The Whitechapel Case
Fox-Trot-9
PG-13
Horror/Suspense/Mystery (How-Catch-'Em)
Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt or Death Note.
Part 3: The Usual Suspects
Chapter 2
Day 3—Yesterday's three hour walk from the Davis house to the library took a mere thirty minutes on speeding wheels; but as soon as Katherine Street came into view, both cars slowed down and pulled into the parking lot of the Clocktower Cafe next to the library, much to the relief of the back-seat passengers in both. Except for Noll, of course; he still had a smirk on his face after the seeing the first signs of claustrophobia settle in on Mai's. She was pulling at the door handle to get out, but the door didn't budge.
"Mai, there is no reason for you to panic; they'll let us out soon enough."
Mai threw him a deadly glare, thinking, Keep this up, and I'll give you a reason to want to get out!
"Don't worry, Mai," said Bert. "Just keep your hands off while I disengage it," and with the flick of a switch on the dashboard, the doors clicked open, and Mai was free to go.
She stood glaring at Noll as he got out, saying in Japanese, "Next time, I'm sitting in the other car, thank you," and she walked off in the direction of Noll's parents. Probably to make a complaint.
Noll and Bert watched her.
"Noll, has anybody ever called you an asshole to your face?"
"No; nobody would have the guts to."
"Well, you're an asshole," and the kid looked at Bert. "Seriously, you are. Just because you're in pain over your brother's death doesn't give you the right to take it out on her."
"And how do you know it's about Gene?"
"Enough with the questions already, man; you're starting to sound like a broken record. I'm just saying you should take it easy on her, or you'll risk losing her. And that's coming from a repentant asshole who screwed up big-time with his own wife."
"That's your problem, not mine," and Noll walked in Mai's direction.
Yeah, and you're a fucking prick, too, thought Bert.
Though it stopped raining, the overcast above still hung around in darkening clusters. So Martin got out three umbrellas just in case it rained later on, one for himself and his wife, another for Lin and Madoka and another for Noll and Mai, while Jacob and Bert each had their own. Then all of them walked up the steps leading to the library entrance, which was still closed until 9:00 a.m., about thirty minutes away. A small crowd of a hundred or so students and a few teachers also waited at the door, many of them texting on their iPhones or talking on their cells. With Jacob and Bert dressed in plain clothes, Lin, Madoka, Noll, Mai, Martin and Luella blended in with the throng pretty well; none of the students suspected they were in the presence of an investigation team.
Mai stared at the massive structure of dull marble and brick, at the spires that seemed to go up and up into the sky, at the pilasters framing the massive windows above the ground floor and the lintels above those windows and the massive arch that formed the gateway of the entrance at the middle of the facade. And through that gateway, she saw the massive oaken double doors that had cured into a smokey shade of gray from continuous refinishing. She had seen monumental architecture in the photos and pictures in magazines and always wondered what it would be like to stand next to one so massive. It's not that she hasn't seen such examples before; she was a city girl, after all, who passed by many that rivaled this one in size on her way to work. She even went into mansions as big as this, but still. None of those had the imposing look and feel of the library in front of her. It looked like a castle from a fantasy novel.
"Mai, you're drooling; close your mouth," said Noll.
A few students turned their heads to her after hearing him, but turned back to what they were doing. Mai was livid; if only there weren't others around, she'd make Noll pay. She squeezed her hands into fists as if she was squeezing Noll's shrunken head.
Time passed.
Mai was growing restless. As Bert and Jacob talked with Noll's parents, she was looking at her watch and then at the door, wondering when the librarian would come in; it was nine already, and the librarian hadn't showed up yet. The students were getting restless, too. Some were talking smack about the new librarian being late for no reason. She even thought she heard two or three students somewhere in the back complain about the librarian's tardiness to the point of calling her a bitch and other words that made Mai cringe.
Ten minutes went by. Some of the students were leaving. And if that wasn't enough, it started raining again; so here Mai was, waiting in the moist open air and listening to the patter of rain on a canopy of umbrellas over the heads of herself and her companions; she shivered a bit beneath her jeans and two layers of sweaters; to Mai, it would have seemed comical if it wasn't so dreary. The scene reminded her of a scene from March of the Penguins, in which giant emperor penguins huddled together in huge masses, shivering to create a collective warmth for their eggs to hatch.
Eggs. That brought back Luella's cooking; eggs were really tasty when they're cooked, but when they're not, they were really nasty. Just as with uncooked poultry, uncooked egg yolks carried a real possibility salmonella poisoning when consumed. She thought of how many people crazy enough to drink a glass full of egg yolk before a workout got diarrhea and crapped their pants during their workouts, how many kept on crapping for days afterward till it hurt, and how many died a horrifyingly slow death from it. She even wondered if Elvis had died like that, sitting over the toilet eating his last fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. What a way to go, she thought.
"What's keeping her?" said Madoka, in one of her rare fits of annoyance. "She's rarely ever this late."
Mai broke out of her musings. "Maybe she cahlled in sick."
"I'm not sure, though. Even if she did call in sick, the one replacing her should be here by now. I hope nothing happened to her."
Mai looked at the worry on Madoka's face, and tingles of dread began to build inside her. After listening to everything in last night's briefing—of the beheadings and other gruesome things, not to mention that most of those victims were women—, she stood there thinking of what-if this and what-if that. She didn't want to think of the obvious; it was too scary. But all those what-ifs lead inexorably to one grim and horrifyingly real possibility. What if the current librarian was taken by the stroke of a pen or a pencil over Noll's unnerving supposition of a death ledger? What if she had died of a heart attack the way she heard a lot of the Kira victims die from? What if she took a second too long to make a turn in her car and got struck in a T-bone accident? What if she choked on some sleeping pills the night before and died of asphyxiation? What if she, oh the humanity of it all, died struggling on the floor to reach the phone and call for help? What if, oh, what if!
She looked at the silent statues of Lin and Noll; she couldn't discern their thoughts, no matter how hard she tried. But everyone had that same thought, though Lin and Noll didn't show it.
But such was unfounded. A woman with an umbrella came in, the crowd parting for her to get through. "Sorry I'm so late; I got tied up in traffic for almost an hour," and she produced a key from her coat pocket and opened the double doors to let them all in. Mai breathed a sigh of relief. Martin, Luella, Lin, Bert and Jacob knew the score well enough, showing their cards to the librarian; after she assented, they all went up the steps in a group into the warmth that was the library lobby and waited for the rest at the base of the stairs leading up.
"You had us worried for a while," said Madoka.
"I know what you mean," said the librarian, walking in and taking off her long coat before placing it on a coat rack near the reception area. "When anyone doesn't show up, people start assuming the worst; it's been that way for months now. By the way, how was you're trip to Japan?"
"It went fine."
"Thank goodness."
Mai looked at her, mesmerized; the librarian was so beautiful. Her clothes were a bit damp, and her dark hair was a bit limp and wet, but she was gorgeous all the same—fair complexion, grey eyes, smart-looking in a librarian way but not too bookish, the kind of woman that would turn a few heads.
Then the librarian caught a look at Mai staring at her and said, "Why, hello there. You're not from around here, are you?"
"No. I'm frohm Tokyo, Japan."
"Ah, then you're a transfer student, yes? If you are, I could show you the library if you want; I sometimes do that for those coming here from abroad."
"That's not necessary. She's with me." It was Noll, steely as ever.
But that didn't seem to faze the librarian one bit. "Really?" (Noll nodded yes.) "Then I'll need to keep her for a bit, so I can make her access card to the top floor," and she ushered Mai to the reception desk where she typed in Mai's first and last name into the library computer that processed all identifications that accessed the hallowed top floor. The system worked like a college initiation; someone who already had access to the top floor recommended you. "Wait here; it will take some time to process everything." She then left them long enough for Noll to say something.
"Madoka, go upstairs with the rest and see what else you can find about Robert Coltraine."
Madoka looked at Noll. "Robert Coltraine? Wasn't he the boy that was possessed years ago?"
"Yes; he is pertinent to this case, as you will soon find out. I need you and the rest to find out as much as you can about him, anything that's unusual about him."
"Like his name? He never used his real name in the papers."
Noll nodded. "Anything at all. I'll wait here until the librarian comes back with Mai's card." She nodded and was about to go when Noll added, "One more thing before you go."
"What is it?"
Noll leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Be careful around the librarian next time."
She looked at him as if to say, 'What are you talking about?' But one look at Noll told her he was serious, so she went without a word.
When he and Mai were alone, he said, "Mai, I want you to be very careful around the librarian."
"And why's that? She seems friendly enough."
"Looks can be deceptive. Do you remember last night what Gene tried to describe?"
"Yeah, I do." Then it hit her like a slap in the face. "Her hair, it's dark brown."
"Exactly; she's a brunette, just as Gene said, who works in a library, just as you pointed out."
"But...you actually think she's one of the murderers?"
"Maybe, but I need to make sure."
"But do you think she could be capable of something like that? I mean, maybe she was possessed or mind-controlled or something."
"You could be right. But in that case, since she may not have been aware of her actions at the time, you should be extra careful around her." Mai looked at his face to see if he was serious, and he was. In fact, he was deadly serious. "You don't go anywhere without me, Lin, Madoka or my parents accompanying you, is that clear?"
Mai nodded yes, but still harboring doubts, tenuous as they were.
After ten minutes, the librarian came over with a plastic card, handing it to her. "Here you go. Enjoy your stay here, Ms. Taniyama."
"Oh, and one more thing," said Noll.
"Oh?" The librarian did something Mai never expected; she looked at Noll like he was asking her out to something more than a date. It was enough to make her cheeks burn. Anything that dealt with her one and only like that was sure to make her blood boil; and what's worse, Noll seemed to be playing along. "And what is that?"
"Can you stay over after the library closes?"
(Mai almost gasped.)
"Yes, I can do that. What could I do for you?" Again, she looked at him in the same suggestive way.
"When you stay over, I need you to come upstairs and answer me a few questions."
(Mai pouted; whatever questions they were, she could only imagine.)
The librarian looked at Noll. "Wait a minute, you're not implicating me in anything, are you?"
"No. I just need to know a few things."
"About what?" She paused. "Is this about the late Lean Gordon?"
"Yes, and a few others, too. But I can't go into a lot of detail now. We both have things to do at the moment. So will you stay over?"
The librarian thought about it, then said, "I'll think about it; I just need to do some things first, and when I'm free, then I'll consider it."
"Fair enough; and one more question. What's your name? When I was here yesterday, you forgot to introduce yourself, since you're the new librarian and I am a patron of this library."
(Mai gaped in sheer disbelief; if she hadn't heard of Noll's warning about her, she would have thought he was hitting on her. The word 'patron' in any language still bowled her over. Up until now, she didn't even know Noll was capable of hitting on girls, let alone on an older woman, and much less in front of her. Then she remembered how he handled Ayako's advances on her first case. She felt the urge to stomp on Noll's instep but didn't want to attract attention to herself. So she balled her hands into fists, imagining Noll's shrunken head crushing beneath her fingers.)
"Somina Gavvers," said the librarian. "And I hope I didn't offend you yesterday; and if I did, I offer my sincerest apologies."
"There's no need, but thanks, anyway," and with that, Noll and Mai went up the stairs to the top floor, where the rest were waiting for them.
On the way up the stairs, Mai was thinking, I don't believe this. Did Naru just...? Arrrgh! I make his stinking tea everyday, and he doesn't even offer a thank you; but here he is thanking a complete stranger for apologizing for something SHE did! Arrrgh, I just wanna— And without thinking about it, she elbowed Noll in the ribs and glared at him.
"It was an act, Mai."
She still glared at him, though. It was too convincing for my taste, you...you—
Noll looked at her. "Remember Mai: Jealousy won't solve a case."
She wanted to kick him so hard that he'd be a few inches shorter. At least that would solve something. Maybe if she managed to kick him hard enough, he'd be as short as herself, but she settled with squeezing her hands into tight fists, instead. Only now she imagined squeezing Noll's balls as he screamed for mercy.
Noll tried to ignore Mai, thinking of everything he knew about the case so far. He had many questions rolling around in his head, half of them stemming from one all-important thing: the death ledger. In the insane asylum, Reynard Malders described a death ledger to him, but why? If Reynard knew anything about keeping secrets, why would he describe the very instrument he uses to kill someone? Surly, it wasn't just showing off; knowing Raynard Malders first hand, Noll knew he would not risk over thirty years of planning and orchestrating his murderous conspiracy for the cheap thrill of letting it all hang on a few words with someone like himself. It would be too risky on Reynard's part; he had no reason to disclose such information to an outsider, let alone to someone investigating him. So why would he do that? Noll didn't know...at least, initially.
Then he had another thought: Who would Reynard entrust such information to? Well, maybe he'd disclose that to his followers, the two accomplices in his crimes. He would tell them only as much as they needed to know to do his bidding, which might include how he kills; but why tell Noll that? There are only two reasons why he would do that. The first is conversion; Reynard's actions toward Noll in that fateful room, while possessing Ms. Fowler, were proof enough; when Noll baited him with his last dare, Reynard saw an opportunity to turn things his way, and he took it, damn well nearly killing him in the process. Noll still chided himself for being so stupid. But beyond converting Noll, there's the second reason; it sounded preposterous at first, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense: Raynard was looking for the death ledger. In other words, he had somehow lost the death ledger.
Of course, this opened a new can of worms, making it that much harder for him to solve this case. If Reynard doesn't have the death ledger, then who else has it? Where is it hidden? God knows. Noll only hoped Somina Gavvers knew where it was. Or at least know the last time she saw it before it disappeared. If she saw it, at all. It was a paper-thin lead, but it was all he had.
The other half were about the second accomplice, the one that's been killing for years without getting caught. Who is he? Noll had some ideas of who he is, but the logic behind his reasons was flimsy at best. He hoped Madoka or Lin's research could fill in some of the blanks; maybe when Father Carmyne comes in, he'd have a better understanding. But of this killer's current whereabouts, he knew he would hit a dead end sooner or later. But he had a fail safe. If worse comes to worse, he could always tell Somina Gavvers about it; that is, if she decides to cooperate at all. Well, it's worth a try, anyway.
And on top of those biggies, he had others, mainly for Jacob and Father Carmyne.
When he and Mai reached the top floor and were admitted through the door, they saw a buzz of activity. Lin and Madoka manned the computer stations, while Jacob and Bert were helping Luella and Martin look through the casebook stacks. At first, they failed to notice the two entering until the door closed behind them with a loud click of the latch.
"Noll, I think," said Bert, "you're sending us on a wild goose chase here."
"How do you know that?"
Bert looked at the kid like he missed the most obvious thing in the world. "That incident with this Robert Coltraine took place over sixty years ago in another country. Are you telling me these killings took place across international boundaries."
"Why so shocked? Have you forgotten that Gene was killed in Japan?"
"No, but you didn't talk about this last night."
"That's because I only thought about it this morning."
Mai took her seat at the table near the computer stations, once again bewildered with another set of unrelated facts. Oh man, I'm so lost; this is worse than my algebra class.
Her plight wasn't lost on Noll. "Mai, the least you could do is ask questions, if you don't understand. We were talking about Robert Coltraine from the 1949 exorcism in St. Louis; he was thirteen when he was possessed by a spirit, and it took the lead exorcist, Father William S. Bowdern, and his assistant, Father Raymond Bishop, about a week to exorcise the spirit. Now do you understand?"
Mai said yes.
"Wait, Noll," said Madoka, "what does that case have to do with this one?"
"You'll see when Father Carmyne arrives; he and I talked about it back in the asylum. By the way, Mr. Meiler, when will he be here."
"Within the hour at fifteen minutes to 10:00, if his clerical services aren't holing him up." Jacob then put a casebook back in it's shelf, took a seat next to Mai's left so that she could see his profile and bade Noll to sit, which he did. "Does he know something that we don't? Do you know something?"
"Yes, but I need everyone to be here for it. Also, do you know when the others will come in?"
"They said they would come here with the witnesses you listed yesterday by 10:30, 11:00 at the latest. As for Al, I'm not too sure." He then rubbed at his temples, looking at his watch. "It seems that every news hound in the country is itching to chew on him at the MIT building; the press has him doing a news conference this very minute. I don't think that he'll be here for what you have to say. Even I won't be here for too long; the latest I can stay is noon. I have to go back after that."
"But Mr. Grendal said he fired you?"
"He did, and I think he is regretting that decision, too. I think the press is hounding him for that, among other things; that's why I have to go back and settle things down in there."
"When will he be free?"
"Hopefully by 6:00, tonight, if nothing else happens."
"Good. When you meet Mr. Grady, I want you to tell him to come over here when he's done with his duties there. Try to get everyone here by 6:00 tonight, when you finished everything on your end. There's one thing you should all know, because it's imperative that you do."
Madoka turned in her seat, looking at Noll when he said this. She knew what that one thing meant; it had something to do with the librarian, though she didn't know what. Mai, on the other hand, knew; she didn't want Noll to be right in that case, though. A nice woman as Somina Gavvers, no matter how attracted she seems to Noll, didn't fit the description of a murderer, much less a follower of some twisted spirit.
"And what's that?" said Martin.
"I'll tell you all tonight when everyone gets here."
"I won't have that, Noll. I told you yesterday, no more secrets in this investigation, and I mean it; we can't afford to keep secrets in a case like this."
Noll looked at everyone staring at him, waiting for him to speak, expecting him to unleash yet another incomprehensible bombshell; but he wondered if he should reveal what he revealed to Mai. Should he wait it out till tonight, or keep them in the loop? Should he reveal his cards even when he doesn't have a full hand to work with, or play it on the sly for a few more passes? He made up his mind at once. "Whatever I tell you must not leave this room; do not under any circumstances give anyone outside this case the slightest clue of my suspicions."
Suspicions. Everyone tensed at that word.
"Suspicions about one of the killers? Care to enlighten us, Noll?"
"I suspect the librarian, Somina Gavvers, to be one of the accomplices for Reynard Malders. Now I know this sounds crazy," and indeed, everybody—including a doubtful Mai—looked at Noll like he had misplaced his head for a washing machine; even Lin stopped his typing and turned in his seat to face him, "but I have my reasons."
"Good God, Noll, what are they?"
"Do you remember Reynard Malders mentioning Gene's name in the tape?"
"Of course. How could I forget?"
"And that a woman ran him over in a hit and run?"
"Yes, yes, I know that. What's this all about?"
"Gene told me who killed him, not by name but by description," said Noll. (Martin and Luella turned to each other before turning to Noll again; they took their seats next to their son, across from Jacob. With Noll's parents facing Jacob, and Mai and Noll on the ends, Jacob looked like a card dealer at a blackjack game. With Madoka and Lin at the computer stations, the only one standing was Bert, looking like a pit boss observing them.) "And I have Mai to vouch for me, as well. Last night, we both came down to the kitchen to record something, which turned out to be Gene moving the letter magnets on the refrigerator. I asked him questions, question I knew only he could know. He gave us a description of the woman who killed him in Japan by moving the letters on the refrigerator."
"Do you have the tape with you?"
Noll chided himself again. "It's in the house; I forgot to take it with me."
Martin raised his brows. "Noll, you're not the type that would forget so easily." He then looked at Mai, wondering if she somehow made him forget. If she did, then she must be someone Noll truly cared about, someone who gained enough of his confidence to be on a first-name basis and beyond. "Do you have anything else that can link Ms. Gavvers to this case?"
"No, not at the moment. Except when she comes here and answers questions. We'll have to review the tape when we get home."
"Don't worry," said Jacob; he then threw Bert the car keys. "I'll have Bert go over and retrieve it. Do you know where you left it?"
"It's on the bookshelf in my bedroom. The tape is in the camera; just have him bring the whole camera, and we'll view it here."
"And where is the room?" said Bert.
"The room is on the second floor, to the right of the stairs furthest to the right, where there are two beds. You can't miss it."
Martin threw him another set of keys. "The red key opens the front door, and the door to Noll's room is usually left open."
"Ah, I closed it," said Mai. "Sohrry."
"That's all right. It's the room furthest to the right of the stairs with two bed, where all of Noll's certificates are. Oh, and one more thing," said Martin. "Leave your shoes by the front door, when you go upstairs. It's just a courtesy, that's all."
"I'll do that," and Bert walked out of the room on his errand.
"Noll," said Luella, "how do you know Gene talked to you?"
"You'll see in the tape. He answered my questions, one of them having to do with this," and he pulled from his pocket a folded sheet of old, crinkled paper. "Mr. Meiler, I think you will recognize it." He unfolded it and showed it to Jacob. "Does this belong to a diary of yours?"
Jacob stood up on seeing it, his mouth agape and his eyes bulging in shock. "My God, Noll, where on earth did you find that?"
"I didn't find it, at least not intentionally," said Noll; Jacob looked at him. "It was lying on this table when I came back to it with a few copies of my findings. I would not have formed my conclusions about Reynard Malders, had I not found this. Last night, when Mai and I made the recording,"—he now faced his mother, saying—"I asked Gene if he left it here, and he said yes with the letters on the refrigerator. You'll see when Mr. Grendal comes back with the camera."
Luella smiled a little Mona Lisa smile. "At least I know Gene's heart is where it should be, even if his spirit isn't," whereat her husband placed a hand on her shoulder. Her words, brief as they were, lifted everyone's spirit somewhat; everyone smiled, even Lin and Noll, to Mai's astonishment.
But only for a moment.
Noll said, "Mr. Meiler, this paper contains blotches from what I assume to be tears, your tears. What went through your mind when you wrote this."
"Suicide," said Jacob in a tone that frightened Mai and unnerved everyone else; he sat in front of the table again, resting his elbow on it while resting his forehead on his hand. "What you hold in your hand is a suicide note. I wrote it with every intention of killing myself afterwards. And I was close to killing myself, too; God knows I wanted to do it. You cannot imagine the horrors that go through your mind when contemplating your own death. It's like digging your own grave and preparing your own noose that will hang upon the branch above your own grave, where you become your own judge, jury, executioner and undertaker. I had the bullets in the gun, I had the hammer cocked back, I had the barrel in my mouth, I had my finger on the God damned trigger, for Christ's sake. I was this close," and he indicated it with the closeness of his fingers, a scant millimeter apart, "this close to killing myself."
Noll thought of his words, remembering what Reynard said in the asylum. "Why didn't you do it?"
"I was scared shitless, believe me. Even now, it scares the shit out of me. Noll, there's something you should know about cops, in general. Every cop has a number, as in the number of dead bodies you could look at before you reached your limit. I've known cops who have put in over forty years and have never reached their number; sometimes they were lucky, but most of the time they were killed in the line of duty. My first partner, Thomas Matheson, was one of the lucky ones, though he died a slow painful death in the end. My second partner, Tony Levine, wasn't so lucky; he died by friendly fire, my friendly fire. Either of those would've been enough to push a cop over the edge, but it came to a head after my wife's funeral."
Trembles, small but growing trembles, shook their way through Jacob's frame, starting at the knees, then the shoulders, then in the elbows and hands; he then slid his hands down his ashen face, gazing that far-away thinking gaze through a pair of terrified eyes, trembling all the same.
Madoka bit on her lower lip, while Mai looked at the old man, her hands clutching at the edges of her chair, her heart beating in her chest; it was too painful to watch, but she didn't want to close her eyes or look away for fear of seeing something she didn't want to see. Luella looked perilously on, forgetting her trembling knees, as her husband sat by her, his hand now glued to her shoulder. Only Lin and Noll seemed to keep their wits about them, tenuous as they were.
"What happened?" said Noll.
"I was remembering the day my wife died, the very morning, in fact. Martin, do you remember me telling you that I woke up finding my wife dead in bed?"
"I do."
"Well, that's not all that happened," and without so much as acknowledging Noll or Martin, he went on. "After I found Callie dead in bed, I saw those morbid lines on the wall. And it wasn't like I turned my head, and there they were; I literally saw those words bleed out through the wall. That's when I ran to the door, but I found it locked; it wouldn't budge, no matter how much I wrenched at the door knob. But then I... I turned around to see my wife again... And her body was sitting up in bed looking at me! How I didn't suffer a heart attack right then and there, I have no idea, because I screamed myself half to death. And when I came to myself again, her corpse raised its lifeless arms as if to embrace me, asking me to look into its eyes... Those eyes glowed... And when I looked into them, I...I...I saw—" and Jacob slammed the table with his fist, startling everyone.
"What did you see?" said Noll.
Jacob turned to Noll, staring him dead in the eye. "I saw the same vision I saw two years prior, when Thomas Matheson shot himself; I saw it in the eyes of my dead wife the way I saw it in the eyes of that man in that damn suit. I...I broke down the door to escape and ran my ass off, after seeing such an awful sight. After that, I passed out."
"At the time of your wife's death, or at the time of your attempted suicide?"
"At the time of the attempted suicide."
Noll looked at the old man, who was sweating now and taking in deliberate breaths to calm himself. "What did you see when you looked into those eyes?"
"I've been dreading that question the moment you left my office two days ago. You're not letting this go, are you?"
Noll shook his head. A long silence ensued, but Jacob still hesitated; he stole a glance at Martin.
"I take it that Noll knows of your ESP?" When Jacob nodded, Martin said, "Mr. Meiler, just as you have had my confidence in keeping secrets, so shall you have it in Noll and everyone else in this room. Father Carmyne, Mr. Grendal and the rest do not need to know of your abilities, that you can be sure of. Though you come from an organization that scoffs at paranormal phenomena, you are in a room full of paranormal investigators who understand your position and your need to keep this away from public knowledge. You need have no fear, so speak freely."
Sill, Jacob hesitated.
"Mr. Meiler," added Noll, "if it makes you that uncomfortable, then you're not alone. Mai here has ESP, which I find useful in the cases I investigate. I also employ the abilities of Masako Hara, who has made a name for herself as a medium in Japan. And you can be sure that when Gene was alive, we used every means we had between us, paranormal and otherwise, to find the location of the mayor's son who had gone missing five years ago."
"Noll, you think you've seen everything, don't you? I'm telling you, what I saw has haunted me ever since that fateful night in the cave."
"I'm not asking you to describe the events of that cave; Father Carmyne already talked to me about it, unless you're willing to elaborate."
"Oh, I'll elaborate just so you and everyone else here will know exactly where I'm coming from, because I saw Reynard Malder's death in that cave. And it's unlike any death I've seen in all my years in Scotland Yard, I guaran-fucking-tee it; and you can take my disregard for language as living proof."
"Now, Jacob," said Martin, "there is no need for swearing like that, if you can help it."
"I can't; I'm a cop, remember? And you'd understand why, had you seen what I saw." He then gritted his teeth, steadying his nerves. He slid his hands down his face again while mumbling something under his breath, as if baptizing himself for the horror that would come, looking out through glazed eyes that didn't seem to focus on anything in the room; he had a dreamy look about him, as if he had hypnotized himself as he tried to remember, when he began, "The day after Carmyne and I escaped the cave, I had a dream in some deep cavernous void, sitting with the lamp still on and a flashlight at my side, the burning embers of the campfire slowly turning into ash, and that's when I realized I was looking through the eyes of Reynard Malders still in that cave. In it, I felt lethargic and fell asleep; and when I awoke, I felt for my flashlight and turned it on.
"But when I turned it on, I found myself in a setting completely different. I found myself within a maze of crumbling corridors, for everywhere I turned there was nothing else. No lights, no doors, no windows, no stairs, nothing but meandering hallways for as far as the light of my flashlight could reach. And the hallways were flooded, too, with grimy water; I assumed there was a broken drainage pipe somewhere, because I heard the sound of running water coming from the corridor walls, but I had no idea where. The place smelled awful, too, and at first there was nothing I could do to get out. I kept walking through the sludge when I tripped over something, nearly dropping my flashlight. It turned out to be a chain, and I followed it through the corridors thinking it was a way out. Soon I saw another chain cross my path, then another, then another, more and more chains crisscrossing throughout the halls that it seemed to me that I was lost again; but then I heard something calling my name."
Something in Noll started to flutter in him, when he heard Jacob's words; he remembered having a dream in a deep dark void while he laid unconscious in bed at the asylum. And something or someone was calling his name. Coincidence? Noll didn't think so.
Jacob continued, "It was a human voice, very faint, almost inaudible at first, but steadily getting clearer and clearer as I trudged toward the sound. All the while, I felt claustrophobic, as if the walls were closing in on me, as if something was closing in on me. I figured the closer I followed the human voice, the sooner I'd get out of there. Further along, the water changed color; it tinted red, and I could smell the faint scent of wet iron and salt, as if I was walking toward the Red Sea or something. But going further, I realized that it was actual blood in the water, and the further I went on, the stronger the smell became. But I was past going back by then. Only now, the flashlight flickered off and on, getting dimmer and dimmer, and I knew I was in trouble. I had to get out at all costs. I forgot about the chain all together and just ran, and I mean ran my 10-year-old ass off; I kept running, even when my legs ached for God knows how long, till I couldn't run anymore, till I felt my lunges about to burst.
"But while I stopped to catch my breath, my flashlight came on, and I could see where I was. I was in a large room, something like a central room or intersection, where many of the corridors connected in one hub. I looked behind me from where I had come, and found the chain leading up the wall of where I was; it seemed to me that other chains from different corridors met here. I...I followed these chains up the wall with my flashlight, and then...then..." Then Jacob's hands began to tremble, then his shoulders, then his knees, while beads of sweat poured from his ashen face in rivulets, his eyes wide and his pupils shrunken in sheer terror, as he struggled to keep his nerve.
Everyone found it painful to watch, especially for Mai as she gripped the sides of her chair even harder than before. The sight reminded them of someone unlucky enough to be condemned to the electric chair, as current after current shook through his nerves, muscles and bones. It was enough to unnerve the hell out of everyone, even Noll and Lin. But the old man's agony wouldn't stop; he couldn't stop shaking.
Noll and Lin got up from their seats.
"Mr. Meiler," said Noll, "Mr. Meiler, can you hear me?"
He couldn't, not even for the world. His eyes bulged from their sockets, and his mouth fell open, as he was getting ready to—
Scream! Scream all you want, old man; you'll never escape your fate! Never! The voice, that rasping horrible voice that he thought would never again sound through his head, had come back to Jacob with a vengeance. I'm coming for you, do you here me, old man? You thought you had escaped me after thirty long years? Ha! All bad little kitties get their just desserts; and the big bad wolf is coming for you, to gobble you up and shit you out! And an evil laughter rang in his ears.
And Jacob screamed; oh, how he screamed.
He kept screaming till he passed out. And when he came to, he found himself on the floor with three figures crouching over him and suffering the most apocalyptic headache he's had in years.
"Jacob," said Martin, "can you hear me?"
"Why does my head hurt?"
Everyone let out a sigh of relief. But just as soon as Jacob opened his mouth, he slipped into the sludgy depths of slumber. Mai watched Lin and Noll raise the old man by his arms, who looked like a man made of spaghetti when they carried him to the couch next to the wall to lay him in, toes dragging on the floor, head lolling up and down; she had tears in her eyes.
"Mai, he's okay," said Noll. "He just needs time to rest."
"Will he be all right?" said a half-frantic Luella.
"He'll be fine," said Martin. "He just passed out, that's all; he's sleeping now."
Madoka couldn't speak; she just sat there at the computer station, staring at Jacob's still body.
Time passed, the minutes inching along at a snail's pace. When he woke up, he asked what had happened, and Noll told him everything. Noll thought of everything Jacob had said; it was still incomplete. "Mr. Meiler, what did you find when you looked up?"
"Noll, no more questions," said Martin. "He's had quite enough already."
"No, no," said Jacob, his voice sluggish but calm, looking up to the ceiling from lying on the couch, "I might as well get it over with and not delay anything."
"What did you see?" Noll repeated.
Jacob turned his head to him, eyeing him with glazed eyes. "I saw Reynard's body parts hanging from those chains."
(To be continued...)
A/N: Okay, It's been a while, but here's the next installment of The Whitechapel Case... Trust me, you won't believe how my writing habits have been topsy-turvy all week this week... It's like my writing muse can't make up her mind... First my sonnets, then a new poetry collection I haven't even posted on here yet, then this story, then a bit of Huang Ying, then back to this story, then my sonnets, then this story... It's crazy... Anyway, hope you enjoyed... ( ^_^ )