The Three (33 page)

I blame myself. Geoff says I mustn’t but some days I can’t help it. ‘You’ve got enough on your plate, petal,’ he keeps saying. ‘What could you have done in any case?’

Looking back now, with the benefit of hindsight and that, I can’t help feeling that I should have seen it coming. Paul had been acting strange for a while, so much so that even Kelvin and some of the others had picked up on it. He’d missed the last three 277 Together meetings, and he hadn’t asked me or Geoff to fetch Jess from school or babysit for a good couple of weeks before it happened. To be honest, me and Geoff were relieved to get a bit of a break. We had a lot on our plate, what with our own grandchildren to look after, especially after Gavin went for the police exams early. And Paul did have the tendency to take over, make himself the centre of attention. He could be quite needy, self-obsessed. But that said, I should have done more. I should have made more of an effort to go and check up on him.

I heard that social worker of his being interviewed on the radio, trying to explain himself. He was saying how it was no wonder everyone was fooled, Paul was an actor, played different personas for a living. But that’s just an excuse. Fact is, the social weren’t doing their job. They dropped the ball on that one. So did that psychologist. As Geoff keeps saying, Paul wasn’t
that
good an actor, was he?

When we first started 277 Together, a few of the others–not many mind–felt that because Paul was the only one of us who had a relative who’d survived the crash, that he should take a back seat, let the others talk. Me and Geoff, we didn’t go along with that. Paul had lost his brother, hadn’t he? And his niece and sister-in-law. The first time Paul brought Jess to a meeting, it was hard for most of them to look at her; how do you behave towards a miracle child? Because that’s what she was. A miracle, only not in
the way those fundies say. You should hear Father Jeremy go off about them, ‘Putting Christianity into disrepute’.

We babysat Jess quite a few times while Paul was out doing what he needed to do. Lovely little girl, really bright. I was relieved when Paul decided to send her back to school. Get her right back into a normal way of life. The primary school where she went, it looked like a good supportive place, they had that lovely memorial service for Polly, didn’t they? I suppose in some ways it was harder for Paul than it was for us. He had a member of his family who was still alive, but then again, he had a constant reminder that the others were gone, didn’t he?

You can tell I’m putting off getting to the next bit. The only people I’ve told in detail are Geoff and Father Jeremy. It’s what my Danielle would have called a total mind-fuck. She had a right mouth on her. Took after me.

Don’t mind me; tears are always close to the surface. I know people think of me as a coper, as a tough old bitch, and I am… but it gets to you. All this misery, all this death. It’s all needless. Jess didn’t need to die and Danielle didn’t need to die.

I’d turned my phone off that day. Just for a couple of hours. We were coming up for Danielle’s birthday, and I was feeling down. Decided to treat myself and have a long soak in the bath. When I switched my mobile back on, I saw I had a message from Paul. First up he apologised for keeping his distance, said he’d had a lot to think about and deal with over the last few days. His voice sounded flat. Lifeless. In retrospect I suppose I should have felt a sense of foreboding then. He asked me if I could come over to his place for a chat. Said he’d be in all day.

I tried calling him back, but it went straight to voicemail. The last thing I felt like doing was going over to Paul’s, but I was feeling guilty that I hadn’t called to see why he hadn’t been at the 277s lately. Geoff was over at Gavin’s, watching the little ones, so I went on my own.

When I got there, I rang the bell, but there was no answer. I tried again, and then I realised that the front door was slightly open. I knew something was wrong, but I went inside anyway.

I found her in the kitchen. She was lying sprawled, face up, next to the fridge. There was red everywhere. Spattered on the walls, on the fridge and the other white goods. I didn’t want to believe it was blood at first. But the smell. They don’t tell you that on the shows, the crime shows. How bad blood can smell. I knew straight away that she was dead. It was hot outside and already a few big bluebottles were buzzing around her, crawling on her face and that. The places where… oh Lord… the places where he’d cut into her… deep gashes, right to the bone in places. A pool of blood was spreading out beneath her. Her eyes were open, staring up, and they were full of blood, too.

I was sick. Just straight away. All down my front. I started praying and my legs felt like they were weighed down with cement blocks. I assumed that a lunatic must have broken in and attacked her. I pulled out my phone, called 999. I still can’t believe I managed to make myself understood.

I’d just hung up when I heard a thump coming from upstairs. It wasn’t me who made my body move. I know that doesn’t make sense. It was like I was being pushed forward. For all I knew, whoever had attacked Jess could still be in the house.

I walked up those stairs like I was some kind of robot, stubbed my toe on the top step, but hardly felt it.

He was lying on the bed, white as a sheet. Empty booze bottles scattered all over the carpet.

I thought he was dead at first. Then he groaned, making me jump, and I saw the packet of sleeping pills clutched in his hand; the empty bottle of Bells next to him.

He’d left a message on the side table, written in large angry letters. I’ll never be able to get those words out of my head: ‘I had to do it. It is the ONLY WAY. I had to cut the chip out of her so that she would be FREE.’

I didn’t pass out, but the time until the police arrived is a blank. That neighbour, the snobbish one, she took me straight inside her house. You could tell she was also beside herself with shock. She was kind to me that day. Made a cup of tea, helped me get cleaned up, called Geoff for me.

They said that it must have taken a long time for Jessie to bleed out on that floor. It goes through your head, all the time. If only I’d visited Paul earlier. If only, if only, if only.

And now… it’s not anger I feel towards Paul, but pity. Father Jeremy says that forgiveness is the only way forward. But I can’t help thinking that it might have been better if he’d died. Locked up like that, in one of those places, what sort of future is he going to face?

Yesterday afternoon, a tour bus packed full of American tourists was pelted with buckets of red paint and eggs when it pulled into the parking lot of the Meiji Shrine in Shibuya. The perpetrators fled before police arrived, but were heard shouting, ‘This is for Orz,’ as they left the scene. No one was injured in the attack, although several of the elderly tourists were reportedly deeply shaken.

There are also unconfirmed reports of several American language students being harassed in an electronics store yesterday evening in Akihabara and another unconfirmed verbal assault on a British tourist in Inokashira Park.

It is believed that these incidents were perpetrated by the Orz Movement, a group protesting the murder of Hiro Yanagida, which is responsible for defacing several Western outlets and religious institutions with graffiti. On 24 June, two days after the murder of Hiro Yanagida, cleaning staff arrived at the Tokyo Union Church in Ometsando, located next to the iconic Louis Vuitton store, to discover a painting of a blood-soaked handbag daubed next to the entrance. That evening, a stencil of a man spewing vomit appeared on the walls of Toyko’s two Wendy’s outlets and a McDonald’s in Shinjuku, causing both disgust and hilarity. A week later, a masked man was caught on CCTV de facing the sign outside the American Embassy.

The tag signature ORZ is left at every scene. ORZ–an emoticon or emoji–which resembles a figure bashing its head on the
ground, signifies depression or despair and was popularised on chat-forums such as 2-channel.

So far, police have been frustrated in their efforts to curb the increasingly radical behaviour, and with copycat ORZ stencils beginning to pop up in cities all over Japan–including as far away as Osaka–all indications are that it spreading fast.

A spokesperson from the Japanese National Tourism Organisation has stressed that Japan is not a nation known for ‘violent protests’, and that it should not be judged on the actions of a ‘misguided minority’.

The Orz Movement has now attracted a vocal and high-profile supporter. Aikao Uri, the head of the rapidly growing and controversial Cult of Hiro, issued the following statement: ‘Hiro’s unforgivable murder, and the fact that the US government is unconcerned about bringing those behind it to justice, is a clear sign that we need to break ties immediately. Japan is not a child who needs its American nanny watching over it. I applaud what the Orz Movement is doing. It is a shame that our government is too afraid to follow their example.’ Unlike many hardline Nationalists, Aikao Uri has called for ties to be strengthened with Korea and the People’s Republic of China, going so far as to insist that reparations be made for Japanese World War II war crimes against these nations. She is at the forefront of the campaign for the historic Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan to be overthrown, and all US troops based on Okinawa Island to be removed. She is married to politician Masamara Uri, who is widely tipped to be the next prime minister.

Every year, volunteers from the Yamanashi Prefecture police and the Fujisan Rangers undertake a thorough sweep of the notorious Aokigahara forest, searching for the bodies of those who have chosen to end their lives in this ‘sea of trees’. This year, over forty bodies were discovered, including the remains of a man who police suspect could be Ryu Takami (22), who achieved notoriety after his story of heartbreak captured the imagination of the 2-chan message board. Takami, who used the avatar Orz Man, was believed to be in a relationship with Chiyoko Kamamoto (18), the cousin of Sun Air Flight 678 survivor, Hiro Yanagida. Chiyoko and Ryu disappeared on 22 June 2012, the same day that Hiro and Chiyoko’s parents were shot to death by Private Jake Wallace, an American soldier based at Camp Courtney on Okinawa Island. Private Wallace shot himself at the scene. Shoes, mobile phone and wallet belonging to Chiyoko Kamamoto were found next to the decomposed body. Chiyoko Kamamoto is also believed to have ended her life in the forest, although her body has not yet been discovered.

In a strange twist of fate, the remains were discovered by Yomijuri Miyajima (68), the volunteer suicide monitor who rescued Hiro Yanagida from the scene of the crash on 12 January
2012. Miyajima, who says he was devastated when he heard about Hiro’s untimely death, came across the partially decomposed body during a search of the area near to the ice cave.

Takami’s disappearance sparked off the ongoing and increasingly violent anti-US protests spear-headed by the Orz Movement and the Cult of Hiro, and authorities are worried that the discovery of his remains could inflame an already volatile situation.

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

Credentials checked again at joburg convention centre entrance. 3rd time now. #chilloutwerenotterrorists

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

Lots of speculation going on. Rumours flying that Veronica Oduah is going to pitch.

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

@melanichampa Don’t know. Been here for an hour. If yr coming bring coffee and doughnuts plis sisi

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

FINALLY. SA Rational League spokesperson Kelly Engels appears. Goes on about upcoming US election

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

KE: worried bout growing int. support for religious right–could have global implications

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

Rumours on point. Veronica Oduah is here! Looks older than 57. Has to be helped to front of room

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

VO v nervous. Voice wobbles. Says shes here to come clean. Room gasps. Only one meaning to this

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

VO: ‘he is not my nephew. They’ve been keeping him a safehouse away from me for weeks. I told them that when i 1st saw him.’

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

VO: ‘They offered me money to keep quiet but i did not want to take it.’ Says K’s dad’s cousin did take cash tho

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

BBC journo: ‘who offered money?’ VO: ‘The Americans. I don’t know their names.’

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

Room seriously buzzing. Kelly Engels: ‘also have proof from Jozi lab whistleblower that Ken’s mitrochondrial DNA not a match.’

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

Whistleblower also bribed to keep quiet. Says SA g’ment and religious right faction in cahoots

#surprisesurprisecorruptionagain

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

And another surprise guest! Zimbo journo next to me says this is better than Transport Minister Mzobe’s corruption trial.

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

New person woman from eastern cape–Lucy Inkatha. Says ‘Kenneth’ is her grandson Mandla

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

LI: ‘Mandla ran away from home to find father in cape town. 8-yrs-old has severe learning difficulties’

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

Kelly Engels: ‘we’re all working to get Mandla home asap.’

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

Veronica Oduah: ‘It is hard, but I have to accept that Kenneth is dead.’ Some reporters getting upset.

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

KE: ‘Now that the truth is out there, people will see exactly how self-serving politicians can be.’

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

KE: ‘Would like to thank everyone who has been brave enough to come forward and speak up for the truth.’

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

RT @kellytankgrl FINALLY some sanity in this mess

#dontletthebastardswin

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

RT@brodiemermaid Rel.R PR team gonna need another miracle to get out of this #dontletthebastardswin

Vuyo Molefe @VMtruthhurts

Place now in uproar. Waitin for reaction from end timers. Could this influence their majority? #dontletthebastardswin