Ryoko set down her empty mug and stood up. She took a few steps toward the 60 inch screen, which was still playing the video of her bedroom. Then she turned.

"Wake me up tomorrow morning, okay?" She giggled. "I think this will be fun."

"Okay." Taro nodded.

Ryoko winked before leaping forward into a handstand followed by a twist that sent her feet directly into the LCD screen. Once again she passed through the screen as if it were a force field and landed in her bedroom in a perfect lotus sitting position facing forward.

Taro's eyes bulged with awe as he witnessed his mysterious friend's amazing gymnastic abilities. "Wow. You're good!"

Ryoko giggled and waved - just seconds before the tape came to it's end and the video shut off. The screen morphed from grey static to full blue as the red tape rewound itself in the VCR.

Taro walked over to the cabinet and grabbed the TV's remote control. He hit the red button and watched the blue screen fade to black as the TV's power was cut off. He set the remote back on top of the cabinet and peeked inside. His steak knife was safely back home in his beer mug. He lifted the knife out of the mug and studied it as he walked back to the kitchen table.

Why had Ryoko taken it? "You can never be too safe," she had said. Was she afraid for her life? Was somebody after her?

Or was she some kind of crazed psycho killer? Taro laughed at his own paranoia. No. Ryoko was such a sweet girl. But she was also such a darned good looking girl. He'd been blindsided by that combination in the past.

Yes, Ryoko was pretty. But what was she? Was she even real? Taro had so many questions. And though he honestly believed his secretive new friend would one day answer his questions, he knew it was time he did some of his own research.

Taro opened his MacBook and started up his Internet browser. What was the name of that cabin place again? He considered checking his email for the confirmation notice, but the name was right on the tip of his tongue. There was a landmark. Yes, a huge radio tower up on the hill.

"Sky Tower Cabins!" he said out loud to himself. He typed the name into the Google box and hit enter. Taro was a bit surprised when the first results to pop up on his laptop screen didn't relate to the business itself, but linked to news stories about a recent death in one of the cabins. No doubt it was the same cabin Taro rented at a cut rate price for just that reason.

It turned out that two weeks ago the night shift cleaning woman had found a man, actually a plumber from the city, dead in the middle of the floor with a knife in his chest. The man had been holding the knife with his right hand. The authorities considered the possibility of foul play, but further investigation revealed the man had a history of mental illness. Also, there was no sign of a struggle. The only odd thing they found was a pair of girl's panties in the man's pocket. DNA analysis of the panties led nowhere. Though the story didn't come right out and say so, Taro sensed that the nature of this man's mental illness fit in well with the presence of these panties. In an effort to protect the man's family, the story only mentioned the man's vocation but not his name.

Taro looked at the knife sitting in front of him on table. Could it be?

No. It was probably just a suicide, just like the newspapers had said. Ryoko was not the type of girl that would stab somebody. She just wasn't.

"CRASH!"

Taro jumped at the sound of breaking glass. He looked over to the side window and watched as a chunk of metal rolled toward the center of the room. Taro quickly rushed to the window and looked down. Standing there, waving his fist up at him, stood Lito.

Taro shook his head. If there was ever a guy that was truly psychotic it was Lito Kamata. When he was able to afford his heroin addiction, Lito was a harmless bum. When he wasn't able to, Lito was… dangerous.

"Get the hell out of my apartment, you asshole!" Lito shouted up at Taro while shaking his fist. "I was there first!"

There was no use arguing with this guy. Taro had tried in the past, with poor results. This was the type of person his uncle had warned him about. Drugs owned this guy's soul. Though he knew it wouldn't do much good, Taro did what his uncle had recommended. He took out his cell phone and dialed the police.

Lito, seeing the cell phone pressed up against Taro's ear, shouted, "Why are you wasting your time calling the cops? Just get the hell out of my place!" Then Lito turned and ran away.

Taro picked up the metal object, a right-angle pipe fitting, and tossed it up and down in his hand as he told the police the details of his latest encounter with his building's most recent tenant.

After the machine shop moved to another location, Uncle Shiitake had done his best to secure the place. However, Lito Kamata, along with other local low-lifes, took up residence on the top floor. Taro doubted Uncle Shiitake would have welcomed these tenants even if they had paid rent. But since that was not the case, Lito and his fellow squatters spent a night in jail. Uncle Shiitake then reinforced the entrance doors and, after that seemed to keep the unwelcome tenants out, allowed Taro to take up residence on the top floor instead.

Taro pushed the pieces of broken glass around with his shoe. The damaged window needed to be replaced - Taro patted his empty pockets - at some point. Taro retrieved a large piece of cardboard from the studio. Then he walked to his living area and retrieved some duct tape and the steak knife. As he used the steak knife to trim the cardboard, Taro chuckled.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if someone stuck a knife in Lito Kamata's gut. It would certainly make Taro's life easier.