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.
I wonder what part was played by the woman who accompanied Yasuda. If Yasuda was involved in the double suicide he would need a woman accomplice; he could not execute his plan without her help. Now, what was his plan? After I received your letter I went to Kashii Beach once again. I chose to go late at night. It was pleasantly cool, very different from the temperature at the time of the incident. Probably tempted by the weather, several couples were strolling along the beach. The lights of the town were faint in the distance and the couples were mere shadows. An ideal spot for young lovers, I decided. What I want to say is that our two couples, Sayama and Otoki and Yasuda and his woman companion, on the night of January 20 were also mere shadows, moving along the beach like the couples of today. And I also want to point out that it is very dark at that spot, so dark that at a distance of six or seven meters the couples cannot see each other.
I regret that I have nothing more to contribute at this time. I have some vague opinions, but they would be of no help to you.
Let me now refer to your question concerning the inn where Yasuda stayed the night of the twenty-first. I have done all I could but so far I have been unable to identify it. It happened several months ago, many people register under false names and some inns do not even keep a register. I shall continue to check, of course, but I hold out little hope of finding it.
Until recently I believed that the woman who telephoned Sayama the night of the twentieth was Otoki, but could it not have been the woman who accompanied Yasuda? This is just an idea, of course; I have no evidence. But it occurs to me that if Yasuda had had previous contacts with Sayama and knew he would register at the inn under the name of Sugawara, it would be simple to have his companion ask for Mr. Sugawara when she telephoned. It did not have to be Otoki.
And, if we carry this assumption a little further, the person for whom Sayama waited all week at the inn in Hakata need not have been Otoki, with whom he committed suicide, but this mysterious woman. If this is the case, then we can understand why Otoki did not travel with Sayama all the way to Hakata but got off either at Atami or Shizuoka. Isn't it possible that Otoki's part in the tragedy was simply to get on the train with Sayama at Tokyo Station and travel a short distance with him? This possibility answers the question why Yasuda wanted to have someone else observe Sayama and Otoki entering the train together. Perhaps he wanted the witnesses to see these two start off together gaily, like lovers. Why? I don't know. I have no evidence to support my theory. I must give it more thought.
If my assumption is correct, then the next question is where was Otoki from the time she got off the train at Atami or Shizu-oka until she committed suicide on Kashii Beach the night of the twentieth? If we can find the answer to this, we will have a real basis for the assumption. That Otoki did not accompany Sayama all the way to Hakata can be shown by the dining car receipt, made out to one person, which was found in Sayama's coat pocket. I stated this as my opinion when you were here.
As you say in your letter, if it is essential that Yasuda be situated at the scene of the double suicide on the night of the twentieth, then it would be impossible for him to have arrived at Sapporo by the Marimo Express on the twenty-first. If there is no evidence that he used planes then I'm afraid we have overlooked something, while taking other facts for granted. This is what I meant by the ancient story of the old woman and her winter jacket. Please do not leave a stone unturned.
I've been carried away by the pleasure your long letter gave me and fear I have written you a lot of nonsense in return. I am embarrassed to have made you listen to such idle chatter. Unlike you who are young and alert, I am an old, worn-out hack, and you must make allowances for my humble opinions.
If there is anything I can do for you here in Kyushu please do not hesitate to let me know. I would be happy to cooperate to the extent of my ability.
I sincerely hope that your hard work will be rewarded and that soon you will be able to break the case. Please come on a leisurely visit to Kyushu when you have the time.
Sincerely yours,
Jūtarō Torigai
Mihara was tired. The wall still blocked his way. He had been unable to find even the smallest crack in it.