Shinrei Tantei Yakumo - Volume 10 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Translated by Niulili

“Yo, Mako-chan”

Hijikata Makoto opened the door of the meeting room, and the man sitting raised his hand cheerfully. With a shaggy perm, such as popular in the 1960s, and a dark tanned skin, he said with a smile to show off his awfully white teeth.

It was Sayama Takeshi, a freelance photographer.

“Sayama-san. Long time no see. It’s so sudden, what happened ?”

Makoto sat on the opposite chair with a smile.

She had worked with Sayama several times so far. Contrary to his seemingly frivolous appearance, he was a solid and reliable person.

Just before at the reception desk Makoto heard Sayama was visiting her, this was the first time that Sayama came out after work.

“In fact, there was something I wanted to consult with you a bit.”

“Consult…”

She was puzzled by his unexpected words.

“Before that, is it alright for you to return?” Sayama rushed over while asking.

“Did you know that I was absent?”

When Makoto asked surprised, Sayama said “It is natural. It made a fuss”

What he said was true.

It was one week ago that Makoto left the company for about ten days and returned.

As Sayama, a photographer, might not have known it because he was absent for vacation or sickness, Makoto was caught in a certain incident and was stabbed in her abdomen, and was hospitalized.

It was reported in the news, it would be strange if he didn’t know.

“Oh, is your wound okay?” Sayama asked again.

“Yeah, it wasn’t a serious injury.” Makoto smiled bitterly.

Luckily, even though she was stabbed, it didn’t hurt her internal organs.

The treatment was just suture the wound and she was discharged after three days. However, the moment she was stabbed, she felt that she would die.

When she put her hand on the belly, the fear that she faced was still clear and the wound aching.

“That’s good” Sayama nodded.

He was really relieved.

“So what is the consultation?”

Makoto cut out. Sayama began to fish in the bag he had placed at his feet, ceasing speaking.

“What do you want me to see?”

“Yes. Ah, here it is.” Sayama put a tablet on the table.

“Just wait a minute”

Sayama seemed to be searching for data while swiping the monitor of the tablet.

“Ah, this.”, he displayed a photo on monitor.

Without knowing why, Makoto looked at the picture projected on the tablet and looked into it.

There was a room in it.

Wooden floor, sofa, table.

Besides, there was a large TV. It was a room with nothing wrong.

“What is it ?”

“This, this is my room…”

It was a bit surprising.

It must be a prejudice, but she thought that the room of a single man would be a little more scattered.

“I’d like to say that I’m surprised it’s clean”

“You noticed ?”

Makoto could see it.

“Well, if I were alone, it might have been messy…”

Sayama covered the back of the neck as he was blushing.

She didn’t heard about this kind of story, but from his current reaction, it seemed that Sayama had been dating someone.

“What? Did you show me this photo to show off what your girlfriend did?”

“That’s not it. Look carefully. Here…”

Having said that, Sayama pointed at the television’s side on the picture.

Makoto focused her eyes, but she didn’t know what Sayama’s true intention as he show this.

She looked up at Sayama, raising her face with a confused expression.

Like it couldn’t be helped, Sayama manipulated the monitor to expand the side of the TV.

She did not notice when she was watching in the distance. However, when he expanded in this way, she realized that something strange was reflected.

It was vague, not obvious, but it looked like a round, black shadow.

“Is this…”

“I think this is the face of a person.”

As Sayama spoke, the black shadow, which was vague, connected the image at once.

Certainly, the shade in the black shadow looked like a human face.

“There are other things”

Sayama said that and displayed another photo.

This time he photographed the corridor.

You could see a black shadow on the door. She used to see only a face, but this photo looked like a standing person.

“This one too…”

Sayama show another picture.

He took a picture of the ceiling in the corner of the room, and at the corner there was a shadow of a human face, similar to the one on the side of the television.

“I think it’s the so-called psychic photographs…” Sayama stared at Makoto.

It was a mysterious picture, but it was too soon to judge it as a psychic photograph. The reason was that Sayama is a photographer.

“Well done. What kind of processing did you use ?” Makoto carefully asked.

Since Sayama was a photographer, retouched this pictures shouldn’t be a problem.

His purpose was unknown, but she speculated that it must had been created by Sayama.

“The photos I just showed are not processed at all”

As to prove his innocence Sayama raised both hands.

“Is it true ?”

“Obviously. It doesn’t make sense to take so much time and effort for a photo.”

“You can make a profit by selling such photos.”

“That’s not enough to make small money.” Sayama was smiling, but his voice was slightly frustrated.

He didn’t seem to lie. It meant that it was not a photo created. By chance, did it meant that some shadow had been reflected ?

If that was the case, a photographer like Sayama couldn’t miss it.

“Is this a real psychic photo?”

“I think so”

When Makoto asked, Sayama waved, saying, “No, no.”

“In fact, when I was sleeping in my room, I started to hear strange sounds.”

“Strange sounds ?”

“Yes. At first, it sounded like a roaring wind, so I didn’t care so much, but sometime I heard footsteps like someone walking around in the house.”

“Wasn’t that your girlfriend?”

“No, she was sleeping next to me. And it’s not just footsteps. I can hear strange voice too…”

“Voice ?”

“Yes. I don’t know what it was talking about, but it was a voice that sounded like some kind of child.”

“So, did you mean to took a picture?”

Makoto looked Sayama in the eyes. Sayama nodded. His expression was also serious. It did not seem to be a kind of fiction.

“I don’t care if it’s elsewhere, but it’s my room anyway”

“I agree.”

If something like this was taken in her room, she would feel so weird that she could not live calmly.

“So, I thought I should show it to you Mako-chan.”

“Why me ?”

“Why, Mako-chan, it’s your specialty”

ーThat’s right.

At the same time that Makoto was convinced, she involuntarily smiled bitterly.

Makoto knew that a rumor spread over saying she was familiar with psychic phenomenon

This was because she had been involved in a number of cases with such incidents. But Makoto did not do something directly. It was another person who solved the case. Saitou Yakumo.

When Makoto explained that, Sayama asked, “If so, please ask that person.”

It was not a problem to ask, but the chance to received it was extremely low.

Yakumo, now, had a big problem.

ー I’m sorry.

A sincere sigh naturally leaked from Makoto’s mouth.