The woman looked at Suga with a surprised expression.
“But the police have been here before.”
Suga smiled.
“We work separately; after all, wouldn’t it be great if more parties helped search for aunt’s husband?”
The woman also immediately realized the possibility and appeared to agree.
“Okay, then. How can I help you?”
Suga smiled.
“I want to ask about Aunt’s husband, one of the missing victims.”
The woman’s expression turned serious, and then she nodded.
“Alright, please come in.”
The woman said while inviting Suga to enter. Suga smiled and walked into the house, Nellson then flew after him.
Inside the house, a corridor and stairs to the second floor after the entrance. This woman then asked Suga to follow her to the living room. The living room has a group of long and single sofas, a short table in the middle, and other decorative furniture. Suga sat on one of the sofas, and Nellson landed on the floor near Suga. The lady who owned the house returned with a tray and a cup of tea and put it on the table, then sat on the single sofa here. Suga looked curious.
“Do Aunt live alone with Aunt’s husband?”
The woman nodded.
“Yes, our son is studying outside the town, so only me and my husband live here. Hearing that his father was missing, my son immediately came home and now travels around the town.”
Suga nodded, then took out his smartphone and started taking notes.
“So, two days ago, Aunt’s husband was declared missing by the police along with ten other victims?”
The woman nodded.
“That’s right, even though he still did his usual activities in the morning and went to work. Then, at night, he was late coming home from work. I wasn’t initially suspicious since his workplace was far outside the town. But because he still did not come home and his number was not reachable, I started to worry and contacted the police. One day later, he was declared missing by the police.”
Suga’s expression turned curious.
“Was there anything strange about Aunt’s husband’s behavior before he was declared missing?”
The woman appeared to realize something; her expression showed if something bothered her.
“There is indeed something strange. My husband said he saw his father, who goes missing since decades ago, wandering around this town at night.”
Suga was surprised.
“Missing for decades? How could that be?”
The woman nodded.
“It’s been a long time since he told me a few times about his father went missing. He always got bothered for some reason until he went missing, too…. Sadly, my husband never told me the whole story.”
It appeared that something was bothering the woman so that she was lost in thought, and Suga realized that.
“Are Aunt all right?”
The woman came to her senses.
“Yes, it’s just that he looked scared when he told me about it. I mean, if he really saw his long-missing father, shouldn’t he look happy?”
Suga appeared to notice something.
“That is indeed unusual. Did Aunt's husband ever mention anything about Kagohara village?”
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The woman looks a little confused.
“You mean a village with the same name as this town? My husband never told me about that before.”
Suga appeared to realize something; he then nodded.
“Aunt husband said he saw his father who went missing for decades at night; what time exactly?”
The woman shook her head slowly and looked doubtful.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know for sure. But I’m guessing it was probably around 7 to 8 pm because he usually comes home after work at that time.”
Suga nodded.
“Okay, thank you Aunt. That’s all I need.”
Suga excused himself to the woman.
The current time is 4:20 pm. Suga walked out of the house, and away from here; Nellson flew out of the house and landed near Suga’s bicycle. The woman went back into the house and closed the door. Suga got on his bicycle and then checked his smartphone. Nellson looked up toward Suga.
“Looks like the stories about the missing persons reappearing are true.”
Suga nodded; his expression turned serious.
“This is starting to bother me. I’ll confirm it with the next victim’s family. Come on board, Nellson.”
Nellson nodded, flew, and entered the basket in front of the bicycle handlebar. Suga pedaled his bicycle away from here.
Suga didn’t take long to arrive at the next victim’s family’s house. A spacious one-story house in classic Japanese style with sliding wooden double entrance doors and an intercom bell next to it. Suga got off his bicycle on the sidewalk and walked towards the house's entrance. Nellson flew ahead of Suga and landed in front of the entrance, watching Suga. Suga pressed the intercom bell next to the entrance. Just as before, there was no response from the intercom device. A middle-aged man opened the door for Suga. A man in his 50s wearing a kimono. The man looked at Suga in surprise.
“Can I help You?”
Suga smiled, then handed his ID to this man.
“I’m a government investigator. Can Uncle spare a moment?”
This man looked at Suga’s ID, frowned because of his myopic eyes, and handed it back to Suga.
“Investigators these days start young, huh?”
Suga smiled and answered while putting his ID back.
“That’s how it is, sir.”
The man’s expression turned doubtful, but he gave up and trusted Suga. The old man sighed.
“Is this about my missing wife?”
Suga’s expression turned serious.
“Sorry to bother you, but this is my obligation as an investigator.”
This man looked reluctant.
“No need to be reluctant. Honestly, I’d be happy if more people were willing to help.”
Suga smiled and nodded. This old man then invited Suga to enter the house.
“Okay, let’s talk inside.”
Suga walked in; Nellson then flew into the house and landed in front of them, surprising this old man.
“What with this....”
Before this old man had finished speaking, Suga interrupted.
“Sorry, he’s my pet who helps me with the investigation. You know, like a police dog or something. He loves doing cosplay, like what he is doing now.”
The old man’s expression changed to astonishment.
“In that case, okay.”
They walked together further into the house.
Suga and the owner of the house are now sitting on the rectangular cushion (zabuton) on the floor with a short table between them in a room with tatami floors and Japanese wooden sliding doors with translucent sheets on a lattice frame (shoji) on the front and back of the room. Nellson stood on the floor watching them curiously. Suga is ready to use his smartphone to take notes.
“Can Uncle tell me how Uncle’s wife goes missing?”
The man nodded.
“Initially, she acted strange because she said she had seen her female best friend, who went missing long ago.”
Suga appeared to notice something.
“Did Uncle’s wife see her best friend at night?”
The man looks confused.
“No, she saw her best friend during the day and sometimes in the late afternoon.”
Suga was surprised as he thought.
“It turns out that not all of the victims who saw the missing persons happened at night. Since many victims went missing, this discrepancy can be discerned.”
Suga nodded, then noted it down on his smartphone.
“Is there anything else odd that happened to Uncle’s wife?”
The man appeared to remember something.
“Yes, she looked scared when she told me she saw her best friend, who had gone missing for decades. I tried to join in looking for her but to no avail, as if only my wife could see her.”
Suga’s expression turned curious.
“So, Uncle never saw Uncle’s wife’s best friend even though Uncle’s wife often saw her?”
This man nodded.
“Because she kept seeing her, one day, my wife said if she wanted to pick up her best friend first and insisted on not wanting me to accompany her for some reason. My wife left the house the next day but never returned until the police declared she had gone missing.”
The man’s expression turned doubtful.
“This may sound strange, but I am telling the truth.”
Suga nodded.
“Of course, I trust you, sir.”
Suga’s expression turned serious.
“Then, do Uncle know anything about Kagohara village?”
The man was shocked; his expression then turned serious.
“We’re not talking about Kagohara village; it could invite calamity.”
Suga was surprised.
“Wait a minute, Uncle. So, there really is a village named Kagohara?”
The man’s expression looked disturbed; he answered in a raised voice.
“I told you, don’t ask about Kagohara village!”
This man suddenly got angry, surprising Suga and Nellson. The man came to his senses; his expression then turned gloomy.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want us to talk about Kagohara village.”
Suga smiled.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it, sir.”
Suga momentarily looked at the clock on his smartphone screen and then looked back at the man.
“Okay, that’s all I want to know, thank you sir.”
The man nodded.
“I hope good news from you.”
Suga nodded and smiled.
“Of course, sir. I’ll excuse myself.”
Suga stood up from his seat, and the man escorted him out. Nellson, who saw them, then flew after Suga.