Struggling Father • Namjoon!Father + BTS!Adults

xxvi.

"Six people," Lee said, staring out at one of the suspects through the glass of the two-way mirror before him. "Six people, and zero alibis."

Lisa remained silent.

Lee turned to her, eyes narrowed. "That's awfully suspicious. And we can't clear any of them for the time being, so..."

"So you're saying that they're all suspects."

Lee nodded. "Yes."

"Why'd you call me here?" Lisa asked after a moment, pulling her eyes away from the boy on the other side of the glass. "They pulled me off the case. Said it was a conflict of interest. Same reason Jaebum's stuck doing paperwork."

"Because," Lee said, crossing his arms. "They wouldn't talk to me after I started asking about last night. But you - they know you. They trust you. They'll talk to you."

Lisa was already shaking her head as she clenched her fists at her sides. "No. I'm not- you can't just use me to manipulate them, I won't allow that."

"Nobody said anything about manipulation," Lee said, tapping his index finger against his left elbow. "I need your help in order to eliminate them as suspects. If you can get them to talk, to give us alibis, then they can all go home."

"What if one of them did it?" Lisa asked after a moment, looking back at the boy. She stared at him, a face she'd known for years. The face of a killer? She couldn't believe it. But her job wasn't to just fall back on assumptions. She needed to find the truth. Even if it proved to be ugly.

"Then we'll take it from there," Lee said. "But that means that there are five other boys who are innocent, and we owe it to them to wrap this up. As of right now, they're the only suspects we have."

"And Namjoon is all clear?" Lisa asked, biting her lip. Nobody had said a word about him to her, even after she'd asked repeatedly and tried to call in favors.

"His alibi checks out," Lee confirmed, rolling his shoulders back as he let his arms drop to his sides. "In the meantime, we have six more to investigate."

Lisa pursed her lips, frowning, but if she didn't step up and help, it was possible that they wouldn't talk at all. "They're here voluntarily," she said, turning to face Lee. "What happens when one of them wants to leave?"

"Then we arrest them all," Lee said, looking back at the glass. He wasn't looking at a boy he'd watched grow up. No, he was looking at a young adult, a potential murderer. "That leaves us 48 hours to charge the killer."

"I'm not helping you put one of them away in prison," she said, her voice pained. "I won't do it, if it comes to that."

"It won't be your responsibility," Lee replied, turning toward the door. His back faced her, a back that was used to shouldering the enormous psychological burdens that came with the territory of law enforcement. "I'll be asking the questions. You'll just be there to prompt them, when needed." As though sensing her hesitation, he softened his tone. "This is the only way you can protect them, Lisa. By drawing out the truth."

With that, he exited the room.

By drawing out the truth. The words rang in her ears. But what if the truth wasn't as innocent as she desperately hoped it was?

She swallowed and squared her shoulders before exiting the room. Lee was waiting for her, adjusting the clipboard in his hands. "Are you ready, Officer Manoban?"

"Let's begin," she said with a tilt of her head.

Into the first room they went.

***

"Hi Lisa," Jin greeted with a smile.

Her return smile was a bit weaker than his own, but a nudge from Lee reminded her of what she had to do. "Jin, how are you doing?"

"I'm all right," Jin replied before giving Lee a look. "But he's asking me a lot of questions. Am I in trouble for something?"

"You're not in-" Lisa began before Lee cut her off, clearing his throat.

"Let's start again, Jin. Can you tell us where you were last night?"

Jin looked from Lisa to Lee, frowning. "I don't know what happened, but it wasn't me, okay?" Jin crossed his arms, looking back at Lisa. "I thought this had something to do with Jimin's case, so why are all the questions about last night? What happened?"

Silence from Lee told Lisa that she had permission to proceed cautiously. "Someone...died last night, Jin, and we're trying to figure out what happened to them."

"Who?" Jin asked, but Lee cut in once more.

"Your whereabouts last night, Jin."

Jin shot him another look. "I was just driving around a bit."

"I'm going to need you to be more specific," Lee said, looking up. "Times, locations."

"Why?" Jin asked before looking over at Lisa. "Wait, wait- why are you asking me these questions?" His eyes widened slightly as he looked between the both of them. "They didn't just die, did they? Someone killed them? And you think-" He paused. "You think I did it?"

"You're a potential suspect but we can cross you off just as soon as we have a solid alibi," Lisa said, her voice pleading. "Please, Jin. I don't want you here any more that you do. Just tell us-"

"If you don't tell us where you were, we'll have no choice but to suspect you for murder," Lee broke in. "Is that what you want, Jin?"

Jin bit his lip, still looking between the both of them. At one point, he opened his mouth, but then something flashed in his eyes. He slumped down in his chair, worrying at his lip as he looked to one side of the room. "I've got nothing to say."

"Jin, if you don't-" Lisa began, but Lee put a hand on her arm.

"He needs some time to think," Lee said, standing up. "We'll be back," he said to Jin before pulling Lisa out of the room.

"Either he's still working on his story," Lee said after the door had shut, "or he's protecting someone else."

"Who?" Lisa asked. She wanted to defend Jin, but his reaction had been extremely odd. If he'd been entirely innocent, then he should have denied the accusation, should have insisted on proving his innocence. And yet he'd shut down.

Lee just looked down the hallway. "I can think of five people."