I've got to go to Hokkaido, he said to himself. In order to find out what was wrong with a thing, one had to see it, touch it, feel it. This was equally true of an investigation.
The next morning, as soon as Inspector Kasai arrived Mihara went up to his desk.
"We have the reply from Sapporo," he said, showing Kasai the telegram.
"Just as Yasuda reported," the inspector commented. "Sit down." He knew Mihara wanted to talk to him.
"I went to Kamakura yesterday," Mihara began.
"I know, I read the memo you left on my desk."
"I called on Yasuda's wife. I wanted to check his statements. She's in bed with tuberculosis, just as he said."
"Which means that everything he's told us so far has been true."
"I suppose so. But I came upon an interesting piece of information." Mihara then told him about the magazine article by Ryko Yasuda which the doctor had given him to read, and how it had mentioned Yasuda's interest in the railway timetable.
"That is interesting, to be sure." The chief folded his hands on the desk. "It could have some bearing on the four-minute train interval at Tokyo Station."
"I believe so too." Mihara was encouraged. "The fact that Yasuda deliberately had witnesses present during those four minutes makes me believe that he had something to do with the double suicide. This is just a hunch. I have nothing to support it. But I feel almost certain that he had something to do with it." Mihara was finally admitting that he believed a crime had been committed in connection with the suicides.
"Exactly!"
His boss, he discovered, was of the same opinion.
"I would like your permission to go to Hokkaido. I cannot accept the story that Yasuda was on his way to Hokkaido the day of the suicides. Even though we have the report from the Sapporo police, I can't help feeling that there are hidden facts in the case. When we find out what they are, we'll know why Yasuda needed to have a third party witness Sayama's departure from Tokyo Station."
Kasai did not answer at once. His sat thinking, his eyes averted. Suddenly he said, "Good! We've come this far. Go and investigate and clear away the suspicions. I'll talk to the section chief."
Mihara looked up at him, a question in his glance. "Is the section chief opposed to further investigation?"
"Not exactly opposed," Kasai answered vaguely. "There's no point in pursuing an investigation when the case is clearly one of suicide, he once said to me. For that reason he doesn't want to waste time on it. But don't you worry, I'll talk to him."
Inspector Kasai smiled at Mihara as if to encourage him.
10 An Eyewitness in Hokkaido
Mihara took the express Towada from Ueno Station the following evening. This was the train Yasuda claimed he had taken to Hokkaido. Mihara wanted to follow in his footsteps as closely as possible.
Only after passing Taira was Mihara able to fall asleep. The two passengers across the aisle never stopped talking and their loud voices and broad local dialect both amused and disturbed him. He was unable to relax. But by eleven o'clock the day's exertions took their toll; he dozed off. He was awakened at Sendai by the noise and bustle around him, but dropped off again and slept until the train arrived at Asamushi.
The sea looked fresh and inviting in the early dawn. As Mihara was starting to get ready to leave, the conductor appeared at the entrance to the car. He greeted the passengers with a cheerful "Good morning!" then announced, "the train is about to arrive at the terminal, Aomori Station. All of you must be very tired from the long journey. Will those who wish to board the Sei-kan ferry to Hakodate please sign the passenger register. I will now pass out the forms."
He passed through the car and handed the blank forms to those passengers who requested them. Since this was Mihara's first trip to Hokkaido the procedure was unfamiliar to him. He held out his hand for one. It was a single sheet with two identical columns marked A and B, the same information to be entered in each. The completed form had to be surrendered at the gate, upon leaving the station.
The train arrived at Aomori at 9:09. Although there was still forty minutes before the departure of the ferry, the passengers started running down the long platform in order to get a good seat on the boat. Mihara was badly jostled as he was swept along by the crowd.
The ferry docked at Hakodate at 2:20 in the afternoon. Twenty minutes later the express Marimo departed. The connections were as regular as links in a chain.
Mihara was disappointed in his first impressions of Hokkaido. For the next five and a half hours he was thoroughly bored-and very weary by nightfall when the train pulled into Sapporo. Yasuda had probably traveled from Tokyo in comfort in a second class sleeper or, at least, a reserved seat in second class. A police inspector's travel allowance, however, was limited and such luxury was not for him. His back ached and his limbs were stiff.
Outside the station he inquired about an inexpensive inn and was recommended to one nearby. At the Marus he could have checked Yasuda's movements more easily, but that inn, he knew, would be beyond his means. It started to rain early. Listening to the patter on the roof, Mihara quickly fell asleep.
It was after ten o'clock the next morning when he awoke with a start. The rain had stopped; sunlight was pouring into the room. But the air was chilly. Mihara realized he was in Hokkaido.
As soon as he had finished breakfast he set out for the Sapporo Central Police Station. It was to be a courtesy call.
He thanked them for the telegram they had sent to Tokyo some days before.
"Was the report satisfactory?" The chief detective appeared apprehensive: someone from the Metropolitan Police Board had come all the way from Tokyo. Mihara quickly reassured him. He had come to make a personal survey, he explained.
A detective from the police station offered to accompany him to the Marusō Inn. Mihara felt he could not refuse.
The inn had been checked earlier so there was no difficulty. The maid in charge at once brought out the guest book in which Yasuda's name was entered. "He arrived about 9 o'clock on the night of January 21," she explained. "He stayed till the twenty-fourth. During the day he was out on business but returned early each evening. There was nothing unusual about his behaviour. He was a quiet guest."
The maid's description of Yasuda clearly identified him. Mihara retained the guest book for future reference. Leaving the inn, he thanked the detective for his help and dismissed him. He wanted to be on his own.
The Futaba Company dealt in machinery. It occupied rather large premises on the main street of Sapporo. A diesel engine was on display in the window.
Kawanishi, a bald-headed man of about fifty years of age, introduced himself as the business manager of the company. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Mihara's card. "A detective from the Sapporo police station questioned me the other day about Mr. Yasuda," he said. "He asked me whether I had met him at the station. Is Mr. Yasuda under suspicion?"
"No, that's not the point." Mihara hastened to reassure him. "We're merely checking references. No need to be concerned. How long have you been doing business with Mr. Yasuda?"
"About five or six years. I've always found him to be a man of his word-one I could trust," Kawanishi added, with deliberate emphasis.
Mihara nodded several times as though he approved the statement. "Did you meet him at the station when he arrived on January 21?"
For the answer to this question Mihara had come all the way to Hokkaido.
"Yes," Kawanishi replied. "I went to meet him because I received a telegram from him that he would arrive on the Marimo on the twenty-first. He asked me to meet him in the waiting room of the station. Unfortunately, I didn't keep the telegram."
"Do you always meet him at the station when he comes to Sapporo?"
"No, not as a rule. But this time he arrived at night and our office was closed. He had some urgent business to discuss so I went to the station."