Dojo Double

by Dave Sypher

  "I need the rest of you to come down to the station and make statements. Get in your cars and follow me, please,” the officer let them get up.

  Shinju frowned as she picked up her bear spray before getting into her car, seeing the damage Barry had done to its paint.

  "I’m having the worst luck with rental cars,” she said to herself. "If this keeps up, no one’s going to want to rent to me when I travel.” She was thinking of her trip to Texas where she’d been the passenger in a car with one of her co-workers when they became the targets of a freeway shooter. Her co-worker had been injured, but she had gotten out of that incident unscathed.

  She followed the officer to the station, parking out front and walking inside.

  She was sitting in the waiting room with several other people, when attorney Tanner Randall was let out of the holding area.

  He glanced around the room at everyone, then did a double take before walking over to confront Shinju.

  "You’re here again? Can’t you stay out of trouble, Ms. Fujiwara?”

  Chapter twenty-three

  "It’s not my fault,” Shinju told her attorney.

  "Don’t you think I haven’t heard that a million times before?”

  "Hey,” Shinju was indignant, "Video footage exonerated me last time, remember? It will do so again this time.”

  "Sorry,” Randall sighed, sitting down next to her. "It’s been a long day and longer night since the power went out after the quake. What happened this time?”

  "I was being walked to my car by a store employee after buying groceries, when a man who’d been turned away for not having any cash on him decided to take it out on the employees of the store. I yelled for someone to call the police, and the man then threatened me. It escalated from there and was about to get worse, so I used my can of bear spray to try and stop the upset man. Most of the employees and customers were smart enough to pull out their phones and record what happened, so you’ll see that I tried to talk the violent man down before spraying him. After reviewing several videos, the officer told me I’m here just to make an official statement about what happened.”

  "I’m going to stick around anyway, just in case. What’s one more hour of lost sleep?”

  "Thanks,” Shinju meant it. She was tired, and she didn’t want to drift off in her seat, and having Randall to talk to helped keep her alert.

  "Have you made any progress on the case you’re investigating?”

  Impressed with his memory, she told him, "I visited the park where the couple disappeared, and I found several dead vultures and drag marks leading off into the wilderness. I went to the visitor center and ended up taking a park ranger to the site. He has tracking experience, and we followed the drag marks, but we didn’t find anything else. He said they’ll have the vultures taken in for examination.”

  "I don’t get why that may be related to your case.”

  "Someone close to the couple was found dead of a drug overdose. My thinking is the same thing could’ve happened to them, since no one came forward saying they heard or saw anything out of the ordinary at the time the Thorntons disappeared. The drag marks we found could be evidence that their bodies were scavenged by one or more bears that live in the park. My thoughts are that if they are found dead of overdoses is that the couple was probably murdered, since there are no reports of a recent cluster of overdose deaths in the area.”

  "Damn, that sounds like a bit of a stretch. Plausible, but a stretch.”

  "I know. At this point, I think there’s no way we will ever find out for certain if that’s what happened to them, not unless their remains are found and can be tested for drugs.”

  "I wouldn’t count on it, not this long after their disappearance,” Randall shook his head. "I’ve lived here all my life, and people go missing in the mountains all the time, but they’re seldom found. If that’s all you’ve got to go on, you might want to consider going home.”

  "Believe me, I want to wrap this case up and get home. I’ve had way too much excitement here, with being arrested, assaulted twice now, and going through an earthquake. This area may be a lot prettier than the desert and cooler, but at least the ground doesn’t shake under your feet where I live, at least not that often.”

  Randall laughed. "We don’t get many quakes here, fortunately. I’m betting everyone will be talking about it for weeks, maybe months. It’s the one of the strongest recorded quakes we’ve had in this area.”

  "Oh?”

  "The news said it measured 5.6. There are reports of broken glass, some broken windows, people injured by falling things or by falling themselves, and of course, there was an increase in crime with the power outage. Fortunately, no one appears to be seriously injured.”

  "Ms. Fujiwara,” the officer motioned her to the door. True to his word, Randall accompanied her.

  "Why are you accompanying her, Tanner?”

  "I’ve served as her legal counsel before. Since she’s here again on another matter, I figured I should stick around in case she needs my services.”

  The officer checked a sheet in front of him.

  "Carver listed her as a witness to an altercation at Johnson’s Market. She’s only supposed to fill out an incident report.”

  "I know, but I’m coming in with her all the same.”

  The officer buzzed them in, and they were met by Officer Becker, who took them to his desk.

  "I have the video evidence from the others regarding the altercation, and I’ve also taken statements from the combatants. Barry Lamb states that you sprayed him with a can of what you called 'bear spray’. Is that correct?”

  "Yes. He was threatening to beat me, and it was all I had that I could use to defend myself.”

  "Why didn’t you just leave the area?”

  "Wait a minute. I thought Ms. Fujiwara was just here to fill out paperwork,” Randall said. "This sounds like an interrogation.”

  "I’m asking to get an idea of what the scene was like, nothing else. If this was a formal interrogation, I’d have put her in the room where others could watch and record her reactions. You know that.”

  "Fine,” Randall subsided.

  Taking that as permission to speak freely, Shinju continued, "The fight was taking place next to my rental car, a car which I should mention Mr. Lamb deliberately damaged.”

  "That’s not how he says it happened, but we have the video proving he was lying on that count,” Becker said, writing some notes before asking, "What else happened?”

  "I couldn’t leave until Mr. Lamb was away from my car. In addition, since there was a power outage, I didn’t want to go too far away from the group of people I was with for fear of running into someone worse than Mr. Lamb.”

  "That makes sense,” Becker remarked, still writing, "Then what?”

  "An employee named Gage came out to help the employee named Lucas, who was being beaten by Mr. Lamb. That allowed Lucas to retrieve his baseball bat, which he was carrying for protection, and which Mr. Lamb knocked away after jumping Lucas from behind and knocking him to the ground. I know how much damage blunt force trauma can do to a person, so I figured I’d threaten everyone with bear spray so that they’d stop fighting.”

  "How do you know how much damage blunt force trauma will do?”

  "Remember that serial killer case in Phoenix a couple of years ago? I was kidnapped by that serial killer, and I accidentally killed her with a toilet tank lid while fighting to get away.”

  "I remember seeing that story on the news,” Becker said, looking her over skeptically. "That was you? Damn.”

  "Yeah, that was me. I hit her once, I thought hard enough, but she kept coming at me, so I hit her again, and that killed her.”

  "You did society a favor by getting rid of that one,” Becker told her in a quiet voice. "Everyone in the department damn near cheered when we heard about the resolution to that case. We were worried about a copycat incident popping up with all the media coverage that case was getting.”

  "I di
sagree. The serial killer’s children are probably still suffering.”

  "Yeah. I have to say I was surprised to learn that she offed her ex and his new girlfriend along with the other people. Usually people like her only go for the people who hurt them. But, I digress. I’m happy to inform you that Mr. Lamb has agreed to not press charges against you for bear spraying him.”

  "Huh,” Shinju was surprised. "Why is that?”

  "Because a number of witnesses have him on video threatening to beat you before you sprayed him. There’s also video of the aftermath, showing that he felt it wasn’t a big deal to have been sprayed with your bear spray, so there’s no way he can prove that you harmed him.”

  "I really have to say that I must have a defective can of bear spray if it didn’t stop Mr. Lamb.”

  "Actually, our sergeant looked up the effects of bear spray on humans to make sure we didn’t need to get Mr. Lamb medical attention, and while it’s touted as being effective against bears, it’s said to be very weak compared to the pepper spray we humans use on each other.”

  "We do need to ask you if you’d be willing to testify in a court of law for this case.”

  "I would have to do it via video since I live in Arizona and will be leaving California as soon as my case here is closed, but yes, I’d be willing to testify as to what happened.”

  "Very good. You need to read over your statement, check the box stating that you’re willing to testify, sign the sheet, and you’re free to go.”

  As they were let out of the police department, Shinju smiled at Randall. "Thanks for sticking around,” she told the attorney.

  "Just do me a favor and try not to get involved in any other legal matters while you’re here.”

  "Believe me, I never try to get involved; it just happens.”

  "Then I’ll pray that it doesn’t happen to you again while you’re here,” Randall promised with a smile.

  Chapter twenty-four

  Her phone rang early the next morning, and Shinju struggled up out of bed to answer.

  "Wah?”

  "Shinju? Is that you?” Cassandra sounded confused.

  "Yeah.”

  "What the hell happened to you? Are you all right?”

  "Yeah. Gimme minute.”

  Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Shinju shook her head, trying to wake all the way up.

  "Sorry,” Shinju told her employer when she was more alert, "I was up late last night. Witnessed a fight at a grocery store, and I had to stay out late while filling out a witness statement.”

  "What did you buy?”

  "Just some basics, some food that didn’t need any cooking, drinks, block of ice, and an ice chest. I was advised to do so since no one knew when the power was going to come back on after the quake. How are you guys doing? Anything damaged?”

  "Nothing that I’ll miss,” Cassandra laughed. "A couple of horrible knickknacks that were gifts from dear friends of ours met their end, but I won’t cry over them. I know it’s the thought that counts, but they didn’t go with anything else we have. So tell me, did you have any trouble getting into your room?”

  "No, why would I?”

  "The power was out. I was thinking that with the power out, you might not be able to get into your room.”

  "Nah. The front desk told me when I got back that all hotel locks are battery operated, so as long as my time in the room isn’t up, I could still get in if we have another power outage.

  "So what did you want to discuss?” Shinju asked Cassandra why she’d called.

  "Bryce was checking everything for damage yesterday, and he noticed that the earthquake shook up some white powder from our RV’s carpet.”

  "And?”

  "I thought I told you, Trin and Logan used our RV when they went camping in Yosemite. Bryce was asking me for a vacuum, and I told him he shouldn’t touch it until we talked to you.”

  "That could be a clue regarding their disappearance,” Shinju said. "But, it’s not up to me to make that determination. I think your best bet is to call the police and ask them to send out a forensics team to collect the powder. You definitely shouldn’t touch anything else in the RV until the police tell you that you can. Didn’t they go through the RV before?”

  "They did, but the powder wasn’t visible at that time. We’re afraid that they’ll think we’re the ones doing drugs in our RV.”

  "They will consider that a possibility, but an unlikely one,” Shinju told her. "After all, why would a couple doing drugs tell the police they’d found what could be drug evidence in their own vehicle? If either of you were doing drugs, the more likely thing you’d do is clean it up and not tell anyone about it.”

  "That makes sense. I’ll tell Bryce, and we’ll call the police. I’ll let you know what the results are. What else are you going to do for the case?”

  "I’m going to go to the dojo to see if there’s anyone else who was there at the time that your sister went missing and see if they’ll talk to me.”

  "So you’re retracing your steps?”

  "Not exactly, just trying to get as complete an image of that day as I can from everyone while their memories are still fresh.”

  "I’ll call Mykel and let him know that you’re coming down. He’s been handling the dojo since Logan went missing.”

  "Thanks,” Shinju set her alarm and went back to sleep for another three hours after hanging up.

  After realizing that most businesses would either be busy cleaning up after the earthquake or serving people who were too busy cleaning up their own homes to cook, she ate a breakfast bar followed by a protein bar with a cup of coffee that she brewed in her room while watching the news.

  Finally feeling ready to face the day, Shinju called Tiger Dojo.

  "This is Mykel,” the manager greeted her on the phone.

  "I’m confirming that Cassandra Nash let you know I’m coming down to the dojo again to question the students.”

  "She did. I thought you’d be by a little earlier, so I’m glad you called. We have another class starting in about forty minutes.”

  "I should be there by then,” Shinju said.

  "We’ll be waiting for you.”

  Several street repair crews were out filling in potholes and assessing other more seriously damaged areas, but other than seeing that and an inordinate amount of glass company trucks out on the roads, Shinju found things almost eerily quiet, as if Sacramento was holding its collective breath against an aftershock or a stronger quake.

  Arriving at Tiger Dojo, Shinju saw several other students going inside. To her dismay, she spotted Emiliano Mendez among them.

  "Crap. I hope I don’t get arrested again,” she muttered while walking inside.

  Her hopes of being ignored by Mendez were shattered when she found him waiting with Mykel at his side for her to arrive.

  "I’m so sorry I got you arrested,” the boy told her, giving her hope that she could interview him after all. "I didn’t know what to think when some stranger contacted me wanting to meet, so I told my parents, who arranged for your arrest.”

  "I understand,” Shinju reassured the young man. "Looking at it in retrospect, I should’ve known better than to try to arrange a meeting with you that way.”

  "If you have any questions for me about the day that Mr. and Mrs. Thornton disappeared, I’ll be happy to answer them.”

  "I actually wanted to talk to you about what happened when Mitch Landry went missing in the park. I was told you were with him just prior.”

  "He was my best friend,” Emiliano said. "We were sharing a tent for the retreat. I remember we were messing around for a couple of days, doing our workouts with the other Tiger members, but going off on our own when we were allowed free time. We met up with a couple of girls, and one of them was really interested in Mitch. She asked him to meet her after dark, and he agreed. I told him he should ask Mr. Thornton’s permission, but he said that Mr. Thornton wasn’t the boss of him, and that they were just going to meet a short distance from
our camp to talk for a while. He took a flashlight, walked off into the night, and was never seen again.”

  "Do you remember the name of the girl he was going out to meet?”

  "Sadie.”

  "Did you ever hear her last name?”

  "Nah. You know how kids are when meeting. You don’t need to know someone’s last name until you’ve known them a while.”

  "Did you hear anything unusual after Mitch left?”

  "Like what?”

  "Any animal calls?”

  Emiliano’s brow scrunched up in concentration before he shook his head. "It was a long day, and I was tired after our workouts in the park. I tried to stay awake until Mitch got back, but I fell asleep, and I don’t remember hearing anything that I thought sounded odd before I did. Of course, when I woke up in the morning and he hadn’t come back, I immediately told Mr. Thornton, but by then, Mitch was long gone.”

  "Do you remember hearing or seeing anything odd the day Mr. and Mrs. Thornton disappeared?”

  "No. The rangers asked us if we’d heard anything, but we were concentrating on our exercises, so we didn’t really pay attention to what was going on along the trail.

  Emiliano gave her a look compounded of misery and grief. "I’m sorry I can’t remember anything useful for you.”

  "It’s not your fault,” Shinju reassured the young man. "Not in either case. You couldn’t have known that something was going to happen to Mitch or to Mr. and Mrs. Thornton. They probably wouldn’t have found Mitch even if you had immediately reported him leaving your camp without permission. Whoever, or whatever, took him, did so quickly enough that he didn’t have time to yell for help, so you should stop beating yourself up over it.”

  Emiliano gave her a wan smile. "Thanks. It doesn’t make me feel much better, because I’m still plagued with the 'what ifs’ no matter what I do to put both incidences behind me, but it’s nice to hear that someone else believes it’s not my fault.”

  Mykel patted Emiliano’s shoulder. "No one here thinks you had anything to do with either disappearance, or that you could’ve handled things differently after both happened.”