Cumin Epilogue

"Everyone's Terrors"

A promotional oneshot for Cumin

Author's Intro/Gift:

Since it's lame to give you all an announcement without a story update, I offer you this little epilogue!

Why the announcement? Today I release the first book in a series of inexpensive Kindle books that I've started to help put food on the table LITERALLY, as in I'm having a hard time paying for food and the basics. If you can, please drop by and pick up a copy of it.

It's titled "Wendy" and you can find it on Amazon under the pen name T.S. Lowe. I've put a synopsis at the end of this chapter.

Now I'll get out of your way...

"So, why does Lin have a thing with babies crying?"

Naru just kept typing. The tea I had just placed next to his mouse curled steam across his fingers. I waited just before it got awkward before saying his name again.

"I heard you the first time," he said, picking up his tea than for no other reason than to sniff those steam trails into his nostrils. It wasn't like he could drink it at this temperature—op. I was wrong. Freak of nature.

"So?"

"Sounds like something you should be asking him," he said before taking another scalding sip.

I couldn't help myself. "How do you not have blisters on the roof of your tongue?"

"It's not that hot. You see the steam more because of the humidity today and the lower temperature I like to keep my office."

"Oh, jee, then how about blisters in your stomach?"

"Was there a point to that comment?"

"Uh, to initiate play?"

He turned his head to grace me with his favorite look to give me: you're an idiot.

You'd think that, after becoming his girlfriend, he'd actually, you know, stop doing that. Maybe treat me with a little respect.

"I treat you with plenty of respect," he said, once more showing uncanny ability to read my mind—not ever when it's important, mind you. It only works when it can be used against me.

He swerved back to the computer screen, picking up his tea again. "But we are still working. Haven't you called Ms. Jane back about her Buick?"

"I still don't see why we can't do a haunted car."

"It's not a haunted car. It's an old car that needs the junk yard. Now get."

"But you haven't told me why Lin doesn't like babies."

"Lin likes babies fine," said Naru with a sniff, putting down his tea. "And I already said you'll have to ask him."

I whined. "But Lin's intimidating."

"Can face down a ghost threatening her life, but can't ask her co-worker a simple question. Tut tut."

I guess that could be counted as a push of encouragement, as tasteless as it was. "Fine, be that way. I put hair in your tea."

"Right." He said, taking another sip as he did it, just to show he knew my threat was groundless.

I stuck my tongue out at him and backtracked out of the office. I glanced over at Lin's office, which more often than not was closed and quiet, and allowed myself a little shudder. Despite whatever 'leaps' or 'bounds' we had taken in our relationship, it was still a bit of a strain to call Lin a friend. The guy just didn't want friends, or at least, not the kind he'd find around here.

Deciding I'd just have to leave this mystery unsolved (which twisted me in all sorts of wrong directions), I got back to my desk and called up the lady convinced her Buick was going to kill her one of these days to give Naru's recommendation of a new mechanic, one preferably unknown to her current one.

I was just cutting out newspaper clippings when the phone rang.

"Shibuya Psychic Research, this is Mai speaking."

"Hey, girly. You hit your lunch break yet?"

"Oh, hello Ayako. Aren't you suppose to be at work like a good adult?"

"Ha ha, real funny. Today actually happens to be my day off and I know I'd probably just be interrupting you cutting out newspaper clippings or telling some old hag her cat isn't possessed."

I pushed away the newspaper. "Close, but not quite. Naru's been moving our lunch hours around, since we've gotten a few clients who come during their lunch hour, so mine's at three."

"Oh, poo, tell him two. He can wait around till three."

"Pay for my food and I will."

"Mooch. Fine. Tacos at the usual place, two."

I laughed—and quickly turned it into a cackle. I had to play my part as die hard manipulator, after all.

We were just saying our good-byes when a sudden though struck me.

"Ayako, why are you so afraid of spiders?"

She made a grunt of dismissive disbelief. "Why not? Every other person is afraid of them too."

"Not to the degree you are."

She hmmphed. "That's because they're ugly, creepy as hell, some can kill you, and then the way they move, ugh!"

"But you don't have any bad experience in your childhood or anything?"

"Pretty much every experience with spiders is bad, childhood or not."

Well. So much for plunging into Ayako's deep psyche.

Naru grunted his permittance. So, after I finished the news clips and outlining a report on possible paranormal activity in a hotel, I met Ayako at a wonderful hole in the wall Taco restaurant. Whoever said great Mexican food couldn't be found in Tokyo should be shot.

After a few minutes of light chatter about some dude at her parent's hospital hitting on her, Monk came to mind. I more or less had a dream of hooking up Ayako and Monk together, so, in an attempt to gauge any depths to that part of Ayako, I asked, "What do you think Takigawa's biggest fear is?"

"Beats me. What's got you on this fear kick anyways?"

"Oh, I was wondering why Lin had a thing with babies crying."

She rested an elbow on the table and leaned her cheek into her hand. "Huh. Well, that fear did sort of come out of the blue. And he slept out in the van in all that cold and everything. Didn't even think the guy could feel fear." She took a long drag on her soda, thoughtful.

So much for those depths as well. What was she, a kiddie pool? Okay, that was mean. I can't believe I thought that about a friend. Seriously, what was wrong with me?

Besides, once she came around from contemplating the flickering light on the ceiling to ask what my greatest fear was, everything I could prattle off she summed up to just things anyone would be afraid of. Dying, getting stuck in the Urado mansion, various other ghost story materials, Naru cheating on me, Naru realizing just how much better he could get than me. Naru realizing how out of my league he was.

I didn't really mention those last two to her, as I already knew what her response would be. I appreciated the predicted response anyways.

Then I returned to the office fifteen minutes before four, an older woman sat in the black sofas. Her hair was thin and cut in a short, helmet like fashion that left her tall forehead revealed and shiny. Her clothes were plain, proven business attire, and the purse at her side was also a plain, tried blue. Her hands rolled over one another as a good deal of our clients tended to do.

"Oh goodness. I was beginning to think he forgot about me," she said, and her voice was high and crackly. "Are you Ms. Taniyama?"

"Yes, I am." My stomach had constricted in sympathetic pain at the sight of her. There were bags under her eyes, along a deer-in-the-headlight look. "Let me get you some tea, I have some to help with nerves. Would you like to tell me what's troubling you while I do so?"

"If-if you think you can…can do something."

I shuffled over to the kitchen, motioning to her to follow me. As I filled up the electric kettle, I couldn't help thinking how very odd it was for Naru to leave a client waiting. That happened, like, never.

And as she started talking, I began to understand a little bit of why. It was the Buick lady. The very one I had called that morning to tell her that Naru had turned down her haunted car case.

As she rattled into the fourth story of her car seemingly taking control of the wheel and pulling her into a mysterious side road on her way home from work, I handed off her tea and decided I'd just have to bite the bullet.

"Is your car in the parking lot?" I asked.

"Why, yes, yes it is."

"I can take a look at it. I'm not a researcher like Na—Mr. Shibuya, but I'm a little clairvoyant myself. He keeps me on hand not just for secretarial purposes."

The way her face lit up with hope made me actually feel guilty for saying that.

You owe me big time, Naru.

The Buick was exactly as it looked in the photo she sent: black, old, square, and with patches of coppery rust showing through. She went around and opened the doors for me, even going as far as to open up the trunk. The first thing I noticed was how clean it was. The carpet and seats were obviously worn and stained from previous occupants, but Ms….gosh, I'd already forgotten her name. Crud.

As I slid into the front seat, however, an overwhelming stench came to my nose, along with an sinking, sickening sensation. I put a hand to my mouth and quickly got out, hair prickling all along my arms and back.

The inside of the car suddenly looked like the entrance to a dark, dank hole to me, even though everything was just as clean as it had been.

"Ms. Taniyama?" She came back around from the trunk.

The nausea passed away just as soon as it came, so I gave her a weak smile. "Just…the smell."

"Yes, I've had it deep cleaned and shampooed multiple times, and sometimes it seems like it's gone away, but it's always there."

Of course. I should have remembered that from the reports. Right.

I took a look around the car, trying to look professional as she kept talking, even returning to old stories she had already told me. I found myself avoiding looking through the windows, even though the back seat of the car was just as clean as the front.

For some reason, this car scared me.

I swallowed as I came back to the driver's side. Was there any point in going back to Naru? No. A bad smell and some initial impression wasn't enough to drag him down here to a job he clearly didn't want. I'd have to try it again.

"Could I have a try sitting in it again?"

"Of course! Of course!"

So, pushing aside the gut feeling to do otherwise, I slipped back into the driver's seat. As I breathed through my mouth, I closed my eyes. For the first time, Ms….whatever her name was had gone completely silent, and I could hear the nearby traffic. As the seconds ticked by, I found myself sweating. The sun coming through the windshield became burning. I peeled off my sweater, but even as I did that I continued to get hotter and hotter.

"Man, these black cars can get hot," I said mildly, opening my eyes to look out at her.

To find her staring back at me inches away, wearing the same heavy winter coat she had come inside in, with the dirty parking lot snow piled up behind her to her knees.

And me in my t-shirt, sweating like it was a summer day.

Feeling dread that wasn't mine begin to encroach on me, I stepped out and was instantly naked to the icy chill of the winter day.

Okay, that was weird.

I shut the door, probably harder than I intended to, my sweater over my arm.

"Ma'am," I started, hesitantly. "Do you think you could get a different car?"

"But it is a rather nice car. I got it from my sister for free, I couldn't have a car any other way, and its saved me so much time in commuting to my work, even with all the weird quirks."

"Why did your sister give it to you?"

She gave me a funny look, probably because she had already put that in an email or something, but said, "She got it for free from some other woman. That's why I think it's haunted."

"Do you have your sister's number?"

"Yes, why?"

"I just get the feeling it will come handy."

And it so it did. Once I more or less pounded my way into Naru's office to demand he look into it, he found that the woman who had own the car before sister had wanted to be rid of the car after she forgot her infant daughter was in the back during a hot summer day. Her daughter had died.

Naru gave the woman Takigawa's number, told her she would give Takigawa his personal recommendation, and ushered her to the door with a fresh cup of tea.

Just as she was about to leave, Lin immerged from his shadowy corner of SPR. In his hands was a small talisman with a peculiar, knotted string through it.

"Here," he gently pressed it into the woman's hand. "This should calm any spirits until you can cleanse the vehicle."

Poor girl looked like she was crossed between crying and kissing him. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

She had barely closed the door before Naru and Lin both turned towards their respective haunts. I wanted to stomp and shout them still, but could find no other reason to keep them standing there. They had their own work to do, whatever that was. Though it did seem rather strange that Lin would come out during that particular client's story. Then I realized there had been a baby involved, and without really having an idea what I meant by it, I slid in before he could close the door.

To come under direct fire of Lin's very tall, very dark, very hard stare.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Uh, um, I was just wondering—you don't have to tell me, I don't know—I just have this weird curiosity of late, I've been asking everyone, you see." I looked down at my feet. I knew I didn't have any reason to be nervous. It wasn't like Lin was mean or anything.

"What?" It wasn't inviting, nor was it downright discouraging.

So I just pushed it out. "Why are you so afraid of babies?"

To my relief, he didn't freak out or glare at me. He just raised one black eyebrow.

And to my great surprise, he answered.

"I grew up during the height of China's one child policy. It wasn't uncommon for parents to get rid of their female babies. On more than one occasion I'd follow the sound of a baby crying to find an infant in…rather inhuman circumstances. My family started up an orphanage in an attempt to make a place for the children of the…of rape, but I found myself bringing in more babies. A few died."

My hands had gone to my mouth.

"So whenever you hear a baby cry…" I said, suddenly wishing I hadn't asked.

"I'm afraid of what I'll find," he said, flat and emotionless.

Which told me a lot about Lin.

Trembling, both from the car and Lin's explanation, I closed his door behind me and wandered towards my desk.

Naru popped his head out before I had a chance to sit down. Whatever he had about to tell me got lost in his frown.

"You're pale," he said.

"I'm fine." I said quickly.

He looked at me for a moment longer before stepping towards me. He came around my desk and stopped close enough to me that I could drug myself on his sage and tea scent.

"You're shaken," he stated, as he would a plain fact of one of his cases. "Was it the car or something else?"

I took a deep breath and leaned my forehead on his chest. "Did people really abandon babies all over the place in China?"

"Ah. So you asked Lin."

"Do they?"

Naru actually hesitated at that. Which didn't do me any good, and I recoiled back from him.

"Mai, infanticide isn't new or unique to the world. Of course you're going to get high levels of it in countries that ban having more than one child."

"But that's…" I didn't have a word for it. It was like the whole Kuman Thong case had just been a passing fancy, or a case of the chicken pox. "Can't they just put their baby girls up for adoption?"

He sighed. "Mai, don't dwell on this. There's nothing you can do. Adoption, especially international adoption, is incredibly expensive for no express purpose other than to fill government pockets. But China isn't as bad as it use to be, they've put measures in to put a stop to it already, so stop thinking." He searched my face. "You're still thinking."

"Of course I'm still thinking, moron, how can I not? That's horrible." I hugged myself. Tight. "And then that lady just forgot—how do you forget you have your baby with you? And on a hot day?"

I had actually started to tear up. But I felt more shaken up and appalled than sad, so the tears just percolated, hot and heavy.

Naru sighed heavily. After a moment or so, where he stared at me, seemingly at a loss (which he probably was), he gingerly took my hand and pulled me around the desk. As we passed Lin's door, he knocked on it.

"Mai and I are leaving early. Close up, will you?"

"Yes," came the flat response on the other side.

"Where are we going?" I asked. I knew Naru lived within walking distance of the office, but with me it was a slightly different story.

"I'm finding you something to eat and sticking you onto the first playground of kids I can find."

A shaky smile curled my lips. "It's winter. Nobody's going to be playing on the playground."

"Then I'll find some other annoyingly happy kid's place."

"Naru, I'm okay. You don't need to expose me to happy kids."

He paused in the open doorway, ghosts of snowflakes fluttering about his jacked and playing with my hair. In that moment, as in many moments, he looked like he belonged in a commercial for men's fashion or cologne, and it was utterly unfair.

"Don't I?" he asked, in a small, low voice. The one he used when he wasn't sure of the answer, because Naru was always sure.

Warmed, and pleased, I squeezed his hand.

"Nah. You'll do just fine," I said.

And he would. Because Naru would never allow such an injustice near him, and he put a stop to the haunting of such injustices for a living.

I was in a good place.

"Wendy" synopsis:

Wendy knows she tends to be a mother hen to her friends. But if she doesn't, who will? Her boys are lost from their parents in more ways then one, especially the mysterious Kolya, who awkwardly befriended them after fleeing the Russian mafia. She almost wishes he hadn't when she finds herself on the end of what must be a one-sided love. After all, why would the cool, handsome, aloof Kolya have any interest in a nagging she-man like her?

But when Kolya's past catches up with them, getting rid of an unwanted crush will be the last thing on Wendy's mind.

You get a book and I get milk. You don't get me milk, and you still get an extra chapter of your favorite story.