Days Without Sun
Chapter Thirteen: News
Aikawa was sitting in one of Garopaba's exclusive restaurants. She looked across the table at the Daily Sun reporter sitting across from her, a young American woman named Christian Flynn.
Though it had taken some time to make arrangements and secure the interview, the editor was pleased to be meeting with the reporter. The meeting made things feel almost normal for Aikawa, so much more so than what she'd been doing ever since she'd arrived in Brazil.
Aikawa was originally surprised to find that the person who had done such in depth investigative work was a woman, though she'd immediately chided herself for giving into conventional notions. She herself was a woman, after all, one who had shocked others with her own success in another heavily male dominated field.
The pair was meeting to discuss the parameters of Flynn's upcoming exclusive interview with Usami Akihiko. It was standard practice with the author for Aikawa to do this. She would lay down strict guidelines for how the interview was to be conducted and also get a feel for the person so she could instruct Akihiko on how to prepare.
"I have been working in South America for years and had been doing quite a bit of research on the life of the street youths here in Garopaba," Flynn offered this as she poked at the salad in front of her. "I have been trying to garner some aid and make the people here, if not the world, aware of these kids' plight and how they are victimized both by individual predators and corrupt local authorities."
Her sharp blue eyes met Aikawa's evenly. "You know I could feed a dozen kids for a week on just what this salad cost."
Aikawa fought not to sigh at the truth of the young woman's statement. "Look, Miss Flynn."
"Just Flynn in fine."
"Yes, well, Flynn…" Aikawa started over, bothered a bit as always by this foreign informality. "Usami Sensei has his own way of doing things… In his mind this restaurant was one of Garopaba's more modest establishments."
Flynn snorted at this and then broke into a laugh surprisingly free from any bittterness. Aikawa smiled at this herself and a rapport between the two women was quickly formed.
The two soon fell into an easy conversation. Flynn confided she'd started her research more than three years ago when a dozen gay street boys had disappeared from the groups she hung out with in a span of about eight months' time. Now the reporter speculated that at least thirty boys had gone missing, just from the streets.
She noticed however, that once the disappearance of the street youths slowed down, that the number of young male tourists missing from the area began to pick up.
"Why didn't anyone else latch on to this?" Aikawa asked curiously.
"With the beach scene there are a lot of young men and women who come here looking to get lost in one way or another," Flynn offered. "Most of the missing teen tourists were traveling on their own or with loose bands of friends. Your Takahashi is a bit of an exception in that regard."
"Besides," the blonde reporter grumbled, her sun darkened brow creased with displeasure. "You must know by now that the police department here is all but useless. It's completely corrupt. The chief of police is one of the biggest crooks there is in all of Garopaba."
Aikawa said nothing, but she nodded her head in affirmation. She certainly hadn't been impressed with what she'd seen. Just then her phone rang. Looking at the number she saw it was Takahashi Takahiro. The man had taken to calling her once a day to see what, if any, progress was being made on his brother's case.
Takahiro had previously been calling Akihiko, but as soon as the young businessman had learned that Aikawa was there, he stopped calling the author and, despite Aikawa's urging to go back to calling his friend, Takahiro refused.
"Sorry," Aikawa apologized to Flynn. She quickly typed out a text to Misaki's brother telling him that she was in a meeting, that she'd call him later, and that sadly there was no new information at the moment.
Aikawa nodded again apologetically once she had finished. "I'm so sorry, Flynn, but I have to keep this on because…" The editor's pretty face suddenly looked very tired. "Because of Misaki," she whispered.
Flynn looked at Aikawa kindly, "No need to apologize. I can't even begin to imagine how terrible this must for you and for Mr. Usami."
Aikawa smiled at the woman's warm tone. Tears that she had never planned on allowing to escape filled her eyes.
Her phone rang again, saving Aikawa from the further embarrassment of breaking down completely. The number was Santo Justino's. "Ah, Flynn, I am so sorry again, but I really must take this," Aikawa muttered. "Would you please excuse me?"
"Sure. I'll use this as a chance to peruse the folder you made me." Flynn picked up the envelope that lay next to her on the table. Aikawa had prepared a packet of information about Usami and Miaski and also included a bit of Santo Justino's work as well.
As she got up from the table, Aikawa smiled in appreciation of the other woman's work ethic. When she'd done her background check on the reporter before meeting her, it was obvious from the Christian Flynn's resume she was not one to be idle and looking at the assignments the athletic blonde had covered; it was obvious she was apparently fearless as well.
Aikawa withdrew to the posh lounge area of the women's restroom. Amongst the long couches there, elaborate vanities had been set up throughout the room. Rich women, obviously the cream of society, sat in front of a number of the huge round mirrors polishing their already immaculate appearances.
"Hello."
"Ah, Hello, Miss Aikawa." Santo Justino's rich voice filled the phone.
Despite her best attempts, Aikawa couldn't help but feel just the slightest glow in her chest at the warmth of the man's tones. She pushed the part of her heart she deemed foolish and unprofessional aside and spoke in a measured voice. "Do you have some information for me?"
The honey of the investigator's voice now dripped something darker. "No good news I'm afraid."
Santo Justino had been traveling to every plastic surgeon's and cosmetic enhancement office not only in Garopaba but within a one hundred mile range around the city. Today was the last leg of his journey.
"I have nothing," Santo Justino said soberly. "I just wanted to let you know before I spoke with Mr. Usami so you would be prepared."
Akihiko had been becoming increasingly unstable lately, agitated in a way Aikawa hadn't seen before. Given the circumstances of course, she supposed it was inevitable, but even with all her assistance the man seemed to be moving towards some inexorable edge and she was terrified as to what would happen when he went over it.
"Ah I did finally get the report from the police today with the specifics on the package sent to Mr. Usami," Santo Justino offered as a meager condolence.
"And?" Aikawa asked nervously. Though she thought to herself, It's about fucking time. Weeks had passed since the finger had been examined and reports had been promised several times now but had never been forthcoming.
"Whoever sent it was smart, the finger had been completely cleaned, no trace of any DNA, which we already knew from the coroner," the detective isghed. "For the packing however, the box was a fast food box used by over a thousand businesses in the city, the paper a brand used by numerous local merchant's too. The address label was a computer generated printout, no prints on anything, but the cotton it was wrapped in was a medical grade, which supports the way in which the finger was removed."
"And you're sure you've checked with absolutely every plastic surgeon. What about just surgeon's then too?" Aikawa was aware that in her frustration her voice had risen a bit louder than she'd intended. A few of the society women were shooting wondering glances at her.
"I am truly doing all I can, Miss Aikawa," Santo Justino said tiredly.
"Ah, yes." Aikawa made her tone significantly milder. "I am so sorry, Mr. Santo Justino. I know how hard you have been working for Sensei." Aikawa exhaled slowly. "Look, please let me break the news to Usami-Sensei myself, if you don't mind."
"Of course, Miss, Aikawa. Though I do wish you would consider calling me Agusto sometime." There was an unspoken invitation in the detective's voice.
Despite the fact Aikawa knew she shouldn't be conducting herself this way in the midst of such terrible circumstances, the man's words somehow soothed her. "Good bye then, Augusto, I'll speak with you after I tell Usami-Sensei."
There was a new warmth in Santo-Justino's voice when he said, "Goodbye then, Miss Aikawa," just before he hung up the phone.
Aikawa closed her phone and sat there staring at it blankly for a few minutes. Then she slipped it into her handbag and tried to rally herself to go back out and face Flynn again. She walked over to one of the big mirrors and examined herself.
She was wearing a new business dress that Akihiko had bought for her. She smoothed down the sides of the rich fabric. She knew the dress probably cost more than she made in three month's salary. She'd only accepted it because it seemed to make Sensei happy if only for a few moments. Besides, the man did have impeccable taste.
She was just about to leave when one of the women in the room who'd been sitting at another mirror suddenly appeared by her side. the lady was stunning, despite the fact the woman, oddly, was wearing sunglasses.
The beautiful woman gave Aikawa a careful once over before she started speaking rather rapidly in Portuguese but then seeing quickly that Aikawa didn't understand she slipped into English. "Please forgive me," the woman trilled. "But I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying. You are looking to have a procedure done perhaps?"
Aikawa looked at the woman curiously, following her intuition, before she fully realized what she was doing, she nodded.
"And you can't find someone willing to do your procedure?"
Aikawa nodded again.
"Fucking conventional prick doctors have no understanding of a woman's need for beauty…" the woman suddenly declared loudly, then she gentled a bit. "Or men's for that matter…eh?"
She looked Aikawa over again.
"So what are you considering having done?" She asked curiously.
Looking at the woman's gaze, piercing despite the fact it was hidden behind the tinted shades, Aikawa said the first thing that came into her mind. "My eyes," she said hesitantly.
This was apparently the right answer as the woman broke into a beatific smile. She carefully lowered her sunglasses. "I knew in an instant you were a woman of taste," she smiled.
Aikawa's eyes widened. She was so shocked at the gaze that met her it was all she could do not to shriek. Fortified however, by all the horrors shed been through these last several weeks, instead she inhaled sharply. "What?..."
Taking her gasp as one of envy and not horror, the sun-glassed woman's smile broadened. "They're panther, aren't they lovely?" the cat-eyed woman purred proudly. "Of course it did take a bit to get used to the new optics but who cares? It is a small price to pay for living art. Am I right?"
"Stunning," Aikawa managed to murmur.
This pleased the feline-focused woman greatly. "Ah the peasants just don't understand beauty or rarity, now my eyes are both dangerous and endangered," she laughed. "But of course you know, we trendsetters… In a year or two there won't be even an alley cat left in Brazil, once this catches on.
Aikawa offered a strained smile but the woman didn't notice.
"Normally I don't go around giving this kind of recommendation," The woman drawled. "It's unfair to get people's hopes up and besides, Dr. Villinski is very particular. He has his own practice he runs out of his estate." She lowered her voice and offered conspiratorially, "He takes only a few choice clients. But looking at that dress, you can obviously afford his services and seeing as you want your eyes done. Well…" The cat lady tutted. "No one else you'll find will have the skill that he does. The man is an artist with the scalpel."
The woman opened her tiny handbag and withdrew a card, letterpress printed on fine parchment. She pressed her sunglasses up with one finger as her other hand pressed the card into Aikawa's.
The woman began to sashay her way out the door, but before she disappeared she chirped, "Tell Dr. Villinski that Maria Mendieta sent you. My guess is he could take that slant out of your eyes in no time too, when he does the transplant."
Aikawa's brow furrowed as she looked down at the card once the woman was gone. It read Dr. Lodov Villinski with a number beneath it.
She glanced up at the door the woman had disappeared through. Stupid bitch, there's absolutely nothing wrong with my eyes.
Then Aikawa looked down at the card again. She'd talked so extensively with Augusto about all his searches she was sure if he'd come across something like this she would have heard about it.
She walked back to the table, her mind whirling.
As Aikawa approached the table Flynn looked up, she'd just finished the file. "I swear to god, whether this is the same guy or not, someone needs to find this sick fuck and put him down." She'd just seen the image of Misaki's finger.
Something in the way the reporter said this gave Aikawa a jolt. Slowly, despite her trembling fingers, she offered the card to the fierce blue-eyed woman and asked much more casually than she felt, "Flynn, do you feel like going on a little adventure?"
A little change of pace from the last chapters…but hopefully still interesting.