Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Tanker Accident
"it's not finished yet?"
The section chief frowned and looked at Totsukawa, and immediately smiled again.
"Oh, you are saying that the matter of the threatening letter has not been resolved. I forgot to mention that matter just now, and it has been resolved. I compared the threatening letter with the handwriting of the 6 remaining survivors, and it was the last one who was killed. Kojima Boatswain’s handwriting. When he knew the news of Captain Miyamoto’s death, he immediately thought that he would be followed and killed, but he couldn’t tell the police, and he hoped that the police would catch the criminal. So, he wrote Such a threatening letter. How about it, this time we can agree to end it all."
"Threatening letters may be that. But I'm not finished, because the chain of events is so wonderfully connected that I can't understand how it all came together in such an uncanny order. together."
"I don't quite understand what you're saying."
The chief looked puzzled, put his hand on his chin, coughed a few times as if he was choked by cigarettes, cleared his voice and said:
"Can you go into more detail?"
"First the sinking of the 500,000-ton VLCC, then the 26 victims, and the 6 senior crew members who abandoned the 26, and then one of the 26 thought to be dead was miraculously rescued, and then again and again. When the revenge was over, he actually committed suicide in the miscellaneous woods near his home. If this is the plot of a novel, isn’t it impeccable.”
"Is that why you can't understand?"
"If these plots are true, of course there will be no cracks in some subtleties. However, the strange thing is that when you look back and think about the details of these events, you will find some places that are too unnatural."
"Which places? Give me an example."
The section chief looked at Totsukawa with a half puzzled, half interested expression.
Totsukawa breathed out his nose, then opened the notepad. "First," as soon as Totsukawa opened his mouth, the section chief interrupted hastily:
"Wait a minute, please. Is there much to say?"
"yes."
"So, write on this blackboard, let's discuss it together, shall we?"
Totsukawa went to the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk.
(1) When Akamatsu Junichi drifted to Salomon Island in the Chagos Archipelago, he carried US$1,950, or about 600,000 yen.
However, until his suicide, the amount he used was as follows:
a. Airfare from Mumbai to Haneda Airport.
b. He stole a used black Corolla car, but left 200,000 yen to the owner.
c. Buy two M16 rifles and bullets.
d. Pay the housing rights, deposit and rent of Futaba Apartment.
e. Vehicle ferry fees to Okinawa.
f. Air ticket costs from Okinawa to Beijing.
g. The cost of buying a used Sunshine car in Okinawa.
h. Meal expenses, gas expenses, etc.
The cost from ac will exceed 600,000 yen.
But Chisong didn't show any signs of borrowing money from his parents, relatives and friends.
Where did he get the money, then?
(2) Jun Akamatsu and his wife’s six remaining survivors have very clear temperaments and ideas, which is understandable. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Tsuji went to Nozawa Onsen during their wedding trip, and after that, the couple went there once a year , perhaps he himself had spoken to Akamatsu during the long voyage.However, Chisong knows the whereabouts of the six people too clearly, and can accurately ambush and kill the target at a certain point, which is incredible.
(3) The preparation of two identical M16 rifles is a sign of the criminal's caution.During the interrogation in Nozawa Hot Springs, one of the rifles was deliberately discovered by the police so that they could relax their vigilance and slip past the inspection post. This is the success of the criminal's clever trick.But why didn't he donate the gun that was used for the murder?If the police found the gun, they would be more insensitive, thinking that the criminal no longer had a gun in Okinawa. Of course, the security would be more relaxed, which would be more conducive to his killing activities.
There can only be two reasons why the criminal would give up another gun instead of doing that.
a. I don't know whether it is the same gun according to the scratches of the bullets. (However, this is not true for criminals, because he is very familiar with guns.)
b. The other gun is poorly made and has a low hit rate. (However, the gun we discovered first was confirmed by the scientific research department to be a very accurate gun.)
⑷In Okinawa, after Kojima Bosun and his wife were shot dead, we immediately carried out strict investigations at all checkpoints, but why did the criminals escape?
(5) When we were in Nozawa Onsen, we had already found out that the criminal was driving a black semi-new Corolla car with the Tokyo license plate number.Akamatsu himself should know this too.Why did the criminals put another gun in the trunk of the same type of car in Nozawa Onsen for the police to find?Not only that, but in Okinawa, Akamatsu is still driving that car, why would the criminal take such a big risk?
⑹Why did Chimatsu send the M16 rifle from Okinawa back to Tokyo on purpose, and then use it to commit that strange suicide?
⑺Why did Akamatsu commit suicide so easily?He hasn't been chased to the end yet.
⑻ When Junichi Akamatsu was renting a room at Futaba Apartment, he wore sunglasses and a mask that completely covered his face.But in this case, why did he leave fingerprints nonchalantly and show his face in front of the quilt rental shop and the administrator?How to explain these incongruous and inconsistent practices?
"Only this?"
The section chief looked at Totsukawa with an unexpected look.Totsukawa lightly brushed off the chalk dust on his body, and said:
"And there's a bigger question."
"what?"
"How did Akamatsu know the whereabouts of the first-class crew member Sato and others, and they are always one step ahead of us, but when we are chasing criminals, we are always blocked halfway?"
"That must be Chisong's spying."
"However, Akamatsu's target is not alone. Captain Miyamoto Kenichiro was killed while walking along the usual route. It is possible to speculate in advance and wait in ambush..."
"There is no need for second-class crewman Tetsuo Kono to keep watch. His speedboat is tied to the Kanaya Yacht Base, and the neighbors know it, and they also know the date he is going to leave."
"But there are three other people. I don't think Akamatsu can keep an eye on the actions of three people alone. There must be at least two people."
"You mean Akamatsu has another accomplice?"
"Maybe so. I'm most interested in what Kojima Bosun's wife said to the Imanishi detective. According to her, there was a man wearing sunglasses watching something. She thought it must be the detective. In order to clarify this Regarding the situation, I checked with the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Station, and they replied that they did not set up a surveillance post at that location that day."
"Don't you think it's Akamatsu who's inquiring about the situation?"
"Kojima Haruko saw that person on December 12th, and Akamatsu arrived at Haneda Airport on the 15th. The dates do not match. Moreover, it is impossible for Akamatsu to pay for a private detective, because 12 Dan 12 Scotch pine had just washed up on the shores of Salomon Island in the Indian Ocean."
"So, are you saying that apart from Akamatsu Junichi, there are miraculously rescued people who also returned to Japan with the desire for revenge?"
"I have also considered that possibility, but it is still wrong to think about it. Apart from Akamatsu, there are no other traces of the rest of the survivors who returned to Japan. The situation in this regard has been very clear through the investigation at Haneda Airport. Besides, if there are two people taking revenge, why is Chisong the only one who kills consecutively?"
"It's really hard to understand."
"I'm not sure either. I think Akamatsu needs an accomplice to destroy the targets one by one while so many people are chasing him. Even if he is not an accomplice, he definitely needs someone who can provide the target with the murder." People with all kinds of information, but judging from Akamatsu Junichi’s actions, I can’t feel that there is such an accomplice in any case. He is just like a wolf, killing lives everywhere. Therefore, I did not write this situation on the blackboard .”
"So, what exactly do you want to say?"
asked the chief.
Totsukawa scratched his head vigorously.
"As I said just now, I think that if the plot we narrated is true, of course there will be no strange phenomena in some subtleties. But now there are so many unexplainable phenomena. Of course, maybe this is I’m making too bold a reasoning. I think, if you think about it the other way around, if the details are abnormal, doesn’t that mean that the plot of the original novel is not true?”
"Do you understand what you're talking about?"
"I'm going to find out. Maybe we've gone astray at the beginning of the search, so..."
"Hey, just stop for a moment."
The section chief hastily interrupted Totsukawa's words.
"Not all of the doubts you wrote on the blackboard are correct. For example, (1) the amount does not match, but maybe Chisong stole the money somewhere."
Totsukawa remained silent.The section chief smiled wryly and said:
"I also know that this is not very convincing to you."
Totsukawa remained silent.The section chief seemed unable to hold on anymore:
"So, what do you want to do?"
"I want to re-investigate this incident from the beginning."
"The so-called restart, does it start with the death of Captain Miyamoto?"
"No, go further."
"Going further? What is there before this?"
"The sinking of the 'Daiichi Japan'."
"you want……"
Facing the astonished look of the section chief, Totsukawa remained calm.
"If the plot we're thinking of is wrong, of course the beginning of the story is wrong."
"Well, how do you investigate this?"
"have no idea."
"This is not easy to handle. The incident ended with Akamatsu Junichi's suicide. If we re-investigate with a large number of people, we will definitely be questioned by journalists. At that time, we can only answer that there is an omission in our work. .”
"I see."
"What do you understand?"
"I intend to reopen the investigation of this incident alone."
"It's up to you, but it will be difficult to do it as a criminal case of the first search department. Even so, I know you will not give up your idea. I will give you a week's vacation temporarily. As for the off-duty time , what you think about and what you do are all your freedom."
said the section chief.
After Totsukawa handed in his vacation report, he returned to an apartment in Nerima District, where he had a two-bedroom house.
After lighting the gas stove, Totsukawa sat on the sofa and fell into deep thought.Although he listed a series of questions to the section chief, he couldn't find the answer.
Something was wrong somewhere, or everything was wrong, but now I don't know where it is wrong.
There are many cigarette butts in the ashtray.To change his mind, Totsukawa turned on the TV.He seldom watches TV at ordinary times, and he has no time to watch TV when he catches up with the event.
The TV was turned on, but Totsukawa was staring out the window.
At 9:30 a.m. today, on the Uraga waterway in Tokyo Bay, the oil tanker "Eighth Taiping" (40,000 tons) burned due to impact...
Hearing the broadcaster's report, Totsukawa couldn't help turning his eyes to the TV screen.For a moment, he thought of the burning situation of the "Daiichi Japan".
Black smoke billowed and soared into the blue sky, and the scene of the burning oil tanker was displayed on the TV screen.Red flames can also be seen in the black smoke.Because it is a color picture, the realistic scene is even more exciting.
As of 7:00 p.m., the fire is still burning.Due to the risk of explosion, the fire boats could not approach and the fire fighting operations could not be carried out. Of the 28 crew members, 14 were rescued and two bodies have now been found, while the remaining 12 seem hopeless.
Totsukawa inadvertently swiped his fingers to calculate, and suddenly, he was astonished.
It has been 9 and a half hours since the fire started due to the collision at 9:30 in the morning, but the fire has not diminished and is still burning.
In the news program at 9 o'clock in the evening, it was still reported that the fire was still burning, and the fire did not decrease at all.The broadcaster reported that it would burn for at least four or five more days.
According to a news broadcast the next morning, the "Eighth Peace" had been towed by a tugboat to the sea of Futtsu in Chiba Prefecture.Totsukawa boarded the National Railway Uchibo Line in the cold wind and went straight to Futtsu.
From Futtsu Castle to Tokyo Bay, there is a slender cape called Futtsu Cape, which protrudes from the sea.According to news reports, the "Eighth Taiping" was towed to about 5 kilometers away from Cape Futtsu while it was burning.
After getting off at Aobori Station, Totsukawa took a taxi again, and then he walked to the top of Futtsu Cape.Young people on bicycles passed him. They were probably the same as Totsukawa. They went to see the burning oil tanker. They could already see the black smoke on the sea ahead.
At the top of the cape, there were already twenty or thirty spectators.Totsukawa stood a little away from them and raised his binoculars.
With a good focus, the reality of the burning "Eighth Peace" clearly appeared in front of my eyes.
The huge hull had been scorched and turned a tea-brown color.The middle and stern parts were still burning violently, and the fire often burst into violent bursts, and the black smoke shot straight into the blue sky to a height of two or three hundred meters.The fire showed no signs of abating.
It has been burning for 38 hours.
Will it really burn for three or four days as reported?No, judging by the momentum, it will not only last for three or four days, but maybe two or three weeks.Better to sink into the sea, maybe the fire will stop burning.Due to the collision, a hole was leaked in one side of the side of the "Eighth Peace", and the iron plate was also seriously twisted due to the high heat, but the ship showed no sign of sinking at all.
In the cold wind, Totsukawa stood for about an hour watching the burning "Eighth Peace", and then returned to Tokyo.
As soon as he arrived in Tokyo, he went to the head office of New Japan Airlines.
I saw the personnel minister from last time again.The tall personnel minister was still dressed in a fashionable outfit, but he looked listless.
"It was a total surprise to us that the culprit was our 'Daiichi Japan' crew. He inevitably damaged the image of our company."
The Minister of Personnel sighed deeply.
"I'm weird too."
Totsukawa said.
"what?"
The Minister of Personnel was surprised by Totsukawa's statement. How could the criminal police do this?Seeing that Totsukawa remained silent, the Minister of Personnel strengthened his tone again:
"Anyway, the incident is finally over here, right? Every time our company's name and the name of 'Daiichi Japan' appear in the newspaper, it makes us sweat."
"Yeah, it's basically over."
"So, what are you today?"
"I'm very interested in ships."
Totsukawa said with a smile.
"Especially interested in tankers. Can you introduce me to someone who is familiar with tanker construction today?"
"The structure of the ship?" The Minister of Personnel thought for a while, "There is a suitable person. He is the designer of the 'Daiichi Japan' and an engineer at N Shipyard. Call him here?"
The Minister of Personnel said to Totsukawa.
The designer of the world's largest giant tanker must be at least 60 years old in Totsukawa's imagination, but it was only when he met that he realized that it was a young designer who was about his own age.He had a strong body and a tanned face, and he looked a bright and cheerful person, which pleased Totsukawa very much.
Totsukawa took the man named Morioka to a tea shop under the building.
"I am a layman about ships, and I may ask some inappropriate questions, please forgive me."
Hearing what Totsukawa said, Morioka showed his white teeth and smiled.
"In a sense, I am also a layman. I still know the overall structure of the ship, but I am almost a layman when it comes to the computer on board. When it comes to steel plate welding, the welder knows much better than me!"
"Yes, indeed."
Totsukawa agrees with this statement, because as far as he is concerned, he is almost an amateur in a certain department of investigation.
"Is the oil tank of the 'Daiichi Japan' separated to prevent accidents?"
"Yes, that's right. There are 15 oil tanks in the 'Daiichi Japan'. They are separated by three rows vertically and five rows horizontally, which is exactly 15. To be honest, due to the increase in accidents of large oil tankers, marine pollution and fire accidents It also increased accordingly. For this reason, various studies have been carried out. The size of the tanker does not matter, but the resulting resolution stipulates that the volume of the tank itself should be limited. If this design is followed, the 500,000-ton giant tanker will be divided into 40 oil tankers. Naturally, the demand for steel products will increase a lot, and the cost of oil tankers will increase accordingly, so the advantages of a 500,000-ton giant oil tanker will no longer exist. Therefore, the "First Japan" is not restricted by that resolution, and only 15 oil tanks."
Morioka took out a notebook and drew a diagram of the hull on it.
"That is to say, for the 'First Japan' with a volume of 580,000 kiloliters, if you calculate it, one oil tank contains about 40,000 kiloliters, or 40,000 tons of oil."
"yes."
"Captain Miyamoto said in a meeting with reporters that he didn't know whether it was caused by a lightning strike, a collision, or a magnetic mine. At the same time as the collision, water entered the engine room, and the loaded oil flowed out. The oil caused a fire. Potential."
"Yes, I've seen it on TV."
"According to the situation of the 'Daiichi Japan', if an oil tank is damaged and the oil flows out, will the tanker sink?"
"It won't sink so easily." Morioka said with a smile, "Indeed, due to economic considerations, the tanker has its weak side compared with other ships in manufacturing. This is undeniable. However, the current design The bottom of the single-bottom structure is changed to the bottom of the 2-layer or 3-layer structure, and the strength is strengthened. Moreover, as shown in this hull diagram, it is separated by many bulkheads, sometimes larger than the average ship Strong. To give an extreme example, if the hull is broken into two parts due to the impact, it will also float on the water surface separately due to the relationship of the bulkhead. Of course, if it is subjected to a strong impact, the bulkhead will also be damaged, such as the oil tanker hit the rocks, This is the case with oil outflows. Also, fire is the biggest weakness of tankers, so the captain of the 'Daiichi Japan' was not wrong to issue an order to disembark. It is just unreasonable for a tanker to sink because of a damaged tank, and we will not Makes tankers like that. Tankers sinking would be a regular occurrence if they were like that."
"How many tank breaks would sink a tanker?"
"This is also different according to the situation. Our design generally achieves that no more than 1/3 of the oil tanks are damaged and will not sink."
"In this way, I have solved a doubt."
"It seems that you have another question?"
"A 40,000-ton oil tanker collided and burned on the Uraga waterway."
"Yes. The 'Eighth Peace' was actually built by our shipyard."
"Oh, that would make it easier to inquire. That tanker has been burning since yesterday morning."
"Yeah. Probably that burn lasts a week. Anyway, that's 40,000 tons of oil."
"Oil, is it easy to burn?"
"I don't know much about oil either. But I visited the tanker explosion test a few days ago. It was an experiment jointly conducted by us and the research institute of University T. Oil itself is not so easy to burn, it's just its gasification Gas is very dangerous, and oil has the property of continuously vaporizing."
"Will gasification also occur in a climate like the present one?"
"Petroleum will also vaporize under the condition of minus 40 degrees. Therefore, it has nothing to do with cold or heat. In the tanker, although the oil is stored in the oil tank, it is not completely airtight. It is constantly and constantly Gasification bit by bit. If there is wind, the gasification gas will be blown away from the deck. But if there is no wind, or the wind speed is only two or three meters per second, the gasification gas will fill the deck, then It is very dangerous. Of course, the gas will be blown away during the voyage of the tanker. The vaporized gas is terrible. In the experiment I visited, the gas explosion occurred only under the energy of 0.31 mm Joule. "
"Well, the 0.31 millimeter joule you mentioned, specifically, how much energy is it?"
"This is like the energy of static electricity generated when you stand up from a chair. It can also be considered that in that gas, as long as there is a friction between the body and the body, it will cause a big explosion. Therefore, 'No. It is understandable that the oil flowing out of the "Ichijapan" burned. The wind speed at that time was 2.5 m/s, and the vaporized gas produced just shrouded the ship. In this way, as long as the metal parts of the lifeboat rub lightly, an explosion will occur .”
"I see, that's how it is." Totsukawa nodded vigorously.
"It's just..." He looked at Morioka and said again, "What I don't understand is the report about the 'Fifth Shirakawa'. The captain reported that the 'Daiichi Japan' burned for about 5 hours, and the fire It finally went out. It was because I didn’t know much about the tanker, so I was surprised that the burning time was very long. But now I see the "Eighth Peace" burning in the sea of Futtsu, and I have doubts. The tanker has already burned. It continued to burn for more than a day and night, and it is said that it will continue to burn for at least a week. However, the "Eighth Peace" is a 40,000-ton oil tanker, so it is equivalent to the two oil tanks of the "First Japan" The amount of oil. But one side burns out in 5 hours, while the other side burns for more than a week. I can't understand this anyway. Of course, the 'First Japan' may be 40,000 tons of oil together The 40,000 tons of oil on the "Eighth Taiping" were stored in several oil tanks, and maybe the oil tanks were burned one by one. Even if there are such different situations, the difference is too big. Besides , according to what you said, the 'First Japan' lost more than 40,000 tons of oil."
"However, when the 'Fifth Shirakawa' was discovered, it was already burning. In other words, the burning time was more than 5 hours. It can also be considered that the 'Fifth Shirakawa' burned two or three days before it was discovered. Not surprising."
"Unfortunately, that's not the case."
Totsukawa said happily.He is happy that he found the answer to his question in the conversation with the expert Morioka.
"Captain Miyamoto confirmed that the sinking time of the 'First Japan' was 3 o'clock in the afternoon on December 5. This is consistent with the time when the radio communication between the tanker and the head office was suddenly interrupted, and it should be said to be accurate. But The 'Fifth Shirakawa' found black smoke on the same day, at 5:30 pm on December 5. If the 'Daiichi Japan' caught fire while sinking, the burning time would only be 7 hours 30 minutes."
"yes?"
Morioka scratched his head, "That's my misunderstanding. For some reason, I always thought that the sinking of the 'First Japan' was a long time before the 'Fifth Shirakawa' discovered it. Um, was it the same day? That would be kind of weird."
"Yes, it's strange."
Totsukawa said as if satisfied.
At dusk, Totsukawa returned to his apartment, and when he walked to the door, he found Detective Kamei standing there.
"Is there something wrong? Kamei-kun."
Hearing the greeting, Kamei stomped out the cigarette butt with the toe of his boot and said:
"The chief asked me to bring you this Chinese medicine for colds that he thinks is very effective."
As he spoke, he patted the pocket of the jacket that contained the medicine.
"Thank him. Come, come in."
Totsukawa let Kamei into the Japanese-style room in the back, let Kamei sit by the electric heater, and went to the kitchen to make yakisoba with buckwheat noodles.True Chinese flavor.
"smell good!"
Kamei said while sniffling.
"Although you are capable, it's time to get married, how about it?"
"Did you come here to deliver medicine and persuade me to get married?"
"The section chief also gave me two days off. Rather than granting leave, it was more like forcing me to rest. So I said to him, I want to help you with the kitchen."
"Oh, do you want to help me?"
Totsukawa chatted while cooking.
"What to do?"
"Get out the paper first, and help me calculate. The paper and ballpoint pen are in the cabinet under the TV. Do you know the volume unit of barre?"
"That's probably the unit of calculation for oil."
"Yes. 1 barre is equal to 158.9 liters. So, if you calculate, how much barre is equal to 580,000 kiloliters?"
"About 3.6 million barres."
"The current international price of oil is $10 per barre."
"Then, it is 36 million U.S. dollars. If 1 U.S. dollar is calculated at 300 yen, it is 10.8 billion yen. What is the calculation?"
"It's done."
Totsukawa put Chinese-style fried noodles on two plates and brought them to the Japanese-style room in the back.
"This is the Chinese restaurant in Ginza. I learned the craft from a famous chef. It's delicious."
"Eating is eating, can you tell me what is going on with the 10.8 billion yen?"
Kamei didn't move the chopsticks in his hand, but said anxiously.
"Tell me, generally speaking, what is the motive for crime?"
"It's not for money, it's because of hatred. Of course, there are various other situations."
"If it is 10.8 billion yen, can it make people have a criminal motive?"
After Totsukawa said that, he smiled slightly.
"It's very possible. Now, someone can kill someone for 10,000 yen or 20,000 yen."
"What about 340 million yen?"
"Even I want to do it!"
"10.8 billion yen is the value of the oil loaded on the sunken 'First Nippon'. If the 32 crew members are divided equally, each person can get 340 million yen."
"Really? But, so what?"
"Let's think about it in a different way for a moment. A 500,000-ton giant tanker is sailing with a full load of 580,000 kiloliters of oil. There is only that black, smelly liquid in the tank. But if you look at it differently , the tanker is also sailing with 10.8 billion yen in banknotes."
"I understand that. But I still don't understand what you mean."
"Is it tasty?"
"what?"
"Fried noodles. Put some sauce in it, that's a trick. Don't use that ready-made seasoning. So, let's go back to the topic of 10.8 billion yen. I watched it in the snow-covered miscellaneous forest When Akamatsu Junichi died, I felt a sense of unease. I was thinking that my tracking so far seemed to be wrong. Hey, don’t be so nervous, let’s eat while listening. So, many things appeared in my mind. Doubtful. But, looking back, we can’t think there was anything terribly wrong with our investigative methods.”
"We did our best."
"That's right. But despite this, when the incident ended, there were a lot of doubts. I was thinking about why. I thought this way, if our investigation did not make any major mistakes, then are we intervening? Did this incident start in the wrong direction?"
"..."
Detective Kamei put down his chopsticks and listened attentively to Totsukawa's words.Regarding the end of this incident, he also felt that there was something he couldn't figure out.
Totsukawa lit a cigarette.
"The motive of this incident is revenge. The huge oil tanker sank, 6 senior crew members abandoned the others and escaped for their lives, but a 25-year-old young crew member was miraculously rescued and took revenge. It is also quite interesting as a story. As a motive That’s enough. However, I feel that there is another reason that can be used as a motive, and that is the 10.8 billion yen of oil, one of the two major motives you mentioned just now, money and hatred.”
"Could you be more specific? Even 10.8 billion yen in oil won't form a criminal motive just like that."
"Of course. Today, in my conversation with a designer named Morioka at the head office of New Japan Airlines, I think I have fundamentally doubted the starting point of this incident. That is to say, 'The first One Japanship 'did not sink."
Detective Kamei was stunned. He stared at Totsukawa in a daze, and forgot to light the cigarette he took out. He held the cigarette with his fingertips, and said after a while, "But..." and lit the cigarette.
"us……"
"Yes, we did the investigation on the facts. I was just wondering if our premise was wrong."
"So, those 26 people?"
"not dead."
"But didn't Akamatsu Junichi commit murder to avenge the 25 dead friends?"
"If the premise is wrong, everything will be wrong."
"Isn't this an interesting hypothesis? It's really hard to prove. There is no evidence that the 'First Japan' did not sink. On the contrary, there is a lot of evidence that it sank and burned. If we only take the testimony of Captain Miyamoto, Maybe they are making up lies. But the 'Fifth Shirakawa' is at the scene of the accident. We can't think that the crew of that fishing boat are all lying."
"Yeah, I know it's difficult. You said you have two days off, so why don't you go to Kyushu with me tomorrow?"
"You're not saying that the 'First Japan' is intact in Kyushu, are you?"
Kamei asked with a smile.Totsukawa also smiled wryly and said:
"The 'First Nippon' is not there, but the 'Second Nippon' of the same type has returned to the Kiiri base in Kagoshima. I want to go and see. In the past, I accidentally asked the head office of the New Japan Line The Minister of Personnel mentioned that he wanted to take a look at the 500,000-ton giant oil tanker. He told me that the "Second Japan" had returned from the Persian Gulf. He also arranged for the captain Uchimura to guide me and visit the inside of the ship."
That night, Detective Kamei stayed at Totsukawa's house.The next morning, the two flew directly to Kagoshima from Haneda Airport.
The Xiru base is said to be the largest in Japan, and it could be said to be the largest oil storage base in the world.It is located near "Ibusuki Ondo" in Kagoshima Prefecture, which is famous for its sand baths. It is officially called Kiiri Castle in Kagoshima Prefecture.
The oil purchased from abroad is first transported to the Kiiri base by giant tankers of 200,000 to 500,000 tons, and then the oil is transported to industrial areas around Japan by domestic tankers.Although it is a domestic tanker, there are also large tankers with tens of thousands of tons to 100,000 tons.The "Eighth Taiping", which is burning due to the impact on the Uraga waterway, is also one of the domestic tankers.
In Xirui base, there are 30 oil tanks with 100,000 liters of oil and 4 oil tanks with 150,000 liters of oil, with a total reserve capacity of 3.6 million liters.This amount is equivalent to 5 days of oil consumption in Japan.
The huge green oil tanks are neatly arranged under the clear winter sky, which looks very spectacular.
The "Second Japan" is at anchor at sea.
Under the leadership of the director of the base, Totsukawa and Kamei Criminal Police walked to the anchorage of the tanker on the sea 200 meters away through the trestle bridge with the thick oil pipeline.
The long trestle bridge is completely open-air.The wind from the sea was bitterly cold, and Totsukawa sneezed again.
The huge hull of the "Nihon Japan" is painted red and black, dazzling in the winter sun.The bridge at the rear of the ship is white, and the two funnels are black, what a colorful hull.On the black-painted hull, "New Japan Line" and "Nihon-Nippon" are written in white.
The closer he gets to the tanker, the more Totsukawa feels the size of the 500,000-ton tanker. Although he dare not say it is bigger than Tokyo Station or taller than Tokyo Tower, if he is only a few meters away from the ship, his neck will hurt. To a certain extent, the crew on the deck cannot be seen.
It is said that it is the hull, but it feels like a huge iron wall blocking the eyes.
"What a giant!"
Rather than saying that Detective Kamei was sighing, it would be better to say that he was stunned and muttering to himself.
Under the guidance of the director, they boarded the gangway on the side of the ship.The gangway is also very high.Totsugawa has been on a 10,000-ton ship.At that time, he ran up in one breath.But he couldn't get on this boat no matter what.Perhaps because the oil has been unloaded, the hull is raised, and the tanker is at least 10 storeys high at this time.While boarding the gangway, Totsukawa rejoiced that he did not have "fear of heights".If you have a fear of heights, you will definitely feel dizzy on such a gangway.
Captain Uchimura was waiting on the deck.
He is about forty-two or thirty-three years old, and he looks younger than Captain Miyamoto of the "First Japan", but his strong body and tanned face are the same, which makes people think that he was traveling to and from Persia. A sign of the long heat and rigors of sailing between the bays.It is said that it takes seventeen or eight days to go to the Persian Gulf one way.
On the large gray deck, there are countless pipelines, and only the radar antenna stands alone, looking dull and lonely.
There was no one in sight.
"Has the crew all disembarked?"
Hearing Totsukawa's question, Captain Uchimura smiled:
"Because we are going to sea tomorrow, all the crew members are on board now."
As the captain spoke, he brought the two of them to the bridge.
"A total of 32 people were on the boat, including me, because the boat was too big."
The white-painted boat bridge looks like a flat-roofed building.The building has 7 floors.If there is no such a high bridge, then the front of this tanker with a total length of 379 meters cannot be seen.
The captain's cabin is on the top 7th floor.Of course there is an elevator, but I didn't see other crew members when I took the elevator, but judging from the running elevator, it proved that someone was manipulating the motor.
After entering the blue carpeted captain's cabin, Totsukawa and the others were made to sit on the sofa.Captain Uchimura said:
"In the middle of the night, when sailing on the Indian Ocean, I often suddenly feel extremely lonely. I can only hear the faint sound of the engine, and there is no one on the deck: I feel like I am the only one on the boat. "
"Such a large tanker only needs 32 people, probably because of the high degree of automation."
Totsukawa looked at the many dolls on the cabinet and asked.There are not only dolls from Japan, but also dolls from all over the world.Unexpectedly, men at sea are keen to collect these cute little gadgets.
“自动化水平在一切领域都在提高啊。过去，只是在发动机等方面体现着自动化的先进。现在，连装卸方面也是自动化了。可这样的自动化再发展下去，可能会发展为无人油轮吧。”
"why would you say so?"
“实际上，这艘油轮现在只要有10个人左右就可以了。可是，如果只安排10个人，船务人员在精神上会受不了的。船桥内安排的船室是为了方便工作。发动机室的上边，便是发动机工作人员的个人房间，船员的房间就在掌舵室的下面。这样一来，方便是方便了，即使不用乘电梯也可以了。可在航海中，总是我一个人在乘电梯，与其他人员在电梯里碰到的机会几乎没有。这样，在一个多月的航海中，有些人甚至一次面也见不到。大家也没有机会在一起喧闹。每天每天，总是看到相同的二三个人的面孔。因此，甚至有船务人员因孤独而跳进印度洋自杀。虽然也有游泳池、保龄球等健身娱乐设施，但那些也驱逐不了孤独感，因为没有人与人之间的接触啊。现在的32人船务还这样使人孤独，倘若只有10个人，分别分散在这样的大船上工作，那将会怎样呢？所以，这艘油轮再不能少于32人了。”
“的确是这样。这回我懂了航海中的孤独感。您说在这艘巨型袖轮中，只要10个人就可以操纵，具体一点说，是怎样分配的呢？”
“最少来说，有5人就够了。实际上在夜间航行中，掌舵室2人，发动机室2人，无线电室1人。这就足够了。如果换班，就需要再有同样的人数，合计为10人。这样，船就可以航行了。现在的人数安排主要是考虑到刚才所说的，船务人员精神方面的问题。”
“工作轻松吗？”
“工作上是很轻松的。比如，过去的发动机室如同灼热的地狱，可现在的发动机室虽然温度也超过40度，可发动机自行运转，操纵人员在控制室里开着空调很凉快。只要关上门，也听不到发动机室的轰鸣声。只要看着计量仪器就可以了。装卸作业同样如此。坦率地说，太无聊了，没有在船上航海的感觉，倒觉得是在工厂里监视仪器。我还是怀念过去的，什么都必须用手来做的船上工作。”
“工作时间是怎么个情况呢？出海一次，休息多长时间呢？”
“去波斯湾一次需要一个多月。回来后，在这里用两天的时间卸完石油，就又出发了。”
“是往返不停地运输啊。”
“是的。我们只有7个月才能在家里安稳地休息一次。”
“为什么要这样不停地运输呢？”
“是经济上的原因啊。这艘船的建造费用是160亿日元。如果让它闲置，那建造费就回收不了。另一个原因就是日本自身的问题。日本经济每天需要大量的石油。最好是从波斯湾到日本铺设一条输油管路，可那又不行。所以，在波斯湾到日本之间，便用油轮代替了输油管路。现在，在日本和波斯湾之间，据说一般情况下，有一百五六十艘油轮在航行。如果不这样，石油就供不应求。尤其像我们这样的大油轮，如果休息一二个星期，就如同输油管路堵塞了一样。”
“可是，船务人员很不容易啊。”
“老实说，确实不容易。”
“到波斯湾，在输入石油期间，你们可以登上陆地，转换一下心情吧？”
“不。阿拉伯本来就是沙漠之国，而且出石油的地方仍旧是沙漠，除了沙漠和石油罐之外什么也没有。再加上那里气候恶劣，几乎没有船员登陆。油轮是没有停靠外国港口而享乐的机会的。”
“换个话题。巴西对你有魅力吗？”
听到十津川的问话，内村船长想了一下。
“这个吗，我曾因工作去过巴西二三次，很有吸引力。巴西是发展中国家，日本人在那里的也很多，又没有人种的偏见，只要有技术，就会有工作干。”
“一般的船员也是同样看法吗？”
“虽然没有一个一个人地问过，但对巴西好像都很感兴趣。前些日子，曾听说巴西以730万日元的年薪招聘日本的技术人员。”
“我也看到过那条新闻。”
“那时，年轻的船员痴迷地读着那个消息报道。”
“你对此也有兴趣吗？”
“如果说没有兴趣那是假话，但我有家庭啊。”
内村船长苦笑着说。
十津川他们又来到甲板上，仍旧看不到一个船员。
“现在，船内已经空了就没什么关系了。在装有石油的时候，一定要穿上胶底的安全靴。”
内村船长一边走，一边介绍船上的安全注意事项。
“而且，也不能穿化纤的衬衫和西服。我们总是要穿纯棉的服装。”
“是因为石油不断气化吧？”
十津川想起了森冈工程师所讲的情况，应答道。
“是的。所以，打雷是很可怕的。'第一日本号'沉没的理由有种种，可我觉得还是雷击。当气化的气体覆盖时，如果遭到雷击，就会爆炸。也可以联想到，因打雷而使无线电被破坏，因而无法发出SOS信号。”
“可是，如果发生能使油轮沉没的爆炸，是不是要在产生大量气体的情况下才能导致这一结果呢？”
“是这样。一般情况下，油罐气化的气体是少量的。如果油罐的阀门松动的话，就会产生大量的气体。”
“船上有警报装置吗？”
“当然有啊。当气体达到一定量时，汽笛就会自动鸣响。'第一日本号'也是同样的。”
看来内村船长认为“第一日本号”沉没的原因就是雷击。
“你在印度洋上见到过磁性水雷吗？”
"I have not seen."
二人被带到备有救生艇的船桥两侧。
这是一个大的救生艇。正如宫本船长所说的那样，可以轻松地容纳下全船32名船组人员。
钢铁的救生艇上，有趣的是还有个盖子。当乘上艇之后，把那盖子拉上，整个救生艇就像一个暖水瓶似的。
“当油轮的石油在海面上燃烧起来时，必须赶快撤离油轮，所以就制造了这样的像暖水瓶似的救生艇。”
内村船长在一旁说明。
然后，十津川和龟井又回到船长室，船长热情地为他们煮了咖啡。
“我不相信，宫本船长等6人被追杀是因为他们对另外的26人见死不救而最终受到报复的说法。”内村船长非常认真地对十津川说，“我认为一定是因为什么情况，没有办法，才造成那种后果。”
“其实，我也是那么想的。”
Totsukawa said with a smile.内村船长歪着头，不解地问道：“可是，发表的消息上说那自杀的赤松淳一是为了复仇才连续杀人的，这不是警方发表的吗？”
“现在这时候，就不要再考虑那些了。可是，从我个人来讲，对此结论也是有怀疑的。好像获救的只有高级船员，可仔细看看，在26人中，也有比小岛水手长职位高的发动机长。所以，我想就'第一日本号'沉没的位置，听听您的想法。”
“你说的是？”
“'第一日本号'的沉没位置。”十律川掏出记事本并打开了它。
“据宫本船长的证言和'第五白川号'船组人员的证实，是东经75度2分、南纬3度9分。这便是赤道以南。”
"Yes, that's right."
“宫本船长对记者说，满载石油的'第一日本号'因吃水深，所以返航时不能走马六甲海峡，要由龙目海峡通过。所以，要在偏南的水域航行。这一点我也是理解的。昨天，我在地图上试着勾了条线。”
十津川把从世界地图上剪下来的印度洋部分放在内村船长面前。
“那么，如果转向龙目海峡，若是从波斯湾走最短距离，就如这条线。不过，这是我这个外行划的线路，想请您这位实际从事航海工作的人给我看看如何。”
“这个……”内村船长琢磨着十津川的地图。
“不错，'第一日本号'是偏南了点儿。要是我，就会紧贴着斯里兰卡的南边航行，那样既能节约时间，又可以节约油耗，也是一般的运行路线。”
“那么，为什么宫本船长要走赤道以南呢？按照您所说的，如果走斯里兰卡的南边海域，就是赤道以北呀。”
十津川这样一说，内村船长脸上现出为难的神色：
“这个，我也不明白了。因为'第一日本号'由宫本船长负责指挥航行。”
作为内村艇长，再也不会说什么了。十津川也没有继续追问下去，道了谢，便和龟井一起站了起来，准备离开。当内村船长送他们到了舷梯时，十津川又开口问道：
“最后我想再问一个问题。这艘油轮的石油如果装满时燃烧起来，会持续燃烧多长时间呢？”
对方不假思索地便回答说：
“至少也要烧上3个月吧。”
当坐在返回东京的飞机上时，十津川的心情显得格外的好。机内为乘客准备的三明治，他三口两口便吃完了，似乎还不尽兴，又不断地喝着咖啡。相反，龟井刑警却没什么食欲。因为他觉得，特意跑了一趟九州，却没得到什么收获。
“我怎么也不明白。”
快到羽田机场时，龟井好像再也忍不住了，开口向十津川问道。
"do not understand anything?"
“去见内村船长，有什么收获呢？我觉得专门去一次'第二日本号'并没有什么价值。”
“没有收获吗？”
十津川看上去很高兴地说。
“有什么收获呢？”
“知道了现代化的巨型油轮的实际情况呀。船内生活极端寂寞，只需10个人便可以航行。还有，内村船长已经结婚了，这些事情不是都知道了吗！”
“那位船长结婚的情况也与这次事件有关吗？”
"Maybe!"
十津川笑嘻嘻地说。龟井刑警更加摸不着头脑了：
“你到底想到了什么，不能快点儿和我说说吗。我怎么也弄不明白你这葫芦里卖的什么药。”
“我已经向你说过，'第一日本号'没有沉没。”
“是。可那没有证据啊。”
“是的，没有证据，但是，我相信，我的想法会一步一步得到证实的。就现在来说，就已经有了情况方面的证据。”
“你指的是？”
“通过你和小川刑警所了解的情况，我们知道，一级船员佐藤的房子是新建的，很小，但又很讲究，也买了汽车，是以分期付款形式购买的。就是说，他个人的欲望得到了一些满足，但并没有达到完全满足，是处于一种追求更高欲望的状态。船长宫本也接近退休年龄，尽管公司答应他退休之后可以留用，但工资会大幅度下降，而且也脱离了他喜欢的海上工作。我想年轻的船员们更是满足不了自己的欲望，而更希望得到金钱吧。而且，油轮上的生活又单调，寂寞得让人忍受不了。你可以想想看，这帮人在从日本向波斯湾航行的途中，蓦然会发觉，自己是在运载108亿日元的钞票啊。”
“是所有32名船员吗？”
“是啊，如果有反对的，这事情就办不成了。在波斯湾装满58万千升的石油之后，他们便考虑要把石油销售到什么地方。”
“销肯给哪里呢？”
“还不知道呢。不管怎样，我先把我的推测全都对你说了吧。他们，也就是这32名船务人员，在108亿日元的诱惑下，制定并实施了卖掉58万千升石油的计划。然而，随便卖给谁，这事情就会败露。因此，他们决定让'第一日本号'在南印度洋沉没。因为是油轮，所以沉没时必然会流出石油。所以他们制造了石油流出，燃烧大火，宫本船长等6人九死一生得到救助的一幕。但是，这58万千升的石油就等于那重要的钞票，是不会让它大量地流失的。所以，只能让它流出一点。这样，就产生了只燃烧5个小时的事实。”
“我觉得你的想法很有意思，可……”
龟井刑警吞吞吐吐地说。
“你怎么想？”
“如果是32人共同策划、实行的，为什么只有6人回国，还要会见记者等等？其余26人怎么样了？而且，为什么赤松淳一又要把6人一个个地杀掉？我实在想不明白。难道是围绕这108亿日元闹起了内部纠纷吗？”
“如果'第一日本号'没有沉没的话，那26人，不，除去赤松淳一是25人，他们当然还活着。我现在所不明白的是，他们这6人与26人的划分情况，如果认为这6人是高级船员，好像也不全对。我又想，是否认为油轮沉没，获救人数在6名左右比较合适呢？可想来想去也认为不妥当。现有，我只考虑到一个问题，可又没有证据。这就要拜托你啦。一会儿到了羽田机场，我想让你去新日本航线总公司，把32人的履历全部复印下来。这件事你拜托人事部长，他会办的。”
“明白了。可我无论如何还要问一件事。”
"what?"
“如果说'第一日本号'在12月5日没有沉没，那么50万吨的庞大油轮现在又在什么地方呢？”
Notes:
Notes: