Chapter 12 — Mystery At 3 A.M

This child's fear has never gone away. It just pushes fear down to the bottom of its heart, in exchange for being half a step ahead of the opponent at a time. Team leader Dien was silent for a moment then arranged his actions. Khuong Hoa sat on the hearse. In the car compartment there was an empty coffin and white cloth. Two female police officers pretended to be funeral workers. Police Ha led people into the cemetery's outer perimeter in advance. An An stayed in a small truck unnoticed, monitoring the entrance to the old grave site through a long-range camera. It's getting dark. The western cemetery is built on the mountainside. The old grave site is located deepest inside. The trees there are tall, there are very few street lights, and many tombstones have turned black. The wind blew through the pine needles, the sound was like someone talking softly. When the hearse stopped at the west gate, the security room was empty. Only a dim yellow light was on. Khuong Hoa got out of the car, holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums in her hand. She went in according to the route Captain Dien had instructed. Every few steps, she deliberately stopped, as if remembering her mother's footsteps. In the headset, Captain Dien's voice rang out.

“Don't rush.”

“There is a reflection on the stone steps to the left.”

Khuong Hoa glanced over with the corner of his eye. Next to the stone steps there is a black car parked. The license plate was covered with mud. Her heart suddenly sped up. An An in the car also saw it. The girl stared at the shadow of the tree in the image, then suddenly grabbed the policeman's hand next to her.

"Right."

“Don't just look at the car.”

“There's someone behind the third pine tree on the right.”

The camera immediately changed direction. Behind the tree, a gray hat brim appeared. Police Ha immediately went around to the back. Khuong Hoa continued to move forward. In the old tomb there is a very narrow road. On both sides are steles half a person high. When she reached the end of the road, she saw an old stele with no name. In front of the stele is placed a faded iron incense burner. Khuong Hoa suddenly remembered. Every time she takes a detour, her mother stops here for a while. She once thought that this place buried a mother she knew when she was young. In the headset, Team Leader Dien asked.

“Is this the place?”

Khuong Hoa did not immediately respond. Because she saw a new piece of land under the incense burner. Someone just dug it up. She squatted down, her fingertips just touching the ground when a man's voice suddenly sounded behind her.

“Miss Khuong.”

“Don't move.”

Khuong Hoa's back immediately stiffened. That voice is not Luong Thua Vien's. Nor the man coughing into the phone. It's quieter, more stable. Like an old knife that has been sharpened many times. The man came out from the shadow of the tree. He was wearing a black mask and had neither a knife nor a gun in his hand. But Khuong Hoa saw that his other hand was pressing on the headset. That proves he is also listening to something. In the headset, Captain Dien immediately gave orders.

“Collect the net.”

But there was no movement around. Two teams of plainclothes police were supposed to rush out, but not a single person appeared. The man laughed.

“Dian Minh Vien, you still trust your people like that.”

Khuong Hoa's heart suddenly sank. In the headphones, there was only a harsh electrical noise. An An, who was sitting in the minivan, suddenly stood up. Images of old grave sites on the screen turn black one after another. In the last frame Finally, the man wearing a mask raised his head and looked towards the camera. He seemed to know An An was watching. Then, he slowly took off the mask. The moment he saw that face, An An's whole body completely stiffened. It was the police officer who had just sat next to her. An An did not scream. The moment the screen went black, she immediately looked to her side. The policeman who was sitting on the right has disappeared. There was only a police hat left on the chair. Under the brim of the hat is a business card. The photo on the card is his face. But the name was crossed out with a black pen. The police officer sitting in the driver's seat also turned around. Obviously he still doesn't understand what happened.

"What's up?"

An An put her finger to her lips. Her eyes stopped on the car door lock. The locks on all four doors were down. Someone locked the car from the outside. The next second, a very soft noise was heard under the car. It's like something was just glued to the underside of the car. An An's face changed.

“Get off the bus.”

The policeman in the driver's seat raised his hand to open the door. Cannot open. He immediately took the walkie-talkie. Inside there was only muffled noise. An An looked at the corner of the backseat. There is an escape hammer there. The girl rushed forward, grabbed the hammer, and used all her strength to hit the corner of the glass door. The first blow did not break. The girl's tiger mouth was shocked to the point of numbness. The second hit, the glass cracked into a spider web. The third blow, the cold wind rushed in. The policeman in the driver's seat wrapped his jacket around his arm, trying hard to push the broken glass out. When An An crawled through the window, the back of her hand was cut by the glass. She didn't pay attention to the pain.