Case 00: The Disturbing Mansion (4)

After getting drenched in the rain -- they finally arrived back at the cottage, where their mother was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, the mother did not appear in front of the family even when it was close to evening, when the wind and rain had grown stronger.

“Mama’s cell phone is still in the room; I was searching while you two had gone to the lake, and I found her shoes still here.”

The father spoke exhaustedly, barely able to sit on the sofa.

“So does that mean mama is still somewhere in this cottage?”

The father shook his head at A’s question.

“No, I’ve looked everywhere from the barn to the boiler room and she’s nowhere to be found.”

“In the first place, we weren’t told that the phone didn’t work.”

A complained in a huff.

“Even the cell phone signals are so bad here, and if that black phone is just an ornament, then what are we supposed to do? I thought that manager was fishy somehow!”

The father too, raised his head and looked at the black rotary-dial telephone near the entrance.

“You’re exactly right.”

“Well then, papa. What are we going to do now?”

“I’ll look around once more—and if I can’t find her, I’ll go get the police at the bottom of the mountain in my car. There are old wells nearby she might have fallen into… I don’t want to think about it, but she might have had some sort of accident.”

Saying that, the father picked up the raincoat that was still wet from the coat rack. He had already searched the surroundings of the mansion for the mother several times during the day.

“I’m taking the key. You don’t have to answer the door if someone comes.”

The two sisters remained motionless as they gazed at their father who left through the old wooden front door and locked it from the outside. Eventually, Leo came sniffing and whining at their feet, signaling A to put her hand on M’s shoulder, and led her to the living room.

“…It’s alright. I’m sure it will be fine. Mama is a glutton after all, she must have gone to the town by the lake and is eating some delicious food right now, taking shelter from the rain because she doesn’t have an umbrella.”

A’s words had no power behind them.

And -- my heart was enshrouded by a dark, terrible cloud that would not clear. I tried calling out to Sako and the old man with all the strength I could muster, but there was no way my voice would reach them. The anger kept surging up inside of me, where the hell had they run off to at a time like this?

The entire mansion was creaking in the strong wind. Occasionally, large drops of rain would ride on the wind to violently pound at the windows. Each time that happened, M, sitting on the sofa, would look anxiously at the window. She gazed at the dark window with a forlorn expression, as if hoping her mother would appear on the other side.

A, who also stared out the window, eventually came down and sat next to M. At that moment, “Leo, what’s this?” M reached out for Leo, who lay sprawled down on the floor. There seemed to be something on his mouth. Mistaking it for a pet, Leo squealed happily.

A abruptly turned on the television. She must have wanted to do something to distract herself. She started to check the news channels to see if there were any news reports about any accidents. However, there was no such news on the TV, whose reception was occasionally disrupted by the storm.

Having eaten nothing since morning, A and M opened the candy they had brought and slowly ate them. The passage of time felt absurdly long. The channels kept getting flipped, and even as the clock was about to strike six, neither mother nor father had returned.

“Papa… is late as well.”

It was right when M muttered that. I heard the lock of the front door click, and the sisters, as well as Leo and I jumped and ran towards the front door.

“…Where’s mama? Did you find her?”

The father patted Leo’s head, who had coiled around him, and feebly shook his head.

After that, he brushed a hand through his soaking wet bangs, and was about to say something before he stopped. It seemed he was hesitant on whether it was something he should tell the two, who were still children.

“What about the police? Are they going to look for her?”

“No--”

The father spoke, his voice heavy with emotion.

“All of… all of the car’s tires have been punctured.”

“…Eh?”

“All four have been ripped open with something sharp. Someone seems to have played a terrible prank on us.”

His voice was completely exhausted.

--Punctured? A prank…. Who would do such a thing in a secluded place like this? My suspicion was natural, and it was something everyone must have felt.

“That’s not right.”

A spoke without hesitation.

“There’s no way mama would do something like that, and there’s no one living around here, that suspicious manager—w--wasn’t he the one who did it? That manager! There was something wrong with the way he looked.”

“We can’t suspect others without reason.”

After the father rebuked her,

“At any rate, there weren’t any wells or anything near the cottage. There were several small cliffs which I tried to go down and search, but mama wasn’t there either. So I gave up and returned to the car, and that’s when I found out about the punctured tires. The engine is turning on, but it would be dangerous to go down the mountain in this storm with that.”

He then placed his wet hand one after the other on the head of the two sisters, who fell silent.

“It’s alright. I’m sure you were worried, so I came back to tell you two about the situation. I’m going to walk to the police station from here on.”

“Eh…that’s dangerous, it’s raining so hard outside right now.”

I, too, vigorously nodded my head. A said there was no way mama would do something like that—but a conclusion had to be reached. And it had to be handled accordingly.

(--Hey, listen to me!)

I spat out the words that were not expected to reach the father.

(There’s an exceedingly high possibility that the one who punctured the car tires was the mother. No, it’s the work of ‘Yoishi’ that’s inside the mother. And it was clearly done to keep the family stuck here. For what reason? Thinking about the goal makes me completely depressed, but at any rate what I’m saying is that the family needs to stick together. In short, you need to stay with the kids and wait for Sako and the old man to arrive. That’s the best course of action!)

But—as expected, my words simply dissolved in the empty void.

“It’s alright. Papa was in the yacht club after all. I’m used to moving in the rain. Besides, if mama is out there – then she might be scared too.”

Saying that, the father crouched a little, turned to face A, and spoke.

“A, take care of M. You have your cell phone, right? It might be hard to get a signal but try to find a place where you can get a good signal and stay there as long as you can. I'll call you as soon as I know anything.”

Saying that, the father opened the door once more; as the howling wind blew in, he flew into the pitch dark exterior.

A shut the door, and after locking it, stayed motionless for a while with her hand upon the doorknob.

“…Onee-chan?”

In response to M’s voice, A wiped the corner of her eyes and said, “Just wait a minute,” and then followed her father outside. M just stood there as she held Leo in her arms, looking like she was about to cry.

I put my hand on M’s shoulder and patted it.

Eventually the door opened, and A returned. Her hair was completely drenched from the rain outside, but her face was now clear, and she firmly embraced M who had come up to hug her.

“I’m sorry, M. I was so worried about all kinds of things I couldn’t bear it. But you know, Papa smiled and said, 『I’m not worried since you’re strong and the elder sister.』 It’s no good if I become weak right now.”

Then, as the elder sister, she cheerfully declared.

“Alriiiight, M. Looks like we’re staying at home. Let’s eat some snacks, ah, I’ll make you some curry if you’re hungry. Let’s watch TV, play cards, and just relax and wait!!”

M nodded with a slight smile in response to her words, as if she gained some courage.

I, too, put my strength in my guts.

I decided that the one who had to keep it together most of all from here on -- was myself.