Murder At The Rainy Mansion ~The Never Ending 100 Tales~

Chapter 7: I’m Tanimoto from the Prefectural Police Department

Hmm. Uncle Toru didn’t see the murderer went up the roof. Well, assuming it is a murder.

Ayano climbed the stairs on the east side while thinking about the case. Then she noticed the ghost at the staircase didn’t say anything.

She stopped in the middle of the stairs and turned towards the invisible ghost, saying, “… You’re not going to say it?”

However, there was no reply. She continued, “Someone fell, so you’re already satisfied? Or were you shocked because someone did really fall?”

The ghost at the staircase still didn’t reply. Ayano wondered if the ghost had made peace and moved on from this world[1]. Just now, when she went to the altar room, the female ghost that was usually there was gone – perhaps she was satisfied after possessing and killing a person. Although it was an evil spirit, Ayano felt a bit sad when she realized it was gone.

While she was entertaining her thoughts, she heard a soft voice: “…. You’re going to fall down.”

Ayano felt the ghost sounded spiritless. “You know, you don’t have to say it if you don’t want to.”

Staircase ghost: “It’s nothing. It just reminded me of the time when I fell down…”

No wonder he sounds depressed. Ayano thought maybe she should leave him alone and walked down the stairs. Then, she stopped her feet and turned around.

Ayano: “Hey. Before Uncle Yamamura fell down earlier, did you see anyone goes up from here?”

Staircase ghost: “Nope.”

Ayano: “Then did you see anyone goes down from here after Uncle Yamamura fell?”

Staircase ghost: “Nope.”

In order for someone to go to the rooftop terrace, they needed to use either the stairs on the west side or these stairs.

“It’s a locked-room murder,” Ayano muttered to herself.

Staircase ghost: “You really like this kind of things. If I’m the murderer, I would jump down from the opposite side of the terrace where Yamamura fell from.”

Nah, I don’t think you can, Ayano thought to herself without saying it out loud. She simply replied, “Thank you. I’ll go take a look.”

* * *

Ayano was unable to go up the rooftop terrace because the police were doing an investigation there. She saw a policeman came down in a hurry, perhaps he was going somewhere to report to someone about something. She asked the policeman about the cigarette and found out that it was left on the roof. Both the cigarette pack and the portable ashtray containing cigarette buds were on the rooftop.

Ayano went to the courtyard on the opposite side of the garden where Yamamura fell to verify the hypothesis made by the staircase ghost.

Hmm. Jump down and run away? Well, the roof is not that high so it’s plausible.

Ayano looked up at the rooftop. Yamamura had died because of the blunt force head trauma when he hit the stone in the garden. He fell face-up, but it didn’t necessarily mean that he was pushed down. There was a possibility that he jumped backward. Perhaps it was an accident. But the railing was not rotted, so it was hard to think that it was an accident.

When Ayano lowered her gaze, she noticed something that surprised her.

The shadow of the female ghost that was hanging around the hydrangea was getting thinner and looked like it was going to leave this world any moment. It was very unlikely for her to get any information from that ghost. But behind the shadow, there was a young woman looking at the Western-style room with her arms crossed.

“Reiko-san,” Ayano called the woman in surprise.

Sudo Reiko used to live in the Rainy Mansion but now she spent most of the time in Germany because of her job. Currently, she was working at a laboratory there. Ayano was not so sure because she didn’t know the details and had never asked before but it seemed Reiko was also doing research on forensic science.

Ayano: “How long have you been standing there?”

“Since a while ago.” Reiko’s brown hair tied in a ponytail shook when she spoke. She tilted her head as if asking why Ayano asked the question.

Ayano: “Were you here when Uncle Yamamura fell down?”

“Yeah, I was here when it happened. I was thinking about something,” Reiko said as she looked at the vintage sliding door with the thick glass.

It seemed that Reiko was here all the time during the commotion. Ayano felt that an academician like her was indeed different from common people. If she told Takato about this, he most likely would say: “You’re a fine one to talk!”

Ayano: “Did you see anyone jump down to this side?”

“Huh? Jump down?” Reiko was looking at the rooftop and was surprised by the question so she did a double take. “No, I didn’t see such an eccentric person. Besides, the ground around here would be messy if someone really did jump down.” Reiko pointed at the hydrangea that had grown thick and the weeds underneath. Her calmness was so like her.

“You’re right. Thank you,” Ayano said before she turned around and left the courtyard.

When she entered the mansion, she stood at the wide hallway that extended straight from the entrance. Because the mansion was too large, the daylight couldn’t reach this place so the hallway was always dark. She stared at the old but well-polished floor while trying to sort out her thoughts about the incident.

At that time, Toru walked up to her while humming. He liked to move around so he always walked back and forth along the narrow hallway that intersected the wide central hallway.

Looking at him, Ayano thought that he would definitely notice if the murderer came down from either staircase. The stairs that go up to the second floor were in the east and west of the hallway where Toru always walked back and forth.

Suddenly, Ayano heard a screeching sound.

On the west side of the entrance, there was a storeroom near the toilet where Satoshi was in. The screeching sound came from there.

Not again…

Ayano had heard this sound many times since she was a child. She approached the storeroom quietly. However, at that moment she heard a low guu sound from the entrance. It was the doorbell. The doorbell was not working properly so the ringing sound was a bit weird but nobody bothered to repair it because it can still be used.

“Nobuko-san, Kana-san,” Ayano called the housekeepers but it seemed they were busy and no one replied to her. She was not good at dealing with visitors but since there was no one else, she had no choice but went to open the front door.

Ayano pushed the front door which was fitted with frosted glass while saying, “Who is it?”

“E- Excuse me. I’m a cop. My name is Tanimoto from the Prefectural Police Department,” said a young man in a suit.

Ayano watched his cute face and felt he looked like an idol.

[1] Jobutsu: Buddhist terminology that means enlightenment which basically mean a dead spirit leaving this world and move on. Most of Japanese are atheists. Even if they have altar room at home, it doesn’t mean they are Buddhist. Usually they get married in church, celebrate Christmas, visit temple on 1st Jan and follow Buddhist funeral traditions.