Shinrei Tantei Yakumo - Volume 10 Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Translated by Niulili

“Well … I didn’t see her.”

A man in his fifties, dressed in blue work clothes, leaned his head troubled.

That was a man named Takemoto, the manager of the condominium.

After that, Ishii immediately went to the condominium and asked Takemoto, the manager, about the whereabouts of Nao.

But that result he heard.

“Do you really don’t know ?”

Ishii stuck to it, but Takemoto’s reaction did not change at all.

“Couldn’t she entered inside without you knowing it ?”

Miyagawa, who was next to him, asked a question from another angle.

“It’s an auto lock, so I don’t think she could easily enter it.”

As Takemoto said, this apartment was self-locking. You couldn’t go in and out so easily.

In fact, Ishii were trying to get in from the entrance, but they were called by the manager, Takemoto.

“But when a resident enters, he may be followed by another one.”

Miyagawa asked questions without giving up.

That possibility cannot be denied. It was also the blind spot of auto lock in an apartment.

“Well, that’s true … Recently, the residents are also paying attention to such things, so I think if they saw a stranger, they wouldn’t let him follow them.”

Takemoto said with a suspicious look.

In the past, an outsider slipped through the auto-lock and create an incident with a resident. It was a fact that since then, strict attention has been paid to such things.

He heard that even parcel delivery service had to return back to the entrance and push the intercom one by one.

“And what you’re looking for is a girl in pajamas. I’m sure you’ll be suspicious if someone like that comes in.”

Takemoto continued with a difficult face.

Nao’s outfit was pajamas when she disappeared. She was dressed quite noticeable. A little girl walking like that would certainly be suspicious.

However…

“Still, you can’t say there is no possibility.”

When Ishii said back, Takemoto’s face became even steeper.

“If she has entered the apartment, where is she ?”

“That’s…”

“If she went into someone’s room, it would had caused a fuss, and I’m inspecting the apartment every morning. If there’s such a child, I’ll immediately notice.”

“She may also be lurking in a place that Takemoto-san does not notice.”

When Ishii said, Takemoto laughed as if he were stupid.

“Where could she be ?”

“For example, a plumbing facility.”

If it was such a big apartment, there should be such a facility.

“Then, there is a control panel in the underground pit, but I also checked it properly, and in the first place, since the lock is usually closed and I got the key, she can not goes in and out.”

Ishii had no choice but to shut up when he was told all that.

However, Miyagawa did not yield.

“It may be exactly as you say. But even knowing it, it is our job to search for her.”

Miyagawa said with a stare, Takemoto sighed as if he had given up.

“Okay. Well then, let’s take a look around the apartment for the time being.”

Saying that, Takemoto started walking.

Ishii looked at Miyagawa and then began to walk after Takemoto.

“It was helpful. I could not persuade him.”

Ishii told Miyagawa while walking.

“You don’t have to say thank you. This is our job.”

The appearance of Miyagawa looked shiny to Ishii.

He started to flinch, but after being trained by Gotou he stayed still.

“You look cool”

When Ishii said this, Miyagawa struck his shoulder.

“Don’t say boring things. Our job is to look for Gotou’s daughter, no matter what. Think about it.”

Ishii responded “Yes!” to Miyagawa’s words.

With Takemoto’s guidance, they walked all the way through the grounds of the condominium to the underground pit with plumbing facilities where he could not normally enter, but he could not find Nao’s figure…

When he came back to the entrance, Ishii’s heart was discouraged again.

It seemed that Ishii’s guess was wrong and he faced this reality.

“Are you satisfied ?”

Takemoto’s tone had something satisfied.

Seeing that look made him irritated for some reason. Apart from that, he didn’t feel anything about Takemoto.

He was frustrated with himself.

“Yeah. Ishii. Let’s go.”

Miyagawa shook his chin and signaled that he should follow him.

shii tried to continue, but should he give up here ? A question raised in his head.

“Uh … There are security cameras in this apartment, right ?”

When Ishii asked, Takemoto replied, “Yes.”

“Can I check the video of the security camera ?”

When Ishii offered, Takemoto looked annoyed.

“Do you still think she is in this apartment ?”

“No. However, from the angle of the security camera, you can see the road ahead, isn’t it ? It is certain that Nao-chanー The missing girl, was witnessed around here. She might had passed here. ”

When Ishii leaned forward, Takemoto exhaled a long sigh.

While half amazed, he seemed to be willing to cooperate.

Miyagawa was laughing happily when he saw Ishii.

The possibility that Nao might be in the apartment disappeared, but Ishii felt that he had found a new hope.

With Takemoto’s guidance, they moved to the control room and decided to check the image of the security camera there.

Any trivial thing was fine. He wanted a clue about Nao’s whereabouts. Ishii checked the image of the security camera with his eyes like a plate.

However, he couldn’t find Nao’s appearance, instead a dull image was played and car passed occasionally.

Apparently, it seemed that it was completely empty.

His heart really broke.

He was angry at his helplessness and dropped his shoulder.

“Not yet”

Miyagawa took Ishii’s shoulders.

It was so powerful that it felt painful.

“But…”

“If Gotou knew that you gave up like this, I don’t know what he would say later.”

With Miyagawa’s words, Ishii’s passion, which had been disappearing, rekindled.

It was exactly what Miyagawa said. At this level, he would be sorry for Gotou if he gave up.

“Yes, but … what should I do from now on …”

Ishii didn’t know that.

“The basis of the detective is the ground.”

The ground ー In other words, that was a hearing investigation.

From the information he got at the gas station, he knew where Nao was last seen. He should try to listen to the neighborhood.

It would took a lot of work, but that was all there was to do. Ishii stood up and said “Yes!” in response.