Case Three: curse of the hakutaku

  Chapter Eleven: attempted escape

  Orion’s group sat in Amane’s car in silence as they rode back to Tokyo. Orion was lost in the conversation with the village elder as he drummed his thigh with his finger. He pondered about this Mizutani from Kasumi’s school. It was worrisome that a middle schooler was going around killing people; as much harm as those people have done, Orion could never condone murder. However, Orion knew there was an off chance that this Mizutani wasn’t the culprit.

  Amane sat in silence with her head down, dealing with her memories of her grandparents’ death again. She wasn’t sure who killed her grandparents’ murderer, but she didn’t feel good about it at all. Remembering how lively her grandparents were once, Amane felt herself tearing up. Her grandparents always baked cookies and sometimes cakes when Amane visited with her parents. They always gave her little gifts, whether it was snacks or dresses. Tears fell from her eyes and onto her hands, which were clenching her dress. ‘Granny…grandpa… Why are you gone? Why can’t you come back to us?’ Amane thought helplessly.

  Orion glanced over to Amane, who had her head tilted and, Orion guessed it, was crying. He wished he could do something as it stung him to see her looking so depressed. Orion reached out a hand toward Amane but stopped himself. Amane may need some time and space to recuperate, and Orion might be overstepping boundaries. His chest felt tight as he balled his fists in frustration.

  Satoru and Kasumi watched from behind, a pained look on their faces. Satoru wished Orion would just make a move since everyone could tell Amane was feeling depressed. He reached out a hand and tapped Orion on the shoulder. Orion gave him a questioning expression.

  “Just do something and help Amane already,” Satoru whispered, leaning forward in his seat. He felt exasperated with Orion; his hands clenched into fists. Orion garnered girls’ attention without much effort with his cool-headed personality. That drove Satoru insane. He unclenched his fists only to grip them again.

  “I’m not sure what I can do,” Orion replied in a whisper. “She’ll be alright, I think. She’s a tough girl.” His chest tightened as cold sweat broke out on his back as anxiety plagued his thoughts. ‘What if she thinks I’m getting too close? What if she thinks I’m just being invasive?’ Orion thought to himself and then shook his head of those thoughts, realizing he was going into overdrive.

  Amane shifted her position to face Orion and pulled at his sleeve. She moved closer to him and rested her face on his arm. Clutching his arm, Amane started crying again, muttering her grandparents’ names. Orion was unable to react properly, except just staring down at the crying girl.

  “It’s…alright, Amane,” Orion whispered to the sobbing girl, reaching out a hand to pat Amane’s head.

  “O-Orion… I’m sorry…” Amane muttered in between sobs. “I…I just miss my grandparents. It’s been five years though.” She buried her face on Orion’s sleeve, clutching it as she hid. Tears fell freely from her eyes.

  “It’s fine,” Orion said softly. “There isn’t a time limit on how long you grieve.” He wished he could do more for Amane right now, in her time of need. He racked his brain for something advisable to say, but his only experience with familial death was his parents’ deaths, and he was only a toddler back then. He can’t word it that he understood because Orion barely felt he understood what it meant to lose someone.

  Amane sniffled and rested her head on Orion’s shoulder instead. She clutched onto his jacket tightly with both hands. The only thing Orion could do was pat her head a few times to console the girl. The time passed while Orion attempted to comfort the poor girl when the vehicle suddenly stopped. The chauffeur reported unexpected traffic on the freeway and that their current location was around Koshu.

  **

  Back in Tokyo, Tomoyo Mizutani was at home cleaning for her mother. She was waiting for an opportunity to leave the apartment for her next victims, but her mother wasn’t feeling well. Her mother often had relapses where she got headaches and became bedridden. That made Tomoyo angrier with the salespeople who raided her parents’ village.

  Clenching her fist as she wiped down the kitchen counter, Tomoyo stared at a family photo with her father, mother and her. They were all smiling. It was six years ago, just a year before her grandparents committed suicide. Her parents surrounded her in the photo as they smiled, and she had a huge grin. They had been at Tokyo Disneyland for her ninth birthday. But now, her mother was mute, never smiling again. Her father struggled to be the only breadwinner and tried to appease his wife. Tomoyo unconsciously wiped the photo frame with the cloth in her hand when she heard footsteps from her mother’s room.

  “Mom?” Tomoyo said as she turned around to see her mother out of bed. Her mother wouldn’t answer her, but instead, Tomoyo’s mother walked up to her and took the cloth from her hand, resuming the kitchen cleaning wordlessly.

  “Mom…” Tomoyo muttered under her breath. She swore she would take revenge on all the salespeople. No matter how much they begged, she would not let them go. They were all going to die, painfully. She clenched her fists and moved to her room to gather her instruments for the next batch of targets. She took her backpack and swung it behind her as she left the apartment.

  Tomoyo walked to the train station and tapped her Rail pass. Her next victim was Ryouko Tasokani, right in the heart of Tokyo. Tomoyo rode the train to Amanegaseki as that was the closest station to where her target lived. She had to walk a bit, but she was okay with that. It felt weird for her to get off at the police headquarters to commit a murder. Her hands felt clammy and cold sweat broke out. She shook her head as she walked, trying to calm herself down.

  Once Tomoyo reached her destination, she glanced around for any passers-by. None. She had to be safe, considering how close this was to the police station. She walked up the apartment building and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, where the target lived. Ringing the bell at 4G, Tomoyo waited patiently.

  Inside apartment 4G, Ryouko had been cooking some omelette when the doorbell pealed. Wondering who that was, she wiped her hands on the cloth hanging by the kitchen cabinet. It was rare for Ryouko to receive visitors, so she was very curious who this one was. She approached the door and looked through the peephole. It was a young girl, possibly in middle school, in her school uniform and a backpack. Ryouko opened the door to the girl and let her inside first.

  “Hello, I’m here on behalf of Nagasaki Middle School newspaper club,” Tomoyo said with a small bow. “I would like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind. Ah, my name is Tomoyo Mizutani.” She figured Ryouko wouldn’t remember her family’s name even though she’s done worse to the village. Besides, Ryouko wouldn’t have time to recall and report it when she was done.

  ‘Ah, so she IS a middle schooler,’ Ryouko thought to herself. ‘How cute.’ Aloud, she said, “Oh, sure, no problem.” She stepped to the side to allow Tomoyo to enter first before closing the door after her.

  Tomoyo moved in and took off her backpack to place on the table. As usual, she took out the hakutaku mask and the syringe and hid them behind her as she turned to face Ryouko. Tomoyo watched the woman walk toward her.

  “Would you like some tea, Tomoyo-chan?” Ryouko asked endearingly. She went to the stove and turned off the fire before returning to where Tomoyo stood. Mizutani sounded familiar but Ryouko couldn’t exactly remember what that name was from. She went to a lot of neighborhoods before.

  “No, thank you,” Tomoyo said, smiling, though the smile did not reach her eyes. Her brain started working immediately to determine what information to extract from Ryouko. Her hands gripped the syringe behind her.

  “So, what would you like to ask me?” Ryouko inquired, smiling. Now she knew which name Mizutani was from: Mizushima Village. Ryouko wondered if this kid was from the village and if the newspaper was really writing about some remote town in the Alps.

  “How was your trip to Mizushima Village?” Tomoyo asked, getting straight to the point. She wanted to get this over with; being with Ryouko gave her goosebumps.

  “Oh? It’s been a while now…” Ryouko said slowly. “It was a good time, really. I liked the village. The village is so quaint, and everyone is friendly.”

  “I see…” Tomoyo said, gripping her syringe tightly behind her. Rage built up inside her as she wanted to inject the needle into Ryouko already. She clenched her teeth trying to be patient. “What exactly did you do at the village?”

  “Ah, that—” Ryouko started to say. “Wait, don’t you need to write down our interview?” She just realized Tomoyo wasn’t writing anything down on a notebook or anything, but her hands were tucked behind her for some reason.

  “Oh, I have a really good memory,” Tomoyo smiled with her lie. She hated that Ryouko noticed she wasn’t writing anything, unlike the previous two targets. She noted Ryouko was clever, but she was cleverer. “What did you do?”

  “I just tried to help the villagers with their shops,” Ryouko said casually. “Sometimes they’re stubborn, so I had to use a little force. Hehe, they’re so easy.” She remembered how often she hassled the villagers to sell to her cheaper and buy from her at higher price with a slightly more persuasion. It was easy money back then.

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  Tomoyo suddenly saw red at the last comment by Ryouko. ‘How dare she say that… How dare she. I won’t forgive her,’ Tomoyo thought to herself. Without regard, she lunged forward as she pulled her syringe out and struck Ryouko in the neck. At the sudden attack, Ryouko grasped into the air and grabbed Tomoyo by the hair, pulling a few strands in her hand before she collapsed on the floor. Ryouko spasmed for a few seconds before lying motionless. Tomoyo then grabbed the hakutaku mask and tossed it onto the body. She put her backpack back on and prepared to exit the apartment. Upon leaving, she bumped into Keshiki Himura, though she was unaware of who he was or where he came from.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Tomoyo stumbled, becoming disoriented for a few moments. She didn’t dare take a look at the person she bumped into but tried to flee from the scene out of nervousness. Her thoughts were jumbled up and a cold sweat broke out again as she ran from the building.

  “It’s fine,” Himura said, turning back to look at the fleeing girl. “Take care out there.” He believed he just witnessed their current culprit; the one Fujioka messaged him about just now. Himura wasn’t worried about the girl escaping; they had their ways to track her down.

  Tomoyo ran from the apartment building as thoughts raced in her brain, anxiety rising, and she felt palpitations. Her plans were ruined; someone saw her leaving the apartment. As she reached a park, Tomoyo fell to her knees and she held herself close, shutting her eyes. She didn’t care if anyone saw her like that; now Tomoyo didn’t know what to do with her mission. She hadn’t anticipated being seen as she was always careful about entering and leaving. She knew she should just return home for today, but she felt paralyzed. Suddenly, Tomoyo felt nauseated and threw up on the spot as she crouched in a corner.

  Finally regaining some strength, Tomoyo got up and started walking to the train station absentmindedly. She tapped the rail pass and took the train back home. Her mother had finished cleaning and was nowhere in sight when Tomoyo arrived home. Tomoyo retired to her room and simply dropped the backpack on the floor as she curled up on her bed. She was trembling, not from the cold but fear, fear of being found out what she was doing.

  She wondered who the man was, suddenly showing up in the apartment building. What if it was a cop? What if it was a lover? Tomoyo clutched her head and closed her eyes tightly as if to block out the thoughts racing in her head. She didn’t know what to do, and she had no one to go to since she decided to go solo.

  **

  Where Orion and the others were, the traffic started easing up more, so the ride went more smoothly. Amane had fallen asleep leaning against Orion, her hands on her lap and Kasumi had done the same in the car but leaning her head against the window. Satoru bent backwards, lost in his thoughts. Erika Fujioka was texting her subordinates regarding the case with the piece of paper from the elder open on her lap. Just then, she received an alarming text message from Keshiki Himura.

  “Orion,” Erika said, getting the teenage boy’s attention but not too loudly to avoid waking the two girls. She leaned forward in the car seat toward Orion. This message was startling, and they were on the right track even if they were still quite some ways from returning to Tokyo.

  “Yes?” Orion asked, tilting his head back to look at the older woman. He simply turned his head around carefully to avoid waking Amane up. The last thing he wanted to do was to wake her up and have her relive her days with her deceased grandparents.

  “Himura thinks he found the culprit,” Erika announced. “He happened to be near one of them and checked her apartment out and…” She trailed off intentionally to give a bit of an edge to what she said.

  “And?”

  “She was dead already,” Erika said. “But her body was still warm, so it must have been done relatively early. And he found a young girl fleeing the apartment. He thinks she’s the culprit.” She didn’t add that Himura already went to headquarters to track down the kid from Nagasaki Middle School. She cracked her knuckles as she rested in her seat.

  “Did he see where she went?” Orion inquired. He would guess no but she was probably running by then so she would have gotten out of his sight shortly after. It was still worth a shot to ask the question though.

  “No, he didn’t specify anything about that,” Erika replied. She stretched her arms from feeling sore with the long car ride. Erika tapped her thigh repeatedly while waiting for reports on the case. The car ride was getting to her, but she agreed to join them at Mizushima Village. She gave a slight yawn and rubbed her eyes.

  Orion thought for a bit. He thought the girl was the culprit, but what will she do now? The girl made a mistake and is probably going to be caught now. Erika may not have said it, but Himura was most likely on the chase now. Orion balled up his fist, wishing he was there to question the culprit.

  Amane stirred in her sleep as she opened her eyes slowly. Blinking a few times, she sat up straight with a flustered face and avoided Orion’s glance. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her surroundings. Looks like they were still on the road back to Tokyo.

  “Um… What happened?” Amane asked softly, noticing Kasumi was asleep.

  “I think we found our culprit,” Orion answered. “And I think the police are already on the track of chasing her, am I wrong, Fujioka?” Orion felt safe enough to voice his actual thoughts to the Chief Superintendent.

  “That’s right,” Erika said, eyes closed. “We’re on the cusp of arresting the girl. But Himura would prefer I did it.” Himura had messaged her the child’s name, which matched the name of the grandparents from the village, but he did not feel comfortable acting against her. He didn’t think she was going to kill anyone else, at least not right away. “The culprit is named Tomoyo Mizutani.”

  “Tomoyo…” Kasumi’s voice came through. “You’re…not joking, are you?” Kasumi’s stomach started gurgling and hurting. Tomoyo was always friendly, hardworking and intelligent in school. She strived to talk to her fellow classmates. It was hard to imagine someone like her to be murdering adults.

  “Not at all,” Erika answered. She eyed the young middle school girl, who had a hand over her chest. There was no mercy on the job, so Erika didn’t feel guilty. She patted the girl once on the head before withdrawing her hand. “This is part of the job. I’m more surprised a middle schooler was able to pull this.”

  Just as Kasumi wanted to respond, the chauffeur announced they were at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department headquarters. The squad exited the car one by one and carefully before Amane told the chauffeur to wait at the parking lot as an emergency. Erika led the group into the building and made her way to her office, where Himura was waiting.

  Himura raised an eyebrow at the students but remained silent. He stood upright by Erika’s desk and once she took her seat, he delivered his report. “The culprit is Tomoyo Mizutani, aged 14 and lives in an apartment complex in Shibuya. I have not made an arrest yet.”

  “Good,” Erika said, closing her eyes. She opened her eyes again. “We can mobilize the officers now. I would like Orion to accompany them; he’ll have his own transportation, just give the chauffeur the address.”

  “Understood,” Himura noted. He took out his notebook and tore off a sheet of paper. Then he wrote down the address on the form and handed it to Orion. “I will be leading the arrest.”

  “Got it,” Orion nodded, taking the paper and putting it in his pocket. He was curious about what made Tomoyo kill all three people. Revenge seems a bit too simple for an answer for this case, but it just might be it. In all honesty, Orion was surprised he was allowed present for the arrest.

  “We’re going now,” Himura said promptly. “Get your transportation ready and meet me outside the culprit’s apartment.” He said it with a plain face that no one could read as he departed the office.

  “Don’t worry about Himura,” Erika reassured the group. “He’s a good officer. Just try not to get in his way.” Erika smiled faintly. She reached out on her desk and took in a pile of paperwork to put in front of her. “Well, all of you better head out or you’ll be late.”

  “Thank you, Fujioka,” Orion said, bowing. “We’ll take our leave now.” Orion took the lead and headed out of the office with the others following suit. They left the building and went to the chauffeur where Orion gave him the piece of paper with the address.

  The group got back in the car and headed to Tomoyo’s apartment. Kasumi was silent the entire trip, brain racking up reasons for why Tomoyo would do something like this. Tomoyo had always been friendly to her no matter what, so for her to do something like murder is unthinkable for Kasumi. Kasumi didn’t like this case at all.

  Satoru noticed his sister’s depression and reached out a hand to pat her. He decided to pull her close and embrace her for however long she needed. Satoru patted his sister a few times in the embrace as Kasumi rested her head on Satoru.

  The group arrived at their destination in a short time, and they exited the car. The apartment looked modern and newly furnished. Orion noticed the undercover vehicle at the parking lot, which meant Himura was already here. Orion led them up to the third floor where Tomoyo lived and encountered Himura with a few officers.

  “You’re here,” Himura stated matter-of-factly. “Let’s go.” Himura wasn’t fond of Orion being invited to cases, but he had orders. He bit his lip as he turned away from Orion. Mixed feelings stirred in him, his chest tightening but Himura chose to ignore the emotions for the time being and knocked on the door. After a few knocks, a young woman opened the door. “Hello, I’m Keshiki Himura from Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. I would like to speak to your daughter, Tomoyo.”

  The woman stood frozen in place, staring emptily at the inspector with her hands over her mouth. She didn’t move at all or speak a word. Then wordlessly, the woman stepped to the side with tears brimming at her eyes. She felt her family was falling apart now as she felt faint and leaned against the wall for support.

  Himura stepped inside as Orion and his group followed behind, glancing at the distraught woman. Orion felt a sinking feeling in his gut for breaking up a family. It seemed there was something more to the mother than just being upset over the police coming over for her daughter. Orion closed his eyes as he entered the apartment.

  Upon entering the apartment, a young, small girl was seen by the window as though trying to escape. She had long red hair flowing behind her and sporting a dark red school uniform while barefoot. Tomoyo held onto the windowsill as she tried to climb out.

  “Stop!” Himura shouted to the young girl. He hadn’t expected Tomoyo to try to flee from the third floor. It’d be on him if she jumped and got herself killed. He balled up his fists as he stood in place.

  “Don’t come any closer,” Tomoyo warned in a near whisper. Her voice shook with fear as she gripped the windowsill tighter that her knuckles were white. She didn’t dare look at the officers who entered.

  “Don’t do it, Tomoyo,” Orion said soothingly as he stood next to Himura. “Why don’t you tell us why you’ve been killing people?” Orion tried to calm his voice and nerves so Tomoyo wouldn’t get nervous. “Is it because of what they’ve done to your grandparents?”

  “My mom’s been a mute… since my grandparents killed themselves,” Tomoyo said. “My family hasn’t been the same now. My mom won’t talk to anyone… She won’t go outside anymore… It’s all their fault…” She stepped down from the window but kept her grip, looking down on the floor. “Father doesn’t speak to me and only tries to help mom… None of you would understand!”

  “I do understand,” Amane stepped up next to Orion and Himura. Placing a hand at her chest to calm herself, she wanted to make Tomoyo realize she wasn’t alone. “Please. My grandparents were killed by the same people. But granny and grandpa wouldn’t want us to take revenge for them.”

  “You…” Tomoyo said as she stared at Amane. Then she realized the girl there was the true descendent of Mizushima Village. And she was talking out Tomoyo from doing anything. But Tomoyo refused to listen. “You’re Mizushima. You don’t understand. Your parents are still together and intact. Your family is fine.” Then in a flash, Tomoyo turned to the window and leapt out the window.

  No!” Himura dashed to the window and stuck his head outside. Tomoyo had landed on her side with blood oozing out. He quickly demanded an officer, “Get an ambiance here QUICK!”

  Tomoyo’s mother had been watching and fainted when she saw Tomoyo jump out the window. Orion dashed to Tomoyo’s mother’s side and caught her before she fell to the floor. Orion carefully placed the woman on the floor.

  “Ma’am?!” Orion shouted. “Damn, this is a mess.” Orion looked around and contented himself with the apartment being safe enough for the unconscious woman. “We’ve got to go now, guys. Himura will be leaving.”

  “Got it!” Amane acknowledged, running beside Orion to exit the apartment. She was concerned for Tomoyo’s well-being, especially after jumping three stories. “I hope Tomoyo will be okay…” She trailed off as she ran along with Orion.

  When Orion reached outside, Himura was already talking to the ambulance drivers, and they had wheeled in Tomoyo in the car. It sounded like Tomoyo was still alive, and Himura sent two officers with the ambulance. As the ambulance drove off, Himura turned to face Orion.

  “Well, thanks for the effort,” Himura said stoically. We’ll take it over from here.” Himura didn’t give a glance to Orion but turned away and returned to his car. It was a somewhat failure as the culprit tried to kill herself and almost succeeded at it. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

  “I guess it’s over, guys,” Orion sighed in relief. He felt he had done what he could have. There was no way of knowing if Tomoyo would have jumped or not until she did it. Still, a nagging feeling stuck with him as he walked to Amane’s family car.

  “Tomoyo…” Kasumi said sadly, clutching her chest as though in pain. “I wish I knew… Maybe then she wouldn’t feel as lonely.” She stopped in her tracks, causing the others to stop as well. Kasumi bit her lip as tears started to fall from her eyes. “I…I…why am I crying?”

  Amane walked back and held the other girl in her arms, patting the other girl on the back as she cried. “There’s no way for you to know, Kasumi… Don’t blame yourself. It was really, really personal. But don’t take the blame for something out of your control.”

  “A-Amane…” Kasumi stuttered in the midst of her crying. “I just…wish…I could have…done something…” Kasumi rested her head against Amane. The heavy feeling inside Kasumi started seceding slowly as the tears flowed. Slowly, she detached herself from the other girl with a flustered face. “Um… I’ll be okay now…”

  “Are you sure? You can take your time,” Amane said with a concerned tone. “We’re not in any rush.” She felt like crying herself but knew it was not the time for it right now. There was always a time when she was back in her room. But she wondered if she would have turned out like Tomoyo had her situation been worse. There was no way to know.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Kasumi said bravely, trying to put on a smile on her face. She didn’t feel happy or anything. In fact, she felt empty inside. Tomoyo used to greet her every morning, always with a cheerful face and demeanor. But now she was going to be in the hospital under police guard. Kasumi sighed deeply.