Chapter 23 — After Doctor Diep Disappeared

Co Han Chau stood at the door, the corner of his mouth still had blood stains that hadn't been wiped away. His eyes were bloodshot, unlike the eyes of a living person. Tham Moc Ngung saw him, her legs softened, she took two steps back.

"Han Chau, listen to my explanation..."

Co Han Chau gradually approached. Tham Moc Ngung continued to retreat, his back hitting the wall.

"What happened that day wasn't what you saw, I didn't step on her, she just..."

Co Han Chau's hand choked her neck. Each finger tightened. Tham Moc Ngung's mouth opened wide, a hissing sound came from his throat, like a deflating balloon. Her hands desperately broke Co Han Chau's fingers, her nails scratched the back of his hand, creating bloody streaks. He never let go. Her feet were hovering off the ground, one slipper fell off, her toes kicked wildly in mid-air. Her face turned from red to purple. Eyeballs begin to protrude. His white eyes were more than halfway up. Her hand slowly, with all its strength, slid down from Co Han Chau's wrist. Right now. The phone in Co Han Chau's pocket vibrated. He didn't let go. Vibration again. The third time, his reason struggled to crawl back from the edge of some deep abyss. Fingers loosen a little. Tham Moc Ngung fell to the ground, lying there coughing, coughing so much that saliva splashed all over the floor. Co Han Chau lowered his head and took out his phone. It's a strange number. He answered the phone. On the other end of the line was a man's voice, his gestures were slow, neither fast nor slow.

"Hello, are you Mr. Co Han Chau? I am police officer Liu at the Nam Nhai Bay area police station."

“This morning we recovered a female body in the waters of Nam Nhai Bay, wearing a black windbreaker, with an old nerve fracture wound on her right hand.”

“According to preliminary results of comparing items at the scene, the identifying characteristics completely match those of the missing Ms. Diep Nam Sanh.”

“Please come here quickly to coordinate the identification of the body.”

The phone slipped from Co Han Chau's hand. Falling onto the wooden floor, a corner of the screen broke. He stood still without moving, his eyes staring blankly into space. Tham Moc Ngung lay at his feet, holding her neck and coughing. But he couldn't hear anything anymore. Everything is silent.

—

Chapter 14 2:17 am. Co Han Chau's special plane landed at the military airport of Nam Nhai Bay district. The runway was very short, the plane jolted two times before coming to a complete stop. Trieu Minh followed behind, not daring to say a word. From Bac Thanh to Nam Nhai Bay, more than 1,600 km, it takes two and a half hours to fly. During those two and a half hours, Co Han Chau did not say a single word. He sat on a seat in the airplane cabin, wearing a seat belt, his hands on his knees, not moving at all. Trieu Minh secretly glanced at him. His face was ashen as a living person, the blood on his lips had not been wiped away, it had dried and hardened at the corners of his mouth, turning pitch black. The car from the airport to the district funeral home takes forty minutes. The funeral home was built in the suburbs, the iron gate was rusty, and weeds in the yard grew half a person high. In the dark night, only the lights in the duty room flickered, and insects flew around the fluorescent bulbs. Officer Liu was waiting at the door, wearing a police uniform, holding a cigarette in his hand. Seeing Co Han Chau get out of the car, he stubbed out his cigarette.

“Brother Co.”

Co Han Chau did not respond. When he got out of the car, his legs were weak, his shoe heel tripped on the steps, and his body staggered. Trieu Minh reached out to block, but he pushed him away. Officer Liu led the way, walking through a long cement hallway. On both sides of the whitewashed walls, fluorescent lights hum.