Chapter 5
Edward Quan ·
This time, it was Cốc Cường.
Trịnh Văn Văn examined him.
“Probably poisoning. Time of death, roughly between two and four in the morning yesterday.”
Why?
Why him?
Why skip me?
“Dương Dương, where were you at two yesterday morning?”
“My room.”
“Doing what?”
“Sleeping.”
“Who can confirm it?”
“No one. I was alone.”
I had to admire the killer.
With one supposed student-number pattern, they had shattered what little trust remained.
Perhaps something had gone wrong.
Perhaps it was deliberate.
Skipping me to throw all the suspicion onto me.
Either way, the killer had won.
Everyone looked at me in fear now.
Especially Hướng Nam.
Mixed with her fear was relief at having narrowly escaped.
Had I known, I might as well have slept with her.
At least she could have confirmed I was in my room.
“I really am not the killer. This could be a setup.”
“But you were supposed to die. Why couldn't deliberately skipping you be part of your double bluff?”
It was like a game of Werewolf.
There were always two opposing ways to reason it out.
Words alone proved nothing.
“What do you want, then? Kill me?”
“No.”
Vạn Phong stepped forward.
“We'll tie you up.”
I didn't resist.
By the time the struggle was over, it was nearly noon.
I shook my head with a bitter smile.
I had never imagined ending up like this.
I looked around.
Quite a few people were absent.
No.
No!
This was the killer's plan.
Using me to divert attention.
“Where's Vương Ngưng? Has anyone seen her?”
Everyone froze, then instinctively ran to search.
“Fuck, come back! Untie me! Send someone with me if you have to.
“Leave me here, and by the time you find her, I'll be dead!”
Vạn Phong released me and stayed close.
“Found her! North side!”
We ran.
Vương Ngưng had her back to us.
Head lowered, she sat quietly on the railing.
Below it was a dizzying drop.
Judging by the angle of her head, she was probably unconscious.
“Vương Ngưng!”
I shoved Vạn Phong away and ran like a madman.
When I was just over ten meters away, her body tipped slightly.
She fell.
The river raced below.
In an instant, she was gone.
Vạn Phong reached me and still tried to restrain me.
“What are you holding me for?” I roared.
“You saw her this morning, didn't you?
“Weren't we all together then?
“Have I left your sight since?
“If I'm the killer, when did I do it?”
Four questions left him staring.
Thinking about it, he realized I was right.
“I... didn't know what else to do...”
For a moment, nothing seemed to matter.
She had come to see me yesterday.
She must have wanted to say something.
Perhaps just talk.
Perhaps reminisce.
Perhaps get back together.
Whatever it was, I would never hear it now.
Damn it!
Who was the killer?
Who came next?
Would they return for me or continue down the list?
Was there really no way to catch them?
Hướng Nam spoke timidly.
“Doesn't... doesn't her death seem strange?”
When I looked at her, she swallowed.
“If the killer wanted her dead, why not simply throw her over?
“Why do it in front of us?
“She looked unconscious. How did they make her fall at precisely the moment we couldn't save her?”
I tried to stay calm.
She was right.
There had to be a purpose.
Generally, an elaborate method of murder served one of two ends.
One was an alibi.
Not merely keeping the killer away from the scene.
It could also conceal when the act had been set up.
Drugging Vương Ngưng and immediately throwing her over would have been easy.
But if only the killer and she were absent while everyone else was together, it would sharply narrow the suspects.
Bind her first, arrange everything, then join the others in “discovering” her, and the killer could hide among us.
The second purpose was distraction.
Like deliberately skipping me so everyone would suspect me.
Suddenly, I started.
“Damn it! Mạnh Phàm! Is she still here? Check!”
A trembling voice answered.
“I... I'm here.”
I let out a relieved breath.
I had feared that while we all watched Vương Ngưng, the killer was quietly murdering the next victim.
“Dương Dương...”
Hướng Nam began crying.
“My sister... Hướng Bắc's missing.”
We split into two groups.
One went to find her.
Trịnh Văn Văn and I stayed to examine the scene.
In the cottage nearest the place where Vương Ngưng fell, we found the secret behind the timing.
A candle and a quantity of fishing line.
The line was tied to a post inside.
The candle had already burned down considerably.
The killer had prepared it beforehand.
Vương Ngưng, unconscious, had been placed on the railing, leaning forward and held by fishing line. The line passed over the candle, with its other end secured to the post.
When the searchers were about to reach the north side, the killer could enter the cottage and light it.
Once the flame burned through the line, she would fall.
Seeing her, we would instinctively rush to save her.
No one would pay attention to the cottage, much less immediately discover the arrangement.
That made the identity of the first person to find her crucial.
“Văn Văn, who saw her first?”
She shook her head.
“No one in particular. We were afraid of something happening, so apart from you and Vạn Phong, we searched together.
“A little spread out, but not far.”
“So you saw her almost simultaneously?”
“More or less.”
“Did you notice anyone entering this cottage?”
“No. Once we spotted her, everyone ran. It was chaotic.”
I frowned.
“That doesn't make sense. We arrived later. You should have been able to save her before we got there.”
She sighed.
“There was a note behind her, held down by a stone.
“This one.”
I took it.
An ordinary sheet of A4 paper.