Playmobil Detectives: Saigon Love Story-24

 After grandmother Mai had finished her story, it was already past midnight. Nevertheless, no one felt sleepy at all, even Tiffany, who pretended to be constantly yawning was actually wide awake. A long agonising silence lingered in the air, where no one knew what to say. 

"That was such a tragic story, grandmother!" exclaimed Thao as she dashed to hug her grandmother. "I never knew you've gone through such....such painful experiences. I am sorry I couldn't understand your grudge against westerners, now I can see clearly your reasons."

"Sorry to interrupt," said Jeffrey, frowning. "But in order to solve the mystery, we need to get back to business. According to your story, Hung's ghost was properly sealed in the cremation urn 27 years ago; and the urn has never left your possession since then."

"No, it has always been in my house, whether in New York or Saigon," answered grandmother Mai. 

"And nothing strange happened all this time until about a month ago?" interrogated Shaun pensively. After grandmother Mai replied in the negative, Shaun concluded, "That means someone must have broken the seal about a month ago and released the spirit. But the question is: who?"

After some more interrogation, the detectives finally discovered this person. In fact, it was the maid who accidentally knocked over the urn when she was cleaning the basement a month before, causing the seal to be detached from the urn. 

"Why didn't you tell us before, Hoa?" scolded Lan furiously in Vietnamese. "You could've saved the detectives so much time and work!"

"I'm so sorry, madam," answered the maid. "I dare not speak the truth in fear of being fired."

"It doesn't matter now that we've discovered the truth," said Thao. "Let's get back down to the basement and see if we can restore the seal to the urn. Maybe it's not yet too late. Hoa, come with us to show us where exactly you've knocked over the vase."

Therefore, the group followed Thao and descended the staircase into the basement. Nevertheless, they were flabbergasted to discover that both the cremation urn and the pendant necklace were gone! 

"Look! There's a book on the table," exclaimed Tiffany as she pointed at an ancient-looking book that lay open on the table. 

Just when the group were approaching the table, they heard a loud bang. Turning around, they discovered that the wooden door was firmly shut behind them. After trying the handle, Shaun announced that they were locked in. 

"Thao, we're locked in. Can you let us out? It's not funny.....!" shouted Jeffrey as he banged the cumbersome door, which would not even budge.

At that moment, they perceived a deafeningly sinister cackle of the old lady coming from behind the door. "Well done, my dear Thao," said grandmother Mai's voice.

Oh no! What's going on?

~To be Continued~