Hello! I am so sorry this chapter was a day late, but let's just say that this week has been a rough one. I, unfortunately, had to put my dog down Friday and have been breaking down at random moments. My emotions are all over the place. Anyhow, I will be updating like normal this Friday!
Once Naru and Mai instructed tasks for the beginning of the day, she snuck out to make a pot of tea for everyone. She found herself more tired and unmotivated than energized and determined to finish the case. Juggling the drama occurring within her family and on the case was proving to be new territory Mai was unfamiliar with. Leaning against the counter next to the electric kettle she glanced around the kitchen. Naru and she were going to lay out all the information they had on the case and build up a timeline for all of it. With the combination of her dreams and the history that Adrian and Madoka were able to dig up, Mai was very confident that they would be able to use the information to work on an approach to dealing with Jocelyn.
Kelly and Adrian were out taking baseline temperatures for the day. Naru wanted the case finished tonight and Mai couldn't blame him. With all of the events occurring within a short span of time, she could see reason in his train of thought, and she shared his opinion. She did not want to be on the case any longer either.
Pushing the base door open with her foot, Mai set the tray of teacups and a teapot down on the coffee table. Pouring the tea into three of the cups Mai divvied them up between her, Naru, and Lin.
She gathered up some dry-erase markers and set up the whiteboard that Madoka had rolled in not too long ago.
"Alright," She said taking a sip of her tea. "Let's get this timeline figured out. Where do we start?" She looked over to Naru who was flipping through his black notebook.
"As we have established, Jocelyn and Carl Adams were the first owners of this house and property, we can start with them." He picked up Mai's dream journal. "Most of the information we are going to get is from your dreams, so we'll begin with those."
"Okay," Mai began detailing with bullet points all that she had seen in her dreams. She focused on the facts. The Adams had a baby that was never formally recognized. It was abundantly clear that Carl did not want the child, and based on the noises that she heard from her dream, the baby was killed by his very own hand. "And now, we'll add in the historical pieces. Naru?"
"Jocelyn filed a missing person's report for her husband a week after he had gone missing, but then retracted her statement."
Mai took a step back from the board and reexamined everything she had written. "I think it is safe to assume that Jocelyn killed her husband." Naru and Lin looked at her both not giving away any emotion. "When I zoned out a bit this morning, it was because I had touched a weird tower of rocks. That was a grave marker for him."
Naru reread her notes on the journal and nodded his head. "If she did not report a death then there would not be a death certificate until he is legally pronounced dead several years after he has been missing. They likely would have kept the report, despite Jocelyn telling them she retracted her statement, which would mean that because he had never been found for so long, they declared him dead and moved on."
Mai nodded and quickly wrote down Naru's deductions. "Now on to Stephanie and James Lange." She closed her eyes trying to recall as much as she could. "I know she pushed James down the stairs and that he was leaving the night it happened, and she also committed suicide not long after."
"Was there any indication as to why he was doing so?" Lin asked looking at the whiteboard.
Mai shook her head. "If there was I couldn't see it. I know that he was telling Stephanie that she had to "correct her mistake", and Stephanie was trying to reason with him." Something struck her. "You know what?" They both looked at her due to the excitement in her voice. "I think she was pregnant."
Naru narrowed his eyes but Mai knew his interest was piqued. "What is your reasoning?"
"While it was not the same words, Carl Adams had the same tone when he was talking to his wife in my other dream. Words with similar meanings were used and the frustration emitted by the men seemed the same."
Naru looked to Lin who eyed him back. Mai was fairly good at another's emotions and empathy. Lin looked back at her.
"Is this a gut feeling?"
Mai almost laughed at the nostalgic feeling but settled for a grin instead. "I know that she was."
When Kelly and Adrian walked into the base, they were somewhat surprised to see everyone sitting drinking tea.
"What's going on guys?" Adrian asked walking over to Lin and handing him a clipboard with the temperature readings. "Do we have a game plan?"
Naru nodded to them. "We are going to be channeling Jocelyn and attempting a more civilized approach at first. If she does give us resistance, then she will be forcibly removed." He looked down at his wristwatch and checked the time. "As soon as Madoka and Tommy get here, we will begin."
"Ah, I see." Kelly took a seat on the couch and smiled at Mai in thanks when she offered her a cup of tea. "Will Adrian and I be leading the summoning?"
Naru looked to Mai and she nodded to Kelly. "Yes, if you don't mind. I understand that the two of you are also here for educational purposes and that includes a demonstration of the things you are capable of."
A set of footfalls were heard making their way to the base and a quick look to the cameras showed Madoka and Tommy talking as they continued on down the hall towards the base.
"My ears are burning!" Madoka sang as she pushed the door open. "Naru, were you talking about me?" She blinked at him rapidly and Mai tried not to smile.
"Just wondering if you were going to be on time or proceed to waste the time of the BSPR resources."
Madoka growled. "You are so crabby. Anyhow, we can begin the channeling whenever you lot are ready!"
Tommy rubbed the back of his head and held out a bag for Naru to take.
"We have the trigger items as requested, sir."
Naru nodded his head in thanks.
"Trigger items?" Mai questioned as she looked into the bag. A baby bottle, a knife, and stones were inside.
Tommy smiled at Mai's curious face. "They are items that can trigger strong emotions, and in the case of spirituality, can sometimes elicit enough emotions from a spirit to where they will manifest."
"It's more or less just an added part to the séance, but this might do the trick if one of them is being hard to pin down." Madoka shrugged.
Mai nodded in understanding and contemplated the usage of objects such as these back in Japan.
Standing up from his seat on the couch, Naru looked at everyone. "Let's finish this."
Picking the place at the back of the house, the whole team was gathered to the outside while Adrian and Kelly sat face to face connected by their hands. A candle sat between them and five more around them in a star, their flames steadily casting light on those close by. The trigger objects were set up in a thoughtful triangle around the star and had not moved since their placement.
Mai was fairly used to Masako always having two to three people with her at the table. That way, if she needed it, Masako could use the energy around her to maintain a stable connection. Needless to say, she was not accustomed to this setup. Turning to Tommy who was next to her she decided to inquire to him.
"Why are they the only ones in the circle? Shouldn't we have more than two?" She whispered as quietly as possible.
Tommy looked at her. "In this case, no." He looked back to the twins and Mai followed his eyes. "See, the two of them are both mediums, but Adrian can communicate with spirits and Kelly can see them and usually channels them so Adrian can speak with them. In a way of balance, the gift that they have has been split between two people rather than being confined to one person. This way, less energy is consumed by both of them and they actually end up saving more rather than losing. They are able to communicate with each other as if they were one person, however. So, while it appears different, the idea is the same as what one medium can do."
Mai looked somewhat surprised. She was not aware of this fact and had not even considered it a possibility.
A sad look passed Tommy's face and Mai focused again on him.
"It is because of this deep bond and connection that I cannot imagine what their life would be like without the other. I doubt they would be able to continue pursuing this career – one they have worked so hard to get to. They would be thrown out of balance and truly be missing their other half and it would likely cost them quite a bit of emotional and spiritual energy to keep up with their abilities."
Mai looked to the floor in thought. She had no idea what it would be like to lose a twin.
Looking to Naru she frowned.
But he did. If a threat of balance could occur for Adrian and Kelly, couldn't the same thing happen to Naru? Was he currently out of balance? And if he was, how damaging could it be? She knew that he had limits to his use of his PK, but she had always assumed that it had been more or less typical, with or without Gene. Was that not the case?
She decided to ask him about it when the case was over.
A flicker in the candlelight drew Mai's head up, and Naru and Tommy, both of which were next to her, went rigid and alert. Madoka and Lin who were across the room appeared to have a similar stance.
The light proceeded to dance a few times and when it finally was restored to its original state Kelly had her head lifted up.
"What is this?! I cannot be here; I need to find that bastard!" She shouted. Her eyes remained closed and body still, but her voice expressed outrage.
Adrian opened his eyes and looked at his sister. "Jocelyn, are you aware that you have passed?" Their hands were still connected and Mai watched as Kelly's body gripped his harder till her knuckles were white.
"You men, you think you know all." She laughed. "What a ridiculous notion."
Adrian's gaze did not falter. "You have been dead for about 70 years now. It is time that you moved on. You can join your child and be happy together."
That set her off. Jocelyn grits her teeth. "Move on? Not without killing that piece of garbage. He deserves every bit of hell I will inflict on him." Mai couldn't help the memories of her hands covered in blood.
"Your husband is already dead, Jocelyn. Carl Adams died months before you did." Mai had to wonder where Adrian got his nerves of steel. He looked unaffected by that statement.
Kelly recoiled slightly and Mai saw a hesitant release in her grip on her brother.
"No, I would have remembered killing him. He is still out there, likely hurting others as well. I must remain here to stop him at any costs." She sounded like she was done with this conversation.
A brief moment of panic struck Mai. She did not want to force her to move along, she did not deserve it.
"Jocelyn!" Mai couldn't help speaking up. Kelly's head did not look towards her, but her chin did tilt towards Mai in a signal that she was listening. "Please listen to us. We would not lie to you; we are only here to help. Look around the house. Does it look the same? You and your husband died long ago. Your husband was killed by you. Do you remember? Think back. You used a knife and you stabbed him repeatedly. He was buried in the side yard and you stacked rocks there so you had reassurance he was gone. He will never be able to hurt you again."
Jocelyn's head was now fully alert and staring at Mai. A tear traveled down her cheek and onto the hand of the woman whose body she was currently using.
"Is that true? You are not lying to me, are you?" At Mai's shake of her head, Jocelyn looked back down to her hands. "I do not feel any remorse for my actions, but I know that no matter what I do, I will not be able to bring my baby back. I will forever be alone."
Mai walked closer to her but stopped when Naru placed a hand on her arm. She looked back at him, smiled, and used her other hand to gently remove it. He caught the gist and allowed his hand to release his hold.
Walking up to Jocelyn, Mai kneeled to her height on the floor. "You are not alone, and you can see your child again." She spoke. Jocelyn looked up hopeful. "Do you see a light around you? You may need to close your eyes."
Watching her shut her eyes, Mai saw her eyes move back and forth under the lids until they stopped.
"I see it." Jocelyn smiled and breathed out. "What do I do? I'm scared!"
Mai placed a hand on her shoulder. "There is no need to be afraid, I am right here. Go towards the light. Feel the warmth radiating off of it and allow the glow to encase you."
Kelly's head fell forward in a more relaxed state and Mai stood back up, taking her place by Naru.
Kelly opened her eyes and looked at Adrian. "The other two spirits here followed her when she was cleansed. Good work, Mai! I was sure she was going to give a challenge." Both siblings stood and began blowing out candles. "That was tiring though, I think I am going to need a nap after all this emotional drama."
Mai smiled at the two of them and helped Naru as he stopped the camera that was recording and disconnected it from the tripod. She was always so happy when they finished a case. It had always meant that they were able to help the spirits and their client. The only part she hated was having to take down all of the equipment they had installed.
Just the thought irritated her and her frown made it evident. She should make Naru do it. After all, he did not help setting it up, so he can take it down.
…Or, her brain reasoned with her, she could question him about his abilities without Gene. She smiled at the thought.
Naru had no idea what Mai was thinking about, but it was very obvious that she still was able to bounce back, even after a case as disturbing as this one. He was thankful for her adaptability and grace with every transition she made. Sighing at the exhaustive rate she was flopping between emotions, he picked up the tripod and grabbed her hand leading her back to base where the others had already gone to.
Alright! I debated on ending this fic here and creating another separate story to act as a sequel, but I don't really want to start a new one. I think it would be less confusing and easier for everyone to just keep moving along with this one.
I will see you all on Friday!
Cheers!
