Chapter 6 — Unclosed Profile

A week after the trip to meet Mr. Hai, when the group was compiling evidence to prepare for presentation to the prosecutor's office, the duty phone rang again in the middle of the night. This time, the scene was a small villa in the suburbs, the victim was a middle-aged woman named Hoang Thi Kim Chi, who was an accountant for Yen Phat Group at the time the Song Xanh project was implemented.

"Same model," Thao Vy said as soon as she made a preliminary inspection of the scene, her voice tense. "There were no signs of forced entry, the door was locked from the inside, and..." she carefully used tongs to pick up a small object near the foot of the desk, "another wooden bead, exactly like the last two times."

Bao Nam clenched his fists, his eyes hardened with professional indignation. "He is challenging us. Three victims, all related to the Green River project, with a distinctive sign left at the scene - there is no doubt that we are facing a purposeful killer, acting on someone's orders, or a direct mastermind."

Reviewing the victim's background, the group discovered that Ms. Kim Chi had been retired for several years, lived alone after a divorce, and did not have many recent social relationships. But the most notable thing is that, three months ago, she applied to re-issue some old documents related to her work at Yen Phat Group - possibly a sign that she was preparing to do something, perhaps the action that made her the next target.

"She may have contacted Mr. Son before he was murdered," Minh Duc said, after reviewing the call history extracted from the victim's phone. "There were three calls between the two in the last month, the last one lasting more than twenty minutes, just a few days before Mr. Son was murdered."

"So that means," Bao Nam said, piecing together the pieces of information, "it's possible that Mr. Son and Ms. Kim Chi together rediscovered the truth about the compensation gap, and may be planning to denounce it together. The mastermind, upon learning of this, decided to eliminate both of them to cover up the clues."

The next morning, at the briefing, Lieutenant Colonel Trung requested a detailed progress report. "Three lives in less than two weeks, related to the same real estate project twelve years ago," he said, his voice serious. "This is a serious case, attracting public attention. I need you to speed up the process, but still ensure absolute accuracy."

"We are focusing on identifying the people who directly carried out the crimes," Bao Nam reported, his voice calm but decisive. "Based on the professional characteristics of the chemicals used, and the ability to access the scene without leaving any traces of intrusion, we believe that the perpetrator is a person with professional skills, may have undergone formal training, and has a direct or indirect connection with Ms. Cao Thi Yen."

After the meeting, Thao Vy took advantage of her rare free time to call and check on Mr. Hai, making sure he was still safe under the protection of the authorities. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice worried.

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern," Mr. Hai replied over the phone, his voice still a little uneasy. "But when I heard about the new case, I couldn't help but worry. Mrs. Kim Chi... I used to know her, a person kind, hardworking. You don't deserve such an outcome."

"We will do our best to prevent any further victims," Thao Vy reassured, although inside she could not help but worry about that possibility. Hanging up the phone, she sat quietly for a moment, wondering how many other people were secretly carrying dangerous secrets related to the Song Xanh project, but had not yet had time to speak up before it was too late.

In the afternoon, Bao Nam proposed a bold plan. "I think we need to proactively approach Ms. Cao Thi Yen, not to directly accuse her, but to observe her reaction and let her know that we are closely following the case. Sometimes, psychological pressure can cause the opponent to make mistakes, revealing loopholes."

"Is that a risky move?" Thao Vy asked, her eyes filled with worry, her hands clutching the glass of water on the table.

“Maybe,” Bao Nam admitted, “but we need to act before there are any more victims. I will arrange an official meeting, with full legal procedures, to avoid any unnecessary risks."

Minh Duc, sitting in the corner of the room still engrossed in the computer screen, suddenly spoke up. "Before you two meet Mrs. Yen, I think you should learn more about her private security team. A person in a position like Ms. Yen certainly has a security team, possibly including people who have undergone professional training in chemicals or medicine, exactly as the characteristics determined by forensics."

"Good idea," Bao Nam nodded in agreement. "You immediately look up the personnel records of Yen Phat Group's security department, paying special attention to those who have worked for a long time and are directly attached to Mrs. Yen."

Minh Duc got to work immediately, typing continuously on the keyboard, his eyes glued to the three screens in front of him. After nearly an hour of searching, he shouted with excitement. "I found it! There is one prominent name — Pham Anh Tuan, head of Ms. Yen's private security department, who had a degree in pharmacy before switching to working as a security guard. He has worked for Mrs. Yen for the past fifteen years, almost as her most trusted right-hand man."

"Pharmacology," Thao Vy repeated, her heart beating faster. "That fits perfectly with access to the rare chemical that caused the victims' deaths."

"We need to investigate Pham Anh Tuan more closely," Bao Nam said, his voice serious, "but we must be very careful, not revealing any signs that could alert him or Mrs. Yen before we have enough evidence to act."

The group nodded in agreement, clearly aware that the investigation now had a specific name to focus on — the most important development since the case was reopened.

Late that evening, Bao Nam offered to take Thao Vy home after a long day of work. Sitting in the car, she silently looked out the window, her mind still reeling from the name Pham Anh Tuan that had just been discovered.

“What are you thinking?” Bao Nam asked, glancing at her with concern.

"I'm wondering," Thao Vy replied, her voice thoughtful, "if Pham Anh Tuan was the person who directly called and threatened Mr. Hai twelve years ago. If so, he has been involved in these crimes for a long time."

"There is that possibility," Bao Nam replied, "but there is also the possibility that he is just a tool, manipulated and forced in a certain way by Mrs. something we don't know yet. I have encountered many cases where the person who directly took action was not necessarily the real mastermind, but was just the victim of a more sophisticated bondage and manipulation."

"Do you think he might have a past, some weakness that Mrs. Yen holds?" Thao Vy asked, her eyes lit up because of a new direction of reasoning.

"Very likely," Bao Nam nodded. "Tomorrow, I will assign Minh Duc to dig deeper into Pham Anh Tuan's personal history and see if he can discover anything unusual in his past."

The car stopped in front of Thao Vy's house, and the two sat for a while in comfortable silence, not in a hurry to say goodbye. "Thank you for taking me home," she said, placing her hand on the car door handle but not opening it yet.

"Nothing," Bao Nam replied, his eyes gently looking at her in the dim streetlight light. "Good night, Thao Vy. Tomorrow we will continue to move closer to the truth."

This was the first time he called her name so intimately, without her job title, making Thao Vy feel a warmth spreading throughout her chest. "Good night, Mr. Nam," she replied, smiling slightly before getting out of the car, bringing with her a rare feeling of relief and warmth amid the past stressful days.

Entering the house, she gently closed the door, trying not to make any noise to wake her sleeping mother. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she looked at her own reflection, her eyes still shining with a bit of pleasant confusion at the slight change in the way Bao Nam called her name tonight. She smiled to herself, clearly feeling that, amidst all the tension and danger surrounding the investigation, something warm and good was also silently blooming, like a small ray of light in the midst of dark days.