BB Case Novel >> Page 1

These translation summaries were done by Near L. PLEASE do not post without his permission.

Disclaimer
The summary provided is part translation, and part summary. As a result there may be some minor errors in explanations or descriptions as I held my book open and typed with one hand. Also, please forgive the grammar, since I’m not a professional writer. :p

Page 1 Communication (page 13 – 38)

The Los Angeles BB Serial Killer Case is also known as the ‘Straw Doll Murder Case’ and ‘LA Serial Secret Killer Case.’ The story begins the day after the third victim is killed by Beyond Birthday, August 14, 2002, at 8:15 am. FBI Agent Naomi Misora awakens in her one bedroom apartment in her leather jacket and pants. She had been riding around on her motorcycle all night long, and went to bed without changing.

Misora was on leave from the FBI, due to a big mistake she made on a case about a month before the LA BB Serial Killings began. At this time, she was seriously deciding if she should quit the FBI and return back to Japan.

Deciding to take a shower, Misora got out of bed and noticed that her laptop was on. She didn�t remember turning it on, and wondered when she could have done it. If she had enough time to turn it on when she got home, she should have had enough time to change her clothes.

Misora takes off her jacket and pants (to get comfortable) and goes to her laptop. The screensaver is on and when she moves her mouse, her mail program is open. She begins to wonder if she fell asleep while reading her e-mail, and decides to check her new mail. She has one new message, from Raye Pember, her boyfriend and fellow FBI agent.

The message reads:

Ms. Naomi Misora

I am sorry for contacting you in such an ill manner.

I need your assistance to help solve a case. If you would like to help me, please access the Funny Dish (not sure if this is the correct spelling) server, third block of the third section, on August 4th at 9 am. The connection will be open for five minutes (please get through the firewall yourself).

L

He also apologies for using Raye�s name address to send the message, but felt it was the safest way to contact her.

After reading it once, Misora reads it again and checks the signature: L. She believes that it is the real thing, possibly a joke from Raye, but no one would dare use the name L. (why it’s such a taboo thing is pretty dumb, but)

She continues on her morning, taking a shower, drying her hair, drinking some coffee while thinking that even as an off duty FBI agent, she has to take this case since it�s from L, the great detective. She believes that L hacked into her computer and turned it on during the night, which sort of depresses her since it was a brand new laptop.

At 8:55 am, Misora goes into her computer and hacks through the server’s firewall. Although not a pro, she has the basic skill to perform this. When she believes she has access, her screen turns white and the ‘L’ appears.

L speaks to her through her laptop speakers (voice disguised). When he speaks her name, she feels weird, like she was being introduced on a TV show (which has never happened to her). After all, it�s ‘that’ L that is speaking her name.

Her laptop doesn’t have a microphone, so she can’t speak to him directly, so she types instead. Since they only have five minutes to talk, L quickly cuts to the chase and asks if she knows about the LA BB Serial Killer Case. A little annoyed by his tone that he assumes she’ll help him out, Misora says she doesn’t know every single murder case, and he begins explaining that there are three victims, and there may be more.

L says I want to solve this case. I have to arrest the culprit in this case. To do it, I need your help, Ms. Naomi Misora. She asks Why me, which can be taken as Why do I have to help you L says it’s because she is one of the best detective agents. She tells him she is on a break, which he says he already knows.

Even though this case involves three murders, it’s not something the FBI would take on, which is why L probably contacted her directly instead of through the FBI. This leads her to wonder, Why is L working on a case that involves a killer that FBI wouldn’t work on?�

She looks at the time and sees they have less than a minute left. She agrees to help him out as best as she can.

Thank you. I was positive that was what you would say.� L says. Since they don�t have much time left, L says he�ll briefly tell Misora how to contact him, etc.

Mello goes into the details of the BB cases. On July 31st, 2002, in the bedroom on Insist Street in Hollywood (couldn’t figure the real street name out), a single man by the name of Believe Bridesmaid was killed.

(Time out: All the victims� names are their real names! This is the point of the book that bugs the hell out of me. I know that they�re trying to avoid any real name connections, but come on!! Whose first name is Believe or Quarter or Backyard?! End of rant).

Bridesmaid was a freelance writer and wrote for different magazines under different names. He died of asphyxiation, after being drugged, and then strangled with a rope, no signs of struggle.

The second murder happened four days later, on August 4, 2002, in a one-bedroom apartment downtown, on Third Ave. The victim was a female named Quarter Queen, who was also drugged, and died of a direct blow to the head (skull cracked open) by a bat-like object. Although the murder methods were different, they were able to connect the murderer by the Straw Dolls he nailed to the walls; four dolls at Insist Street, and three at Third Avenue.

Other than the straw dolls, there were no other leads for the police. There seemed to be no connection between Believe Bridesmaid and Quarter Queen. They didn’t know each other’s cell phone numbers, nor did they have each other’s business cards. Quarter Queen had neither a cell phone nor business card, since she was only a 13-year old girl. Although they thought there might be a link with Quarter’s mother to the 44-year-old writer, there was nothing, or a ‘Missing Link.’

Nine days later, on August 13, 2002, the third murder happened. This time, there were two Straw Dolls (with each murder the straw doll count decreased by one). The murder this time happened on the West Side, near the Glass () Station Metro Rail, in a townhouse. It was Backyard Bottomslash, a 28-year old female bank worker, whose age was in-between the two other victims. And of course, she had no connection to them either. Murder method was loss of blood. In all cases, the murderer left no clues or traces behind, causing the case to come to a dead end.

The only other thing that was same in the case was that it was a ‘Closed Room,’ which was the keyword that caught Misora’s eye.

The next day, on August 15th, Misora began her investigation in plain clothes (without her badge or handcuffs). Mostly she did this because she wasn’t the type of detective that worked on cases that required it. At a little pass noon, she arrived at the scene of the first murder, Insist Street in Hollywood. She thought it’s a house that was too big for a bachelor.

Misora calls L from her cell phone, on the line that he instructed. When L speaks to her, it’s the same disguised voice. She asks him what she should do. He asks if she is inside or outside of the house, which she says she is across the street from the house and hasn’t gone on the property yet. He tells her to go inside the home, which should be unlocked.

L’s attitude really bugs her, but she holds back her anger. She decides to go to the bedroom, the place of the murder, and notices that there is no dust on the floor, even though the murder happened two weeks before.

Misora asks L about the materials he sent her yesterday, such as crime scene information and how he got them from the police, which she carries with her. What he wants her to do is find something that the police missed. Since some time has passed, he believes something might come up. What he really wants is to find a connection between the victims. If there is no connection, he wants to find out if the killer chooses victims at random, and if so, how he picks them. That is the ‘Missing Link’ L is looking for.

Misora doesn�t understand, but decides not to ask questions. Finding the bedroom, she opens the door and notices the chain lock (which equals the Closed Room). The other victims’ rooms also had chain locks, so was that the connection. But, she decides not since the investigators and L should already realize that point.

It was not a large room, and sparsely furnished. The bed was in the middle of the room and there was a bookcase with different How To Books, Japanese comics, etc. She notices that Believe Bridesmaid kept his work and personal life separate, unlike most freelance writers.

L asks Misora what she thinks of the killer and her opinions. Misora says that her opinions won’t help, but he presses on. She mentions that every aspect of the killing is strange, such as the fingerprints. No fingerprints can be found, but the killer went as far as wiping every single space erasing ALL fingerprints (including the victim�s). This happened in all three cases. He could have worn gloves if he wanted to, but he wiped every area down, even to the light bulb socket. L agrees, which leaves Misora speechless.

Misora tells L that she doesn’t think there is any new evidence to be found, and the killer hasn’t made any ‘mistakes,’ a word that makes her think about her own a month ago. L agrees, but says ‘If there is something that isn’t a mistake. Evidence that the culprit left behind on purpose.’

At first Misora questions him, but then thinks he may be right. She goes over the different points (chain lock; no murder weapons, but deaths that couldn�t be ruled suicides), which leads her to the Straw Dolls on the wall. They are cheap items that can be picked up at any store for three dollars (really?! Where!?). She closes the door, locks it and looks around the room, thinking about the four dolls, one on each wall. Of course, there are none now, which leads her to take out the photos of the crime scene. She looks at the last photo, taken in a hospital bed of Believe Bridesmaid�s chest. There are many wounds on him as if with a knife. They are not wounds used to kill him, but made after his death.

Misora suggests that the killer killed Bridesmaid because of a story he wrote, since he often wrote for gossip magazines. L quickly shoots this down, since it has no connection to the two other victims. Also, the gruesomeness of the killings escalates with each victim. L asks her if she believes the killer kills randomly, which she doesn’t. She does begin to think that the killer might be leaving behind clues on purpose.

She thinks of the three locations (Hollywood, Downtown, West Side) and thinks that he may have killed in different places to add to the confusion by involving different police units. And by killing a child, add more questions. So, she tells L that she doesn’t think there is a connection between the victims.

L tells her that he thinks a fourth victim will happen. Misora knew there is the possibility, yet it could end with three, or there could be five or more. However, L brings up the Straw Dolls and points out the number of dolls per murder case. He says that there can only be one more, since with each case it decreases. Misora asks how sure he is, which he says ‘More than 90 percent.’ L says that there won�t be two more, but just one more. That a fifth murder could happen is ‘Three percent.’ He doesn’t believe a fifth murder will happen since it would mean there would be no more straw dolls to leave behind. Misora sees the light and says ‘The next will be the last.’ L responds, �No the last has already happened. There will be no next. Now that I�m here.�

L says he has chose Misora due to her detective know-how. Misora asks if he really knows that she has taken a leave. He says he has, which is why he�s asking for her help. She then says that he must know why she has taken a leave. Misora is surprised when L says ‘I don’t know that much’ Would you like me to find out?� He tells her that he has no interest, although asks if he should, and if he should she should give him a minute to investigate. Misora says no and asks L what she should do to prevent the fourth murder. He tells her to look for something like a message and begins to tell her of something that wasn�t in the case write-up, a letter sent to the LAPD Headquarters nine days before the first murder (July 22nd).

L says that no detective thinks it has anything to do with the case, and he isn’t positive it does, but he is 80 percent sure. The letter contained a crossword puzzle in an envelope. Misora is unimpressed, but L tells her not to take it lightly. It was such an advanced crossword puzzle that no one at the LAPD could solve. As a result, it was thought to be a prank, but L received it yesterday through a special connection, which is why Misora didn�t have it in her files. L tells her that he has solved it and says that if his answers aren�t wrong, it pointed out the address of the first victim.

221 Insist Street in Hollywood. As a result this was a warning that a killing would happen there, but since no one could solve it, the murder happened. As for the second and third killings, there were no warnings, although he checked all over California. L tells her about the nine-day occurrence, between the letter and the first killing, and between the second and third killings. The number nine may mean something to the killer.

Misora brings up that between the first and second killings, it was only four days. Nine-four-nine. L says that in any case, the killer has been sending warnings, and that the chances of there NOT being a clue in the house is low.

L says they must end their call, because there are things he must do. Misora thinks that L must be working on various other cases around the world as well. L tells her that he awaits good news and the next time she calls him to use Line number 5. Misora folds up her cellphone and puts it in her purse. First, she checks the bookcase. It contains 57 books, all tightly squeezed in the case. She has a hard time pulling them out and flips through each page, looking for some kind of bookmark or clue. All books were wiped down by the killer. She finds nothing and then looks at the bed, but there�s nothing much there. She thinks about other places where messages could be hidden, and realizes that the killer is saying ‘You’re below me, You can’t win against me’ with all the clues he�s left. She begins to wonder who the message is to. The police, LAPD, society, the world, etc, but thinks that it�s more personal. Then Misora begins to wonder what if there isn�t a message.

Which leads her to think ‘Something that should be in this room, but isn’t here now�’ The Straw Dolls’ No, Believe Bridesmaid. She looks over the crime scene photographs and if he left a message on the victim. She notices that on one of the crime scene photos, the victim wears a t-shirt, which is bloodstained. However, there are no cuts in the shirt, as if it had been put on him after he was killed. On the autopsy photo, she notices that the cuts look like alphabet letters: V, C, M, V, X, D, three Is, L.

Misora thinks she would like to get the investigators opinion, but since she has no badge. She decides to look at the other rooms, although she doesn’t think there is a point. As she’s about to leave the room, she realizes that she hasn’t looked under the bed. When she is about to, a hand slowly crawls out from under the bed. Misora jumps back. She doesn’t have a gun (she normally doesn’t carry one).

Who’s there no, what are you!?� she yells. Slowly, the person under the bed crawls out on all fours. She begins to wonder how long he was there for and if he heard her discussion with L. Answer me! Who the hell are you!� she yells again, putting her hand in her top, pretending to draw a gun.

The figure slowly stands up, with his messy hair, shirt, and jeans. He’s a young man with panda eyes. He looks tall, but since he slouches, he�s two heads shorter than Misora, and looks up at her when he speaks. �Nice to meet you. he says, ‘Please call me Luxaky.’