The next morning, Jin called Mr. Beckett to tell him that the investigation had wrapped up early and arranged a time to meet with him that afternoon. In the intervening time, Jin, Hayato, and Natalie did what they could to clean up the living room and hallway. They swept the floors and stacked papers and magazines. Jin had brought new frames for the pictures on the walls. Natalie had marveled at the way he’d been able to match them so precisely, but Jin just laughed and chalked it up to his excellent visual memory.

When they met with Mr. Beckett to explain what had been going on in his house, they played some audio for him of the skittering sounds in the wall that they’d caught the first night. Mr. Beckett was excited to know that they’d heard the same things he’d been hearing. Then they brought Lily out and explained what had been going on.

Mr Beckett scratched his head.

“Well,” he said, “that’s something. No wonder none of the exterminators could find anything.”

“You’re all right with this?” asked Hayato. Mr. Beckett smiled.

“I was afraid Mary had come back to haunt me. That she couldn’t rest easy for some reason. This is much better than that.” He turned and looked at the doll. “My wife really treasured that doll. Seems the doll treasured her right back. Nothing strange there. If you’d known my wife, you’d see that’s true.”

“It would be helpful if you could involve Lily in your day to day activities,” said Jin.

“I can give her pride of place in the living room. Maybe talk to her from time to time.” Mr. Beckett laughed. “I talk to myself all the time since Mary’s gone. Talking to the doll won’t be much different. She’s got sort of an understanding feel to her, doesn’t she? I can see why my wife kept her so long.”

They ended the meeting with smiles and handshakes all around. Mr. Beckett promised to call if he had any questions or if the phenomena started up again. Natalie found herself saying goodbye to Jin and Hayato on the sidewalk.

“Don’t worry,” said Jin. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again soon, for a team meeting, if nothing else.”

Hayato snorted. “A team meeting? Since when do we have those?”

“Since we have enough members to make a conversation worthwhile,” said Jin over his shoulder. He turned back to Natalie and whispered, “It’s been pretty boring talking to myself all this time.”

“I heard that,” said Hayato.

Jin winked at Natalie through his glasses, then turned and began walking down the sidewalk. Hayato joined him and tossed a brief wave at Natalie over his shoulder. A familiar pressure against her shins made Natalie look down. She knelt and scratched under Lightning’s chin. He purred contentedly.

“You stay out of trouble, okay? No getting tied up by mysterious shadowy figures.” she said to him. “And while you’re at it, keep an eye on those two too.”

Lightning butted his head up against her hand, made one circuit around her, then trotted off down the sidewalk. His tail stood straight up except for a little crook at the end. Somehow, it looked like a smile to Natalie. She watched until all three figures disappeared around the corner.

Natalie stood, put her hands in her pockets, and turned toward home. As she walked, she admired the sky, already painted with early sunset colors. She took a deep breath of crisp, cool air, and sped her steps, smiling, eager to see what the future might hold.

・・・・・

Thus ends Case 01 of the Sea & Storm Chronicles.

Thank you for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed the story.

And don't worry. There's lots more to come!

Join Natalie, Hayato, Jin, and Lightning in

Sea & Storm Chronicles

Case 02

Shady Dealings

Coming soon!