Chapter 17 — Forest Keeper

Three days after receiving the threatening text message, Khue received an unexpected call from another strange phone number, a man's voice trembling and in a hurry. "Miss Khue, right? I'm Pao, from Na Long village. I... I need to talk to you, but not by phone. Can you come see me, just discreetly."

Khue immediately recognized this name - Trieu Van Pao, a villager she had encountered several times during patrols, living in a small village bordering the reserve, famous for its poverty, many young people in the village had to work far from home. She arranged to meet him the next afternoon, at a discreet meeting place by the stream, far from both the station and the village, according to Pao's request.

Nguyen insisted on going with him, although Khue initially planned to go alone to avoid making Pao panic with the presence of strangers. In the end, they compromised — Nguyen would stand some distance away, only intervening if necessary.

When Khue arrived at the meeting point, Pao was already waiting, with a thin figure, his face darkened by the sun and wind, his eyes full of worry, constantly looking around as if afraid someone was watching. He was wearing old work clothes, his hands were calloused from working in the fields, but there was a trembling in his demeanor that made Khue immediately realize that this was not a normal meeting.

"Miss Khue, thank you for coming," Pao said, his voice still shaking, constantly wringing his hands together. "I... I don't know where to start."

"Just take your time, I have time," Khue said, her voice trying to keep it gentle and reassuring, even though inside she was anxious to know what important information Pao had.

Phao took a deep breath, then began to tell, his voice choked up, sometimes having to pause to suppress his emotions. "Two years ago, my family was heavily in debt, my child was seriously ill and needed money for medical treatment. Someone came to me and said they would lend me money without interest. I just needed to occasionally help them with a few small things - lead the way into the forest, set a few traps in places they designated, and let them know when a group of rangers patrolled through that area."

Khue felt her heart beating faster, trying to keep her face calm so as not to scare Pao into stopping talking. "Do you know who that person is?"

"I only know that they work for a boss named Bao, the owner of a wood company in town," Pao replied, his voice trembling more and more. "At first I thought it was just a small thing, just helping me once. But they kept coming, each time asking for more, and if I refused, they said they would reclaim the entire loan amount immediately, and my family couldn't afford to pay."

"Do you know anything about the cable trap that killed a mother langur in the Nam Dam area a few weeks ago?" Khue asked, trying to make a direct connection to the case she had investigated from the beginning.

Phao bowed his head, his face etched with deep shame and torment. "That... that's what I set, Ms. Khue. I'm sorry. They gave me the cable, pointed to the right position to place it, said it was the familiar movement path of a group of langurs. I didn't know they would kill the whole mother like that, I just thought it was a live trap to sell."

That confession made Khue pause, her emotions were mixed between anger because the man in front of her was the one who caused the death of the mother langur, Nau's mother, and a complicated sympathy when realizing that Pao was just a coerced link, taken advantage of by the poor situation and the cruelty of those above him.

"Why did you decide to tell me now?" Khue asked, trying to keep her voice non-judgmental even though her heart was still filled with pain when thinking about Nau and her mother.

Pao looked up, his eyes red. "Because last week, they came to me again, asking me to do something else - to follow you and the veterinarian, to report on your travel schedule. I... I can't do it anymore, Ms. Khue. I have a conscience. The mother langur died, I was tormented for many sleepless nights. Now they want me to harm people, I can't continue anymore."

"Do you know who ordered you to spy on us?" Khue asked, her voice tense.

"A man named Sin, Mr. Bao's trusted henchman. He was very ferocious. He once beat a person in my village for daring to ask too much about the origin of the loan," Pao replied, his voice shaking with fear when mentioning that name. "I'm scared, Ms. Khue. I'm scared for my family. But I can't live forever with this feeling of guilt."

Khue sat quietly for a while, giving Pao time to calm down and at the same time organize in his mind the valuable information he had just received. This was the first time she had a direct witness, someone who had participated in the ring's activities, who could provide specific information about how it worked, about names, specific orders.

"Mr. Pao, I understand your situation, and I don't blame you," she said, her voice sincere. "But I need you to do one more thing for me — to testify, when the right time comes, before the investigating authorities. I will do my best to ensure that you and your family are protected, and I believe that if you cooperate, your forced situation will be considered leniently."

Phao was silent for a long time, his inner struggle clearly visible on his austere face. Finally, he nodded, his voice shaking but determined. "I agree, Ms. Khue. I want to atone for my mistakes, no matter what the cost is."

Before parting ways, Pao also provided one more important detail: a large delivery meeting, scheduled to take place at a secret gathering site deep in the forest, about three kilometers west of the Nam Dam area, next weekend, when a large truck will arrive to transport all the wood and some wild animals collected recently.

Before Pao returned, Khue kept him a little longer, trying to get more details about the method of contact, about other places where Pao had been asked to set traps or lead the way. Pao, seemingly relieved of much of his burden after confessing, became much more open, telling about at least three other locations in the reserve where he had been forced to take Sin's people to survey transportation routes, along with a rough description of the truck often used — the same type, with the same partial license plate that Khue and Nguyen had photographed the day of their encounter in the forest.

"Do you remember if they mentioned any names other than Mr. Bao and Sin?" Khue asked, trying to make the most of it while Pao still had enough courage to speak.

Pao thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I only vaguely heard once, Sin was talking on the phone, mentioning 'Mr. Thuan' as an important person who had to report in advance every time there was any movement from the rangers. I didn't know who it was, that's all I heard."

That name made Khue more certain about her connection with Vi Dinh Thuan, although she tried to keep her face calm so as not to frighten Pao with her reaction. She thanked him again, giving him detailed instructions on how to keep in touch safely — a new phone number, to be used only in emergencies, and a simple signal if she needed to meet urgently and couldn't call.

"From now on, just live normally, don't change your attitude or do anything strange, to avoid causing suspicion," she advised. "We will seek to take action to keep you and your family as safe as possible."

Phao nodded, his eyes now, although still filled with fear, had a ray of hope that was not there before. "Thank you, Ms. Khue. I believe you will do as you promised."

When Khue returned to where Nguyen was waiting, recounting the entire content of the meeting, he listened with an expression both excited and worried. "This is a big opportunity, Khue. If we can confirm information about this delivery and report it to the provincial police at the right time, we can catch the entire network red-handed."

"But it's also very dangerous," Khue said, her voice low. "If the plan is leaked, or if they discover that Pao has leaked information, his life and that of his family will be in serious danger."

The two stood silently in the sunset, realizing that they were at an important crossroads in the investigation — the time to act was near, but the road ahead was also full of risks that they would have to consider very carefully before making any decisions.

"We need to discuss carefully with Mr. Loc and Uncle Chinh before deciding anything," Khue said, her voice regaining the calmness of someone who knows she needs to act organized instead of impulsively. "We alone are not strong enough to handle such a large-scale delivery. Notifying the police at the wrong time could cause the entire plan to fail, endangering Pao."

"Agreed," Nguyen replied, nodding. "We still have a few days to prepare. I think we should draft a full report, with all the evidence collected — photos, coordinates, Pao's recorded testimony if he agrees — so that when we need to present it to a reliable authority, everything is ready, without wasting time."

The two of them walked back to the station together in the sunset that was dyeing the entire western sky red, carrying both excitement and anxiety about what they were about to face in the coming days.