The Whitechapel Case [abandoned]

Part 2: The Connections (Chapter 12)

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 12

Day 2—Mai followed Noll up the stairs in silence, Luella and Martin following close behind. She could not stop thinking of Martin's words that repeated over and over like a chant in her mind. Almost everything she thought she knew about Noll now stood on its ear. Noll had feelings not unlike her own, though he kept them just below the surface of a cool and calm demeanor; he had mortal thoughts and worries and vulnerabilities, the very foibles that make a person a human being, though he kept those under lock and key behind an inscrutable poker face. She never thought she would see her narcissistic Naru the way she saw him now: a weary soul with many burdens bearing down on him. She wished she was strong enough to bear those burdens with him and not be a burden herself.

She wished it, but she wasn't in the position to do it; she had a lot of catching up to do. She'd have to help herself before she could help Noll. And helping herself meant assimilating herself to the case, which was a tall order.

And to top it off, she had that dream to figure out. It happened during the plane ride, in which she got precious little sleep. And unlike most of her other weird dreams, she didn't see Gene there to guide her through it, nor was it even clear enough to make sense of it, much like a fragment of a dream sequence. She didn't see much, just a deep black void. But she distinctly remembered hearing a heart beating in the distance, barely audible above a whisper at first; but then it grew faster, pulsing heavier beats as the rhythm sped up; and it kept getting heavier and faster, heavier and faster, like the shifting gears of a steaming locomotive as it goes up a steepening incline. At one point, the heart beats got so heavy that her eardrums began to hurt, then the sides of her temples, and then pain resting on top of her eyeballs, much like the headaches people get after skimping on a few meals.

"You'll be sleeping in my room." It was Noll.

She snapped out of it, barely believing her ears. Did he just say 'my room'? Her luggage was next to the door leading to his room, but she couldn't believe her eyes, either. It was his room. Where he sleeps in his pajamas and God knows what else. She simpered at such a rousing thought. If only Masako were here to fume over it, she'd be in heaven right now.

"Now no funny business between the two of you in there," said Luella. "If I so much as hear a single rustle in there, I'll drag you two out by the ear."

"Luella, there's no need to talk that way," said Martin. "Neither of them would do that, I assure you."

"You said that same thing yourself at Mary Anne's Hollow, but that didn't stop you from trying."

He sighed, blushing again. "Please stop mentioning that; it's too embarrassing."

"That's your problem, not mine."

Mai stood there thinking, What are they talking about? Do I even want to know? "Ah... Is this ah bahd time foh me to—?"

"No, no; it's all right," said Luella. "Martin just has some male issues he hasn't resolved yet." (Mai watched her husband go to the bedroom with his tail between his legs.) "It's not what your thinking. It's just"—she leaned in to whisper in her ear—"he can't kiss to save his own life; he's terrible at it. By the way, have you—?"

"No! I...have not." Oh man, why all these questions again?

"That's all right. Just give it some time, you'll see. Noll is a bit of a cold fish, after all."