Points And Lines

'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.

'This is rather a long time ago, but were you in Tokyo from January 20 through the 22? I wish to know just for the record.'

Yasuda started to laugh. 'Am I suspected of something?'

'No, no. Merely for reference, I assure you.'

Mihara wondered whether Yasuda was going to speak of Sayama's suicide. From the man's face he could not tell how he was taking the reference to the three days in January.

'Let me see, January 20?' Yasuda pondered for a moment then took a small notebook from the desk drawer and thumbed through it. 'I know. I was in Hokkaido.'

'Hokkaido?'

'In Sapporo. There's a company there, the Futaba Company, with which I do a good deal of business. That's where I was on that day. I stayed in Hokkaido four days and returned to Tokyo on the twenty-fifth.' Yasuda was still looking at his notebook.

Hokkaido! Mihara stared at him vacantly. That was at the opposite end of Japan from Kyushu.

'Shall I go into detail?' He was now looking at Mihara.

'If you don't mind.' Mihara automatically took out his notebook and pencil.

'I left Ueno Station, Tokyo, on the 7:15 P.M. express, the Towada Express.'

'Just a moment. Were you alone?'

'Yes. On business trips I am always alone.'

'Please continue.'

'I arrived at Aomori the following morning at 9:09. There, the train connects with the Sei-kan ferry, leaving at 9:50. I went aboard.' Yasuda had turned back to his notebook. 'The ferry arrives at Hakodate at 2:20. There's a connection there with the express to Nemuro. That's the Marimo, leaving at 2:50. I arrived at Sapporo at 8:34. I was taken directly to an inn called Maruso by Mr. Kawanishi from Futaba Company, who met me at the station. That was the night of the twenty-first. I stayed there through the twenty-third, left Hokkaido for the return journey on the twenty-fourth and arrived back in Tokyo on the twenty-fifth.' Mihara took down the details.

'I hope this information will be of help.' Yasuda put his notebook on the desk. Again, he was smiling. 'I see. Thank you very much.'

'Your work must be tedious. These endless investigations…' It was said quietly. To Mihara it sounded like sarcasm.

'Please don't feel offended. These are just routine inquiries.' 'Of course. I'm not in the least put out. Please come back if you have any further questions.'