Yasuda's trip to Hokkaido:
His signature on the passenger register of the Sei-kan ferry. (No. 17. Connects with the Marimo at Hakodate.)
Division Chief Ishida's statement.
After passing Otaru, Ishida introduced a Hokkaido government official to Yasuda.
Yasuda met Kawanishi at Sapporo Station.
Deep in thought, Mihara sat staring at his memo. The four items looked irrefutable; they were like four concrete blocks placed one on top of the other. But they must be toppled, he decided. They absolutely had to be pulled down. How could the express Satsuma, leaving Hakata in Kyushu at 7:24 on the twenty-first possibly be connected with the express Marimo arriving at Sapporo at 8:34 the same day. It was impossible. Impossible of course, meant that it could not be. But, but… Tatsuo Yasuda did actually appear at Sapporo Station in Hokkaido. Holding his head in both hands, Mihara looked at his memo for the tenth time. Then, suddenly, he noticed something strange.
The train had passed Otaru when Inamura of the Hokkaido government was said to have been introduced to Yasuda. Yasuda was reported to have come from another coach to say goodbye to Ishida. Wasn't it curious that he should put in an appearance only after the train had passed Otaru Station? Ishida, Inamura and Yasuda boarded the Marimo at Hakodate but occupied different coaches. Why did Inamura get to meet Yasuda only after they had passed Otaru? Hadn't Yasuda called on Ishida from time to time during the journey?
Mihara took the timetable from his pocket. He saw that it took five hours by express from Hakodate to Otaru. Yasuda was on intimate terms with the division chief; surely he would not have avoided him during those five hours. Why didn't Yasuda ride in the same coach with Ishida and spend the time chatting with him? Of course it could have been diffidence on Yasuda's part, but there was no reason for not calling on him once during those five hours.
Inamura was a disinterested witness. He said he had met Yasuda for the first time after the train had passed Otaru. Could it be that Tatsuo Yasuda had boarded the Marimo at Otaru station?
The question flashed through Mihara's mind. If true, it would explain why they had met only after passing Otaru. It would also explain why Yasuda claimed to be in a different coach: he didn't want it known that he had come aboard at Otaru. He appeared before Ishida and Inamura as soon as the train pulled out of Otaru station, leaving Inamura with the impression he had been aboard since Hakodate.
Mihara thought he saw a ray of light piercing the gloom that had enveloped him. Something was vaguely taking shape. His heart beat faster.
But Yasuda could not have boarded the express at Otaru.
To do so, he would have to leave Hakodate on an earlier train than the Marimo in order to reach Otaru in time. With the available train connections, this was not possible.
But the thought that Yasuda might have gotten on at Otaru made Mihara pursue it further. It was hard to believe; he was not ready to accept it, but he felt there was something to the possibility. He finished his cup of tea that was now quite cold and left the dining hall. His mind was in a turmoil and he walked down the stairs in a daze.
Why did Yasuda get on the Marimo at Otaru station? Why should he want to get on at Otaru? Mihara kept turning the question over and over in his mind. If Yasuda did get on at Otaru, then he must have taken a train that left before the Marimo. The earlier train was the Akashiya, leaving Hakodate at 11:39. Still earlier were two local trains and an express which left at 6 A.M. But all of these were completely out of the question, of course.
To Mihara, Yasuda had to be situated at the scene of the double suicide in Kyushu between the hours of 10 and 11 on the night of the twentieth. He would look for the reasons later; Yasuda simply had to be there. But in order to get to Hokkaido from Hakata there was only the one express to Tokyo the following morning, leaving at 7:24. No matter which way he looked at it he encountered the same dead end.
"Without wings," he muttered to himself, "Yasuda couldn't possibly be in Hokkaido at that hour." Suddenly, he missed his step and fell on the stairs. The stairwell was brightly lighted.
He stifled a cry. Why hadn't he thought of it before? His ears were ringing. Picking himself up, he ran back to his office. He found the timetable and quickly turned to the back pages. This was the section reserved for Japan Airlines. His hands were unsteady. He read the flight schedule for the month of January:
Fukuoka 8:00 A.M…Tokyo 12:00 P.M. (Flight No. 302)
Tokyo 1:00 P.M…Sapporo 4:00 P.M. (Flight No. 503)
"I've got it!" Mihara took a deep breath. His ears were still ringing.
By plane, Yasuda could leave Hakata at 8 A.M. and arrive at Sapporo at four in the afternoon. Why hadn't this occurred to him before? He had concentrated on trains and could see no alternative to the Satsuma Express leaving Hakata at 7:24. He felt like pounding his stupid head. At long last his mind was clear of the fixation.
He telephoned the airline office. He asked how long it took to get from the Sapporo airport, located at Chitose, to the city proper.
"The bus takes about an hour and twenty minutes," he was informed. "From the bus terminal to the Sapporo railway station is a ten-minute walk."
Adding an hour and thirty minutes to 4:00 made 5:30. Yasuda could be at Sapporo station by 5:30. There were still three hours before the Marimo arrived at 8:34. Where was Yasuda during that time and what was he doing?
Mihara checked the schedule of the main line trains to Hakodate. He found a local leaving Sapporo at 5:40 that arrived at Otaru at 6:44. Next, he turned to the schedule of trains going to Sapporo on the same line. There was the Marimo Express, leaving Hakodate at 2:50 and arriving at Otaru at 7:51. This left an interval of an hour and seven minutes between the two trains. Yasuda would have a leisurely wait at Otaru Station before boarding the Marimo and heading back to Sapporo. He must have met Inamura shortly after boarding the train.
Why Yasuda had met Inamura for the first time after passing Otaru now became clear. Yasuda hadn't waited at Sapporo for three hours. Upon reaching the airport bus terminal, he hurried over to the Sapporo railway station and caught the local train for Otaru that left ten minutes later. At Sapporo he had had only ten minutes; at Otaru, a little over one hour. Yasuda had taken the greatest advantage of the least amount of time.
Mihara was reminded of the use the man had made of the four minutes between trains at Tokyo Station. He was impressed. Yasuda, he decided, was extraordinarily skillful in his employment of time.
He reported at once to Inspector Kasai. He went into detail, showing him the timetables. His voice betrayed his excitement.
"You've got it, I believe!" Kasai looked keenly at Mihara. His eyes seemed almost angry, reflecting his own excitement. "A fine job! This breaks Yasuda's alibi, although it seems odd to call it an alibi."
"I don't find it strange," Mihara insisted. "Up to now we believed that Yasuda could not have been at the scene of the suicides at the time they were committed. That is no longer true."
"You say it's no longer true that Yasuda could not have been there," the chief said, tapping the edge of his desk with his fingers. "Then do you believe it possible that he could have been there?"
"Certainly," Mihara replied, a note of triumph in his voice.
"You'll have to prove it," the chief said, again looking straight at Mihara.
"I can't do it right away. Give me time." He looked a little hurt.
"What you want to say is that there are still many points that are unclear. Isn't that it?"
"I'm afraid so."
"For instance, that Yasuda's alibi has been broken, but not completely."