Hailing from Sendai, Katashi Masakuma became renowned across not only his hometown but also all of Japan as the 'Sleuth of Sendai.' For two decades, Katashi has traveled far and wide cracking the most complicated cases many others could not. From a string of murders in the heart of Osaka to the mysterious burning of an extravagant temple in rural Fukushima. Very few cases have gone unsolved under the eagle eyes of Katashi. However he has now been tasked with his most unusual case to date; The ongoing disappearances of several young girls in Nakamura. In order to get a proper understanding of what has been happening he would go to where it all began... With the family of the very first victim. Before he would begin, he was greeted by his newly-appointed partner, officer Isamu Kojito. A young man respected and beloved by the entire community of Nakamura for his service despite only having been with the force for only a few years.
"Well hey there detective. Good to see you." The officer greeted him in a friendly tone.
"Hm? Oh. Hey." The gruff man murmured, taking another puff from his cigarette.
"The man himself. I am so honored to be working with you on this case mister Masakuma. The chief himself personally assigned me to assist with the investigation. Oh, name's Isamu Kojito by the way. Nice to meet you."
He extended a hand. Isamu sighed, accepting his greeting and shook his hand. Isamu leaned next to him against the car, crossing his arms.
"Likewise, officer. You know..." The detective spoke after another puff from the burning cigarette. "... I've been in this field for over twenty years now. And this has to be the most bizarre case I've ever been tasked with."
"Wait seriously?"
"Small town cases tend to be the same all around. Criminal escapes after a minor crime. Domestic abuse that needs resolving. Maybe a murder or two occur. But to have several children disappear without a trace over the course of several months... The victims being girls in particular... It's something that even baffles me. Clearly whatever is happening is shrouded in mystery and not a single soul knows what's going on. We've got our work cut out for us young man."
"I agree. It truly is strange detective. Where would we even begin?"
Katashi smoked the last of his cigarette before tossing it onto the pavement and stomping on it with his foot. He walked around to the driver side of his car, glancing over at Isamu.
"To where it all began... We need to talk to the parents of the first victim of this epidemic. I already got an address too. Hop in." He said.
Isamu followed his order. The two got into Katashi's car and took off out of the parking lot. They drove through town, past the park and into the suburbs. Arriving at a small white house, Katashi pulled up to the side of the street, thrusting the shifter into park. He then pointed to his left at the house. Isamu nodded. The two stepped out, approaching the house. Katashi knocked on the door. The door opened up. Standing there was a woman with sullen, lifeless teal eyes. Katashi tipped his hat to her.
"Afternoon ma'am. Name's Detective Masakuma. I'm investing the missing persons case that's been going on in this town and needed to ask you a few questions. Mind if me and my partner here come inside?" He asked in a polite manner.
"O-oh um, of course. Hello there Kojito. Nice to see you." The woman replied. Isamu smiled and nodded to her.
After stepping inside the three sat down at the kitchen table. The interior of the house wasn't very spacious but tidy and clean. With notepad and pen in hand, Katashi began to speak to the woman;
"Your daughter, Mieko, was the first victim to disappear according to the report I read over. Is this correct?"
"Yes. She was." The woman answered frailly.
"Okay. Describe what happened prior to her being reported missing please. Any and all details will be crucial. What happened?"
"Well it was a Friday. Mieko she... She was going to spend the weekend at her best friends house. Her and a few others. She... Came home after school, packed her bag with essentials, and headed over there. Said before she left that she would be back Sunday. Mieko's friend lives on the other side of the park s-so the distance wasn't too far. She made sure to call Saturday to assure me that she was doing fine and having fun. Sunday came around... She never came home. I called her friend's parents to ask when she left. Her mom said at three she left. I had called around five-thirty or so I-I think. I... I assumed maybe she took a stroll through the park before coming home. But... Nothing. She never made it home that day. Has been gone ever since..."
The woman started to shed a few tears. Isamu felt saddened hearing the pain in the woman's voice. Kastashi finished jotting down notes.
"So sometime after three in the afternoon she went missing huh? Hmm... What about her friends? Did any of them leave with her?"
"N-no. Mieko was the last one of the group to leave according to her friend's mother. That is everything I know sir. I made the report soon after that. It's been months now and she never came back..."
"Understood. Did you happen to ask any of the neighbors or residents nearby if they had seen her?"
"I-I did. Before I made the report I went door-to-door asking everyone I could if they had seen her walking. Of course... None of them did."
"Hmm okay. So from here, past the park over to the Western side of the suburbs, she would've been walking. Strange how nobody seemed to see her."
The woman wiped her eyes with a finger. Katashi stood up, pocketing his notepad into his shirt pocket. Isamu stood up as well.
"Thank you for your time ma'am. I promise you me and Masakuma here will do anything we can to figure this all out. Hopefully Mieko is still out there somewhere and she's okay..." Isamu said to reassure her. She sniffed, nodding to him. He had his doubts though with how much time had passed since the disappearance. The two said their goodbyes and left the house to head back to the car.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Katashi knew that they wouldn't get all of the information necessary to proceed forward with the investigation from just one account. They would have to visit others who were impacted by the case. He gunned it down the street deeper into the suburbs past the school and it's spacious fields, arriving at another home this time pulling into the yard next to the driveway where a set of cars was. Isamu looked over to him in surprise, not expecting this sudden change of pace.
"Who's home is this sir??" He asked with surprise.
"Parents of another victim. I read through every report from these people at the station soon after I arrived. We need more information. Try and see if we can find any patterns or clues to aid us." Katashi murmured, stepping out of the car. Isamu joined him.
This time it was a couple whom they visited. A grieving woman and a distraught man had answered the door. The two recognized Isamu, greeting him trying their best to sound friendly but he saw through the facade. Katashi briefly explained what they were doing and why they were there. To seek information and find answers. Standing at the doorway, Katashi calmly asked for accounts from the hurt couple. The woman began to explain, with her husband gently rubbing her shoulders for support;
"It was a Wednesday evening. Yurika and her best friend Aika were doing homework together here after school had gotten out. After a couple hours, they decided to go out for a bike ride to ease themselves of the stress their homework was giving them. About... A little over half an hour had passed. Aika came back, telling me that she had beaten Yurika in their race back home. I thought okay, that's cute just a little friendly competition. Teenager things sure. Yurika never made it back home though... Me and Aika were getting worried. So Aika hopped back on her bike to backtrack the route they had biked on when they initially left. When she returned s-she said... She said Yurika was nowhere to be found. Not her, nor her bike. I-I had to make the report s-so maybe the police could... Could find her but they never did..."
The woman started to weep, turning to bury her head against the man's chest. He gently stroked her hair, tears staining his t-shirt. Katashi of course was writing down the details in his notepad. Isamu got closer, reaching out and pressing a hand onto the woman's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry... They patrolled for hours that night I remember. But my good friend here is investigating the situation so..."
"If you don't mind me asking. What was this bike route exactly? Did the Aika girl explain?" Katashi butted in.
The woman continued crying into the man's chest. The man sighed, turning his attention to the detective.
"Well we live fairly close to the woods at the edge of the neighborhood. They apparently rode down a few streets, through the woods then down another few streets leading back to our house. That's what Aika told her and me once she had gotten my attention regarding this matter." The man explained. Katashi raised an eyebrow.
"There's woods nearby you say? I see... And Aika was so focused on this little race she failed to notice when her best friend went missing?"
"Y-yes... Unfortunately. She said she had gotten so far ahead and was so focused on getting back to the house she thought she just arrived early. You know how kids can be sir."
Isamu tapped his chin, pondering a dark thought but didn't want to say it out loud. He held onto it in his mind for later.
"Okay... Okay I think we have the information we need. I'd rather not pester the girl when she was oblivious to the situation. We'll look further into this and hopefully uncover what happened. Not only to Yurika but the other children." Isamu said sternly.
"Thank you officer Kojito. My wife is in a lot of pain mentally so I'm going to take her inside."
"Understood. We'll be going as well. Take care. Both of you."
Katashi and Isamu left the property. Katashi had one more stop planned for their route. This time it was a man who had reported the most recent disappearance a few days ago. This house was the furthest from the school out of the three the duo had visited today. Pulling up to the driveway and parking behind the old pickup truck, Katashi and Isamu got out to head to the front door. A stocky man greeted them and invited them inside. A little girl clutching a doll sat in the living room watching the television. The two of them joined the man at the dining table.
"Let's keep it down some okay? I don't want the little one hearing any of this." The man stated. The duo both nodded in agreement.
"So what happened prior to your oldest daughter disappearing? We need every little detail possible you can recall sir." Katashi asked.
"Where do I begin? Well... Hanako is on the volleyball team. Three days a week after school she would go to practice after school. Usually I would come to pick her up or she would get a ride from one of her friends. She knows everyone on that team. On the last Friday of the month the team has a meeting with their coach, the school's gym teacher Kei Hamada. So I was on my way to the school to pick her up from the meeting. When I showed up... She wasn't waiting outside like usual. I thought maybe she was just in the bathroom or something. I waited and waited... I grew worried. I went into the school where I happened to find Hamada speaking to that lovely math teacher Koyami. I asked him if he might've known where Hanako was. He said she left the meeting with the others. I noticed a couple girls walking home on my way, but not my own daughter..."
Katashi was taking notes. Isamu lifted a finger to speak;
"Sir were you aware of the school's back door?"
"Yes. I actually went to check there. I was thinking too that maybe Hanako went that way with some friends. But there was nobody there... Just another fucking dead end."
"Damn. So it's confirmed she did leave practice but sometime between that and you arriving she had disappeared. I'm beginning to see a pattern here..." Isamu tapped his chin.
Katashi sighed, looking up at Isamu then to the man. He put his pen down and cupped his hands together on the table.
"So have I. From the accounts and reports, these young girls seem to disappear outside of school hours anywhere from late afternoon to the evening. Also these reports indicate that the disappearances happen within the suburbs of Nakamura. I think we have a serious kidnapping case on our hands. And whoever is behind it... Is snatching up these girls right under the noses of the residents. It sickens me to be frank." Katashi deducted. The man clenched his fists, lightly pounding the table.
"I already lost my wife. I've been raising our daughters on my own for the past two years now. I..I can't lose another member of my family. Please, do whatever it takes to put this situation to an end." The man gritted his teeth. Isamu reached a hand out and placed it over one of the man's fists.
"We're doing what we can sir. We'll get to the bottom of this." He said in a stern tone. The man saw the determination in the young officers eyes and nodded.
"I believe in you two..."
Katashi and Isamu left the residence returning to the car. They sat in silence for a brief moment. Isamu rolled the window down, lighting a cigarette then taking a slow drag. Isamu shook his head, thinking about what to do.
"Isamu... Talk to the chief. You need to divert your entire force to patrolling every corner of the suburbs. Cover all ground possible from the roads leaving town to the roads near the park leading to downtown. We should investigate the park and the woods just outside of town as they were brought up on two of our three accounts. Understood?" Katashi demanded.
"Good idea. Let's head back to the station then and report to the chief..."
With the investigation fully underway, Katashi and Isamu hit the streets once more and gunned it back into downtown to the police station. Both of them were determined to solve this horrific case that had brought great pain to several innocent residents of this peaceful town. Katashi has never let a case go unresolved and wasn't about to let that happen here either.