Chapter 14 — When the Wind Crosses the Porch

The person with the fake name appeared at the second session, wearing an old shirt and holding a plastic bag containing documents. His name is Tu Hau, but the person who signed for the seven households was another person: Luu Van Thanh, a retired surveying officer.

Luu came with a lawyer, saying he had heart failure and couldn't remember clearly. But when Thu placed the recording, map and bank records in front of him, he looked exactly at the 9:17 mark.

“I was just following orders,” Luu said.

“Whose orders?”

“From Principal Phan.”

“Phan passed away before the power of attorney documents were drawn up.”

“He left instructions.”

“Oral instructions?”

Save silence.

The council asked him to talk about the signature. Luu admitted that he instructed an employee to sign on behalf of households who were not present, because he was "afraid of delaying the support schedule". He said the signature was only to confirm receipt of money, not to transfer land.

The letter asked why the land transfer map bore the same signature. Luu said Phuc gave him the template, he just entered the data.

Phuc was present and interrupted: "Mr. Luu is blaming everything on someone else."

Luu looked at Phuc. “I blamed myself for seven years.”

He produced a small book recording the times he received money. There were transfers from Phan Loc to Luu, from Phuc to Luu, and from Luu to an unnamed account. Each item says “map correction” or “record assurance”.

Mai looked at Vinh. He bowed his head, as if seeing the entire network for the first time.

“Why didn't you say so before?” Thu asked.

Luu replied: "I think the project will build real embankments. When people are compensated, the paperwork will be resolved. But Phuc used the money to buy land outside, and there is no one left to repair it."

“Do you know that Mai's father was threatened?”

"Know."

“Were you at the measuring station at 9:17?”

"Have."

“What do you see?”

Luu looked at Hanh. "I saw her standing outside. I saw Phuc take the briefcase. I saw Mr. Quy..."

“Who is Quy?”

"Phan's assistant. The one who called the ambulance."

You are not on previous records. Luu said he was the driver and later went abroad. But Quy can know how Mai's father left the measuring station.

The letter requested tracing, but the council only noted it.

Luu continued: "Your father did not die at the measuring station. He was taken to Phan's old house to rest. Phuc did not want to call an ambulance from the project."

Hanh stood up. "You lied. Mom was there."

"You left while he was still conscious. Phuc called Quy's car. I saw them take him across the salt flats."

Mai saw Hanh's face turn pale. “When did Mom leave?”

Hanh did not speak. Luu explained: "Phuc said that if I stayed, my daughter's records would be kept. I went to find Mai at the dormitory."

Hanh turned to Mai. "I'm really looking for you. I think taking you away from here is the way to save me."

“Do you know where Dad is?”

“I think he's at the hospital.”

Luu said Phan's old house was demolished, but the foundation remained. They used to keep many records there.

Session paused. Mai has to take her mother out. Hanh didn't cry, just asked: "Do you hate mom?"

"Mom kept it from me. But I don't hate it."

“You should hate it.”

"You will be angry. Anger doesn't need to turn into hate."

They arrived at Phan's house that afternoon. Grass has grown all over, only a brick wall remains. Vinh found the old well behind. Next to it is the warehouse floor, where a brick has a fish-shaped mark.

The army used a metal detector to discover an aluminum box under the soil. The box contained old records, a tape recorder and a medicine box belonging to Mai's father. On the medicine box was written the name of the hospital, November 12.

The recorder has no tape, but in the battery slot there is a note: "Qui, take him home. Don't let Hanh see."

Mai calls Thu. She told me to make a report of the scene and not open the box myself. The investigation team arrived and recorded traces. The box is sealed.

Vinh stood on the floor of the house and said his father once wanted to build a storm shelter here. Phan changed his goal to a resort after seeing land prices increase.

“I used to object,” Vinh said. "Then I heard him say the project would create jobs. I believed it."

“How long will you believe?”

“Until your father comes with the map.”

“And you still signed.”

“I signed because I thought I could fix it later.”

Mai did not scold. She had heard that sentence too much.

Hanh looked at the floor and said: "Your father woke up in the car?"

Vinh shook. "I do not know."

Luu called out from afar: "He still said one thing."

“What question?”

“He said to give the key to someone who has never received money.”

Mai misses Nhi and Duy, who are not on the list. Her father chose a lottery ticket salesman, a radio repair boy, a watchmaker. People who have no share in the fund but are able to keep their word.

Sau Luu proposed making a list of people outside the seven households who kept the records. Nhi, Minh, Bay, Tan, Khai. Each person has a part of the evidence, but also a part of responsibility.

The letter said if no one was forced or received benefits, their testimony was more credible.

During the night, Hanh opened her father's letter again. On the back is an additional line that Mai hasn't read: "Hanh, don't let Mai consider the house a debt. Let it be a place where she can leave and come back."

Hanh gave it to Mai. “I kept it because I didn't want you to come back.”

“Do you think I came back because I owe the house?”

"I thought you came back because you loved me. I didn't know you would choose."

Tomorrow folds the letter. “I stay because I choose to.”

The next day, Quy was found through immigration records. He lives in Laos, works as a driver. Letter requesting remote testimony. Quy answered yes, but wanted to remain anonymous.

During the call, Quy said he drove Mai's father to Phan's house. Her father woke up and asked him to take him to the hospital. Phuc stopped and said an ambulance was coming. When the car arrived late, Mai's father had already passed away.

“Why didn't you call right away?” Mai asked.

"I'm afraid of losing my job. I thought they were going to take you away."

“Did you see Phuc take his bag?”

"Yes. He took it, then gave it to Liu."

“Do you know where the original is?”

"Your father said he hid part of it on the porch. The rest was sent to the person who had the fish ring."

Mai looked at the ring Hanh was holding. But Phuc also wears his father's ring, and the letters P.L. can refer to the recipient.

Quy added: "The person with the fish ring is not Phuc. It's a woman."

Hanh stiffened.

“Mom,” Mai asked, “who did you get the ring from?”

Hanh said: “Phan Loc.”

“He gave it to keep for him?”

“He said the ring was the key to the ark.”

Hanh has never used it. Phan died, Phuc took the ring back and gave it to his mother, possibly not knowing it was related to the original.

There is a small notch on the ring face. Quan examined it with a glass and discovered it was a magnetic key. Do not open the normal door but activate the electric lock in the old warehouse.

They found the warehouse address using Luu's map: the basement of the Huong Duong building. The court has issued a preservation order, but has not yet allowed an examination. The letter requested an urgent order based on Quy's words, the floor box and the ring.

Phuc objected, saying the box did not belong to the company. But if not, he must explain why the keyword has the project code.

The order was issued two days later.

Before leaving, Hanh took the ring off her hand and gave it to Mai. “I keep it.”

“Mom comes along.”

"I was there once. This time I'll stand until the end."

Mai held her mother's hand. They don't know if the chest in the basement will contain the original or just another layer of trap. But for the first time, Hanh did not ask her to leave.

On the porch, seven households are rebuilding columns. Duy hung the radio on the wall, unplugged. It's just a piece of evidence, but looking at it, Mai remembers that a small sentence can still go through the noise.

The search date was set for 9:17 am. That number is no longer a secret. It became the hour they walked together into the place that had disfigured all the papers.

Before the day of the search, Thu held a short training session. She said witnesses don't need to remember every word; they need to say what they have seen, what they have heard, and what they are not sure about. Ho Ho answered in short sentences. Luu took more time because he wanted to explain every nook and cranny. Mai reminded him that there was no need to turn his testimony into a speech.

Hanh practices saying "I don't remember" without feeling embarrassed. She used to think that admitting to forgetting was giving an advantage to others. The letter says: “An honest blank is more trustworthy than a guessed detail.” Hanh wrote that sentence in her notebook, next to the date 9:17.

Mai and Quan checked the road to avoid letting everyone stand in the same car. Sau Luu prepares water, Duy charges the device. Nhi sent photos of documents through three different channels, not keeping the only copy on her phone. Each person does their own thing, no one says they are the one who decides.

The night before, Mai set the alarm ten minutes earlier, not because she was afraid of being late, but because she wanted everyone to have time to drink water. Hanh packs bread for the whole group, Sau Luu checks the recorder's battery. They walked to the warehouse with the preparation of people who no longer wanted to let fear dictate their pace.

The night before, Mai stood at the main door, looking at the lock. She remembers the first day she opened the locker with key number 17, thinking she would find money. What she found was responsibility. She no longer wanted to run away from it, but she also didn't want to carry it alone. She left one key on Hanh's desk, one key in the Sau Luu box, and the third key gave to Thu. The warehouse door can be opened, but cannot be opened by a single person.