Chapter 27 Chapter Thirteen

At around 3:00 p.m. the next day, the two detectives, Jindai and Higashi, stepped out of the plane at a small airport near Miike Beach on Miyake Island.Of the passengers declared full, more than half were people in fishing gear from Tokyo, and the rest were people from the island, officials on business trips, four tourists and a newlywed couple.The fishermen, in civilian clothes, talked loudly about their craft.From their equipment, Jindai imagined the appearance of the man who walked down the beach from the tip of Manazuru Cape with a fishing rod on the morning of the 17th.There are many people who love fishing.

The criminal police on the island came to the airport to meet the two of them, got into a police car, and drove to the General Administration.The Miyakejima Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department is in Izu, and the airport is located on the east side of the island. Therefore, it is necessary to bypass the paved road at the foot of Mount Xiongshan in the center of the island for about ten kilometers to reach Izu in the north. The traffic between Tokyo and Miyakejima has been very convenient since the opening of domestic routes.In the past, we could only take a boat. We set sail from Tokyo in the evening and arrived at Okubo on the north shore of Miyake Island at 6:00 the next morning.And usually there is only one boat every three days.

Looking from the car window, there are almost no houses on the highland on the left, and the black pine virgin forest is lush and lush above the lava field. On the right, you can see the beach and harbor with calm waves.Interpol explained that there is Miikehama.The places where pedicure is dried can be seen everywhere.Mikurajima is also in sight.For a while, enter the Cape Roots and temporarily leave the shoreline. "This is called Sada Cape." Said a policeman.Passing there, the primeval forest also ends, turning into a desolate landscape of black-brown lava.Roads are carved out of lava.

"This area is called Akaba Akatsuki. It was formed when lava erupted when the Xiongshan volcano erupted in the 15th year of the Showa era (1940)." "Exactly the same as Karuizawa's ghost release." East Criminal Police said.But Jindai thinks of the lava field of Sakurajima.On the right is still a terracotta lava basin, but part of it is a desert-like gravel area. "There will be hot springs gushing out of the sand over there. It's an open-air bath. It was formed when the fire erupted." The detective said, but he couldn't see a house. "It's just that people from nearby come to take a bath occasionally, and there are no tourists, so no hotel was built." The criminal police went on to explain.

Leaving the lava field, pass the small village called Shimo Noo, to the north of the island.The nearby coastline is full of cliffs.Soon after entering the lava field, after passing here is the village called Shenzhuo. "Tokyo's Miyake Branch Office is located here." A criminal police officer explained. This is the harbor, the road becomes higher, and Niijima can be seen.Go down the road to Izu Village, where the police station is located.It was almost four o'clock. Shindai and Higashi Detectives were brought into the criminal police room, greeted Director Miyakejima, and then unfolded the detailed map of Miyakejima.

The entire Miyake Island is circular, and the Xiongshan volcano is entrenched in the center.About at the belly of Xiongshan Mountain, it seems to divide the island into two halves, passing through the line of 139°30 east longitude.The thirty-fourth parallel north latitude passes through the sea in the south of the island and intersects with the longitude.The road winds along the coastline at the foot of the mountain, and it is said that it takes about an hour to drive around.People on this island used to call circling the island a "travel", and they had to stay overnight to complete the circling, but now it can be completed in an hour's drive.

"Which part of this island is the easiest for yachts to enter?" It is said that it is Kaibin near Agu in the west and Pingtian in the south.Especially Saihama, where the ships of the Tokyo Yacht Club often dock, and there are also famous movie stars among them. "There are also Ofunato Bay on the west and Miikehama on the east." "Is there anything else?" "Except for these few places, the other coastlines are cliffs, which are not suitable for docking." Jindai told the detectives of his intentions and asked to investigate whether anyone saw the yacht docking between 9:00 am and 11:00 am on August 16th.The matter is best entrusted to the local police to investigate.The criminal police of the Headquarters who do not know the local residents must have many difficulties in order to inquire about the news.

"It's best to have results at 3:30 tomorrow afternoon, before we leave." With the director's understanding, the criminal police promised to fully assist. "How about going around the island for half a circle now? I haven't seen it on the west side, so it's better to take a look first. An hour's round trip is enough." Although it was nearly six o'clock, the summer sun was still bright.Accompanied by three criminal policemen, the two of them set off in the director's car. After leaving Izu Village, the paved road goes around the foot of Mount Oyama along the west coast.

Soon enter the village of Izu, which is the deepest Onunato Bay on the island.From here to Agu, the foot of the mountain becomes a steep slope.The village can be seen on the terrace made of stone walls, and Kozu Island is floating near the sea. "There are hot springs on the coast here." The policeman said. When I came here just now, there was also an open-air hot spring bath in the lava sand field to the east. After passing the small village of Agu, not far from the cross road, you will arrive at the deep harbor of Kaibin Fishing Port.Because it is said that yachts are often moored here, the two criminal policemen took a closer look, but at this time they could not see any sails.Further south through the small village of Bomu to Pingtian at the southern end, the coast is full of rocky cliffs, and there are fishermen on the cliffs. In addition to buses, grazing cattle are also strolling leisurely on the road.Dairy farming flourished on the island.There are volcanic lakes with Xiongshan parasitic volcanoes on the road - Xinchuan, Daluchi, etc., but Daluchi, such as Shi Hulan, which is overgrown with water and grass, can only be seen by listening to the instructions, and cannot be seen from the car.There are two people who look like tourists nearby.

The car decided to go back to Pingtian, and then it was the same road as before.The criminal police who came together got off the car at Pingtian and asked for the news that God Dai and the others wanted. When I returned to Agu, I happened to watch the beautiful sunset on the sea.After the yellow sun fell into the purple cloud, its brilliance faded, and it sank into a red fireball. That night, Shindai and the others lived in a simple inn, but it was much cooler here than in Tokyo, so they had a good night's sleep.Everything will have to wait for the news collected tomorrow. After Jindai woke up in the morning, he wanted to go around the island again.This time I don't want to disturb others.Call a taxi and head south according to yesterday's itinerary.However, there was no gain.At the dawn of Chichang in the lava field, I once got off the car to visit the special scenery here.There was no one.The lava field near the open-air bath on the right cannot see fishermen, and it is a desolate and lonely scene.When I asked the driver, the answer was the same as what the criminal police said yesterday. Except for people from the nearby fishing village who came occasionally, no one used this open-air bath.There are also hot springs on the west coast, so there is no need to come to such an inconvenient place.

"It's a pity, if this is in Tokyo, it will be terrible." East Criminal Police said, wiping his sweat. When they returned to the inn for lunch, two detectives from yesterday came to report to them. "Reports from all the small villages have been collected. On the morning of the 15th and 16th, no yachts docked, and there were no witnesses." Although it was a half-expected answer, Jindai and Dong were still very disappointed. "That is to say, there is no sign of the yacht at all?" Jindai asked. "No, someone saw the yachts in the race. Between 8:30 and 11 o'clock in the morning on the 16th, the fishing boats in the sea saw yachts sailing, some were sailing in the south, and some were sailing in the east. Of course the times vary, probably because the yachts in the race are spread out and sailing. However, no one saw the yachts parked on the shore."