Author's Note: Hey guys! I saw your feedback about my last chapter and really appreciate you guys taking the time to express what you thought! My chapters are a bit short, since this is a way for me to relax between cramming for classes. I'll try to make them longer, but no promises 😊 Thank you all for your comments and without further ado, here is the next chapter.
Naru's P.O.V.
As Mai sat next to me trembling, we began to research the history of this house. She held her laptop and leaned slightly against me as a way of support against the overwhelming things that have been happening since we arrived at this mansion. All of a sudden Gene ran through the door panting and looking like he just saw a ghost. "What is it Gene?"
"I have an important question for you Noll?"
"What is it?"
"Why did the cookie go to the doctor?"
"…"
"Because he felt crummy!" At this Gene leaned over laughing his ass off. I was about to yell at him until I hear Mai next to me giggling. When I see the relief in Gene's eyes, I can tell that this was his intention from the moment that he walked in here. As she began her research again, I can tell that she felt safe and ready to work as hard as she could. Mai is in charge of looking into the previous owners of this house, starting from the first to the latest owners. I look at Gene and make sure he can read the appreciation in my own eyes.
"Naru, I know why this ghost is after me. The owners of this house right, two owners before the current owner were my grandparents on my father's side. My parents lived here with them until right before I was born, which is when they moved to Japan. My mother said she told my grandparents my name right before they died, but that she never got the chance to introduce us before they died." Looking at her laptop screen, I see that the previous owners died a week before she was born. Knowing how this might effect her I pull her slightly closer.
"Did they die on this property or somewhere else?" I ask her once she calms down enough to continue her research.
"They died in the kitchen of this estate. From what I remember of what my mother told me about them, they were murdered by an angry patient of my grandfather's. He was a surgeon, though he saved many lives, there was one boy that he couldn't save. This boy, I believe his last name was Smith, was dead on arrival from a car accident that happened when his father fell asleep at the wheel. The father came out relatively unscathed, but the little boy was sitting in the front seat and the force of the air bag gave him massive internal bleeding. Not accepting the blame for his son's death, the father blamed my grandfather, stating that he didn't even try to save the boy. The false resentment built, and, in the end, he started threatening our family, which is why we left for Japan, my mother's homeland. Shortly after that, he broke into this house while they were making dinner and killed both of my grandparent's. They never caught the man who killed them, he disappeared from the country." Mai stopped her story, looking lost in thought.
"Why did your mother tell you this story? Was there a reason she thought you needed to know about how your grandparents died?" I ask, wondering why her mother would tell her this traumatic story, as she was a middle schooler when her mother died. Mai seemed to have had this story memorized, like it was a story that she had heard since she was very young.
"She believed that the father of the young boy decided to follow us to Japan right before my dad died. My dad was on a business trip in Tokyo when he was mugged and murdered. This was roughly a year after we had moved. Though this sort of thing happens in Tokyo all the time, the way they killed him looked as if it were as a form of revenge. Normally, when a mugging turns into a murder, the death would be quick, stabbed once, shot, blunt force trauma. My dad looked like he had been tortured, he had his fingers cut off pre-mortem, he had deep gashes all over his body and he died from intense internal bleeding that looked like it came from a bat. My mom's theory was that it took the man who killed my grandparent's a year to be able to find us again. After my father's funeral, she moved us to the countryside, made sure that we were off the grid. She always made me come home right after school, made sure that no pictures of me were ever taken, she kept me home during picture days. Whenever I asked her why I had to follow all of these rules that no one else does, she just told me the story of my grandparent's and my father's death." Mai was staring off into the distance, digging her nails into the palms of her hands. I grab one of her hands, trying to show her that I am with her, that she isn't alone.
"I know that this is hard, but I need to know, why did your mother move you back to the city? If she was so sure that her theory was correct, why would she take the chance of coming out of hiding?" I ask her, knowing that this will be extremely hard for her, but needing to know the answer because of the message that was scratched into the wall.
"My mom only kept in touch with one of her friends, her best friend whose name was Sakura Tachibana. One day when I was about 12 years old, Aunt Sakura called my mother and told her that she was sick, she had cancer and needed help during her treatment and needed help getting her affairs in order in case something happened. Having been about 11 years since my father had died, she figured that we were safe, so she agreed to come back to the city. Everything seemed fine until one day, after taking Aunt Sakura to her treatment, my mother went to pick up something for dinner for us. I told her that I wanted to come along and help her pick out the groceries. While we were on our way home, we noticed someone following us. Feeling uncomfortable we decide to go the opposite way of our home. When we finally made it back home, we thought it was safe, so we went in and locked the door. Shortly after this, we heard the sound of glass breaking in the entry hall. I ran and hid in the closet of my bedroom while my mother hid under the bed in my room, trying to keep an eye on me, to make sure that I made it out safely. My mom was holding something silver in her hands, which at the time, I didn't know what it was. When the man came into the room he headed straight for the bed, almost as if he could sense where my mother was hiding. He grabbed my mother's leg and pulled her out from under the bed, I burst from the closet, trying to save my mother. The attacker took the silver cross from my mom's hand and threw it away from where they were struggling. He stabbed my mom in the stomach and then again in each thigh, making her scream in pain. Not knowing what to do I tried to pry him off of my mom, but I wasn't strong enough. He just smiled at me and sliced my mother's neck, getting up and leaving me surrounded by her blood as she laid there dead. I ran and got the police, bringing them to the house where my mother laid dead. I still see his face when I close my eyes sometimes." Mai is hysterical by the time she is done speaking.
I never realized the horror that Mai had been through in her life. I knew that she was an orphan with no living family, but I thought they died from a sickness or an accident. It is amazing that this girl who smiles the brightest I have ever seen, has seen such tragedy and death. She has been through so much, keeping it all to herself, never wanting to burden anyone with her past. I grab her hand and pull her into the room that we will be sharing for the duration of the case. I drug her onto the bed, and just held her, letting her cry to her hearts content. As we lay there, I try to determine who the spirit that haunts this house is, if it is not her grandparents.
~~~Time Skip~~~
Mai's P.O.V.
I wake up after having cried all night into Naru's chest, feeling a little relieved to have finally told someone the truth of what happened to those in my family. Looking over to the other side of the bed, I see Naru with his face deep in his little black book, trying to puzzle something out. I reach over and grab his hand, getting his attention. He lifts my hand to his mouth and gives it a kiss. Blushing I look away from Naru, not used to seeing a softer side of him. I get off the bed and collect the clothes that I am going to wear today, a pair of black skinny jeans, a light gray long-sleeved crop top, a pair of light gray combat boots and a black leather jacket.
Walking into the bathroom I shower and get dressed, hoping that Naru had an idea of what might be going on in this house. Finishing I come back into the room, I grab Naru's hand and start to drag him towards the kitchen to make him some tea before he gets the chance to ask. As we make it to the kitchen, we see the staff making breakfast. Walking straight to the kettle, I put on the water and start to search for the tea. Finding it I pick out Naru's favorite, Earl Grey, and put it in the pot of warm water, steeping the bag for exactly 6 minutes. After this, I put a spoonful of honey in the pot to incorporate and grab several cups for the group and went to base.
"Mai, when we get to base, I want you to continue looking into the past owners of this house, whoever is after you has to be connected to this house somehow. Look for pictures of everyone that has lived or worked in this house and see if there is anyone you recognize. I will try to get a hold of your grandfather's patient files to see if I can find any insight from that information." I open the door while nodding to Naru, setting down the tray I grab my laptop and begin to start my research anew. About an hour into our research I stumble upon the picture of the man who haunts my nightmares.
"Naru, I found the guy, the one who killed my mother." After I said this, the entire group crowds around me and looks to me for more information. "The man that killed my mother was named Thomas Evans and was the owner between my grandparents and the current owner the prime minister. He bought the house about two months after my father was murdered in Tokyo. According to bank records for Thomas Evans, he did not exist until the week after my grandparents were killed in this very house. His bank records also show that he bought several plane tickets to and from Japan throughout the 11 years that my mother and I were in hiding. The last return ticket is dated the day after my mother was killed. He is supposed to have died in this house about two months later, though it could never be confirmed as they never found his body, just an altar in the sitting room covered in blood that matched his DNA." After reading this information to the group, I can't help but feel as if we are missing a very important piece of the puzzle, why target my family?
"I will continue to look through the patient records of your grandfather and see if there is are any patients that might have had a vendetta against your grandfather. Mai, I need you to go on a walkthrough of the house with both Bou-san and Ayako. See if you can sense anything malicious from the area in which the altar was found by the police." Nodding to Naru, we all went to our assigned tasks trying to solve this case before something terrible happens.
Naru's P.O.V.
As Mai left the room, I couldn't help the feeling that something terrible was going to happen to her if we did not solve this case soon. With that thought in mind I pulled up the records that the hospital sent over on any patients with the surname Evans. Though the last name is common in the UK, he surprisingly had no patients by that last name. Thinking back on the story that Mai told me about her mother's theory, I send an email to the hospital asking for files with the surname of Smith.
Within minutes I had five files, including pictures of each patient. I looked specifically at the case that involved a child, this child's name was Thomas Smith, dead on arrival from a car accident caused by the boy's father. This case matches the story Mai told to perfectly. I pull up a picture of the boy and his father together. The strange thing that I noticed was that the father looked nothing like the man that Mai said killed her family, but the boy Thomas looked exactly like the younger version of the killer. As I print out the photo, as I do this, I start researching ways in which one might bring the dead back to life. I find two different options, one is that a necromancer brings you back to do their bidding and the other is that a demon is summoned to make a deal, bringing the deceased back to life. The only thing that I know for certain is that to figure out which of the two was done, I would have to convince Gene to allow me to speak to Amanda Knox.
Thanks for reading this chapter! I apologize if it was a bit repetitive, but this information will be imperative in the upcoming chapters.