CHAPTER TEN—A SHARP TURN

They all looked at one another. Hiro wondered if there was something to what the yōkai said about those feelings. Haru thought the shiver was simply a coincidence. The etched words were somewhat eerie, and Ujiro glanced up at the ceiling, feeling a sneaking suspicion about this place.

But he always felt suspicious.

Turning back to the dresser drawer with the etched words, Ujiro said, “This is something. We should continue looking for more evidence.”

“I agree,” Adrienne said.

“But why put it in such a strange place?” Hiro asked. “No one would find it.”

“We found it,” Adrienne said.

“But we do not even know how long it has been here.”

“There’s no way to tell right now. Look around. See if you can find something else.”

And then they all set to work, moving things about, searching under vases and within the drawers. Hiro pulled up the bed covers and searched the mattress. There was an odd mark on the bed, like a brown spot? A water stain? No, that was blood, he thought. “Ah,” he said. “Blood.”

“What?!” Adrienne said as she rounded on him. She came up to the bed with Ujiro and Haru at her side.

There was indeed a stain, which appeared to be a dark brown spot that had spread within the fabric of the mattress, and there was a slight smear as well. “Was Mei Ling attacked when she was taken?” Ujiro asked, his tone suggestive of possibility.

“No,” Adrienne said. “You saw the room. Roro, check the sheets. Is there blood on those too?”

Roro?

Ujiro smirked.

Hiro—or Roro, now that he had gotten his little name, fumbled with the material as he glanced through it to find any signs. “No—there is nothing.”

“Brrr!” Fuwafuwa said with a shiver. “Samui… desu.”

“Quiet, Fuwafuwa,” Adrienne cooed. “There’s nothing wrong.”

“Why is Fuwafuwa cold?” Haru asked.

“He gets cold when he thinks something bad is about to happen.”

“Thinks?” he said indignantly. “I’m a yōkai. I have a connection to the other plain, you know? And no… it’s a feeling.”

“And you always have a ‘feeling,’” she said.

He sighed helplessly.

“So the blood got there before,” Adrienne continued musingly as she glanced from the clean sheets and back to the stained mattress. Then she paused for a moment. “Oh!” she said as if she had forgotten a pot of boiling rice on the fire.

“What is it?” Haru asked.

“Could just be…” She scratched her temple, embarrassed to say.

“Be what?” Haru pressed.

“Ah,” Ujiro said with a nod. “Yes, it could be.”

“What?” Hiro asked.

“Wakaranai,” Haru said. “Tell us.”

“It’s just…” Adrienne said.

“Yes?”

“You know, her...?”

“What?” Haru asked again. “Why won’t you say?”

“Her lady’s time,” Ujiro drawled, “you dimwits.”

“Oh,” Hiro said, and chuckled, his smile stupid and embarrassed. “But… that does not mean there are no other clues. And besides, we do not know that’s what that blood stain is. Not for certain, yes?”

“Hmm,” Adrienne said. “We don’t even know if those etched words in the drawer are some kind of evidence, and even if they are, so what? We know where the girl’s at, right?”

“Do we?” Ujiro asked skeptically. “Do you?”

“Well of course I know,” Adrienne said.

“How do you know?” Ujiro said, and he put his hands on his hips.

“What, you want me to explain everything to you?”

“Yes,” he said. “If you please.”

Hiro and Haru glanced between Adrienne and the older rōnin who was clearly pressing Adrienne for information she clearly felt a waste of time to share.

“We are waiting,” Ujiro said, not unkindly.

“Well…” Adrienne began, and trailed off.

“Yes?”

“Everyone knows the Palace of Fang Wang traffics girls,” she said quickly, almost flippantly as she waved it off.

“Ah,” Ujiro said. “So you do not know where the girl is.”

“What are you talking about, old man, Uji! I just said—“

“You have no idea.”

“Nnngh!” she growled, crossing her arms as she jerked her chin to the side.

“Easy, Adrienne,” Fuwafuwa said. “Anger leads to—“

“I know, Fuwafuwa! I know, okay?”

“Hmm,” Ujiro noised thoughtfully, his disappointment almost palpable. “Now the writing in the drawer is a clue once again.”

Hiro did not want them to become at odds with one another, so he decided to intercede. “I am sure Adrienne-san knows what she is talking about. If they traffic young girls at the Palace of Fang Wang—and they kidnap girls from their houses—then it stands to reason Mei Ling will be in their hands. Yes?”

“Does the Palace of Fang Wang kidnap girls from their beds?” Haru asked. “Do you know if this is true, Adrienne-san?”

“Um—hello?” she hissed. “My name is Yōkaii-chan while we’re here, okay?”

“So sorry,” Hiro said as he clasped his hands together and bowed. “My sincerest apologies. I made a mistake, one I know Haru-kun will not continue to make.”

“Hmph!”

Hiro smiled. It seemed their little employer was not one that did will with accepting apologies, but he knew by her reaction that she acknowledges his apology and in fact, accepted it. Now, he thought. How did she manage to say she was sorry when that time came? It would be interesting.

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“All right,” she said sternly. “Maybe a little more investigation wouldn’t hurt. Roro, you did good finding that scratched script in the drawer. I’m going to go downstairs and ask the house staff if. Mei Ling ever had visitors up here.”

“What, why?” Hiro asked. “What are you thinking?”

Ujiro said nothing as he regarded their conversation. “Clearly that script was scratched there as a call for help and some kind of warning, right?”

“Mmm,” Hiro noised, feeling a doubt. The truth was, they did not know what those words meant. It could be anything, including something put there by a person completely other than Mei Ling. “I suppose,” he said.

“Yeah,” Adrienne said, her tone rising in excietement as she clearly thought she was onto something—and of course she was! These old guys would find out. “Someone in the house is involved.”

“Oh,” Ujiro said, his eyes brightening. “That,” he said, tapping his forehead, “is a very interesting idea, Yōkaii-chan.”

“You can bet your weird socks it is,” she said. “How else would she have been carried out of here without making a ruckus?”

“That is a very good deduction,” Hiro said, surprised at the girl’s wit and cunning in this situation. “You think like a criminal, Yōkaii-chan.” He smiled broadly.

“Hmph,” she said with satisfaction. “Keep looking for clues. I’ll deal with the staff.”

“Do you want any help?” Haru asked.

She shrugged. “Not really, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have you looking good with that sword while I question them.”

He nodded with a smile. “Please lead the way.”

She nodded, turned and opened the door. “Fang?”

The man was waiting not five paces away, which meant he might have overheard some of the things they had said. It was best to keep quiet, dammit.

“Is there anything I can help you with, Yōkaii-chan? Please name it.”

“Actually there is. I need to question you as well as the rest of the staff.”

He nodded. “Surely you can direct your questions to me. As head of the staff I can—“

“Nope,” Adrienne said, cutting him off quickly. “The whole staff, and if they can’t answer my questions, then I’m going to need you to fetch your mistress.”

Fang made a face indicating a high level of discomfort as he breathed in deeply and pushed the air out of his nose in short order. Then a smile appeared on his slender face. He gestured to the stairs. “Please come with me to the main drawing room. I will have the servants collected in no time at all.”

“Very good.”

Haru and Adrienne followed Feng downstairs while Ujiro and Hiro continued looking for clues inside of Mei Ling’s bedchambers. After a moment passed, Hiro glanced outside of the door to make sure they were not being overheard. “I am very impressed by our new business associate.”

“You keep calling her that,” Ujiro said, his tone indicating to Hiro that he thought the stronger man—at least physically stronger—was overextending the nature of their relationship with Adrienne.

“What?” he asked.

“She is impressive,” but we must be prepared to strike out on our own—to support ourselves in this city. We cannot rely on that little girl playing inspector.”

Hiro could not help but feel disappointed by those words. He rather liked Adrienne, and he thought her needs and theirs coincided quite well. “Is there something about the girl you do not like?”

“No,” Ujiro said firmly. “I am not saying that at all. You misunderstand me. What I am saying is…”

*

Adrienne and Haru did not have to wait long, as Feng arrived with the rest of the staff in only a short time. The Lanchiu manor was large and impressive, with three floors, probably an expansive attic and basement, but it was not a castle in any sense of the word.

The servants strode into the drawing room and were arrayed in a line through Feng’s direction. Each wore the house colors of the Lanchiu Estate, which consisted of green tabards with yellow decorations, black caps and black trousers. Feng regarded them all for a moment. “Lady Yōkaii-chan has some questions she would like to ask. If you know the answer…” he paused, looking them over, “then provide any information that you can to assist her efforts in finding the whereabouts of Miss Mei Ling. Do you understand?”

They bowed in unison and said, “Yes, Master Feng!”

“Good!” he said, his tone stern and his eyebrows slightly knit together. If Haru had to guess, he would have said that the man was angry, but he was certain that his demeanor was only one caused by the missing Mei Ling.

A horrible tragedy to endure, he thought. But they would find her, bring her back home and all would be put right again. He just hoped the girl was untouched. The words Adrienne had used to describe what could be happening to the young girl even now made him grind his teeth.

“So,” Adrienne said, pulling Haru out of his thoughts as he glanced about the servant’s faces. “All I need to know for now is whether Mei Ling has very many visitors.”

A few of them nodded.

“Does she take them upstairs to her rooms?” One of the servants moved her hand awkwardly. “You,” Adrienne said, singling the woman out. “Tell me.”

Her eyes moved to Feng shiftily. “Go on,” he said with a nod.

“I am Mei Ling’s maid.” She hesitated for a moment. “I make sure her chambers are clean and everything necessary is put in its right place.”

“Yes, yes,” Adrienne said, feeling impatient. “Just tell me, who does she take to her chambers?”

The woman shook her head. “Just the Li Xan girl.”

“And who is that?”

“They are friends.”

“How old is the girl?”

The servant shrugged. “I don’t know. She is Mei Ling’s age.”

“Thirteen?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Hmm,” she mused as she put a hand to her chin, Fuwaduwa also making a similar sound, though he kept mostly silent and out of sight. It could not be helped. She needed to mention the clue they had found. “Listen up,” she said, eying the servants. Several of them shifted and swallowed. Why do they act like they’re in trouble? “There’s some scratches in the interior wood of her chest of drawers. The words read ‘Help me. She’s not my mother.”

Feng swallowed and stepped forward. “I was not aware of this…”

“Evidence.”

“Evidence,” he said, his tone dubious as a quirking of the sides of his mouth revealed his utter lack of belief. “But surely whatever ‘evidence’ you have found, must surely be brought to me before you start uttering about the household.”

His tone was slightly stern. It was clear he did not approve of Adrienne mentioning what they had found—and even he was unaware of its existence.

“Whatever we find can be of help,” Adrienne said, her tone clear that she was somewhat frustrated with Feng’s sudden lack of cooperation, though she kept her calm. “Are you saying that I cannot question—“

She broke off when the Master Servant smiled. “May I speak with you for a moment, Yōkaii-chan?”

Haru watched as the conversation unfolded, unsure as to what to do. He was no investigator. Sure, he was a samurai, one with some martial skills of the higher orders, but there was little he could do with his blade at this time.

“Of course,” Adrienne said confidently. She glanced at Haru and nodded. “Keep an eye on the servants for me, will you?”

He wanted to raise a skeptical eyebrow at that. Was she treated them as if they were suspect in her suspicions? To play his part, he simply nodded and said nothing. When she trailed off with Feng outside of the drawing room, he looked at the servants, who looked at him.

No one said anything.

The samurai who was not an inspector of any kind, swallowed, feeling overly conscious of the dozen gazes upon him. Hurry and return, he thought, because Haru had no idea what he was doing.

*

Feng lead Adrienne out of the main drawing room and into the kitchens. They were warm with cook fires and boiling water. All manner of herbs and other dried meats and cheeses hung suspended from a massive rack over a large table.

“Samui desu,” Fuwafuwa said, his tone hushed and practically vibrating against her neck.

“Hush,” she whispered as Feng turned around. His gaze was stern.

“Miss Yōkaii-chan.”

“Yes?” she said innocently. “I don’t see why you needed to bring—“

“The things uttered for all the servants to hear is inappropriate.” There was an edge to his tone. “The staff does not need to know your wild ideas so they can create gossip and life around things that are incorrect.”

“What do you mean incorrect?!” she snapped. “Something is clearly wrong in Mei Ling’s chambers!”

“Oh? And how do you know that? Prray tell, miss Yōkaii-chan.”

“I don’t think I like your tone.”

“You forget,” he said, his tone heightening in pitch—was this guy a eunuch?—“that I have the ear of Lady Lanchiu. I can have you dismissed with a snap of a finger.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Excuse me?”

“Do you want to find Miss Mei Ling or not?”

“What?”

“I said do you want to find Miss Mei Ling or not?!”

He sighed, shaking his head with a smile that revealed his contempt for Adrienne’s presence here in the manor.

“What?” she continued. “You think you can do better? The City Watch already failed Lady Lanchiu of you’ll recall.”

“Brrr!” Fuwafuwa hummed into her neck. “Sammmuuii desuu!”

“Hush!”

“What?” Feng snapped. “Do not tell me to hush, young lady.”

“No, I was—“

“Be silent while I speak.”

What Adrienne was unaware of, and what Fuwafuwa could only sense through some vague connection he had to the other world, was the clear and present danger within the Lanchiu manor.

More specifically, the two men hiding inside the pantry who opened the doors. Feng smiled as they came out, silent as assassins with ropes in their hands. “Now,” he said, distracting the stupid girl. “From now on, if you find anything—and I do mean anything—then you will come to me first and.”

Suddenly an ear-piercing screech came from the girl, but the tone was not from the girl. “Behind youuu!”

She whirled and her vision snapped back as a heavy weight pressed onto her. Adrienne screamed, but her mouth was covered.

“Silence her! Quick!” Feng hissed.

She bit down on the hand covering her mouth and warm liquid smeared over her face as the man screamed through his teeth. The weight on her mouth was quickly released as the man brought up his clenched hand dribbling with hot blood. “Godsdammit! The little bitch bit me!”

“Hel—“

The other man shoved his rough hands over her mouth and then something hit her in the face, her vision snapping white.

*

Haru whirled when he heard a high-pitched keening. Was that Fuwafuwa? He quickened his pace as he moved toward the kitchens. There was a thump and his hand instinctually went to the hilt of his sword.

When a sudden stifled scream from Adrienne came next he rushed forward, drew his blade and bellowed, “Hiro-san! Ujiro-san! COME QUICK!”