Mihara knew what the inspector meant by strange. There was no apparent point in producing witnesses to the departure of two people bound on a suicidal journey. As for Yasuda, what part had he played in the love suicide? It was a puzzling question for Mihara also.
"Yes, there is something very suspect here."
"There is indeed." The inspector nodded in agreement.
"When we put together all the facts they add up to a plot by Yasuda. Yet there is no apparent purpose. There can't be a plot without a purpose and for the moment we don't know of any. But I'm sure if we pursue the case we'll be able to find one."
Inspector Kasai kept nodding his approval. Both men were aroused.
"Can you understand why Yasuda purposely chose those four minutes that would let the girls see the super-express on platform 15 from platform 13? If it were merely to have them observe the scene, why couldn't they have gone directly to platform 15?" The inspector posed the questions as though he were giving Mihara a test.
"That I can understand. Platform 15 is exclusively for long-distance trains; it would look too deliberate. It would be more natural to say that he had to go to Kamakura and have them witness the scene from platform 13. The reason why he took such pains over those particular four minutes was to make it look natural."
The inspector smiled. It meant that he was in agreement. "By the way, we've received a report from the conductor who was on the Asakaze on January 14."
"What?" Mihara leaned forward in his seat.
"Unfortunately, the conductor doesn't recall the vacant seat. He says he can't remember; it happened so long ago. A stupid young man! If he had remembered, we would know where Otoki left the train."
8 Hokkaido and Kyushu
When Kiichi Mihara reported to work the next morning he found the chief already at his desk.
"Good morning, sir."
"Good morning." Inspector Kasai was reading some documents. He looked up and beckoned to Mihara. "Come here a moment. Are you rested up from your trip to Kyushu?" He took a sip of tea from the extra large cup at his elbow.
"I've had two good nights' rest; I feel fine," Mihara answered with a smile.
"I'd like to give you some leave but that's not possible under the circumstances. You understand, of course."
"Of course."
"Now, about Tatsuo Yasuda." The chief started to talk business. "Have a seat." Mihara took the chair in front of the chief's desk.
"According to our investigation Yasuda seems to have close connections with X Ministry."
"Just as we thought."
"The amount of machinery he has been supplying is not very large but he seems to be on close terms with Yoshio Ishida, the division chief there."
"Division Chief Ishida?" Mihara looked up at his chief. Yoshio Ishida was an important official in the X Ministry and headed the division involved in the scandal under investigation. He was highly regarded for his intelligence and efficiency. However, the police had marked him as a suspect in the case.
"Yes, they are quite intimate, I'm told. An interesting piece of information!"
"Very!" Mihara thought of Yasuda whom he had questioned the day before. The man was obviously very clever. Those round, friendly eyes that were never still were the eyes of a shrewd businessman. Whether a person with such self-confidence could impose his will upon others Mihara could not judge, but he had certainly felt something attractive and at the same time unapproachable in Tatsuo Yasuda. Indeed, he believed such a man could probably win the confidence of someone like Ishida if he set his mind to it.
"Have we found out anything about Yasuda's relations with Sayama?" Mihara asked.
"You've been thinking about that, too. From what I gather, there seems to have been no close connection there," Kasai answered, holding the oversize cup of tea in both hands. "Of course, we can't be sure that Sayama had nothing to do with Yasuda since he was assistant chief of the section and therefore familiar with the business of that office. But our investigation so far shows nothing more than an ordinary business relationship between the two. We can find no private or personal behind-the-scenes contact between them."
"Is that so?" Mihara took the cigarette his chief offered him and lit it.
"How about investigating Yasuda for a bit?" Kasai thrust his head forward. This was a characteristic gesture when he was especially alert.
"I think it's necessary. I'd like to have a hand in it." Mihara studied the chief's face. The man's eyes were unusually bright.
"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.