The third victim of the Pullman lived in the Takaban area. I had hardly ever seen or heard the name Takaban before. When I first heard about it, I was confused about where the area was in the district, where the nearest station was, and what train I should take to get there.
On Friday, October 10, I decided to take the day off from work and go to Takaban to check it out. I still had no idea what Tarumiya Yukiko looked like, but I told myself that today I just needed to confirm her whereabouts.
My breakfast consisted of a piece of toast with a soft-boiled egg, leftover boiled broccoli from last night, and a cup of coffee with plenty of milk. As I ate, I took out my favorite pocket atlas of Tokyo's 23 wards and placed it on the round dining table, turning to Meguro Ward.
Takaban is located near the center of the district. If I take the train north-south, crossing two streets, the nearest station is Gakugei University Station. That means I need to take a train from my apartment, change lines, and get off at Gakugei University Station. It’s a long way, so it’ll take a long time. I’m afraid it will take me a whole day.
I picked up my shoulder bag that I had thrown on the floor when I got home last night, rummaged through it, took out a piece of paper printed at work, opened it, and placed it next to the atlas.