Chapter 2

I have no fucking idea how I got the car home.

Mom nagged the whole way, going on about what to make for dinner, where Dad had dumped his socks this time, what gift to get for my cousin's wedding next week.

I couldn't take in a single word of it.

My head was full of that face, and those silent lips mouthing, "Go, now."

When I got home that evening, Dad was cooking in the kitchen, and I slipped into Mom's bedroom.

I went through her drawers.

ID card, household register, bankbook, all kinds of receipts, and my award certificates and photos from all through my childhood.

I pulled out that family photo, the one taken when I was three. I'm sitting in the middle, Mom and Dad on either side, both of them holding me.

Mom was young back then, and her smile was lovely.

I flipped it over and checked the date: May 2003.

I took out my phone and scrolled to the video I'd shot today.

Mom's face and the face in that photo, twenty-three years apart, were exactly the same.

Something was wrong. Something was seriously fucking wrong.

Dad called me to dinner, so I put everything back and went out to eat.

At the table, Dad rambled about stuff at his office, and Mom chimed in, just like always.

Watching them, I suddenly felt like they were strangers.

Were these two really my parents?

After dinner I ducked into my room and messaged my childhood friend.

He works at the police precinct, and his beat happens to cover the area around that wildlife park.

"Do me a favor and look up a circus troupe called the Glory Circus Troupe. See if they're registered, and whether they've ever had any trouble."

He answered fast: "What's up? You want to watch a circus?"

"Cut the crap and just check."

Half an hour later, he sent over a bunch of screenshots.

"This troupe's got problems. Their registration is fake, their plates are fake, and they got busted in the next province over last year for suspected animal cruelty. Somehow they slipped away after that. Why, did you run into them?"

I sent another message: "Do you have ID info on any of the people in the troupe?"

"No. Outfits like this hire everyone on the fly. Sometimes they even grab people off the street. No real contracts."

I set down my phone and lay on the bed staring at the ceiling.

Who was that woman, really?

Why was she in a place like that?

Why did she look at me with the exact same eyes as my mom?

I didn't dare think any further.

The next day I took the day off and went back to the park.

There was no circus performance in the predator section today. I asked a staff member, and they said the troupe had left yesterday, and they didn't know where they went.

I wandered around and found the spot where that man had been smoking yesterday. There was a pile of cigarette butts there.

I crouched there and looked for a long while, and found a cigarette pack with a lighter next to it.

The lighter had the name and address of a little convenience store printed on it.

I took a cab to that convenience store.

I asked the owner if anyone from a circus troupe had come by to buy anything recently.

She thought for a while and said, "Yeah, a few days back some guys bought a whole load of instant ramen and water. Why, they owe you money?"

My voice got worked up: "Do you know where they're staying?"

"How would I know? But they headed north. There are some abandoned factory buildings out that way, plants that shut down years ago."

I thanked her and headed north.

After almost two kilometers, I came upon an abandoned industrial lot.

The gate was ajar, so I pushed it open and went in.

There were several vehicles parked inside.

And there was that same box truck from yesterday, with "Glory Circus Troupe" stuck on the side.