Seichō Matsumoto - Points And Lines

"Tatsuo Yasuda. What's his business?"

"I've heard that he has a company in the Nihombashi district that manufactures machinery."

"I see. Is he an old customer?"

"He's been coming here for about three or four years. Otoki was generally in charge of his parties."

"That's why he knew her well, I suppose. Let me ask you something. Who saw Otoki first from the platform where you were standing?"

"Mr. Yasuda. He said, 'Isn't that Otoki?' and pointed her out to Tomiko and me."

"He did, did he?" Mihara became silent. He seemed to be preparing the next question, or perhaps his thoughts were on something quite different.

Mihara smiled and broke the silence. "When you and Tomiko saw Mr. Yasuda off, did you decide to do that on the spur of the moment?"

"Yes. We decided to do it at dinner that afternoon. Mr. Yasuda treated us to dinner at the Coq d'Or on the Ginza."

"Oh, he treated you to dinner? I suppose you made the date previously?"

"Yes. Mr. Yasuda was here the night before. It was then he invited us to join him on the Ginza at half-past three the next afternoon."

"I see. At 3:30. Then?"

"When we were almost through dinner Mr. Yasuda told us he was going to Kamakura and asked us to see him off at the station. So Tomiko and I went along."

"What time was that?"

"Let me see!" Yaeko inclined her head, as if in thought. "Yes, I asked him what train he was taking and he said the 6:12 on the Yokosuka Line. I remember him saying that it was already 5:35, so if we left right away we'd be there in time."

"The 6:12 on the Yokosuka Line." Mihara recalled the diagram he had made the night before. The 6:12 arrived at platform 13 at 6:01. Since Yasuda could see the Asakaze on track 15, it meant that they had arrived on platform 13 before 6:01.

"When the three of you arrived at platform 13, had the Yokosuka Line train already pulled in?"

"No, not yet." Yaeko answered at once.

"Then it must have arrived about 6 or a little before?" Mihara asked, so quietly it was more a comment than a question.

"Yes, the platform clock showed a couple of minutes before 6."

"You were quick to notice that."

"That's because Mr. Yasuda kept looking at his watch while we were in the taxi. Naturally, I began to worry about the time, too, and hoped he wouldn't miss the 6:12 train."

"You say Mr. Yasuda kept looking at his watch?"

"Oh, many times. Even while we were still at the Coq d'Or."

Mihara started thinking. He was deep in thought, even after he left Yaeko and got on the bus.

Yasuda had kept looking at his watch. Was this simply because he wanted to catch a train? Could it be that he was interested in catching something else? Perhaps he wanted to be in time for the four-minute interval.

In order to get a clear view of the Asakaze it could be neither before nor after those four minutes. If they arrived earlier, the 5:57 Yokosuka Line train would still be at the station and Yasuda would have to take it to Kamakura. Later, the 6:01 would have pulled in and blocked the view of the Asakaze. Did Yasuda keep worrying about the time because he was aiming to arrive at the station during those four minutes? Mihara wondered whether he was being too suspicious. He tried to dismiss the questions that assailed him but found it impossible. The more thought he gave to the facts the more suspicious he became.

Why did Yasuda have to plan it this way? The answer was simple if his suspicions were correct. Yasuda wanted Yaeko and Tomiko to see Sayama and Otoki board the super-express Asakaze; he wanted them there as eyewitnesses.

His heart beat faster. The figure of the man called Tatsuo Yasuda grew large in his mind. I must see him, he decided.

He acted upon it at once. That same afternoon he went to Yasuda's office. The reception room was bright with the afternoon sun pouring in through the window. Tatsuo Yasuda, Mihara's business card in his hand and smiling pleasantly, entered the room and asked his visitor to take a seat.

"I must apologize for taking up your time. I've come to ask you a strange question," Mihara began.

"Yes, of course. Please feel free to ask." Yasuda offered him a cigarette from a box on the table. Taking one himself, he then lit both from his lighter. He seemed completely at ease.

"I've been assigned to investigate the case of double suicide involving Kenichi Sayama of the X Ministry. It was in the papers; you may have heard about it."

Puffing on his cigarette, Yasuda nodded. "Yes, indeed! I've more than heard about it. I knew Mr. Sayama. In fact, he did me a few favors. This was in connection with the ministry, which we supply with some of our machinery."

This was news to Mihara. He had not known that the Yasuda Company was doing business with the government.

"I feel very sorry for Mr. Sayama," Yasuda continued. "He was a good man. I didn't think he was the type that would commit suicide." There was a note of genuine feeling in his voice.

"It is about Mr. Sayama that I've come to see you." Mihara put his hand in his pocket, then withdrew it, undecided whether to consult his notebook. "I understand that you saw him, accompanied by a woman, board a train at Tokyo Station. I have this information from a waitress at the Koyuki Restaurant."

"That's correct." Yasuda leaned forward. "It was late one afternoon. I had to go to Kamakura and the waitresses from the Koyuki saw me off at the station. There, I saw Mr. Sayama and Otoki on another platform, about to board the the super-express. I called the girls' attention to them. I knew them both but had never seen them together so I was rather surprised. I didn't suspect a romance. I decided this was just another one of life's surprises." Yasuda's eyes narrowed as if troubled by the smoke. "I never dreamed that they would meet death at the end of that journey. I feel very sorry for them indeed. It all goes to show that one should not get that deeply involved." He smiled, and there was charm in his smile.

"Had Mr. Sayama ever been to the Koyuki?" Mihara asked.

"I don't believe so. I often use the restaurant for my business contacts but Mr. Sayama was never one of my guests. People become suspicious if you entertain government officials. I'm not saying this just because you are from the Metropolitan Police Board. But the X Ministry happens to be involved in a scandal."

"It's believed that Mr. Sayama committed suicide in order to protect his superiors. Do you think it possible that Otoki died with him because she felt sorry for him?"

"I don't know." Yasuda's blunt answer seemed to say that speculation was none of his business. "What surprised me was the fact of their relationship. I hadn't the slightest idea they were intimate."

"Did you know Otoki well?"

"She was often in charge of the parties I gave at the restaurant. I knew her quite well. I don't mean that there was anything between us. Our friendship was restricted to the Koyuki; it didn't extend beyond. So one could say either that I knew her or that I didn't know her. In any event, I was not aware that she was Sayama's mistress."

Mihara asked one more question. It was an important one. "Do you go often to Kamakura?"

Yasuda smiled, baring his teeth slightly. "My wife lives in Kamakura."

"Your wife?"

"She has tuberculosis. We've been living apart for a long time. I rented a small house for her near Gokuraku-ji. She lives there with an old servant. I visit her once a week."

"You must be concerned about her."

Yasuda bowed his head slightly, as if to thank Mihara for his sympathy. Mihara had yet other questions to ask but did not find the moment opportune.

He got up to leave. "Again I apologize for taking up your time."

"Don't mention it." Yasuda also rose from his seat. "I fear I've not been of much help. Please come again, anytime, if you have further questions to ask." He spoke politely, narrowing his eyes and smiling at his visitor.