by Dave Sypher
"I agree,” Bryce said, rubbing Cassandra's back. "Let’s go inside. We should get this done before the locksmith and glass replacement people get here.”
"You need both?”
"One of the men smashed a window at the back of the house so they could get in, but the spare sets of keys, which were still in the house before this morning, are missing. We think the burglars threw them away when the police arrived, so we’re not taking any chances. We’re having all the locks re-keyed, and we’re taking Trin and Logan’s cars out to our place so no one can steal those, either.”
They walked up a neat stone-lined sidewalk to the house, which was an impressive three-story building. The covered entry was two stories tall and supported a third-floor balcony overlooking the front yard.
"Trinity gave us keys to her house and cars, and we gave her keys to our house, and—Bryce we need to get our place re-keyed too!”
"You’re right,” Bryce agreed. "I didn’t even think about Trin and Logan having keys to our place.” He got on his phone, calling a second locksmith as they entered through the front door.
The front door had a large frosted glass panel in it, and on both sides of it were floor to ceiling windows which also had frosted glass in them.
The living room had vaulted ceilings and was bordered by two walls of glass, one to the front and one to the rear of the house. Blinds had been pulled down, obscuring the views outside, and also hiding what had been going on inside.
Two lovely abstract paintings that vaguely looked to Shinju like city streets had been spray painted with vulgar graffiti as had the living room walls. A large vase had been shattered on the floor, and someone had taken a knife to the upholstery of the room’s elegant furniture. An empty flat screen TV stand littered with connecting cables stood in the rear half of the room.
Shinju sniffed, smelling urine, finally locating the corner where one of the burglars had relieved themselves inside the house.
"Cassandra, you’ll need an enzyme cleaner to get that out.”
"Jesus Christ,” Cassandra swore, pulling out her phone and taking pictures. "Those people are nothing more than a bunch of fucking animals. This state has gotten completely out of control.”
In contrast to the destroyed living room, the dishes and silverware were neatly laid out on the kitchen counters, but several open boxes of food were thrown on the floor, and crumbs led from the kitchen towards other parts of the house.
Pulling out a pair of gloves, Shinju put them on before looking through the refrigerator. Other than a carton of juice lying on its side dripping the remnants of its sticky juice onto the neat interior, there was nothing Shinju considered of significance in the fridge.
"Why did they lay out the dishes and silverware?” Cassandra shook her head. "It makes no sense to me.”
"They were probably planning on pawning them off for cash,” Shinju told her.
"Shit, of course. Sell them to a secondhand store, and no one would be the wiser; they’d think it was just from some estate or other, and there’s no serial numbers to check for stolen merchandise, either.”
The dining room table was lightly carved with two misspelled curse words, but Shinju felt that the curses could be sanded off and the tabletop refinished. The matching chairs were wood, and while three were tipped over, they looked otherwise unscathed.
The home office had been ransacked, but while a custom-made locked cabinet showed signs of attempted forced entry, the burglars and would-be squatters hadn’t been able to break in. The heavy wooden desk’s locked drawers were also intact.
"We don’t have the keys to these, so we can’t just get all of Tiger Dojo’s papers out of here,” Cassandra told Bryce. "We need to haul these off and have a locksmith get into them under our supervision at a later time. That way Trin and Logan’s financial records and deeds to their properties and everything else will be safe.”
"We’ll need to call in some movers, then,” Bryce said. "I can’t lift these alone, and I’m not going to allow you to strain yourself, not after your hernia.”
"That hernia gave us our daughter.”
"I’m not saying Arya’s at fault for your injury. I’m just saying I don’t want you tearing your mesh and having to undergo another surgery because you tried hauling this stuff around.”
"Fine. But, where are we going to put it all?”
"We’ve got that empty room in our storage building where we can put this stuff until we know what needs to be done with it,” Bryce reassured her, "So we won’t have to worry about getting a permit to build a shed.”
Going to a corner of the office, Cassandra moved a small table holding a lamp and knelt on the floor. She rapped her knuckles on three of the floor’s boards before finding the one she wanted. Pressing on the side closest to the wall caused the front end to lift up. Removing the board, Cassandra reached down, pulling out a fireproof locked box that had been hidden in the floor.
"Trin showed me where they kept this and gave me the code to it,” Cassandra explained to them. "We can put it in our vault until either they’re found or it’s time to, to,” Cassandra’s voice choked up, and she shook her head, unable to continue.
Shinju knew Cassandra was referring to liquidating her sister’s estate should it turn out that the Thorntons were never found or were found dead. Since no claims of kidnapping or ransom demands had been made, Shinju thought it likely that either the couple had walked away from their life or had been murdered. Quite unlikely was an accident happening to them both while they were hiking on a fairly well-traveled trail in a popular national park, especially since no bodies had been found.
They found the upstairs bedrooms in disarray, with dresser drawers pulled out and clothing strewn about. Tipped over were pictures of Logan and Trinity. Logan was posing bare-chested and had his hands out in front of him in what Shinju supposed was a martial arts pose. He sported a tattoo of several Chinese characters on his left chest. Trinity was standing on a beach wearing a black bikini that looked more like lingerie than swimwear.
"Those are older pictures of Logan and Trinity. Trin is my older half sister on my dad’s side,” Cassandra explained.
"Crap, they got their jewelry,” Cassandra swore as she looked through her sister’s bedroom. "I don’t see the jeweled cuff links that Logan owns, and several gemstone necklaces, rings, and pairs of earrings that Trinity owns are gone as well. I hope the security video shows them well enough that we can recover them.”
The third floor showed another flat screen TV had been stolen from an entertainment room, along with dozens of DVDs. The chairs in the reading room were slashed, but most of the books weren’t harmed. Some of the barbells in the gym had been thrown to the floor, but nothing else appeared to have been disturbed.
Going back downstairs, they discovered that leaving to pawn the missing couple’s jewelry and assorted other items they’d stolen hadn’t given the burglars enough time to loot the garage, and everything in there was neatly arranged from the lawn equipment to the house’s cleaning implements.
Shinju had taken pictures and mental notes of everything she saw in the house, and she told the Nashes when they finished with the garage, "I can’t think of anything that’s out of place that may not have been caused by the burglars at this time. I’m going to make notes of all our findings, and compare them with the security videos, which I will need to review as soon as you can get me the copies. Are the police reports in your car?”
"Oh, yes,” Cassandra said, perking up a bit. "With confronting the thieves, I completely forgot about them. I’ll walk you out, and Bryce will watch the house until the glass repair company, locksmith, and movers get here. I’m afraid we’re going to be quite busy for the rest of today. What else do you have in mind?”
"I’m going to visit the local Tiger Dojo,” Shinju informed her. "I’d like to see where Logan was working.”
"He did both teaching and owner/manager duties there in addition to doing much of the accounting at home,�
� Cassandra told her while pulling out her purse and extracting several folded sheets of paper, which she double checked before handing them to Shinju. "He was very active in all aspects of his dojo, so everyone there knows him.”
Accepting the police reports, Shinju smiled at Cassandra. "Then, it sounds like I’ll be there quite a while talking to people.”
Chapter seven
Tiger Dojo was surprisingly large, located in an older building close to downtown. Its interior, however, had been remodeled recently, so the entry was bright and welcoming. A short hall led to the training room between male and female changing rooms. From what Shinju could see from the doorway, at least one of the walls in the dojo was mirrored.
"Welcome to Tiger Dojo,” a twenty-something man greeted her. "I’m Seth. Are you interested in learning karate?”
"I’m Shinju Fujiwara, a private investigator from Phoenix, Arizona. I’ve been hired to look into the disappearance of Logan and Trinity Thornton.”
Seth’s smile faded. "Cassandra Nash told us you’d be coming down. How can we help you?”
"I’d like to speak to as many members as possible to see if they know anything that can help me find the Thorntons.”
"A few of the kids who were at the retreat when it happened are here. Follow me,” Seth got up from his desk.
A class was in session, with people of various ages in attendance. Rather than fighting with each other, though, they were directed to do specific exercises.
However, when Seth arrived with Shinju, their instructor, a young black woman, held up a hand.
"That’s all for now, everyone. Please take a break.”
Walking over to them, she looked up at the young man. "What’s up, Seth?”
"Raven, this is the PI from Arizona we were told to expect. She’d like to talk to you and the others who were at the retreat when Logan and Trinity went missing.”
"Ms., um,” Seth began.
"Fujiwara,” Shinju supplied.
"Fujiwara, yes. This is Raven Burks. She’s one of our advanced students who now helps teach here at Tiger Dojo.”
Raven’s karate uniform was neatly tied with a blue belt. Seeing Shinju looking at it, she proudly stated, "Logan told me before he disappeared that he thinks I’m ready to test for my brown belt. I was hoping to get it done before the start of the next school year, but now,” her voice faltered.
"Jenny Slater runs the San Fran dojo, Raven. Mykel told me Ms. Slater told him she can come here to help him test students for their belt advancements next month if Logan hasn’t been found by then.”
Raven nodded, her eyes full of unshed tears. Gathering herself with difficulty, she continued speaking after another minute. Knowing her pain, Shinju remained quiet until the young woman was ready to continue.
"How can we help you, Ms. Fujiwara?”
"Did you notice anything off or strange in the way Logan and Trinity were behaving with each other or anyone else before they left for their hike?”
"No. They seemed fine with each other. We didn’t see them talk with anyone else as they left on their hike.”
Raven looked at the watching students, and three others nodded agreement with Raven’s statement.
"Can you think of any incidents that happened before you reached Yosemite Park?”
"We drove in separately, so no, I didn’t see anything. How about you, Peyton, Tristan, and Drew?”
The other three shook their heads.
Looking at everyone in the room, Shinju asked, "Did any of you see Logan arguing with anyone at the dojo? Any problems with current or former members or any of their family members? Any problems with any managers?”
Almost everyone shook their heads, but a young biracial girl in an orange belt held up her hand.
"Grayse? Ms. Fujiwara, this is Grayse Ingram, daughter of our manager Mykel. What did you see, Grayse?”
"I didn’t see anything, but I heard it. Logan was on the phone a few weeks ago when I came in with my dad for my lesson. Dad was called to the front to talk to a prospective student, and I overheard Logan on his phone. He sounded angry.”
"Do you know who he was talking to?”
"No, but after he hung up, he said something about bloodsucking lawyers. He then made another call and talked to someone he called Jenny. He kept telling her to calm down and that they would talk things over the next time he was in San Francisco. That’s all I heard.”
Seth and Raven looked at each other before Shinju asked, "Do you know for certain Logan was talking to Jenny Slater?”
Grayse shook her head. "He never said her last name.”
"Seth, you said Ms. Slater runs the San Francisco dojo?” Shinju typed some notes on her phone while talking with the others.
"Yes, for a few years now,” Seth told her.
"Do you know of any reason Logan would be speaking to a lawyer?”
"No,” Seth said, but Raven nodded.
"I remember Logan saying something about moving to a different state to Trinity as they walked away from us,” she said. "If he was thinking of moving, maybe he was thinking of selling the dojo to someone else. I think that would require him to talk to a lawyer.”
"That’s right,” Drew confirmed. "Logan was saying they could move near the Grand Canyon, and Trinity said she’d rather move near Yellowstone. I didn’t hear them say anything else after that.”
"Thank you, that’s very helpful,” Shinju said, making a note to ask Cassandra if she knew anything about her sister and brother-in-law planning to move out of state and if they had any legal proceedings coming up relating to the dojo.
"Can you think of any former students or employees who might wish to cause harm to Logan and Trinity?”
"Oh, no,” Raven said. "We’re all pretty close, especially after the last disappearance.”
Shinju was taken aback. "Someone else from the dojo is missing?”
"It happened at our retreat a couple of years ago. Mitch Landry was an advanced student. He left his tent one night and was never seen again. It was really hard on all of us, especially Emiliano Mendez. Mitch was his best friend. They were sharing a tent when it happened.”
"Does Emiliano still come to the dojo?”
"Twice a week, like clockwork. I think he’s ready to trade his brown belt in for a black at his next test.”
"When will he be here again?”
"His next class should be this Friday,” Seth offered. "Like Raven said, he comes in twice a week, especially after Mitch went missing.”
"And did this retreat also take place in Yosemite Park?”
"It always has, and from what I heard always will,” Seth grimaced, "Unless the dojo gets sold to someone who stops the practice. After what’s happened, I can image someone will think it’s not a good idea for us to go to Yosemite anymore.”
"Oh, you should absolutely continue going to the park,” a new voice interrupted, "But you shouldn’t go there armed only with your fists and feet.”
Shinju turned to look at the man who’d spoken. He was a rotund man who looked like he was in his late thirties. He was wearing glasses and had a shaggy beard below a balding head.
"I’m sorry, sir,” Shinju asked, "But who are you?”
"Chase Landry. Mitch Landry, the one who disappeared in Yosemite prior to the Thorntons, is my son. I heard someone was finally looking into this, and I had to come down and tell you what I know. It’s important.”
"Any information you have will be helpful,” Shinju smiled. "What did you come down to tell me?”
"Not in front of the others,” Chase told her. "Can we step outside?”
Wary of a strange man even in broad daylight, Shinju looked to Seth and Raven for direction.
"He’s fine, Ms. Fujiwara. He’s remained an active supporter of the dojo though Mitch is gone. He gives rides to us when we need them,” Raven leaned close to whisper in Shinju’s ear, "And he’s never tried anything with any of us girls.”
"Okay, but I’m not leaving the dojo’s p
arking lot,” Shinju decided. "Seth if I’m not back inside in ten minutes, I want you to call the police for me.” She looked Chase directly in the eye as she spoke, and he nodded approvingly at her.
"Good, I’m glad to know you’re a woman who knows how to handle herself,” Chase walked out the door, stopping in front of the large front window and waiting for her.
Intrigued, Shinju followed him outside. She stopped three feet away, planting her feet and hoping Chase didn’t study martial arts like his son had. She felt exposed and threatened, and wished that she could’ve brought her gun with her.
Chase started to step forward, but Shinju held up a hand.
"That’s close enough for now, Mr. Landry,” she told him.
Landry’s eyes narrowed a bit, but then he smiled. "Damn, I wish you were supervising the kids when my Mitch went missing. If you’d been in charge, I bet he’d still be here.”
"What information do you have for me, Mr. Landry?” Shinju was quickly tiring of having to prompt the man to stay on subject. However, his information could be vital to her case, so she tried to remain firm but open to what he had to say.
"I know what happened to Logan and Trinity Thornton inside Yosemite Park.”
Shinju was shocked. Was she about to hear a confession? She glanced behind her. The door to the dojo was a good eight feet away. However, she was standing in plain sight of Seth, who was keeping an eye on her while Raven had resumed teaching the class in the background.
"I’m listening,” was all she said to Landry.
"You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I’m not,” Landry began, taking a step forward. Shinju cringed inwardly but stood her ground.
"Stop inching forward,” ordered him in as firm a tone as she could muster, "And tell me what it is you’ve got to say.”
"I need you to keep an open mind,” Landry said. "Promise me you’ll try and keep an open mind.”