When The Snow Falls

"Do you know her name?"

Instead of answering the caretaker picked up two chairs and moved them over to his desk.

"Please sit down. I'll make some tea."

Daniel exchanged looks with Felix. His boyfriend nodded and they sat down. Tatsuaki walked over to the corner where there was a hot water dispenser and a small teapot. He soon came back with three cups of steaming tea on a tray.

"Please drink up, I don't make tea for everyone," he said and handed them the cups.

Daniel took a sip and realised it was green tea. It was much more pleasant to drink than the one he'd tried at Felix's.

"Two years ago, I was doing a repair job in the school reception when a young lady arrived," Tatsuaki began and stopped suddenly. "Young man, I don't offer tea to anyone. Drink up."

Daniel looked to his side to find that Felix hadn't touched his tea. His boyfriend flushed at the attention and hastily took a gulp.

"Okay, this is a lot better than the stuff my mother makes," he admitted.

"Of course it is," Tatsuaki replied with a proud air. "To get back on track, the young lady asked the receptionist on duty if she could give her any information about a student named Carter Emberry who had attended the school in 2013 and was a member of the Mystery Club."

That sentence confirmed a few things for Daniel. The missing student had to be Carter Emberry now that they knew he was a member of the Mystery Club. There weren't two missing person cases connected to the school, it was just one. He felt a nudge from Felix.

"She also mentioned coming to ask the year before."

"What did they say to her?" Felix asked.

"At first she was told she couldn't be given any information because she wasn't related. Then she pulled out her passport and said she was his older sister. The receptionist changed tack and said there had never been a student with that name."

That fitted in with the school trying to cover things up. It was interesting to find out that Carter had an older sister who was also trying to find out the truth.

"She gave the receptionist a card with her contact details. I saw that card thrown in the bin by a more senior receptionist. Then I was passing by the next year and I saw her again."

Carter's sister did seem to be determined. He hoped Tatsuaki remembered her name so they could try to find her.

"Did the same thing happen again?" Felix asked knowingly.

"The receptionist on duty that time was the most senior one and she claimed outright that Carter Emberry had never been a student. The young lady asked how the receptionist had known that without needing to look up the name."

Her question had probably not gone down well.

"The young lady was told not to be too smart in her questions and it would be best for her to leave. She did, but she still comes back. As I mentioned, I saw her again today."

"Could you give us a physical description of her?" Felix asked.

Daniel was of the opinion that they wouldn't need that. If Annabelle had discovered the correct first name of the missing student, she would know his sister's name. He was waiting to hear from her to know how she had found out.

Tatsuaki raised his bushy eyebrows.

"I can do better than that. You see, I thought it was rather odd so I took her contact card from the bin. I've kept it all this time."

The caretaker got up and went into the next room. Felix used the opportunity to grip his hand.

"He seems to be all right. I don't know what your original idea was, but don't risk it without me again."

Daniel squeezed his hand again.

Tatsuaki returned with a small card which he passed to Felix. In his other hand was a key. Daniel let his hope rise at the sight of it.

"What do you think of this whole affair?" the caretaker asked suddenly.

"It sounds like there is something amiss here and someone wants to cover up Carter Emberry's existence here," Daniel answered.

Tatsuaki nodded in agreement. ""That's what I think too. I also think it is related to the old school building and the original members of staff are in on it."

It was very interesting to find out that Tatsuaki had the same suspicions as he did.

"Have you ever been inside the old school building?" he asked.

"I have been in a few times," Tatsuaki admitted. "I am in possession of a key. I did not obtain it through honest means. The building needs to be surveyed for structural damage after any large earthquake as it is a very old building. I managed to pickpocket the key from the surveyor for a short time and make a copy. I had believed looking around the building would uncover something."

The key being a copy did explain why Tatsuaki had one in his possession despite not being in the suspicious circle of staff members.

"Did you find anything in there?"

"I could not seem to find anything there that looked out of place and suspicious. The interior of the building is completely unchanged. It's like it just suddenly closed down and everything was left as it was. Perhaps you two and the rest of your club can do a better job than me."

Daniel's eyes widened as he caught onto what Tatsuaki was saying. The key was handed to Daniel with a faint smile.

"Why do you trust us?" Daniel enquired.

It did seem weird that Tatsuaki had told them everything and even given them the key without them directly asking for it.

Tatsuaki's eyes twinkled and he pointed to Felix's backpack which contained the Mystery Club's yearbook and the meeting minutes.

"Because you showed me proof that Carter Emberry existed at this school."

Tatsuaki stood up and bowed and Daniel followed his example. Politeness was always important especially when someone had just given you very important clues and means to solving a mystery. Felix did the same with more grace.

***

"So we have the key and now we can explore the old building," Daniel said enthusiastically on the way home.

Felix cleared his throat. "You are too excited about rule breaking. We also have the contact information for Carter's sister. We know she still in Japan so we can hopefully meet her. Her name is Lily and she gave three numbers, a UK mobile number and Japanese one and a Japanese landline."

"If she went to the trouble to get a Japanese landline, she must be here long term then," Daniel said. "This is encouraging. She should be quite willing to help us."

Whilst it seemed like she didn't know too much if she had gone looking at the school for information, there should be some blanks she could fill in like the timeframe. They still didn't know when in the year he had gone missing.

"I say we should call her once we get back home," Felix said. "It is getting quite complex here."

"Are you enjoying it?"

"I am in a way," his boyfriend answered. "I'm not in the middle of the mystery this time and I have no connection with the missing person. It's not as taxing. By the way…"

Daniel glanced at him. "Yes?"

"I know Carter Emberry is supposed to be missing, but… he could be dead. If the school that we are attending is responsible, it's not going to be good if we get caught."

Felix was completely correct yet again. Daniel had been referring to Carter as being a missing person as that was how the case had been introduced, but there was a chance he had passed away. As Felix said if the school had a hand in it somewhere, they were going to be in danger.

"We haven't done much yet," he said. "If it gets too much, we should pull out and give everything we've found to his parents or his sister."

"I agree with that," Felix said as they approached the apartment building.

"We still need to ask Annabelle how she found out his name," Daniel informed him in the lift. "That could be a clue as well."

***

Daniel settled himself on his bed next to Felix and his phone buzzed. The call was from the very person he wanted to hear from.

"You were right," he said the moment he picked up. "How did you find out his name?"

"Ballet class. One of the senior dancers knows his sister," she said simply. "I just asked if anyone knew anyone with the surname Emberry and went from there. When she said the family she knew went to Japan, I knew it was the right family. She was aware of his disappearance to an extent. However she couldn't tell me anything."

That was very intriguing to hear for Daniel. The mystery was getting more complex the more they found out.

He told her anything they had found since they had last spoken.

"You're getting lots now," she said in amazement. "It just seems quite complicated to unpick. I'll let you go so you can speak to his sister. Then you have to call me after to tell me what she says."

"You're so demanding," Felix teased. "But we will keep you informed."

Daniel hung up and Felix handed him the card. Daniel hesitated over dialling the number. He didn't want to do this the wrong way. If he annoyed Lily Emberry she might not want to help them.

"You're more diplomatic, can you do it?"

Felix seemed to have realised he wasn't in the mood for being teased and took out his own phone. He dialled the number smoothly and they waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?" a female voice said. "Who is speaking?"

"My name is Felix Albury and I attend the British International School here in Tokyo. I'm a member of the Mystery Club and we are investigating the same thing which was investigated in 2013. I think it's connected to the disappearance of your brother. Are you willing to talk to me?"

There was an intake of breath over the line and they waited for her reply.

"Yes. I am willing to speak to you about my late brother," she said. "When would you like to meet?"