Chapter 8 — Don't Open The Door At 2 A.M

Those were the shoes behind the emergency exit door last night. Officer Tran recorded this. "What is the tattoo?" "Like a snake, maybe a vine." Officer Cao, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and said, "We will check the recent calls and her whereabouts." At the police station, I made a second report. From the moment the spare key disappeared, to changing the lock, to testing with the food order, to the piece of paper, to the black bag and unlocking it last night. Every time I say it again, things become clearer and more absurd. A person who once shared a refrigerator and a washing machine with me, but when I wasn't looking, disassembled my life into pieces that could be exploited. When the report ended, it was noon. Officer Tran poured me a cup of warm water. "Don't stay there recently, we will notify her to come forward." I asked: "What if she doesn't come?" "Handle it according to the law." I held the paper cup, my fingertips felt a little hot. "What's in that phone, when will we know?" "We have to wait for the extraction technique." He looked at me and added again. "You prepare yourself mentally." This sentence made my stomach empty. I asked: “What will it be?” Officer Tran did not answer directly. "She hid things in your residence and even risked going back to get them, which proves that inside there may be something she doesn't want others to see, and there may also be something related to you." I didn't ask anymore. At three o'clock in the afternoon, I went back to the hotel to get my things. As soon as I entered the room, the receptionist called me. "Hello, there was a Ms. Duong who left you an envelope, saying she was your friend." I held the phone tightly. "Did she come personally?" "No, it was a delivery person." "Where is the envelope?" "At the reception desk." I didn't go downstairs, but called police officer Tran. Twenty minutes later, police officer Cao arrived at the hotel. Before the envelope was opened, the receptionist was so nervous that her hands were shaking. Inside there is only one photo. Photo of my living room. The shooting angle is very low, like shooting from under the TV shelf. In the photo, I stood at the mysterious entrance changing shoes, turning my back to the camera. The time was 8:13 last night. It also means after Duong Ly checks out, after I change the lock. There's still an eye in my house looking at me. 10 When the photo was put in the evidence bag, the light at the reception desk flickered once. I stared at the photo of the living room taken from that low angle, my fingers tightening little by little. Under the TV shelf. That's the location I pass by every day. I changed my shoes there, received orders, opened food, and sometimes I was so tired after work that I sat directly on the doormat, dazed. I thought danger was outside the door. It turned out that there was already a pair of eyes in the house. Officer Cao turned the photo to the back and took a look. There were no words on the back, only a note from the business platform. "The sender's information is a virtual number." The receptionist said in a low voice: "I didn't think much when he delivered it, he said you sent it to a customer." Officer Cao asked: "What does the delivery person look like?" "Wearing a helmet, wearing a mask, wearing black clothes." She thought for a moment, then added. "It seems like the back of the hand has a tattoo, but I'm not sure." I raised my head. "Snake shape?" The receptionist's face turned whiter. "Like a circle of black lines wrapped around his hand." Officer Cao immediately took out his phone to contact police Tran. "The hotel also appeared suspected of being an accomplice." Having finished speaking, he turned his head to look. me. “Don't go back to your room now, stay alone in the lobby.” I nodded, but my legs were a bit soft. Clearly in the lobby people were passing by, I felt like every face was covered with a layer of dew. Someone pushed a suitcase past, the wheel rolled through the brick crack, there was a clatter. I suddenly turned my head. Officer Cao saw my reaction and lowered his voice. "Don't be afraid, we're here." I smiled bitterly. "I'm not afraid.

She appears now." "So what are you afraid of?" I looked at the photo in the evidence bag. "I'm afraid that after I get home, I'll find out how long she's been looking at me." Half an hour later, police officer Tran led people to my house. I wasn't allowed to follow in, so I could only sit in the hotel lobby and wait for news. The phone was placed on my knee, the screen lit up and then went dark again. In the camera image, in front of my house, there were police and management people standing there. The hallway lights were bright. clearly saw the scratches on the door. At 4:26 p.m., police officer Tran called. "Under the TV shelf, I found a hidden camera." Something stuck in my throat. "Can it still be used?" "The power is out, but there's storage inside." "Is there anything else?" The other end of the line paused for a moment. "There's also one outside the bedroom door, but it's not facing the bed, the angle is facing the hidden room and the living room." I closed my eyes. "Who installed it?" Tran said: "It's not yet possible to conclude, but the device is not just temporarily installed, the fixed place has old glue stains." I opened my eyes and looked at the hotel window that kept opening and closing. Old glue stains. These three words are colder than any threat. The day Duong Ly checked out, she was so considerate with the shoe locker, not just to conveniently get the key. She's confirming whether what she left behind is still there or not.