Chapter 13: Secrets and Suspicions
A gusty breeze, ripe with the sweet scent of summer, whipped Claire's hair across her face as she made her way to the Mineral Town Clinic. Slightly frustrated, she attempted to brush her bangs back with one hand, without success. Her tangled golden tresses were especially persistent today.
A few vaguely threatening darker clouds drifted across the sky, giving the entire town an uneasy, almost ominous atmosphere, and the breeze had picked up considerably since Claire had finished her farming earlier that morning. The blonde frowned – she desperately hoped a storm wasn't coming. Let's just say she wasn't a huge fan of storms.
If this wind picks up any more, my fields will be littered with fallen branches... and if it rains, it'll get all muddy. Ugh, and I just watered my crops, too… I probably shouldn't have even bothered.
The farmer sighed. It had been quite a few days, nearly a week, since the night she had eaten dinner at Elli's house. And memories of this event were what reminded her to visit Ann at the Clinic again today.
Honestly, Claire was feeling slightly nervous about it. Of course, the other Mineral Town villagers would expect her to visit Ann somewhat regularly, and it wasn't that she didn't want to. She did. But the thought of the injuries that the girl had sustained... and seeing Ann hurting and weak in a hospital bed made Claire feel almost nauseous.
She didn't want to be reminded of the attack. She didn't want to be reminded of anything. Sometimes, she just wanted to forget the entire mystery and simply leave it up to someone else to figure out. Mayor Thomas, maybe, or Officer Harris. She was just a simple farmer girl now, after all – she wasn't a detective.
But then, looking back on her time in Mineral Town so far, Claire recalled the kindness Ann had shown her, before the girl's untimely injury. She remembered Popuri's cheerfulness, the happy-go-lucky attitude she displayed around others, before it was all stripped away by the effects of the deaths of her feathery loved ones. The despair in Rick's eyes as he examined the scene of the massacre in horror.
And Claire realized that, whether she liked it or not, she had to be the one to solve this mystery. It was a just feeling she had, one that pulled at her gut and tugged at her heart, urging her to get up and do something. Perhaps it was a calling from the Harvest Goddess herself. Who knows.
Either way, Claire had a feeling that she had been sent to Mineral Town for a reason. And maybe this was her reason.
"Hello?"
Claire entered the Clinic cautiously and quietly, so as not to disturb those inside with a brazen surprise appearance. Elli was perched calmly at her desk, as usual, sorting through notes or files of some sort. Doctor Trent, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen, most likely off caring for his patient or perhaps working on something in his office in the back room.
"Oh..." The young nurse smiled at her visitor, and tucked a short stand of mousy brown hair behind her ear as she folded up her papers and stacked them neatly on the desktop. "Hello there, Claire. I'm guessing you've come to visit Ann again, then?"
Claire nodded, slightly unnerved by the nearly indiscernible edginess to Elli's tone, masked by a smile and faux cheeriness. Though of course she didn't say anything about it. Something was making the nurse uneasy, that was for sure, but Claire wasn't going to be the one to pry this time.
Elli stepped up and beckoned with one hand as she led Claire to Ann's room in the Clinic, whispering, "Doug's in there right now, and Karen as well, but you can go right ahead. Just be quiet, please – Trent advised us all to try our best not to disturb her in any way while she's resting."
Claire bobbed her head again in acknowledgement of Elli's words, and entered the room to find Doug sitting at a chair beside his daughter's bed, a small bowl of untouched miso soup on the table next to him. To the immediate right of the door, Karen stood leaning against the wall, legs crossed and arms folded across her chest. She turned to face Claire directly as she muttered a greeting, and the farmer caught an undeniable, albeit relatively faint, whiff of alcohol about her.
Over on the bed, Ann seemed to be asleep. Her eyes were closed, and her chest was slowly raising and descending in a gentle, rhythmic motion. At first glance, the girl looked at peace, but that was simply not the case.
For her face was marred by a thick black bruise, a dark splotch that surrounded the swollen lump on her forehead. And though only the girl's face was visible, Goddess only knows what her other injuries looked like beneath the blankets. Claire didn't especially want to find out, either.
Ann began to stir beneath the bedcovers, and suddenly, her eyes opened, flickering around the room to finally rest upon her father's face. Doug forced out a smile as a means to reassure his daughter, though he was unable to hide his look of concern.
Ann opened her mouth as if to speak, but all that came out was a groan. Her eyes suddenly squeezed tightly shut.
"Ugh... It hurts."
Springing into action, Karen immediately removed herself from her spot against the wall and called out into the main foyer, "Elli... Elli, come here! Ann's awake... and it sounds like she's in pain."
An exclamation was heard from the young nurse, and less than a minute later, Elli appeared with Doctor Trent at her heels.
Meanwhile, Ann had begun to squirm in pain, eyelids still squeezed shut. "M-My... it-it hurts."
Her words could barely be deciphered, as they were whispered faintly in a voice fraught with pain. At once, Doctor Trent jumped up to reassure her. "Ann... please, just hold still a moment."
Elli stepped up beside the doctor to assist him, a few bottles of indistinguishable medications clutched in her hands, presumably produced to ease the pain and fight infection in the wound.
Claire looked away, as she had no intention to view Ann's injury a second time. Though she couldn't help but notice the way Karen turned her head to stare out the window, tapping a foot against the floorboards nervously; or how Doug's eyes, already tinged with red, had begun to water.
Finally, the two medical practitioners simultaneously stepped back. Dr. Trent managed a vaguely hopeful grin, marred only by the traces of inexplicable regret in his eyes. "I think Ann's going to be all right," he whispered. "There will be scarring, without a doubt. But… at least the infection has cleared up somewhat. And she seems much more alert."
Behind him, Ann's pain had begun to wear off as a result of the medication, and she tilted her head slightly to see the room more clearly. "Karen, Claire... nice to see you guys again."
A flicker of amusement danced in the redhead's eyes, despite her ordeal. Karen simply shook her head, hiding the hint of a grin, while Claire smiled sadly.
Ann then glanced over at her father, sitting in his chair, and her expression changed. She smiled as tears formed in her eyes.
"Daddy..."
Doug smiled back at her, and Karen took this as her cue to leave. "Ann should have some family time with her dad... Come on, Claire, let's go."
Karen beckoned her out to the lobby, before heading straight out the door with only a curt wave goodbye. Claire turned to follow her, despite the burning questions she had for Ann, but first...
The blonde turned toward Elli, who had followed the other two girls out into the front lobby.
"Elli, I just thought I should ask... how has Ann been this past week?"
The nurse pondered for a short moment. "Well... she's had a fever from the infection, and she's been practically out cold all week, only waking up for the necessities. It's bad." She made a face. "And her wounds have had some... erm, drainage, if you will, but you don't want to hear about that. Nasty stuff, really."
"Did she... did she say anything about her attacker?" Claire crossed her fingers, hoping for information, but Elli merely shook her head.
"Unfortunately, no. We went through with the interrogation with Officer Harris and the mayor, asking her questions, but she said she couldn't remember anything. Ann... she said that remembered walking back from the Hot Springs, and suddenly she felt an immensely powerful force come crashing into her, knocking her to the ground. She hit the pavement and blacked out at that point, and couldn't recall anything afterward, until she woke up in the Clinic with considerable head and stomach pain."
"Oh..." Claire made an effort to hide her disappointment. "That's too bad... Well, bye then, Elli. I'll see you again soon."
"Goodbye, Claire. And thank you for stopping by. I'm sure Ann appreciated it."
Turning to walk outside, the blonde girl could barely hold back her newly mixed feelings of sadness, anger, and puzzlement. And again, she vowed to somehow discover the culprit... no matter what she needed to do in the process.
But who could it be...? Honestly, there are so many unanswered questions to this case. First, there was Gotz acting rather suspiciously. And then there's Kai, who just so happens to come back to town the day after Ann is attacked... Plus, Elli and Doctor Trent have been acting rather oddly lately, as well. Claire's face paled as another memory entered her mind.
Or... there's always the shadow... thing... Her heartbeat quickened at the very thought.
If only she knew the answers. Then this mystery would be a whole lot easier to solve.
But then again, Claire reasoned, if we already knew who the culprit was, then there wouldn't be a mystery in the first place, now would there?
The young blonde farmer had just exited the Clinic when she was met with bright rays of sunshine that nearly blinded her. There was barely a cloud in the sky. Well, so much for that storm...
As soon as she set foot onto the street, Claire caught sight of a familiar figure walking toward her, a violet bandana wrapped around his head. Well, speak of the Kappa. Kai...
Upon noticing the blonde girl, Kai immediately perked up and began moving faster in her direction, one hand raised in greeting. "Hey, Claire!"
She stared at him. Because something wasn't quite right with this picture... For one, Kai's shirt sleeve was ripped, and for another, his pants were coated in a thick layer of dirt.
"Umm, hey Kai," she managed to tear her eyes away from his odd appearance to stare him directly in the face, "...Er, what exactly are you wearing?"
Ignoring her scrutinizing glare, the bronzed boy smiled brightly, flashing two perfect rows of straight white teeth. "Oh, this? Haha, it's nothing, really. I was just doing some repairs around the Snack Shack, and things got a little... messy."
"Oh..." Claire said aloud, though honestly, she didn't completely believe it. "Sure. Umm, anyway, what's up?"
He grinned again. "I was actually just wondering... do you want to go have lunch over at the Snack Shack with me? You remember, how I asked if you would like to sometime, back at the Beach Festival... I thought today would be the perfect day to fulfill that promise, eh? Spend some time at the beach. It's a great day."
The farmer, however, shook her head. "I-I don't even have my swimsuit with me..."
Kai laughed, waving a hand to dismiss her comment. "That's fine... We don't have to go swimming. Actually, I really just wanted to ask you to join me for a little lunch date. On me, of course."
Claire thought she may as well admit defeat. It wasn't like she had anything left to do today... and truthfully, Kai really was quite a good cook, she had to admit.
"Okay."
The young couple walked on through Rose Square, toward the stone staircase leading down to Mineral Beach. Upon reaching the golden sands of the shore, Claire stripped off her shoes to continue the rest of the walk barefoot, savoring the relaxing way the warm, tiny grains of sand sprinkled over her toes. Not long after, they reached the door to the Snack Shack, the small, painted wooden building on the beach beside Zack's house and the Mineral Town dock.
Kai pulled the door open for Claire, acting as a gentleman, and together they stepped into the cool air-conditioned dining room. He led the blonde girl through a backdoor into the kitchen.
"So, what'll it be? Probably not pizza... You already had my pizza on Beach Day, so I guess you'd want to try something different."
Claire shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Anything you feel like making, I'm fine with."
"Hmm..." Kai began rummaging through the refrigerator for meal ideas, pushing aside various cartons of juice and miscellaneous ingredients in the process. "How about... spaghetti?"
Claire nodded. "Yeah... that sounds fine."
Kai grinned apologetically. "It's leftover from dinner last night, actually. I hope you don't mind. It would take too long to cook up a new batch, anyway, and there's no point in letting this go to waste."
"Sure," Claire muttered indifferently, and she wandered back out into the dining room as Kai hurried to reheat the cold spaghetti and gather up utensils. The farmer chose a small table for them to sit at, right beside the window where she could stare out at the sea and sand as she waited. Though she didn't have to wait long.
"Here you go!"
To her surprise, there was only one bowl of spaghetti on the tray he brought out, along with two forks, two glasses of lemonade, and two small side salads on separate plates. Kai scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I hope you're all right with sharing the pasta... all my other bowls and stuff are in the dishwasher."
"Oh... um, yeah, it's fine." Claire's stomach growled after these words, and the girl blushed in embarrassment, but Kai merely laughed.
"All right, then... let's eat!"
They dug in, pausing only to take part in some light chit-chat. Uncomfortable as Claire was, Kai managed to make her feel a little less awkward with his warm smile and friendly jokes. They chatted about all sorts of random topics as pasta noodles were twirled around their forks and ice cubes clinked in their lemonade glasses. And Claire soon found herself explaining her own reasons for moving to Mineral Town.
In response to her story, Kai mentioned a few of his own reasons for staying at the small rural town. "This is actually a really great town. Small, but nice. Hot summers, beautiful scenery... and great people, too." He winked at Claire, but then his voice lowered. "...And truthfully, it's nice being able to get away from my family like this. Can't really say my parents are the best, because they're not."
Claire had half a mind to ask Kai about any strange goings-on in town throughout his years of visiting, but she managed to suppress these urges, and focused instead on what Kai was currently telling her.
"Why don't you like your parents?"
He shrugged. "I don't know... Let's just say we don't get along very well." Claire waited for him to go into further detail, but instead, he drifted off into silence.
Together, they finished up their luncheon as a wave of contentedness swept over them. The spaghetti had been delicious, there was no denying that, despite the fact that it had merely been heated up from the previous night. Claire smiled, and Kai grinned back at her, though there was a funny look in his eyes that the farmer couldn't quite put a finger on.
Was it just her imagination, or was he steadily inching closer to her...?
Kai lifted a hand to pick up the silverware on the table, and for a brief moment, his fingers brushed against the skin of her wrist as he took the fork from her side of the table. Despite herself, Claire blushed.
Still smiling, Kai leaned forward until his face was mere inches from her own, and Claire froze.
"So... how did you like the spaghetti?"
"Huh?" Claire spluttered.
Oh, Goddess... And here I was thinking that I was possibly about to receive an unwanted make-out session, or something... She shuddered at the thought. Not that Kai wasn't attractive – quite the opposite, truth be told – but that would have just felt... wrong. On so many levels. Especially when Popuri was so obviously infatuated with the tanned traveler. And he appeared to like the pinkette, too, so Claire couldn't figure out why he seemed so intent on flirting with her.
Or maybe Claire was overreacting, and Kai wasn't actually flirting with her. Maybe he was just trying to act friendly toward a new neighbor.
"Ahem... it was really good! Honestly," Claire responded, inwardly sighing in relief. Kai smiled at her appreciatively. He got up from his chair to return their silverware to kitchen, and came back minutes later with a stack of fresh pineapple slices in his hand, which he offered to Claire. She refused, and so he shrugged and bit into a particularly juicy chunk of the sweet yellow fruit.
"So... I guess I'll be seeing you at the Chicken Festival next, then?"
Claire raised an eyebrow. "Chicken Festival?"
Kai nodded his head in earnest. "Yeah, the festival's tomorrow... Don't tell me you didn't know?"
As a matter of fact, she didn't know. That was, until now.
"Well... actually, I didn't," Claire admitted, "But I'd like to come! What's it all about, anyway?"
Kai shrugged, popping another sliver of pineapple into his mouth. "Well, there's this chicken contest that goes on in Rose Square. Some people come in from out of town, too, mainly chicken breeders and a few tourists, so a group of the Mineral Towners set up their own little stands. Like, Doug usually sells food at a stand promoting his Inn, and... Popuri will be selling chickens and poultry supplies, obviously."
Claire didn't miss the deliberate way Kai had avoided saying Rick's name, as she had a feeling that Rick would actually be the one organizing the Poultry Farm's booth in the festival. Goddess, those two must really hate each other...
As she left the Snack Shack that afternoon, Claire realized that Kai's issue with Rick wasn't the only secret he wasn't sharing. Why has he been spending this time with me, when he and Popuri are practically an official couple? The whole 'sharing the spaghetti bowl' thing, and that look in his eye when his hand brushed against mine... Ugh, I mean, he barely even knows me... Is he just trying to get to know me better as a friend? Because truthfully, it just makes me extra uncomfortable.
And another thing – was Kai telling the truth about the Snack Shack repairs? Or was he just trying to cover up his true actions? Because I didn't see any signs of a repair job at the restaurant...
Honestly, Claire couldn't help but feel vaguely suspicious of the tanned traveler. There was just something about him... he seemed nice enough, but something about him felt dishonest, in a way. As though he were keeping secrets.
But then again, Claire had a nagging suspicion that secrets were actually the norm in Mineral Town.
A/N: So, I really hope people are still reading this. Because trust me, the ending should be well worth your time (at least, I hope). Not saying any more. Thanks for reading up to this point! And if you could please leave a review, it would honestly make my day! I always read every review I receive – multiple times, in fact.
-CCM