Akira pulled away from Ryuzaki and stared. It was an awkward moment. Well, not in America, at least. But this is not America-this is Japan for Pete's sake-and certain customs are not allowed. Especially the one including kissing people without preamble.
It was painfully awkward. The silence. His stare.
This sure isn't pure professionalism, Akira thought.
She decided to break the painfully awkward moment with a bit of humor. "Well, that was how we say "thanks" in the west." She grinned, hoping that he'd at least nod. When none of that came, she bit her lip and continued. "But if you're not okay with that, then I apologize. That was very unprofessional of me."
Beep.
Beep. Beep beep.
She turned towards the sound and saw one of her phones vibrating. Reluctantly, she picked it up and turned away from Ryuzaki.
"Warbeck?"
The voice from the other line sounded a bit breathless. "Yeah. This is kinda urgent so I decided to call you instead."
"What is it?"
"You remember Page Parkes?"
Akira's concentration came back and she gripped her cellphone tighter. "What about it?"
Warbeck heaved a deep breath first. "It's not legal, Aisha. It isn't legal at all!"
She was dumbstruck. "But…you said it was, so I-"
"I know, I know! But I was kinda curious why a porn pop ad would always appear every time a person tries to open its site. I mean, I asked some of the people here to try and access the Page Parkes website and every single one of them saw the pop ad. And guess what…the pop ad never changes."
Akira blinked several times before speaking. "You mean…wait. If it's just the usual web hosting business, then the ads should change, right? But what you're saying is that Page Parkes itself owns the pop ad. Correct?"
"Exactly," said Warbeck. "And I took more accurate contrast and comparison with the pictures and yes, there are resemblances." Warbeck chuckled a little. "Your eyes are better than our gadgets."
"Thank you," Akira replied with a smile. "However, how did you know that the modeling agency is illegal?"
"I checked through the database once more. Actually, it was legal until 1997. Then a case was filed against the agency regarding their policies. Also, 2 models from the agency were found dead. Forensic evidence showed fresh multiple contusions and other wounds suggestive of sexual abuse." Warbeck paused. "The agency was closed in 1998."
There was a brief moment of silence as Akira wove the details quickly in her mind.
"So that explains it!" she snapped her fingers. "Look, now that we know that Page Parkes is illegal, it is already easy to follow the women's tracks. Here's how I think they do it. They tempt women and lure them into modeling. These women are given a website in which they are supposed to fill out an application form. This website is obviously the Page Parkes Website. Now the women key in their information and soon they are contacted by the agency. A representative will meet them in some place and talk them into modeling. Somehow, these women are smuggled into America where they are kept and forced to work as prostitutes. The problem for us, is to know who are responsible for this, where are the women, and how were they able to smuggle them in." Akira paused to breathe deeply. She then stood up and continued. "Pinning the agency is easy since they're not supposed to operate now because they're supposed to be closed since 1998. But what's difficult is actually pinning them down for sex trade." Akira paused. "And just how am I supposed to do that?"
There was a pause before Warbeck said, "Aisha, have you been watching CNN lately?"
Akira shook her head. "No. I'm too busy. Why?"
"A batch of women is dead."
Akira paused and looked straight ahead at the wall. Her head began to spin. She's still not finish with the Human Trafficking case, there's a chance that this new case will be handed again to her since she's the only woman detective capable of solving such cases. She has to work double time, that's what this means.
"Aisha? Aisha? You still there?"
Akira woke up from her reverie. "Yeah, I just thought of something. It could be that the human trafficking case and this new case are connected."
"I thought so too," replied Warbeck, "and I think we are right. I checked with the NYPD earlier and they said that the women were illegal immigrants and-"
"Prostitutes."
"You got that right," said Warbeck with a chuckle. "I still find you amusing, Aisha. You're so fast in picking up my line of thought."
Akira smiled. "Can't help it." Her tone turned serious. "Could you send me the list of those women and their data? It's with you right now, correct?"
"Yep," said Warbeck. "Wait, don't hang up. I'm sending the email and it would arrive right about…" Akira heard keyboard keys being typed on. "…Now." Warbeck heaved a sigh. "There, you received it?"
A ding from her laptop sounded and Akira glanced to see that she received the e-mail. "Yeah, I have it," she said to Warbeck. "I'll get back to you later, I still have some sleuthing to do."
"Alright, call me later. But hey, not too late at night alright? I need some beauty rest too."
Akira chuckled. "You bastard. I'm working my butt off here and you get to rest? Unfair, totally unfair."
Warbeck laughed out loud from the other line. "Solve the case early and you'll be out of Japan in no time. Okay now, do your sleuthing."
"Alright." And with that, Akira hung up.
That last line of Warbeck's caught her attention, though.
Solve the case early and you'll be out of Japan in no time.
Akira glanced at the white figure crouched on an armchair, busy typing away at his laptop. Somehow, something about him made her think if…
Late that night, Akira pored over the data sent to her by Warbeck. She read their profile and was once again struck by the similarities: they are all in their mid-teens to early thirties. She looked at the pictures sent to her and it chilled her blood. The pictures were gruesome and cruel. Whoever did the crime was an absolutely soulless creature. Akira could not find the words to properly describe what she saw.
The women were stripped naked and were thrown helter-skelter. According to the preliminary report sent by Warcbeck, the bodies were found in different places, all separated by about more than a hundred miles from each other. Akira looked carefully at the pictures, ignoring for a while the sickening pit in her stomach, as she tried to reconstruct the location of the bodies in her mind. Absently, Akira dialed Warbeck's number. After two rings, he picked up.
"Hello?"
"Yeah. Tell me where the police found the bodies," Akira said without preamble.
Warbeck sighed before replying, "They found the bodies at different places. One they found as far as Wilmington, others, just in the outskirts of town. One was found in a trash can in front of a gasoline station, just a mile from downtown New York."
"Wilmington?" Akira paused for a while to consider the possibilities. "Hmm. It could be that the crime was committed there, and the other corpses were thrown at different placed to hide the tracks of the killer. However, if the murder site was in Wilmington, how could the killer transport it? He possibly couldn't travel with a corpse in a plane."
"That's true, but what if he traveled by land?" said Warbeck. "He could put the body in the trunk of his car."
Akira was doubtful. "The corpse would stink-and that's only one corpse. But what if it's many? Besides, Wilmington is more than an hour's drive to New York, you couldn't possibly stomach the stench!" Akira paused for a while. "But then again, the killer could be a gang, so assuming that each member carried a corpse in his car…"
"It wouldn't hurt much," said Warbeck. "I mean, to kill in such a manner…the killer's not an amateur."
"Yeah," Akira nodded. "You've got a point. Another option I'm considering here is that New York might be the murder site, and Wilmington's where they dumped one of the bodies." Akira bent over her desk and looked at one picture where the dead girl was splayed carelessly, her perineal area bloody and bruised. "Did the police do an autopsy already? What did the coroner say?"
"If you're thinking of rape or sexual abuse, yes, the women were sexually abused. However, except for the body of the Chinese girl-have you seen it?-the wounds on the women's perineal areas are already old, which means they have been lacerated before they were murdered."
Akira frowned. "Naturally. They're prostitutes." She heaved a deep breath. "You know, I really have a strong hunch that these women were killed in downtown New York and their bodies were dumped in some other place to give it an air of 'mysteriousness', you know…" she sighed. "Any eye witnesses?"
"Nope. Nada. These people do a clean job."
She paused for a while to think. Out of the blue, she asked, "Have we checked the immigration yet?"
"What do you want to know?" Warbeck asked.
"Well, if these women were indeed smuggled to America, they must have been recorded in the immigration's database." Akira sat up straight. "Go, check the immigration records. Most probably, these women, if they followed the legal process, were granted tourist visas. You're not allowed to work while you're on a tourist visa, nor are you allowed to overstay."
"Hmmm. I see where you're going…"
"Yeah. If the immigration records turn out positive, we'll next check the airline records. From there, we'll know which state they all went-if they landed on a common state or not. Hopefully they did. It will make the chase less complicated." She took a pen and started to chew on its cap. "My hunch is that they were granted tourist visas, met the Page Parkes agents, gave up their papers, and was then tricked into being prostitutes rather than models. They are kept somewhere in New York or any other place and trapped in some brothel or den."
She could hear Warbeck laugh. "That could go to the courts, Aisha. Seriously."
She smirked. "It's just a theory, although I hope I'm right. If I am, then these women are already on the WANTED list. You know? Anyway, I investigated on the background of Page Parkes' CEO and I found out that he was imprisoned for domestic abuse way back in the 80's."
"You mean, old man Parkes has a history of hitting women?"
"Yup. But not only hitting them, but raping them as well."
Warbeck let out a whistle. "Domestic rape?"
Akira smirked. "What else would you call it?" She turned serious again. "Alright, Warbeck. It seems we have another ton of shit to do. Add to the continuing investigations on Adela and Nadia, please do a background investigation on old man Parkes." Akira paused. "In fact, do a background check on all members of the Board."
"You do realize Aisha that this might take months."
"I know. But that's the only option I have at the moment. I have checked the online logs you sent me and I have confirmed that the women reported missing indeed contacted Page Parkes." Akira rummaged for the online report sent to her and her list. "What surprises me though, is that when I compared the list of women and the online logs, it's funny that they have one website in common, and that is the Page Parkes website."
"Which confirms your hunch that Page Parkes isn't a modelling agency, rather it is a some sort of prostitution recruitment hub thing, right?" Warbeck said.
Akira nodded. "Yup. Exactly. So that made it easier for us, because all we have to do now is to track down Page Parkes. We have already established that it isn't a legal establishment. What we have to do next is to prove that it is a prostitution and human trafficking den."
Warbeck gave a long sigh. "We've only just busted the tip of the iceberg, Aisha. Just the tip."
She closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes. We've got a long way to go."
There was a moment's pause before Akira spoke again. "Alright then, let's get back to work. All reports must be in by tomorrow afternoon, most especially airport logs and the investigation on immigration stuff, ok? Stick with Adela and Nadia, they give us the most information."
"Alright Aisha. Signing off."
Akira hung up. She felt drained. Her mind wants to work, but her body's tired. Her job's nowhere close to 50%. She had just confirmed her hunch about Page Parkes, but there isn' t enough evidence to prove that it is a prostitution den. She could pin them down for operating without a license, but that's not the point of her investigation. She has to accuse and prove that Page parkes is guilty of human trafficking, illegal detention, prostitution, violations against human rights, and multiple counts of murder (if the dead women found in New York are proven to be connected with Page Parkes). Right now, she's nowhere close.
She rubbed her temples and sighed in frustration. Damn it, she's tired, hungry and cold inside. When was the last time she saw the sun? When was the last time she watched a movie and just plain rested?
The last movie you saw was Casablanca.
Akira felt like crying. That sucks, to realize that she sucks at being a person. She frowned at her laptop and the mountain of files in front of her. She wondered if she's the only one cursed at this life.
"What was the last movie you watched?" Akira asked Ryuzaki aloud, not expecting an answer from the stoic man.
To her surprise, he responded.
"Gone with the Wind."
Akira's eyes widened despite her fatigue. "Gone with the Wind? You?" she said in surprise. Unable to contain herself, she blurted out, "You don't look like the romantic type to me."
To which, Ryuzaki only replied with "Hn."
Still unbelieving, Akira asked, "And what is your favorite part? Let me guess, when Scarlett swore she'll never go hungry again at the Wilke's place."
Still emotionless, Ryuzaki glanced at her and answered, "The opening credits."
"What?!"
He paused typing and looked at her, his face impassive. "I slept through the whole thing."
Akira was dumbstruck for a while, considering if Ryuzaki was serious or not, before giving a short laugh. "That doesn't count." She chuckled and turned at her laptop. "Regardless, you do have a strange sense of humor. And thanks for the laugh, I needed it." Still grinning, she resumed reading her reports.
He's strange, alright. The opening credits...
She laughed softly to herself, trying to forget the way his eyes bored into hers when she kissed him, stress and fatigue slightly pushed back at the corner of her mind.
L watched in mild amusement at the girl adjacent him. Just a moment ago she seemed so forlorn, tired and weak. But now, her stooped shoulders relaxed a little, and traces of laughter lingered on her lips. L could not help but watch her for a moment more.
As usual, he and Kyoko were working like machines, and he didn't mind for this was the life he's used to. With the way the investigation on Kira is going, L had been all eyes and ears to all details pertaining to the case. But that doesn't hinder him from observing Kyoko who worked beside him.
He couldn't help but glance at her as she typed, read and mused about her leads. Every once in a while she would talk to someone over the phone. Give directions, explore possibilities, occassionally scold someone. She worked hard-in fact, too hard that she forgets to eat most of the time.
And so when L noticed the first signs of hypoglycemia before she did, he knew what to do. For some strange reason, he seemed to know when she's becoming hypoglycemic even before she could notice herself. And almost always, strawberries and sweets on a stick could rev her back up.
She felt lighter than she looked. That was what L realized when he helped her up awhile ago when she felt dizzy. And she's capable of doing spontaneous things when he least expects it.
Just like when Kyoko kissed him earlier.
L is aware of how limited his human interactions are, and it never bothered him. Not until he felt her lips on his cheek. Random human acts always leaves him in a plethora of emotions. Like when Yagami-san wrapped a blanket around his shoulders when he thought L was sleeping. Like when Watari would look at him with strange fondness. Like when Kyoko kissed him-though only a chaste kiss it was.
It bothered him when he couldn't understand this one little act by the girl. He figured Yagami-san was merely concerned when he gave that blanket, and Watari was simply being his kind self.
But Kyoko?
She's becoming more of a puzzle than Light Yagami is.L mused.
Author's notes:
Standard disclaimers apply.
Hey there! I really apologize for the extremely long hiatus. I know I left this story pending for years and as a writer, I feel horrible. It's just that I was very busy with my studies. I told myself that I'll work on this after graduation, but bad luck seemed my best friend, cause after grad I was busy reviewing for the Nurse Licensure Exam. But it's all worth it though because I am now a registered nurse. Hooray!
So there. Thanks to everyone who still reads my fanfic. Like always, constructive criticisms are always welcome. =) Here's my blog by the way, for those interested: . :) thanks guys!