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

Chapter 9: The murderer is a resident in this Rainy Mansion

Tanimoto was surprised after seeing the woman suddenly came out screaming – he almost ran away instinctively. The woman had a mole under her eyes. She must have looked pretty when she was young, but now, her aggressive attitude was more prominent so she seemed like a person that people would steer away from.

It was Yamamura Eiko, the victim’s wife. She yelled again, “Detective, hurry up and catch the person who murdered my husband.”

“Huh? It’s a murder?” Tanimoto replied without thinking.

“Aren’t the police here because it’s a murder?!” Eiko yelled at him.

No, I’m here to investigate because I don’t know what it is, Tanimoto thought to himself.

“The murderer is a resident in this Rainy Mansion. They must have killed my husband because of the inheritance dispute. But if they killed someone, then that person would lose his inheritance right. Isn’t it, detective? I saw it in the 2 hours suspense drama[1],” Eiko rattled on. “Anyway, whatever it is, you must hurry up and find the murderer.”

From the way she said it, it sounded as if Eiko didn’t mind if the police wouldn’t arrest the murderer as long as that person lost his inheritance right so that there will be lesser candidates fighting for the property.

However, Ayano murmured softly, “A person will indeed lose their inheritance right if they commit a murder. But if they have a child, then the inheritance right would be transferred to the child. Even if the murderer is a resident in this Rainy Mansion, the number of candidates with the inheritance right won’t decrease.”

Waa- Ayano-san, can’t you take a hint? Tanimoto thought silently. Of course, Ayano had no intention to read between the line. She just wanted to say what she felt without holding back.

Eiko: “Ayano. How do you know so much about this topic?”

Ayano: “Huh? I saw it in the 2 hours suspense drama…”

It seemed both of them had watched different suspense dramas. Tanimoto couldn’t help but felt amazed by 2 hours suspense drama because it could teach many kinds of knowledge to the viewers.

“I knew it! The murderer must be you! You’re the only one who seems to be able to live in this haunted mansion until the end. This place must be worth a lot. I’m not going to remain quiet and do nothing watching this place taken over by someone with unknown origin like you. Don’t get cocky just because Grandpa Sokichi adored you,” Eiko blazed away at Ayano.

However, Ayano tilted her head and said, “The land price is indeed increasing as the surrounding areas were developed. But who would buy this piece of land that has so many bad rumours?

Oh, if they build a supermarket or a large shopping mall, then I think it should be okay even if it is haunted by few ghosts or has some supernatural phenomenon. Besides, there are no people inside a shopping mall at night. Even if a strange phenomenon occurred during daytime, it won’t be that scary because there are lots of people in the mall.

And by the way, I have no children. If I kill someone, then my inheritance right won’t be transferred to-”

Tanimoto cut off her words, saying, “Excuse me, Ayano-san. Eiko-san left already.”

Eiko had completely different personalities with Ayano. She had said what she wanted to say, and then simply walked away leaving Ayano behind talking calmly by herself.

Investigating inside this mansion is indeed going to be tough, Tanimoto thought to himself.

At that moment, he saw a young man with elegant appearance and intellectual impression went out the front door and walked up to him. For some reason, he felt the man had a vibe similar to Ayano.

“Are you the detective? Nice to meet you. I’m Sudo Takato.”

No wonder his aura is so strong. As expected from the heir of a distinguished family, Tanimoto thought quietly.

“Takato.” Ayano frowned while pointing at the rooftop. “It’s a locked-room murder.”

Takato gave her an assent perfunctorily. Perhaps because they had known each other since childhood, he was used to dealing with Ayano’s eccentricity.

[1] 2 hours suspense drama: Since the 80s, Japan satellite tv channel such as Fuji TV, TBS, TV Tokyo has been broadcasting 2 hours long single episode (or series) mystery/detective drama during peak time, usually at 9pm-11pm. This type of drama is very popular among the adult age 40-60 and used to have high viewership rating.