Bodies Beneath The Cherry Trees - Horror/Mystery

[BrigandS09]

Comments and criticisms are appreciated. I'm trying something new with this piece so if you have something constructive to say don't hesitate. Ignore simple mistakes like spelling and grammatical errors, this is just the first draft. Not a lot of proofreading has taken place. It's still in progress so there will be more to come.  

[BrigandS09]

Chapter One: Just One Night

“Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees, you have to believe me. That line always stuck with me. It was from one of Motojirou Kajii’s books.” Standing amidst the darkness of the apartment a lone man stood. There was a strange air about him, almost stagnant. It was a similar feeling to being in a dank cave, the feeling of the very air around you, weighing upon you and slowing your pace. He stood gazing out the window, a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. The glowing tip softly illuminated his face with every inhale. His hair was at shoulder length, black and disheveled as if he had only just woken up. He was tall and slender, a few lazy pounds protruding from his shirt due to a lack of exercise the past few days. A seemingly average man, though his eyes could never hide his true nature. They were grey as cobblestone. They remained cold and steely, unflinching to the lights flickering from the adjacent building.

“I beg your pardon?” The question squeaked from between his lips. He turned to his empty apartment, eyes fixed on something that no one else could see. “You really have the worst sense of humor,” he answered to no one and turned back to the window. The night was calm, even in the middle of the city. Dark clouds covered the sky in their normal threatening stance, the bright lights of the city an apparent contrast of the blackened sky. It had been three years since the clouds had moved in and stationed themselves there. It seemed some terrible omen befitting the end of days from some sort of story book. “Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees…” He spoke this line again, letting it drape from his lips. He spoke as if this particular quote held some sort of significant meaning. “O would you come off your damn high horse already? Your incessant pestering leaves me in a foul mood.” A long pause ensued as it seemed the man was waiting for a response. He must have received one from somewhere because he began to speak once again. “And what the ******** do you know!? You strut about here pretending to have all the answers but all you do is criticize me! If your some god damned smart why don’t you get the ******** out and do something with that bullshit intelligence your so fond of!?” The man was aggravated now. He always had a tendency to cuss up a storm when he became enraged. Finally after another long pause his face turned red with anger and he threw a nearby cup forward, where it crashed into a wall shattering. “What I do is none of your ******** business, and if you ever have the balls to tell me what I should do again I will kick your a** to the curb. Do you ******** understand me you ungrateful little s**t!?” After a few moments the man sat down, hands resting on his knees. “I’m sorry,” another pause for a response “No of course I didn’t mean it. I’ve just been getting so worked up over nothing lately.”

There was suddenly a knock at the door and the man seemed to awaken from a trance. He looked as if he was surprised to be in his own apartment, but he stood and answered the door. He only opened it slightly, enough to look through the crack to see who was waiting on the other side. After confirming who was there he swung the door open, revealing an attractive looking woman, his next door neighbor. She had dark red hair that hung loosely at her shoulders and draped a few inches down her back. Her eyes were sparkling sea foam green, the kind you could stare into and lose yourself without even realizing it. She was about a head shorter than the man and very thin, in an attractive way. Her skin looked pale and soft, just look moonlight. She was in a large shirt that revealed her bosom to an extent, accompanied with thin shorts, apparently sleepwear. The man’s face began to grow a little red as he examined her from the doorway, his eyes obviously trying to avoid her protruding breasts. “O hey Nadia. Can I help you with anything?” Her expression was of concern as she replied, “Sorry if I disturbed you, Mikami. I heard something break and then you shouted. I just came to make sure everything was all right.” A weak smile appeared on her face. Mikami turned back to the room, his eyes instantly resting on the shattered cup, then frantically searching the room. Upon his inspection he turned back to her and spoke calmly after a short well meaning laugh. “I should be apologizing for disturbing you Nadia. I was rehearsing a few lines from an old script and I guess I got a little carried away,” he rubbed the back of his neck, half from embarrassment and half from anxiety. Nadia leaned a little bit to the left, trying to inconspicuously take a peak into the apartment, obviously not completely convinced with Mikami’s story. “Well would you like to come in for a drink or anything?” Nadia looked thoughtful for a moment before responding. “Sure, I wouldn’t mind a drink, as long as I’m not disturbing anything.” She spoke carelessly, the way you would normally if you weren’t hiding something. Mikami stepped out of the way and motioned his hand towards the apartment in a welcoming manner. She stepped into the room glancing at Mikami with a smile. “It’s really dark in here. Were you on your way to bed?” Mikami closed the door and locked it out of habit. “Oh no I actually only got in just a few minutes ago. Is it already that late?” He looked at his watch as he said this, it was almost midnight. “So what are you doing up this late miss?” He spoke in a mockingly formal tone as he moved leisurely to the kitchen, retrieving two wine glasses from the cabinet. She returned his mocking formality quickly and without any hesitation. “Well sir, what I do with my time is far from being your business,” she chuckled and Mikami chimed in closely after. “Please go ahead and take a seat anywhere, I’ll clean up the mess in a moment.” She moved carefully around the edge of a couch and sat carefully. Almost as soon as she sat Mikami emerged from the kitchen carrying two glasses, a bottle of champagne, and a filthy looking dishrag. “Excuse me for a moment,” He set the two glasses and bottle on the table and moved swiftly to clean the mess he had made earlier. As he picked up the fragments of the coffee mug he cut his thumb, the dark red liquid instantly jumping into view. He ignored it and quickly scraped up the remaining pieces of the mug and wiped the floor. Finally after discarding the shattered cup he sat down on the couch. He looked at Nadia and she smiled. “O where are my manners,” he said quickly as he opened the bottle of champagne and pour some into each glass, handing one to her. “Thank you,” she said as she took a drink. Mikami watched for a moment, mesmerized by her acute form, before he took a drink himself. The two of them began speaking of trivial things, like how work was and what books they had read recently.

After the conversation had died down a little Nadia leaned against Mikami. He was surprised but wasn’t about to push her away. “You’re always so mysterious Mikami. I don’t know the first thing about you really, even though I’ve known you for two years now. Your usually so quiet in this apartment that I never even know if your around. Don’t you have any friends or family that come visit?” Mikami remained silent for a moment. Images dancing into his vision that no one else could possibly have seen. His voice was a bit cold when he spoke. “You’re the first. And I don’t have any family anymore.” Nadia looked up at him sympathetically. “Oh now that won’t do at all. You must get so lonely here. Maybe I should come visit more often?” she said in a sly, questioning tone. Before Mikami could even open his mouth to speak she had lifted herself and pressed her lips against his. After a few moments, the two of them were tangled in each others arms. At least for one night, even if it was just this one night, Mikami would not be alone. The problems of his life would fade, even if it was for just that night.  

[BrigandS09]

Chapter Two: A Pact With No One

Mikami woke up as if the previous night had never occurred. He swung his feet from the bed and let them rest on the cold wooden floor. He wiped his face with his hand in an attempt to return from his dreamy state. A small sliver of light tickled at the floor from underneath the curtains. He stood and moved to the window and parted the curtains enough to see out of them. Gray clouds stretched across the sky, just like the day before, and the previous three years. There was very seldom a day when the clouds parted enough to allow a trace of the sun or the moon to be viewed from the ground. He turned from the window to see the woman sleeping there, her sleek figure outlined by the sheets. It was then he then remembered what took place last night. He walked out of the room leaving the woman to her rest and turned straight into the kitchen. He pressed a few buttons on the coffee maker and it began to make it’s slight humming sound. He leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest, looking down at the tiles of the kitchen, redrawing the outlines with his eyes. A single finger tapped against the skin of his arm.

“We had an agreement Mikami.” A strange voice that had seemed to come from nowhere. Mikami’s finger stopped mid tap as he looked up from the floor. He spoke softly as to not alert Nadia. “I don’t quite remember signing a piece of parchment stating that. Besides it was a spur of the moment thing. It’s not like I planned it,” he reasoned with the voice. It responded in a much harsher tone. “I don’t really give a damn! You promised to take care of them, and here you are having sex with some whore!” Mikami became flustered at this statement and had to force himself to keep his voice low. “You watch your words, Hiragi! She is a sweet and tender woman. Not some two bit whore I picked up off the Kabuki Cho! I’ll keep my end of the bargain but you better watch your damn mouth if you don’t want to get smacked.” There was a few moments of silence before Hiragi spoke again. “You know that you can’t let anyone close. We’ve seen how that’s worked out in the past, Mother, me, Azumi. The list goes on. Quit fooling yourself and get to work like we planned.” Mikami’s face went sullen for a moment. He looked back towards the room where Nadia slept. “You know I’m right Mikami.” Mikami looked down again. “But…but what if you’re wrong? I mean, this plan won’t bring any of them back and she could be a chance at a real life, or at least a part of one. Shouldn’t you of all people agree Hiragi?” Hiragi’s toned changed drastically once Mikami had finished. The anger was so apparent in his voice you could almost feel it as if it was a punch in the stomach. “You would go back on our agreement? You would let Mother and the others die in vain like this?! I can’t believe you would abandon us for something like this. You disgust me!” Hiragi’s words pained Mikami almost physically. He felt as if his stomach was churning and had to keep from vomiting. As he regained himself and opened his mouth in protest he heard footsteps from the hallway. He quickly composed himself just as Nadia poked her head around the corner. “Well good morning,” she said with a smile on her face. She was leaning her midsection against the wall and peering into the kitchen. Mikami smiled at her weakly before he spoke. “Would you care for some coffee? It should be done brewing any moment.” Her eyes trailed from him to the coffee pot resting on the counter then back to him. “That would be great thanks,” she strode forward and stepped between Mikami and the adjacent counter. She stood on her toes and kissed him softly, before turning and going back to the room.

After another couple of minutes, the coffee pot made a small beep, signifying that it was finished. Mikami turned and took two mugs from the cupboard. He poured his own coffee then called back to the bedroom. “How do you like your coffee?” There was moment of silence before Nadia’s delicate voice reached his ears. “With milk and sugar. Just use your best judgment on how much.” As Mikami finished tending to the coffee he stepped into the living room and sat on the couch, placing Nadia’s coffee as he did. He took a small sip of his coffee, burning his lip slightly. His eyes were fixed on the wall, as if he could see through to the other side and was watching it carefully. Only when Nadia came into the living room did his concentration break. She leaned over the back of the couch and wrapped her arms around Mikami. The feel of her warm skin against his was comforting. He sat for a moment wishing she would never let go, but she did. She joined him on the other side of the couch, taking a small sip of her coffee before speaking. “I have to go to work in about an hour, so I’ll have to go back to my apartment fairly soon,” she placed his hand on his almost unwittingly. “I hope you won’t miss me too much while I’m gone,” she spoke in a sly tone again. Mikami responded in a mocking way. “No not at all in fact. I won’t miss the only company that I ever have.” Mikami winked at her after he said this and she smiled gently, her soft eyes staring back into his. Remorse began to fill him as he stared into her eyes. They sat for a while, drinking their coffee and talking. Finally Nadia stood to leave, giving Mikami one more kiss before he showed her out the door. He watched her enter her apartment and closed the door. His expression changed almost instantly. He was again the dark and sullen man from before, forever disturbed and bitter. “Its time to go Mikami.” Mikami nodded and gathered his things. He got dressed in a plain outfit of pants and a t-shirt. He packed what he would need into a backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He exited the apartment, not bothering to stop by Nadia’s and say goodbye.

Mikami trudged down the street, eyes to the pavement below. He was lost in thought. As he walked down the street he bumped into a passerby who quickly became angry and shouted at him. “Watch where your going you a*****e!” Mikami did not even hear his words and continued down the street as if nothing had happened. The passerby began to follow him but stopped, deciding it wouldn’t be worth it. He turned and left. After some time, Mikami finally arrived at his destination. He turned and stared at the above average sized house looming in front of him. It was fairly new and well kept. The grass was freshly watered and green, a tall cherry blossom tree in the center of the yard. There was a small gate with a comm system next to it. Mikami stared at it for several moments before he finally pressed the button, making a buzzing noise. “Yes? Who is it?” The voice sounded as if it had come through tin from the speaker. “I am the new hired help.” There was a long pause before another buzzing noise and the gate clicked open. Mikami stepped into the yard. A small bit of pavement circled around the yard then veered back towards the front door. He followed the path and approached the door. It was a golden brown wood door, but it had three locks on it. Mikami tried the handle and finding that the door was open stepped inside. He was met by a rather large man. He was shorter than Mikami but much more muscular. He spoke in a deep and somewhat commanding voice. “You’re here for the cleaning job right? Come on I’ll show you around.” The man had blonde hair and an almost freshly shaven beard. His eyes were hazel and determined. Mikami looked around cautiously as the man gave him a tour and described what he wanted done for each room. From the inside, the house seemed much larger than it was, though most of it was empty. There were very few rooms that seemed to be in use. The last room that Mikami was led into was a medium sized bathroom. It had a large tub and was big enough for four people to stand in at once. After explaining some more details the man turned and looked at Mikami. “You got all that? You have any questions?” Mikami stared directly at him, his face void of any expression. “Just one. You are Kanji Mastumoto correct?” The man blinked in surprise before he answered. “Uh yes I am. Did you forget my name already? We talked on the phone only last night.” He let out a short laugh. As soon as he said this Mikami’s face grew dark. The other man watched him suspiciously as he set his bag on the floor and reached inside. “Wait I thought you were gonna start working tomorrow.” Mikami did not look up as he replied. “Do you know why this house has so many locked doors and secured gates? Well unlucky for you…that reason is me.”  

[BrigandS09]

Chapter Three: Murder Case

Nadia stepped from the apartment building, the sudden change of air making her throat itch. Her eyes were filled with something that seemed much like sadness as she gazed upon the city street. The air was putrid, smelling of foul pollution and tar. Much more to her discontent, the black ominous clouds loomed high above the tallest sky scraper, forever watching coldly from above. She shook her head slightly as if to clear it and walked to her car. She thrust the key into the ignition and turned it until the car sputtered into action. She pressed on the gas and the car lurched forward with a small squeaking sound. “I have to remember to have a mechanic check that out,” she thought to herself. She drove from the parking lot and turned onto the street, the car making that awful squeak again. “Damn it. Is it the brakes?” She thought to herself again. The entire time she wondered about what was causing her car to squeak, she almost didn’t notice the black car behind her. She began to feel a little uneasy but pushed it away. In a city like this you could assume that the three cars behind you were tailing you. “Still…” her thoughts were not reassuring. She drove to work everyday but never got an uneasy feeling like she had now. Finally after some time, the car turned off onto another street and was gone, taking with it her uneasiness.

Nadia had finally arrived at her destination, turning into a parking lot. She exited the car and locked it behind her, quickly rounding the corner to the front door. It was a brick face building, only about 4 stories tall. “Shinjuku Police Department” the sign out front read. Ascending the stairs quickly, she entered the building, greeted by the usual hustling of the department. She began to stride down the long corridor that led to the offices. The inside of the building always seemed impossibly white and she felt she had to squint. A cacophony of voices approached from all directions until she finally found the door with her name on it. “Nadia Ikutsuki, Detective”. The door swung open before she had even reached for the handle. A man stood in the doorway, his face somewhat stunned as he almost ran straight into her. He was no taller than she was, his hair a bright brown, tied into a ponytail. “Oh hi Nadia. We got a possible homicide on 6th and Ikebukuro.” Nadia’s face became a little frustrated before she replied. “Doesn’t anyone ever let me get to my office before rushing me out the door anymore? We’ll take my car.” The other man chuckled slightly as they both turned and walked back down the hallway. “So what’s the scope of it?” she said hurriedly. In an almost instant response the other man replied, “Well the neighbor called it in. She claimed to hear a scream coming from next door,” he pulled something from his pocket and they both stepped into the parking lot. Nadia stepped into the car and the man absent mindedly opened the passenger door, almost hitting his head on the roof as he entered. They sped off and he continued, reviewing the scrap of paper in his hand, “Lets see…the woman said that only one person still lives in the house, Kanji Matsumoto. All the oth-“ Nadia cut him off suddenly, “Kanji Matsumoto?! One of the heir’s of the Matsumoto group?” The man shook his head quickly before he responded, “No its not. The name is just a coincidence though his family was one with money. Until we actually get there we can only assume it’s probably some sort of business grudge or maybe even just a robbery.” Nadia nodded as she shifted gears, speeding down the road.

Nadia pulled in just a few feet from the front gate, which was already open. She stepped out of the car and looked towards the looming house. The first thing to catch her eye was the cherry tree in the yard. No this wasn’t exactly accurate, it was the ground around the tree that caught her attention. This time of year the cherry trees were in full bloom yet there wasn’t as single cherry blossom strewed on the ground near the base of the tree. Some part of her mind nagged at her, telling her that strange occurrence was more that just that. She pushed it away, since she had work to do. They hurried inside to find the forensic team already there running about. “Which way to the crime scene?” She stated demandingly and the forensic investigator pointed up the stairs before he spoke. “Go up to the second level and its all the way down the hallway to the left.” She nodded to him and rushed up the stairs. The house was enormous for just one person. There were at least seven rooms not including the bathroom. Something about all this didn’t seem right.

“So what we got Den?” She spoke to the man that was hunched over the corpse, taking snapshots of it. He turned every which way over the body, careening over it to get every angle. He responded without looking at her, that camera continuing to flash. “It’s definitely a homicide, detective. From what I’ve gathered so far it’s a simple open and shut murder. The victim has a single wound across the throat. I’m almost positive this was the cause of death, but of course the autopsy report will be more detailed on that. The wound is a very clean cut, severing the tracheal tube, extremely precise. In addition he has two post mortem knife wounds, one directly below the chin leading upwards into the mouth. The other goes through the temple, clear to the other side of the head. Honestly I’ve never seen anything like it.” Den stood, apparently finished with his pictures, and turned to Nadia. “It’s pretty strange, Nadia. If it weren’t for the precision used in the cuts I’d say we’re dealing with a lunatic, but…” He trailed off for a moment, then as if only just realizing he was talking to someone he quickly continued, “No raving mad man would have been so careful. I think the two extra stab wounds are most likely some sort of calling card.” Nadia’s eye went wide a little bit, “You think this is a serial murderer?!” Den nodded grimly as he craned his neck back towards the lifeless body. “Either that or one of the strangest contract killers I’ve ever seen.” Nadia sighed looking over at the victim. “Thanks Den. I’m gonna have a look around. Shinjiro, you start checking out the hallway and let me know what you find.” Her partner almost jumped off the floor at the mention of his name. He had been so focused on the body he hadn’t really been paying attention, so he was glad he wasn’t going to be examining it. “Uh yeh, sure thing.” He stepped carefully out of the large bathroom and began looking through the hall way.

Nadia’s eyes were dark. If Den’s theory was true this must be a dangerous man. Kanji, the victim, was in very good shape. He wasn’t very tall but he was certainly muscular. There weren’t any signs of a struggle, but Kanji seemed he could put up a pretty fierce fight. The killer must have snuck up from behind him and slashed his throat when he entered the bathroom, though even as she thought this, the theory didn’t sit well with her. The body was facing towards the door, not away from it, meaning the victim was facing his killer when he died. Not to mention the horrified look that plagued his face. It was a common look that was found on strangled victims, or those that had been surprised before death. His eyes were bewildered and his mouth was agape. Nadia frowned, frustrated, as she looked on, covering every inch with her eyes. She thought back to when she entered the house. There was a large security gate, and the door had three locks excluding the door knob. There was no sign of forced entry, which could only mean the killer was invited in, possibly someone the victim knew. She cleared her head and began to think. She needed to look for clues about what had happened.
Murder weapon? Missing. Blood spatter? None to speak of. Forced Entry? No. Motive? Undetermined. Signs of struggle?

Nadia stopped there. There didn’t seem to be signs of a struggle but something was amiss. All of these things pointed to something but what? She walked the center of the floor and stood there, trying to position herself where the killer was. “If he had slit his throat here, shouldn’t there have been some form of splatter on the floor?” She moved right next to the body, “If he killed him here, the body would have ended up against the wall, and still no splatter.” This wasn’t making any sense. “Could he have cleaned it up?” She looked around, there were two towels hung neatly from a towel rack nearby. She lifted them, but did not remove them from their place, scanning every inch of the towels. There wasn’t any sign of blood. If he had stopped to clean it up, it wasn’t with either of these towels. “Wait!” She almost exclaimed this out loud as something caught her eye on the floor. “Den, get in here!” She kneeled down and looked closely. There was the outline of a thumb imprint on the floor! But what was this? It seemed like there was a line directly through the imprint. It couldn’t have been made after the imprint was there. “That’s it!” She couldn’t help but say this allowed. Den entered the room just a moment after she said this. “What’s the problem?” His inquisitive tone inflicted a bit by frustration from hurrying all the way back. “Take a look at this,” she responded almost unable to hide her excitement. “This has to be the outline of a thumb print. Can you dust it?” Den stared at it for a moment, as if he wasn’t sure Nadia was telling the truth. “Sure I can. I’ll let you know what I find.”

After a few more minutes of looking around the bathroom she gave up and went searching for Shinjiro. “You find anything Shinji?” Shinjiro shook his head disappointed. “Nothing, it’s like the guy cleaned the entire house on his way out. There doesn’t even seem to be a speck of dust through the entire house. Guy’s like a ghost Nadia.” Shinjiro looked up at her. She sighed, getting more questions left unanswered. There was nothing in the hallway it seemed. “Damn it. There’s gotta be something here. Something that will put me in the right direction.” Her thoughts were running wildly through her head. Something had to be there. She stood for a few moments before turning and heading back into the bathroom to speak with Den. “Anything?” Den nodded solmly. “Not much but something,” he pointed at the print. “It’s definitely a thumb print, but its more like a smudge. There are no visible lines of impression from a thumb, but there is this line through the center. If it is a thumb print I’d say that the thumb was cut. Though since there isn’t any blood in the print, it was either clean or the cut was not fresh.” Nadia’s hope died a little when he said this. She thought she finally found something worth while. Of course she didn’t realize it, but she had found one of the most crucial clues. That’s when she suddenly had a thought. “The print may be worthless but we now know that the killer stood here when the murder took place.” Den eyed her quizzically and she began to elaborate. “The victim was obviously shocked when the whole thing began, meaning one of two things. The killer somehow broke in, or someone he invited in killed him. I believe it’s the second one. For whatever reason they both were in this bathroom at the same time. The killer must have leaned down, possibly to grab something, using his hand for balance. That’s why the thumb print is here. This tells us two things about the murderer. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he knew the victim on a personal enough level to be invited into his home.” Den stared at her dumb founded for a moment. “I guess that’s why you’re the highest ranked detective in the department. How you got all that from a little impression in the tiles is beyond me, but your theory seems sound. It’s not much to go on though.” Nadia nodded before adding, “Though I still can’t figure out how he killed him. There’s no blood splatter and there didn’t seem to be much of a struggle if any. Whoever he is…he’s very good.” Den looked at her as she stood there. Her eyes danced around the room looking for any type of clue she could find. “How the hell does your mind work like that?” Nadia smiled slyly and had to suppress a laugh.

By the time Nadia finally gave up her search, the sun was already sinking behind the horizon. Her and Shinjiro were the last one’s there, no thanks to Shinjiro’s complaints about being hungry. Nadia drove back to the station and dropped him off. “I’ll see you in the morning Shinji.” She waved through the window and sped off. She thought about stopping to get some food but she was exhausted. She decided just to head home for the night.