9th Mystery: Ghost Police Box
Chapter 1: Hello
TN: The one used when picking up a phone.
In Tsukinashi Town, there’s a small police station surrounded by mountains, typical of a rural town where not much happens.
The police officers assigned there rotate shifts, but strangely, they all seem to refuse to work the night shift. It appears that many officers have quit after experiencing night duty at this station.
“Yawn.”
A brave officer who didn’t believe the stories about the station faced his desk with apparent boredom.
Tsukinashi Town has surprisingly few residents, which means hardly any incidents occur. During the night, there are no calls to respond to, and hardly anyone passes by the station. Every day is filled with monotonous tasks.
“Getting paid for this is pretty easy.”
That’s an unscrupulous line. If there was a senior police officer here, he would unmistakably get scolded.
The officer yawned to shake off his drowsiness and opened his notebook, thinking it might be time to write in the logbook.
Yet, there was essentially nothing to record. No incidents had occurred, and nobody had visited the station; work was virtually nonexistent. He wondered if staying in such a place could ever lead to any sort of career advancement.
Just then—
The silence of the quiet night was shattered by the ringing of the telephone in the station.
Jiriririririri ̄ n,jiririririririri ̄n.
Jiriririririri ̄ n,jiririririririri ̄n.
The telephone installed in the police box rings as if breaking up the quiet dark night.
“Uwah!?”
The officer, startled, had flung his ballpoint pen across the room.
It clattered against the linoleum floor.
He thought to himself that it was just a cheap pen; no one would bother picking it up right away. The phone call was the priority now.
“Who is it at this hour…”
The police officer picked up the phone while grumbling.
“Yes, Tsukinashi Town police box.”
As he responded in his usual manner, a strange noise came through the earpiece.
Zari,zari.
Zarizari,zari.
Zarizari.
Zari.
Is it the sound of footsteps? What sounded like something pounding on concrete shook the policeman’s ear.
“Hello? If this is a prank then I’ll hang up.”
The suspicious policeman calls out.
Still, the caller said nothing. The only sound was the continuous noise of footsteps.
Strangely, there was no sound of breathing or any other human noise.
“Haah…… I’m hanging up.”
After making that declaration, the police officer returned the receiver to its original position.
What was that phone call about?
Was it really a prank? If so, they’re making fun of the police too much. He’d have to be more cautious if they called again.
Sighing with irritation, the officer decided to note the incident of the silent call in the logbook, but then he remembered—he had dropped his pen.
“It’s such a pain to pick it up……”
However, that’s the only pen he has.
When he reluctantly went to pick up that ballpen, he found it lying under the bench. He expressly bent over to pick up the pen.
Just as he reached out and picked up the ballpoint pen, the phone rang again.
Jiriririririri ~ n,jiriririririri~n.
The police officer glared at the phone.
Is it a prank like before?
If it’s a real report then he’ll have to hurry, but if it’s a prank then he must scold them. There’s also the slight grudge from earlier.
The police officer picks up the phone in annoyance, but responds in a voice that doesn’t let the other person know he’s in a bad mood.
“Yes, this is the Tsukinashi Town Police box.”
As expected, he heard the sound from earlier.
Zarizari,zari.
Zari,zari.
Zarizarizari.
Zari,zarizari.
Zari.
Zari.
The only sound coming through the receiver was that of footsteps. It seemed almost certain now that this was a prank.
To prank call a police station showed quite some nerve.
“Hey, stop prank calling the station. Real emergencies might—”
The officer’s stern warning was cut off before he could finish.
He, llohe, llo?
The word “hello” came through intermittently, distorted and fragmented
The voice sounded terribly warped, oscillating between low and high pitches, creating an unnerving atmosphere.
This was no ordinary prank call; something about it was deeply unsettling.
“Hiih”
The police officer instinctively threw down the receiver.
Gatsun!! (TN: crash)
The receiver hits the office desk and makes an unpleasant sound.
What the hell was that voice?
It seemed like it wasn’t human, but could it really be that it wasn’t human?
“No, it’s just my imagination……”
The police officer said to himself and put the phone receiver back in its original position. The phone was already off, and all he could hear was a beeping sound.
The police officer decides to forget about the eerie voice from earlier and returns to working on his logbook.
Should he write about that silent phone call? Could this be the reason why past police officers have started to dislike night shift work?
His hand trembled as he held the pen, making it difficult to write neatly. If he continued like this, he might become the laughing stock among the senior officers.
Zari,zari.
Zarizari,zari.
Zarizari,zarizari.
Zari,zari.
Zari.
It’s someone’s footsteps.
The sound of footsteps on sand or concrete, came from outside the police box.
“Excuse me.”
The footsteps cut off in front of the police box, and then a voice that sounded both male and female touched the police officer’s ears.
“Oh, yes.”
The police officer looked up.
“I’d like to ask for directions.”
“Yes, I’m coming.”
The officer fetched a map from the bookshelf and walked towards the entrance of the police station to assist the visitor.
However, just a few steps from reaching the door, he halted abruptly.
All he could see were feet—just feet standing at the entrance. Despite the building being designed to accommodate not only Japanese but also foreigners of various sizes, inexplicably, only a pair of feet extended into his view.
“Uhm~”
Slowly,
“Excuse me~”
A huge face peeks into the police box.
“He, llohe, lloo?”
He heard the voice that he heard from the receiver.
―― He has no memories of what happened after that.
