A big, big 'thank you' goes to Scarlet-Red-Wings, candy-is-epic and Jen, for commenting on the last chapter. I am so very glad and relieved that the story is liked!
4
Chaos Reigns
The next day, Inspector Ichigawa locked himself in his office and refused to go out. With all the files, articles and photos he could gather about the so-called Nameless Girl on his desk and steel-hard determination to catch her, he leaned forward and began to read it all for the umpteenth time.
He did not allow himself to think about Kuroda. The deceased policeman might have been younger and still a rookie, but he was also someone who, if only Ichigawa could spend more time with him in the future, might have become a friend. Ichigawa did everything he could to not remember the young man's bright smile - like every rookie on the job, Kuroda was always excitedly waiting for something to happen - and the jokes he'd cracked despite the situation. Kuroda had a lot of potential. But his smoking habit killed him, a lot faster than lung cancer.
The only semi-good photo Ichigawa could get access to never ceased to both amaze and shock him. It was taken right after the murder of a police officer and his wife, the moment she had been captured and surrounded by policemen and reporters. The girl, turned sideways so that only her profile was available, looked no older than 20, only three years older than one of Ichigawa's daughters. Half of her face was shadowed and blurry, but her eye was visible - the photo was black and white, but the shade indicated her eyes were an intense color. What sent a chill down the man's spine was the fact that the only visible eye was directed straight at the camera, as if staring right at him. Her dark hair was reaching way past her shoulder blades and was heavily messed due to the commotion around her. She wore a light-colored turtleneck sweater which was stained with blood. There also were a few drops of it on her expressionless face, mixing with her own which seeped through the cut on her lower lip.
She looked truly… demonic.
Ichigawa looked through the testimonies of the two guards of Vermont Asylum, who were the first to find the four bodies of Nameless' escorts. Just like with Anders, there was a lot of blood. The report says each policeman had to lose at least two liters, which makes more than 8 liters of blood splattered all around the inside of the car. Ichigawa shuddered.
An hour later, when he was engrossed with the press' speculations about the Nameless Girls' past (all of them had the same theme - that she was from a broken home, had been abused as a child, was cruel to animals et cetera), the telephone on his desk rang unexpectedly. Ichigawa glanced at his watch - it read 7:21pm - and picked it up.
"Good evening, Inspector." L's computer-modified voice greeted him "I wanted to call much earlier, but I figured I'd give you some time, considering recent events."
Kuroda's death. Of course. How thoughtful of the great detective.
"Thank you, Detective." Ichigawa uttered without a trace of gratitude.
"But I cannot wait longer. I need to know what did your team find inside apartment 14."
Ichigawa held the phone with his shoulder as he searched for his team's report. He found it and began to read. "The apartment was empty, but they found something they first believed to be the Nam… the perpetrator." Until there was concrete proof, Ichigawa refused to assume the killer was in fact the Nameless Girl, even if she was the only suspect "It turned out it was a female mannequin's torso and head. The eyes were green, the hair was dyed four colors: blonde, red, brown and black. Also, there was an envelope attached to the torso." His voice sounded slightly surprised as he read the last sentence. "It must still be with one of my subordinates. We have not yet opened it." Kuroda's death was currently number one priority, after all. "I think it was addressed 'For the Other Detective'."
"I suppose that would be me." L said unperturbedly "Please send the envelope over. I will send you my current address by fax and expect the package to arrive before midnight, because I will be changing location soon."
"Yes, of course…" Ichigawa agreed before he even thought it over. After all, L was the world's number one detective and the Inspector wasn't as prideful as to not let him help. "Yes, I will send the envelope immediately. But I also have to ask you to send it back once you're finished. It's evidence."
"Naturally. Thank you, Inspector." The detective uttered expressionlessly "I will contact you as soon as anything new arises."
"Thank you." Ichigawa repeated after L, his voice strained with exhaustion.
L hung up. After a few seconds, the Inspector also put the phone down.
-
It took Ichigawa more or less two hours to find and send the envelope to the address L had faxed earlier. The detective had already changed hotels and had Watari bring the package to his new apartment.
The envelope was indeed addressed to him: For the Other Detective. L was sure the police had checked it for fingerprints or any other thing that could lead to the killer, but he had to do this his own way. As expected, there was nothing on the manila envelope. The red ink used for the address was just as useless, and so was the handwriting: 'For' was written in capital letters and looked sloppy; 'the' was leaning a bit to the left and seemed casual; 'Other' was plain, bold and underlined and 'Detective' was written nicely in a feminine, elegant handwriting, leaning to the right.
F O R the Other Detective.
Wasting no more time, L used the paper knife and opened the envelope. He turned it upside-down, holding the corners between his index finger and thumb and away from himself, and dumped the things onto the small round table unceremoniously.
The glass surface of the table protested loudly as a black video tape fell out of the envelope, almost making it shatter. L stared at the tape before he peeked into the envelope. There was a white rectangle inside, but he decided to leave it there for the time being and focus on the tape first.
That girl - or woman, since she should be around 25 years old at present - was either very foolish or very confident to leave a tape behind and addressing it to him. Whatever the reason, it will eventually be her downfall, L was sure of it. He stopped speculating, pushed the tape into the recorder and took a seat on the wide, comfortable armchair, bringing his knees to his chest and taking the half-eaten chocolate bar between his fingers. Getting comfortable, he pushed play.
The first few seconds were silent as the image was blocked by a black curtain. Then, the curtain was taken off in one swift motion and Detective Anders appeared, sitting on the bed inside his room at the Mercure Hotel. His hands were hidden behind his back, no doubt tied up and immobilized.
Anders opened his mouth and hesitated, but must have seen something above the camera that was recording him, because fear and pain lit up his eyes and he looked at the lens and spoke in English.
"She's back." There was a slight pause and the man lifted his eyes again, probably looking at the person behind the camera. 'She is blackmailing him, probably with a photo of his family' the thought struck L and was gone in half a second as the show carried on. Anders' expression hardened and he continued, "The child has matured. The one considered dead has been reborn. The one who is chased runs in circles, making you follow. The Nameless has found her Name. Now, Chaos controls you."
He finished the little speech and hung his head. After a heavy sigh, Anders lifted his head again and said his last words, this time in Japanese.
"I'm sorry. I have failed… L."
A small knife came soaring from behind the lens and struck Anders' throat. The man grunted in pain and the black curtain fell.
L did not move. He bit down on his index finger, his wide eyes glued to the monitor. The show did not seem to be over, however. She had yet to leave a signature. Her new name.
As always, the number one detective was right. After about two to three minutes the curtain was lifted once again and, like before, L was greeted by the sight of Anders on his bed. Instead of sitting on the bed, the man was laying on it. And he was dead.
The white shirt he had worn that night was soaked with blood and hauled up, covering his face. The image focused on the detective's broad chest, where a set of cuts was already present. Only seven of them were different - they were very shallow and clearly done with purpose.
That part of the recording lasted 30 seconds and had background music, which was coming from somewhere in the back of the room. The first accords were played and the image cleared out.
The letters were not going from top to bottom, but from left to right - the direction of reading and writing in most countries, but the three signs were of the Japanese katakana alphabet.
The lyrics began: "She had a corpse under her bed"
Two cuts formed the letter Ka.
"She had her fun but now he's dead"
Three other - O.
"Her momma said come feed desire"
The last two - Su.
CLICK. The music died, the curtain fell. The tape stopped.
She had left her signature. "The Nameless has found her Name."
Her name was Kaosu.
Chaos.
.
The room was still and silent as L munched on the second chocolate bar. He suspected the perpetrator - formerly known as Nameless Girl, now going by the name of Kaosu - was aware of the leads she's left in the recording. The first thing was, of course, confirmation. It was indeed the same person who had disappeared from sight five years ago after getting caught by the Brattleboro police and escaping. Miss-No-Longer-Nameless has also made quite clear that she likes to make a show and obviously wanted to be acknowledged. She wanted to make sure they knew who exactly was she. A show-off.
L remembered reading the report concerning Anders' corpse. It said his chest was mutilated violently. She must have erased her signature by erasing the area where it was. Like someone who, instead of using an eraser, decided to scratch the word out using a pencil. Only she had used a sharp knife.
Kaosu indicated she was American and that she must have learnt the Japanese katakana alphabet to some extent. L was not sure if it was only the three letters, the whole alphabet or maybe she could speak Japanese as well, but the fact was she did know some of it.
As for her personality, well, she continued to repeat herself - for a 25-something year woman, she was very childish and yet also quite clever, arrogant and careful. She seemed like the type of person who would rather catch the opportunity as it came than plan things ahead. What made her the most dangerous, L mused, was the lack of rules. She left no connections other than those intentional. She showed them only what she wanted them to see. And she was mocking them openly. Running in circles, making them follow.
As the last piece of chocolate melted in his mouth, L reached for the envelope and took out the note. The detective felt a strange sense of excitement as he slowly unfolded it. Another message from his current opponent, Kaosu; this one looked more promising than the last, three-word-long 'come and play'. L realized he actually held his breath as lines of red-inked words greeted his eyes.
-
Dear Other Detective
I may not seem like the intelligent type, but if you're reading this before anyone else, it means that everything's going according to plan. My plan.
Just wanted to say 'hello'. I hope you're in the right mood, because it has begun. Play the game.
I'm running - will you catch me, Detective?
Sincerely yours,
Kaosu
PS. Burn after reading, please.
L stared at the piece of paper with his thumb between his teeth. After reading the note for the second time very carefully, his eyes stopped at the last line. Burn after reading, please. A sardonic smile appeared on his pale face. 'Depending solely on luck through all those years, with only one slip-up in the form of Detective Anders… An interesting puzzle.' L knew better than anyone else that puzzles are meant only to be put together and solved.
"If that is what you ask me to do, Kaosu," he spoke to the paper "I will comply." Kaosu was becoming more brave, making L excited - he truly could not wait for the puzzle to be complete.
Watari entered the room pushing a tray with more sweets for the detective just in time to see said detective was holding a lit up lighter dangerously close to the piece of paper Watari knew to be important evidence.
"L, are you sure you can destroy such important-"
"The envelope was unopened, which means neither the Inspector nor his subordinates know what was in it." L spoke, squinting his eyes at the paper "I will return the tape back, as promised, but this is essential."
Just as he finished speaking, the note went aflame all of a sudden and was gone with a bright flash of pale blue light in a matter of a second. L let go of the corner of the note quickly, successfully avoiding being burnt. He gazed at the spot where the paper used to be a mere second earlier, then reached out and pulled his laptop closer on the table. He opened it and clicked on the Internet browser.
"I'm sure Inspector Ichigawa will not miss it." Watari uttered, coming up to stand behind the couch as L typed. He sniffed and blinked, recognizing the strange smell "So that's why it burned so quickly… Clever."
"There was something written across the note in some kind of invisible ink, detectable only when illuminated from behind. However, the paper was soaked with a flammable liquid. Judging from the faint scent and the color of the flame, I am one hundred percent sure it was methanol." L used only his index fingers while typing "That could mean Kaosu has got either common chemistry knowledge… or access to the Internet."
"Kaosu?"
"Yes. That is the alias of the one I am pursuing."
"Well, did you manage to see the invisible message?" Watari asked, genuinely curious.
"It was a website address."
Watari leaned forward slightly and saw what L pushed the 'enter' button.
www dot playthegame dot com.
"She… she gave you her website address?" this could no longer be called 'bravery'; this was 'madness'.
The screen blinked once and turned black. At the top, white letters and smaller red ones below said:
CLOSED
visit at 7 pm only
"It seems we are too late…" L mused out loud, exiting the page before trying to track it. He could not, but that was to be expected; Kaosu was not online at the moment. L turned the laptop off and reached for a doughnut. He leaned back into the couch and began to eat.
"Watari," he spoke with his mouth full "Please send the tape back along with the envelope to the Inspector."
The old man nodded and put the tape into the envelope before walking away.
L finished the first doughnut and took another one. He could not wait for the next day to come, so he could visit the site dedicated to him at 7 pm sharp.
.
Some time later in Inspector Ichigawa's office, the man watched as the black curtain fell upon the screen for the last time.
"Kaosu…" he growled, squeezing his fists. Submitting to the anger he was feeling ever since she killed Kuroda, the inspector got up and threw the TV across the room, making it hit the wall and gain an impressive dent.
-
The funeral of Kuroda Michio came to an end just as the rain began to fall. Inspector Ichigawa opened his umbrella and staid behind as his wife and three children rushed to the car. The man stared down at the now closed casket blankly, his hand gripping the umbrella tightly before he sighed and turned around. There was nothing he could do for Kuroda, except…
Except capturing the one responsible for taking Kuroda's life.
Ichigawa headed towards the car, when something he'd noticed in the corner of his eye made him stop. His youngest daughter, 7-year-old Chiyo, dressed in her warm navy jacket with the hood pulled over her head to protect her from the rain. She was standing under one of the trees, talking to someone. A woman, whose features were hidden under a long, leather black coat. Her face was shadowed by the hood, but her nose and lips were visible. She said something to the little girl, who in turn smiled brightly and nodded, saying something back. The woman smirked. Her lips were a vibrant red color.
"Chiyo!" Ichigawa called out, heading towards his daughter. The girl turned her attention to him, her smile widening. Before he could reach them, the woman turned and walked away briskly, disappearing behind the corner of a building.
"Who was that, Chiyo-chan?" Ichigawa asked, taking his daughter's hand and guiding her towards the car.
"I don't know," she replied "She came up to me and asked if I was your daughter."
"What?" Ichigawa's eyes widened as he paused, making the girl stop as well.
"Mhmm," Chiyo nodded, the smile never leaving her cute face "I said yes, and the nice lady asked me to tell you something,"
The Inspector willed himself to relax. He hadn't seen that woman at the funeral, but it still might have been Kuroda's relative. His family knew where Kuroda works (worked, he mentally corrected himself) and who does (did) he work with. Worked… He shook his head, crouching down so that he would meet his daughter's eyes on her level.
"What did she ask you to tell me?" he questioned calmly, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"She said that…" Chiyo scrunched her face up in concentration before she gave him another one of her bright smiles "'Patience is a virtue'."
Ichigawa paled.
A: The song used is Rob Zombie's 'House of 1000 Corpses' (a great song for a great movie, I might add)
Also, if you know where the title of this chapter came from, bravo.