Detective Yamamoto and the Haunted House Part 1

WEDNESDAY

As Satoshi sat at his makeshift desk in Detective Yamamoto’s office, he was keenly aware that the detective had not had a client in about a week and a half. He wasn’t too knowledgeable about the detective’s personal finances, but he did know she frequently refused payment for her work and that she spent a fair bit of her money on beer. Detective Yamamoto didn’t seem too concerned about the money.

In fact, she didn't seem to care much about anything. As always, she sat behind her desk, with her legs resting on top of it. In the background, presumably just for noise, the detective had a small, black and white television on. Satoshi wouldn't normally mind the background noise, but the local news station that the detective had tuned in to broadcasted for the fifth time today a warning about carbon monoxide. Satoshi almost considered breaking the silence and saying something just to break the routine of the droning news broadcast. It almost seemed like a supernatural coincidence that at that very moment, a client entered the office.

The client was a man, and to Satoshi, he was likely the most disheveled man he had ever seen. The man did not merely have bags beneath his eyes; he had an entire set of luggage. The man’s corpse-like complexion made him look deceased and his hair stood out at odd angles. His stilted, lurching gait spoke of a man who seemed to be on the verge of death from exhaustion.

“Detective Yamamoto?” the man croaked. The detective looked up from her desk, and for the first instance that Satoshi could recall, she started. It made sense; the man’s appearance was frightful, but Detective Yamamoto had always had a sort of unflappable quality that seemed to inure her to otherwise uncomfortable situations.

“Y-yes, how can I help you?” the detective stammered.

“I believe my house is haunted,” droned the man. He seemed to be about to elaborate, but the detective interrupted him.

 
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you!” There was a note of fear in the detective’s voice. Satoshi shot a worried glance to Yamamoto, but she didn’t seem to notice. The man let out a defeated groan like a bloated corpse expelling air.

“Just one moment, sorry sir! Please, have a seat.” said Satoshi. He stood from his desk, walked over to the detective and dragged her out of the room. Once they were out of earshot, or so Satoshi assumed, he turned to Yamamoto.

“What are you doing? You can’t afford to turn down a client right now,” Satoshi exclaimed. Detective Yamamoto did not respond, but the expression on her face made the situation quite clear. The expression of fear on her face bordered on outright terror. Maybe the client’s appearance was the cause of it or maybe the prospect of a haunted house was the cause, but it hardly seemed to matter. Something had spooked Detective Yamamoto out of her wits, and now she wasn’t acting like herself.

Finally she spoke, very quietly. “I can’t help him.” Satoshi sighed.

“I know you’re afraid, but you need the money.” Satoshi paused for a moment. “I promise I’ll do everything you need me to do.” Satoshi was a little surprised at himself. He had no real stake in what the detective did or didn't do, but now, for some reason, he felt he had to help Detective Yamamoto, even if it meant stepping up and taking the lead on this case.

Eventually, she nodded defeatedly. “You're right,” she said. Satoshi, followed shortly by the detective, walked back in to face the client.

“So you said your house is haunted?” said Satoshi, addressing the client. The man nodded.

“For the past month, my house has been subject to all sorts of paranormal phenomena. It always happens at night and I haven't been able to sleep in weeks.”

“What exactly do you expect us to do about it? Detective Yamamoto is a detective, not a paranormal expert, and I'm just her assistant.”

“Even just finding the source of the haunting would be enough. I want to be sure. I can't live with the uncertainty,” plead the man. The way things were shaping up, it seemed to Satoshi that he and the detective might have to witness the haunting first hand. Already he knew the detective wouldn't like being any closer to something supernatural than strictly necessary. Satoshi covered his mouth with his hand as he thought for a moment, weighing up the various possibilities and outcomes.

“We might have to stay the night with you, to get a better idea of what constitutes a haunting,” said Satoshi. Detective Yamamoto sat straight up in shock, but refrained from contradicting Satoshi.

“Thank you, detective,” croaked the man. He faced Satoshi even though he was nominally addressing the detective. “I will make preparations at once.” With that, the man provided a small card with his address and departed with his characteristic lurching gait. After the man had left, Detective Yamamoto turned to Satoshi with a bleak look on her face.

“Assistant, you had better protect me if there's even so much as a hint of a ghost. I hate ghosts,” she said quietly. Then her posture relaxed and she reclined back to look at the ceiling as though she had fallen into a torpor.

“Don't worry detective, there's no such thing as ghosts,” said Satoshi, trying to sound more jovial than he really felt. “Now if you don't mind, I need to go pack for our investigation. I'll be back this evening.” Detective Yamamoto didn't respond save for a slight whimper.

~~~

Now back at his apartment, Satoshi set about collecting whatever he thought he might need. After all, he wasn't entirely sure what would come in handy while staying in a haunted house, but sleepwear and things to make sleep more comfortable were certainly in order. He also elected to bring along a big notepad, both for making written accounts of the investigation and for sketching anything supernatural they happened to come across. In Satoshi's mind, it was a dim possibility, but if his preparedness would ease Detective Yamamoto's mind a little bit, he might as well do it. All told, he filled a backpack with a change of clothes, sleepwear, a notebook, and a few minor provisions in case he, or more likely the detective, got hungry.

The walk back to Detective Yamamoto's office was a quiet and peaceful one. Satoshi reflected that this was likely the last bit of peace he could hope to receive between the detective's fear of the supernatural and whatever thing actually plagued the poor client. Thus, Satoshi was not entirely surprised when he arrived at the agency and found that the detective had drunken herself into a stupor in the meantime. She sat in her chair, unmoving and staring at the ceiling just as she had when Satoshi had left, but a new carpet of empty beer cans surrounded her chair.

“Good evening, Detective Yamamoto,” said Satoshi as he set his bag by his makeshift desk. Detective Yamamoto didn't say anything, but instead glanced at Satoshi out of the corner of her eye. “Have you gotten ready?” For a moment, the detective looked almost embarrassed, but she nodded affirmatively. Satoshi decided not to press the issue of preparedness further.

“Do you really believe in ghosts?” Satoshi asked after a pause. Detective Yamamoto gave him a fearful look that spoke volumes. “Have you ever seen a ghost before?” Detective Yamamoto again did not answer. Satoshi was vaguely hoping that by talking through things he might be able to give the detective some reason not to be so paralytically afraid, but it didn't seem to be working.

“Please,” she said finally, barely speaking above a whisper. “I don't want to talk about it.” Satoshi sighed and figured he probably did more harm than good at the moment. He resolved himself to refrain from talking about the paranormal while the threat of the investigation still loomed overhead.

“We had probably better head over to the client's home,” said Satoshi. Detective Yamamoto didn't move at first, but gave Satoshi a resigned look and picked up the bag that sat next to her chair. She stood on shaky legs and swayed unsteadily.

“Let's get this over with,” she slurred as she started plodding towards the door. Satoshi took it upon himself to help guide her and keep her steady. It was the least he could do.

~~~

Standing in front of the address the client had provided earlier in the day, Satoshi briefly considered that by agreeing to this and bringing the detective along, he may have bitten off more than either of them could chew separately or together. The house certainly appeared haunted. It was ramshackle and worn down, but not in the same way as the detective agency. Where the detective agency seemed to have fallen into disrepair due to apathy, this house seemed to radiate a malign presence, although it may just have been Satoshi's imagination. Considering that the sun had already set didn't make it appear any less ominous. The walk over to the clients house seemed to have sobered up the detective somewhat, and now that she was in a more lucid state of mind, she made her displeasure known.

“The place looks like an axe-murderer's house,” she said fearfully. Satoshi didn't have anything to say in response, so he simply sighed and approached the front door. He had scarcely knocked upon the door once when it abruptly opened to reveal the man from earlier. He appeared just as corpse-like as he had earlier in the morning, and his sudden appearance made Yamamoto jump and yelp.

“Good evening, detectives,” the man wheezed. “Please, make yourselves welcome in my humble abode.” He held the door open and allowed the pair to enter. Once inside, Satoshi took a moment to look around. The walls were covered in patterned wallpaper that looked rather pleasant at first glance, despite the circumstances. Carved wooden baseboards surrounded the perimeter of every room. Satoshi would have admired the craftsmanship if not for the eerie shadows they cast. The choice of lighting was also peculiar; there appeared to be actual gaslights, rather than the far more common and conventional electric lights. Altogether on the outside, the man's house looked like it was one bad day away from being condemned, but on the inside it resembled a Victorian mansion. Satoshi said as much.

“Thank you, sir. I have something of a passing interest in the Victorian era.” The man seemed to give the first genuine smile Satoshi had yet seen from him. “Now, I believe I should show you where you'll be staying. Perhaps fortuitously it happens to be the guest bedroom.”

“Thank you. I'm sure we'll find it pleasant,” said Satoshi blandly. He wanted to be polite to the host, even if they were here strictly on business. If nothing else, it wouldn't do to offend the man. He lead the pair up a creaking staircase with a magnificently carved wooden banister and down an uncomfortably narrow hallway to a door at the very end.

“In my experience, the haunting doesn't start for a few hours.” said the man. Satoshi noticed, and he knew Detective Yamamoto did as well, that the man stopped just short of crossing the threshold of the room.

“Thank you for the information,” said Satoshi. “I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of the haunting.” The man nodded and closed the door, leaving with almost indecent haste. Now that the man had left, Satoshi turned to Detective Yamamoto. He planned to say something vaguely reassuring, but then he noticed that the room had only the one bed. The detective also seemed to have noticed this state of affairs and was uncertain on how to proceed.

At least, thought Satoshi, this takes her mind off of her fear of ghosts.

“You can take the bed,” said Satoshi. “I'll make do on the floor.”

“Ah, okay,” said the detective. The tone of her voice seemed to append the phrase 'but no one asked.'

“According to the client, we've got some time before the haunting, so we might as well be comfortable.” Satoshi set down his bag and sat in a chair in the corner of the room. The detective, seemingly thinking nothing of Satoshi's presence, began to undress. Out of respect, Satoshi averted his eyes casually, pretending to take interest in the decoration of the room, even though the detective didn't seem to notice or care.

“Assistant, look away,” the detective said, breaking the silence. By pure reflex, Satoshi looked in her direction. She stood in her underwear, but that wasn't what she seemed to be embarrassed about as she quickly hid something behind her back. Now embarrassed himself, Satoshi returned to look at a blank space on the wall as though it had captivated his interest. When Satoshi's gaze drifted across the room again, he was somewhat surprised by what the detective now wore. It would be uncouth to say so out loud, but given the detective's disposition, Satoshi had assumed her to be the type to sleep in the nude. Instead she wore a nightgown, and one that was particularly pink and frilly. When Detective Yamamoto caught Satoshi staring, she scowled.

“I thought I told you not to look,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Sorry,” said Satoshi weakly. Wanting to change the subject, he coughed to clear his throat and started rummaging through his bag. “I should probably start taking notes. You never know when the ghost will show up.” While this succeeded in changing the subject, this also threw a fright into the detective, who had tentatively forgotten the impending horror of the case they were investigating. The detective responded perhaps in the most sensible way possible by retreating to the bed and hiding under the covers.

 “Assistant, keep a sharp eye out for the ghost there, I'll investigate here!” she hollered. Truthfully, Satoshi had expected a turn of events like this, so he wasn't caught off guard, and given how terrified the detective had been, he didn't begrudge her for not being especially helpful.