Chapter 12: The Bizarre Disappearance
Matsushita Makoto saw that her partner was ready to take notes and began, "Yomikawa-san, it’s said that from 7:30 to 9:30 PM, your club was holding a ghost story gathering. What happened during that time?"
"Nothing particularly unusual happened, but Kagehara-kun was late, so I went to his room to call him."
"After the ghost story gathering ended, Kagehara Tetsuya suddenly invited you to talk. Why did you refuse at the time?"
"Because I had a bit of a headache, and his invitation was too sudden. In that situation, I instinctively refused."
"But later, when the two female students invited you to the hot springs, why did you agree?"
"I just wanted an excuse to leave quickly and avoid an awkward situation."
"However, according to the other two female students, you didn’t go to the hot springs either. What did you do afterward?"
"I wasn’t feeling well at the time, so I planned to rest in my room for a bit. If I felt better, I’d go to the hot springs to join them. But after lying down for a while, I still didn’t feel well, so I decided to take a bath and then go straight to bed. When I came out of the bathroom, I saw a note slipped under my door. It was from Kagehara-kun."
"A note? What did it say? Do you still have the note? Around what time was this?"
"I didn’t check the time. The note said Kagehara-kun had something very important to discuss and asked me to come see him. I was a bit worried so I went to his room, but he wasn’t there. I fell asleep while waiting for him and woke up when I heard the scream from the second floor."
"Did you see the clerk at the front desk when you went downstairs?"
"No, there was no one at the front desk when I went downstairs."
The male detective taking notes suddenly frowned. "It was already very late at that point, wasn’t it? Yomikawa-san, don’t you think it was inappropriate to go to a male student’s room so late at night?"
The girl, sitting formally, tilted her head slightly. "Sexual harassment?"
The male detective was startled and quickly waved his hands. "N-no... I’m very sorry, I absolutely didn’t mean it that way. It’s just... well, you know, Kagehara Tetsuya has a lot of bad rumors surrounding him. Going to see him late at night could be a safety risk..."
The girl’s expression remained cold, as if her patience with the two of them had reached its limit. "Kagehara-kun is troubled by rumors precisely because of your negligence. Besides, we knew each other even before he joined the club. The other members just didn’t know about it. We have that basic level of trust."
The male detective was now drenched in sweat, looking at Matsushita Makoto for help.
Matsushita Makoto cursed her partner inwardly but had no choice but to apologize. Seeing that the girl’s expression showed no sign of softening, she quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Yomikawa-san, could you give us the note Kagehara Tetsuya wrote?"
"Of course."
After confirming that the contents of the note matched what the girl had said, Matsushita Makoto carefully stored it away and then asked, "Also, Yomikawa-san, you mentioned earlier that you knew Kagehara Tetsuya before he joined the club. How did you two meet?"
"About half a year ago, I was researching materials on Mizuno Shrine at the library when he approached me to talk. At the time, there were already a lot of rumors about him, so I recognized him. I was a bit scared at first, but as I got to know him, I realized Kagehara-kun is a very good person."
"Did you two keep in touch frequently? From the way you speak, it sounds like you trust him a lot."
"Not frequently. At first, we only met at the library to discuss local folklore and urban legends. Later, I found out he had enrolled at my high school, so we started seeing each other more often. When I thought the time was right, I invited him to join the club."
"Then why didn’t you exchange contact information? Why did Kagehara-kun use a note to arrange a meeting with you?"
"After he joined the club, I suggested exchanging contact information, but Kagehara-kun refused."
"Huh? Why is that?"
"I don’t know."
For some reason, Matsushita Makoto felt that the relationship between the girl in front of her and Kagehara Tetsuya seemed a bit ambiguous.
Could it be that Yomikawa Tsuko had developed feelings for Kagehara Tetsuya during their encounters at the library? Then, upon discovering that he had enrolled at her high school, she excitedly invited him to join her club, only to be coldly rejected when she suggested exchanging contact information...
No, no, I can’t be thinking about gossip while working. If Kishida-senpai found out, I’d definitely get scolded.
Still, the students still at the inn probably had nothing to do with the murder—except for Kagehara Tetsuya, who was missing.
To be honest, as soon as Matsushita Makoto learned that such a dangerous person had gone missing at the scene of the crime, she had almost immediately suspected him.
If she could find evidence that Kagehara Tetsuya was the killer, Kishida-senpai would surely be pleased. And if she could prove that he was also responsible for Tanaka Erika’s murder a year ago, that would be perfect.
After a brief moment of distraction, Matsushita Makoto forced herself to focus on the task at hand. "After hearing the scream from the second floor, what did you do, Yomikawa-san?"
"After hearing the scream, I ran out to check. Then I had ĹŚgami, Junko, and Kana stay together and wait for you to arrive. After that, I checked on Takada, but I still couldn’t find Kagehara-kun. When I tried to return to my room, I realized I’d lost my key, so I went to the front desk to get a spare from the clerk. After that, I stayed here until you arrived."
"Did you ever find your key?"
"No."
"Was anything missing?"
"Nothing."
"Do you have any idea what Kagehara Tetsuya wanted to discuss, Yomikawa-san?"
"How could I possibly know that?"
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Matsushita Makoto stepped out to speak with them briefly. When she returned, her expression had turned grave, and she was holding a few sheets of paper.
"We’ve searched the entire inn and the surrounding area, but there’s no sign of Kagehara Tetsuya," she said, glancing down at the papers in her hand. When she looked up again, her eyes were sharp. "The clerk on duty said that around 11 PM, Kagehara Tetsuya returned from outside and spoke with him for a while. After that, Kagehara went back to his room. At that time, Yomikawa-san, you should have been in his room, right?"
"What? Kagehara-kun entered the room at 11 PM?"
"The clerk saw it with his own eyes. And until you came out of the room, that door never opened again. In other words, Kagehara Tetsuya disappeared into thin air after entering the room, and you are the only one who might have noticed."
"How is that possible?" She first looked shocked, then frowned as if deep in thought. After a few seconds, she shook her head firmly. "The clerk is lying. People don’t just vanish into thin air. When I woke up, I was the only one in the room."
"Did you notice anything unusual about your body when you woke up? Or anything else out of place?"
"No, everything was normal."
Matsushita Makoto’s expression grew even more serious. She held up a photo and asked, "Have you seen this person before? For example, on your way to Kagehara Tetsuya’s room? Even someone with a similar build from behind would be helpful."
The photo showed a gaunt man with sunken cheeks. His hair was long, he had earrings, and his style resembled that of a biker, though he was older—probably in his thirties.
"I haven’t seen him. Who is this person?"
Since this information would be released to the media anyway, Matsushita Makoto didn’t hold back. She took a deep breath and said, "His name is Hasebe Koichi. He was the guest staying in room 216. Now, like Kagehara Tetsuya, he has mysteriously disappeared from the inn."
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