Chapter 31: 31

Chapter 31: The previous double suicide case

“Uncle Toru…”

Ayano was about to return to her chores after talking to Tanimoto when she noticed Toru was standing in the hallway in front of the room with white sofa. She saw him watching the half closed storm shutter[1] in a daze.

There was a ghost haunting the shutter. But at this moment, the ghost seemed not interested with the surrounding. It was sticking to the wooden door panel as if it had stumbled down.

Ayano: “Uncle Toru. Have you heard that Hisami-san had passed away?”

“I heard it just now,” Toru replied quietly.

Ayano noticed that Toru had been staring fixedly at the shutter ghost without saying anything. “Uncle Toru. I thought you hate that shutter ghost. Before this, whenever the shutter was closed, you would always avoid this area.”

Toru watched the female ghost’s back and said in a low voice, “No… I just remember why I hate this ghost. When I was dying, she was watching me and laughed.”

It seemed Toru had started to recall the memory of when he died.

Ayano: “Uncle Toru, you remember?! Do you remember what happened when you died with Matsuko-san?”

“Huh? What do you mean with Matsuko?” Toru said while looking inside the room.

“Oh, just as I thought. It wasn’t a double suicide.” Ayano couldn’t really fathom that Toru would commit suicide with Matsuko. “When we found your dead body, Matsuko-san’s body was also there next to you on the sofa.”

Toru: “I was drinking alone to celebrate winning a bet and then felt sick before I died.”

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Ayano realized it must have been a murder but his story made her felt less sympathy towards him. “When it happened, did you notice anything strange?”

“Nothing in particular. There was a storm that day and the shutter was closed. It was late at night so no one was around. At that time, I thought I could drink alone and relax by myself. Where is Matsuko?”

Ayano: “Hidden behind that table. She is lying on the floor next to the sofa.”

Toru had been avoiding this room so he didn’t realize that Matsuko was there. “Did she say anything?”

Ayano: “She is not talking. She just lies there on the floor. Sometime, there are ghosts like that too.”

“Will she move on from this world someday?” Toru asked wonderingly with a grim face.

“Maybe…” Ayano replied. Although she was not confident about it, she felt it was better to answer that way so that she could reassured Toru’s spirit.

Ayano: “But if it wasn’t a double suicide, then why did Matsuko-san die with you? Could it be Matsuko-san had feelings for you?”

Ayano wondered if Matsuko had found Toru’s dead body and then drank the poisoned alcohol to follow him. Back then, the police had informed her that the estimated time of death for both victims were at around the same time.

Toru: “I have never heard such thing. Even if we died at the same time, the others would not think much about it. At least for me, I didn’t know anything.”

“I see,” Ayano nodded while looking at Matsuko lying on the floor behind the table.

[1] Amado: A wooden storm shutter, normally fitted to the outer side of the engawa (Japanese veranda). It is easy to take them off and put in storage when not in use. Normally people use it during typhoon season.  

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