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Return to Hinamizawa II – Wind-Weaving Chapter

8
Disappearance

"We're home!" I called out as I shook off my outdoor shoes.

A footstep on the stairs, and then Mother stood before me, looking drawn and nervous.

"So it's you, Shion," she said. "Is Kotone not with you?"

"She's with Akito and the rest of the gang." I sighed. "They were having fun together; I didn't like to drag them away..."

"But, Shion..."

"It's fine," I said heavily. "They'll be home in an hour or so. Nothing's going to happen."

"How can you be so calm? After what just happened to Tomitake-san..."

I looked up sharply. "You know about that?"

She was shaking, and gripping the banister to steady herself, so hard that her knuckles were white. "Well of course, Shion. How could we not know?"

"I don't know," I said. "All I've heard is that he's disappeared. What's going on?"

"Disappeared," she said with a fierce glare. "Shion, adult men don't just vanish like lost keys! He must have been kidnapped, or else murdered..."

"Mother!" I said firmly. "What nonsense is this? It's far too soon to be talking about kidnapping. He probably just ran into a friend in Okinomiya..."

"But Shion, he came here," she said.

I froze. "What?"

She nodded, and spoke rapidly. "He came here this morning, and asked for Mion. Well, she'd gone out; she went to the clinic to see Irie-sensei. Tomitake-san said he'd wait, and Gorou showed him to the conservatory." She shuddered and closed her eyes. "Shion, that was the last anyone saw of him. When Mion came back, he'd gone."

I rushed forward to take her hand in mine and give it a comforting squeeze.

Satoshi frowned. "But how long was Mion at the clinic for? Perhaps Tomitake just got tired of waiting."

Mother shook her head. "I don't know, Satoshi. I only heard about all this afterwards. You'd have to talk to Mion and Gorou. I don't know what's going on any more..."

I gulped. "It will be okay, Mother," I said. "I'm sure there will be some simple explanation for all this. You can't seriously believe that someone kidnapped a guest from our own Manor without being seen! If they wanted to get Tomitake, why not do it from the hotel or on the road, where it would be so much easier?"

"I can think of ways they could have persuaded him outside and then forced him into a car," said Satoshi.

I snorted with laughter. "Satoko's been making you watch too many thrillers. Besides, the guard at the gate would have noticed a strange car coming onto the grounds."

"Let's speak to him, then," said Satoshi.

"He'll be off duty now. The night guards are on shift."

"All right, then, we'll speak to him tomorrow," said Satoshi. "Don't worry about it, Akane-san. I'm sure Shion's right and there's a perfectly reasonable explanation."

"I... I hope so," Mother said with a sigh. "But Shion, please do call Akito and tell him to bring Kotone home. I feel sick in my stomach. I know it's silly of me, but..."

"It's all right, I understand," I said. "Besides, they've been out long enough already." I sighed. "I just hope they've enjoyed the festival a bit more than we have."

Let's not talk any more about that night. It was hard enough just to get through it once, without having to relive it in memory. When I woke, I could feel rather than see that the morning was already bright. I couldn't open my eyes; it felt as if a nettle was lying above them and stabbing down at me every time I tried.

"Wake up, Shion." That was Mion's voice. I stretched out a hand towards her, or at least tried to. I couldn't really sense where it was moving. "How much did you have to drink last night?"

"No..." I wanted to explain, to tell her that I hadn't been drinking at all, but somehow I just couldn't make the words come out. I shook my head frantically, half hoping that it would hit something hard and the pain would help me wake up.

"Shion." I felt Mion's touch holding me in place, calming me. Yes, that felt better. She drew a deep sigh. "You're going to be late for school. Or do you need me to stand in for you today?"

"Please...," I managed to croak out.

She leant in close, so close that I could feel the warmth of her breath. "What was that, Shion? I didn't quite hear it..."

I reached up and grasped her hand, and pressed it tightly. I didn't need to say anything; I knew she would know just what I was saying to her. There was nothing more to worry about; I could rest now. I fell back and let sleep wash over me, relishing the wonderful rush of air flowing past me as the world twisted itself around me so that I could carry on falling for ever...

Satoshi came in a while later, and stayed by me, holding my hand, until I felt strong enough to get out of bed.

"Thanks," I said at last. "I really don't know what's wrong with me. I just feel so exhausted by all this..."

"No, it's quite understandable," Satoshi said. He paused. "Shion... Kumagai's downstairs. He's come round to ask questions about Tomitake."

"But I don't know anything! I never saw him."

"But it was you who originally suggested to Tomitake that he come here to see Mion," Satoshi gently reminded me. "Kumagai will want to know all about that. I'm sure it won't be too onerous. You can show him the text messages to corroborate your story... not that I'm suggesting Kumagai won't believe you, of course." He coughed nervously.

I nodded. "It's all right. I'll come downstairs and talk to him."

"You're sure you're feeling up to it?"

"I'll be fine. Just tell him to let me have a few minutes to get ready."

Satoshi left the room, and I hastily got dressed and threw cold water over my face. I still felt groggy, but at least I was awake enough to cut a presentable figure, and to think rationally and speak clearly and not make a fool of myself in front of the police. I hoped.

Kumagai Tatsuya was in the conservatory with a junior officer, examining the furniture minutely. He's been the local chief of police ever since Ooishi-san retired. He was Ooishi's junior when they helped us in the Takano case all those years ago; that left him with a healthy respect for the Sonozaki family, and we've always gotten on well. He's getting on in years now, and his hair has turned white, but he still carries himself with an air of dignity and formidable strength. The junior officer was one I didn't recognise. He was a young man, barely out of university, and gave me the impression that he was not used to the honour of being selected to accompany Kumagai on a case. He held himself stiffly, stood up straight and moved with vigour, always wanting his efficiency to be noticed. For the most part, Kumagai paid him no attention.

They both looked round as I entered; Kumagai laid a magnifying glass and tweezers carefully down on the mantlepiece and turned to greet me, while the junior officer got out a notebook. I smiled nervously, returned the bow, and sat down.

"Sonozaki-sensei," said Kumagai. "Forgive us for intruding..."

"It's perfectly all right," I said. "Believe me, we're all anxious to find out what's become of Tomitake-san..."

Kumagai nodded. "It's a very strange business. I understand it was you who invited him round to the Manor?"

"Yes."

"And how did that come about?"

I could not help noticing that the junior officer was meticulously taking down everything I said. Well, I suppose they had to. I frowned and did my best not to look.

"What was I saying?.. Oh, yes, he sent me a text to ask if I would be at the Watanagashi festival, so that we could meet up. I replied to say yes, and since I knew Mion wasn't coming, I suggested he drop by the house first to say hello to her."

Kumagai looked across at me, studying me intently. "You say that Tomitake planned to come here before going to the Watanagashi?"

"Of course. The Watanagashi is all day long, so it would make no sense to do it the other way round."

"And, in point of fact, he never made it to the festival at all?"

I gulped. "That's right. At least, I didn't see him there, and neither did Irie-sensei... and Tomitake is good friends with Irie and they had specially planned to meet, so..."

Kumagai nodded. "So, it seems certain that Tomitake disappeared at some time between his arrival at the Manor at 10:15 and Mion's return from the clinic at 11:30. I haven't found anyone who claims to have seen him at any time later than 10:15, when your butler, Kusanagi Gorou, showed him into this room."

I shivered. "So... what do you think happened?" I said. "Did Tomitake just leave?"

"Maybe," Kumagai said carefully. "But it's strange that if he just got tired of waiting, he should walk off and not text you to ask where Mion was, or at least leave a note..."

The junior officer coughed and tapped his pen. I looked up at him.

"Who else was in the house at the time?" he asked.

I considered. "You should really ask Gorou that question," I said. "Most of us were at the festival: me and Satoshi and the kids and Mother and Father. As you know, Grandmother's an invalid and stayed home. Mion was looking after her, except when she went out to visit the clinic." I frowned, and made a mental note to ask Mion why she had gone to the clinic, at the next chance I got. She hadn't been ill recently, that I was aware of. "I don't know about the other servants. They all get a half-day on Watanagashi, and Gorou coordinates it to make sure they're not all out at the same time."

He rapidly wrote all this down, and then looked sternly at me. "And the other family members?"

I blinked. "What do you mean? That's everyone."

"I believe you have a cousin – Sonozaki Masashi?"

"Four cousins. Masashi lives in Takatsudo, the others in Shishibone. What's that got to do with anything?"

"Why was Masashi here on the day of the festival?"

I froze. I just sat there, trying to work out what he'd said. I'd obviously heard him wrong.

I couldn't work it out, so at last I had to ask. "What did you say?"

He turned over a page and tapped his pen against his notebook. "According to your daytime gatekeeper, Hinaguro Yoshiya, a red Honda Accord entered the grounds at 10:30, and stayed only five minutes. We got the car's registration from CCTV footage, and our records show that it belongs to one Sonozaki Masashi, residing, as you said, in Takatsudo."

"That's impossible," I said at once.

"Explain," he said coldly.

I sighed deeply. Where to begin? But his eyes were fixed on me, so I had to try to explain. "We have a long-standing quarrel with that side of the family. Mother told Uncle Hiroshi not to set foot in the Manor again, and we haven't seen either him or Masashi for years. Except..."

"Except?" Now it was Kumagai. I felt trapped between them, as if two walls were closing in on me.

Well, they were going to find out anyway, one way or another. It would look better if I just told the truth. It wasn't as though I'd done anything wrong!

"Except that I went round to Masashi's house on Friday evening," I said. "Karen and I – she's also a cousin – went to invite Masashi and his wife and children to the Watanagashi festival. I guess we hoped that it might help to rebuild relationships with their family. But Masashi refused. He threw us out of his house. I can't believe that he should have come here, after all that."

"Perhaps he had a change of heart, and came to apologise for throwing you out?"

I shook my head. "That doesn't sound like Masashi. He's as stubborn as all the Sonozakis are. And anyway, he knew Karen and I would both be at the festival. If that was his intention, he would have gone there instead of here."

"Not necessarily," said Kumagai. "He may have wanted to test the waters by asking Mion to tell you he was willing to apologise – not wanting to make a scene at the festival, in case you were still angry with him."

"But this is all speculation," I said. "Why don't you ask Masashi what his intentions were?"

"Oh, we will," said Kumagai. "But we're here now, so we thought we may as well get your side of the story first." He looked up at the junior officer. "Do you have any further questions?"

"Just one," he said, tapping his pen again. "Why did Mion-san not attend the festival?"

I let out a deep sigh. Did I really have to explain all this? But both policemen's eyes were fixed on me, and I knew that I wasn't going to escape.

"She hasn't attended the festival for years," I said. "It's because she associates this time of year with the death of a close friend, Maebara Keiichi."

Kumagai nodded. "Of course, I remember Maebara-san," he said. "Not that I knew him very well. I think he'd only moved in to the village recently?"

"That's right. He and his family moved here in the summer of 1983."

"A year I'll never forget," said Kumagai. "Such a tragedy, that he should die so young. He showed great promise. Indeed, I don't know whether or not I told you this, but Ooishi-san said of him that he would make a fine policeman, if he ever chose that career."

"Really? No, I'd never heard that before." I shook my head. "We all miss him. And Rena too – she died together with him in the explosion, you know."

"I know," said Kumagai. "An attack by the Kanahebi, as I recall. I'm sorry. They were both fine people."

I bowed. "Thank you, Kumagai-san. Um... are there any more questions?"

"No, that will be all." He bowed in return. "Thank you for your time, Sonozaki-sensei."

"All right," I said, taking a deep breath in relief at being able to get away at last. "Do let us know if you find anything."

I left the room, trying to walk with dignity and not make it too obvious that I was in a hurry to leave. It didn't take me long to find Satoshi; he was sitting by the window at the end of the corridor, waiting for me. He stood up, and I took his arm and led him into Father's study.

"How was it?" he said. "You look distressed."

I shook my head. "I'm fine. Just trying to work out what on earth this all means."

"What exactly?" He reached across and clasped his hand round my wrist.

I took a deep breath and explained about Masashi's car being here – of course I didn't tell him about my visit to Masashi or any of that. Satoshi listened with a worried frown.

"Very strange," he said at last.

I nodded. "Satoshi," I said, "can you call Satoko and ask her to come round?"

"Of course!" he said at once. "Why Satoko in particular?"

"Well..." I grimaced. "I'm just not at all confident that the police will find Tomitake-san."

"Huh? Whatever makes you say that?"

I ran a finger tenderly along the space between his knuckles. "This isn't a normal disappearance, Satoshi. He vanished from Sonozaki Manor, right under the noses of the family. Who would have the courage to pull off something like that?"

He laughed nervously. "Shion, you're starting to sound like your mother. We don't know that he was kidnapped..."

"Well, what else could have happened?" I retorted. "I know what I said last night, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes. He came here specially to see Mion. Why should he leave before she got home, if he really did leave of his own accord?"

"He remembered an urgent appointment?"

I shook my head. "Not on the day of Watanagashi, when he'd promised me and Irie-sensei he'd be there. Anyway, he'd have left a note."

Satoshi shook his head. "I just don't know, then."

I tightened my grip on his hand. "I know it's ugly, and I don't like it either, but we've got to face facts, Satoshi. Someone's kidnapped Tomitake, and whoever it is, they must be a very dangerous enemy." Well, obviously. It's the Kanahebi – who else would dare? But there was no sense in frightening Satoshi with that. He would be paralysed with fear and unable to act, just like Kasai, just like everyone else once they found out whom we were dealing with.

Satoshi nodded. "Okay, I'll call Satoko. Though I'm not sure how you expect her to help..."

I looked at him earnestly. "Well, she is the village trapmaster, isn't she? And she has keener eyes than either of us. She might be able to find some clue we both missed..."

"Normally I'd say that's clutching at straws, but in these circumstances..." He frowned. "I would also feel a bit easier if we got Satoko in on this."

I smiled. "Thanks, Satoshi. I knew you'd agree with me."

Satoko arrived only ten minutes later, panting after running in the summer heat. We hugged each other, and Satoshi offered her a drink. As he went to pour it, I stepped aside and looked at her with anxious eyes, silently asking her a question: Any news? Equally silently, she shook her head.

"So... I guess you know what's going on," Satoshi said weakly.

Satoko nodded. "Right you are! Mysterious disappearance of Tomitake Jirou while visiting Sonozaki Manor. May I see the scene of the crime?"

"I think the police are still busy looking for clues," I said.

"Bah!" Satoko laughed. "The police? Buffoons. We can't rely on them."

"Kumagai's a very reliable man," I said.

"But not capable enough. That's why you've asked me in, isn't it, Onee-sama?"

I nodded. "What do you think might have happened?"

She narrowed her eyes as if focusing on something in the distance. "Well, let's think about it logically," she said. "I suppose we know for certain that he really did come here?"

"Of course. Gorou let him in and showed him to the conservatory."

"Then Gorou is the only person who saw Tomitake here?" Satoko said sharply.

"Well, yes, I suppose so," I said. "But Satoko, you surely can't suspect him..."

"You're too trusting, Onee-sama. One ought to suspect everyone, even one's own twin."

"Satoko!"

She guffawed. "It would be funny, though, wouldn't it? If Ane-ue was the one who made him disappear, and chose the Manor so that no-one would suspect she'd done it because she would look like the most obvious person. And gave herself an alibi by going to the clinic at the time the crime was committed, knowing that such an alibi wouldn't hold water anyway because the police could just say the two of you switched places. I suppose it wasn't you who went to the clinic?"

"Of course not!" I cried. "Satoko, you know that – we were at the festival together!"

"Ah, but maybe that was Ane-ue..." (I should explain that that is what she calls Mion.)

"You'd have been able to tell," I said sharply. "And anyway, if one of us was at the clinic and the other was at the festival, then neither of us could have kidnapped Tomitake!"

Satoko sighed. "All right, Onee-sama, it was only a joke. In any case, it sounds like we can't be certain that Tomitake ever was here, if all we have to go on is your butler's word for it. Did the police find any other proof that he had been in the room? Fingerprints, for instance?"

"I don't know. We'll have to wait until they're done examining the room."

Satoko started to pace around. "Always waiting! Well then, let's think about what we can do now. If Tomitake did come here, then someone must have managed to get in and lure him away. We need to find someone who could do both."

"And who might that be?"

"Well, we should start by finding out whether the guard at the gate saw anyone come in. I don't think a person would have much difficulty getting onto the grounds unobserved – no offence meant, Onee-sama – but he couldn't bring a car in without the guards seeing."

"And where does that get us?" said Satoshi.

She sighed. "You're so dense, Onii-chan! If the kidnapper didn't bring a car onto the estate, then he can't have taken Tomitake away in one. So how else did he take him away?"

"Well, I don't know," I said. "How did he?"

"Obvious answer, he didn't. So Tomitake must still be on the estate somewhere!"

"What?" Satoshi cried. "How is that possible?"

Satoko tugged on my sleeve. "What do you think, Onee-sama? Aren't there places around here where someone could disappear and not be found for a very long time?"

I bit into my lip. Satoko hadn't been told about Masashi's car yet. Of course, it was absurd to suspect Masashi of the crime – why should he want to kidnap Tomitake, when the two had never met? But perhaps the kidnapper had stolen Masashi's car in order to get onto the estate. It seemed unlikely; the police would be visiting Hiroshi and Masashi as soon as they were done here, and if the car had been stolen, it would provide an easy trail for them to get onto. But, like Satoko, I didn't like the thought of having nothing to do but wait until they finished.

"All right," I said at last. "We'll take a look in the Labyrinth."

"I think we'd better," Satoshi said grimly.

So we all took strong torches and went down together to the bunker that serves as the entrance to the Labyrinth, the system of tunnels under the Sonozaki estate. Of course this was what Satoko had meant with her hint. In less peaceful times, it was there that enemies of the Sonozaki family had disappeared, never to return to the surface. The ancient tunnels were no longer used for that purpose, of course; but it was still a hiding-place for family secrets, and we kept a close watch on who had keys to the various entrances.

Satoko knew about the entrance, of course. She strode eagerly ahead of us, scanning from side to side, looking out for any clues, even out here where it was not clear what sort of clue she expected to find. Satoshi and I followed at a slower pace. When we reached the bunker, she was bending down to examine the padlock.

"Look at this," she said. "It's open. Someone's already been this way."

"What?" I cried. "But who would..."

"Not Mion," said Satoshi. "She would have locked it again."

I nodded. Mion had been given the thorough training in looking after the estate that each head of the Sonozaki family had to go through. She would never have left the door unlocked.

"Let's go in and find out," Satoshi said heavily.

He opened the door and led the way inside. I noticed that he was gripping a baseball bat behind his back, though it was the wooden one he took to team practices, not the metal one he preferred to carry when he thought there might be danger. I smiled. It was so typical of Satoshi, that even when none of us knew what to be prepared for, he always wanted to be the one to protect us. Not that I really needed to be protected, as he well knew. My hand slipped down towards my pocket and felt the comforting shape of a solid object inside. My taser was still there.

Still, the three of us kept tightly together as we descended into the first tunnel of the Labyrinth. Satoshi shone his torch into the darkness ahead, while Satoko kept a lookout behind.

"Look at this," Satoshi said after a while. He shone his torch downwards, revealing a clear trail of footprints in the dirt. "Someone has definitely been here."

I bent down to take a closer look. "More than one person. Look – this one has a horizontal ridge, which this one doesn't."

"I don't suppose we know what Tomitake's shoes look like?" said Satoko.

I shook my head.

"Let me have a look," said Satoko. "Hmm, two men walking together. There's no sign of one of them dragging the other – the prints would look quite different. So, if one of them was Tomitake, either he came here of his own free will, or else there were two men carrying him."

"They wouldn't dare," I said. "You saw it just now – the bunker is fifty metres from the back door, and in sight of the house the whole way. In broad daylight, no less!"

"But it was during the festival," said Satoshi. "Anyone would know the family were out."

"What about the servants?" said Satoko.

"They get a half-day so they can attend the festival. So there would still be some around."

"But they'd be working in the house," Satoko persisted. "Really, it's only Ane-ue who would be a danger. And she was at the clinic. Who knew she was going?"

"Uh... no-one, as far as I know."

We continued slowly down the tunnel as we spoke; Satoko carefully followed the trail of footprints with her torch.

"Well, why did she go to the clinic?"

"I don't know. She hasn't told me anything."

"Hmm. Isn't that a bit unusual?"

"Not really. If it was just something small, she might not mention it..."

"Even allowing for travel time, she was there for nearly an hour," Satoko said quietly.

"I don't know. Irie-sensei didn't say anything about meeting her at the clinic. Maybe she missed him and waited for a while..."

"Hmm." Satoko stood still for a while, staring down the tunnel.

"What is it?" Satoshi said at last.

"Oh, just wondering how it all fits together. Ane-ue, Tomitake, and everything..."

"Aren't you jumping the gun just a little?" said Satoshi. "I mean, we don't even know for certain that it was Tomitake who came down here at all."

"There must be a connection," said Satoko. "Tomitake disappears, and the same day, someone breaks open the door to the Labyrinth. That can't be a coincidence."

And all this happens at the same time as a Kanahebi agent is in town. There are far too many strange things going on around here for my liking. Surely that can't be a coincidence either?

"But they didn't break in," Satoshi pointed out. "The padlock was opened by someone who had a key to it. That could only be someone in the house..."

"Well, we can easily check whether the footprints match up with anyone in the house," said Satoko. "I hope you're being careful not to tread all over them, Onii-chan."

"Of course!" he said indignantly. "What do you take me for?"

"A reliable but not over-bright minion, of course."

We had reached a corner, and she swung her torch around to follow the trail. It led straight down the passage that led to the old well.

But Satoko wasn't interested in the well. She ran her torch methodically around the tunnel, until at last she found what she was looking for, and let out a cry of satisfaction.

We shuffled forward and stood by her side.

"What is it?" said Satoshi.

"There's only one set of footprints coming back."