By Hannah Carter
As a general rule, Reynolds didn’t go into junior high girls’ bathrooms. But when three corpses turned up in a school lavatory stall all in one day, he tended to make an exception. Plus, he’d been called in to investigate.
All the way from New York City.
Reynolds squatted in front of the last stall. The crime scene had been scrubbed clean of blood, but he saw the glinting of a residue stippled grayly on the walls and linoleum that even Clorox couldn’t obliterate. Ectoplasm. The tell-tale signs of a yōkai—a poltergeist. His specialty. He was a paranormal investigator, after all.
He stood up and turned to his partner, Eliza, who leaned against the wall in a pretty little smoky-gray number, looking like a sultry star of the silver screen. Underneath her Garbo slouch hat, her bobbed hair curled impishly around her face.
“Locals here in Fukui say the first killings happened in the 1930s. Always in the third stall of a girls’ junior high bathroom. Aka Manto, they call him.” Reynolds scowled. “Perverted little yōkai.”
Eliza leaned down next to him, adjusting her petite fedora like a film noir detective. “You check the other stalls. I’ll collect the samples.” She swept her index finger along the ectoplasm and rubbed it against her thumb.
Reynolds lit a cigarette as he exited the stall. “Deal. Just be careful.” Ashes and smoke trailed after him. Smoking inside a school was typically frowned upon, but at 11 p.m., no one was there to send him to the principal’s office. Anyway, it was necessary to set the boundary of the exorcism, though he made sure to leave a tiny spot open for a quick exit.
“You good, Liza?” Reynolds shoved open the next stall door. It clattered against the wall like an early morning gunshot.
“Yeah.”
Reynolds kicked open the last door and stepped inside. “He’s not here, which means we’ve got to lure him out the old-fashioned way. Plan B.”
“Perfect.” Eliza’s heel clicked against the floor. “Time to get revenge for those poor girls.” Her stall door banged closed.
“Liza—” he began.
“Just keep watch.” Her voice was sharp. “I wouldn’t be much of a paranormal investigator if I didn’t take a risk now and then.” She paused, and when she spoke again, her voice was metered, precise. “Will you pass me some toilet paper? It’s out in here.”
“Red or blue?” The question lingered in the air, heavy as smoke.
Years of training had left Reynolds slightly blasé about ghosts. But now, fear frosted his blood like a frozen martini.
“Don’t—” he bellowed.
Too late.
She’d already answered.
“Blue.”
The voice chuckled—a sound that rose with the wind that began to whip around the stalls. The doors slammed shut and the locks clicked. Reynolds rattled his own and found it sealed tight. “Liza!”
She let out a soul-crushing shriek. Reynolds swore under his breath and vaulted up onto the back of the toilet. Unlike in Western public bathrooms, the stall doors reached to the floor. A useful feature—except if your girlfriend was being attacked by a poltergeist.
No way out. He would have to climb over the dividing walls. His shoes slipped on the porcelain, and the wind stole his fedora and his breath. He hoisted himself back up and over, cursing Aka Manto—he’d send that sadistic demon back to Hell. He wouldn’t let any innocent suffer again. He straddled the second wall.
Aka Manto, swathed in a red cape, had Eliza in a chokehold. She kicked and elbowed, and the ghost grunted as Eliza’s blows struck home.
“How—” the ghost stammered. He sounded almost human.
Eliza didn’t answer. Instead, she stomped on his foot and drove him into the wall. He hardly resisted when she tore the mask off his face.
An angular face devoid of color stared back at her. Like a black-and-white movie come to life. The man might have been considered handsome, if not for his twisted expression, teeth bared and eyes narrowed.
“You little—”
Eliza whacked him in the face with his own mask as Reynolds landed beside her. “What? A little too used to your quarry not fighting back?” Thwack. “You’re a bully who likes it when you can pick on those weaker than you”—thwack—“but they can’t touch you”—thwack—“because you’re”—thwack—“a ghost.” She flung the mask away and put her hands on her hips. “The next time you try and kill someone,” she scoffed, “make sure they aren’t already dead.”
Reynolds couldn’t help but chuckle. The poltergeist sneered and dove for Eliza, but Reynolds stepped in and thrust his cigarette into the wraith’s eye. Reynolds himself wasn’t able to touch ghosts, but his cigarette was made for exorcisms. Aka Manto howled and clawed at his eye as Eliza and Reynolds dashed out of the stall. As Eliza crossed the barrier, Reynolds scuffed ashes over the empty spot. Then he grabbed a lighter and lit the circle.
Blue flames sprouted up all along the line, tracing a circle around the ghost and trapping him inside. Aka Manto writhed and screamed, tearing at his burning face, until only ashes and tendrils of smoke remained.
Reynolds propped himself up on the sink and eyed his girlfriend as she scooped up her felt beret and placed it back on her head at a jaunty angle. She caught his stare and straightened her shoulders. “What?”
“Nothing. I just enjoyed seeing you beat the snot out of that murderous yōkai.” Reynolds glanced in the mirror and smoothed his windblown hair.
Eliza grinned and leaned over to kiss his cheek, a puff of cold against his skin, and he shivered. “Shall we celebrate with some late-night ramen?”
Reynolds snuffed out his cigarette. “Except you can’t eat.”
Eliza smiled. “I know, which means your bill will be much cheaper.” She linked her arm through his. “There are many perks to having a dead girlfriend, love.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Love these two!! Such a power couple, that knows how to get the job done! 😌 I think everyone involved got a little more than they bargained for, but I’m glad Aka Manto finally messed with the wrong girl!! Excellent story as always, Hannah!! ☺️☺️
You know what they say, the couple that exorcises together, stays together. Or…something like that. 🤣👻 Thank you so much, Andrew!! Glad you enjoyed. 😊👻
Great story! I loved the characters! Reynolds is so cool and Eliza is out of this world! Can’t wait to read more of their exciting escapades!
Thank you so much, Avonell!! 🥰👻 Glad you enjoyed the story and Reynolds and Eliza. I love their dynamic, too! 😉❤️👻
Nice twist! I liked the unusual foreign details!
Thank you so much, Arlan!! 😊👻 I did some research on what Japanese bathrooms are like for this piece, and, while I couldn’t use it, you should really Google “transparent toilets in Tokyo.” Interesting concept, but I don’t know if I have enough faith in technology to use them. 🤣👻
Interesting, indeed! The different colors were neat, but I agree that trusting opaque walls pushes the faith factor. I’m still struggling with motion detecting toilets at work.
I like the noir-ish detective couple. The process of the exorcism is solid too.
Thank you so much, Alex!! 😊👻 I really enjoyed writing the noir elements. They’re my favorite parts of Eliza and Reynolds’ stories! 😊👻
I THOUGHT SOMETHING WAS UP WITH ELIZA!!
(It was the hats that gave it away. You can’t fool a hat fiend! Awesome story, Hannah!)
Hahaha, great eye on the hats!! 😝👻 That was my Havok editor’s suggestion, to have a different hat for every time the mood “shifted.” It was really fun to research all kinds of old fashioned hats!! 😆 I’m so glad you enjoyed the story!! Thanks for reading, Rose. 😊👻
This was fun. Really like this duo!
Thank you so much, RJ!! 😊👻 I was really glad I found a way to bring Eliza and Reynolds back after their jaunt in Kentucky during the USA theme. They’re such a fun pair! Glad you enjoy them, too. 😊👻