Liam nodded. “That’s right. My name’s Officer Cha, but you can just call me Liam.” Liam never did like the formalities that came with his job. He was proud to have the title, sure, but it sounded stuffy when said aloud, and he found that it often created a barrier between him and whoever he was talking to. People didn’t like cops as it was, that was a well-known fact, and Liam was all too aware that a title came with a power imbalance. Still, he never hesitated to put that power in to play when the situation called for it, but he didn’t feel that lording it over someone who had lost their entire business was appropriate.
Liam could see the tension in Heeyoung’s frame, could see her eyes, though lacking the usual tell-tale red rims, become dewy and wet, and he held back a sigh. “Listen, I know you’ve had a long night. I’m sorry about what has happened to your business, and I give you my word that the police department are doing all they can to get answers. I’m not going to keep you any longer than is absolutely necessary, but I need you to promise that you’ll tell me all you know. That’s the only way we’re going to get to the bottom of all of this. Mind if we sit?”
Liam knew that the black-clad woman was likely sick to the back teeth of cops, and had been answering questions all day, but the police department were still no closer to even having a shred of a lead. They had suspicions, naturally, thin, fragile threads that lead somewhere, but nothing concrete, nothing that would allow them to pin any of the attacks on an individual or a group. It was hard enough to sift through all of the bullshit that was coming through the phonelines; it would be even harder if people were holding information back. Liam wasn’t stupid – he knew this ran deep, knew that there was an insane amount of orchestration that had to happen for any of this to have been pulled off right under seemingly everyone’s nose, but knowing that didn’t put people behind bars.
“Firstly, I get that you’re probably sick of answering this, but do you have any idea why this happened? Whether it was random, or whether this casino was a target for any reason?” Liam pulled out his little black pocket bock that he kept on him at all times, flipping to a clean page before he pulled out a pen and clicked it. “Any punters that felt they were ripped off, or anyone deep enough in debt that they’d hold a grudge? Any reason for anyone to come after anything you own? Simply put, Miss Min, do you have any enemies?”
“Liam,” Heeyoung echoed, and then nodded once, as if agreeing to the name. The fact that he was allowing her to use his first name rather than his title was good news for her, meant that he had no reason to exert power over her, no reason to intimidate her into anything. And that meant that they didn’t find her suspicious for any reason. That was good. Reassuring. Now, all she had to do was keep it that way.
The thing was, Heeyoung didn’t want them to get to the bottom of this. She didn’t care whether they could catch the bastards that did this to her business, to her people. In fact, she’d much rather they didn’t meddle in her business, would rather see them pack up and leave and let her and Heidi investigate in peace. But they wouldn’t do that, she knew. It was only protocol that they dig as deep into the case as they could, and so Heeyoung’s only option here was to act innocent, to keep their prying eyes off of her and her gang for the duration of their stay and to conduct her own investigation as quietly as possible. Lifting an arm to her face, she used the back of her sleeve to wipe at her cheeks, an overexaggerated motion to draw attention to her tears, play the part of a flustered business owner.Â
“Oh--- yes,” she responded, making a show of looking around the room before she spotted the set of couches on the other side of her office, leading the officer in that direction. “You can take a seat. Would you like anything to drink, officer? Or, um, Liam,” she corrected herself, diverting her own path to open the mini fridge below her desk and retrieve a bottle of water for herself. “I’ve got water, or I can make you some tea if you’d like?” The offer was entirely unnecessary and distracting, and Liam must have thought so as well, but she’d play up the hospitality as much as she possibly could.
“Excuse my bluntness, Liam, but this is a casino. There are plenty of customers who may feel ripped off, that’s just how the business works. I don’t think I’d be able to pinpoint a specific person any more motivated than the next.” And with that statement, she gave them an overwhelming amount of suspects, too many to be able to investigate every last lead. “I just---” she paused then, taking a deep breath, averting her gaze. “I don’t understand why anyone would want to hurt my staff. They were all so lovely and friendly and welcoming. They didn’t deserve this...” The corners of her eyes once again shone with tears.
