Seichō Matsumoto - Points And Lines

"It's a question of chance or design, isn't it?" Kasai said, recalling their conversation of the day before. He was in a good mood.

"I would say design. The four-minute plot. There is little ground for believing it was simply by chance."

"You said yesterday that if we looked closely at the plot we'd uncover the purpose."

"Yes, I remember."

"Why did Yasuda want to have others besides himself see Sayama and Otoki leave together on a trip that was to end in their suicide? The fact that he arranged to have a third party there to witness the scene makes the whole episode appear to have been planned. Isn't that what you inferred?"

"Yes, and I believe it."

"Good. So do I." The chief was emphatic. "Go ahead. Start working on the case as you see it."

"I'll do my best." Mihara extinguished his cigarette and made a formal bow.

The inspector seemed reluctant to let him go. "Where do you plan to begin?" His voice was casual, but from the expression on his face it was clear he was extremely interested.

"I'll begin by checking Yasuda's movements during those three days-January 19, 20 and 21."

Kasai stared at the ceiling as if in deep thought. "Nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first. Ah, yes! Since the bodies were discovered on the morning of the twenty-first you'll want to check his movements on the two previous days. Those two days could account for the distance between Tokyo and Kyushu, I suppose."

"Yes. Do you think the twenty-second should also be included?"

"How long does it take by express from Tokyo to Hakata?"

"A little over twenty hours. By super-express, seventeen hours and twenty-five minutes. On the Asakaze, that is." "I see. About forty hours for the round trip, then." Inspector Kasai, a cigarette between the fingers of one hand, the thumb of the other slowly rubbing his eye, was deep in thought.

Mihara was ushered into the same reception room he had visited the day before. The receptionist came in with a cup of tea and asked him to wait: Yasuda was on the telephone. It was rather a long wait. Mihara, absentmindedly staring at a still life painting on the wall, was thinking what a long time a business phone call could take. When Yasuda finally entered the room he was smiling and very apologetic. "I'm very sorry to have kept you waiting." As on the previous day, Mihara felt the force of his personality.

"I must apologize for bothering you again when you're so very busy." Mihara had stood up to greet him.

"No, no. No bother at all. Do please sit down. Unfortunately I was on the telephone and I had to keep you waiting." Yasuda was perfectly composed. The smile of greeting had not left his face.

"I'm glad to see that your business keeps you so busy."

"Thank you. That long phone call, however, was not on business. I was calling my home at Kamakura."

"Ah, your wife!" Mihara remembered what Yasuda had told him about his wife's convalescence at Kamakura.

"I talked with the maid. My wife's health has been worrying me. Since I can't go to Kamakura every day, I telephone to see how she is."

"You must be very concerned."

"Thank you."

"Mr. Yasuda, I came to ask you a few more questions." Mihara tried to make it sound casual.

"What could they be?" There was no uneasiness in Yasuda's expression. He was still smiling.

"This is rather a long time ago, but were you in Tokyo from January 20 through the 22? I wish to know just for the record."

Yasuda started to laugh. "Am I suspected of something?"

"No, no. Merely for reference, I assure you."

Mihara wondered whether Yasuda was going to speak of Sayama's suicide. From the man's face he could not tell how he was taking the reference to the three days in January.

"Let me see, January 20?" Yasuda pondered for a moment then took a small notebook from the desk drawer and thumbed through it. "I know. I was in Hokkaido."

"Hokkaido?"

"In Sapporo. There's a company there, the Futaba Company, with which I do a good deal of business. That's where I was on that day. I stayed in Hokkaido four days and returned to Tokyo on the twenty-fifth." Yasuda was still looking at his notebook.

Hokkaido! Mihara stared at him vacantly. That was at the opposite end of Japan from Kyushu.

"Shall I go into detail?" He was now looking at Mihara.

"If you don't mind." Mihara automatically took out his notebook and pencil.

"I left Ueno Station, Tokyo, on the 7:15 P.M. express, the Towada Express."

"Just a moment. Were you alone?"

"Yes. On business trips I am always alone."

"Please continue."

"I arrived at Aomori the following morning at 9:09. There, the train connects with the Sei-kan ferry, leaving at 9:50. I went aboard." Yasuda had turned back to his notebook. "The ferry arrives at Hakodate at 2:20. There's a connection there with the express to Nemuro. That's the Marimo, leaving at 2:50. I arrived at Sapporo at 8:34. I was taken directly to an inn called Marusō by Mr. Kawanishi from Futaba Company, who met me at the station. That was the night of the twenty-first. I stayed there through the twenty-third, left Hokkaido for the return journey on the twenty-fourth and arrived back in Tokyo on the twenty-fifth." Mihara took down the details.

"I hope this information will be of help." Yasuda put his notebook on the desk. Again, he was smiling. "I see. Thank you very much."

"Your work must be tedious. These endless investigations…" It was said quietly. To Mihara it sounded like sarcasm.

"Please don't feel offended. These are just routine inquiries." "Of course. I'm not in the least put out. Please come back if you have any further questions."

"I'm sorry to have taken up so much of your time." Yasuda saw Mihara to the door. He was still quite calm; there was no sign of uneasiness in his manner.

Before returning to the office Mihara stopped in at his favorite coffee shop in Yūraku-chō. Seated at a table, he took out his notebook, tore out a blank page and again wrote out the information Yasuda had given him:

January 20: Left Ueno 7:15 (Towada). Arr. Aomori 21st, 9:09. Left Aomori 9:50 (Sei-kan ferry). Arr. Hakodate 2:20. Left Hakodate 2:50 (Marimo). Arr. Sapporo 8:34 (met at station).

January 21-24: Marusō Inn. Left January 24.

January 25: Arr. Tokyo

The waitress serving him noticed the schedule. "Are you planning a trip to Hokkaido?" she asked. "Maybe," Mihara replied, forcing a smile. The girl seemed envious. "You are lucky. You've just been to Kyushu and now it's Hokkaido. Why, that's from the extreme west to the extreme north!"

Yes, the case had spread out and now extended from one end of Japan to the other.

Mihara returned to his office and reported to Inspector Kasai. He repeated Yasuda's story and showed him the schedule he had put in writing.

The inspector looked at it intently. "Hokkaido is a surprise! The other end of Japan!"

"Yes, quite a distance from Kyushu. Disappointing!" Mihara said it with feeling.

"Do you believe he's telling the truth?" Kasai was still looking at the schedule, elbows on the table, chin resting between his fists.

"Yasuda is no fool. He wouldn't tell a lie that could be easily found out. I'm sure he's telling the truth."

"All right. But check his statements."

"Certainly. I'll ask the police at Sapporo to question the Futaba Company representative who is supposed to have met Yasuda at the station. I'll also have them check the inn where he said he stayed."

"Right. Get that done at once."

As Mihara stood up to leave the inspector stopped him. "Just a minute. How about Yasuda's family?"

"He has a wife who has tuberculosis. She lives apart from him, at Kamakura."

"Yes, yes, you told me that yesterday. Because of the frequent trips he makes to Kamakura he probably found out about the four-minute train interval. Wasn't that the point?"