Chapter 4 — Fire Behind the Line

The common room of Fire Station No. 3 is where the whole squad gathers after each shift, a large room with an old TV, a few worn sofas, and a ping pong table that Trinh Nhat Tan - the youngest member of the team - always tries to invite someone to play with in his free time. The morning after the carpentry workshop fire, the atmosphere in the room was heavier than usual.

"Two cases in one week." Ho Manh Cuong sat down on the sofa, holding a cup of cold coffee before he could drink it. "I've been doing this job for seven years, and I've never seen the Dong Kieu area burn like this."

"It's not the first time the old town has had a fire." Another team member, who had just returned from an equipment patrol, spoke up. "The house is full of old wood, electric wires are tangled, a fire is something that happens sooner or later."

"But two incidents with unusual fire spread is not normal." Thien Ly entered the room, put the cup of tea on the table, her voice was calm but firm. "Uncle Dinh and I carefully inspected the scene of Mr. Nghiep's carpentry workshop. The stains on the floor looked exactly like the type of flammable liquid that was spilled on purpose."

Manh Cuong raised his eyebrows at her, his voice a bit sarcastic and familiar. "You're about to play detective again. Your job is to fight the fire, Thien Ly, not to investigate the cause. Let the professionals take care of that."

"I have the right to be suspicious when I see something unusual right before my eyes." Thien Ly responded, unfazed. She's been used to this kind of attitude from Manh Cuong since her early days on the team — a sneaking skepticism towards anything she says that goes beyond the scope of "what a female firefighter should do."

"I don't mean you're wrong." Manh Cuong rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly realizing that his voice was a bit harsh. "It's just... you always tend to look at every fire as if it's related to your father's. There's not always a conspiracy behind it, Thien Ly."

That sentence was like a small needle pricking the most painful place in Thien Ly's heart. She was silent for a moment, then replied, her voice colder: "And a coincidence is not always just a coincidence, Manh Cuong."

The air in the room slackened. Ngo Bang Tam, who was sitting folding blankets in the corner of the room, stood up, walked to stand next to Thien Ly, crossed his arms and looked straight at Manh Cuong.

"Mr. Cuong, do you remember who was the first person to rush in to find the two workers in the Thanh Loi factory? Who discovered the unusual iron latch at the emergency exit door?" Bang Tam's voice was sharp, not hiding her defense of you. "Thien Ly doesn't need to prove anything to you. She has proven enough, with actions, not words."

Manh Cuong waved his hand, seemingly regretting his words. "Okay, I don't have any bad intentions. I'm just worried that she'll make herself miserable. If you keep digging up something that's been closed for eight years, one day you'll get into big trouble."

"Is the trouble bigger than letting the truth stay buried forever?" Thien Ly looked straight into his eyes, her voice never wavering.

Captain Dinh entered the room at that moment, cutting through the tense atmosphere with a loud throat clearing. "Okay, both of you. I just received a notification from above - the City Fire Department has agreed to send a specialized investigator to assist with this case. That person will arrive in the next few days."

"Who is it, uncle?" Trinh Nhat Tan, engrossed in practicing table tennis throwing alone, looked up and asked.

"Captain of the Fire and Explosion Investigation Team, his name is Le Trong Khiem. I heard he is quite famous in the profession, having handled many complicated cases in other provinces." Mr. Dinh looked around the room, his eyes lingering on Thien Ly a little longer. "Thien Ly, I want you to be the one to coordinate directly with him when needed, because you are the one who knows the scene of both cases best."

Thien Ly nodded, a feeling of both nervousness and caution arose in her heart. This is the opportunity she has been waiting for - a professional, independent investigator, not bound by old relationships within the local police department like Mr. Tho or even Uncle Thien. If this person is truly honest, perhaps this will be the first opportunity in eight years for the truth about her father to be seriously reconsidered.

In the afternoon, after finishing their shift, Thien Ly and Bang Tam sat at a small cafe opposite the station, where they often stopped by to relax after stressful shifts. Bang Tam ordered two glasses of iced tea, pushing one towards you.

"Don't pay attention to what Manh Cuong said." Bang Tam said, stirring the cup of tea. "He's not ugly, he's just a straightforward person who says whatever he thinks, doesn't know how to express it well."

"I know." Thien Ly smiled lightly, but her eyes were still a bit gloomy. "It's just that sometimes I wonder if I'm too obsessed with my dad's affairs. Maybe I'm turning every fire into a shadow of the past."

"No." Bang Tam shook his head firmly. "I've been working with you for three years, Thien Ly. I know you're not someone who easily sees ghosts in every corner of the wall. You're the most careful person on the team, the most meticulous observer on the team. If you say there's anything unusual, it definitely is."

Thien Ly looked at you, her heart warmed somewhat. Bang Tam was always the only person on the team who never questioned her motives, never suspected that the pain of losing her father was making her view things in a distorted way.

"Do you remember when you first entered school?" Bang Tam suddenly smiled, recalling old memories. "The day of rope ladder climbing training, I was so scared that I didn't dare look down, but you climbed up like you were taking a walk, and even turned down to encourage me."

"Because at that time I thought about dad." Thien Ly smiled slightly, her eyes distant. "Dad once told me, fear is not a weakness, it's just a sign that you still value your life. A good firefighter is not someone who doesn't know how to be afraid, but someone who knows how to work even when he's scared."

Bang Tam nodded, was silent for a moment, then asked in a lower voice: "Do you think the new investigator, that guy Le Trong Khiem, will be able to help your father's case?"

"I don't know." Thien Ly looked down at the iced tea that was slowly melting, water droplets standing on the outside of the glass. "But I won't miss this opportunity. If he's really as good as he says, maybe he'll see what I've seen for the past eight years that no one believes."

That evening, when returning to the station to prepare for the night shift, Thien Ly stopped by Team Leader Dinh's office to ask more about the records of the last two fires. He was sitting in front of the computer, typing reports, his face clearly showing fatigue.

"Uncle Dinh, I would like to request a review of the entire scene examination records of both cases, including the preliminary report before sending it to above." She stood at the door, her voice serious.

Mr. Dinh looked up at her for a long moment, then sighed, opened a drawer and took out a file. "I know you will ask this question sooner or later. Take it, but remember, this is only an internal backup, it cannot be revealed before the official conclusion."

"I understand, thank you." Thien Ly received the file and hugged it close to her chest like a treasure.

"This Thien Ly." Mr. Dinh called back when she was about to leave, his voice was low, somewhat unusually serious. "I know what you're looking for, and I don't blame you. Your father is the best brother I've ever had in this business. But I want you to promise me one thing — if you find out anything, no matter how small, tell me first, don't confront anyone yourself. I don't want to lose another person in this family."

Thien Ly looked at him, feeling the sincerity in every word. "I promise, Uncle Dinh."

That night, after completing the usual work of the shift, Thien Ly sat alone in the break room, opened the files on the two fires and studied them carefully under the light of a small table lamp. She compared every detail with her father's work notebook, with her own notes over the past eight years. The numbers about the time the fire was detected, the location of the starting point, the type of construction material, all gradually rearranged into a picture that she began to see more clearly.

Both fires occurred at night, when there were few people around. Both showed signs of an unknown catalyst. Both are located in the area where Thinh Vuong Land Company once offered to buy land. And most importantly, both homeowners are households who have refused to sell their houses many times before.

She circled three names in the notebook — Thanh Loi wood workshop, Mr. Nghiep carpentry workshop, and Vinh Thinh warehouse eight years ago — and connected them with a straight line, writing next to the words: "Same motif. Same purpose. Probably, the same person behind it."

Outside the window, the sound of the ship's whistle echoed from the port, as distant and steady as the breathing of the whole city. Thien Ly closed the notebook and turned off the desk lamp, but her eyes were still open in the darkness, her mind reeling with unproven hypotheses. She knows she's at an important crossroads — and the incoming investigator, whom she's never met, may be the key to opening the door she's been trying to push for eight long years.