Seichō Matsumoto - Points And Lines

"No doubt Ishida is one of those who are rejoicing."

"He must be the happiest of the lot. Generally, the assistant chief is the conscientious type who takes the responsibility for the entire ministry and will give his life for it. Whenever there is a big scandal, it is always the man in the subordinate position who commits suicide to cover up for the others."

"So you think that Sayama's death…"

"In the past they usually died alone. In Sayama's case a woman is involved. This makes it a little different, and perhaps gives it a romantic touch."

The chief fell silent. Mihara knew well what he was thinking but made no comment. He realized that the Public Prosecutor's Office, the chief of the detective section, and his own superior were on his side. He felt greatly encouraged.

Mihara took the file on Sayama and Otoki and reexamined the reference materials. He read the report of the scene and of the inquest and studied the photographs and the statements of the witnesses. He read every word carefully. The man and the woman had taken cyanide and had died side by side, almost in each other's arms. He had been through all this many times before; he could find nothing new. Yet once again it conjured up the figure of Yasuda, who had gone out of his way to have others witness the departure, together, from Tokyo, of Sayama and Otoki.

Three days later the investigation of the passengers on the three planes was completed. Not a single false name had been found. They were all authentic and borne by known persons.

"Yes, I was on that plane; there is no mistake." All 143 had answered in similar terms.

It was a great shock to Mihara. He held his head in his hands in an agony of doubt.

Mr. Kiichi Mihara

Assistant Inspector

2nd Detective Section

Metropolitan Police Board

Tokyo

Dear Mr. Mihara:

Please forgive my long silence. Three months have gone by since I had the privilege of meeting you in Hakata. It was an unexpected pleasure to receive your long letter the other day. I want to thank you for your kindness and apologize for being such a poor correspondent.

When we first met it was early spring and a cold wind was blowing across the Sea of Genkai. Now we have reached the middle of May and it is too hot even to stroll in the sun. Time passes quickly. Our popular Dontaku Festival took place as usual early this month. It was very gay. When this holiday is announced, we say that summer is around the corner. Some day, when you have the time, I hope you will attend our festival.

I see from your letter that you are busy working on a very difficult case. I feel ashamed at my own idleness and at the same time envy you your activity. If only I were younger! It is frustrating to be old and living in such a remote corner of the country. But these are the querulous words of an old man; please overlook them.

I remember doing some work on my own, under the disapproving eyes of my superiors here at the police station, on the case of the double suicide at Kashii Beach. I am now deeply moved and very happy to learn that thanks to your efforts, my modest investigations are about to lead to the solution of this important case. I am grateful to you for keeping me informed of the recent developments. From your letter I realize how hard you have been working and what problems you faced. You kindly asked me if I had any suggestions. Unfortunately, this senile brain of mine is unable to advance any bright ideas. All I can do is compliment you on your earnestness and zeal.

I need not tell you that a detective should never give up a case; he must pursue it all the way. You may be offended by this obvious remark. Please forgive an old man who is inclined at times to talk out of turn.

I have been attached to this police station for twenty years and assigned to a surprising number of cases. Among them were several that are still unsolved. Now that I look back at them, I see some I wish I had handled differently. And in each case I now believe I simply didn't work hard enough. Had I persevered a little more, some of them would have been solved. Usually, it needs only a little more persistence.

Let me give you an example which troubles me to this day. It happened some twenty years ago. The decomposed body of an old woman was discovered at Hirao, on the outskirts of Fukuoka City. There were telltale marks around the throat, so the case was set down as death by strangulation. This was in May. According to the police doctor the crime had been committed more than three months before. Corroborating evidence was the thick winter jacket the old woman was wearing. This estimate of the time when the crime was assumed to have been committed did not seem unreasonable since she lived alone in an isolated house in the mountains and had little to do with her neighbors. However, the person I suspected was a man who had arrived from Formosa in early April and who lived not far from the victim's home. In other words, during the cold months, from January to early March, when heavy jackets are worn, this man was still in Formosa. I felt certain he was guilty but the official assumption that the woman had been murdered some time in February and the fact that my suspect had arrived from Formosa in April prevented me from arresting him. And so the case remained unsolved.

As I look back on it now I believe the police doctor misjudged the time of death. This is a difficult matter to determine, especially in the case of a decomposed corpse. Some doctors will make it earlier, others later; there will always be these differences of opinion. Our police doctor decided she had been dead a long while. Also, the fact that she was wearing a winter jacket helped to determine the time.

I still believe there are cold days even in April. When a cold front-the term we now use-approaches, we have an unseasonably cold spell. The day the old woman was killed might have been one of those unexpectedly cold days, and she might have taken the warm jacket out of the closet and worn it. This would be normal in an old person. Just because she was wearing a heavy jacket need not mean that it was winter; it could have been April. For that reason, the crime could have been committed by the man I suspected.

By the time I had reached this conclusion it was too late. I regret I had not thought of it that day, twenty years ago. If I had persevered a little more I might have come up with the idea; but the police doctor's statement and the winter jacket made me let the decision pass unchallenged.

This is only one example. I give it to you as it comes to my mind. There are other, similar regrets in my past.

In short, if one is convinced that a certain person has committed the crime, one should not give up; one should pursue him relentlessly. Sometimes, a preconceived opinion will make us overlook the obvious. This is a frightening thing. We call it common sense but it often leaves us with a blind spot. Even if something appears to be obvious one should investigate, objectively, to make absolutely sure.

All that you have told me about the man called Tatsuo Yasuda and how he made certain persons witness the departure of Sayama and Otoki from Tokyo Station, I find most interesting. I too am convinced that this Yasuda played an important part in the double suicide case. I also believe, with you, that he was on the beach at Kashii that night and in some way participated in the incident.

This brings something to my mind. I still believe that of the two couples who left Kashii main station and Nishitetsu Kashii Station on January 20, the night of the suicides, one was Sayama and Otoki and the other Yasuda and an unidentified woman. These two couples got off the trains at almost the same time and both walked in the direction of the beach.