Chapter 2: Something in the Water
Sunlight sizzled my skin as I stood watching the police section off the beach with yellow tape. An ocean breeze flirted with me. It played tag with my hair and kissed my face before traveling down to ruffle my skirt. The endless sapphire sea stretched into the horizon until it met the clear, crisp sky. The line was dotted by sailboats and surfers.
The day would have been beautiful, but some unfortunate soul had died, spoiling the scene.
I drew my arms around me. Even though it was a hot day, I felt a chill.
Tourists paused to take pictures of the scene. TV trucks from local news stations were beginning to arrive. My old boss would have turned tail at the first sight of the media.
The girl's body appeared to be sleeping. That is how I remembered it when I reached the beach. At first, I thought the others had been playing a joke on me. She did not seem real. The dead were not suppose to be so serene and ethereal. If not for her chopped black hair tangled with pieces of debris and seaweed, she would look like a doll.
I had knelt down to check her pulse, noticing the purplish discoloration around her mouth.
That is when I truly knew the woman on the sand was dead.
The dead girl was a bit older than me, probably college age.
My body was still shaking.
She was a classic beauty, a very soft bone structure. Her kimono was lovely. It was white with limbs and leaves. An emerald silk obi held it together. The lower part of the body lay in the part of the sand where the waves would rush up. Her feet were bare.
Years from now I would remember her. I did not want to remember, but every detail of that moment was etched permanently in my mind.
It seemed she had washed up, but this was a populated area.
Why had nobody noticed it before now?
Clearly she was no swimmer. Her lips being discolored meant she must have died from lack of oxygen. Did people who downed get purple lips? It seems that I remembered something about dead bodies sinking until they fill up with gas, and eventually float to the surface. Then their body is distorted.
Naru's brother had been weighted down. His body never got the chance to float and be found.
Two uniform cops and a plain clothes detective interrogated the rest of my group. The cops were taking preliminary statements from Madoka and the others, since they were the ones to find the body. It was my turn next because I was the one to call the police. They were being very slow because they were waiting for the ME and the CSI unit to get there.
Madoka Mori was so wonderful. She told me to sit out as the others took the police questions. Right now she stood with strawberry blonde hair shifting in agitation, looking very much the angel even though she was angry. Ayako Matsazuki and Osamu Yasuhara stood beside her. John Brown, a priest, was in the distance. Another member of our group, Houshou Takigawa was not staying with us. His band was playing here and he was rooming with them. He would be here later tonight.
Maybe the girl was murdered?
During our last case on a beach, the ghosts killed people, and the bodies had been found in the water.
Was this the same?
Her chopped hair was odd. It looked she had a fight with a lawnmower. No girl would have her hair cut that way.
Could a human be responsible?
The detective went to each member. A uniformed officer walked with him. At one point, the detective left to make a phone call. He seemed to talk for a while.
Before returning to question the other, he scrutinized the area. Looking around, he spotted me. Apparently some idea hit him because after staring at me, he moved in my direction.
When the detective came to me, he bowed low and said, "I am Detective Watanabe."
"Mai Taniyama."
He flipped out a notebook. "So you were one of the first ones to call the police? " He did not wait for an answer before asking, "Were you with the others, Miss Taniyama, when they found the body?"
"No sir"
"What were you doing at the time?
"I was in the cabin waiting." I figured it was best not to mention the boy. Naru-chibi had left when I got the call.
"How did you know about the body?"
"I got a call on the walkie-talkie that they had found the body
"Why were your friends on the beach?"
"We were working."
"Exactly what type of work do you do?"
I figured ghost hunting may not be the best answer so said, "Paranormal Research. We are with the Shibuya Office."
He grunted.
"So why were you here doing research?"
I did not want to divulge information of our client but I figured it was ok to give the gist of the case, "A shop owner on the beach called us to investigate the local paranormal activity that was scaring his customers away. Apparently a ghost has been seen wondering the beach accompanied by stories of swimmers who say they were grabbed from underneath the water by hands that pulled them under then would let go suddenly."
As I got frustrated as I spoke. The cop did not appear to be listening.
He had that spaced
I decided to be more enthusiastic in my discussion.
"There have been a number of accidents that do not seem paranormally based, but given the other activity it is possible they were caused by a spirit. A parasail cable broke causing a girl and her boyfriend to fall into the water. The girl is still in the hospital. Boats stop running for no apparent reason. They just drift in the ocean. Nothing can be found wrong with the motors…"
No matter what I said, the cop just smirked at me then jotted down something in his notebook.
He clearly did not believe me, which I was fine with... BUT did he have to act in such a condescending way?
After a couple more rounds of COMPLETE BS, he switched gears.
"So I have heard that it is common for your group to find corpses."
I narrowed my eyes while using the voice I normal reserved for Naru when I was angry, "Exactly what is that supposed to mean?!"
"It seems that you found the bodies of missing people on a few of your cases. You even witnessed a couple of apparent suicides. And your group personally saw to it that the remains of someone murdered in a lake were discovered. It seems death follows you people."
"And?"
"Apparently your boss called in divers recently to search a lake where a body had been found. It seemed he had amazingly good insight to where it was located."
Shaking, I tried to contain my rage over his questions.
My feelings must have been visible because Ayako walked over. She said, "Is there a problem, Mai?"
"No problem." I wanted to tell her how much a jerk this guy was being.
Ayako stood eye to eye with him, "Officer is Mai under arrest?"
"No."
"Well she wasn't here on the beach when the body was found and she is a minor. If you have asked her the basic questions, your interview should be over. Anything more needs to be done in the presence of a guardian."
Wow! Ayako was my hero!
I gave her a brilliant smile.
The cop grunted. Looking between us, he must have figured he would not get anything more from us.
"I have more questions." He complained.
Ayako folded her arms, "Actually we would like to go. It is incredibly hot out here and we have been out here for a couple of hours. I would like to take her to our cabin. This has been a trying experience for her, and she should rest.
By that time, the others had wondered up.
Madoka looked evenly at the cop. "You said you had a couple of questions to ask Mai. I thought I told you the girl was to be left alone after the initial interview since she was not with us."
Madoka ignored the cop.
"If you want to play ball, I can. My company is an international research institute. We are very familiar with dealing with authorities in many different countries. I can have a team of lawyers here at any time."
He frowned at her.
"You mess with my people, sir. I tend to take it personally." She gave a cool look that would have made Naru proud.
Apparently the cop didn't like to be talked down to in such a disrespectful way. The police officer glanced between us.
"You guys are from Tokyo, right?"
"Yes," We said in unison.
He said, "Since you guys are working here, I don't think it should be a problem, but don't leave town. Is this the number I can reach you at?"
He showed the number to our cabin.
"Yes sir."
"I think that should be all." He left.
Yasuhara commented, "Well he certainly needs to work on his charm."
"Mai, what were you getting so angry about?"
"He implied that we had something to do with the murder, and then brought up that we conveniently stumbled across dead bodies all the time. He even brought up Gene."
Ayako blew up.
John tried to calm her.
When we reached the cabin, I showed Madoka my notes on the little boy who had come earlier. She took the sheet, but acted like she was not really listening. She had been quiet since I mentioned Gene.
A few hours later Madoka-sama came to me. She said, "You know what we need to do?"
"What?"
"Go shopping! We need to get our mind off of this for a bit. Takigawa will be here tonight. We need our minds fresh. John and Yasuhara can stay here and keep their eyes on things. Let us girls go out."
She practically radiated with light energy as she spoke.
My old boss would never have taken me shopping before a case.
So the split from the guys.
The stores were almost like a ghost town.
I should have thought it was suspicious, her enthusiasm. It turned out the trip was for research purposes. She dragged Ayako and me all over the town. We asked the clerks about the strange happenings and the tourist industry.
During this time, I ask Madoka if we could track down the family of the boy who came to the cabin. Madoka thought about it. "It might be a good idea to question this family for more information. Do we have his contact info?"
"Uh, well. I got his name and that he lived closed by."
"Well at least there is that. It will be up to you to find out about this family. I think you should ask Yasuhara. He has excellent resource gathering skills, but you need to work on that area. Next time remember to get more information."
I bowed with tears in my eyes. "Thanks Mori-sama. So sorry for being so pathetic."
She laughed and waved a hand, "Everyone has to start somewhere."
Ayako snickered too.
After we had finished in town, Ayako drove us back to the cabin.
John and Yasu came out to help to take the groceries as we took in our shopping bags. We had just gotten done when a car drove up.
Takigawa jumped out.
"Monk!" I yelled and waved.
"Long time no see, my peeps!" He said as he high fived John and did a fist punch with Yasuhara.
He ruffled my hair.
"So what is the situation?"
I quickly explained.
When I finished, Monk declared, "Sounds fishy!"
Really?
He hooted. "Do you get it? Fishy because we are by the water."
"Monk that was soooo corny!"
Yasuhara added, "Don't you feel 'gill-ty' for saying that?"
Those two were a strange pair. They practically died from their own laughter. Even John joined them. They only stopped because the Monk and Takigawa started to hiccup.
Guys are weird!
Ayako and Madoka fixed our meal.
We ate outside on the picnic table by the steps that led to the beach. It was that perfect time in the afternoon when the sun still hangs over the sky but the coolness of the night starts creeping in. Over the sukiyaki, steamed rice, miso soup, fruit, and salad, we talked about the case. We would no longer be able to investigate the beach north of the cabin because the police had blocked it off.
Once the dishes were cleaned and we stood on the porch, Madoka said, "Ok! Not much has happened around the grounds so we are going to shift our focus solely on the beach."
She eyed the sky before explaining, "A beach is a hard place to set up equipment, especially one that is public, so I brought some tents along. I think some of us should camp out there with the equipment, tonight. We still have time to set up. Ayako go to the house and provide us some charms for the tents. Takigawa, I know you have not toured the place so would you and Yasuhara go collect the equipment on the grounds and bring over there." She pointed to a spot on the south side of the beach. It was a fishing pier that lay some distance from the cabin.
"Mai, Father John, and I will start putting up the tents."
Everyone went to their duties.
The sun started to set over the ocean creating a dance of colors across the sky. Gold, purple, orange, pink, and blue highlighted the most magnificent view I had ever seen. Fog had also started rolling through the area. The lightening made the beach seem magical, a view and place to be shared with someone special. I imagined being here with Gene. If he had been here, I would definitely kiss him.
That was all it took for my mind to switch to from day dreams to being depressed.
Brooding silently, I was lost in my thoughts when John shouted, "Mai!"
"Uh?!"
"Mai, I am going to see what is keeping Ayako. She should be out here by now."
I just now noticed that Madoka had disappeared. "John where is Madoka?" I asked.
"She left with Yasuhara and Monk after they brought the equipment. Something about one of the cameras being damaged, and they did not want to move it."
They came here?
Regarding my surroundings, I suddenly saw all the cameras and sound recorders beside me.
Dong!
I fell.
Apparently I needed to pay more attention to what was happening around me. I had no even heard those two loud mouths approach.
John ran down the beach. Night was starting to fall fast.
Returning to work, I turn to pull the zipper on the second tent when I realized the fog had gotten really thick. I barely could see my hands.
This is not normal!
The air was cold and dead. I hugged myself in protection against the damp chill. It seeped through my clothes.
Why does this always happen to me?
I was not sure where the others were at. The fog had gotten really bad and my penlight from my pocket. Madoka says to be prepared in all situations.
I saw the fishing pier in the distance. The lights were working. Maybe I should wait there for someone to come for me…
Walking closer I saw under the lights a girl stood on the pier.
Her long brown hair blew in the wind.
"Who is that?" I mumbled.
I yelled, "Hey!"
She moved forward, acting like she did not hear me.
What is she doing? I thought.
Something felt wrong so I hurried forward.
As I made my way to her, she turned and looked at me. Her face was strangely blank. I started running. Her hand reached out toward me before she fell back into the water.
I screamed.
Somewhere in the distance, my friends started yelling from the beach. They must have been closer to me than I thought.
When I got to the edge, I didn't see anything at first but then I saw a figure warped under the water. It twisted and spun right under the surface. No ripples were made as if some unseen force was in control.
Without hesitating, I kicked off my shoes and dived in.