Chapter 11 (Part B):

The Assistant

I can't take this.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

It was Ishigaki. "Breathe!" He whispered to me. "You're turning blue!"

I inhaled deeply. I didn't realize I had…. Stopped breathing…..

"I called an ambulance as soon as I realized that she was…was…hurt. And…I tried to stop the b-bleeding. I used a wad of paper towels. They weren't open, so I figured they'd be sterile. I tried to follow the procedures for first aide. But….well. What they teach you in class didn't really help here. There was too much blood. Too much. And she was hurt. And….and….the ambulance didn't seem to come fast enough. I don't even know when she died. If she died while I was there, of if the EMT's were there. I don't know. I just don't know. She was fine earlier today. And now she's…..d-dead. Gone…and…

"She was gone."

We took a break after that.

And by break, I mean, Yako and I went outside and waited until Kameko stopped crying.

"So…what do you think?" I asked.

"I don't know, Kanae." Yako said, shifting her crutches around. "I don't know what it is, but something is off about this case. Or about Kameko. I'm not sure. Of course, grief that strong…well…"

"So, what's next?"

"Well, Neuro is calling all of the victims other friends and family. He's… confirming a few things. Me, you, Sasazuka and the rest of the people here are waiting on the report from the lab guys."

"Won't that take a while?"

"No. Sasazuka put a rush job on it. Also, the lab guys know that when they see me, it's best to get the results to me quickly."

"Why?"

"Because Neuro really creeps them out. One time, they didn't move fast enough to make him happy. So he hovered. And hovered. And hovered. Nothing technically illegal. Just….creepy."

Huh.

Sounds like him.

There was a slamming noise from the front of the apartment, and some yelling.

A young, flamboyantly dressed man came storming in, yelling. He yelled for Isaye, for Kameko, for someone's supervisor, for someone competent, and so on.

And then he saw Yako….and started swearing.

"What are these…these…kids…doing here? This is a crime scene, not a friggen peep show."

"Ah. You must be Isaye's Assistant. Thanks for coming in." Sasazuka said, pulling out a small notepad. It was yellow, and had a combination of scribbles (most likely belonging to the young cops) and neat, scratchy notes, names and what looked like phone numbers.

"How is she? The person who called said I needed to come over, that she was seriously hurt and that there were cops here and….." The assistant looked over at the wall with a brown splatter, and frowned. "What is that? Is that paint? Although it's an ugly shade of…"

"Oh."

"Oh my. Is that…is that blood? It is. Isn't it…uh. Whew…I…I think I need to sit down. W-Where is Isaye? What happened?" The assistant eased himself down onto one of the couches footstools, one hand cradling his forehead. He was pale, his mind not quiet believing what his eyes were showing him.

"I'm sorry to inform you. Miss Isaye died this morning at approximately 3:30 am today, cause of death is not known, although it seems to be accidental. It's still under investigation and we would like to ask you some questions."

"Such as?"

"Where were you from 1:30 to 4:30 this morning?"

"I was at home. Asleep. Unlike some people, I have a normal sleep schedule. Where's Kameko? I need to speak to her. That bit-"

"Is there someone that can verify that you where at home asleep?"

"Yes, check my apartment complex videos. Jiko, the doorman saw me come in. Oh, and my neighbor, lives next door. She spies on me. Talk to her. She should have a record of when I left and returned to my apartment for the last three weeks."

Sasazuka waved to one of the other cops, who left. Presumably to go check it out.

"Now that we're done with asking me inane, useless questions, where's that bitch Kameko? She had a hand in this, I know it. That lying little…You need to ask her what the hell she was doing here."

"We already have. She was here helping Isaye with some work project."

"Bullshit. Kameko and Isaye haven't talked in over two weeks. Ever since the fight in the office."

"We reconciled, little assistant." Kameko said, leaning against the wall of the living room, her reddened eyes narrowed and face blotchy.

"When? Two minutes before she died?" the assistant hissed.

"I think we need to talk to the both of you, separately. Take Miss Kameko back to the bedroom. Sir, stay where you are."

"My name is Juro Mareo. Most people call me Ma~chan."

"And what was your relationship with Miss Isaye?"

"She was my employer, and let me tell you, Miss Isaye was not on good terms with Kameko. They had a fight about two weeks ago. They were always very close before that. I mean, very close. I suspected they were…but never mind. They had a fight, you see. In Miss Isaye's office. Now, Kameko almost never comes to the office. She's out of place there, being an explosives person, right? Doesn't really fit in with the cosmetics crowd, you see. I mean, just look at her skin. She doesn't take care of it at all." He said, a strangely happier emphasis in his speech when he was talking about cosmetics. "But they had a huge fight. Real falling out. The whole department was eavesdropping in on it."

"Do you know what was said during the argument?"

"I'd rather not. It was a very, very personal matter. And I'm not too sure how much of it would be useful to you."

"Sir, we need to know what was said during that argument."

"No. It wasn't any of my business, and I'll not say a thing to filth up my employer's name."

A.N:

Sorry it's taken me so long. I've been in college...and then dropped out of college, picked up a full time job, was fired...Went back to school, found friends who I felt a connection with, moved in with them...Had a falling out with them and moved out...It's been a busy couple of years...and through that...this has been sitting on my computer. Through innumerable hard drive crashes, two broken computers, and over 4000 miles of travel...I figured I'd post it now.

Not sure who still is reading this...as my writing was shit (I was young)...but I will try to finish this.