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 2: The Connections
Chapter 9

Serves you right, Mr. Naru the Narcissist, thought Mai, trying to hold back evil giggles. Believe it or not, she was still upset over Noll's rejection back in the SPR office seven days ago and wanted to give him a piece of her mind; but that all changed when she saw Noll's harried appearance. She saw his blood-shot eyes and his face glistening in copious amount of sweat and especially those bruises on his neck, and she found herself gaping and didn't know it. "Naru, what happened to you? Your neck—"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

But Mai worried about it anyway and placed her hand on Noll's neck. Bad idea. She saw him wince in pain. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Mai, I am fine," he said; he grabbed her hand and held it aloft. "Leave it alone, before you make things worse than they already are."

"Fine!" she said, jerking her hand free. "I'm just worried about you, that's all."

"Then at least have the decency to show your concern for me in a less painful way."

She glared at him, thinking, Keep it up, and I'll show you the real meaning of pain, you jerk!

Noll found himself smirking when he saw Mai blushing in anger. He had to be honest with himself; sometimes he liked her better when she was angry, though now was definitely not one of them. "Mai, this is not the time for being angry."

"Then at least have the decency to be nice for once!"

"Mai, you don't understand—" Noll stopped. Only now did he realize he was speaking in Japanese. And one look around told him the guests in the house didn't have a clue to what they were saying.

But in reality, the guests were looking at the two as if they were seeing a couple having one those inevitable quarrels; and that notion wasn't lost on Noll's parents. While bubbly Madoka tried everything she could to hold back her giggles and Lin was reveling in Noll's embarrassment, Luella and Martin stood there speechless. They could hardly believe it; their boy and this young lady acted too much like their married selves when they were young; in fact, it was almost scary.

"Understand what?" said Mai.

"You'll know soon enough."

Awkward silence.

"Uh... Let me introduce you all to Ms. Mori," said Martin, "and this young lady, Ms. Taniyama. They will both assist in this case."

Noll gaped at his father; he couldn't believe he would be crazy enough to allow Mai on this case. But the kid composed himself, stoic face and all, and walked past Mai out of the kitchen, saying, "Lin, help me carry their luggage upstairs."

Lin did as he was told; Noll carried Mai's luggage, while Lin carried Madoka's. They were halfway up, when Lin said, "You're not taking this very well, are you?"

"And what gives you that idea?"

"You're sweating. Profusely."

The kid turned to glare at Lin at the top of the stairs. "Having Mai here is the last thing I need." And without another word, he went towards his room.

"You're having Mai sleep with you?"

Noll almost dropped Mai's luggage; he glared harder at Lin as if to say don't even think about it, before placing them in front of the room next to Lin. "There are two beds; it's not like we're sharing one. But that's beside the point. If I had my choice, I'd have her leave tonight, but that's impossible now that she's here, now that she could be a possible target, because she's stupid enough to put herself into this mess. Don't you understand? Just by being here, she's in danger. I can't risk anymore collateral in this case."

"We're all in danger, Noll; and if I'm not mistaken, you put yourself in danger not too long ago. What's gotten into you? In all the cases we've done, I've never seen you lose your calm like this."

Noll gritted his teeth, daring Lin to push it one more time. Just one more, and he'd get it big-time.

"Noll, what else did that spirit tell you, besides Gene's death?"

He didn't answer, only turning his back to him and saying, "I will tell everyone when I'm ready, but for now I just want to be alone for a moment."

Lin nodded and put Madoka's luggage next to Mai's before going downstairs.

Noll then picked up Mai's luggage and placed them in front of his room that he used to share with Gene, but not before noticing the sweat beading on his hands and face. He then went into the bathroom, flicked on the light switch, turned on the faucet and splashed his face with water before drying it with a towel. Then he looked in the mirror and glared at what he saw. Behind the usual stoic expression of his face, he saw that the blue in his blood-shot eyes had faded a little, and the bruises on his neck were quite pronounced. Gene's murder had shaken his nerves. He chided himself for being so weak.

Meanwhile, after Madoka and Mai had their introductions to everyone on the case, Bert went upstairs to help Lin get the equipment ready for the briefing. Lin carried his laptop and two speakers, while Bert carried the monitor downstairs to the private study and set them up on the coffee table. Once all the wiring and connections were in order, Lin got out the research he and Noll compiled in the last forty-eight hours, while Bert was sitting on a sofa and filling in Albert, his son Laurence, Jacob and Father Carmyne on all the details he and Noll found out on the day's investigation.

On the other sofa, a blushing Mai was having a little girl-chat with Luella, only it was one-sided; Luella was asking all the questions, which were about Mai's purported relationship with Noll. Believe it or not, Mai actually understood most of Luella's English; but it's one thing to understand it and quite another to speak it. But she still tried in the best broken English she could manage. Of course, she was clueless as to why Luella was questioning her like this but was too afraid to ask. Hence, the blush on her face. Mai prayed for an end to the interrogation.

And Madoka, she was leaning against the sofa's arm, talking with Terry and Bert. Believe it or not, they were talking about the case, but you wouldn't believe it given Madoka's bubbly disposition. But that changed when Madoka finally got a chance to talk to Martin. For once, she actually dropped her bubbly attitude. Martin looked grim as hell, and she knew why; so she broke the news for him. "You don't have to tell me; I already know what happened to Gene."

Martin stared at her. "I... How? Did Noll tell you before he left?"

"Mai told me about it on the flight coming over here; she said Noll had Gene's body flown over." She looked over at Luella, still questioning Mai relentlessly: "Will Mrs. Davis be okay? She must be taking it really hard."

"She is, but she will get through it; she is much stronger than we all give her credit for sometimes. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. It's about her stalker." Madoka turned pale at this, but before she could say anything, Martin continued, "Now don't go into any sudden conclusions; it's not what you're thinking. She is all right."

"When did this happen?"

"It happened five months ago, three months after Noll and Lin left, but Luella and I didn't tell you about it, because we didn't want to worry you. In fact, we didn't want that fact to leak into the papers, because it would attract too much unwanted attention and even compromise this case."

"Does Noll know about this?"

"Yes; I told him when he and Lin arrived here yesterday. Quite frankly, that has me worried; Noll rarely shows his emotions, but I can tell something is bothering him. I don't know what it is, but I think it may have something to do with Luella's stalker. It's a possibility I can't afford to overlook, because it seems to have affected his judgment. You noticed those bruises he has on his neck?"

"Yeah, I did; what happened?"

"I'm not sure. I can't get a straight answer out of Noll or Lin for some reason."

"Well, you know those two. They like to keep secrets."

Martin nodded, knowing full well he had his own secrets he shared only with Luella and few others, ones he could not afford to keep from this case. All the while, his face got grimmer and grimmer.

"You okay? I hope it's not about this case."

"I'm afraid it is. What did you find out?"

Madoka couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, so she whispered it in Martin's ear.

Shock etched itself onto his face. "Keep those findings within this investigation; I cannot stress it enough. Should anybody outside this case find out, especially in light of the recent events, then we might be liable to cause a panic. I can't afford that. So please keep our findings, whether they be Noll's or yours or mine or those of the police, inside this investigation. Don't let anyone outside the case have access to them, is that clear?"

Madoka nodded yes.

"Oh, and one more thing. About this Ms. Taniyama; does she really have that kind of ESP?"

"I'd be lying to you if I said she didn't. Noll said she woke up screaming when she dreamed of a spirit's death in the Urado Mansion. She even found Masako Hara when she went missing inside one of the walls."

"Really? Astral projection? That's amazing! Still, I hope this case won't have to come to that."

You and me both, thought Madoka.

Some more time passed. And when Noll came down stairs and into the study, all talking ceased. He carried with him a laptop as well as his black book he'd been writing in all day. After setting them on the coffee table, he went to the low bookshelf on the right and pulled it back. Behind it was a stand and a marker board, the kind you find in office board meetings. He set up the contraption and found working markers to write with, much to everyone's surprise. Even Lin was surprised. Martin asked him if he was ready to give out his findings, and Noll said he was. "But on one condition," said Noll. "I know you are hiding something from me, which may have some bearing on my findings. I don't know what it is, but I need to find out in order to solve this case."

Martin sighed. He should have seen this coming, considering how clever Noll was. "All right, I will. In fact, I think everyone in this room has a right to know, since this is such a dangerous case. But in return, I need to know what you told Lin that night before you went to Japan."

"I saw Gene's death in my dream, and that's what I told Lin. I just didn't want you or Mother to worry about me, while I was in Japan."

Silence. Martin was deep in thought, as was the rest of the people in the study.

As for Mai, she had forgotten about Luella's questions the moment she heard Noll talking to his father. They didn't even bother to keep their voices down; it bore an eerie semblance to Noll talking to Lin at the Urado mansion, albeit not as heated. She felt embarrassed just looking at them, father and son, let alone overhearing such a personal conversation; in fact, she would've covered her ears had there been no other guests around. She didn't want to look stupid in front of them. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and found it was Madoka's, who smiled at her as if to say it's okay; Luella did the same thing on her other shoulder. If there's one thing all women shared besides the physical aspects, it was understanding.

"I see," said Martin.

"I'm not asking you to forgive. I just want you to understand."

"I do, Noll; trust me, I do. I know your intentions for not telling us were good ones. But no more secrets, please. When you told me Gene was dead, I thought I was going to die, let alone seeing your mother go through all that. If there's anything bothering you, you need not keep it from me or your mother."

Noll assented. After that, he looked at his audience, thinking of his words. He was too weary to make his findings any less painful than they already are. He just told it as it is. "You're all wondering why I got these bruises on my neck, I'm sure. But before I do, I need to point out a few things that have changed. I'm sure most of you knew that we had two suspects, since Mr. Gendal told you that while we were on our way to the Allenshire House of the Insane to interview a patient residing there. Now I stay and correct it; it's not two, it's three suspects we're looking for."

Everyone in the study tensed; Laurence was about to ask why, but his father prevented him. "In the two days Mr. Grendal, Lin and I have spent on this case, I've been trying to make sense out of the seemingly unconnected murders of the 1977 Spitalfields case, the 1979 William Street case and the current case in and around Whitechapel. But it wasn't until I interviewed Jason Pickmasters and Father Carmyne that I knew where this stems from. Mr. Meiler, I'll ask the same thing I asked of Father Carmyne. Do you remember entering a cave with four other friends when you were ten years old?"

"Yes, I do. Regrettably, I do—"

"Wait," said Laurence, "what does that have to do with this case?"

That earned him a reprimand from his father, Albert, not to interrupt Jacob again, or else.

Noll continued, "It has everything to do with this case, because so far as I know, it provides an identity to one of the killers as well as a motive."

"Then who is it, this one killer?" said Terry.

"I'll leave that for Mr. Meiler and Father Carmyne to know first;" he then looked at Jacob. "Continue."

Jacob said, unabated, "Well... We were five friends, and Father Carmyne was one of them as well. We found a cave not too long after the war, where we spent much of our free time. I think Evan Moore found it. But we never actually went inside that cave; none of us had the guts to do it. That is, until one of our friends—his name was..."—prolonged silence followed—"Reynard Malders. He got lost in that cave and never came out of it alive. Dare I say where this is going, Noll?"

But Noll didn't answer, at least not yet. Instead, he drew a vertical line and listed out the dates of the cases in chronological order, the number of victims in each and the nature of the murders in each. Essentially, he copied down his father's sheet of victims in abbreviated form and added other information as he saw fit, like this:

1945. (Cave.) Reynard Malders (missing).
1977. (Spitalfields.) 4 victims (beheaded).
1979. (William Street.) 12 victims (unknown causes).

2009-2010. (Whitechapel.) 23 victims (22 mutilated & 1 eviscerated).

"These are the number of victims from 1945 onwards. A time line, if you will. At first glance, they all seem different, and they are. But in all these instances, Mr. Meiler, what do they have in common?"

Jacob froze in his seat, his eyes bulging from their sockets; all at once, every fiber in his being felt as if it was burning, as a thousand horrible memories rushed through him at light-speed. He choked out, "They all involved me. I was assigned to all three cases, and my experience at that cave..." He trailed off; he couldn't continue. But Noll urged him on to divulge everything he knew, despite the tears threatening to well up in his eyes. "My first partner, Thomas Matheson, was hospitalized in 1977; he died soon after that same year. My second partner, Tony Levine, died in 1979 of a head-shot. My wife also died that same year..." Tears trickled down his petrified face, which he wiped with his sleeve.

"Father Carmyne, what else do these dates have in common?"

"Dear God, Noll, do I have to repeat myself?"

"Please do, so the rest of us will know."

The father braced himself. "I too helped to find Reynard Malders, but I couldn't. Neither of us could, being so young. My wife was one of the four that were beheaded in 1977. I issued the funeral rights to Tony Levine and... Callie Meiler. And just two months ago, February, my daughter became one of... one of... Well, you know; the press has been touting her name with rest of them for Christ's sake!... Sorry. I'm just a little bit ruffled, that's all."

That outburst got everyone a bit ruffled. Including Mai, for she found herself gaping. Yes, she may not have gotten the highest scores on her English classes, but she knew enough of it to know that phrases like that might get you in big trouble. But, hey, this was England, not Japan; she wondered to herself whether the guys in England swore in English just as often as the guys in Japan swore in Japanese. Then she thought of Noll swearing in English, and that got her heart racing.

"Noll, you are trying everybody's nerves," said Martin. "Please tell me there's a point to all this."

"There is," said Noll, "trust me on this. I know what I'm doing."

"And what are you trying to do, Noll?" said Jacob.

"I'm trying to make you two understand why this is happening. You can't solve a case without knowing why. And since you and Father Carmyne are the only two left alive, this whole case revolves around you two. Besides the murder victims, these are the ones who died who were close to either of you," and he wrote down four more dates and names on the time line.

1977. Thomas Matheson. (infection).
1978. Evan Moore. (possible insomnia).
1979. Tony Levine. (gunshot wound).
2007. Lean Gordon. (missing).

"These four individuals were close to either of you. Mr. Meiler, you know all of them, whereas you, Father Carmyne, know only two—Evan Moore and Lean Gordon. Let's focus on Moore and Gordon, because they were at that cave with you two back in 1945. Have either of you wondered why they died the way they did? Or any guilt or fear that something was out to get you? Or any nightmares about that cave?"

The two old men looked at Noll, then at each other, then back at Noll again. Father Carmyne said, "Yes, we both did, as I've already told you back in the asylum. Care to tell us why this case has anything to do with us?"

The kid sighed. "I'll go straight to the point. Apparently, something or someone has a deep grudge against you two, a grudge deep enough to take away your friends and family." (In Mai's head, she could only think of one thing that had any semblance to what Noll was talking about. It was the Sakauchi case in Rokuryo High School back in Japan, where Sakauchi placed a death curse on the assistant principal with the help of unwitting accomplices. She thought hard on it, which wasn't lost on Noll.) "Mai, what's on you're mind? Do you have something to say?" he said, forgetting to speak in Japanese.

Mai was put on the spot; she was tongue-tied, so she shook her head no.

That's when he realized his mistake. He flushed and found himself gaping just in time to shut his mouth. He was almost tongue-tied; he didn't know whether to apologize or just ignore it all. But he composed himself and went on. "Mr. Meiler, Father Carmyne, I don't know how to tell you this without upsetting both of you. But one of those murderers is Reynard Malders."

Jacob stood up. "WHAT! You can't be serious; he's been dead for over sixty years!"

"I know, but from all the evidence I've gathered so far, it's the most logical choice."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid," said Bert. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. That's like saying, your dead grandmother murdered someone thirty years ago from beyond the grave."

"There better be some damn good evidence, boy; otherwise I'm not buying it."

"I have the bruises to prove it, as well as witnesses."

"Noll," said Father Carmyne, "what grounds do you base that conclusion from? Lin, Bert and I were there in that asylum, and we all saw everything, including the spirit that possessed Ms. Fowler and the way you were attacked. In all that time, not once did Reynard Malders cross my mind."

"You said that spirit lunged out at you when it saw you. Why did it do that?"

"It recognized me from the three other visits I paid to Ms. Fowler."

"Then what about the first time? You said that spirit kept daring you to do things to Ms. Fowler. 'I dare you. I double-dare you. I triple-dare you.' Does that ring any bells?"

It did. Father Carmyne leaned back into the sofa, as if trying to soften the blow of some horrifying revelation thrust upon him. He looked up at Noll as if begging him to say it wasn't so; but it was so, and nothing he or Noll could do or say could change something so earth-shattering yet so undeniable.

As for Jacob, still standing, he crossed his arms and glared at Noll. He was a tough old nut, not prone to breakage like his old friend. "It's just coincidence. There is such a thing as coincidence."

"Yes, there is such a thing. But think back to that cave; what went through your mind in the days after entering that cave? Father Carmyne said you were worse off than he was. I wonder why. Was it because you had nightmares? Or was it you just simply couldn't stop thinking about Reynard Malders? Or was it you had a guilty—?"

"I've been a cop for over forty years, Noll. Those questions won't work on me."

Then the kid looked at him for a moment, then got out the CD he got from the staff at the insane asylum, showing footage of today's near-tragedy. He popped the CD into his laptop at the end of the coffee table and turned up the volume on the speakers, so everyone would hear as well as see. "This is the footage of today's incident in the asylum." (Luella grabbed onto Martin's arm; he put his arm around her shoulders and whispered comforting words to calm her down.) "Everything on it has not been tampered with in any way." Noll fast-forwarded it. The image on the screen was of Ms. Fowler's room on the opposite side from where the security camera was, showing the door and tinted window; everything on the computer screen zipped by like busy bees, until he stopped it at the point when Noll, Bert and Lin had been in Ms. Fowler's room for about seven minutes, the point when Noll had uncovered the spirit acting as an impostor. "Try not to mind the language. This is the spirit of Reynard Malders talking and not Ms. Fowler."

Talking is an understatement, thought Lin, as he gritted his teeth, knowing all too well of the verbal abuse that was to come. Even now, he resisted the urged to go and smash the laptop, so he wouldn't have to hear that grizzly rasping voice, let alone hear that voice piss on whatever pride he had left. His heart raced with anticipation, dread and fury. And one look at Lin told Madoka to brace herself; she knew Lin to be the strong silent type, so seeing Lin get nervous made her get nervous. Hell, it was contagious; everybody tensed up. Martin hugged his wife closer to him, holding her hand and giving a couple of squeezes.

As for Mai, she had her hands full of sofa cushion, as if she were holding on for dear life on a roller coaster ride from Hell. Oh my God, Naru, how can you show this in front of your family?

On the screen were half a dozen men waiting anxiously outside, especially the doctor who was walking back and forth. Noll was grilling the spirit into confessing, until...

"You caught me," said the spirit.

"Don't!"

"But, Noll, we need to—"

"Exorcise me, yes, yes, yes," interrupted the spirit, its craggy voice ripping through the speakers. "Come on, Lin! A man as manly as you can take on an old crone like me, yes? Or are you too weak?"

"Lin, don't listen to her. She's possessed, remember?"

"Oh, I see, Lin, I see. Could it be that you're too scared to exorcise me? Do you fear me that much? Come on, don't be that way; I dare you to exorcise me! I double-dare you! I triple-dare you! I quadruple-fucking-dare you, you cock-sucking, yellow-bellied Chinaman! You dickless...!"

Noll paused it.

Everybody was shocked. Mai and Madoka had their hands over their gaping mouths. Luella didn't even gape; she was on the verge of fainting and would've fallen over, had not her husband held her so tight. Lin looked like a human volcano getting ready to blow his top (if it had not blown already), and everybody else just sat and stared, shocked into a stupor. But nobody was as shocked as Jacob and Father Carmyne, both looking like they have heard the voice of a long-lost friend come home at last, the last string of lines singing through their heads like an old campfire tune from half a century ago. The only one who didn't seem to be affected was Noll, ever calm as usual.

Father Carmyne was first to recover enough of himself to cross himself.

"Mr. Meiler, Father Carmyne, I suggest you listen to this next part very carefully," and Noll fast-forwarded the video, the people on the screen buzzing around like bees, and stopped.

"Aha! So you have been doing your homework! That's much better than what I can say for those less competent sleeze bags in that whorehouse called Scotland Yard! Those fuckers never gave a flying fuck about me, just like those four traitors who left me to rot in that hideous Hell-hole!..."

Noll paused it. "I hope this clears up any doubts you had."

At this, Jacob, Albert, Laurence, Terry, Bert and Father Carmyne froze. Sure, they've all heard their fair share of bad-mouthers chewing them out before, but this was crazy. A ghost, a real freaking ghost, has a grudge against Scotland Yard's finest? No wonder there's been so many killings in recent months; this entire case had become a revenge plot in the making.

Then the kid sighed, dreading the next part of the video.

"What's wrong?" said Martin.

"This case not only revolves around Mr. Meiler and Father Carmyne; it also revolves around me."

"Wait," said Madoka, "what do you mean by that?"

"You know what I mean."

"But how?" said Martin. "You have no personal stake in this."

"I used to share that sentiment till I heard this," and he pushed the play button.

"...Oh, you're a clever, clever lad, you are! I could only imagine the look on your brother's face, if he were here to see how far you've come!"

"How do you know about him? Answer me before I—!"

"It's not your turn, it's MINE! It's my turn; truth or dare?"

One minute... Two minutes... Five and counting!

"Truth."

"Do you believe in fate, boy?"

"Fate is what we make for ourselves and nothing else."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, if I were you. You don't know what fate is. You have never felt its weight in the palm of your hand. And you will never know what fate is, until you have gone through what I've gone through, suffered what I have suffered, and transcended the chains of death as I have. You think I'm bluffing, don't you? Then let this convince you! Look no further than into my eyes, for in them will you see the truth."

Silence. Noll knew what was happening at this point; pieces of that awful vision fluttered through his thoughts. But he wasn't alone; Jacob felt like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, as his own awful visions raced through him. Jacob knew too well the meaning of fate. He had been running away from it for years, but now it seems to have caught up with him.

Then there was a slight screech on the floor, as if someone (Noll) had collapsed into a chair. Then came the pitiful fit of tears Noll had to endure again; it was bad enough his adversary made him cry on a case, let alone have everyone in the case know about it, but he sucked it up. For once, he had to let go of his pride. This was about one thing only: cold hard retribution. Noll squeezed his hand into a fist as if he were crushing a skull, until a knuckle popped.

"What a surprise! I would've thought you'd shrivel down to a crying puddle by now. You're much stronger than I give you credit for. You should know the true meaning of that fate, Noll. For it was not Gene's fate to end up that way; it was yours. You befriended one of my worst enemies, one of those rotten four who deserted me in that blasted cave. And for that, I would have had you killed had I not a great respect for you. You see, you remind me so much of myself, for like you, I was that deep-thinking, knowledge-seeking, empirical boy that you still are now. It was out of mercy (the mercy of a god to a lowly, innocent sinner) that you were spared the horror of that fate. I held your fate in my hand that time, Noll; and I forgave you of your sins, for I am merciful as well as wrathful..."

He stopped the tape.

Another moment of shock. Again, Mai and Madoka had their hands over their gaping mouths, while Luella and Martin's faces had turned white. Everyone else fell silent, deep in thought and worry. But amid the silence, Bert was thinking back on yesterday at noon, the day Jacob assigned him onto this case. He looked at Jacob, who was frozen like a statue sitting on a workbench. He remembered his own words when he was about to leave his office, that Gene's death was not in any way connected to this case. But it was. Sadly, it was.

Then Noll went over to the board and wrote another dismal statistic:

2009. Eugene Davis. (missing).

"Noll, who do you think could do this?" said Martin. "I mean, I get who ordered it. But what exactly happened to Gene? What exactly did you see?"

Noll took a deep breath; it was confession time. "It was a hit and run. A woman did it, as far as I can tell, though I didn't get a clear look at her face."

Lin sat there silent as a Turk and thinking for some time during Noll's briefing. "Wait a minute, Noll; Gene died in Japan, remember. It took us three days to get here by plane. Do you really think a spirit could have that kind of influence over someone's life from the other side of the globe? Even if a haunting could reach beyond the borders of a district or even a city, isn't it a stretch to assume that a haunting could reach across land and sea?"

"I know it's hard to believe, but that spirit confirmed everything I knew up to this point."

"I know that, but don't you think that spirit could be lying to you?"

"Lin, we are not dealing with just a ghost; we are dealing with a monster the likes of which I've never seen before, far worse than the Urado case."

"But if something that powerful could show you something at will, could it also change whatever you saw in your vision? Maybe—"

"Lin, if you don't trust my judgment, then that's fine. But don't question it in front of others."

"But I am just saying—"

"Now wait a minute; calm down, both of you calm down," said Martin. "There's no need for a feud in this house, especially in a case like this. We won't make any conclusions until this briefing is over, is that clear?" Lin and Noll agreed. "All right, Noll, continue if you have anymore."

Noll was about to press play but hesitated; he looked over at Luella's worried face, and he knew the next part was going to give her the shock of her life. He said, "Mother, I know the past two days have been hard for you to take. If you don't want to watch the next part, then I'm not forcing you to."

Luella looked at her son. "I know what you're trying to do, but I won't have it that way. I may not be as strong as you, but I am by no means a coward."

"Please."

Mai could not help but stare at Noll in amazement. Naru, what's going on with you? I've never seen you act like this before.

"No," said Luella. "This is not the time to run away from our problems. I'm staying right here."

Now that was a huge surprise; Noll never thought his mother would be such a strong woman. Believe it or not, it was enough to make him smile at her. But it didn't last long.

He clicked the play button.

"...And if you still don't believe me," continued the spirit through the speakers, "then listen to this. Has your mother ever told you of her attempted murder? Has she, Noll? Tell me."

"You knew? You knew all this time?"

"I'll take that as a yes. You see, I send out... angels to do my bidding on this earth, though you may call them by a different name. These angels do much of my dirty work; I myself have killed very few, only killing when it suits my needs. But when one of those angels happened to set his sights on your mother, I forbade him to do it. It was already quite enough for a mother to suffer the disappearance of one of her sons, let alone for that surviving son to go home to the news of his mother's death. I did that out of mercy for you. So you must be grateful, not hateful, to your benefactor! Is that right?"

Again, Noll paused it. He looked at the horrified faces of his companions, especially of his parents' and said, "Now you all know how this case has compromised the safety of possibly everyone involved. Also, notice how the word, angel, is used. Instead of the usual connotations, in this case, it really means an accomplice in committing these murders. And notice that it's plural. Meaning there are two murderers acting on the wishes of Reynard Malders. For any profile on these two murderers, all I can tell you is that one is a woman. From whatever glimpses I saw, I'll hazard that she's... maybe in her mid-to-late twenties. As for the other, since the first murders took place over thirty years ago, this person has to be at least in his fifties, possibly older but not younger."

"Do you think that second murderer is a male?" said Albert.

"From my father's profile of this person, the nature of the mutilations and decapitations and the fact that all those crimes were against women, then yes, it's most likely. But we don't know for sure. Unless there's something else to back it, I'm not making any assumptions just yet. That's why you're here," he said to the cops; "to apprehend these two, so I can question them." He then got a list of names from his pocket and handed it to the cop nearest him: Terry. "I want you to contact these people and schedule an interview with them."

"You don't have to tell me," said Terry, "how to do my job, all right? I already know."

"If you want to live through this case, then I suggest you do as you're told."

Terry stood up. "You threaten me again, and I swear I'll—"

"Haller!" said Albert, standing up. "If you run him off this case, I swear I'll have you jailed. In just two days, he's brought us further in this case than we have in seven months. I don't know about you, but he's done more on this case than any of us. I say we follow his lead." When Terry sat down again, Albert said, "Noll, I'll be honest with you. How do you expect us to apprehend the kind of monster that you've presented to us?"

"Leave Reynard Malders to me and my team."

"Your team?"

Noll showed him; it was sitting on the sofa facing them—Martin, Luella, Lin, Madoka and Mai. "I trust them with my life. They've done enough paranormal cases to have my full confidence in them, though I must admit this case is the most dangerous I've come across."

"It's more than just dangerous. It's suicide. How can you have your family involved in this? Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into? Twelve of the best FBI agents, as well as Soichiro, Light, Kanzo and even L and countless others have died in a case like this!"

"I know the risks."

"Are you sure? Because you more than anyone else in this case has the most to lose. Trust me; I know, because I lost twenty of my best men when I sent them to Japan. God knows how many lives that case took to get that monster off the streets."

Noll was silent, but he knew exactly what he was talking about. And so did Madoka and Martin.

And so did Jacob, though he dreaded why. He was dreading, because he knew the horrors of that case, first-hand. He had been the twenty-first cop who had balls enough to work the case in the field in Japan and was lucky enough to get out of it unscathed. That was four years ago, but the echoes of that case reverberated in this one.

"Mr. Grady," said Martin, "are you by any chance referring to the Kira case?"

Mai froze at the mention of that case.

"Indeed, I am; in fact, I was on that case for a while." Albert looked at Jacob in contempt, then said, "The Kira case gave me nightmares for months on end, when I was assigned to it four years ago. Jake and I were ordered off it by the Queen herself before it killed us both. But I'd never thought I'd survive it just to see those nightmares come to life in this case. Had I known—had Jake told me sooner—, I would have never allowed you or your son on this case."

"That's exactly my point. Don't blame Mr. Meiler; I asked him to tell nobody of Luella's encounter."

"And why this secrecy?"

Ah, there's the rub. For the second time in two days, Martin thought of his words carefully before answering; to Noll, he looked like he was still hiding something. "I didn't want any attention to compromise this case."

"But your wife was put in danger," said Albert. "Why would you place yourself and you family at risk by taking on a case like this, especially after knowing the vicious nature of each crime? It doesn't make sense."

Silence.

All eyes were on Martin. He looked at his wife, then at Jacob, then at Father Carmyne; to these four, it made perfect sense. Then he looked at Lin, Madoka and Noll; to them, as well as to the rest, it made no sense at all. Martin dreaded this moment against all dread, but he knew that before the night was over he'd have to divulge the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help me, God, he thought.

Luckily for him, Noll saved him the trouble... for now, at least. "Mr. Grady, all questions aside, my briefing is not done yet. All questions will have to wait before conclusions are made."

Albert looked at the kid astounded but relented.

All the while, Jacob had been thinking about Noll's conclusions of Reynard Malders. Was he really behind all this? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Jacob and Father Carmyne were forced to abandon Reynard's rescue, and that alone provided enough motivation for revenge. Then he thought about the deaths of his former partners, Thomas Matheson and Tony Levine, the death of his wife, and then the writing on the wall:

NO MEDDLING IN MY AFFAIRS!
ONE MORE, AND YOU WILL REGRET IT!

This and everything else added up to one thing, which he had to know. "Noll, spare me one question before you continue. Just one." Noll relented. "Assuming one of the murderers to be Reynard Malders, can you give me a description? Anything at all?"

"I can do that, but I think you need further convincing than just words." Then Noll asked Lin for his disc, who gave it; he then popped out the old disk and popped in the new one, fast-forwarding it and pausing it. "Mr. Meiler, I suggest you see this for yourself. This disc shows Ms. Fowler's possession eight years ago in the same asylum as the last one but in a different room. You'll see why when it plays. I also heard you had sharp eyes; while this video plays, I want you look for anything out of the ordinary that catches your attention." He pressed play.

On the screen was a view of Ms. Fowler's room from the right side of the corridor. Everything was still in that screen. Everybody waited. Here we go again, thought Lin.

Mai waited as well, waited with beating heart and fraying nerves. In all the cases she's had with Noll in the SPR, she has never had a briefing as involved as this one. With each shocking revelation, she had lost track of time. She couldn't tell whether she sat on the same spot for an hour or four hours. It all merged into a dream-like vision that could lull her to sleep, yet every fiber of her being told her she was awake. And her head throbbed in waves, eight of them to be exact accompanying eight horrifying revelations. It was starting to get too much for her; she wanted to scream but couldn't, and that scared her. And now she found herself digging her hands into the sofa cushion, preparing for yet another wave of horror and thinking, Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..., over and over.

Everyone waited. "Stop it right there," said Jacob.

On the screen was that same diamond-shaped object, purple at the edges and deep black in the center.

"Do you recognize this?" said Noll.

"No." Noll looked at him. "Honestly, I have never seen that before."

"This next part goes very fast, even in slow motion. Try and spot it."

The diamond shape entered the room, then Ms. Fowler's mumbles echoed through the speakers. And then the door flew off its hinges and hit the wall, giving everyone a start and sending a pulse of shock through Mai's heart. Then Ms. Fowler came running and screaming into the hallway. And then...

"There," said Jacob. Then his heart skipped a beat at what he saw. Every horror that had persecuted him for years came rushing through him like a demonic wind of sheer agony. He gripped at his knees till his knuckles went white.

"Do you recognize this?"

"Of course I do. It's been over thirty years since I last saw that man, but I could never get his image out of my mind, no matter what I did."

Father Carmyne looked astounded at his friend. "But I thought—"

"I lied," said Jacob, "just so you wouldn't have to worry about me."

Noll said, "When was the last time you saw him?"

"1979. The night my partner, Tony Levine, died during the William Street Case."

"And the first time you saw him?"

"1963. I was twenty-eight then and inexperienced. On the night I saw that man in the white suit, I lost track of him in my pursuit and mistook a black man in the same white suit for him. I had him jailed, but we let him go after his lawyers proved his innocence."

"Do you remember his name?"

"Yes. It's Benny Fashanu."

"Can you spell it for me?"

Jacob looked at him. "First name, B-E-N-N-Y; last name, F-A-S-H-A-N-U. Why do you ask?"

Noll wrote it down and gave it to Terry, then said, "In a case like this, I can't afford to overlook anything; you of all people should know that." Moments passed. "All right, unless someone here can add to this case, this briefing is over."

Mai breathed a sigh of relief, releasing her sweaty hands from the sofa cushion. Three days of flying on the plane, thinking about Noll's vicious words at the SPR office, had left her brooding contempt for him. But after hearing the horrors of tonight, she felt the deep sinking feeling of guilt well up inside her, something she hadn't felt since her mother died when she was twelve. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly scared for Noll and her mother. And she felt anguish for Jacob and Father Carmyne; nobody deserved to go through such hell, no matter who they were. In fact, she couldn't imagine what they were going through. Well, at least this part was over. She had no idea what would happen tomorrow, but at least she knew she could recuperate now.

But it wasn't over.

"I have more," said Madoka. "And I think all of you need to look at this."

(To be continued...)

A/N: Dun-dun-dun... This case is only getting started... And for those of you who don't know about the Kira case, it's the main case from the anime Death Note... That makes this a slight Ghost Hunt/Death Note crossover... Hope you enjoyed! ( ^_^ )