(A/N): Sorry about the delay with the update - I didn't mean to go so long without updating! I've just been so busy with work (EPQ is so annoying and I'm only half way through my essay *cries*)
Again, I apologise for leaving this so long. Thank you for waiting.
I had a lot of fun naming those cats, and I regret absolutely nothing about their names.
Personally, I am a cat person (dogs are cute, too). I think Mai would be a dog person, and so would Takigawa and John. I think Lin would definitely be a cat person, and maybe Ayako too. I think Yasuhara could be either, and I'm not so sure about Masako and Kazuya. What do you think?
I'm a terrible swimmer. My friends are good (they go rowing a lot, so they have to be, in case they fall in) but I'm not.
Merfolk in Norway were actually supposed to have ESP. They just sat around, predicting the future, rather than going out and sinking ships like merfolk are well-known for, and had pretty good relationships with humans (apparently).
Thank you very much for reading this story, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!
The room is dark.
Light is attempting to stream through the windows, but has been blocked by a heavy curtain, soaking up the warmth and stealing away visibility. The fabric, once splendid and intricate, has been stained with various substances, and mould is slowly growing from the bottom, working its way up like ivy, its coating as thin yet prominent as frost.
At my feet, many bottles of alcohol litter the floor. Some look old, and some look as if they have only been drained recently. The smell is sickening.
An unmade bed, with sheets that look as if they haven't been washed in years, is at the centre of the room. A person is sitting on the bed. They do not wear a shirt, and I can see now that they are a man. Their torso is covered in long scars – most are random and savage, while there is a single, almost deliberate line down the man's front. It reminds me of a cut made by a coroner on a corpse.
What stands out the most, though, is the mermaid tattoo on his arm. From where I stand, I can see it clearly. Her face is detailed, and very beautiful as she combs her long red hair. Her eyes are a startling green. The scales of her tail are a bright blue. I feel like I have seen her before.
The man is taking something out of a bag. An orange pot. His hands shaking, he pours tablets into his palm. He looks as if he is in a lot of pain.
Fumbling for a glass of water from his bedside table, he swallows them, gulping the water down with it. When he places the glass back down, he knocks something over with it. With panic, he swears, and crouches on the ground, barely wincing from his previous pain. He picks it up, gentle and careful, examining it with scrutiny, desperate to check that he hasn't broken it. When satisfied it hasn't been damaged, he places it back on the bedside table with tenderness.
He moves away, limping slightly, walking to the window and drawing the curtain back slightly. Distractedly, he looks out through the glass.
While he does that, I move over to the bedside window. The item that the person knocked off is a photo frame. It is made out of wood, polished until it shines, and the glass is cleaner than the rest of the room. Inside, there is a photo. A woman with red hair and bright green eyes smiles at me.
I woke up with a start.
The woman from the cave…with red hair…
The murderer with the mermaid tattoo had a picture of her. The picture of the woman was the same as his tattoo.
But more than that…the woman. The picture. Had I seen her before?
The tattoo…the woman's spirit in the cave…the picture the murderer had…
They were all the same woman.
But who was she? And there was one more place I had seen her before.
But where?
Scrambling down the stairs, and hitting my head in the process, I ran into the kitchen, trying to brush my hair as I did so.
"I've got to go!" I called out to my brother, who was eating his breakfast still.
"Huh?" He scratched his head. "Why are you up so early? I thought your paper round wasn't for another hour."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm just getting it done early today." I put on my shoes, grabbed my bag, and ran out the house. Then I stopped, turned around, and hurried back in.
"Don't forget your badge!" I called in, then ran back out again.
I needed to tell Kazuya about my dream. I had no idea who that woman was, but she was vital to the case – and more importantly, to the murderer. Enough to have a tattoo of her painted on his arm. Enough to murder when she told him to.
Unfortunately, there was no way I could text him; his phone was still being held as evidence. I would have to try and catch him before he went to work.
I completed my paper round as quickly as I could – I was getting faster and faster at them, considering the amount of times I'd had to pedal around the town when I was in a rush to talk about case information with Kazuya.
When I pulled up outside the police station to find him, I faltered. The blood was still there, all over the ground outside the building. No one had removed the police tape yet. The entrance was blocked, and I realised that, today, they would not be letting just anyone in. I did not stick around for long - the sight of the blood was making me feel sick.
In the end, I decided to try and meet Kazuya at SPR. However, by the time I arrived, I could see no sign of him at the restaurant.
"If you're looking for the moody British lad, he's out." Ayako called to me while she washed a table. There were shadows under her eyes from lack of sleep, and I felt a pang of sympathy for her. Not only were the murders ruining her business, but the entire situation was very unnerving; the likelihood was, someone she knew and had known for a while was the murderer.
"Oh." Disappointment – and more importantly, worry – swirled inside me. "I guess I'll just have to find him later."
"I'm afraid it might be hard to get a hold of him." Ayako warned me. "I hear that the chief of the local police branch has called for some assistance in the case, but until then, everyone working in the force is going to be very overworked. Including him and your brother."
Sighing, I sat down at a table. It looked like I had come all this way for nothing. "…Want some help?"
"No, I'm fine." Concerned, she looked around at the restaurant. It was a lot sparser than it normally was. "We're not exactly overcrowded today."
Chewing my thumb nail, I thought back to the blood on the ground near the police station. It made me shudder, and I tried to think of something else.
"Oh yeah, Ayako…How long have you been living here?"
She raised her eye brow. "That's a rather personal question."
"O-Oh, sorry! I didn't mean…it's just that, I learnt about something that…someone who lived here fifteen years ago. And I was wondering if you maybe knew them."
"Fifteen years ago…well, I've lived here all my life, but I was only a child back then." Ayako told me. "Who was it?"
I hesitated. "…Well, that's the thing. I don't actually know their name. That's why I was asking."
Thoughtfully, Ayako put down her cloth. "Describe them to me. I might know."
"U-Uh, well…it's a woman. Maybe…maybe your age, or a bit older. Well, she was. But she's dead now. And…she had red hair, and green eyes. She was very pretty."
Ayako leant back on the table, considering this. "…I can't say I know someone like that."
"Sorry. I know my description wasn't brilliant."
She waved her hand dismissively, deep in thought. "But…you know, I remember a while back, when I was a child…I might have seen someone like that. A woman with red hair and green eyes. With…" Her brow furrowed as she thought hard. "…Who was it again…I remember, I was at the beach, and they were walking along it. And she gave me a shell."
I listened, intrigued, as she continued. "It was a pretty thing. Small, but filled with colours. I didn't think you found such colourful shells around here. I still have it today." She sighed. "…I wonder where that woman went. I didn't see her again afterwards. I don't actually know her name, either."
"Oh…that's a shame…"
"Well, these things happen. I was only seven at the time. It's a hazy memory." She got up to continue her work, then stopped.
"Oh! Yes, I remember." She nodded to herself, then looked at me. "The person I saw her with was Lin."
Anxiously, I paced up and down outside of SPR. What should I do? I did not like the sound of this. Maybe I was just working myself up over nothing. My description was so vague, Ayako could have been talking about another person, but…
Something told me that she wasn't. What did Lin have to do with this woman? Who was this woman?
Now that I thought about it…
.On the table, there was a framed photo. It looked a little out of place in the room, which was so bare and void of any decoration. Curiously, I walked over to it.
"What's this?" I picked it up, looking at the image. It was a little old and worn, but the frame was pristine and clean. A woman smiled at me from behind the glass. Vaguely, I wondered if I had seen her before, and who it was. Was it Lin's girlfriend? They didn't look similar enough to be related
Was it the same woman? If I could just see that picture again, I would be able to tell if it was. But I couldn't exactly go waltzing in, could I? And if it really was the same woman…if Lin had a picture of the woman from the cave in his house…
I paced faster, and the seagulls were caught in a game of flying away when I came to close, and landing back on the pavement as soon as I had walked away. Irritated, they screeched at me raucously, and eventually gave up on their retreat-and-return technique, instead remaining stubbornly on the pavement whenever I walked by. Who could I tell about this new development? From the sounds of it, Kazuya was going to be in work for a long time.
"Mai? Are you alright?"
I turned to see John walking out of the restaurant. An idea sparked in my head.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about something. How are you today?"
He rubbed his shoulder. "Ok. Filled with cramps, but ok." I assumed he was referring to his time being caught in a net yesterday.
"Did you tell Lin? That Yasuhara knows?"
"Yeah. He wasn't very happy about it. He kept on going on about…" He tilted his head as he thought of the exact words. "… The bloody Matsuyama's and their bloody boats going out against the bloody quota with their bloody nets'…I think?"
In all honesty, I was surprised that there hadn't been more swearwords involved in that sentence.
"Is…Is Lin at home right now? In his lighthouse?" I asked cautiously, trying to keep my comments vague.
"No, not right now. Why do you ask?"
"Well…" I looked down at my feet as I thought of what to say. "…There's…There's something at his house that I need to see."
Again, John tilted his head, confusion evident on his face.
"It's important. I'd really appreciate it if you could get me over there."
"What is it that you need to see?"
"A photo that he owns."
He waited for more of an explanation, but I didn't give one.
"Why do you need to see this photo?"
"…It's complicated. But it's important…" I considered my options for a moment. I could tell him about how I needed the photo to aid in the investigation of the case, or I could stay silent. But the more help we could get…
"…John, I'm helping Kazuya with his investigation of the recent murders." When I said the words, his eyes widened in surprise. "We think they're connected to a serial killing that happened fifteen years ago. The Yoshimi murders. And I think Lin might have something that could help us."
"Why are you helping investigate murder?" He asked. "Is it because you have ESP?"
"Yeah, that's mainly…wait a minute, how do you know that?!"
He shrugged. "Well, you mentioned it briefly at the lighthouse. You said it was why you thought I was a merperson, and it made more sense that you followed me based on your ESP instincts than on a random hunch."
"…You took that surprisingly well."
"Well, it's not the first time I've met people with ESP. Loads of the merfolk in Norway have ESP. They can see the future with it. They're always a bit…melancholy, though, because of it."
"O-Oh." I was only mildly surprised now. "…Well…will you help me?"
Conflicted, John bit his lip, looking out to the sea. I could tell he was debating what to do. Finally, he looked back at me.
"…Ok. I'll try and help you."
Unfortunately, a problem quickly arose to us – how would we actually get to the lighthouse?
"Um…do you know how to drive a boat?" I asked as we stood at the pier.
"No…"
"How do you get over there normally?"
"Well, sometimes I just go over with Lin on his boat."
I frowned. "What about the grounding?"
"Oh, he doesn't really listen to that. For some reason, when it comes to him, the police officers don't bother to reinforce it."
That was probably because they were too scared of him. "What else?"
"I just swim there. Normally if he's already over there."
I looked at him, an idea already forming in my head. When he realised what I wanted to do, he sighed.
"Mai, no. We are not swimming over there."
"Why not?"
"The water is surprisingly cold, and the tide is quite rough today. I'd be fine, but you might drown."
"Oh, come on! We need to get over there! Besides, what makes you think I'd drown? And you wouldn't?"
"I can breathe underwater…"
"Oh yeah." Determined to convince him, I walked to the end of the pier. "Oh, well…if you won't help me, I'll just have to jump in and swim there myself…"
About half way there, I realised that John was right; the water was extremely cold that day, and the waves were rough. Though I had taken off my shoes and my jacket, the weight of my clothes still weighed me down and made swimming even more difficult. I wasn't a bad swimmer - I was quite good, actually, but the water today was not ideal for swimming in. It was a good thing I had taken a life-saving course a few years ago and had the stamina to keep up.
There was a splash, and John surfaced again, looking at me with concern. His tail allowed him to cut through the water cleanly and smoothly, barely making a sound, while I splashed and floundered ungracefully.
"Are you ok?" He asked, seemingly unaffected by the cold water.
"Y-Yeah." Determined to carry on, I plunged ahead with as much energy as I could muster, praying that we would reach the lighthouse soon.
"Are you sure?"
"Yup." I spat out some salt water that had been forced into my mouth. "Never better." The worse thought was, I was going to have to do it all again when we left. I had no idea how I'd have the energy to do it.
John dove again, having told me earlier on that he felt uncomfortable swimming on the surface in broad daylight. His tail barely showed on the surface before he had disappeared into the dark water. There weren't many people out today, though, save for a single bird watcher on the beach. Still, I understood why he was nervous to be out in the daytime. After his tangle with Yasuhara's net – quite literally – he was certainly in no hurry to be spotted again.
When we finally got there, I was just about ready to collapse. John had gotten so concerned about my well-being, he had dragged me the rest of the way there. I had to admit, it was certainly easier and faster that way, but my pride meant I didn't say that.
"Ok." He pushed himself onto the platform while I ringed out my clothes as much as possible. "The key is under the mat. Whatever you do, don't let the cats out. And try not to touch or move too much. He'll notice that someone's been here otherwise. When you're ready, I'll swim back with you. Don't try and leave without me, though. I don't want you to drown."
I didn't argue, this time. If I was to swim all the way back without drowning, I was going to need his help.
"What will you do?" I asked, as I searched the mat for the key. It was quite out of place on a lighthouse. On it, the word 'Welcome!' was stated. It did not seem like the sort of thing Lin would buy. I wondered if John had bought it. Lifting it up, my eye fell on a small and rusty scrap of metal.
"I'll just stick around, beneath the surface." John decided, watching me. "Be careful with it. It's a little rusty, and if it breaks, we're in trouble."
'A little rusty' was an understatement. The key felt as if it would snap in my hands. It was with great care that I pushed it into the lock and twisted the handle. Somehow, it remained intact as the lock clicked and I pushed the door open.
"I'll see you." I called over to John, who nodded and slipped into the water again. When he was gone, I turned back to the door nervously, and stepped inside.
The lighthouse was unnervingly quiet. I couldn't even hear the sound of the sea from behind the walls and the closed door. It was dark, with only a few shafts of sunlight edging in through the small, circular windows to light up the stairs. Despite John's statement that Lin was not here, I could not shake the irrational fear that he suddenly appear.
As I walked shakily up the stairs, holding onto the banister carefully, I felt a pang of guilt. Here I was, breaking and entering, trespassing on Lin's property and invading his privacy based on a hunch. Even worse, I had forced John to help me with it. Lin was his friend, and they both trusted each other. Was I destroying this trust? What would Lin think if he found out that I had persuaded John to help me do this?
There was no time to think about that now. I had to find that picture.
Hastily, I dashed up the last stretch of stairs, panting heavily as I reached the top. The main room was empty, apart from two of his cats who were sleeping on the computers, not caring for the screens or dials, instead more interested in basking in the sun.
"Oh!" I walked over to them, and they looked up at me. I loved cats. To be honest, I was more of a dog person, but I loved cats, too.
"Hello! Aren't you cute?" I stroked them, feeling the heat from the sun on their fur. The largest – a grey cat with bushy fur – gave me a single glance before falling back asleep. The name 'Ghost' was written on a collar. The smallest cat, a tortoise shell with a sleek coat, jumped down and rubbed itself around my legs, purring loudly. Crouching down, I read its tag: 'Hunter'.
"Where's your friend?" I wondered aloud. I was sure Lin had three cats.
There was a gentle thud behind me, and I turned to see the final cat standing on the table, having knocked over a few items when it jumped up. It was a very ugly cat, with no fur, a bony face and wrinkled skin. Cautiously, I checked it's collar.
"…Urado?" I read it out. "What kind of a name is that?"
In response, it hissed at me, and sat down.
Frowning, I stared at the table. "Wait…where's the picture?" I couldn't see it anywhere. There were a lot of papers on the table, an empty beer bottle, a tea towel, and a dirty plate. But no photo frame.
Again, the cat hissed, and fixed an angry stare at me. Glaring back at it, I walked around the table slowly, trying to change my view point.
"There it is." The cat, Urado, was sitting on it. Stupid cat.
Coming up from behind it, I carefully reached out my hands, and grasped the edge of the frame. Then I tugged it slightly, trying to pull it out from underneath the cat.
In a split second, Urado twisted around, hissing and spitting, and sank its teeth into my hand.
"Ow!" Quickly, I drew it back, checking the wound. The stupid thing had drawn blood.
Baring my teeth, I slowly reached out my hand again. The cat watched me, its gaze unwavering, and I hesitated.
Pursing my lips, I grabbed the tea towel and wrapped securely around my hand, before I reached out again. This time, when the cat tried to bite me, the fangs didn't reach my skin.
"Yes!" Triumphantly, I dragged the photo frame out from underneath it. The cat jumped away, hissing. "Stupid cat! I got it!"
Throwing the tea towel back on the table, I quickly examined the photo.
A woman with red hair and green eyes stared at me, a grin on her face. Somehow, her skin had much more colour in it than when I had seen her at the cave, and her eyes didn't have the same vacant, and angry, glaze to it. Yet they were undeniably the same person.
So Lin knew the woman from the cave. He had been walking the beach with her fifteen years ago, before she died, when Ayako was a child. And he had a picture of her. They must have been close in some way. But…did this mean…
…Was Lin the murderer with the mermaid tattoo?
Was the spirit of the woman in the cave asking him to commit those murders?
Frantically, I placed down the photo, and dashed around the room. Maybe there would be some sort of evidence to prove if he was. Maybe there'd be something that linked him with the murder…
Hastily, I began looking through the papers on the table. Was there anything –
Wait a minute. There was a picture of Yasuhara's father on one of the papers. It was an old picture, and although many of his wrinkles were gone, Hideharu Matsuyama still had the same disagreeable expression he always did. He was wearing a uniform with the words 'garda' printed on his chest.
So this was a picture of when Matsuyama was still a police officer. But why did Lin have a photo of him?
I continued looking through the papers. There was another picture, this time of an older man who I didn't recognise. On the other side, the words 'Kazayasu Yoshimi' had been written. Then, 'deceased'.
What? Why did Lin have a picture of one of the victims of the Yoshimi murders? As I looked more, I found pictures for two more Yoshimi family members – both described as 'deceased'. What was going on here?
As my search went on, I became increasingly worried. It wasn't just the victims from the Yoshimi murders that Lin had photos of. A profile picture of Noriko was present, too. As was one of Hideo Atsuki. Several fishermen were also there, who I assumed were victims of the sinking.
Dread was building in my stomach. Why did Lin have all these photos?
Was he…Was he really…
Shaking my head, I put down the papers, and dashed out the room, racing down the stairs. This was really bad. If there was any chance that Lin was the murderer, I needed to get out of here, and quickly.
"John!" I called as I reached the bottom of the stairs, wrenching open the door. "We've got to –"
"You've got to do what?"
I froze. Lin was standing on the lighthouse platform. His boat was tied up, gently rocking in the waves. He was watching me, his face clouded with anger.
"U-Uh…" I swallowed, taking a step back from him. Crap. Crap. No words formed in my mouth, and I found myself unable to speak. He watched me expectantly. Fear rose rapidly within me. Was he going to murder me now?
Suddenly, John surfaced. "Oh, hey Lin. You're back early."
Lin turned to him, still furious. "What are you – why are you swimming in broad daylight? And why is she here?"
"Oh, I asked her to fetch something for me that I left there last night." He explained calmly, taking in the situation quickly. "I need it for work, and you weren't there, so I asked if she would go in and get it for me. Did you find it?"
"U-Uh…no. No, sorry."
"Oh, that's a shame. Sorry to drag you all the way here for nothing. I would go in myself, but…" He gestured to his tail. "There isn't a towel around, and this isn't very good for walking with.
"Oh, it's fine!" I laughed nervously. "No problem!"
Pushing himself onto the platform, John noticed my bleeding hand. "Oh, your hand is bleeding. What happened?"
"T-The cat." I knew he was trying to create friendly conversation to try and gloss over my nervousness and make the lie believable, but I was struggling to keep up the façade. "Um…the one called Urado. It bit me."
"Oh, yeah. He's not very friendly, and his bites hurt. You should probably get that checked up."
"It's not deep. I think it will be fine." I risked a glance at Lin. He was still watching me, and his thunderous expression hadn't changed.
"Well, we'd better go back. Lin, could you give Mai a lift back?" John asked cheerily.
Lin did not drag his gaze away from me, and I avoided it, instead choosing to stare out at the sea. Finally, he spoke up.
"…Ok. What about you?"
"I left my clothes near the rock pools. I'll meet you back by the pier." He gave me an encouraging smile before slipping back into the water. His departure filled me with fear at the thought of having to ride back alone with Lin.
Lin, who might be the murderer.
The ride back was torturously slow, and completely silent. Lin did not say a word, and I did not attempt to start any conversation. I was scared out of my wits. If Lin was the murderer, that would mean he had a tattoo. However, I hadn't seen one on him – although this didn't count for much, since I had never seen him wearing anything but a jumper, even in summer. And the house that the murderer was always in when I had a vision, it didn't look anything like Lin's lighthouse. But…surely Lin didn't live in his lighthouse all the time. Maybe he had a house back on land, where he went during the day, when he wasn't working. If that was the case, then maybe he really did make all those boats sink. He had lived here for a while, and he knew when the quota was, and when the boats all went out. Maybe he attacked Noriko, too. He was probably good with a knife. And maybe he killed Hideo Atsuki in front of the police station, and stole Kazuya's mobile…and knew that we had found out about the ghost…
When we arrived back at the port, I bolted off the boat, murmuring a quick thank you, to which he grunted, before running away from the lighthouse keeper as fast as I could. I didn't know where John was, but I needed to get away from that man as fast as possible.
I eventually found John walking up from the beach. He was sitting on a rock, fully clothed and putting on his shoes.
"John!" I called over, running towards him. I needed to warn him to stay away from Lin. Maybe he wasn't the murderer, but I couldn't take that risk.
"Oh, hey Mai." He smiled, and offered me his towel. "You're still really wet from the sea."
"I-I'm fine. But, look. You have to stay away from Lin."
"What?" He stood up, and we began to walk back up to the promenade. "What do you mean?"
I bit my lip. "I don't know how to say this…Look, I'm really thankful that you helped me back there. And I'm sorry I made you lie, too. But…I found what I was looking for. And what I needed to know about…it turned out I was right."
"What do you mean?" John stopped, and turned to me, his head tilted in puzzlement. "I don't understand."
I exhaled. "…John…do you know if Lin has any tattoos?"
"Um…no, I haven't seen any."
"Are you sure? None on his arm, say?" I gestured to my lower right arm. "None here?"
"I don't know. He always wears jumpers. It gets really cold in that lighthouse, even in summer." Well, wasn't that convenient. "What are you saying, Mai?"
"I…I think that Lin –"
"Mai! John!" Frowning, I turned to the call of our names. Ayako was running towards us. She looked upset.
"Ayako? Is everything alright?" I asked. However, she didn't answer, but hugged me tightly instead.
"Where have you been? Your brother has been –" She stepped back. "How come you're so soaked? Have you been swimming in the sea?"
"Y-Yeah. Ayako, what's wrong?"
"We've been looking for you. And you as well, John. Where have you both been?!"
"I was at the beach." John lied. "Has something happened? Where is everyone?"
Ayako went very pale suddenly. "…Listen. Whatever you do, don't go to Madoka's shop. Promise me that."
"What?" I was getting a very bad feeling about this. "What are you –"
"You don't want to see. Trust me."
"…Ayako. What's happened?" I asked slowly. Surely…not again. Not already.
Ayako took a breath. "…You remember the lawyers who came here, don't you? The lawyers that Mr Matsuyama hired."
"Yes. What about them?"
"The younger one, Naoko Suzuki…she's dead."
My mouth went dry. "D-Dead?"
"She was murdered."