by J. D. Griffo
“I know what it could mean,” she said, trying to bring a sense of calm to the conversation. “We can’t jump to conclusions though.”
“And the whole lying about the bandage on his finger,” Nola said. “It’s very easy to get a splinter when you’re hanging out in a tree house you know.”
Jinx could see the fire in Nola’s eyes was not diminishing, and she was starting to get worried that she wouldn’t be able to contain her friend before she exploded. “Nola, listen, now that we have Kichiro’s confession, we can present it to the police and let them use it in their investigation. That information plus his affair with Sharon.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that we’re keeping Sharon out of this?” Nola exploded. “I know you’re my friend and you want to help me, but this is my life and for once I’m going to take control of it.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Jinx asked.
“It’s better if I didn’t tell you.”
Without saying another word, Nola marched into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her leaving Jinx to wonder what her roommate was planning to do.
* * *
The next morning Jinx knew exactly what she was going to do. She was going to reintroduce a bit of normalcy to her life and resume her weekly early morning jog with her grandmother. She was at Alberta’s house at six thirty and they were entering Tranquility Park fifteen minutes later with every intention of running to the other end of the park and back, but when they reached the tree house their jog was abruptly interrupted.
Lying exactly where Jonas Harper was found was the body of another man. Alberta and Jinx gasped in horror and grabbed each other tightly as they stood over the dead body of Kichiro lying on the grass. Trembling, they saw that his dress shirt, the same one he was wearing the night before, was almost completely covered in blood.
CHAPTER 17
Chi non ha figliuoli, non sa che cosa sia amore.
The tiny bird walked to the very end of the thin branch and stopped unsure of how to continue. Should it retrace its steps back to the trunk of the tree? Should it jump a few inches to the right to land on a thicker, sturdier branch? Should it descend to the grass below and explore the land underneath? Or should it take to the skies and see what adventures and mysteries lay beyond the morning’s horizon?
Alberta looked up at the majestic oak, the one Jonas’s father selected as the cradle from which he built his son a tree house as an escape route from the stress and ugly realities of the world, a haven to retreat to when life became unbearable, and saw the purple finch perched at the very end of one of the skinniest branches on the tree. The bird was still, not sure of which direction to take, but Alberta could see underneath its plumage, that its tiny heart was beating rapidly. It so desperately wanted to make a decision, it so fervently wanted to make a move, but the creature was confused and uncertain as to where to go.
There were no other birds around to offer companionship, there were no distant bird calls to serve as an invitation, there wasn’t even wind to create an involuntary push behind the bird’s wings to get him to move. The finch was on its own.
Alberta wondered if she was watching some kind of physical incarnation of Kichiro’s soul. A fancy thought yes and possibly a selfish one too because she wasn’t entirely certain the soul wasn’t just a convenient myth to help humans keep living while death loomed in the distance, inching closer with each passing day. She so desperately wanted to believe without any doubt that the physical body of every man, woman, and animal on earth was equipped with a soul that would continue to live in some altered state after death, and in theory she succeeded. But when faced with reality like when she was forced to look down and see Kichiro’s dead, bloodied body on a patch of lush green grass, her conviction wavered and wonder crept in. What if what she witnessed was final? The unmoving body was nothing more than that, dead flesh, and not the former house of a soul that was now traveling to its new home, intermingling with the souls of family members, friends, and even acquaintances the human being knew when it was alive. What if no spiritual reunions took place? What if there was truly an ending to life and absolutely no form of rebirth?
Shivering, Alberta clasped Jinx’s waist tighter and put her arm around her shoulder so her granddaughter could bury her face in Alberta’s neck and continue to cry. Alberta would cry later. Right now she had to be strong so Jinx didn’t have to be.
Alberta rubbed Jinx’s back and felt her tears fall on her cheek and neck reminding her of when she would hold her as a baby. Jinx was a woman now, but she still needed her grandma, and that filled Alberta with such pride, strength, and joy she thought she would burst. She thought she would rise up from the ground and spread wings powerful enough to let her fly to the heavens. When she looked up she saw that the bird was doing what was in her heart.
The purple finch had spread its wings so they were flat and tilted against the air and able to carry the little body higher and higher and farther away from the tree and from reality toward something unseen and, from Alberta’s vantage point, unreachable. But the finch had begun the journey.
When she looked back down at Kichiro’s unmoving body she noticed that the swirl of red blood had momentarily changed color, and it appeared to be drenched in lighter shades of violet, lilac, and deep pink, like the multicolored feathers of the finch. She blinked her eyes and the colors faded back to bloodstained red. Alberta knew what she saw was nothing more than an optical illusion created by looking up into the morning sun, but she took it as a sign of hope. And that would do for now.
She felt Jinx’s sobbing subside and pushed her away, but still held Jinx’s shoulders firmly. “You have to pull yourself together, Jinx.”
Nodding her head quickly, Jinx replied, “I know. But, Gram, this is all our fault.”
Stunned by the accusation, Alberta didn’t quite know how to respond; however, she did know that Jinx was wrong. “What are you talking about? We had nothing to do with this?”
“If we hadn’t set last night’s plan into motion, if we had just stayed out of it, Kichiro wouldn’t have been killed.”
Hugging her granddaughter tightly once more, Alberta recognized the reflex, or maybe it was the need, to take responsibility for dire consequences. Sometimes it was admirable, but in this instance it was simply wrong.
Pushing her away once again, Alberta grabbed Jinx by the shoulders, but this time squeezed her tightly to command her full attention. “You listen to me and you listen to me good. We had nothing to do with Kichiro’s death. This is a tragedy and we will find out who is responsible, but Kichiro is the one who set his journey into motion, not us. All we’re trying to do is help Nola and get to the truth.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Gram, but if we hadn’t pushed . . .”
“This would still have happened, maybe not today, but most likely tomorrow or next week. Secrets don’t stay buried for long, lovey, and when they’re revealed bad things can happen.”
When Vinny arrived and saw his detective’s dead body, his face turned gray and it was clear that he had never thought something this bad would happen on his watch. Standing behind him, Lori bowed her head and touched Vinny’s arm either selfishly as an anchor or selflessly as an offering. Whatever its intent, Vinny hardly seemed to notice and didn’t acknowledge the gesture, but Alberta was glad to see it because Vinny needed to know that he wasn’t alone at a time like this.
“When I got your call, Alfie, and you told me there had been another murder and it was Kichiro I thought you had made a mistake.... I prayed that it was. I never imagined . . . this could really happen to him,” Vinny said.
“I’m so sorry, Vinny,” Alberta said. “I didn’t want to tell you on the phone, but I knew you’d have to prepare yourself.”
“I know,” Vinny nodded. “Thank you.”
Alberta waited for him to continue talking, but he remained silent and just stared at Kichiro’s body. She turned to look at Lori for help, who seemed to be mor
e interested in what time it was. Alberta saw her turn her wrist over to look at the face of her watch and was going to question her, but then realized that as the medical examiner she was probably checking the time to use it later on when trying to determine the time of death. When Lori caught Alberta looking at her, she finally spoke.
“The rest of the team will be here shortly,” Lori conveyed. “We were at a breakfast meeting with the Police Benevolent Society when you called, so I thought it best to come along.”
“I’m glad you did,” Alberta agreed.
She patted Vinny’s shoulder with more strength than before, and Alberta marveled at the human need to make physical contact with others in times of shock. Once again, even though her immediate family was fractured, she was grateful to be living so close to members of her family and good friends.
“Alberta, could you tell us exactly what happened?” Lori asked.
“Not yet,” Vinny interjected.
“We need to get as much information as we can,” Lori protested.
“That can wait,” Vinny ordered. “First, we need to say a prayer.”
Vinny extended his hand to Alberta and she willingly took his. Jinx grabbed Alberta’s other hand and the three of them stood over Kichiro’s body as one connected line mourning the loss of a friend. Alberta felt bad for Lori who stood behind them and wondered why she didn’t move to Vinny’s other side and hold his hand to join in their group prayer, but she realized again with some humility that each person approaches religious participation in their own way and just because Lori was Italian it shouldn’t be assumed that she was automatically Catholic. And even if she was, not all Catholics believe in prayer, and she should know. Still, she felt bad for the woman as she was left out of the spontaneous ceremony. But she felt worse for Vinny.
An old Italian phrase came to her mind—Chi non ha figliuoli, non sa che cosa sia amore—and she realized her ancestors had no idea what they were talking about. It meant that he who has no children doesn’t know what love is. Looking at the raw pain and heartache on Vinny’s face, no one could say that this fatherless man hadn’t loved Kichiro like his own son.
Vinny took a deep breath and clasped Alberta’s hand tightly. “Lord, please embrace Kichiro’s soul into your heart. He was a good man and, trust me, you’ll enjoy his company. Please tell him . . .”
A few seconds passed and Alberta wasn’t sure if Vinny would be able to continue. She pressed her hand against his flesh in the hopes that he would use some of her strength since his was faltering. It worked.
“Please tell him that he will be missed and that . . . we love him. Amen.”
Alberta and Jinx repeated the word, but Lori remained silent. She didn’t speak nor could she even look at Kichiro’s body. Alberta thought it odd that a medical examiner would be so distraught that it would prohibit her being able to gaze upon a dead man, but seeing a corpse in its natural setting was far different than seeing one under a white sheet on a cold metal slab. As a doctor and a scientist, it was quite possible that Lori was not in tune with her emotions or learned early on to ignore her feelings in order for her to do her job. The result made her look distant and incapable of speaking. Vinny, however, had more to say.
“Now, tell me everything you know about what happened here.”
“We really don’t know much at all,” Alberta started. “We came for our morning jog, but didn’t get very far because we saw . . . this.”
“Two morning jogs and two dead bodies,” Lori remarked. “That’s some track record, ladies.”
“Nothing more than a terrible coincidence,” Alberta replied.
“You didn’t hear or see anything else?” Vinny asked.
“No, nothing,” Jinx answered and then realized that she needed to share as much information as she could with Vinny before he heard it elsewhere. “Kichiro was at my place last night with Nola and Freddy. He was drinking quite a bit, but Freddy drove him home.”
“Are you sure of that?” Vinny asked.
“Yes,” Jinx answered. “Freddy called me last night and said he had to help Kichiro into his apartment. When he left, Kichiro was passed out on the couch.”
“What is going on with you?”
No one answered Vinny’s question because the person he was addressing was dead and couldn’t respond. Alberta knew that Vinny was disturbed by Kichiro’s recent unprofessional and erratic behavior, and she could sense that he was now angry that he had been unable to prevent the current outcome. There was nothing else to do except figure out why and how Kichiro’s life ended so violently.
Lori provided the answer to the latter part of that question.
“He was shot,” she said, kneeling over the corpse. “Right through the heart.”
“Dammit!” Vinny cried.
Fists clenched, Vinny started to walk aimlessly near and around Kichiro’s body, and Alberta and Jinx thought that he was about to grab Kichiro by the shoulders and shake him until he explained why he let himself get shot. If the rest of the police and medical team hadn’t arrived, he might have done just that, he looked so desperate. But when backup arrived, Vinny had no choice but to contain his wild emotions and act like the chief of police.
When Alberta’s cell phone rang, it gave her and Jinx the opportunity to act like amateur detectives.
“Helen, this isn’t a good time,” Alberta barked into the phone.
“You need to come home now,” Helen said.
“What’s wrong?”
“Everything’s fine,” Helen assured. “But you and Jinx need to come home right now. Nola may have done something we’re all going to regret.”
Immediately, Alberta looked at Kichiro and wondered if Helen’s ominous warning had already come true. As always, she regretted not informing Vinny of what she knew, such as Kichiro’s affair with Sharon, but she had learned it was always best to get the facts straightened out before sharing them with the authorities. It could be a total misunderstanding and Helen could simply be the nun who cried wolf. When Alberta and Jinx got back to her house she realized the only misunderstanding had to do with thinking Nola was innocent and not capable of violence as everyone asserted.
The moment Alberta and Jinx entered the kitchen, Jinx blurted out that Kichiro had been murdered and they found the body under the tree house. Alberta had every intention of sharing the information with Helen but wanted to wait until Helen told them what she knew so at least one person on the team could remain objective. Too late for that.
“Jinx, you really need to learn patience,” Alberta chided.
Helen made the sign of the cross and then declared, “This is worse than I thought.”
“What could be worse than Kichiro being murdered?” Jinx asked.
“Nola being the murderer?” Helen replied. “Sit down.”
The wiretap machine was still on the kitchen table and Helen explained that they must have forgotten to turn it off or did so incorrectly because the tape kept recording all through the night.
“When I realized what happened I made myself a pot of coffee and started listening,” Helen explained. “Less than an hour after Kichiro left your apartment and you two girls presumably went to bed, I heard more voices.”
“Somebody broke into my apartment?” Jinx asked, visibly frightened.
“No,” Helen said. “One voice was muffled, but the other . . . I’m sorry, but the other was Nola.”
Nervous, but not yet connecting the dots, Jinx replied, “That’s hardly unusual, I mean she does live there.”
“She was on the phone and I heard her tell Kichiro that she needed to see him immediately,” Helen said and then added as gently as she could. “And that he should meet her at the tree house.”
“In the middle of the night?” Jinx asked. “That . . . that doesn’t make any sense.”
“Unfortunately, in light of what we just saw, lovey, it makes perfect sense,” Alberta said.
“A few minutes later, there’s the sound of a door opening
and closing,” Helen conveyed. “I didn’t hear anything else, but I’m sure at some point there will be the sound of Nola reentering the apartment.”
Before anyone could stop her, Jinx had taken out her cell phone, touched the screen a few times, and placed a call to Nola. “We need to talk.”
“I’ll be home in a bit,” Nola replied. “I came into the school early before the students arrived to bring home a few more things.”
“Stay there,” Jinx ordered. “We’ll be right over.”
“Jinx, I’m not sure if this is the wisest thing to do,” Alberta said.
“I don’t want to be wise,” Jinx snapped. “I want to know why my best friend keeps lying to me.”
* * *
When they pulled into the parking lot of St. Winifred’s Academy it was filled with more cars than the last time Alberta had visited. Most worrisome was the presence of a police car parked illegally outside the front entrance. No one took that as a good sign.
“What in the world are the police doing here?” Alberta asked.
“Maybe they’ve come to the same conclusion,” Helen replied.
Jinx raced ahead toward the school and when she flung open the front door, Nola’s screams hurled out into the air.
“I didn’t do this! You have to believe me!”
Alberta and Helen followed Jinx, who was running in the direction of Nola’s terrified voice, and they all wound up in Sharon’s office. Nola was standing in the middle of the room, her hands handcuffed behind her back, and Tambra was trying to get her to leave. Nola, however, didn’t want to go anywhere.
“Nola Kirkpatrick, you’re under arrest for the murder of Kichiro Miyahara,” Tambra said.
Tambra grabbed Nola by the elbow, but Nola twisted her body away, stumbling a few feet to the right. “I’m innocent! Please, you’ve got to believe me. I didn’t kill anybody!”
Vinny and Sharon stood on opposite sides of the room wearing contradictory expressions. While Sharon looked devastated by Nola’s arrest for the murder of her secret lover, Vinny looked enraged, his hulking frame hunched over as if he was about to spring forward and pounce on Nola. Alberta had never seen her old friend so furiously angry, not even when they were teenagers and hormones were flying at an accelerated and unstoppable rate.