CHAPTER 2
Teruo
Teruo exited the homicide unit's briefing room after a morning of coordinating paperwork and court appearances. Thoughts of Shinji occupied his mind. They’d spoken right after he landed, and then he sent another message confirming he was on his way to his grandparents.
Three hours passed with no updates, but they were likely catching up after so long.
Teruo wished he could be there as moral support, but resigned himself to patiently wait for news.
Further from him, a door on the left side of the corridor opened, and Commissioner Horiuchi Shinobu exited along with another officer.
She was among the new higher-ups brought by the Onmyōryō a few months back, and Teruo had done his best to avoid her.
Yet, somehow, they kept bumping into each other too many times for Teruo’s liking, so many that he was tempted to think she was doing it on purpose.
According to Shinji, she was an Onmyōji. He’d explained they had quite an arsenal of skills, some of them overlapping with other supernaturals—like shamans. The Onmyōji were responsible for holding the entire Onmyōryō’s castle inside a dimensional bubble, which meant they were extremely powerful.
Teruo was deeply concerned about that. He wondered if she could sense his healing powers or any trace left of the protective wards.
Nakajima Kazuya had assured him the wards were long gone and untraceable, but Teruo was still apprehensive.
They were so close to solving this problem.
He didn’t want the Onmyōryō and Horiuchi to ruin everything at the last second.
Commissioner Horiuchi muttered something to the officer that had exited at the same time, and after he left, she walked toward Teruo, much to his dismay.
She smiled, the small lines at the corners of her mouth accentuating. “Good morning, Chief Hayashi.”
“Commissioner.” Teruo bowed, struggling to smile, but only managing an awkward scowl.
“Morning briefing?” Horiuchi asked.
“Yes, ma’am. We had a few case updates to go over.”
“Ah, I’ve got quite the packed schedule myself,” Horiuchi said.
Since Horiuchi was hired, Superintendent Yoshida and Assistant Commissioner Ogata have kept her busy.
Ogata was especially alert and more talkative than usual, likely out of indignation that he hadn’t been promoted and now had to answer to a woman ten years younger than him.
It was satisfying to see Ogata so miffed since he was the reason Shinji had to leave the homicide unit.
Horiuchi nodded. “Any fresh developments?” She tilted her head, and a strand of her short hair swung against her cheek. She was in her mid-forties, short of stature, but made everyone feel small.
“No, ma’am.” Teruo could hear the slight strain in his voice, but he didn’t clear his throat.
“Hm.” She nodded again. “Well, keep me appraised, yes?”
“Of course.” Teruo bowed again.
Every time they met in the corridor or any meeting room, she’d make little comments about any developments, even though she was aware of everything going on in the homicide unit, including new cases.
Teruo had a horrible feeling she meant other types of developments, but he pretended to be none the wiser.
“I’d like us to have a more in-depth discussion one of these days, once I clear my schedule,” Horiuchi said. “Assistant Commissioner Ogata wants to make sure I’m not slacking,” she added, her lips curving in a sardonic smirk.
She’s on to his games.
“Assistant Commissioner Ogata likes to keep things—”
“Under control?” Horiuchi cut in. “I noticed. Well, I won’t keep you any longer. If I don’t hurry, the assistant commissioner might file a missing persons report.” She chuckled and walked away, much to Teruo’s relief.
He stepped inside his office, and Nakagawa was already there, sitting at what used to be Shinji’s desk.
She was an outstanding detective—efficient, smart, and observant—but even after four months, Teruo struggled to come to terms with the idea that Shinji wasn’t going to sit at that desk again.
He shook his head, scolding himself for dwelling on it. Things could’ve turned out much worse.
The desk phone rang, and Teruo let Nakagawa answer while he took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie.
Shinji’s trip to Hiroshima stressed Teruo enough for him to crave a cigarette.
He hadn’t put on a nicotine patch in the morning, so he rummaged through the drawer.
He found a packet, rolled his sleeve, and placed a patch on his upper arm.
“Sir,” Nakagawa said after finishing the call. “Dispatch called about a quadruple homicide.”
“Go to the briefing room and send—Wait.” Teruo raised his head when her words finally hit him. “Did you just say quadruple?”
“Yes, sir. Four people were found dead in Setagaya. The forensic team is en route, as is the M.E., Dr. Suzuki.”
“I see.” Teruo stood and put his suit jacket back on. “Gang killing?”
“The officers at the scene aren’t sure yet.” Nakagawa picked up Teruo’s car keys, and they exited the office together.
“What’s their location, exactly?”
“It seems to be a warehouse.”
“Why seems to be?” Teruo asked. “Don’t they know what it is?”
“The first officer told me she’s not sure if it’s a warehouse or someone’s home.”
Teruo’s brows furrowed. “I don’t see how she could get confused over that, but okay.”
“She said she’d rather you see the scene for yourself.”
“Understood.” Teruo secretly hoped it wasn’t a gang-related homicide because the last thing he needed was to have to work with the organized crime unit.
As Nakagawa drove to their destination, Teruo checked his phone for any updates from Shinji. Nothing yet, and he was becoming worried.
He typed, trying to sound lighthearted and not desperate for news.
Shinji’s reply came faster than Teruo expected.
He swallowed hard, fingers hovering over the screen.
A pause before Shinji wrote another message.
Something had gone wrong, and Teruo was too far away to do anything but stress about it.
Teruo stared at the screen before typing, He threw his head back, grunting in frustration when the phone buzzed again.
Followed by a few hearts.
Teruo smiled, feeling giddy like an enamored teenager, and sent a few hearts back, then pocketed his phone. He hoped Shinji knew that, no matter what happened in Hiroshima, Teruo was in his corner.
Soon, the car reached Setagaya, and Nakagawa struggled for a few good minutes to find the correct street as the dashboard’s GPS kept sending her in circles. Teruo gave it a whack for good measure, but it still wasn’t working, so he made a mental note to get it checked out.
In the end, they saw the police cars from afar, and Nakagawa drove into the street, which already had a pretty large perimeter set.
She parked next to the other police cars, and they both exited.
Teruo’s gaze roamed over the uniformed officers and the forensic technicians walking back and forth from a one-story house with white concrete walls, double doors, and an extremely small window covered with dark curtains.
It had a patch of dry grass on either side of the short entry path, but nothing else.
Now he understood why the first officer found the house so peculiar. It seemed to be devoid of any personal touch, and the single window, along with the oversized doors, only added to its unusual appearance.
However, these weren’t the only things that unsettled Teruo.
There were no civilians. None at all in what appeared to be a residential neighborhood at first glance.
All windows and doors were closed. No people hovered at the yellow tape, as it usually happened with crime scenes.
No cars, bikes, or mopeds parked outside.
No pots of flowers or scattered children’s toys.
The houses didn’t even have an identifying plaque; they had a hybrid look between a home and a storage unit.
Was the area haunted? He could sense no cold breezes—which Shinji had explained could be a sign of spirits in warm seasons—or see any ghostly mist, which sometimes could be noticed even by non-supernaturals.
And yet, a shiver ran down his spine as he got a strange sense of déjà vu. He shook himself out of it when the first officer approached.
She greeted them with a curt bow. “Chief Inspector Hayashi, yes?”
“Yeah. This is my partner, Nakagawa. Before we talk about the victims, what can you tell me about this neighborhood?” Teruo traced a circle in the air at the surrounding streets.
“I can tell you our GPS had a problem with it,” the officer said, prompting Teruo to exchange a look with Nakagawa.
“It took us longer than it should’ve to arrive.
It’s possible this might be a newly renovated area, although I wasn’t informed of it, and I’ve been an officer at the local station for a long time. ”
Teruo looked into the distance at the uniformed officers, who were knocking on doors. “So no one lives around here?”
“Not that we know of as of right now.”
“And yet we have four murdered people inside this building.”
“Yes.”
“Hm.” The eerie sense that he’d seen this place before nagged at Teruo.
Or perhaps the neighborhood was haunted after all, and that was why he had this strange feeling.
But he couldn’t stop and think about it now, not in front of so many people who knew nothing about ghosts.
“All right, tell us about the homicides.”
“Four victims: one woman, three men. The one who discovered them is a newbie delivery guy.” She gave Teruo a piece of paper. “I got his statement. First day on the job, he’s only nineteen, got the address wrong on the GPS, and stumbled over this scene.”