Chapter 11 — Fire Behind the Line

Mr. Tam Rang, full name is Nguyen Van Rang, lives alone in a small house on the edge of Dong Kieu neighborhood, near the riverbank, where he still maintains the habit of going fishing every morning even though he rarely catches anything significant. Seventy years old, his figure is still sturdy from his years as a firefighter. He has lived quietly since his retirement, rarely socializing, only occasionally visiting the families of his former teammates on holidays.

Thien Ly and Trong Khiem visited him one afternoon, bringing some fruits as gifts, deliberately creating an atmosphere more like a casual visit than an official interrogation.

"It's Thien Ly, I haven't visited you for a long time." Mr. Tam Rang opened the door, his sun-tanned face smiled warmly when he saw her, but his eyes were slightly cautious when he saw Trong Khiem standing behind.

"Hello sir. This is Mr. Khiem, my colleague, who is in charge of investigating the recent fires in Dong Kieu." Thien Ly introduced, trying to keep her tone as natural as possible.

Mr. Tam Rang invited the two of them into his house and made a pot of tea, but during the initial conversation, he only talked about trivial things - the weather, the fish that had just escaped this morning, the health of his old friends in the neighborhood. Thien Ly realized he was deliberately avoiding her, and she understood that if he got straight to the point immediately, he might close his heart completely.

"You know, the recent fires remind me so much of what happened to my dad." She spoke in a gentle voice, letting the story naturally lead to the main topic. "I still think about that night often, even though it's been eight years."

Mr. Tam Rang stopped, his hand holding the tea cup stopped in mid-air. His eyes clearly showed emotion, an old pain that never seemed to go away. "Me too, son. I still remember every night vividly."

"Can you tell me how it really happened?" Thien Ly asked softly, trying to suppress the trembling in her voice. "I don't believe in the official investigation conclusions, sir. I have never believed."

Mr. Tam Rang put down the tea cup, clasped his hands together, trembling. He was silent for a long time, so long that Thien Ly began to fear that he would refuse to say anything, like all the times before when she tried to start a conversation.

"You never believed it either." Finally he spoke, his voice hoarse. "But you were silent for eight years, because you were afraid."

"What are you afraid of?" Trong Khiem spoke for the first time, his voice was gentle but firm, creating a feeling of safety for the other person.

Mr. Tam Rang looked at him for a moment, then turned to look at Thien Ly, his eyes full of torment. "That night, he was the one present with his three children on the second floor of the warehouse, right before the fire broke out. He and his three children were checking the management office area, because their father said there was something wrong with the inventory records."

Thien Ly felt her heart pounding. This is the detail she has been looking for eight years - evidence that her father did not "arbitrarily return to the scene against protocol" as the investigation concluded, but was carrying out a purposeful investigation even before the fire broke out.

"Then what happened?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"It was almost midnight. We discovered a private notebook, not an official record, hidden in the warehouse manager's desk drawer. Dad read a few pages, his face changed color. He told him to take that notebook out immediately and report to superiors." Mr. Tam Rang stopped, took a deep breath, as if trying to find the courage to continue. "But at that moment, the fire alarm rang. Fire broke out in the main warehouse area, just a few dozen meters from the office."

"Did you and my father make it out in time?" Trong Khiem asked, carefully recording every detail.

"He was able to escape, because he ran down the main stairs as soon as he heard the bell." Mr. Tam Rang's voice began to visibly tremble. "But your dad said he had to go back and get the notebook, because he left it on the table in his reflexive haste to escape. He tried to stop him, saying it wasn't worth the risk, but your dad said that notebook was more important than anything, that it might be the only evidence."

Thien Ly felt tears begin to roll down her cheeks, unable to hold back anymore. This was the answer she had been searching for eight years — her father did not die because of a random mistake, did not die because of carelessness. He sacrificed his life trying to protect a vital piece of evidence, one that could have exposed a massive conspiracy.

"That notebook, was it found after the fire, sir?" She asked, her voice choked.

Mr. Tam Rang shook his head, his eyes full of pain. "No. After the fire was extinguished, no one found any notebooks in the rubble. He searched silently many times, but to no avail."

"So why didn't you say this then?" Trong Khiem asked, his tone was not reproachful, he simply wanted to understand.

Mr. Tam Rang looked down at his shaking hands. "Because three days after the fire, someone came to see him, saying that if he told the details about the notebook, his family would be in big trouble. They didn't say who sent it, they didn't threaten him directly, but the way they talked, the way they knew clearly about his children's school schedule, made him so scared that he didn't dare say a word, even to his wife and three children."

The room fell into a heavy silence. Thien Ly sat quietly, trying to digest all the information she had just heard. Eight years of silence from the man in front of her, not because of indifference or indifference, but because of a real fear, a specific threat that forced him to bury the truth in his heart for nearly a decade.

"I don't blame you." She said, her voice trembling but sincere. "I understand that you have also had to live with this pain for many years."

Mr. Tam Rang looked up at her, his old eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, Thien Ly. I'm sorry for being silent for so long, leaving you alone to carry your doubts for so many years without anyone confirming it."

"Do you remember anything about the contents of that notebook?" Trong Khiem asked, trying to get more details while still keeping a gentle and respectful tone.

Mr. Tam Rang closed his eyes, trying to regain memories that had faded over time. "He only remembers numbers, columns of notes similar to warehouse import and export books, but there is a column marked with a red pen, recording numbers that are completely different from the official books. And there is a name that appears many times in the corner of the page, abbreviated as 'T.H.P'."

Thien Ly and Trong Khiem looked at each other, the same thought flashed in their heads. T.H.P — Tang Huu Phat.

"Mr. Tam," Trong Khiem said, his tone serious but still respectful, "are you willing to officially testify about what you just said? I understand this can be dangerous, but your testimony could be the key to reopening the entire case."

Mr. Tam Rang was silent for a long time, his eyes looking out the window, towards the river flowing slowly in the sunset. "You've been scared for eight years, Mr. Khiem. Maybe it's time you don't need to be scared anymore. If your testimony can help exonerate Captain Binh, help Thien Ly find the answers she deserves, then I'm ready."

Thien Ly held the old man's hand tightly, her voice choked with emotion. "Thank you. Thank you very much."

When leaving Mr. Tam Rang's house, it was late afternoon, the last sunlight of the day dyed the river surface yellow. Thien Ly and Trong Khiem walked along the riverbank for a while, both silent, letting what they had just heard settle in their minds.

"T.H.P." Trong Khiem spoke first, breaking the silence. "If it is indeed Tang Huu Phat's abbreviation, then we have a direct clue connecting him to the irregularities in the Vinh Thinh warehouse records, just before the fire broke out."

"And my father died trying to protect that evidence." Thien Ly said, her voice full of determination and pain. "You were not careless. You sacrificed your life for justice."

Trong Khiem stopped walking and turned to look at her, his eyes filled with deep sympathy. "Your father is a true hero, Thien Ly. And I promise, we will do everything we can to let the whole world know that."

Thien Ly looked at him, the last tears rolling down, but this time not because of pain, but because of a feeling of relief mixed with pride that had never been felt in the past eight years. On the riverbank, the sunset dyed the sky red, like a farewell to the years of doubt that had passed, and a welcome to the journey to find the truth that was gradually coming to an end.