Whispered Touches Part 9
Heero shifted Naoko in his lap with a bit of a sigh, hugging the girl indirectly as he rubbed his left upper arm.
"Are you tired, Heero?" Meiran asked, setting her book down. "I'll take her for a bit." She got up from next to Wufei and reached for the toddler, sliding her hands under Naoko's arms.
Immediately, Naoko released her bear and squirmed, grabbing Heero's shirt with both hands, a loud cry forcing Meiran to immediately let go. Heero held Naoko and murmured soothingly to her.
"I'm not going anywhere, baby girl," he cooed. "Shh, don't cry."
Wufei frowned as he stood next to Meiran. "Did something happen, Heero?" he asked. "Naoko hasn't left your arms all morning."
Heero looked up, shrugging a little helplessly. "Duo was with her just before sunrise and Naoko suddenly couldn't touch him any more. I think that scared her a bit."
"Doh," Naoko said tearfully. "Heewo-nii [1], Doh bye bye."
Heero shook his head. "Doh went sleepy nap time," he tried to explain. "Naoko will see Doh later."
"Doh bye bye," Naoko insisted. "Heewo-nii, no bye bye." She buried her face into her bear's soft fur.
"I see," Quatre said, dropping the game controller he had been using. "Naoko's afraid you'll leave."
"Heero-nii isn't going anywhere," Meiran cooed. "Come with Meiran, Naoko, there's a good girl." She tried to reach for Naoko again, but Wufei set a hand on her arm, stalling her movement.
"It's all right, Meiran." Heero shifted Naoko in his arms again. "Can you do me a favor and get me a bottle of baby food for her? I want to feed her something easy to swallow today."
"Sure." Meiran took Wufei's hand and led him towards the stairs just as Kanoko appeared.
"There you are, Heero." Kanoko said. "Why don't I take Naoko? You can enjoy your time with your friends. You're all welcome to stay tonight as well, seeing as you've been doing your homework and you've all got Monday off school too."
"Thank you, Mrs. Yuy," Quatre said politely. "We'd love to stay another night, since Meiran and Wufei are driving home tomorrow." Kanoko smiled at Quatre's polite tone.
"I'll keep Naoko with me, Mom," Heero added. "She can play with us. Meiran was just about to get her a bit of baby food. She's a little fussy today but she's fine with me."
"If you're sure," Kanoko smiled. "Then I'm going to go shop a bit since you're home. You are staying, aren't you?"
"Yes, Mom. We'll order some take out for lunch. Go enjoy yourself; I'll call you if anything happens."
"Thanks, Heero." Kanoko turned to walk up the stairs again with both Wufei and Meiran following to get the baby food. "Enjoy yourselves, everyone."
"Thank you!" everyone replied. Wing padded down the stairs and immediately went to Naoko, nuzzling the girl's hand. Naoko peeked out from behind her bear's fur and took Wing by the collar.
"Any idea what to do next regarding Duo?" Trowa asked, moving closer to pet the dog. Quatre switched off the video game before moving closer as well.
"I'm not sure," Heero admitted. "Despite what we've found out, there's not much we can do. I thought about handing over the letter to the police but that's trespassing, isn't it?"
Wufei and Meiran returned, carrying a bib, a bottle of baby food, a box of baby wipes, a baby-cup filled with water and a spoon. Heero carefully cleaned Naoko's hands with baby wipes, even though he would be feeding the girl. With Meiran's help, he closed the clasp of the bib around her and tried to entice her with the food. "Duo asked me to tell you about what he learned from the diaries," he said. "It's quite a complicated story but there's more leads to go on now."
Meiran nudged Wing aside; they never allowed Wing too close when Naoko was eating. Wing willingly padded to Trowa upon hearing the teenager's whistle, content to lie and watch his baby eat. Everyone made themselves comfortable, waiting for Heero to begin the story.
"Heero? I'll be leaving now. If I stay out a bit later, I'll call you about dinner for all of you."
"Thanks, Mom!" Heero called back. Everyone waited until the central alarm signaled a door being opened, then closed.
"Well?" Wufei urged, voicing everyone's curiosity.
"Duo read in his father's diary that his father was an undercover FBI agent." As he fed Naoko, Heero quickly recounted the lie detailed within the first journal entry. "Duo initially had a hard time accepting the fact that his father had kept such a lie from him, and his mother as well. But after thinking about it, he understood his father's reasoning behind the lie."
"It's like a movie," Meiran murmured. "Careful with the baby food, Heero," she warned. Heero quickly moved the bottle out of Naoko's reach and wiped her mouth before offering her some water. A familiar tingle at the back of his head had Heero glancing up.
"Duo," he greeted the ghost.
"Hey." Duo quirked a half-hearted grin. "How's Naoko?"
"Fussy," Wufei said honestly. "She won't let go of Heero."
"Heero man, sorry about that."
"Don't be. You couldn't help it. Naoko's just too young to understand that you're..."
"That I'm not human," Duo chuckled lightly.
"Doh?" Naoko seemed surprised as she noticed Duo's presence. She leaned against Heero, watching Duo almost warily.
"Sorry, Naoko baby." Duo moved a little closer to Heero and knelt down. "Doh can't hold you until later tonight." He smiled for the baby. "Naoko, smile?" He winked at her.
Naoko nodded. "Doh smile." She smiled a little in return.
"Thanks, Duo," Heero said, a little relieved. "She hasn't smiled all morning."
Duo nodded. "No big. But seriously, I'm sorry if I made things hard for you guys."
"Heero told us about the diaries," Trowa said when no one spoke. "Maybe our next step should be to look into the gang that was busted back when Duo was five years old. That might give us a bit of insight about who might have been involved and what kind of sentencing they received."
Quatre booted up his laptop. "Makes sense," he said. "I'll check online first."
"What do you guys want for lunch?" Heero asked, always the courteous host. "I'll go order something while you begin looking, Quatre. Trowa, you can grab my computer from my room too; the upgrade was finished overnight."
"Sure," Trowa answered. "And I'm okay with whatever for lunch." With that, he made his way upstairs.
"Suggestions, anyone?"
"Subs? Is there a deli around here?" Meiran suggested. "Actually," Meiran cast a glance at Wufei. "Wufei can make a mean sandwich."
"Meiran-"
"Please?" Meiran pleaded. "We'll go pick some ingredients up from Trowa's store and take Wing for a walk too. It'll be cheaper than ordering out and healthier too!" Meiran knew that Wufei preferred healthy foods.
"Fine," Wufei grumbled.
"Great." Heero chuckled at how easily Meiran had gotten Wufei to agree. "It's been a while since I last had one of your sandwiches, Wufei."
Wufei rolled his eyes and stood. "Got a bike, Yuy?"
"Here." Quatre stood and dug into his pocket. "Meiran, you can take my bike, I'm shorter than Heero and you can adjust the seat if you need to." He tossed a key at Meiran, who caught it deftly. He whistled lightly. "Good catch."
"Where is it?" Meiran asked, examining the two keys and slipping it into her pocket.
"You remember where my house is? We pointed it out the other day." Wufei and Meiran both nodded. "Go around the right side and you can use the key to open the lock to the back yard. The bike key is just for the lock; my bike is chained to the house as a precaution. My sister should be home but I'll call her and let her know you'll be dropping by so she won't be startled if you guys grab my bike."
Meiran nodded. "Thank you. Let's go, Wufei."
"You know where my bike and keys are, Wufei," Heero said as Trowa returned with Heero's laptop. Wufei nodded and left along with Meiran, whistling for Wing to follow.
"Got anything?" Duo asked, kneeling on the floor next to Quatre. Quatre glanced at Duo, watching the ghost's knees pass through the coffee table.
"I'm collecting several articles first," Quatre said. "Then we can read through them."
Trowa booted up Heero's laptop. "I'll go through the library archives."
"I'm doing that. Why don't you try the news archives?"
"Sure."
"I'm going to take Naoko upstairs to use the bathroom," Heero announced. "I'll be right back."
"Hey, check this out." Trowa forwarded a link through to Quatre via an instant messaging program. Quatre opened it and peered at the article with Duo looking just beside him.
"Drug ring busted by FBI," Quatre read from the title. "One of the largest local drug rings has been uprooted by the local FBI. With several major suspects apprehended and denied bail for the time being, police are working to collect the last of the evidence to present to the courts when the trial begins. While there has been no formal statement by the police about what charges will be laid, it is rumored that the suspects are on trial for more than drug trafficking. Other rumors include arms dealings, and one other interesting rumor features an undercover agent who is a key witness in the upcoming trial.
"That must be Dad," Duo said. "I wonder what Mom thought about this when she read it? She must have read it; it was headline news."
Trowa nodded as he skimmed through several other articles. "Here. This was dated at the end of the trial." He sent a second article to Quatre, who opened it and read it aloud.
"Major gang uprooted for good," Quatre read the title. Duo took over.
"After six months of trials, one of the biggest gangs in the local area has been uprooted, with the major members sentenced to life in jail for their many crimes. The undercover agent is said to have played a key role in offering evidence in the trial, but his or her identity remains a mystery." He paused. "Six months. That's what Dad wrote in his diary; he had to secretly make statements and go to court for half a year."
Trowa read on as Heero returned with Naoko. "Many of the members within the gang, especially the followers, received minimal sentencing for petty crimes committed. It is because of this that our undercover agent's identity remains a secret so as to ensure that he or she will not be disturbed by those who have received minimal sentencing, said Detective Andrew Collins." He blinked. "That name sounds familiar."
Heero easily caught on to the topic and read on quickly. "Our agent's identity has remained a secret and the agent has offered their statements and witness reports via real audio with a voice changer so as to keep a secret identity. As such, the media is encouraged to stop all inquiries into the secret identity for the safety of our agent. What is key here is that the gang has been uprooted thanks to the FBI and our agent, and the major local drug dealings as well as arms trafficking have been halted."
"I know where that name is from!" Quatre exclaimed, clicking through his saved files to another article.
"Family slain; tragic case closed," Duo read the title. "We regret to say that the slaying of the Maxwell family remains a mystery and the case is now closed so as to halt the disturbances to the neighborhood where the tragedy happened, stated Detective Andrew Collins. Alan Maxwell, aged 47 and Helen Maxwell, aged 43, as well as their son Duo Maxwell, aged 15, and baby daughter Danielle Maxwell, 18 months old, were tragically slain in the empty house next to their own. Many leads have gone cold and the murderer's identity as well as the reasons and motives for the slaying remains, regrettably, a mystery. After a year and three months of fruitless investigation, the case is now unofficially closed. As it stands, any new information is urged and welcomed to assist in clearing up the crime committed to the family that was well-known, and well-loved by their neighbors."
"So maybe this Andrew Collins knew your father, Duo," Heero commented. "He was a part of both cases."
Duo nodded. "Maybe," he murmured.
"Let's look him up." Quatre suddenly said, typing rapidly on his computer. "See if he's still a part of the local police."
"Wait. Even if we do find him, what would we say?" Duo asked, hesitant.
"We can ask and see if he knows anything about the person who left the box behind. I mean, we could say Heero just moved in and found the box, and was wondering if it would be possible to find out which relative had left the box behind and why they had bothered to leave the box in the first place. The worst they can say is that the information is confidential."
"That's an interesting suggestion," Heero said thoughtfully, wincing as squirmed in his grasp, her hand catching his cheek. "Naoko baby, what do you want?"
She reached up to hug him around the neck, resting her cheek on his shoulder.
"I think she wants to sleep," Quatre said. "She must be tired, having woken up at sunrise.
Heero nodded.
"So, should we call?" Quatre asked.
"Maybe we can look him up first." Heero looked thoughtful. "He must be one of the top detectives in the area; we can do a search on his name first and maybe find out if he's still around on our local force."
"We're back!" Meiran called. "Heero?"
"Coming!" Heero called back as Naoko squirmed again in his grasp, whining wordlessly. "Sorry, Naoko."
"Naoko baby," Quatre cooed. "Come with Quatre?" He rubbed his thumb over her hand as she blinked her drowsy eyes at him. "Come, come?" he smiled. Naoko's eyebrows furrowed a little before she raised her head and reached for Quatre. The blond took the girl carefully, resting her weight on his hip as Heero had shown him and letting the girl rest her head on his shoulder.
"Thanks, Quatre," Heero said gratefully, taking advantage of the moment by stretching his arms.
"Welcome," the blond replied quietly, taking Heero's spot on the couch and rocking slightly to lull Naoko to sleep. Heero kept a watchful eye for a minute before he jogged up the stairs to help Meiran and Wufei prepare the sandwiches.
"Rub her back gently," Duo suggested. "It might help put her to sleep."
"Like this?" Quatre asked, moving his hand as if smoothing the shirt on the girl's back. Duo nodded. It didn't take long for Naoko to fall asleep, and Trowa picked up his windbreaker, setting it lightly over the girl so she wouldn't catch a cold. Heero returned with Wufei and Meiran as well as the food and flashed grateful looks to both Quatre and Trowa upon seeing the girl asleep. "You guys eat first," Quatre said quietly. "I'll eat after."
Trowa left the basement, but returned quickly with a knife. He proceeded to cut Quatre's sandwich down to smaller bite-sized pieces, and placed the plate close to Quatre. The blond flashed a bright smile at Trowa's thoughtfulness and ate one of the pieces. Then, he flashed a thumbs up at Wufei as he swallowed, conveying silently what he thought of the sandwich.
By the time Naoko woke up two hours later and in Wufei's familiar arms, she was no longer grumpy or fussy and was content to sit close by and play with her toys. They had also deduced that Detective Andrew Collins was still working in the city and had drawn up a brief conversation plan, having obtained the detective's phone number as it was detailed in several newspaper articles as a number to call with any new information for cases.
"We'll make the call tomorrow when there's a higher chance he'll be in his office. It is Sunday after all." Heero carefully saved the conversation they had outlined.
Duo stretched out on the couch. "So I guess there isn't much more to do than to wait until we find him and maybe find out who had left the box behind."
~*~
Heero glanced once more at the points outlined on the conversation file. The other sat around him; it was only just past nine in the morning; Wufei and Meiran had to leave at noon. With a deep breath, Heero dialed the phone number they had found and hoped that the detective had not changed his number.
"Good morning, how may I help you?" A woman's voice greeted him.
"Good morning," Heero answered. "I'm looking for a detective by the name of Andrew Collins."
"May I ask for the reason for this call?"
"I've an inquiry regarding a case and I read in the newspapers that I could call this number to speak with him."
"And for which case is this?"
Heero blinked, glancing at the others who were looking expectantly at him. "The Maxwell tragedy."
There was silence before the woman spoke again. "Just a moment, sir."
"She put me on hold," Heero informed the others. He had barely finished his sentence he was taken off hold.
"Hello, this is Detective Andrew Collins speaking. I understand you've an inquiry about the Maxwell tragedy?"
"Yes," Heero said. "I've just moved into the house where the Maxwell's used to live. I heard from some neighbors and learned via an Internet search about the tragedy. When I was cleaning the house, I found a box with some of their belongings and a letter."
"Would you mind leaving a name with me, sir?" asked the detective.
"My name is Heero Yuy." Heero answered honestly.
"Mr. Yuy, have you read the contents of the letter?"
"Yes. It said that the contents of the box is key to the family's true identity."
"And have you read the other contents within the box?"
"Yes, I have." Heero admitted.
"I regret to inform you, Mr. Yuy, that I have never heard of or seen this box you speak of. Would I be able to meet with you and see these contents?"
"Meet with me?" Heero glanced at the time. "The truth is, Detective, my parents are unaware that I've found this box. In fact, they were unaware that this box existed, although when we first moved in, my mother and I had put the box aside to deal with later. She'd forgotten about it-"
"How old are you, Mr. Yuy?"
Heero blinked. "Fifteen, sir."
"I take it then, Mr. Yuy, that you do not want your parents to know you are dealing with this box?"
"No sir," Heero admitted. "I think if they knew, they'd have just disposed of the box and its contents. That's why I was wondering if we could meet elsewhere, other than your workplace or my house."
"That can be arranged, Mr. Yuy."
An hour later saw Heero with a paper bag, sitting with Trowa in a noisy cafe. They had found a place in the last booth and both had ordered a drink. When a man entered the cafe wearing a pair of sunglasses, Heero shifted so his sneakers would be visible to the man. He had, under the direction of the detective, slipped a small bit of green construction paper under the white laces of his mostly white sneakers; it was something no one would really notice if they weren't looking for it. Moments later the man slipped his glasses off and slipped into the booth across from the two young men.
"Mr. Collins." Heero greeted the man; they had decided to avoid referring to the man as 'detective' in case there were any nosy eavesdroppers. The man's picture often appeared in the paper or on the news, but the cafe was not too busy since it was late morning, much too early for lunch.
"Mr. Yuy." The man replied, taking Heero's hand.
"Trowa Barton." Trowa introduced himself, offering his hand next. "I hope you don't mind that I've accompanied my friend here."
"Not at all." Detective Collins nodded with understanding. The waitress appeared and the man ordered his own drink and declined to order any food. "So, have you brought the contents?"
Heero handed the bag to the detective. "I only brought what I thought was relevant." Heero said. "I didn't want to be carrying too many objects. The box itself contained three diaries, the letter I told you about, a family album, a cross and a stuffed animal."
The detective nodded. "The family album has a blue cover with gold trim?" Heero nodded. "I've seen that before."
"I only brought the three diaries and the letter." Heero said as the man pulled out the items.
"The cross belonged to Helen Maxwell. I assume the stuffed animal belonged to either child." The detective glanced at the letter, flipping it back and forth to ensure there were no other markings that could be useful in identifying its origins. "Now, what about these diaries was so interesting?"
"Two of the diaries," Heero gestured to the top two, "belonged to the mother and son." Heero easily picked up on the detective's choice to avoid speaking the Maxwell name too often. "The last belonged to the father, and the first entry was the most interesting."
Nodding, the detective opened the book and began to read. Trowa and Heero sipped their drinks as they waited. They watched as the man's eyes widened, then narrowed.
"That was definitely something unexpected; not something we would have looked into. I'm surprised no one approached us with this information as it may have been helpful in the case, if you understand what I'm saying?"
Trowa and Heero deduced that the detective meant no other FBI agents had approached him regarding Alan Maxwell's other identity. "Actually, I thought you knew," Heero frowned. "You were on both cases. The uprooting and this one," he tilted his chin towards the books.
The man grinned a little. "I see you're easily picking up on the lingo," he commented. "I was on both cases but the identity of the witness was kept secret even from me."
"That's a surprise." Trowa murmured. "What if one of the lesser criminals..." he trailed off, sure that both Heero and the detective understood what he was saying.
The man leaned back. "Hard to say." That statement was accompanied with a frown. "Ten years passed between the two cases, more than enough for some of the lesser to have finished their duty, you know? The group was so big and some had never been caught. To find out who exactly it was would be hard, especially now."
"But it's a lead." Heero pointed out.
"Yes. But again, we can never be sure it could have been-"
"I've something else." Heero reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the letter they had found at the house. He hesitated. "We did...sort of break the law to get this."
The detective took the letter and squinted to read the words. He laid it on the table, where Trowa and Heero pointed out the words they had figured out. "Where did you find this?"
"Loose floorboard," Trowa said cryptically.
"I can't say you necessarily broke the law." The man chuckled at the serious look on both teenagers' faces. "The house had been abandoned long before this case." He tapped the letter as indication. "Seeing as you found something that we hadn't found..." he paused. "How did you know where to look?"
Heero shrugged, figuring the man would call him insane to say he'd dreamt of a baby patting the floorboard. "Too many cop shows," he answered. The detective laughed.
"There have been some strange occurrences at home that my parents are not aware of. I don't know if you believe in ghosts, Detective." Heero lowered his voice. "That was what prompted me to go next door; I was curious about the mystery and the so-called haunting of my new home."
"Understandable."
"And after finding this, we found the box." Heero said, tapping the letter. "And decided to call you."
"I see." Detective Collins sighed. "I can't say I'm relieved, boys. Case has been closed for a few years. I can't professionally speak about haunted houses. If it ever comes to using this in court, all I can do to protect you boys is to say you had dropped this off anonymously. Agreed?"
"Yes sir." Trowa nodded. "So what happens now?"
"Now..." The detective gathered the books and the letter, sliding them into the bag before handing it back to the young men across the table. "Now you keep custody of these while I try to dig up a list of suspects."
"We keep it?" Heero asked quietly.
"Fact is a lot of people have heard of the hauntings. I don't want to risk a leak by informing anyone that this case as been...re-opened." The detective finished his drink. "Let's keep this between us until I can get the case opened without it leaking. That way we avoid startling anyone about the issue."
Heero nodded slowly. "I see."
"Have you got a cell phone?"
Heero duly offered the object whereupon the detective entered his number.
"My private number under DAC," Detective Collins said. He hit the send button, then rejected the call from his own phone. "I'll contact you if I need these items."
"I've one more question." Heero suddenly spoke up, startling even Trowa. "Can you tell me...where they were buried?"
Detective Collins hesitated, then pulled out a pen and notepad, scribbling something down before handing it to Heero along with a bit of money. "Get some flowers on my behalf, will you?"
Heero nodded. "Yes sir."
TBC...
[1] Heewo-nii: 'nii' is a short-form for brother 'oniisan' or 'oniichan' meaning 'elder brother' in Japanese. Heewo is just Naoko's way of pronouncing Heero's name.
Back to Zazu's Fanfictions Page