Ciao Poveglia

Rated: T

Shibuya Psychic Research receives a special invitation to a 'psychic summit' being hosted at the infamously haunted Poveglia island. Though crossing half the globe with his team is not ideal, Naru simply cannot pass up the chance to get into the normally locked down location. [Rated T, possibly M for gore later.]

000

[Slight Update to this Epilogue, 12/5/19]

It had been over a month since the end of the hell on Poveglia, though Mai had only been back in Japan for about two weeks. After the SPR team had been picked up by the Venetian police, they were taken to the hospital for emergency care and then remained in custody until the preliminary investigation was completed on Poveglia. The police seemed like they wanted to hold them longer, but Japanese embassy was quick to come to its citizens' defenses and get them sent home as soon as they could.

Naru hadn't been quite so lucky, since his primary citizenship was the UK and thus, part of the EU with Italy. He had to remain for a few more days with Lin while the Japanese team flew home. In the end, the fire was ruled accidental. Apparently, the authorities seemed to think an old space heater overheated, taking out the generator and setting fire to the old building.

Mai didn't believe the police thought it was accidental, not for one second. She felt that it was a deliberate cover up, but for what reason? She didn't know. Maybe Deittman had paid off the police before he even started to make sure that any accidents were covered up.

Mai was worried that Naru wouldn't be coming back to Japan after everything that happened. She hoped that he would, but sometimes he could be so hard to read that she just wasn't sure. He had returned a few days ago and told the others that though they could stop by the SPR office, he had no intention of taking any cases for a long while. He had too much to wrap up after Poveglia.

Lin did not return with Naru. When questioned, Naru simply said that it wasn't his place to talk about Lin's personal life. Of all people, it was Yasuhara who managed to get the details, and it was after some prodding. He had been in touch with Madoka after their return. He periodically checked in so that he could make sure Lin and Naru were both doing alright during their short stay in the UK. Apparently, Lin and Madoka had a rather heated argument before Poveglia, which ended whatever odd relationship they had. Until that point, she had been planning on going to Poveglia as well.

Lin was more than relieved that she hadn't gone. He apologized for whatever had happened upon his return home and then asked for some time apart. He promised he would go back to her whenever he cleared his head. Madoka didn't question it, after everything that she had heard about Poveglia.

Ayako and Monk checked in with Mai often, though they had not spent more than an evening together since arriving in Japan. It seemed that the two of them had a great deal of talking and deciding to do, and Mai left them to it. She didn't enjoy being alone as often as she was. She dreamed often of Poveglia, though she kept that fact to herself.

Mai continued to go to the SPR office, even before Naru returned. She made sure it was clean and that fridge was stocked for whenever Naru arrived. She walked down to their favorite little tea shop and greeted the Nakamura's with a wide smile. She told them some of the better highlights of her trip to Europe before returning and unloading her grocery bags. Though she didn't expect anyone to show that day, she made a pot of tea anyhow.

Wasn't there a movie that said, "if you make it, they will come?" Or something like that?

Maybe he could smell the freshly brewed tea from wherever he had been, but no sooner had Mai pulled the pot from the burner did Naru walk through the door with his small suitcase.

She could have cried in that moment, seeing him back in the SPR office. But she didn't. She smiled and nodded, and then turned back to pull his favorite tea cup out of the cupboard.

And all was right in the world.

Which was why she currently sat at the small dining table on the SPR office laptop, cursing as she tried to submit her paperwork to take the last round of college entrance exams for the year. "Oh come on! I've submitted you like three times! Why am I still getting an error!"

"Stop yelling," Naru sighed as he exited his private room and walked over to Mai's seat. He waved her hand away from the mouse and leaned over her shoulder, scrolling through the webpage to check for errors. Mai fought a blush as his chest brushed against her back and shoulder, and his breath grazed over her head. "You're on the wrong page. You need to submit on this one here—you have to enter as a late submission. This page is only for pre-registration."

Mai frowned. He was right. She should have seen that. That's it? No name calling? He must be in…

"You know, Mai, if you can't figure that out, I'm wondering if you should even bother taking the exams."

"Oh, shut up!" Mai snapped and brushed his hand away. She leaned over and grumbled as she clicked on the link to the other submission area. It wiped all of the information she had put in over the last hour. She let out a slew of curses.

"So vulgar, it's really not becoming of someone who's supposed to be my assistant. Maybe I should just fire you," Naru said lightly before turning away. He pulled a set of files from the countertop and dropped them next to Mai. "Well, since you're clearly not doing anything useful, I think it's time for us to start the report of the Poveglia case."

Mai let her head drop to her arm as she groaned loudly. "You are unbelievable."

"And yet, you seem to find it endearing. Anyhow," Naru said and flipped the first file open. "We'll start with the information I've discovered since first leaving Poveglia."

Mai looked up and raised a brow at Naru. "We're starting with the information from after the investigation?"

"Yes."

"… I'm not going to be writing any of this down, am I?" Mai asked with a sigh. She sat upright and slid her chair backwards.

"Of course not, Mai. Most of this obtained illegally, so we can't record anything. That would just be stupid, now wouldn't it?"

"I'm going to need some tea for this." She stood and shook her head, walking over to the sink to start filling a pot.

"Yes, that would be best. Now, I'm going to start with Deittman. There is a great deal of information he worked to suppress, which is why I didn't find much more than the obvious during our preliminary research. It seems he had some legal troubles, which his estate will now have to handle. A set of sisters came forward and claimed that the initial research Deittman completed in the nineteen seventies, the research that launched him into fame, was plagiarized from their own work. He had threatened them into silence, and it wasn't until they were much older, with less to lose, I suppose, that they decided to press forward with legal action. Apparently, Deittman was looking for another big breakthrough to help minimize the damage to his name in the public eye, which is why he was so particular about Poveglia."

Mai nodded and set the tea on the stove to let the water start to boil. "I suppose that makes some sense… I'm sure it would have been another cash-cow for him if he had managed to secure some evidence. It would have helped pay legal fees. Could you imagine if he had managed to get the fire demon on camera? That would have been an amazing piece…"

"Exactly. And, to be clear, Deittman had a history of taking extreme risks in order to obtain worthwhile footage-though to little avail, as many of those risks resulted in damaged equipment as well."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Mai tilted her head, "he did? I'm guessing you didn't know that when you accepted his invitation to Poveglia, did you?"

Naru looked mildly annoyed. With his attention to detail and in depth research, missing such important information-information that could have literally saved lives-would likely eat at him for some time. "I did not. Deittman was rather savvy when it came to non-disclosure agreements and working the legal system. There was at least one other case I found that involved his team, numerous deaths, and a fire."

Mai winced. That information would have definitely been good to know ahead of time… "Was… Ash involved with that?"

"She was. It was her first case with the team, apparently."

With a sigh, Mai turned and grabbed a cloth, wiping down some of the water she had spilled while moving the kettle. She wished she could talk to Ash-find out why she would put herself through such risks, over and over again.

" Anyhow, Desdemona, as it turns out, was actually his goddaughter. Out of everyone there, Deittman had the closest connection with Desdemona. I'm sure it was a horrible blow once he saw her dead." Naru watched her from the corner of his eye as she returned to the table and closed the laptop. She pushed it aside and propped her head up on her arm.

"So do you think that Markus went after Desdemona first to cause Deittman harm?"

Naru nodded. "Yes, I do believe so. It took some searching and a few phone calls, but I was able to get someone to confirm that Desdemona and Deittman had both visited the Valentinians in the months leading up to Poveglia, and their confrontations weren't good."

"I think Ash said something about Deittman and Markus arguing over money?" Mai said, looking absently at the ceiling, trying to recall what Ash said when they asked her about Markus.

"Oh yes, that was definitely part of it," Naru replied and pulled one of the folders from the bottom of the pile. "Let's go back before that. Ash claimed that Markus's abilities started to manifest after the death of his mother. If you recall, the Valentinians were known for their aristocratic blood. Apparently, Lady Valentinian had not been entirely honest about the family finances. The family was in much greater trouble than Markus knew—and he remained in the dark until she died, of course. Then the burden fell on him to him as the family's designated heir. That was the original reason the Valentinians continued to accept work from Deittman, even the dangerous cases. They were in dire need of money, and if they lost their estate to debt collectors, then that was it. The Valentinian's would lose any of their 'old money' status."

Mai scowled. "So what? Deittman wasn't paying him enough? So Markus went on a murderous rampage? That is really poor excuse—not that there is a good one."

"No, it continues. First, let me start by saying, it appears that the Valentinians have… a history of mental instability, among other defects. It's genetic," Naru said and raised his brow at Mai, as if that was enough for her to figure out what he was trying to say.

"Like how Isabella was mute?"

"Yes…. Her disability was likely caused by their genetic… Inferiority," Naru said and stared at Mai a moment more. Still, Mai gave him a blank look. He sighed. "It seems that there was more than a small amount of inbreeding that plagued the Valentinian family—hence their extremely fair complexions. Markus and Isabella were not made aware of this, however, until it was uncovered after their mother's death. Deittman also found this information out within the past year. Apparently, he had a prewritten public statement prepared, one in which he severed ties with the Valentinians because of their genetic background and a scandal involving their parents. He stopped paying Markus and Isabella for their work, and instead blackmailed them into service."

"That's awful!" Mai cried out, scrunching her face up in disgust.

"Which part?"

"Well… all of it! I mean, sure, it's… really weird to think about the Valentinan family… But… wasn't that a common practice, back when noble blood was important? That doesn't excuse it, but I guess, if they felt like they needed to preserve their bloodline…" Mai shook her head, "no, still, it doesn't matter. It's not like Markus and Isabella had anything to do with that. They were innocent. I can't believe that Deittman would resort to blackmailing."

Naru shrugged. "I agree it's wrong—all of it—but it's true. Desdemona was involved in the blackmailing scheme. She said she would go public with the information if anything happened to Deittman. I suppose that Markus saw Poveglia as the perfect chance to get rid of everyone who was making his life harder."

"But… The Americans? Ash? Even Isabella? Why them?" The kettle was starting to whistle. The tea was almost ready, thankfully.

"Collateral damage? I think we all believed that Deittman was the killer. Markus likely planned to pin the deaths on him, but then we discovered the truth, and he had to go a step further. As for Isabella—Markus was unable to sell the estate without Isabella signing over her part of the inheritance to him. He wanted to sell the estate before it could be seized to try to save face, but Isabella wouldn't let him." Naru flipped the folder to show a copy of Lady Valentinian's Will and an image of the estate. It was enormous and gorgeous. She could see why Isabella wasn't eager to part with it.

Mai rubbed her temples as the kettle whistled. "All of this over mostly money… Unbelievable. To think that someone could value another person's life so little…." She shook her head and stood again. She moved the kettle from the stove top and pulled down two cups for the both of them. "What about Ash? Did you find anything on her?"

Naru was quiet for a while, and he waited until Mai was seated before speaking. "She… didn't have a very good life."

"Yeah, she said something like that," Mai said and looked down at her tea. Naru left his untouched.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Naru asked seriously, staring at Mai.

"Well… yeah. She gave her life to save me—us. I feel like I owe it to her to at least know a little about her…."

Naru tapped the folder he now had on top a few times before opening it. "Alright… Her mother was an immigrant from Russia. She was born in the United States, making her a citizen. Her mother married an American to keep her residency after Ash was born. Her step father was abusive towards her, and the situation apparently only worsened after Ash's half-sister was born. Her step father decided that he didn't want to take care of a child that wasn't his, and by sixteen she had been displaced from her home. I gather that it was about that time that Ash took on the Fire Spirit.

It's a highly dangerous spiritual ritual, where a captured spirit is passed from one person to another. The more people who have held it captive in their bodies, the faster it moves through the next individual's body. I had to really work to find someone who had knowledge on this topic. He was able to track down the group that performed the ceremony, and he confirmed that Ash was the fifth person to take the Fire Spirit. The fact that she survived with it for ten years is incredible. If she had passed it on to someone else, they probably would have only had five or so years themselves. I'm surprised she held onto it for so long."

Naru opened the file and withdrew a few photos for Mai. There were images of a younger Ash, one that looked as equally snarky as the one that Mai had known.

"She said she didn't want to curse someone else," Mai muttered and flipped through the pictures. She stopped at one that was of another girl. She stood at a bus stop, looking down at her cell phone. "Is this her sister?" She remembered Ash saying that her sister had a similar build and hair style to Mai, and the girl in the picture seemed to fit that description.

"Yes. Nadia Olenick. She's a student at New York University. I'm not sure if she'll be able to continue, however. She was receiving scholarships set up by Deittman. Almost all of Ash's earnings went into that scholarship. I doubt that she's even aware that it was her sister paying for her education."

"Do they know?" Mai asked, taking the picture. There was a sticky note on the back with contact information. "Has anyone told her family?"

Naru shrugged and shook his head. "Since Ash didn't receive a traditional paycheck, no one really knew she was on Deittman's payroll. There's no reason for anyone investigating to know that she was on the island. Since we were all directed to partake in the investigation as little as possible, we can't tell the authorities without involving ourselves once more."

Mai frowned and shifted. Now she was visibly uncomfortable with the information. "What about… what about Father Grunwald? The priest who worked with Deittman? He could confirm it, couldn't he? He knew the plans."

"Unfortunately, he has refused to get involved with the matter," Naru sighed and sat back, running a hand through his dark hair. "As it turns out, he was supposed to be on Poveglia—no surprise, really, since he was at the party the night before. However the Vatican interfered and pulled him out at the last minute. They said that they wanted nothing to do with Poveglia, and that an 'island as dark as that should be left in peace.' They refused to let one of their priests go."

Mai rubbed her forehead. "Wait, but what about John? Shouldn't they have pulled John out too, since he's a Catholic Priest?"

Naru stared down at the folders, his brows raised. He still hadn't touched his tea. "It certainly does raise some questions."

She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but she closed it again. She knew what he meant. John's whole situation was odd, and this just added to the oddity. But he was her friend, and she wasn't going to question it. It wasn't her place. "I want to try to contact Nadia. Do you have a problem with that?"

"If I didn't want you to do it, I wouldn't have given you her contact information. My research has actually turned up a few other Deittman contacts-some of whom may be useful to us in the future. There are two Americans in particular. Maybe I'll get them to join us on other international cases," Naru replied and closed up the folders. He moved them into his arm and stood, taking his tea with his free hand. "Are you okay?"

Mai looked up at him and gave him a half smile. "I will be. I guess I'm just glad it's over."

Naru nodded and started to walk back to his room. She figured he didn't want to leave all of the folders sitting around in case one of the other SPR irregulars showed up. She was honored that he made it her business, but maybe the others were better off not knowing all of the details.

"Oh, Mai," Naru said just before he reached his room.

"Hmm?" She turned around in her chair to look at him.

"Remember to dress up a bit on Friday. I'm not sure if you know this, but the theater is a semi-formal affair," he said and raised a brow as he sipped his tea.

She rolled her eyes and scowled. "Why couldn't we have just gone to a movie, like normal people? Why the theater?"

"Please. If I'm going to sit in the dark and watch something in an uncomfortable chair, I'd at least prefer it to be something enlightening. The Tempest is a classic. You'll learn something from it. Don't forget to get your exam registration submitted." And with that, he shuffled into his room, kicking it shut behind him.

Mai grabbed a magazine from the unused chair next to her and tossed it at the closed door.

Well, it could be worse. He could have chosen 'Othello' as a first-date.

She sighed and pulled the laptop back towards her to finish what she had been working on in the first place before she was so rudely interrupted.

000

UPDATE: Author's Notes: I decided to go back in and make a few adjustments. Why? Because this is now a CROSSOVER SERIES! That's right! I went ahead and wrote a book about Ash's first case with Deittman! It is book 1 of 4 (with a prequel planned about Ash.) All 4 books will feature Deittman and crew, plus some new faces popping in and out of the cases! Echoes and Ashes: a Paranormal Mystery (by Alexandra Frund Clinton) will be available on Amazon in e-book and print on 2/24/20. A quick search of the Book of Faces social media will help you find more information on the release =) Thank you, my wonderful readers, you made this possible!

Author's Notes: The end! I hope I explained just about everything to the best of my story ability… If you have more questions, I can try to send you a PM on , or you could send it via the Tumblr page (search for Ciao Poveglia, it should come up!) If you send it via Tumblr, I will answer publicly so that everyone can see the response in case they had the same questions!

I stepped away from for a bit to take a break before posting the epilogue. Hope it answers some questions. I will definitely start trying to send PMs to reviewers with unanswered questions! I have some material planned for the tumblr page which I will start posting. I'm thinking the analysis of the story outlining how Markus had a chance to do everything will be the first thing…

Thank you everyone! All of my wonderful readers and reviewers! You guys are the reason I was able to finish this story! Ciao!

Ever Your Servant,

A.F