Dojo Double

by Dave Sypher

  "Gross examination of the fluid found issuing from the nasal cavity of the decedent is consistent with decomposition. Also present in the sample was a moderate amount of cocaine, along with what looks like a massive amount of fentanyl.

  "Gross examination of the fluid found issuing from the mouth of the decedent is consistent with decomposition. Also present in the sample was a moderate amount of cocaine, along with what looks like a massive amount of fentanyl.

  "Gross examination of the abdominal compartment fluids of the decedent is consistent with decomposition. Also present in the sample was a moderate amount of cocaine, along with what looks like a massive amount of fentanyl.

  "Gross examination of the skull content fluids of the decedent is consistent with decomposition. Also present in the sample was a moderate amount of cocaine, along with what looks like a massive amount of fentanyl.

  "Preliminary results: It would appear that the decedent had ingested a moderate amount of cocaine shortly before or concurrent with a fatal dose of fentanyl.

  "Recommendations: Hold the body until more accurate toxicology can be performed on the body’s fluids. After the additional toxicology report returns, if no relatives have come forth, the body may be sent for cremation and burial.”

  Shinju knew from reading the news that there was an epidemic of drugs being adulterated with fatal amounts of fentanyl. Unsuspecting dealers were receiving it and selling it on to their clients, resulting in their deaths. Since she had been told that the Thorntons also used cocaine, she suddenly found herself wondering if they, too, had received cocaine laced with a fatal level of fentanyl.

  Turning over the page to read the report on Griff’s clothing, she saw a brief report.

  "Clothing from decedent was soaked with decomp fluids. Gross examination revealed the clothing to contain a large amount of ground in dirt, and it was also considerably wrinkled, suggesting that the decedent had been wearing the same set of clothing for days to weeks prior to death. A small clump of hardened white powder was found on the chest. This was tested and found to be consistent with both powdered cocaine and fentanyl. This was removed and sent along with the swabs of the various decomp fluids for testing to determine whether the amount of fentanyl in the sample is sufficient enough to have caused the decedent’s death.”

  It was nearly lunchtime, and Shinju was surprised to realize she had an appetite. Reading autopsy reports was not something she enjoyed doing, but she found herself a lot less affected reading about Griff as she had the autopsies on the Sleep Stalker’s victims. She wondered if it was because she had never met Griff and she was able to divorce herself from the idea that the reports were talking about a formerly living person more easily than she had when reading the report about Riku, her childhood friend, who was one of the Sleep Stalker’s victims.

  She traveled to what she now thought of as "her” diner, ordering a toasted sandwich and fries.

  "Hey,” a young girl said to her when she was walking back out to her car, "Can you spare some change?”

  "I’m sorry, I don’t have any cash on me,” Shinju told her.

  The girl wasn’t that dirty, but she wasn’t wearing any makeup, her hair hadn’t been brushed recently, and her clothing looked rather worn and was too large for her, as if she had lost a lot of weight. One of her shoes had a large hole on the top.

  "It’s all right,” the girl sighed. "Thanks for answering me. Most people act like they don’t even hear me.”

  "Are you hungry? I’ve got half a sandwich I didn’t touch. You can have it if you’d like,” Shinju offered the box to the girl.

  The girl looked up, her expression hopeful.

  "Yeah, that would be terrific. Thanks!” The girl shuffled forward, tentatively reaching for the box.

  Looking furtively around after taking it from Shinju, the girl opened the box and crammed the sandwich into her mouth, chewing her first enormous mouthful with difficulty.

  "Oh my God,” the girl moaned in delight after swallowing, "It’s still warm! Thanks again, lady.”

  "Sure thing,” Shinju went back to her hotel, grateful for everything she had waiting for her at home. She didn’t know that girl’s story, and she never would, but at least she helped feed her for that day.

  Chapter eighteen

  Getting ready for her trip into Yosemite the next morning, Shinju laid out the trash bag she’d brought along to hold her dirty hiking clothing for before and after she washed it. Another bag was laid out for her boots.

  She Googled the nearest laundromat and checked to make sure that the change she’d brought along so she could pay to wash her clothing was still in her carry-on bag.

  She laid out her clean clothing and then went through her backpack, using Chris’s letter as her guide for its completeness.

  Once she was completely dressed, she shouldered her backpack before taking a selfie. Texting it to Chris, she told him, "This is what I look like going into Yosemite. I have everything you told me I needed in my backpack, water, food, first aid kit, and so on. I’m going to hold off on applying sunscreen and bug spray until I get to the park. It’s about a hundred and sixty miles from here, so it will take me a couple of hours to drive there and back later on. Therefore, I may get back to my hotel quite late.”

  Chris’s reply came through immediately. "Let me know when you’re back at your hotel. I don’t care what time it is. Stay safe, Shinny, and message me first if you need help.”

  "I will,” Shinju reassured him.

  The drive to the park was uneventful. Since it was summer, there were quite a few vehicles waiting to get in, so Shinju lost almost three-quarters of an hour waiting in line.

  Pulling up to the entry kiosk, she smiled at a female ranger as she handed over her entry fee.

  "Your pass is good for a week,” the ranger told her. "Here’s your receipt and a map of the park. If you leave the park, you’ll need to show your receipt for re-entry. There are rangers patrolling the park, but if you need help and can’t find any, you can ask for assistance at the park’s visitor center.”

  "Great, thank you!”

  The woman gave her a genuine smile. "Enjoy your visit,” she told Shinju in parting.

  Pulling into the park, Shinju found herself awed by what she saw. She had seen pictures of the towering rock formations that lined the sides of Yosemite valley, but seeing them in person was something else entirely. Here there was no smog, so the sky was a lovely shade of blue. Everywhere she looked, she also saw green, and in the distance ahead she could see the famed Yosemite falls. The road taking her deeper into the park took her past a swiftly flowing river, and she thought to herself that this area looked like paradise on Earth. It was a far cry from the dry beds of the "rivers” and the sun-baked hardened clay dirt with occasional clumps of dead grass she often encountered while hiking in Arizona. She had visited Arizona’s pine forests numerous times, but the height, width, and density of the trees here were jaw dropping for a desert dweller such as herself.

  "I can imagine someone new to the area going hiking and getting lost,” she said to herself while looking for a parking lot, "But I find it much harder to believe people who had been visiting the park numerous times managed to get themselves so lost that they couldn’t be found by numerous search parties, not unless they got lost on purpose.”

  She saw dozens of people just about everywhere she looked. There were people walking and biking in groups or couples, and more rarely, people obviously by themselves. Most of the people walking were stopping and taking pictures, but others appeared to have a goal in mind. The bicyclists tended to run in groups of three or more, and most were wearing what looked like serious cycling outfits.

  Looking at women dressed sundresses, shorts, and tank tops, Shinju felt ridiculously overdressed, until she found a parking spot.

  Stepping out of her car, she watched a teen girl in a tank top and shorts swat at a cloud of mosquitoes while swearing.

  "You watch your language, Mallory,” th
e girl’s mother admonished her.

  "Sorry, mom, but these fu, uh bast, uh, buggers are eating me alive!”

  Pulling out her sunscreen, Shinju quickly applied it to her small bits of exposed skin.

  Grabbing her can of bug spray, she sprayed a liberal amount of it onto her clothing, including her hat where it didn’t touch her skin.

  "Hey,” she called out to the bug-bitten teen, "You want some of my bug spray?”

  "Sure!” The teen dashed over, grasping the bottle and liberally spraying it on her arms, legs, chest, and back.

  "That’s bad for the environment,” the mother shouted at her daughter, too late.

  "It’s not like I’m going to go swimming, mom. And besides, you don’t want me getting sick do you? I’ve got more than ten bites on me already!”

  Looking Shinju over as she gave her back her bottle, the girl commented, "Thanks so much. Mom doesn’t believe in using things like bug spray. Next time, I’m just going to have to do what you’re doing, wear long sleeves and pants!”

  The woman was glaring at Shinju, and she just smiled wanly, saying, "Sorry, I didn’t know she wasn’t supposed to use it.”

  "Well,” I suppose using it just this once won’t hurt her,” the mother conceded.

  Shinju watched as the cloud of mosquitoes began ravaging the mother’s arms, who kept slapping at them while the two walked away.

  Hanging her can of bear spray on her hip and picking up her backpack, Shinju felt she was ready to examine the trail for any clues as to what happened to Logan and Trinity Thornton. Looking around her as she found the trail head, though, she knew that it would be difficult for her to concentrate on her task at hand.

  There was a family having a picnic next to the parking lot, and Shinju shuddered as she watched two young children running barefoot in the tall grasses. Open grassy meadows were one of the areas that Chris said could be rife with dangerous ticks.

  However, it wasn’t her responsibility to point that out to the family, so she went on her way.

  Once the parking lot was out of sight, Shinju realized that things were much different on the trails. She could see a small group hiking towards her, but when she turned around to look the way she had come, she didn’t see anyone following her. She heard a rustling to her right and spun to watch a rabbit hopping into the brush. She continued to hear it moving around, but she couldn’t see it after it had gone only a few feet. She began understanding how a couple could go hiking in a busy park, never to be seen again.

  The group reached her position and smiled at her, saying "Good morning,” in passing.

  Shinju was now alone, with no other humans in sight.

  Walking another hundred yards on the trail, she scared up a large blue jay, which flew, screeching, into the woods, leaving her wondering if it had a nest with young nearby.

  Continuing on to another opening in the woods, Shinju watched a group of woodpeckers chasing another bird out of their territory.

  More rustling had her freezing in place, expecting to see another rabbit, but she was pleasantly surprised when a bird walked out from its concealment in the brush. Its body was dark brown, and its chest was white with yellow spots on either side, and it had orange combs for eyebrows. It was busy pecking at a line of ants, stopping to lunge at the occasional grasshopper that crossed its path.

  Easing her phone out of her pocket, Shinju took a picture of the bird. The noise of her shutter going off startled the bird, and it darted back into the bushes from whence it came.

  Walking further along the trail, Shinju spotted what looked to her like a game trail. Chris had explained to her what they were, and that they often provided quick passage in the wilds for people as well as animals, and she wondered if Logan and Trinity hadn’t stepped off to follow this trail.

  Double checking that she had her supplies with her, Shinju decided to follow the trail a little ways into the woods on both sides of the trail.

  Chapter nineteen

  Shinju soon was of the opinion that this was a large game trail, for while the woods closed in on both sides of it, there weren’t many branches that could brush up against her. Remembering Chris’s caution against brushing against foliage, she skirted around the branches that reached across the game trail.

  It wasn’t long before she came to a small clearing.

  Seeing something dark in the grass that might be clothing on the far side of the meadow, she walked over there. However, before she could get close enough to identify the source of the color, she smelled the unmistakable scent of something rotting.

  Trying to ignore the stench wasn’t possible. It was thick and cloying, and it made her gag.

  As she backed away, she spied the rotting remains of a vulture off to one side. It, too was dark in color.

  Placing one hand over her mouth, Shinju ran forward far enough to see that the dark mass she’d spotted was a second dead vulture.

  Turning away, she saw parts of a third dead vulture.

  It didn’t make sense to her. She didn’t remember ever hearing of any birds that went off together to die, or birds that simply died in the same place at close to the same time as each other.

  Keeping an eye on the third carcass, she was walking back to the trail when she spotted it, an area of crushed foliage where something had been dragged away from the clearing.

  She felt that it was more than likely whatever dead thing the vultures had been eating was dragged off by another animal, but the deaths of the vultures themselves made no sense to her...unless the vultures had dined on contaminated meat and died, leaving the remains of their meal for some other animal to drag off.

  Another possibility was that there was a fourth dead vulture that was itself dragged off by another animal.

  Finding her way back to the main trail, Shinju marked the start of the game trail with a smaller rock stacked on a larger one to create a small pyramidal shape.

  Exploring the other side of the trail didn’t turn up anything interesting, so Shinju continued her circuit.

  Once she reached the trail head again, she felt she needed to speak with a ranger about her strange find.

  Heading into the visitor center, she waited at a counter until a clerk was free.

  "I need to speak with a ranger about something strange I found on the lower Yosemite Falls trail.”

  "Hang on a sec,” the clerk told her while picking up a phone.

  "We’ve got someone here wanting to report something unusual on lower Yosemite Falls trail. Yeah, I’ll tell her.”

  "Ranger Sutton will be with you in a few minutes, ma’am.”

  Shinju browsed the merchandise while she waited, picking out souvenir shirts for herself, Lora, and Andrej.

  She had completed her purchase and stuffed her shirts in her backpack by the time Ranger Elijah Sutton was free to speak to her.

  Sutton was a tall Black man whose youthful gait belied his advancing age.

  However, he took one look at Shinju, and his welcoming smile vanished. He frowned at her, scolding, "Didn’t anyone tell you that you can’t carry bear spray in Yosemite?” He pointed accusingly to the canister hanging at her side.

  "No,” Shinju was surprised. "Why in the world can’t people carry bear spray to protect themselves?”

  "California prefers methods that don’t harm the bears. Bears have a natural fear of humans, and we’ve found that reinforcing that fear is enough to drive them off. You’ll have to put that spray in your car before we continue.”

  "Continue?”

  "You said you found something anomalous on the trail, and I need you to show me where it is, assuming you know where you saw it?”

  "Yes. I also marked the side of the trail with a stack of rocks where I went off to follow a game trail for a bit.”

  They walked as they spoke, and Ranger Sutton watched while Shinju took off her bear spray, locking it in her car’s trunk.

  Sutton continued their conversation as they hiked the trail. "May I ask why you went
off the main trail?”

  "I’m a PI from Arizona who was hired to look into the disappearance of Logan and Trinity Thornton.”

  "Oh, the Tiger Dojo people? I’m glad to hear someone’s still looking for those two. I felt so bad for those kids when they flagged me down to tell me the owners were missing.”

  "You were involved in the initial search?”

  "I was. I was patrolling in one of the trucks that afternoon, when two of the kids flagged me down. They explained what had happened, and I immediately called for help. I waited with them until more rangers showed up. Great kids, polite and well grounded. They did a good job keeping the other kids calm who weren’t used to being on their retreats. I suppose there won’t be any more of those now that the Thorntons have gone missing.”

  "What else do you remember from that initial search?”

  "Some of the others were talking about a Tiger Dojo kid who vanished a few years back. One of the rangers was saying that they were thinking maybe some serial killer was targeting the Tiger Dojo people. We had a serial killer years back who got caught after killing a number of people in the park, you see.”

  "Yes, I heard of that case,” Shinju remarked. "Go on.”

  "I remember thinking that a serial killer was unlikely, seeing as two people went missing at the same time. Another thing that seemed really odd to me is that this trail isn’t that remote, so I felt we should’ve found something, some clue as to what had happened to them. I suppose it’s possible that someone with a gun confronted them, but how would they be able to take them anywhere else without someone seeing them? If it were spring or fall, I’d find it easier to believe that someone could kidnap someone at gunpoint, but not during the middle of the summer when we’re busiest. It just doesn’t add up to me.”

  "I’ve been wondering about that myself,” Shinju said. "A medical emergency is a possibility, but it sounds like both Logan and Trinity were in fairly good shape and not of an age where medical emergencies are more common. Given the proximity of the trail to the main road, it seems unlikely that one of the Thorntons got suddenly ill and died while the other one went off into the wilderness and got lost and died of exposure.”