Denji felt a pounding in his chest so hard it practically squeezed a woof! out of him. “Leave it to me! I’m gonna kick this mystery’s ass! I mean, I’ll solve the hell out of it!”
“I’m sure you will, Denji. And you, Power?” Makima turned her ice-cold gaze on the fiend.
Power was caught off guard and in no mood to be agreeable. “Sure, I’ll do it.” As she turned the situation over in her mind, however, her enthusiasm rose. Pumping a fist in the air, she cried, “A mystery! A missing persons case even! The perfect chance for Detective Magician Power to strut her stuff!”
Makima cocked her head. Denji, looking more than thoroughly unenthused, said, “Ignore her. She’s geeking out over a detective cartoon for babies.”
“Detective cartoon? Oh, that thing that’s on TV every night. Well, Power, let’s see if you can do as good a job as Detective Magician would,” Makima said, smiling.
“Course I can!” said Power, nodding vigorously. Her face flushed. In her mind, she could already see herself on a glittering stage, unveiling secrets to all and sundry and basking in the adulation. Power and Denji were about to charge out of the room when Makima added, almost as an afterthought, “By the way, they’ve called in some civilian devil hunters too. Try to get along, will you?”
From the city center, the trip to the property took two hours by train. Then an hour and a half on a bus. Then an hour on another bus. Then a half-hour hike up a mountain. When Makima had called their destination “isolated,” it had been an understatement. Three days after their briefing, Denji and Power arrived, shoulders heaving. They collapsed into the tall grass.
“Ugh! Finally made it!”
“Who’d wanna stay out here in the boonies?”
“You think you’ve got it bad? I had to tag along just to escort you two out of your patrol area.” Aki took a drag from his cigarette. “All right, I’m going home. Don’t get any bright ideas. You know what’ll happen if you try to make a run for it.”
Denji and Power eyeballed their guardian. “Damn right we know,” said Denji. “And like hell I’m running away. I promised Ms. Makima I’d do her proud, and I’m gonna!”
“Can’t you trust your own roommates, Topknot? What a small, withered little heart you must have!”
“If you want my trust, try getting a better attitude. Anyway, job’s all yours, and I suggest you do it right. If you tarnish the good name of Public Safety, you’ll get it from me.” With that, Aki started back down the mountain.
“God, he never shuts up, does he?” Denji said.
“He’s a sad little man,” said Power.
Feeling a little lighter after letting off steam about Aki, Power turned to their assignment. A wind blew over the mountain, carrying scents of grass and earth that reminded her of her time living in the wilderness with Meowy. A large Western-style house rose behind a vine-choked gate. Its whitewashed walls stood out against the gloomy forest beyond. It almost looked like a painting. If a mystery was going to happen anywhere, it would happen here.
It was a scene constructed for none other than the great Detective Power.
“So this is where people have been disappearing, huh?” said Denji.
“Missing persons! Mystery! Truly this is the place for me!”
Denji gave Power a funny look. “I’ve been afraid to ask since we left the house, but … what the hell are you wearing?”
“What do you think? It’s just like Detective Magician’s!” She tilted the top hat on her head at a jaunty angle and spun happily around. “Suits me, doesn’t it? I made Topknot buy it for me, and all I need do in return is clean the bathroom for a month!”
“Seriously … what?”
“Ga ha ha ha! You’re right! Scouring like a servant is beneath me! But once I’ve done it, the hat is mine!”
“And you’re gonna go up against a devil in that thing?” Denji looked incredulous.
“Even Makima thought it was a good idea! ’Twill hide my horns from these simple hill people!”
“Whatever. Not my problem.” Denji didn’t bother to get off the ground.
Power, meanwhile, flung her fist toward the clear blue sky, cackling maniacally. “Ga ha ha ha! A case! A detective! An assistant! An audience! Everything is prepared!”
“I know what the case is, and I see the detective, but who’s the assistant?”
“Why, you, of course, Denji.”
“Uh, what?”
“And there’s the audience to acclaim my work!” Power gestured to a group of about a dozen men congregating at the gate. They were probably the civilian devil hunters Makima had mentioned, but as far as Power was concerned, they were there to witness her extraordinary work and shower her with praise.
One of the men loped toward them with a grim expression on his face. He wore a tracksuit and carried a long katana. “My name’s Kenzo,” he said. “I don’t recognize you two. Don’t tell me you’re devil hunters too.”
Power put her hands on her hips, thrust out her chest, and announced, “Indeed we are. I am the great Detective Power!”
“Say what?” said Denji.
“And this is my assistant, Denji.”
As Denji sputtered, the man’s frown deepened. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. A couple of kids like you? What can you do?”
At last, Denji stood. “I dunno who you are, but we’re here to do a job, and do it damn well. So back off, grandpa.”
“Indeed we are, grandpa!”
“I’m twenty-five, you brats!” Kenzo shook his fist. “Listen up. This ain’t a playground. You get in our way, there’s gonna be serious trouble.” He spat on the ground and strode off.
“What’s his problem?” Denji muttered.
“Don’t mind him. He’s just a spectator.”
As they spoke, the iron gate opened with a groan. To Power, it sounded like the fanfare at the beginning of an action movie. Another rush of glee ran through her. The man who appeared in the open gate, however, was a letdown. He was nothing like her outsized expectations—just a weathered, middle-aged man.
He offered the devil hunters a deep bow. “Thank you all for coming so far out of your way. I do hope you’ll be able to help me.”
After identifying himself as Mr. Kanbayashi, the man ushered everyone through the gate. As he led them in with slow, heavy steps, he spoke, sounding tired.
“This villa once belonged to a certain wealthy individual,” he began. “But they lost interest in vacationing up here and sold it to me. I renovated it into an inn where visitors could experience nature in its purest form. But at the soft opening, one of the guests disappeared during the night … along with all my staff.”
Kenzo interrupted. “Just to be clear, are you sure they didn’t run off on their own?”
“That would very much surprise me. The only way out of here is the bus that stops at the foot of the mountain, and apparently none of them boarded it.” Mr. Kanbayashi’s voice grew grimmer with every word.
Kenzo snorted. “Sure sounds like the work of a devil, then, doesn’t it?”
“Just what I thought,” Mr. Kanbayashi nodded. “If this isn’t resolved, the inn is doomed. I hope that all of you together can find out what’s behind these disappearances.”
A laugh arose from the group. “Ga ha ha ha! In the hands of the great Detective Power, the knot of a mystery all but unravels itself! Don’t you agree, assistant?”
“I told you, I’m not your assistant!”
Gazes, profoundly suspicious or deeply concerned, turned toward the wild-eyed girl in the top hat and the seedy-looking delinquent beside her. Power’s mind automatically edited them into admiring looks of respect.
Mr. Kanbayashi opened the heavy front door of the villa to reveal a spacious entry hall. A carved front desk awaited visitors, and two picture windows set high over the door let in the afternoon sunlight. A thin layer of dust covered the desk, betraying the fact that the inn hadn’t seen visitors in some time.
Mr. Kanbayashi showed the group a map. “Seen from above, the building has the shape of a cross. The front desk is at the head of that cross.”
They proceeded along a red carpet and reached the crossing. Mr. Kanbayashi explained that guest rooms were to the left and a staff area to the right. The staff area was mostly empty at the moment, but it contained administrative offices and storage spaces, along with a kitchen stocked with staples and instant meals.
“Yes! Food!” Denji exclaimed, lunging for the door.
Power leapt after him. “We feast!”
Smiling nervously, Mr. Kanbayashi said, “Please help yourselves. There’s nothing fresh, only supplies that will keep, but I’ve ensured there’s enough to feed all of you for several days.”
The party returned to the crossing and made their way to the lower section of the cross. Kenzo pointed to a small door as they passed it. “Hey, where does that go?”
“Ah, that’s the power room.” Mr. Kanbayashi opened the door, revealing a cramped, dimly lit room crowded with a profusion of pipes and wires. In the dead center squatted a huge machine, presumably a generator. The floor trembled faintly with the hum of motors.