Chapter 2

After leaving Nguyệt’s house, I met the other team to compare findings.

The other boy involved in Tiểu Tiểu’s case was Nghiêm Hoa.

His family circumstances resembled Kiệt’s.

Both families were wealthy.

The difference was that Hoa’s house stood nearer the cluster of government offices.

Perhaps they also had influential connections.

Hoa himself resembled Kiệt too.

Poor at his studies, constantly in trouble, transferred through multiple schools.

According to my colleagues, his father’s attitude had been much like Nguyệt’s.

He considered the compensation excessive and blamed our inefficiency for allowing frightening events to keep disturbing his family.

But one remark stood out.

“They even called for more money recently. After all this time, still asking for money. Damn it, will they ever leave us alone?”

I asked immediately:

“Did he say who asked?”

My colleague shook his head.

They hadn’t got an answer.

But his tone suggested someone from Tiểu Tiểu’s family.

Apart from her mentally unwell mother, missing for months, that left Kim and Tùng.

I did not know whether the demand for money was directly connected to the massacre, but I remembered the lead.

Those two families might not be good people.

As law-enforcement officers, however, we still had to warn them.

The two boys had been perpetrators in the earlier case.

In this one, they might genuinely become victims.

Protecting victims was our responsibility.

Just as we finished compiling our information, Tuấn brought fresh news.

He had found a concrete lead.

Not Kim or Tùng.

It was a record of Tiểu Tiểu’s mother, Lan, using her identity card.

Identity-card data was not yet networked nationwide.

Finding even this information had been extremely difficult.

But it made the case stranger.

According to the material Tuấn obtained, Lan had been treated at a hospital in the provincial capital a month earlier.

Not for mental illness.

For something far more dangerous.

A brain tumor.

Her last medical report offered almost no hope of survival.

Tuấn suggested:

“Perhaps she’s already dead. That could explain why Hùng’s family was killed now. Kim has lost too much. Rather than die in despair, he might want to take a few people with him.”

It was a strong possibility.

If Kim was the killer, why had his father disappeared too?

Tuấn’s inquiries in the village showed that Tùng, though over fifty, was still powerfully built and healthy, with strong feelings about whom he loved and hated.

He might be an accomplice.

Or he might be hiding his son somewhere.

Tuấn added:

“I’ve reported it up the chain. The city criminal investigation unit has sent people to the hospital to help trace Kim’s whereabouts. We should have a lead soon.”

Soon came very quickly.

That very night, the city team reported finding a suspicious location and recovering fingerprints there.

We immediately sent the prints from Hùng’s house for comparison.

The result came back that night.

The two sets matched exactly.

Kim was the man who had killed Hùng’s family.

Once we caught him, we could call the case solved.

Nothing was ever that simple.

The next day, Kim was arrested in an almost absurd way.

He was lurking near Kiệt’s home when Nguyệt’s people spotted him, seized him, beat him, and handed him to the police.

Our immediate warnings to the two households had apparently worked.

We had prevented a greater tragedy.

Kim had indeed meant to wipe them all out.

But when we questioned him on that assumption, his statement astonished us.

It was almost unbelievable.

First, he admitted killing Hùng’s entire family.

His reason, however, was completely unexpected.

He said Lan was not dead.

She needed a large sum for surgery, and his father had taken her somewhere else to recuperate.

He refused to give the address, fearing retaliation against them.

He had not killed Hùng’s family to avenge Tiểu Tiểu.

He had done it for money.

Money for his wife’s treatment.

“What money?”

Tuấn and I exchanged a look.

Kim spoke slowly.

“Those three families all had something on each other because of what happened to my daughter… Hùng’s family was poor, but endlessly greedy. They kept using it to threaten the other two and demand money. So…”

Slowly, he explained his motive.

“So the other two families promised me a large sum to get rid of a threat that could hang over them for the rest of their lives. I went to Nguyệt’s house today to collect the balance. Instead, they betrayed me…”

His face twisted. His teeth ground together.

“They must see me as a threat too! They never meant to pay! They want you to think I killed them for revenge, to hide everything! I’m doomed now, and so is my wife… I won’t let them off! If I die, they can die with me!”

Tuấn and I were stunned.

Nothing had gone as expected.

Still, I immediately asked:

“Your word alone isn’t enough. Do you have evidence?”

He nodded.

“Yes. They transferred money to me about a month ago. A deposit for the killings.”

We looked at each other.

It was not impossible.

Hùng’s family still lived in the village. Clearly, they had no power or influential background.

That meant the other two households must have arranged the settlement and cover-up in Tiểu Tiểu’s case.

Were they powerful enough to have Hùng’s whole family silenced?

It was hard to say.

Hiring a killer was no minor offense.

In some circumstances, it could even make them the instigators of the murder.

This was too serious to handle casually.

We stopped the interview and reported to our captain.

Captain Từ remained silent for a long time.

After prolonged thought, he said:

“You were right to tell me first. Let me sound things out. Don’t summon them yet—we don’t want to tip them off. Keep working with Kim and see whether he shows signs of lying.”

It proved right that we had not immediately approached the Hà and Nghiêm families.

Over the following days, we continued checking Kim’s statement.

We reconstructed the crime and compared the evidence.

At least regarding Hùng’s family, he cooperated fully and helped us establish exactly what had happened.

We obtained his bank statements too.

Just as he had said, the other two households had transferred money.

Substantial amounts.

That was also the problem.

Beyond those transfers, he had no evidence that either household had paid him to kill Hùng’s family.

We spent two days completing the file.

Two days later, Captain Từ’s attempt to “sound things out” finally produced a result.

It pleased no one.

He came to Tuấn and me and said directly:

“This case has an enormous impact. Five people, an entire household murdered. The longer it drags on, the more likely public opinion is to erupt. Complete the chain of evidence quickly and send it to the procuratorate for prosecution.”

I understood.

He had found out nothing.

Instead, pressure had come from above to close the case quickly.

Tuấn asked cautiously:

“Aren’t we investigating the suspicious points anymore? There could still have been instigation to murder…”

“There’s no evidence. What can we investigate? Besides…” Từ grimaced. “The procuratorate may send someone to hurry us along any minute.”

He sighed.

“To be honest, I discreetly asked around. Both households give the same explanation: the money was to settle the aftermath of Tiểu Tiểu’s case and stop further harassment. Arguing won’t get us anywhere.”

That was what Nguyệt had said during our first visit too.

Từ frowned and added meaningfully:

“Besides, it doesn’t feel right. If those families wanted to hire a killer, surely they wouldn’t hire Kim. With a grudge that deep, the risk of betrayal would be enormous. Too many uncertainties. It makes no sense.”

He had a point.

After discussing it privately, Tuấn and I saw no alternative.

We could only proceed on the evidence we had.

What we never imagined was that this apparently farcical accusation concealed a deeper purpose.

Not one of us saw it.

We interviewed Kim again and told him our final decision.

We also explained what Từ had learned about the transfers.

Kim did not react with the anger we expected.

He laughed.

“Did someone higher up pressure you to close the case?”

I froze.

He asked again:

“You never actually investigated those two families, did you?”

I was even more bewildered.

Only at his final words did we realize we had been deceived.

“Just like Tiểu Tiểu’s case. You wouldn’t open a case then either. You all said she killed herself.”

His smile vanished.

At last, I understood.

“You invented the whole story about them hiring you! Your wife needing treatment was a lie too! You killed Hùng’s family to avenge Tiểu Tiểu, didn’t you?”

He did not answer.

He stared into the distance with dark eyes and muttered.

“Suicide by drowning… Are you all blind? My Tiểu Tiểu would never do that… Never…”

“Didn’t you see her injuries? All over her body… Everywhere…”

“They’re animals. Devils. None of them deserves to live…”

“My wife has gone below to look after Tiểu Tiểu. What about me? I can’t go on living like a coward. I owe my daughter an answer…”

It was clear enough now.

He had fabricated the murder-for-hire story to drag the two families down with him before he died.

Tuấn and I were silent.

Yet we did not blame him for it.

Tuấn even offered words of comfort.

We had not handled Tiểu Tiểu’s original case.

But someone had to bear that resentment.

At least he needed someone to hear his grievance.

At the time, I thought it was almost over.

Kim had confessed completely.

He could cause no more trouble.

Once again, the truth was not so simple.

He had never meant merely to implicate the Hà and Nghiêm families through a false accusation.

His real purpose had already been quietly achieved while none of us noticed.

The next day, something strange happened.

No one from the procuratorate came to hurry us along.

Instead, a group arrived whom even I did not recognize.

The bureau chief received them personally.

They spent the entire morning in Từ’s office.

During that time, they requested every file connected with Kim’s case.

That was why I noticed them.

They finally left at noon.

Từ saw them out, his face dark.

He did not even stop for lunch. Back at his office, he called to us:

“You two, come with me. We’re going out on assignment.”

I was puzzled.

Kim’s case was exceptionally serious—a five-victim massacre.

There was a tremendous amount of paperwork to complete.