight," he said quickly when he saw Namjoon wanting to interject.

The police arrived within minutes and after answering a few questions, both Hoseok and Namjoon went back to the church. Hoseok offered a Namjoon a warm drink before he went back to his lodgings, which Namjoon gratefully accepted. Namjoon sat at the small kitchen table while Hoseok prepared warmed apple cider. Namjoon. He was clearly excited at having company and was even more excited to go over the numerical puzzle with his new found friend, Namjoon. He brought two steaming mugs of apple cider which filled the room with its sweet aroma. Namjoon accepted the drink in trepidation as it was unfamiliar to him, but as soon as he took his first sip, he beamed. "Mmm, this is so good!"

Hoseok chuckled as he replied, "You can't beat a good warm apple cider, especially one made by me."

Namjoon looked at his drink and wondered if it deserved the adulation, but decided to say nothing. This priest was clearly hyped over recent events. "Erm, ok," is all he said. "By the way I don't know your name, Father.....?" Namjoon asked.

"Father Hoseok! I've been the pastor of this village church for around five years now. I used to be in a city based church before, but wanted to reach out to the smaller, quieter communities, so when offered to come here, I jumped at the chance!" Hoseok grinned broadly at Namjoon who was looking at him slightly taken aback. All he'd asked for was his name. He'd come here to take a break from the monotony of cryptography and now he 'd been thrown into a mysterious death with a mysterious binary code paired with it.

Hoseok spoke again, "Sorry I know I spoke a bit too much then. The thing is, I know the lady back there, you know, the one who's erm....." he left it unfinished. "Anyway, she used to come to Sunday mass and she was a part of flock, as it were. I've never seen someone I know,  lifeless and gone. It's..."
Namjoon let him gather his thoughts. "Anyway, you said you're a cryptanalyst, and I know something about her and where she worked. Maybe we can both do some investigative work to find out how she died?" Hoseok looked at Namjoon pleadingly. He continued, "You seem like an upright person and someone whom one can trust. What do you say?"

Namjoon pondered his request. This wasn't exactly what he'd bargained for. All he wanted was a few days away to forget about his work and recharge his batteries. Yet, the mystery surrounding the woman's death was certainly intriguing. And Father Hoseok had a kindly face and he looked truly troubled by this death. Namjoon finished his drink and got up to leave.

"Ok, let's do it. Let's work together to find out what happened to that unfortunate young lady. There must have been a reason I went into the mausoleum today and met you. Maybe fate wants us to solve this together. Father Hoseok, I'll meet you here tomorrow at 10am and we'll start with paying her boss a visit."

With that, he left Hoseok staring after him, a little bit in awe. Hoseok said thanks looking up at the ceiling and walked to his bedroom to retire for the night. He sincerely hoped they'd be able to find out how Maggie died.