Source: Official site
Transfer Request
I had nothing to do. May as well look through past files. Searching through the data on my PC, I found that no files for the cold case investigation division had been created. He'd done nothing in all this time!? I'd only been in the department for a few hours, and yet I could already feel my enthusiasm slipping away. Should I submit a transfer request...? No; I really couldn't go throwing in the towel when I'd only just been assigned there... I would have to bear it for a little while longer...
Bring bring bring bring... It was the phone. Mr. Nanase didn't move a muscle. I reached for the phone.
"You don't have to pick up."
"Huh? Why not?"
"..."
Mr. Nanase didn't respond, but I couldn't ignore a call to this division.
"Hello. This is the cold case investigation division."
"Ahh, you finally picked up! I called again and again, but nobody answered."
"M-my apologies! What can I do for you?"
"So, right, I bought this car recently, and honestly..."
"What about the car...?"
"It's brand new, right..."
"O-oh..."
"So, miss - if you're not busy, how about coming out for a drive?"
"..."
I wordlessly hung up the phone.
"See? Told you that you didn't have to pick up."
"W-what do you mean?"
"We never get serious calls here."
"But you don't know if you don't pick up, right? What if it's a cold case...?"
Mr. Nanase took a disinterested puff of his cigarette. "The other detectives are good at what they do. We don't get many cold cases."
"But...!"
Bring bring bring...
"Don't pick up."
"I have to!"
I reached for the phone once more.
"Hello. This is the cold case investigation division."
"Uh... It was me who killed my wife eight years ago..."
"What!?"
See? We did get those kinds of phone calls.
"Could you please elaborate?"
"Yes. Actually..."
"Honey!"
I could hear a female voice on the other side of the receiver.
"We got into an argument about cheating..."
"Control yourself, honey."
"Huh?"
Something felt off.
"I snapped, and my wife... with my own hands..."
"I'm alive! See, I'm still in the middle of eating."
"Um..." I began, when the woman took the phone.
"Sorry for causing you trouble. He does these things sometimes."
"O-oh... I see."
Our conversation over, I replaced the receiver.
"They're just calls from senile old people and bored pranksters. Don't bother with them."
A sigh - no, tears came out. Why was this happening to me?
Looking at Mr. Nanase, I saw that, as always, he was fiddling with his cards. Did he spend every day like this? How could he not get bored of staring at cards so much? He could at least try telling fortunes with them.
Bring bring bring...
"Hello. This is the cold case investigation division."
"Not only that, miss, but my car's a converti-"
I silently set down the receiver. Yeah - time to put in a transfer request.
As soon as I had made my mind up, there came a relentless pounding on the door. Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang bang!
"Uh, yes!"
I hurriedly stood and opened the door, and standing in it was a small girl.
"Uh, welcome."
Did 'welcome' sound weird?
"What seems to be the trouble? If you lost something, you've got the wrong..."
"I'd like you to investigate a cold case, please!"
This ended up being Mr. Nanase and I's first job.