Kawaguchiko,
Yamanashi
The next day, we visited Nagasawa-san grandparents. They live in the deep mountain of the countryside.
When we said that we want to talk about Nagasawa Nao-san, They have a lot worried about their face. The grandfather in not good condition, so the grandmother is the one who talks with us.
"I'm sorry to suddenly come to your house. We know you are still mourning. But, we want to ask you about your granddaughter, Nagasawa Nao-san, " I said, smiled softly.
Nagasawa-san's grandparents were quite old. I think about how they feel about all this. But, the grandmother seems to be tough facing this problem.
"The police just don't want to do a lot of work, because they found the driver license, they decided that the corpse is Nao. We are both not her actual grandparents, so we can't do the DNA test," She took a deep breath while staring at the photos of Nagasawa Nao-san when he was a child placed right on the shelf next to where we were sitting.
Ayako and I looked at each other, "Is Nao-san is adopted?" I asked.
She shook her head slowly, "No. I'm her grandmother cousin. When Nao parents died in the car accident, she doesn't have a single relative, her grandparents both already passed away too. We don't have children and rather than leaving her in an orphan, we decided to take care of her," she smiled.
I'm actually not good with these kinds of situations, but, if I let Ayako do the investigation, they will start from the time Nagasawa Nao-san was born. We did not come to hear stories like that, "Is that so. I'm very sorry. The police still investigating it. Before that, there is something that I want to confirm with you. Is the man on this picture, is Nao-san boyfriend?" I give her a picture of Yamaguchi Kenta.
She looked surprised and took the photo from my hand, "Eh? No. He's not. We already told the police we don't know this man and he's not Nao boyfriend," she looked at me, "I don't know why they ask us if they don't want to believe what we said," she starts crying.
I was just about to say something, but Ayako held me back. She shook her head. She then looked at the grandmother with a smile, "Obaa-san, I know you must be very depressed in this situation. The police might assume all your words are not important because you are old, but actually it is not like that," Ayako stopped for a moment. The grandmother then looked at her. Ayako then smiled again, "I think those who are older have more sensitive feelings,"
The grandmother looked at Ayako and smiled, "Nao ... always say good things every time we feel sad,"
Ayako nodded, "Let's help Nao-san. I'm sure, she is fine, "
I looked at Ayako and sighed. She shouldn't say that. That's the reason I didn't let Ayako do the interview.
"Do you know about Nao boyfriend?" Ayako asked slowly with a smile.
"Nao comes to visit with her boyfriend last year, they look really happy together. But..." the grandmother look hesitate to tell us. She stopped for a moment.
"Yes?" I looked at her seriously.
She took a breath, "We are really happy to know that Nao-san already has someone she loves. So, one day I come to the city to visit them. But, when I arrive at Nao apartment, she was fighting with a woman. That woman slap her and said, "Stop messing around with my family!" Nao really surprised when she saw me. After that, she confessed to me that his boyfriend already married," she explained with sad expression.
Ayako looked surprised, "Her boyfriend is a married man?"
I have a bad feeling about this.
The grandmother nodded slowly, "His name is Takizawa Tetsuya. When he comes to visit, he said that he works at a trading company. But, Nao told us that he was a director of that company, and he even owned a hotel and resort. Nao said, he meets with Takizawa-san when he's one customer in the department store where she was working. Nao-san in charge of man clothing since last year. After that meeting, they usually go out for dinner. When Takizawa-san confesses to her, he was being honest that he already married. But, his wife can't give him children. He's really want to have a child. That's why they will divorce,"
I can see the red thread from this case. But, I still can't conclude what really happened. And where is Takizawa Tetsuya now? "Do you ever meet Takizawa-san again?" I asked.
She shook her head, "No. The last time we are meeting with him, only when they visit us last spring. But, Nao-san said that Takizawa-san travelling overseas a lot because of his job, "
"Did Nao-san ever tell you about anything that worrying her?" Ayako asked, I can see the worry on her face. Cases like this are clearly about love triangles and jealousy. Of the many cases I have studied, there is no good end to this case.
"No. She never tells something that will worry us. We know that she is really want to go to college with Saki-chan, but she rather finds work so she can help us, " the grandmother starts to crying again, "Why something like this happens to her?"
The sadness in Nao-san grandparents, maybe not just because of the accident...
Maybe because her choice to chose a man who already married.
Affairs is nothing new to me. Born and raised in the Yakuza family, I found it almost every single day. Especially my grandfather who is always surrounded by beautiful women wherever he goes, even now where he is 72 years old.
But my father, never once I heard him having an affair. Maybe he is not normal?
"People may be thinking that she seduces the rich man so she can live with luxury. But, Nao is always worked hard every day, she is the type that doesn't want to depend on anyone, " she smiled, "But, in this society, bad rumors always come first,"
"Ahh!!" Ayako screaming.
We are surprised to hear Ayako voice. We look at her and she suddenly rushing to outside.
I excuse myself for a moment to follow Ayako. She stops on the front of the house and looks confused. Did she saw something?
I approached Ayako who was standing right in front of the house,"What's the matter?"
Ayako looked around as if she were looking for something with an worried expression, "Nao-san is here a moment ago, " she looked at me, "She stands in the yard, but when I'm trying to catch her, she vanished, " Ayako took a breath, "Why she vanished? Don't she have something that she wants to tell us? And there something strange," Ayako looked panicked as she touched her forehead.
"Something strange?" I'm more confused by what Ayako actually saw.
"The spirit, Nao-san spirit, even just a little, I can feel the evil aura around her. And the way she looks at me, her eyes, it's not like asking for help, " Ayako looked at me, "She warned us,"
My eyes widened at what Ayako said, "Warning us? Because we visit her family?" I'm still confused, "Why is she wandering like that? What she wants to do?" I looked at Ayako.
Ayako raised his shoulders and shook her head, "Well, some spirit doing that all the time. There are two reasons why the spirit is still wandering around. First, she still doesn't realize that she is dead, and the second is there something binding her or her spirit become an evil spirit because of grudge, so she wants to take revenge. But, we know one thing for sure. She is already dead," Ayako took a deep breath while watching where the spirit vanished.
***
Marunouchi,
Tokyo
We returned to the office after visiting Nagasawa Nao's grandparents. Yui and Sakuya already got information about Ryoko Takizawa. So, we called detective Kusanagi and our client Katayama Saki to explain the results of our investigation so far.
I looked at Kusanagi-san and Katayama-san who were sitting in front of me, "When we checked Nagasawa-san apartment, we found that the stuff there isn't Nagasawa-san. For example, these shoes are specially ordered," I showed them the picture of the shoes we found in Nagasawa-san's apartment, "According to the shop that made these shoes, these shoes were ordered by Takizawa Ryoko.
"Takizawa Ryoko?" Katayama-san looks confused, "Is she a friend of Nao?"
I looked at Kusanagi-san, "According to the store manager, Takizawa-san is a regular customer and she sometimes comes to the store with a man. When we checked in it, the man is Yamaguchi Kenta, "
Kusanagi-san surprised, "Yamaguchi Kenta? You mean the missing person and the owner of the car?" he looks confused, "Does that mean there is another woman between Yamazaki Kento and Nagasawa Nao?"
I put another file on the table, "But, we trying to collect more information and found out that Takizawa Ryoko already married Takizawa Tetsuya. And when we visit Nagasawa grandparents yesterday, they said Nagasawa boyfriend is not Yamaguchi Kenta, but Takizawa Tetsuya,"
"Heh?!!!" Kusanagi-san and Katayama-san rise their voice in surprised.
I read the information collected by Sakuya and Yui, "Takizawa Ryoko, 24 years old, married Takizawa Tetsuya, 35 years old, 5 years ago. The ex-caretaker of their house, who work with them for 4 years said, they actually really a happy couple. In their 2 years of marriage, Ryoko-san got pregnant, but suddenly having a miscarriage and since then, it was really hard for her to get pregnant. That's the beginning of the conflict," I'm explained.
"Both of them, having affairs?" Kusanagi-san took a deep breath, "How complicated,"
I looked at Kusanagi-san then continued reading the file, "Tetsuya-san wants to divorce, but Ryoko insists to keep their marriage. She doesn't say anything when her husband didn't come home even for a week. Maybe because she's lonely, she sometimes visits a host bar with her friend, and there she meets Yamaguchi Kenta,"
"In the other hand, look like his husband found a woman too. Is Nagasawa Nao-san, " Kusanagi-san said, "Did Nagasawa-san know if Takizawa Tetsuya was married?"
I nodded, "Yes. Nagasawa's grandparent said they saw when Ryoko come to Nao apartment to complain to her and said 'stay away from my family',"
"I'm starting to understand it, " Kusanagi-san took a breath, "But, if the corpse is really Takizawa Ryoko-san, where is Nagasawa Nao-san? Is she hiding somewhere because she involved with this case?"
Katayama-san immediately looked at Kusanagi-san, "Nao can't be involved in the accident!" She raised hervoice.
"I tell you what I think about this case, " I looked at the two of them, "First, Katayama-san saw a Nao-san spirit 3 days ago. And the next day she got a letter from her. The letter maybe send a day before, mean, right before she died, " I explained, "I'm sure, Nagasawa Nao herself sent the letter,"
Katayama-san glared at me, "What do you mean Nao sent the letter before she died?" She shook her head, "You mean, Nao is dead?"
"Do you want to say that Nao-san died 3 days ago?" Kusanagi-san asked, "So, it's a really Nao-san spirit that visits Katayama-san?"
"It seems so," I nodded, "Nagasawa Nao died 3 days ago. The one who died in the car accident is Takizawa Ryoko. If my assumption is correct, Nagasawa Nao killed by Takizawa Ryoko and look like Yamaguchi Kenta involved in that accident,"
Katayama-san shook her head while sobbing, "Nao ... why did this happen,"
Ayako approached her and tried to calm her down.
Kusanagi-san looked at me, "Then, who killed Takizawa Ryoko? Is Yamaguchi Kenta?"
"That's what I thought," I said, "But, he's not alone, someone helps him to killed Takizawa Ryoko. My assumption the husband is involved in the second murder,"
"NO!!" Katayama-san stand up and scream, "NO! She must still alive! We must save here right now!" she held Ayako's shoulders and stared at her while begging,
Ayako looked at him with sadness, "I'm so sorry. But, Nao-san already dead. You saw her spirit at your apartment, right? I saw that too. I saw Nao-san spirit when we visited her grandparent's house yesterday, " Ayako said it clearly. Katayama-san widened as she slowly removed her grip from Ayako's shoulder. Her tears didn't stop flowing.
"And I could make sure that she's already dead," Ayako said, "But, different from what Katayama-san saw, you said Nao-san ask for help. Right?"
Katayama-san nodded, "Yes. She said 'Help me!" she can't stop her tears.
Ayako looks worried, "But, the spirit that I saw, is full of hatred, " she looked at us, "Her eyes are cold. I can feel the evil aura around her,"
Katayama-san glared at Ayako, "You mean that Nao-can becomes an evil spirit?" she shook her head, "Nao-san is a good person!" she said it loudly.
Ayako took a breath, "The spirit can change personality, especially if they have a regret in their past life. Something binding her,"
"She asks me to help!" Katayama-san shook her head, "Please! Don't say anything about Nao!"
Does she ask for help?
And then she wants to stop?
It's understandable is she ask for help, but why she wants to stop?
Maybe...
"Let's meet with Takizawa Tetsuya, " I said, "I'm sure he'd know something. Don't you think it's strange for him not to report about her wife? They still living together, so if the wife didn't come home for 3 days, don't he's worried?" I stood up while tidying all the files,
Kusanagi-san also stood up, "People around them said that Tetsuya-san rarely coming home. Maybe he still not coming home the last 3 days, or is normal to him that his wife didn't come home," Kusanagi-san still looks confused.
I took a breath, "Kusanagi-san, please trying to get information about Takizawa Tetsuya..."
Before I finished my word, suddenly the lights went out.
I can't see anything, the room is filled with darkness, even though it was still daytime, there was no light coming in from outside.
"What happened?" I heard Kiyoharu's voice.
"Is there total damage?" Rui said, "I will try to look out the window," his voice sounded confused, "I can't see anything from the window, the fog is thick,"
I could feel the cold that was starting to pierce my body and slowly, the temperature suddenly started to drop, I guessed. My vision began to match the darkness within the office space. I looked around and everyone just stood still. Fear appeared on their faces.
"Look like we invoke a spirit," Kiyoharu said
Is Nao-san spirit is here?
Then, suddenly the room began to rapping, the ceiling let out a loud rapping sound as if there were thousands of people running and in an instant, the stuff in the room move by themselves. The chair, small table, books, all seemed to float, then slammed into the wall and floor. We started screaming.
"Please look around everyone. The poltergeist starting. Don't let yourself hurt, " Kiyoharu shouted.
Is the spirit appear? In our office?
"What happened?" Kusanagi-san rises his voice, "What should we do?!" his voice began to trembling.
Ayako, Sakuya, and Kiyoharu were seen starting to chant mantras.
And finally, the poltergeist stopped. Look like the mantra calm down the spirit.
"Nagasawa Nao-san?" Suddenly we hear Ayako said something. She calling Nao-san name, "Are you Nagasawa Nao-san?" she asked again.
Everyone keep silent.
We all held our breath and looked at each other.
We can't hear or see anything. Not a light, not Nao-san.
But, I feel my body trembling. Something comes to me.
I can't move. My voice can't come out.
What happened?
"Naomasa-kun!!" Ayako call me out, "Stay away from him!" Ayako shouted.
Is Nagasawa Nao coming to me?
This cold is her?
When I feel like I can't breathe anymore, I heard a voice. Soft voice.
"Stop it! Please....!"
In a second, the light comes back and we saw our office in a great mess.
Everyone still doesn't move, shocked, and scared.
And all of sudden Yui collapsed.
"Yui!!" Ayako and Rui screamed.
Sakuya immediately grabbed Yui who was lying on the floor. He tried to wake Yui by patting her cheek slowly. He then removed the glove in Yui's left hand and held it tightly while continuing to call out her name. Ayako and Rui wanted to help, but Sakuya asked them to make room for Yui. Kusanagi-san and Takayama-san can only stand still. They still don't seem to believe what happened.
The cold whisper I heard, it must have been Nagasawa Nao's voice.
But, what do you want to stop?