Chapter 3

I stubbed out my cigarette and was the first to return to my room.

I didn't sleep that night.

Most of the others probably didn't either.

The next morning, everyone rose early and gathered for breakfast.

I looked around.

We were all in a terrible state.

One plan after another for contacting the outside was rejected.

The killer was like a venomous snake hidden in darkness, ready to strike.

Besides those already on my mind, a few others drew my attention.

Hướng Nam and Hướng Bắc were identical twins.

At university, I could never tell them apart.

Now, even less so.

Hoàng Kiện was a civil servant, currently a section-level official in a small county.

And then there was me.

While taking food, I deliberately stumbled.

The fork in my hand “accidentally” scratched Hướng Nam's arm.

“Ah!”

She gave me an injured look.

“I'm sorry! I didn't sleep last night.”

“Look. I'm bleeding.”

I immediately found a bandage and carefully covered the wound.

“An apology is fine,” she said. “But you owe me compensation too.”

Hoàng Kiện was already tipsy, having drunk nearly a hundred milliliters of liquor first thing that morning.

“Is this the time to flirt?” he slurred. “Get out of the way.”

Hướng Nam slapped the table and stood.

“What do you mean?”

“You chased Dương Dương at university.

“You know perfectly well what you and your sister have been doing these past two years.

“Normally, seduce whoever you like.

“Right now, stop simpering. It makes me sick.”

Hướng Bắc grew angry too.

She pointed at him repeatedly, then suddenly collapsed into her chair.

The sisters frantically searched their bags.

Hướng Nam produced an inhaler.

After several puffs, Hướng Bắc gradually recovered.

“My sister has asthma,” Hướng Nam said.

“If you cause something to happen to her, I won't let you off.”

Knowing he was in the wrong and unwilling to escalate matters, Hoàng Kiện fell silent.

“All right. No fighting.

“This started with me. My fault.

“We're all on edge. Try to be understanding.”

I hurried to make peace.

The stumble had been deliberate.

I wanted to mark Hướng Nam's arm.

In mystery novels, twins were always suspicious.

I needed a reliable way to tell them apart.

A woman might be less likely to be the killer, but whoever it was had something like ether.

Once it took effect, the victim was doomed.

“Trịnh Văn Văn.

“You said Tôn Kiều was drugged before being killed?”

Surprised to become the subject, she looked at Mạnh Phàm.

“Yes.”

“Wouldn't that kind of anesthetic normally only be found in hospitals?”

She sneered.

“What are you saying?

“You suspect me?

“Could you use your brain before speaking?

“Yes, hospitals have ether.

“But if someone is willing to commit murder, is finding it elsewhere so difficult?

“Besides, I was the one who noticed she might have been drugged.

“If I were the killer, would I be stupid enough to cast suspicion on myself?”

Mạnh Phàm was about to argue, but Vạn Phong interrupted.

“Those anesthetic and numbing drugs are usually found in hospitals, aren't they?

“Enough arguing. If you have energy, think of a way out. Stop guessing.”

He cut the dispute short, and the others gradually returned to their rooms.

I approached the room shared by Mạnh Phàm and Lưu Thời Vũ.

Just as I was about to knock, I heard a cup fall.

“Stop looking like your mother's died. That bitch Tôn Kiều deserved it!”

“Don't say that. We should respect the dead.”

“Respect, my ass! She seduced my husband. She deserved to die! Deserved to be thrown in a cesspit!”

“You... you knew?”

“I knew from the first time you slept with her!

“When I saw both of you coming here, I knew you were up to no good.

“I was going to catch you in the act and divorce you. Who knew the whore would die first?”

His voice shook.

“Did... did you kill her?”

“I wish I had. She got off too easily.”

Then came arguing and the sounds of a physical fight.

I rubbed my nose.

This was hardly the moment to go in.

I was turning away when he opened the door and almost collided with me.

“Could we... talk?”

He snapped.

“Talk about what? You want to know whether I killed her?

“Fine. I did! What of it? Call the police!”

He spat toward me and strode away from the resort.

What a man.

Caught cheating by his wife, and he took it out on me.

The next time I saw him, he was a corpse.

He lay beside Tôn Kiều, killed the same way, his throat cut.

Presumably drugged first as well.

We gathered again, faces grim.

Mạnh Phàm didn't seem overwhelmingly grief-stricken, though tears remained on her face.

Trịnh Văn Văn examined him briefly.

“Same. No sign of a struggle.”

Rubbing my temples, I made my mind work as fast as it could.

I didn't know who the killer was.

But I could eliminate a few people.

Vạn Phong, Cốc Cường, and Hoàng Kiện certainly weren't responsible.

The night Tôn Kiều died, all three had been drinking together without leaving. Only afterward had Cốc Cường gone out and found her.

The timing didn't fit.

Nor was it Mạnh Phàm.

After her husband left, she stayed in their room crying and smashing things. Plenty of people heard.

She had no opportunity.

Nor was it me.

That left Vương Ngưng, Hướng Nam, Hướng Bắc, and Trịnh Văn Văn.

One of four women.

No.

There might be more than one killer.

Perhaps a group.

Then even those I had eliminated weren't necessarily innocent.

Start with motive?

Mạnh Phàm had the clearest reason to kill Tôn Kiều.

Who might have helped her?

I knew too little.

Guessing like this was no better than picking blindly.

Then start with the victims' identities.

Whether the killer intended to kill everyone or only some of us, they had to make sure the targets stayed.

What did those who remained have in common?

Me first.

Mostly, I had genuinely wanted a few days' rest.

A smaller part was Vương Ngưng.

Had she asked me to stay, I would very likely have agreed.

As things stood, my staying involved a great deal of chance.

If I stayed, Hướng Nam would probably stay too.

And Hướng Bắc.

Vạn Phong organized the gathering. Naturally, he would remain.

Tôn Kiều had little to occupy her and liked small advantages. A few words from him would keep her there.

If she stayed, Lưu Thời Vũ stayed.

And Mạnh Phàm all the more so.

Hoàng Kiện supposedly wanted Vạn Phong's help making connections for promotion.

He would definitely stay.

Cốc Cường had been close to Vạn Phong since university. He wouldn't leave either.

I didn't know Trịnh Văn Văn well enough to say.

Vương Ngưng had decided early to remain, for reasons I didn't know.

Seen that way, most of us were connected to either her or Vạn Phong.

If they were working together, what was the purpose?