Chapter 6 — The Parrot Knows Too Much

The sound of steady, steady footsteps, neither hurried nor slow, is the sound of leather shoes tapping on the marble floor. Not the cleaning lady. It's Trinh Hao. He… is back. Panic was like countless cold hands squeezing my heart, making it almost impossible to breathe. What should I do now? If I run out, it will be like getting myself into a net. I looked around, the room was large but empty, with almost no hiding place. My eyes stopped under the desk. I almost crawled on both hands and feet, went straight inside, curled up into the deepest corner, covered myself with a chair, not even daring to breathe. The footsteps stopped right in front of the door. Then there is the "beep" sound of the encryption key. The light turns on. The bright light shining through the gap in the chair shone into my eyes. A pair of shiny black leather shoes walked to the front of the table. My heart felt like it was about to jump out of my throat. He stood there, not moving. Time seemed frozen. Every second that passes feels like a century. Waiting for him to pull out his chair, spot me, then use his cold eyes to pronounce the death sentence. But… nothing happened. He just stood still. A few seconds later, I heard a very soft sigh, carrying fatigue. He walked around the table and toward the glass door. From the gap, I saw his back. He lit a cigarette, stood looking at the city at night, and smoked quietly. Cigarette smoke rose, blurring the figure. He doesn't look like a cold-blooded person. But like a person carrying a secret so heavy on his shoulders, so heavy that he can't breathe. I still lay still under the table, cold sweat drenched my back. Not knowing how long later, he extinguished the drug. Then take out your phone and make a call. As soon as the bell rang, someone picked up. His voice was low.

“Team King, it's me.”

I was startled. Is it the person from yesterday?

“Yeah, I just went back to the company to get some things.”

“That case… there are still no new developments?”

“What about the parrot, does it say anything else?”

“Yes, I understand.”

He was silent for a beat, then continued, his voice slower.

"And Hua Chieu... by my side..."

He stopped.

“I know she has suspicions, but… I still don't think it's that simple.”

“She is just a normal girl, with a very small liver.”

“Okay, let me know immediately if there's anything.”

The call ended. My mind is blank. He is talking to the police. He is interested in the progress of the case. He... is still talking for me? I'm completely confused. What is this all about? If he was the killer, why did he do that? Not reasonable. He turned around and walked out the door. The sound of footsteps fades away. When the "ding" of the elevator rang out, everything fell silent again. I remained under the table for another ten minutes before I dared to crawl out. Legs are numb, standing up is still wobbly. I hastily restored the drawer that had been pried open. Then he almost ran away from that office. When I got home, I threw myself on the sofa. Trinh Hao's recent phone call made all my thoughts mixed up. I took out my phone and looked at the screenshot of my search history.

“Dissociative Identity Disorder.”

“Can a person completely forget what he has done?”

A wild thought... but it sent chills down my spine, slowly rising. That cold voice. The feeling is familiar to the bone. Memory space is empty. The garden shovel was unusually clean. It was as if something pulled me away and I walked out balcony. I picked up the shovel, held it up under the light, and looked closely. At the joint between the wooden handle and the metal part... I saw it. A small dot. Dark red. It dries and turns dark brown. Like… blood stains. The next day, I almost relied on instinct to crawl to the company, each step was heavy as if dragging the darkness behind me. The atmosphere in the office was even more strange than yesterday, not only strange but also covered by a kind of suppressed panic, causing everyone to talk quietly, eyes avoiding each other. As soon as I sat down, the colleague next to me leaned closer and lowered his voice to a whisper.

“Have you heard anything…?”

“Ly Phong from the finance department... is also missing!”

My head made a "ringing" sound, as if someone had punched me in the face. The man once pointed straight at me and scolded me for ten minutes just because of a bill. Memories were immediately pulled back to two days ago. He said I did it wrong, causing him to be scolded by his superiors. I explained that it was a new rule, I just followed it correctly. But he didn't listen, his voice grew louder and louder, his words became more and more unpleasant. Around, everyone just stood and watched, no one intervened. I remember very clearly the feeling at that time. The whole person trembled with anger. An irrepressible anger rose from the bottom of my heart. After that I don't remember anything anymore. My memory… there was a gap again.