by I. J. Parker
He paused to draw breath.
Akitada asked in a dangerously quiet voice, “Why are you telling me this?”
Saburo caught the tone. “I … I hoped you might give me your advice, sir. I don’t know where to begin?” He swallowed.
“I see that I’ve been negligent in keeping you busy with your duties,” Akitada said. “You seem to have too much time on your hands and meddle in affairs that have nothing whatsoever to do with your work. Apparently you’ve used your ample leisure to set up as an investigator on your own account. I absolutely forbid my people to engage in activities that don’t have my approval. So my advice to you is to abandon the matter and make yourself useful around my residence.”
Even behind all the facial hair and the paste Saburo used to hide his scars, Akitada could see him change color. He sat still for a moment. Only his injured eye rolled uncontrollably, betraying his shock. Then he got to his feet and bowed.
“I beg your pardon, sir. Of course, I’ll obey your wishes. But you’ll find that the accounts are in order. So as not to disturb you unduly I’ve been working on them at night. And I’ve made sure I wasn’t needed before going into town today. Is there any particular thing you’d like me to do now?”
“No.” Akitada felt guilty for having been so harsh with Saburo. It was likely that he had come to tell him about bathhouse murder for much the same reason as the others when they had tried to interest him in Lady Ogata’s death. He cleared his throat. “Umm, I appreciate that you have made sure that your chores were done, Saburo. I’ll have a look at the accounts later. Harumph. It’s been a rather busy day and I’ve been distracted by other matters.” He paused uncertainly. “Umm, I’m sure the police can handle crimes in the city, but if you have any information, you may give it to Superintendent Kobe.”
“Thank you, sir.” Saburo bowed and left.
Akitada felt more than ever inadequate for what lay before him. Never mind the alleged suicide of some woman or the violent murder of a moneylender. Those were other people’s problems. He had neglected his own duties while reprimanding Saburo. With a sigh, he got up and went to look at the accounts. Saburo had indeed kept them faithfully.
But he was shocked to see how very little gold was left. Running his eyes over the entries, he saw the large payments that had been made for Tamako’s funeral and a number of bills the household had incurred in his absence. Missing were his usual salary payments to offset such big expenses. Since he had abandoned his position in Kyushu, he had not drawn his salary for it or for his large travel expenses. Meanwhile, income from his farm outside the capital and from some land he still owned in the north from his service as governor in Echigo was not expected until after the fall harvests.
Worse, apparently none of his people had received any pay since his return. Saburo had not told him, perhaps because he had assumed that his master would check the accounts.
No wonder they were all so eager for him to get over his grief.
No, that was unjust. None of them was doing this for the money. He was being unfair to the people who served him, just as he had been unfair to his children. He closed the account book.
For a moment he went out on his veranda and stared at the wet greenery without seeing it. He could not do as he wished. He could not even do as they had hoped he would, that is by letting himself be distracted by an investigation into a suicide or a murder. He must go back to work.
He went inside and took his resignation from the box. Tearing it up, he dropped the pieces on the glowing charcoal under his water pot and watched it flare up and burn.
Suddenly, he had the strange feeling that he was not alone. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled as he listened. Had he heard a shuffling step? A dry cough? He looked around wildly, half afraid and half hopefully. The room was empty.
And yet he knew he was not alone. Perhaps the beneficent spirits of the dead who had loved people stayed around or paid their visits when needed.
“How are you, old friend?” he murmured into the dim air. “You always know, don’t you?”
If old Seimei had still been with him, he knew what he would have told him. “Fire does not burn in a jar,” he would have said. And then he would have quoted Master Kung-fu-tse on the duty of a gentleman to keep active and look after his people.
Locking himself away in his room to mourn Tamako had been wrong. It had been a form of escape. He was alive, and Tamako had trusted him to look after the children and their people. Now he must make an effort for them. However distasteful it was, he must return to work. It would mean begging forgiveness and pleading for even the most humble position.
He would start with a visit to the ministry and a talk with Fujiwara Kaneie.
12
The Blind Girl
Saburo felt resentful. He did not think he had deserved his master’s anger, and though he tried to make allowances, the scene rankled. The next morning, he went to look for Tora or Genba.
Genba was in the stable, feeding the horses. He looked glum. “I don’t know what we’ll do for food for these animals,” he said to Saburo. “You’ve got to talk to the master. I need money to buy more hay and straw.”
Saburo perched on an upturned water bucket. “I can’t talk to him. I just told him about a murder in the city and a poor blind girl the police arrested, and he got very angry, saying I had no business meddling in police affairs and neglecting my chores. I haven’t been neglecting my chores.”
Genba nodded. “He’s not well. We’ve got to be patient. But money is another matter. We’ll all starve soon along with the horses. Cook says she’s been cutting back on her marketing. You’ve got to talk to him.”
“I can’t. At least not just now.”
Genba sighed. “We haven’t told him our news yet.”
Saburo nodded. He knew that Genba and Ohiro were expecting a child in another three months and that they had been afraid to tell the master.”
“We can’t wait much longer. Ohiro shows already.”
Saburo nodded again. They looked at each miserably, then Saburo got up. “I’ll see what Tora thinks.”
“Oh, Tora’s in great spirits. He got the master to inspect some place where a lady hanged herself. The mansion belongs to one of the master’s friends.”
Saburo’s resentment grew by a few notches. So Tora got a favorable hearing. Maybe because that death concerned one of the good people. He spat into the straw and left.
Tora was on his way out. Of course, he looked happy, Saburo thought sourly. Here he lived in a comfortable house with a pretty wife and handsome son, and his master favored him above all his other retainers. Even Genba, for all his grumbling, was a lucky family man. Only he, Saburo, had neither wife nor family.
And now not even a girlfriend any longer.
“Hey, Saburo. Why the long face?” Tora grinned at him.
“I can’t seem to do anything right.” Saburo’s resentment grew. Tora could do no wrong. Fortune smiled on him. “The master just laid into me because I told him about a murder in the city. All I wanted to do was to get him interested again. You know he hasn’t been out of that room in months and has made no effort to return to work. And we’re almost out of money. I don’t know what to do. Genba’s worried about feed for the horses. When I told him about the murder, the master accused me of gallivanting about on my own business instead of doing my chores. But I’d stayed up nights to work on the account so as not to be in his way. Frankly, Tora, I don’t know what to do any more.”
As he poured out his pent-up feelings, Tora’s face gradually lost its smile. Now the handsome Tiger scratched his head. “It’s that bad about the money?” he asked, getting to the most urgent of the problems.”
Saburo nodded.
“I think it’ll be all right,” Tora said cautiously. “He’s starting to take an interest again. Sorry you got a lecture. It’s probably all been a bit much for him. See, I got him to look into the suicide of this Lady Ogata this morning, and then his sis
ter came. She always makes him irritable. What’s this about a murder in the city?”
Saburo felt a little ashamed of having blamed Tora for being the master’s favorite. He said, “I’m sorry, Tora. It’s not your fault. I’ve had a bad day over this murder of a moneylender in one of the bathhouses. The police arrested one of Shokichi’s friends, a blind shampoo girl who worked at the Daikoku-yu. Shokichi broke off with me because she thought I didn’t do enough to help her friend. I hoped maybe the master might look into it, but you’d already got him to look into your case.” He sighed.
“It’s not my case. Lord Nakatoshi told the master about it. As it turns out, some of the master’s friends have been plotting to get him out of the house. And it worked, too. I just happened to be the one to go with him. I tell you what, Saburo. I was about to go see Superintendent Kobe to report. Why don’t you come along? You can talk to him about your blind shampoo girl.”
Saburo accepted gratefully. He was experiencing a strong feeling of kinship with Sachi and the poor schoolmaster. Once he had been like them: poor and therefore preyed upon by everyone. The good people looked through you as if you didn’t exist. Your presence appalled them and offended their sensibilities, so they closed their eyes to your suffering. The rich merchants drove you from their doorstep, and the rest stole from you or took out their frustrations by beating you up.
He had convinced himself that the blind girl had been a convenient scapegoat, and the poor schoolmaster had been brought to his abject condition by the greed of the Nakamuras. He still felt a little resentful that his master had behaved the way all the other good people did and ignored the needs of the poor.
It was no longer raining, but the sky was overcast and a cold wind blew down from Mount Hiei. They huddled into their quilted jackets as they walked to the prison where police headquarters were located.
Saburo voiced his thoughts to Tora on the way.
Tora glared at him. “If you think that of the master, then you don’t know him. He’s never turned his back on the poor. If you can’t see that he’s been buried under a mountain of grief since his lady died, along with the little son, then you’ve really lost your mind.”
Saburo flushed. “I didn’t really think he was like the rest.”
“He’s not!”
A brief silence fell. After a while, Tora said more calmly, “Mind you, when I first met him, I made the same mistake. You see, it’s all that book learning that makes him a bit stiff when it comes to rules, and I thought he was cruel and uncaring. As it turned out, he saved my neck when I was about to be taken up for a highwayman, and then he saved Genba and Hachiro from being arrested for murder, when all they’d done was to defend their honor. For that matter, he took you on, too, didn’t he? The way you looked back then, I wouldn’t have given you a chance.”
Saburo hung his head. “You’re right. I’m sorry I said what I did, but I think someone has to help Sachi and the schoolmaster.”
“Tell me about them.”
As they walked, Saburo told the story from the beginning: his meeting with Shokichi and the murder in the bathhouse, his break-up with Shokichi and his decision to solve the murder himself, his visit to Nakamura’s house, and the plight of the schoolmaster. He summed up, “When I saw what that crook had brought this poor family to, I knew there was no point in hunting down all the other borrowers. They’re all going to be the same kind of poor devils. That’s when I went to ask the master’s advice.”
Tora had listened without interrupting. Now he said, “You can’t know that they’re all the same. But I’ll help you as much as I can, and Genba, too. Well, here we are. Let’s talk to Kobe. Maybe we can see this blind girl of yours and find out if she knows anything.”
Kobe was busy and made them wait. They sat outside his office, watching the coming and going of constables and senior police officers.
“So you and Shokichi have broken up?” Tora asked after a while.
Saburo’s irritation with Shokichi’s unreasonable behavior rose again. “She says she’ll have nothing more to do with me. That sounded pretty final to me.” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen her so stubborn. Would you believe she expected me to attack the constables and free Sachi?”
Tora raised his brows. “Doesn’t sound like her. This Sachi, do you at all think she might have done it?”
Saburo looked morose. “Not really. But considering Shokichi’s behavior, it strikes me women lose their minds sometimes. Who’s to say Sachi didn’t cut Nakamura’s throat if he said something she didn’t like? Women!”
Tora laughed. “Let’s assume she didn’t do it. I like the moneylenders much better for it. They have no conscience. You know, we need to go to that bathhouse and start asking questions about the people who were there.”
Saburo slapped his forehead. “Of course. Honestly, the quarrel with Shokichi upset me so I couldn’t think straight.”
At this point, a constable stuck his head out of Kobe’s office and asked them to come in.
Kobe sat behind a desk that was laden with papers as usual. Several clerks worked on more paperwork.
The superintendent smiled. “So, what do you have to tell me? Did he go to check out that suicide?”
Tora grinned back. “Yes, sir. It worked beautifully. He not only looked at the room where the lady hanged herself, but he talked to three of the people living there. A really odd bunch of people, if you ask me. And he came away suspecting Abbot Genshin of having had a hand in it somehow. Apparently the abbot was a holy terror among the ladies in his younger years.”
Kobe laughed. “True, but these days the reverend abbot is in such great favor with the court and Buddhist hierarchy that he can certainly shrug off Lord Sugawara’s suspicions. I wish I’d been there.” He paused. Suddenly looking worried, he asked, “Did he think there was something wrong with that suicide?”
“Not really. He did look through the lady’s things and, as I said, he asked some questions. But he seems to be mostly curious why the lady and the others were living there.”
“Well, let’s hope it means he’ll return to a more normal life now.” Kobe’s eyes went to Saburo. “Glad to see you again, Saburo. Your looks are greatly improved, I notice.”
“Thank you, sir.” Saburo hung his head a moment. “It was Lady Sugawara’s help as much as anything,” he added softly.
“Ah. A great loss, that lady.”
They sat in silence for a moment, then Kobe said, “You went along with your master and Tora?”
“No, sir. I’m here about something else.” Saburo gave an account of the murder in the bathhouse and his conviction that the blind girl had not done the crime. “I’d hoped to get the master’s help, but he’s too busy now, and I don’t know how to proceed, or if I should.”
He had managed to sound dejected, and Kobe smiled. “I see Sugawara’s entire household is trying to do my work for me again. No doubt, Lady Akiko will shortly make her appearance.”
Tora chuckled. “She was talking to the master when we left, so I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“May the heavens help me,” said Kobe. “I may have made a bad mistake. As for the blind girl, frankly I had my doubts when I heard about it. The say she’s absolutely adamant that she didn’t do it and was out of the room when it happened. We’ll look into the matter, so there’s no need for you to do anything else.”
Saburo’s heart sank. He had little faith in police investigations. “Could I talk to her, sir?”
Kobe frowned. “Very well, but don’t make her any promises and stay out of it afterward.” He told a young constable to take Tora and Saburo to the jail so they could visit the girl.
Sachi cowered in a corner of the cell on some dirty straw. An evil-smelling bucket was in the opposite corner. She turned a frightened face toward the door as it opened. Saburo was struck again by how pretty she was when you discounted that bluish cast of blindness in her eyes.
Tora also whistled under his breath, and the blind girl shra
nk against the wall and cried, “Don’t, please!”
Saburo said quickly, “Don’t be afraid, Sachi. I’m Shokichi’s friend. She sent me to help. I brought a friend with me. We don’t mean you any harm.”
She relaxed a little. “Shokichi? She was there when they arrested me.”
“Yes. Me, too. She wanted me to fight the constables. Now she’s angry with me.”
A tiny smile appeared on her face. “You’re Saburo?”
“Yes. And my friend is Tora. Say ‘hello’, Tora.”
Tora obeyed. “Hello, Sachi. I’m sorry I whistled. It was the surprise. I guess you know you’re very pretty.”
She cried, “I wish I wasn’t.”
“Why?” Tora asked, “Did the constables or guards try anything?”
She nodded. “They tried.”
Tora growled. “Wait until the superintendent hears. Who was it, the constables or the jail guards?”
“One of the guards. Maybe two.”
“Right. I’ll put a stop to that. Saburo wants to help, too. Maybe you’d better tell us how all this happened.”
It appeared that Nakamura had requested her services at the Daikoku-yu a few days earlier.
“He was very generous. He paid me extra. It was all right at first, but he started saying things.” She blushed. “I didn’t understand at first, but then he also touched me when he said them, and I understood.” She lowered her head again. I told Jinzaemon I didn’t want to work for Nakamura-san anymore, but …” She made a helpless gesture with her hands. “I owed Jinzaemon some money. He wanted it back and I didn’t have it. He said he would forget the debt if I took care of Nakamura-san.”