Chapter 8 Section VIII

They walked for a while on the road in front of the station and turned into a Japanese restaurant in the alley.As soon as he sat down on the second floor, Ishida wiped his hands with a hot wet towel and asked Yoshishiki where he went today.Yoshiki told Ishida the places he had walked all day, and said that he originally planned to go to Matsue City, soak in the hot springs, and then take a walk by Lake Shinji, but he encountered an unexpected big case and made him cancel this plan. Hearing what Jifu said, Ishida quickly apologized and poured beer for Jifu to show his condolences. "Is the fish in Tottori delicious?" asked Yoshiki.

Ishida nodded affirmatively. "But isn't your hometown in Onomichi?" Yoshida asked. Yoshiki nodded and said, "Isn't it time to talk about Onomichi? I heard there are witnesses?" After drinking, Jifu immediately turned the topic to the case. "Well, it's a group of high school students." Ishida replied, "Those students are passengers on the Kurayoshi Line train from Kurayoshi to Yamamori. It's the train on the right hand side, and the paper bag on it is black." Jifu nodded in understanding.As if he was dealing with the case he was in charge of, he sorted out the process of the case very seriously in his mind.

"There is a municipal duckling high school on the duckling side of the Kuangyoshi line. The kendo club of this high school has a so-called 'morning practice' time, which is the training time before class every morning. The class leaves at 6:16 The train departing from Ji happened to be the train that these Kendo Club students took. When these students were at Kurayoshi Station, they saw a man put a black paper bag on the luggage rack of the train before departure." "man?" "It's a man." "What about age and appearance?" "A young man about twenty-four or five years old, like an athlete, with very neat movements. However, the students don't remember the man's clothes very well. Some people say that he seems to be wearing gray overalls, while others say he is wearing brown. A blazer. And he's got a lot of pomade on his head, and he's wearing black-rimmed glasses and a big white mask."

"This is the same as what the train crew on 'Izumo-1' said." "That's it." "What time was it?" "The students said it was two or three minutes before the departure." "Which train's departure time?" "Before the departure of the Kurayoshi Line train." "Two or three minutes, it's..." "Six twelve, three. It coincides with the time of 'Izumo No. 1'. The stop time of 'Izumo No. 1' at Kurayoshi Station is from 6:12 to 13." "Just one minute? Is that enough time?"

"It is enough, because the platform of 'Izumo 1' and the platform of the Kurayoshi Line can be said to be the same." "It can be said to be the same? What does this mean? Can it be reached without going up and down the overpass?" "Yes, you can go from the platform of 'Izumo One' to the platform of Kurayoshi Line without going up and down the overpass. 'Izumo One' is on the platform of Line 3 at Kurayoshi Station, and the Kurayoshi Line is on the platform of Line 5 Platform No. 5 at Kurayoshi Station is behind the east side of the platform of Line 3, opposite to the platform of Line 3, that is, heading towards Tottori and Tokyo.”

"I still don't understand. Isn't it the other side of the platform of Line 3?" Yoshishiki was thinking about the situation of the local train on the San'in Line at Yonago Station and "Izumo No. 1". "No, the other side of the platform on Line 3 is the ticket gate. I'll draw a picture for you to understand. It's very simple." So Ishida took out a pen and paper and drew a picture, and then said, "Like this,' Izumo No. 1 arrives at the platform of Line 3, and the platform of Line 5 is just behind the platform of Line 3. Therefore, the prisoner only needs to move to the rear compartment in the "Izumo No. 1" and wait for Kurayoshi Line train No. 1 If you arrive, you can get off immediately and put your things on the Kurayoshi Line train in the opposite direction. Although it is only one minute, it is enough to complete that kind of work. I used to use one minute to get off the train to buy noodles, and then go back to the car."

"That's right! This is indeed possible." Jifu expressed his understanding.After listening to Ishida's explanation, he knew the location of the feeder train platform.The platforms of regional trains are usually on the left or right after entering the ticket gates. At Izumo City Station, the platform of the Taisha Line and the direction of "Izumo No. 1" are also exactly opposite, just like the picture drawn by Ishida. Line 0 at Yonago Station is the platform for the Sakai Line.Because the configuration of the platform there is exactly the reversed situation of the platform map drawn by Ishida.The platform of Line 5 at Kurayoshi Station is the platform of Line 0 below the entrance of the ticket gate at Yonago Station.

"There is indeed such a possibility!" Whether it is Yonago Station or Izumo City Station, you need to walk across the overpass.However, there is no need for that at Kurayoshi Station, which only stops for one minute, so although it is only one minute, it is enough time. "Did that young man run across the platform, put the paper bag on the luggage rack on the Kurayoshi line, and then run back quickly?" "Of course. He can be back on Izumo-1 on the other side of the platform soon." "Did the high school students who witnessed it say anything else?"

"It's nothing special except that the man's movements are very athlete-like. Because those high school students are members of the sports club, they are particularly sensitive to the unique temperament of athletes." "That's right! It doesn't matter if it's a minute or two, running out from 'Izumo No. 1', putting a part of the body on another train that's still waiting to go, and then running back to 'Izumo No. 1'. It is easier for young men with strong physical strength to do it. Because the "Izumo No. 1" stays in Kurayoshi for only one minute, I always thought that it would be difficult for the prisoners to complete the task of discarding the corpses here. But since the configuration of the platform If that’s the case, then it’s very possible.”

"Well. Anyway, we've been investigating in that direction." "Have you not found the head yet?" Yoshiki changed the subject. "Not yet. We have notified stations such as Numazu, Matsuhama, Nagoya, and Fukuchiyama. Please pay special attention to whether there are suspicious objects at each station. We have also notified stations such as Kofutsu, Okazaki, Nagano, and Kyoto. Not only the terminal station, but also Goten The stations along the Field Line and the Central Line have also made the same deployment. I called those stations several times yesterday to check, and the result was that I found nothing suspicious. What do you think about this?"

"Well, I can't figure it out." "Don't you think that the head might be discarded in this four-track train? Maybe it was as you thought, but it was taken away by other passengers halfway, or disappeared for other reasons. Or... it was not picked up at all. Discarded at any of those stations mentioned above. What do you think?" Ishida's expression was very serious, and he stared at Jishiki intently, completely ignoring the delicacies on the table. "It's so difficult! After 'Izumo-1' passes Fukuchiyama, Toyooka, and Kinosaki, where will it stop next?" "After Toyooka and Kinosaki, we will stop at Hamamatsu and then Tottori." Ishida replied. "Write down all the stops of 'Izumo One'!" Tokyo → Yokohama → Atami → Numazu → Hamamatsu → Nagoya → Fukuchiyama → Toyooka → Kinosaki → Hamasaka → Tottori → Kurayoshi → Yonago → Yasugi → Matsue → Izumo → Ota → Etsu → Hamada "There are a total of 19 stops from the start station to the end station." Yoshiki said, "From this point of view, the incident happened after the train arrived at Tottori Station, didn't it?" "Yes." Ishida replied, "If counting from Tokyo Station, Tottori Station is the eleventh stop, and we have already entered the second half of the journey." "Ok." "It happened from there. The parts of four corpses were discarded one after another in Tottori, Kurayoshi, Yonago, and Izumo. As for the stations of Numazu, Hamamatsu, Nagoya, and Fukuchiyama, it was the fourth, fifth, and third stations of this train line. Six or seven stops." "Ok." "These stops feel like it's too early." "Yes, there are three more stops between Mt. Fukuchi and Tottori, namely Toyooka, Kinosaki, and Hamasaka." "Well. Last time you said that the presumed time of death was between six and eight o'clock in the afternoon." "That's right." "That is, between 18:00 and 20:00, which happens to be the time to drive from Tokyo to Numazu, and also passes Yokohama and Atami stations on the way. In other words, there is a stop in those two hours, no, Strictly speaking, Numazu cannot be counted, because the time to arrive at Numazu is twenty-five minutes past. So the prisoner killed the woman before the train arrived at Numazu. Therefore, Numazu is indeed too early." "Is it... that's right!" "It will take some time to dismember the corpse after the murder. Isn't it difficult to cut the corpse before it is stiff? And there will be a lot of blood." "Well, common sense seems to be like this, but I haven't done such a thing, so it's hard to understand." Ishida said. "I'm the same as you in that." "So, you mean the prisoners don't drop their heads at these first four stops?" "I can't find evidence for that, it's just a feeling." "So the prisoner took the head of the body?" "It's hard to say!" "Is there anything else besides this possibility?" "Yes, but I have no way to specify." "For example what?" "Like throwing it out of a train, into a river or whatever." "That's impossible! The windows of 'Izumo-1' cannot be opened." "Can't the toilet window be opened?" "Yes, but the width of the opening is very limited. At best, it can allow the entry and exit of hands, but human heads cannot pass through." "Where's the flight attendant's room?" "Well, it's possible in the flight attendant's room." "But it's still a bit difficult! We all know that the doors of the blue train can only be opened when it stops." "In this way, the corpse can only be discarded on the platform." "Or throw it in other trains that are also parked in the station." "Well, that's why this incident happened." After nodding his head vigorously two or three times, Ishida said, "Because throwing the corpse into another train can be said to be the criminal's last resort." "Well, I think that's something that can be thought of in a short time. As long as you look carefully at the train timetable, you can know which trains stop at the same station at the same time as the 'Izumo No. 1' you are on. " "So did this case evolve?" "The man in the personal box of 'Izumo No. 1' killed the woman in the next box in a sudden situation. He will definitely worry about how to dispose of the woman's body." Yoshiki said. "That's right, the man finally came up with this trick." "No, I don't think this is a good idea, because it is too difficult to deal with. Just thinking about how to discard pieces of corpses is enough. What's more, as we said just now, the windows of 'Izumo-1' cannot The only place that is open and can lead to the outside of the train is the door to the platform that can only be opened when it is parked." "Yes. If it is an old train, you can also dump the corpse from the toilet onto the track." "Yeah. But the structure of the train toilets is different from that of the past. It is impossible to discard the corpses in this way. Only when the train stops at the station can the corpses be thrown out. The prisoner may also think of throwing the corpses between the platform and the train carriages." The method on the track, but that would be discovered soon. Moreover, the passengers on the "Izumo No. 1" that just drove away would be suspected, which would be troublesome. So the prisoner had an idea and decided to use the "Izumo No. 1" Izumo No. 1 was other trains that stopped at the same station at the same time. If the corpses were discarded on the luggage racks of those trains, the police would suspect passengers on those branch lines in the future. Of course, the police might also suspect To the passengers on the 'Izumo-1', but by then the 'Izumo-1' had already arrived at Hamada Station, and I had already left easily... We can think so." "Yes, I think so." Ishida said. After a moment of silence, Yoshiki said, "I was deceived by this idea too. That's what I thought when I checked the timetable. But now, I think it's a tricky idea." Ji Fu said word by word slowly. "why?" "There are many suspicious things. Let's talk about how the prisoner can successfully obtain the six paper bags. Can you buy paper bags like that on the platform where the car is parked?" "Well, we have to investigate to find out." "I think you can probably buy it! Well, even if the paper bag problem is solved, there is also the issue of the tools used in dismembering the corpse. The tools used in this dismemberment incident are small carpentry saw blades, right?" "yes." "No one would carry that kind of thing with them, right? So we can only think that it was prepared in advance." "True. But..." "Also. This twenty-four or five-year-old man has to do it while the train is traveling the distance between Yokohama, Atami, and Numazu. But when the train travels this distance, the woman is not in his own personal space. In the box, isn't it?" "Well……" "Where has she gone?" "who knows." "If this man killed someone, he would disappear together. However, this man was inspected by the train staff when the train came to Yokohama, right? It can be seen that this man did not disappear in his own box on the No. 1 train. . How should this be explained?" "Hmm..." Ishida crossed his arms and listened to Yoshiki's reasoning. "Also, if the man really wants to kill, the place must be in his own personal box on the No. 1 train. For him, there is no safer place to kill than his own box on the 'Izumo No. 1' train. The reason for my reasoning comes from the fact that 'Izumo No. 1' is a train with individual sleeper compartments. If it is a blue train without individual compartments, my reasoning cannot be established. Therefore, if a man is outside No. 1 train There will be a lot of trouble. The first is: How can he bring the victim who was killed in another car back to the first car? There are people walking around in the car at any time, and it is difficult to take the victim without anyone seeing him. The body was brought back to the No. 1 car. Therefore, no matter whether it is a man or a woman, the prisoner or the victim, it must be in the No. 1 car. In this way, the woman should accept the first ticket check." "Really? Is it like this!" Ishida said.But he was silent for a while, and then said: "However, according to what you just said, the only thing you think is absolutely difficult to explain is the small saw blade! Other than that, you can barely find explanations for everything else." "How to explain?" "For example, paper bags should be able to be bought on the platform of the station. I will investigate this further. As for the newspaper, the possibility of picking it up on the train is not ruled out. The reason why the woman is not in the compartment of the No. 1 car is very It may be that the man killed her shortly after the train departed from Tokyo and hid her on the bed in her compartment. The departure time of 'Izumo No. 1' from Tokyo is 6:15, which is within the presumed time of death .” "Hmm... is it possible? So what about the saw blade?" "It's really hard to explain, but it might be the key to finding the killer. No one would carry something like that with them. But what if this young man is a carpenter by trade?" "Well, will it be like that?" Yoshiki asked himself.He felt that Ishida's statement was idealistic, but at the moment he couldn't think of any effective refutation, and he didn't feel the need to refute Ishida immediately. Walking out of the restaurant, the two detectives walked side by side in the Tottori night. After finding a hotel with vacant rooms at the end of the road in front of the station, they said goodbye in front of the hotel entrance. The next morning, Yoshiki contacted Ishida again in the restaurant of the hotel.Ishida said that he has investigated whether it is possible to buy such paper bags on the platforms of Tokyo, Yokohama, Atami, Numazu, Hamamatsu, Nagoya and other stations at the first few stops of "Izumo No. 1". Jifu asked him how the result was, and the answer was "not smooth".According to Ishida's survey, some station platform kiosks do sell paper bags, but almost all of them are small paper bags of 200 yen, and very few large paper bags of 250 yen are sold. "The ones that sell large bags are Tokyo Station and Nagoya Station. However, the pattern of the paper bags sold in Nagoya is neither gray denim pattern nor black. From this point of view, it can only be considered that the prisoner bought all six paper bags at Tokyo Station. Just boarded the 'Izumo-1'".Ishida said in an unconvinced voice. "Then how did the luminol reagent in the personal box of 'Izumo-1' react?" asked Jifu. "It's also very nerve-wracking." Ishida's voice still sounded very unconvinced."There was nothing special about it," he said. "No response?" "Hmm. Whether it's the box where the woman lay down, or the box of the man wearing a mask and glasses, there doesn't seem to be any trace of blood. What a headache!" "Speaking of this, the personal box is not the scene of dismemberment?" "Possibly! However, it is also possible that the prisoner was very cautious and took great care not to leave any blood." "Hmm. It seems that the possibility of impulsive killing is getting lower and lower." "You can put it that way!" "Where are the fingerprints?" "No fingerprints either. Gloves probably." "Are there no other witnesses?" "No, it seems that a wanted poster may be posted." "I'm going back to Tokyo, please contact us if you need our help." Yoshiki said. "Ah, I will." Ishida said, "There may still be a lot of trouble for you. I have a hunch that we will meet again soon." "I hope it's better for us to meet again at a leisurely time." Ishida seemed to be very busy, so Yoshiki didn't see him again this morning.At ten o'clock in the morning, Yoshishiki left the San'in area alone on the "White Rabbit" from Tottori. Izumo, Yachi's big snake, corpse cut into eight pieces...these things make Jishiki's trip to San'in full of strangeness.Even the name of the train seems to be quite suggestive when Mirai Yoshiki thinks about it. Will come again sometime in the future!Yoshiki, who was sitting in the "White Rabbit", thought so.His premonition later became a reality.