Chapter 7 — Fire Behind the Line

Nearly a week passed in artificial quiet. No new fires occurred in Dong Kieu, and Thien Ly began to wonder whether the arrival of a specialized investigator would make the person behind the series of fires hesitate. But she also knows that, in her profession, quiet is rarely a good sign — it's often just the silence before something worse happens.

The fourth fire broke out on a night of heavy rain, when the whole city of Hoa Trach was submerged in torrential water. The alarm sounded at ten o'clock in the evening, this time the location was a row of three-story motels located close to the river's edge, where more than twenty workers and students were renting rooms.

"A fire in this heavy rain is definitely not a simple electrical short circuit." Captain Dinh spoke over the radio as the fire truck rushed through the white rain, the windshield wipers were operating at full capacity but visibility was still blurry.

Upon arriving, Thien Ly saw that the fire was raging even under the pouring rain — a clear sign of abnormality, as it would be difficult for a normal fire to maintain such intensity in such humid weather conditions, unless with the help of a strong catalyst.

"How many people are still in there?" She asked the motel manager who was standing trembling in the rain.

"I... I'm not sure, there are probably about ten people left, most of them are students who haven't returned from studying the night shift, but there are still a few people at home!"

Thien Ly, Manh Cuong and Trinh Nhat Tan split up and rushed into each floor, knocked on each room's door, and shouted loudly for everyone to escape. Thick smoke mixed with steam from the rain created a suffocating fog, making visibility almost zero. On the second floor, Thien Ly found an old man trapped in the room, unable to move on his own due to knee pain. He had to carry him on his back to escape down the steaming stairs.

On the third floor, the situation is much more dangerous. A young student, so panicked that he couldn't think of any other way, climbed out over the railing, hanging fifteen meters above the air, waiting to be rescued as the fire licked almost to his feet.

"Hold tight, don't let go!" Thien Ly shouted loudly when she saw that scene from the downstairs window and immediately reported it to the elevator crew.

But the ladder truck is stuck at the beginning of the narrow alley because a motorbike fell across the street as people fled in panic. With no time to wait, Thien Ly decided to climb up through the rainwater pipe on the side of the building, just like she did at the grocery store fire, but this time it was much more difficult because the surface of the pipe was slippery under the torrential rain.

She climbed up step by step, holding on tightly, sometimes slipping, making her heart ache, but still persistently moving forward until she reached the position where the student was hanging. She stretched out her hand, shouting loudly over the roaring rain and roaring fire: "Give me your hand, I will pull you in!"

The student trembled and was so scared that he did not dare let go of his hand even for a moment. Thien Ly had to use all her strength, one hand holding tightly to the pipe, the other hand reaching out to grab his wrist, pulling hard while bracing her whole body against the downward pull of gravity and the slippery rain.

In that moment, she felt more clearly than ever the fragile line between life and death - the line that her father could not cross eight years ago. But this time, with all her strength and skills trained for six years, she was able to pull the student in safely, both clinging tightly to the pipe until the ladder truck arrived to help bring them to the ground.

The fire was finally controlled after nearly four hours of fighting in wind and rain. All twenty-three people in the boarding house escaped safely, with only a few people suffering from mild smoke inhalation and being taken to the emergency room. This was a miracle, considering how dangerous the fire was, but Thien Ly had no time to celebrate — she immediately thought of informing Trong Khiem.

She sat down on the steps of a house opposite, her legs shaking because she had put all her strength into it for dozens of minutes clinging to the slippery pipe. Bang Tam ran over, wrapped her in a rescue blanket, and rubbed her shoulders hard to keep warm. "You're really crazy, Thien Ly. I stood down and looked up and my heart wanted to fall out."

"I couldn't think of anything else at that time." Thien Ly replied, her voice still trembling from the cold and from the echo of her recent fear. "I just saw him about to let go, and I knew I still had time."

Bang Tam didn't say more, just sat down next to her friend, silently looking at the fire trucks gathering their hoses and winding up each piece of rope under the rain that had begun to subside. Around them, residents who had just escaped were huddled under the awnings of neighboring stores, some still wearing their wet pajamas, looking blankly at the building they had just survived.

He arrived at the scene as soon as it was dawn, the rain had stopped, only tiny drops of water fell from the awning to the puddles on the road. Trong Khiem saw Thien Ly sitting on the steps nearby, her body soaked, her hair stuck to her forehead, her hands still shaking slightly from exhaustion.

"I heard you climbed up the pipe in the rain to save people." He sat down next to her, giving her a dry towel from his car. "Do you know how dangerous that is, especially in such rainy and windy conditions?"

"I know." Thien Ly received the towel and wiped her face. "But if I had waited for the ladder truck to clear the way, that student might have fallen before being rescued."

Trong Khiem was silent for a moment, looking at her with complicated eyes - both a bit of blame and something like undisguised admiration. "I understand. It's just... I don't want to hear that you're in danger, especially when we're in the middle of such an important investigation."

That sentence, even though expressed in a business tone, still made Thien Ly slightly stunned. There was something in his eyes at that moment that was beyond the scope of a normal colleague.

He quickly began examining the scene, and this time, the evidence was much clearer than in the previous three cases. The heavy rain had washed away some of the surface ash layer, revealing streaks with the characteristic color and texture of an industrial solvent, different from the usual construction materials found in a row of boarding houses.

"This." Trong Khiem pointed to the sample he had just taken and showed it to Thien Ly through a hand-held magnifying glass. "This type of substance is not ordinary gasoline. It has high adhesion properties, burns for a long time, and most importantly — it is not popular in the civil market. This is a specialized industrial solvent, usually only used in some specific manufacturing industries."

"Do you think someone intentionally used this substance to ensure the fire would still burn strong even in the rain?" Thien Ly asked, her voice tense.

"Very likely." Trong Khiem nodded, his face much more serious. "The person who caused this incident clearly understands chemicals and knows how to choose the right catalyst for the weather conditions to ensure the fire occurs as planned. This is not an amateur arsonist, Ms. Ly. This is a professional, experienced, and has calculated very carefully."

The two stood silently looking at the scene for a long time, the sound of water dripping from the porch echoed regularly like an invisible countdown clock.

"I will send this sample for detailed composition analysis today." Trong Khiem said, carefully packing the specimen into a specialized evidence bag. "If I find the source of this solvent, we can trace who bought it, where, and when."

"Do you think we'll find out before the next fire?" Thien Ly asked, her voice full of worry.

Trong Khiem did not answer immediately, his eyes looked towards the remaining old houses of Dong Kieu neighborhood, where the morning sunlight was filtering through the gray clouds after the night's rain. "I can't promise that, Ms. Ly. But I promise we will do everything we can to stop it, and if it still happens, we will find whoever is behind it."

That afternoon, when Thien Ly returned to the station after a long, exhausting night, she received a text message from Trong Khiem: "Preliminary analysis results show that this solvent is produced by an industrial chemical company based in a neighboring province. I will contact to get a list of customers who have purchased this product in the last six months. It may take a few days."

She read the message, a feeling of both relief and tension mixed in her heart. For the first time in eight years, she felt that the investigation was truly progressing, no longer just personal theories and hunches, but concrete scientific evidence that could withstand any questioning.

She texted back: "Thank you. Please keep me updated."

A few seconds later, the reply message appeared: "Sure. And Ms. Ly — you did a great job today. That student probably wouldn't have had a chance if it weren't for you."

Thien Ly smiled to herself as she read that text message, feeling a strange warmth spread in her heart, different from the constant feeling of tension of the past few days. She closed her phone, looked out the bedroom window, where the afternoon sunlight was yellowing the rooftops of Hoa Trach city, and for the first time in months, she allowed herself to believe that maybe, finally, the truth wouldn't be so far away anymore.