Teruo, who’d been on the phone for a warrant, finished the call and stood. “I’ll go get a coffee.” He stopped half-way to the door and looked at Shinji. “Uh… would you like one?”
Shinji smiled. “Thank you, but no. I haven’t finished this one yet.”
With a curt nod, Teruo left. Since they arrived he vacillated somewhere between his usual bossy demeanor and a nicer, more polite one. Shinji didn’t want their work dynamic to change in any way or make Teruo feel the need to adjust his temperament. For Shinji, the grumpiness was just part of Teruo’s charm. But he wasn’t sure how to tell Teruo that without making it sound patronizing.
A chill ran down Shinji’s spine and the hairs at the nape of his neck prickled. A ghost was nearby. His gaze searched the room, waiting. White mist floated in and a man drifted inside from the wall behind Shinji.
He wore sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Definitely the same man as before. Probably died at his home by the looks of it.
Shinji’s eyes widened and breath stopped when he saw the neck. Three dark lines circled it, the same lines Yamato had as a ghost.
A third victim?
“Hi,” Shinji said, going for the friendly and calm tone. “What’s your name?”
The ghost stared at him. “You can see me.” It didn’t sound like a question, more like a statement. “Where’s Chief Inspector Hayashi?”
Oh?
“He’s not here right now, but I might be able to help. Can you tell me your name? Mine is Shinji.”
The man hesitated, mistrust visible on his white features. “I’m Ishida Hideaki. I used to work here.”
Fuck. No.
No, no, no. That Ishida? Teruo’s former partner? He’s dead?
“Tell me what happened,” Shinji said, skipping any other formalities. He had little time since Teruo could come in at any moment.
But that seemed to shut Ishida’s mouth. He stared at the floor, chest rising and falling as his breath quickened, the ghostly mist dropping the temperature inside the room fast.
“I… I’m dead,” Ishida muttered. “I was murdered.” His hand wrapped around his throat. “My neck hurts,” he croaked.
It couldn’t hurt as spirits didn’t feel pain unless inflicted by a Shinigami or other supernatural person. This was Ishida’s mind trying to make sense of it all.
Suddenly, Ishida looked over his shoulder at the wall, though most likely at something beyond it, outside.
“I have to run!” he exclaimed.
“Run? No. Please stay,” Shinji pleaded. “The chief will be right back.” There was no way he would tell Teruo about it, but anything to hold Ishida’s spirit here would do.
“Something is tugging at me,” Ishida said. “I don’t like it!”
“What do you mean?”
Ishida turned around and ran through the wall. Almost tripping on his own feet Shinji rushed to the open window and searched outside for Ishida’s ghost. The still sealedreiryokucouldn’t reach far, but it was enough to tell him Ishida had disappeared.
For fuck’s sake.Shinji groaned. He had the worst luck to lose another spirit in such a short time span. From what he could gather, there was another supernatural trying to reach Ishida. That was the only explanation for when a ghost felt a tug on their spiritual energy. A Shinigami was probably attempting to call Ishida to send him to the other side. But spirits rarely got scared of a Shinigami calling them. It was a gentle tug of energy, nothing painful.
For Ishida to be this agitated… something else was happening here. Was this why Yamato’s spirit suddenly disappeared? And why he couldn’t find Ozawa’s ghost anywhere? Was someone interfering with the investigation? Or maybe this was just a coincidence? Either way, the Onmyoryo needed to be notified.
Shinji turned and jolted. Teruo was standing in the middle of the room, steaming coffee in hand, a look Shinji couldn’t read on his face.
“Hey, sir. Uhm, Teruo. Didn’t see you there.”
“Clearly,” Teruo said, face impassive.
Shit.He’d let his guard down. How much did Teruo see? He must’ve arrived after Ishida drifted away.