I do Not own the Anime/Manga Ghost Hunt, or its characters.

A/N: Turns out, I wasn't sick. My appendix decided it didn't like me anymore - sorry, John - and I totally lost traction with the story...I'm really sorry. Again, a short chapter. :( This sucks.

I twisted and twisted and twisted - the ache in my wrist returning with a fiery vengeance - because whoever had put the screws in last hadn't done an even halfway decent job of it. Dust and rust had set in, making it give an ear splitting creak when they popped off one by one. When they all were out, I latched onto the grate - fingers being bitten by the rust - and heaved. Metal scraping metal sounded throughout the room as Mai watched.

When it finally gave, I propped it against the wall. I picked the light back up and shined it in, reaching for the papers. Movement caught my eye and I flinched back when I realized it was a black widow. After it scuttled off a little ways, I shot my hand in and grabbed the papers before I could second guess my judgment. It was a freakin' black widow. I didn't even know that Japan had those things. I jumped to my feet, taking it over to the desk for better light.

"Well...what is it?" Mai asked, leaning in close.

"Not sure," I replied. I blew on it, scattering a thick cloud of dust into the air. It sent us both coughing and my eyes were stinging. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve before focusing back onto the paper. "Whatever it is, someone hadn't wanted it found. Probably Tamari."

"Tamari?" Mai's head shot up and she whipped around to face me. "But why? What gotten into your head, telling you that Tamari is somehow involved?"

"Kayla said that she wasn't even allowed to call home, Mai." The papers were in a manila file, "And she had disappeared just five years ago. Tamari's been the principal and dean for twice that long."

Mai blinked, her fist near her mouth as she thought over what I said. Biting her lip, she looked to the floor and I knew I had won - but there wasn't any pride in the fact. I picked it up and we made our way back to Base - it'd be better to collaborate as we looked through this. The stack wasn't big, but it did hold some weight - like it had been important but was meant to be erased, to be forgotten.

-X-

I jolted when a small metal box was tossed onto the table from over my shoulder. It flung dirt and grass across the table top, onto the papers I had just spread out. It was dented, encrusted with muck and had a dull gleam. There was a small padlock that held it shut. I looked over my shoulder to see Monk and Lin.

"Good. Now let's go over what we've found." Naru's voice brought our attention onto him, "We needed permission to dig up around and on the fountain, Father John. It was part of the school's property and easily damageable. But it looks like you and Mai also found something."

I nodded, "We found these papers hidden in an air vent, behind a bookcase, in Tamari's office. We haven't looked through them yet."

"And we haven't been able to brake the padlock yet." Monk sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. The poor guy looked exhausted - and it wasn't the first time I had realized how easy the others had had it growing up. I could run days on just a few hours of sleep. Up to two weeks, actually. I had a dislocated wrist, cuts and bruises and had gotten sick - Hell, I was thrown through a window and fell into ice water - but Monk looked to be the one who had had the worse end of the deal. His hair was messy, he had bags under his eyes and was pale.

Maybe he was sick?

I put my boot on the chair and pulled a small black pouch out of my boot's top. I opened it up, revealing a neat line of silver utensils. Mai moved closer, "What is that?"

"A thief's key." Ayako said. Her voice held an accusation, a suspicion, a fear. A sharp tension filled the room, making it almost suffocating. I set to work on the padlock, inserting two of the silver items and listening, feeling, the tumblers.

"I don't understand." Mai's words were slow.

"She means its a lock picking kit." Lin explained, "Its the trademark of thieves. This kit can let anyone - who knows what they're doing - get just about anywhere. I don't even know how someone can get their hands on them, let alone ones of that quality."

"John?" Mai's voice was very soft. She was willing to understand, ready to believe that there was a good, pure reason as to why I had it. Me. Father John Brown.

I chuckled with a smile, lying, "I've made a nasty habit of leaving my keys in the jeep and locking myself out. Its quicker than waiting for someone to show up just to break my window and leave me with a monstrous bill from two companies."

"Oh." She laughed, eyes alight with amusement.

But I knew the others didn't believe me.

The tumblers caught and it popped open. I pulled it off and flipped it open. I could feel the grimace crawling across my face as I took in what I was seeing and the God awful smell that came with it. Naru demanded, "What's inside?"

I slowly poked around, gently prodding things as I figured out what they were. "A cat's skeleton, Kayla's student ID, a pouch of herbs, some crystals and a photo."

The skeleton had rotting flesh sticking to the bones, bits of muscle and tendon. Kayla's photo ID drew my fingers and I put it on the table, her smile very gentle and more than a little nervous. The pouch was brown, with a red ribbon to tie it close - shiny, Christmas-like ribbon. Ribbon meant to tie bows on presents for friends and family. Ribbon meant to be saved for the following year, or be hung up for a smile on a rainy day. The crystals were clear, with a pinkish hue - quartz crystal, if I wasn't mistaken.

I picked up the photo.

"Well?" Monk asked.

I turned it for the others to see. The picture had been scratched apart - or, the faces were. I couldn't tell who they had been, only that one was defiantly female because of the long dress and the other could be male because of the hands. "I think Kayla wanted only to kill two people. The rest of the injuries were for those who didn't believe her."

"Right." Ayako said. "She wanted the attacker to be killed and wanted for the others to remember her, to realize that she was telling the truth."

I looked down at the papers - speckled with dirt and web, they were few in number.

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