THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE
Chapter 6: "Hide In Plain Sight"
By Bill K.
The bell sounded, signaling the end of the high school's day. Moments later, the school yard was filled with boys in black slacks and jackets and girls in navy skirts and navy and white sailor tunics with maroon piping. Ambling down the walk for the gate were two sixteen year old girls carrying satchels. One had black frame glasses and thick black hair captured midway with a ribbon, while the other was taller and had a mane of sandy blonde hair. They chattered as they walked, until they noticed the tall, slender youth with the thick, tousled brown hair running up.
"Junko," her friend Aiko whispered quickly. "Takashi-kun's headed your way."
"I see him," Junko twittered.
"Hey, Junko-kun!" Takashi called out. The two girls turned to him as he caught up. "Um, were you doing anything this weekend?"
"Not really," Junko said, momentarily looking down. Then she mustered her courage and looked up into Takashi's deep brown eyes. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, the soccer team is playing a real crucial match Sunday," he began.
"I love soccer!" Junko beamed.
"Great! I, uh, really think we'll play better if you're there cheering us on," Takashi smiled. "And afterwards, we could maybe get something to eat?"
"Uh huh," Junko smiled, enraptured by his deep brown eyes and his soft mouth.
"So, I'll pick you up Sunday?" Takashi asked.
"Um," Junko darkened, "how about I meet you there. Promise."
"Great. See you there," Takashi said, then bounded off. "Wear something sexy!" he called back.
"Oh, you!" Junko shouted playfully after him. Then she turned to Aiko. "Score!"
"Nice work," grinned Aiko. "And that line - - 'Oh, I love soccer'."
"I do! It's fun!" protested Junko. "And besides, you get to see guys like Takashi-kun running around in those little shorts . . ."
"Oh, yeah. You're wise beyond your years, Junko," Aiko grinned. "So what was that with the "meet him there" stuff? You still on the outs with your parents?"
"Uh huh," the blonde scowled.
"Well, I hope it works out," Aiko replied uneasily.
The pair passed a corner of a building, headed for the intersection. Across the street was the subway Aiko used to commute to school and home. Out of the corner of her eye, Junko noticed a figure leaning against the building, but was preoccupied with other things.
"So there you are," the figure said out loud. Junko and Aiko whirled.
"Haruka!" Junko gasped. Aiko only stared, overcome by the resemblance. Haruka pushed off the wall and walked up to them. She was taller than Junko, which meant she towered over Aiko. "How did you find me?"
"Wasn't hard," Haruka murmured, her mask of indifference up. "Looked around your usual haunts. Then I remembered what a conscientious girl you are and figured you wouldn't skip school."
Junko burned.
"Um, I'm going to go, OK?" Aiko asked. "I've got to catch my train."
"Sure," Junko whispered. Aiko hurried off.
"Don't take it too hard," Haruka told her. "I went to school for another month after I ran away. Of course, I was seeing this girl at the time." Haruka's face hardened. "Where you been?"
"I stayed with a friend the last two nights," Junko admitted. "She knows about it, but her parents don't. I haven't decided what I'm going to do about tonight yet."
"So what the Hell do you think you're trying to prove?"
"I'm not trying to prove anything!" Junko snapped back. "Do you think I can live with them any longer after what they've done! That was as mean and vicious a thing as I've ever seen anyone do, trying to make you stay away from me!"
"Yeah? Well, you're young yet. You'll see worse."
"Don't you even care?" Junko demanded.
"Of course I care! I'm just going about this the right way!" Haruka countered. She saw the anger flare in Junko's eyes and again got a sense of deja vu. "Think, Junko! How do you think this little stunt is going to look to the judge next month? All you're doing is proving Mom and Dad's case!"
"So you're taking me back? How am I supposed to live with them after this?"
"Whether you go back or not is your call," Haruka told her. "You're old enough and smart enough to be able to make decisions like that. Just remember that what you're running toward may be worse than what you're running from."
Junko scowled, but Haruka could sense she'd gotten the girl to think.
"And that your problems always chase you down," Junko whispered. Haruka felt a surge of pride at hearing her words quoted to her. "So what would you do?"
"Circumstances like this," Haruka said finally, "I'd go back. Wait for the court's decision on the restraining order. Our attorney says our chances are pretty good. It's not going to be pleasant for the next month, and maybe not after, but I think you've got the guts to stick it out."
"It's not going to be the end of it if they lose," Junko murmured.
"Maybe a court can get through to them when nothing else could," Haruka offered. "Stranger things have happened."
"And if it doesn't?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, I think the best thing you can do is go home and be your good, normal little self until the hearing comes up."
"OK," the girl sighed in defeat.
"You are pretty smart for a kid," teased Haruka. Junko looked up at her, jaw set. "Oh, and one more thing: try not to hate them. Hating them never did anything for me. It probably made me worse off. I know it's hard, but - - at least try."
Junko looked down, but nodded finally.
The door bell chimed in the Chiba apartment. Luna raised her head from her perch on the window sill and waited to see if Usagi was going to get it. When the woman didn't emerge from her studio, the black cat scowled.
"Deadlines again?" she asked.
"Uff cuss!" Usagi's voice rang out, muffled no doubt by a brush handle between her teeth.
"If you'd maintain a schedule, you wouldn't have to rush to finish," the cat chastised her as she leaped down from the sill. Muffled curses accompanied her as she walked over to the door.
"Hello, U. . ." Michiru began, expecting a human to be at the door. When no one was visible, she looked down and found Luna. "Oh. Forgive me, Luna. Is Usagi here?"
"Yes," the cat replied crisply. "She's anchored to her drawing table, with yet another looming deadline serving as her fetters."
A knowing smirk grew on the fashionable artist. "Perhaps I shouldn't disturb her, then."
"No, do come in. Usagi has gotten quite adept at holding a conversation while drawing," Luna reported. "No doubt it's a skill born of repeated practice. Just - - don't challenge her with anything complex."
"I'll try," Michiru twittered, entering the apartment.
"May I get you some refreshments?" Luna offered.
"No, I'm fine," Michiru demurred as she ventured deeper into the apartment. She paused at the door of the little room that served as Usagi's studio. Usagi was working on a manga page in ink and brush. She was inking a handsome man and a beautiful woman locked in a passionate embrace. Michiru could tell by Usagi's focus on the drawing and the detail she was lavishing on it that it was a subject she enjoyed drawing. Several moments went by without Usagi acknowledging her presence.
"Usagi!" spat Luna. "You have a guest!"
"Oh!" Usagi gasped, pulling the brush out of her mouth. Michiru could tell she was using a thick brush for outlines and a thinner one for fine details. "Michiru! I didn't hear you come in!"
"That's all right," Michiru said indulgently. "Don't get up. I know you're on deadline, so don't feel you have to entertain me. I just came by to ask you something."
"All right," Usagi said. She put the thin brush in a cleaning solution and began working with the thicker brush.
"You remember Haruka's sister, Junko, don't you?" Michiru began.
"Yes!" Usagi exclaimed as she inked. "She's a lovely girl! She looks just like Haruka!"
"Well," Michiru continued, "her mother and father - - Haruka's parents - - have initiated legal action to bar Haruka and Junko from having any contact."
"Indeed?" Luna exclaimed.
"Why?" Usagi gasped.
"They feel Haruka is a bad influence on Junko," Michiru explained. "There's going to be a hearing next month to determine if the legal action should become permanent. Would you be willing to testify as a character witness on Haruka's behalf?"
"Of course! Haruka's one of the finest people I've ever known! Of course I'll do it!" Usagi nodded vigorously.
"Thank you," Michiru said gratefully. "This will mean a lot to Haruka - - and to me."
"But how could her parents even contemplate such an action," Luna asked, "let alone set it in motion? Are things THAT bad between them?"
"I'm afraid so," Michiru confessed. "They've never accepted Haruka's homosexuality. And, judging as an outsider, I sometimes wonder if they've never forgiven Haruka for running away. It just seems to be a vicious cycle between them now of hurting each other. And now Junko is in the middle of it."
"Well I'll do anything I can to help," Usagi told her. "Maybe I should speak to them."
"No, Usagi," Michiru cut her off. "I don't know if that would help. Your testimony will be more than enough."
"Honestly, I don't know what's wrong with the legal system anymore," Usagi fussed. "Why just this morning the police were here questioning Mamo-chan!"
"About what?"
"Those murders they're having at the hospital. All the victims were friendly with Mamo-chan. He's friendly with a lot of people! That doesn't make him a murderer!"
"They didn't take him in, did they?" Michiru asked.
"No. They just asked a lot of questions they had no business asking," Usagi reported glumly, "because my Mamo-chan couldn't possibly do anything like that!"
"Of course not," Michiru said reassuringly. "The police must have done it to be thorough."
"I told her the same thing, but she refuses to listen to me," Luna added.
"OK," Usagi said softly. "But they better not ask him anything else!" She grew embarrassed by her outburst. "Let me know when I have to testify for Haruka."
"I will," Michiru said, then patted Usagi on the shoulder. "And don't worry about Mamoru. Nothing will happen to him"
Walking up to the nurse's station, Ami took in the scene absently. She was currently mulling over the situation of one of her patients and her great brain was compartmentalizing again. Kei Suzumi was a twenty-six year old executive assistant who had suffered broken ribs, a broken forearm and facial lacerations from a car accident. The broken ribs were hindering her breathing and that was of some concern to Dr. Mizuno. If the problem persisted and her blood oxygenation didn't improve, Ami was going to have to hook her to a ventilator.
To Ami's personal consternation, Suzumi was more concerned with whether the lacerations would leave scars on her face or arms than whether her breathing was hampered. Things like vanity always seemed to the logical Dr. Mizuno to be a waste of biochemical energy.
"Nurse Kogomi," Ami said, leaning in on the desk to get the nurse's attention, "the narcotic drip on Suzumi in room 404 needs to be maintained for another day at least." Dr. Koda was at the station as well, looking over a chart.
"Yes, Dr. Mizuno," Nurse Kogomi, a veteran nurse with a stout figure and pinned back black hair, nodded.
"And monitor the respiration closely, particularly the oxygenation levels. Page me if they continue to drop."
"Yes, Dr. Mizuno," the nurse nodded. Ami was about to leave. "Um, Dr. Mizuno - - you're friends with Dr. Chiba."
"Yes," Ami replied.
"Is it true that the police were talking to him this morning about the slasher murders?"
"How did you hear that?" Ami inquired sharply.
"In this hospital?" Nurse Kogomi chuckled. "So is it true?"
"I'm," Ami stammered, "not terribly comfortable talking about such things."
"Then it is true!" the nurse gasped. That sent the other two nurses at the station to whispering.
"Why would the police talk to Dr. Chiba?" Haruki Koda asked. She was clearly aghast at the very notion. "They can't possibly think he has any connection to this?"
"The police are just being thorough," Ami advised them. "Dr. Chiba's name came up as being connected to all four victims, no doubt through association. He did work closely with them all. So have I. That's why they've also questioned me."
"They questioned you, Dr. Mizuno?" Nurse Kogomi asked. "What did they ask?"
"Nurse Kogomi," Ami frowned. "That information is part of an on-going murder investigation. Passing the information around in the form of idle gossip could be potentially damaging to the investigation and might even allow the killer to strike again. Now that's my final word on the subject."
"I apologize, Dr. Mizuno," Kogomi replied, chastened.
Ami nodded and headed off for her next patient. But a few feet from the desk, Dr. Koda stopped her.
"Mizuno," Koda began anxiously, "the police couldn't possibly suspect Dr. Chiba, could they? Because there's no way he could be involved."
"Do you have some information pertinent to this case?" Ami asked.
"Well," Koda stammered, flushing, "no. It's just - - he couldn't be the murderer - - no more than you could be."
"Talking about the hospital's least favorite subject these days?" inquired a voice from behind them. Both doctors jumped with a start and found Dr. Mugashi behind them. "Sorry if I startled you both."
"Well, it's just," Koda mumbled, "the police - - they've questioned both Dr. Chiba and Dr. Mizuno!"
"Join the club," Mugashi smirked in a way Ami thought slightly smug and superior. "They've questioned me, too. I think they've questioned anybody who worked closely with all four victims."
"They haven't questioned me," Koda volunteered.
"Give them time," Mugashi quipped. "It's a long list."
"You're being rather cavalier about this, Dr. Mugashi," Ami observed.
"Forgive me if I seem insensitive. Four people are dead, after all," Mugashi said solemnly. "It's just that I can't help but be amused at the way the police blunder their way through these things."
"You have a low opinion of the police?" Ami persisted.
"Well, I'm sure most of them have good intentions," Mugashi scowled. "But they seem to solve as many cases through luck as they do through actual logic and investigation. Take these interviews, for example. They're just throwing mud against a wall to see what might stick."
"You can't postulate without sufficient information," Ami argued. "Do you think you could do better?"
"I think I could," he replied. Then he smiled. "But I've got way too many cases right now to even consider it. Can't ignore the sick and injured, after all. That would be inhuman."
He was about to turn to go, but Ami stopped him.
"I'm curious, Dr. Mugashi," Ami ventured. "You seem to have an odd accenting to some of your words. Have you studied abroad?"
"I did my pre-med at Northwestern in America," he smiled proudly. "Came back home and got my doctorate at Tokyo University. I guess I missed the old home."
"Did you enjoy your time in America?" Ami asked.
Mugashi shrugged. "America is superior to Japan in many things," he said, "and in other ways, hopelessly inferior." And he walked off.
"What was that all about?" Dr. Koda asked Ami.
"Just assembling information," Ami said cryptically as she watched Dr. Mugashi leave.
Continued in Chapter 7