“Adam?” Dallas said in a wondering tone.
“Yeah, uh… You know, I can’t leave now. I feel like shit going to work for a couple of hours. I couldn’t imagine being away from Amber and Riley for a week. Wouldn’t be able to sleep, work…”
“Party,” Dallas added, chuckling.
With some hesitation in his voice, Adam stuttered, “Ye–Yeah. Couldn’t do it.”
“I’m just saying, maybe it’ll be good for—”
“I have to go, Dallas. Sounds like Riley might have made a mess in the kitchen.”
“All right, buddy. Say hello to the family for me.”
“Will do. See you in an hour.”
The call ended. Adam stared at his reflection for ten long, quiet seconds before sighing loudly. He grabbed his cell phone, opened his web browser, and searched: Tokyo 2017 home invasion. The links at the top of the results were purple. He had already read the articles. He took a trip down memory lane every other week.
Most of the articles were written in Japanese, but some Japanese news outlets published the news in English at the time of the attack. The incident wasn’t covered by any international media organizations.
An hour after the attack, Miki stumbled out of her apartment and collapsed in the narrow street outside of her home. She was found by a neighbor and rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. The attack was investigated thoroughly by the police. She was seen on surveillance footage in the subway with Adam, but they didn’t capture a clear picture of him. There was no footage of him near Miki’s apartment, either.
And according to the reports, Miki refused to cooperate with the police.
Adam never understood that. He beat her to a bloody pulp and mutilated her face with a broken bottle and her own dressmaker’s shears. He insulted her repeatedly and threatened to kill her. He almost killed her, as a matter of fact. A normal person would have told the police everything. Her silence gave him a bad feeling.
He opened his Facebook app. He typed: Miki. He remembered her last name—Someya—but he stopped himself from typing it out. He was curious about her. He even thought about tracking her down to apologize. But he knew he’d only be making things worse by opening old wounds. And he definitely didn’t want to open those wounds on Miki’s cheeks.
“Adam!” Amber shouted from the kitchen. “You eating breakfast or what?”
Adam stared at Miki’s name for five more seconds, then he closed the browser and shut off his phone’s screen. He finished tying his tie, then he grabbed his wristwatch and a coat before exiting the closet.
As he headed down the stairs, he heard a baby cooing and giggling. He emerged in the living room. To his left, over a bar and some stools, he saw Amber and Riley in the kitchen. Amber fed Riley cereal with sliced bananas. At the other end of the table, there was a plate with scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon as well as a mug of black coffee and a cup of orange juice. He put his coat on the sofa, then he went into the kitchen.
“Look who’s here,” Amber squealed. “It’s daddy!”
Riley looked back at her father, swinging her arms and legs as she bounced and giggled in her highchair. Her smile was contagious, her laughter was the cure for depression, and her innocence was inspirational. She melted Adam’s heart and purified his mind. He was just thinking about the woman he had almost killed, but now he could only think about his baby girl. He planted a big kiss on her forehead, then he kissed his wife.
Amber was a certified public accountant turned housewife. She didn’t mind pausing her career to raise Riley. She planned on returning to work as soon as Riley could attend school. In the meantime, she took care of her baby and the housework while replacing accounting with painting—many of which she sold online. She was an artist at heart.
She asked, “How’s Dallas?”
As he sat down in front of his plate, Adam said, “He’s good.”
“Marissa told me he’s getting ready to go to Japan again.”
“Yup.”
Adam felt his throat tightening. He took a sip of his orange juice, then he grunted into his clenched fist. He smiled and waved at Riley from across the table. Riley spared a short glance before dipping her fingers into her cereal bowl.
“No, no, no. You have to use a spoon, baby,” Amber said in a soft voice as she moved her daughter’s arm. Without taking her eyes off Riley and shifting back to her normal voice, she asked, “So you’re really not going?”
“Nope,” Adam responded.
“Good. We would have missed you too much. Isn’t that right, baby? You love daddy, don’t you?”
“Ma-ma,” Riley said, grinning.
They all laughed together.
“Sounds like she’d miss you more than me,” Adam joked.
Amber said, “I’ve heard her say ‘da-da,’ you just haven’t caught her yet.”
“Well, with Dallas off my back next week, I think I’ll have plenty of free time to finally hear those words.”
A sense of euphoria flowed through Adam. He was excited to watch his daughter grow up. He was happy to be with the love of his life. And life was beautiful. But an idea kept stabbing the back of his mind. Maybe Miki didn’t cooperate because she wanted to spare me, he thought. Maybe she really loved me.
Riley dipped her fingers into the cereal again, leading to a playful scolding from Amber. Riley’s actions brought another smile to Adam’s face. He counted his blessings, ate his breakfast, and spent some quality time with his family before heading out to work.
10
THE FIRST
“What time do you gotta be home?” Sebastian asked as he kicked a rock down the dirt path.
Brian said, “Six.”
Sebastian was twelve years old and Brian was a few months younger than him. Although he was supposed to be watching them that afternoon, Sebastian’s older brother, José, dropped them off at Griffith Park so they could hike by themselves while he went off to smoke with his friends. The young kids were curious about the decapitated body that had been discovered in the area the month prior.
Sebastian asked, “You know what my brother told me?”
“What?”
“Your mom’s a bitch.”
“Shut up, dude.”
Sebastian cackled as Brian pushed him. His laughter echoed through the desolate woods. There were no other hikers in sight, only a sea of trees and dirt. Brian just shook his head and rolled his eyes. He had called his mom a bitch once—and it led to a spanking and a lengthy grounding. If he couldn’t call his mom a bitch, he wasn’t going to let Sebastian do it.
“So, you think there’s another one out here?” Sebastian asked.
“Another what?”
“A dead body, duh!”
Brian pouted and shrugged, then he said, “I thought you were just kidding.”
“No, dude. I wanna see one, too.”
“You’ve never seen a dead body?”
“Have you?” Sebastian asked before picking up a branch from the ground. Brian nodded. Sebastian swung the branch at a bush, sending leaves spiraling into the air, then he asked, “Who?”
Brian said, “My grandma’s.”
Sebastian swung the branch like a golf club, launching rocks in front of them without looking up. Some stones bounced on the dirt, others ricocheted off the trees.