by I. J. Parker
Hamaya looked up from hisnotes. “Besides, there were three of them.”
“The other two are worse.”
“Really? You intrigue me.”Akitada rubbed his stomach. “I grant you,” he muttered, “it’s strange that a man who faces a sentence for murder should worry about his business losses.”
Tora snorted. “If you think him strange, just wait.”
The next person teetered in on tall wooden sandals. For a moment, Akitada wondered if he was looking at a woman in man’s garb. His visitor moved with painful, mincing steps and waving arms. Small and pudgy, he or she was dressed in a flamboyant silk robe and hada red silk scarf around the head. Though much younger than Umehara, the smooth,round-cheeked face made it difficult to guess age or gender. The creature collapsed in a heap in front of Akitada, raised tearful eyes and cried in achildishly high voice, “Oh, blessed Kannon, protect Okano! He cannot bear anymore. He is dying!” and burst into noisy sobs.
“Who is this?” Akitada asked,astonished. “Where is Okano?”
“That’s Okano.” Tora grinned.
Hitomaro added, “He says he’s a ‘theatrical performer’ from Otsu, between engagements and on his way to visit relatives in the mountains when he was arrested.”
Okano howled pitifully. Akitada thought he detected a trace of perfume among the stench of blood and sweat.
“Is he badly injured?”
Hitomaro shrugged. “He got a beating. I’d say a bit less than Umehara.”
Okano wailed.
“I see. More wine, Tora.”Akitada shifted uncomfortably. He did not know how to deal with a weeping man,and this one was hysterical. A renewed cramping in his belly provided theexcuse. “I’ll be back in a moment. Get him calmed down.”
When he returned, Okano was sitting up and smiling coyly at a scowling Hitomaro.
“I thank the Buddha for thiskind officer,” the actor told Akitada. “He is the first person who has shownsome feeling for poor Okano. I have been beaten and starved, humiliated andalmost frozen to death in your jail, and all for no reason.”
“Not quite without reason,”Akitada said dryly. “You spent the night in a place where a murder wascommitted, left under cover of dark with two companions, one of whom was found in possession of the murder weapon, and you carried on your person a share of the gold taken from the victim.”
“Oh!” Okano’s eyes filled with tears again. “But I explained that. The two pieces of gold I had with me are mine, a farewell gift from a fan.” “
Akitada pursed his lips. “A rich tip indeed! What is this benefactor’s name and where does he live?”
The actor drew himself upproudly. “I cannot tell. It is a matter of honor.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Akitadasaid coldly. “If it was a legitimate gift, there can be no harm in your tellingme his name.”
“No! Never! Such a thing is never done. It is not possible between gentlemen. Here! You may torture me again,but I will not reveal my friend’s name.” He pulled open his robe and slipped itoff his round pale shoulders. Angry red welts caked with blood marked his chubby chest. “Go ahead,” he wept. “Kill me!”
Akitada felt nauseated by thesight and the weeping. He snapped, “Stop making scenes and put your clothesback on!”
Okano obeyed, casting a glanceover his shoulder at Hitomaro, who looked away quickly.
“Why did you confess, if youdid not do it?” Akitada demanded.
“I was afraid they would kill me.”
“You arrived very late during the night before the murder?”
“Yes. Some gentlemen in a winehouse asked me to perform the dance of the River Fairy, and my effort was so well received that I ended up entertaining a crowd.” He smirked.
Tora made an uncouth noise, and Hitomaro coughed. Akitada frowned at them and asked, “Why did you not continue your journey the next day?”
“It turned cold and I had no warm clothes. Since my audience was generous the night before, I decided to do some shopping and continue the day after. I bought a lovely quilted jacket. Avery becoming color and pattern. White cherry blossoms on blue waves. But those animals took it away along with my gold.”
“Did you see the innkeeper while you were at the inn?”
“Only the wife, in the morning.She was leaving for a trip to the country. Just like a woman. Her husband’sill, and she’s off.” He turned down the corners of his mouth and shook his head.
“What did you think of Umehara and Takagi?”
“Not my types. The old fellow was already asleep when I arrived, and he left before I got up. The farmer came after I went out. I didn’t really talk to them till evening.”
“Don’t evade the question! Did you trust them? Do you think them capable of murder?”
“How would I know? They seemed all right, a bit rough, especially that farmer.” Okano gave an exaggerated shudder.
“Would you have noticed, if oneof your companions got up during the night? Perhaps to relieve himself?”
“Oh yes. I don’t sleep well,and the maid was snoring in her cubicle. They didn’t get up. It is too dreadful that we were the only guests. Someone arrived in the afternoon just after I got back from my shopping. I was having my bath. They made a great clatter in the entry, but I expect whoever it was didn’t like the place and left again.”
“Very well. You may go. If yourecall anything useful, get word to Lieutenant Hitomaro.”
“With the greatest pleasure.”Okano rolled his eyes at the muscular Hitomaro and tittered. On the way out, hemade a show of stumbling and grasped Hitomaro’s arm, but he found his hand quickly removed.
When the door had closed behind them, Tora burst out laughing. “Hitomaro’s finally made a conquest.” He swished across the room and fluted in falsetto, “‘With the greatest pleasure.’”
Akitada watched him sourly. “Okano’s another one who worries more about trivia than his life. But his accounting for the gold is as unbelievable as Umehara’s trust in total strangers.”
Tora stopped prancing. “Maybe not. In the capital, rich men take actors for lovers, and when they get tired of them, they pay them off. If they don’t, the bum-boys haunt their doorstep.Okano’s getting a bit past it as a pretty boy, so he could be telling the truth.”
“He is thirty-one according to the record, Excellency,” offered Hamaya. “And he is, of course, an outcast. By law, he was not permitted, to sleep at the inn. I expect that’s why they shaved his head.”
“They shaved his head? Isuppose that explains the red scarf,” Akitada said. “Make a note to look into the matter. I do not approve of wanton cruelty toward those who cannot defend themselves.”
Hitomaro returned with the last man, the young farmer who had carried the bloodstained murder weapon among his belongings.
Unlike the other two, he walked in with a firm step, wearing nothing but a loincloth and a shirt of rough hemp which left bare his thick muscular thighs and legs and revealed a good deal of barrellike chest. With his low forehead and vacant look he reminded Akitada more of a docile beast than a man. Hitomaro had to push him down into akneeling position, where it became obvious that the back of his shirt wassoaked in fresh blood.
“Takagi, sir,” said Hitomaro. “Son of the headman of Matsuhama village in the mountains.”
The young man grinned and nodded.
“Let me see his back,” Akitadasaid.
Tora and Hitomaro turned the prisoner around and lifted the crimson cloth. Akitada recoiled. This man’s backwas one huge open wound. It seemed impossible that a mere flogging could have done so much damage. Or that he should still be able to walk upright or kneel.
“Has he been seen by a doctor?”
Hitomaro answered. “No. They just got through with him an hour ago. He never confessed, but they ran out of bamboo canes and complained of muscle cramps. Chobei told them to take a rest and continue later.”
“Tell them I forbid it. And have a doctor sent for.”
They r
epositioned Takagi and covered his back again. The peasant submitted passively, staring around the room with a vacant expression.
Akitada leaned forward. “Takagi,look at me. Where did you get the gold you had?”
“Three pieces of gold.” Takagi nodded proudly, holding up three fingers. “The soldiers took the gold. I got to have it back. It belongs to the village.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s for the bowls and the oxen. My father said, ‘Takagi, go sell our bowls in the markets of Shinano province where they have much gold, and sell the oxen, too. Then we don’t have to feed them in the winter when they are no good to us.’ And so I go and I bring home three gold pieces.” He held up the three fingers again.
Akitada nodded. “A good plan.How many oxen did you take?”
“Two. To carry the bowls.”
“So you were on your way home.Why did you stop at the inn so early in the day?”
“Tired. I walk and walk, and then I rest and walk again. Sometimes I rest at night, sometimes in the day.”
“So you went to sleep at the inn as soon as you got there? Did you sleep all day?”
Takagi looked puzzled. “I wake up hungry. I ask for food, but no food. The girl is with the mistress. So I g oto the market and buy noodles. For a copper. The coppers are mine to keep. The gold belongs to the village. Will you give it back? I have to go home.”
“What time was it when you saw the mistress?”
He leaned his head back and studied the ceiling. His plain face contorted with the effort, but he finallysaid, “Don’t know.”
“Where was her husband?”
The face became blank. “Husband?”
“How did you get the knife?”
He began to frown deeply again,then smiled. “I know. The knife was from the kitchen.”
“How do you know?”
Takagi frowned again andscratched his head. “A nice big one.” He held his hands apart about a foot. “The girl is cutting a big radish with a little bit of a knife for our dinner. The big knife is better for big radish.”
“So!” Akitada slammed his fiston his writing table, “Confess! You liked the big knife so well you stole it.And that night you started looking for something else to steal and found theinnkeeper ill in his room. You killed him, took his money, sharing it with theother two so they would keep quiet, and the three of you made your escape. Andyou kept the nice large knife for a souvenir.” He straightened up and added coldly, “Confess now, and the law will be merciful.”
Takagi looked dully at him,shaking his head from side to side. “Stealing is wrong. Demons bite off your hands.” He held out his big, work-scarred paws. “See? I didn’t steal.”
“Then how did the knife get inyour bundle?”
Takagi looked blank again.
“What did you do with your bundle at the inn?”
“The girl said to put it in the kitchen. When I walk, I carry it on a stick over my shoulder.”
“Did you take it to the market with you?”
“No. The maid said to leave it behind the rice basket.”
“Weren’t you afraid someone might take your gold pieces?”
Takagi laughed out loud. “No gold in bundle. Oh no. Father said, ‘Put gold inside scarf and tie it around your waist.’“ He patted his middle and remembered his loss. “Three pieces ofgold. Will you give them back?”
Akitada stared hard at the farmer and then waved to Hitomaro to take him away. “I wonder,” he muttered toTora. “Someone must have seen these three in the market. They’re memorable enough.”
“And how! I don’t know about the other two, but it looks bad for Takagi. He’s not too bright. The fool admitted that he saw the knife and liked it.”
“True, that was not very bright, but it gives his story a certain convincing ring. And remember, of the three he is the only one who did not confess. You were right. Not one of the three is the criminal type. Umehara seems just what he claims to be, a middle-aged traveling salesman. Any number of locals may be able to testify to his character. Perhaps the magistrate will make an effort to verify his story, and that of the others, but I’m beginning to have my doubts. The actor Okano is afraid of his own shadow, and the peasant is slow-witted enough to believe that demons punish people for crimes. I cannot imagine who accepted that ridiculous tale that they are members of a gang.” He sighed. “I am convinced. We must check into the case.” Giving Tora a quizzical look, he added, “I expect you are just the man to talk to the maid at the inn.”
Tora jumped up eagerly.
“Not so fast. You haven’t shown much diplomacy so far, and I am very reluctant to interfere with a properly appointed judge in the execution of his duty. Only the thought of having this kind of abuse going on makes me intervene. Be very careful about what you say or do.”
Before Tora could depart,Hitomaro came in to announce a visitor. The new arrival was a warrior in full armor bearing the Uesugi crest. He had a strip of white cotton tied about his helmet.
“A messenger from Takata, sir,”Hitomaro said unnecessarily.
Akitada looked at the whitecotton band and sat up. “Speak,” he told the man.
The warrior knelt and bowedsnappily. “This humble person announces the death of the great Lord of Takata,Uesugi Maro, High Constable of Echigo, Barbarian-Subduing General, and head of his clan. May the Buddha guide his soul to paradise.”
The news was not unexpected,and Akitada made a suitably pious response, adding, “Tell his son, the new lord, that I shall express my condolences formally and in person.”
When the messenger had left,Akitada looked at his lieutenants. “This changes everything. We must not loseany more time. I want both of you to go out immediately. You, Tora, will ask questions in the market and go to the inn to talk to the maid. I have decided to investigate the handling of criminal cases. The official reason will be suspicion of negligence by the court. Judge Hisamatsu will have to explain the abuse of suspects among other things.
“Hitomaro, it is time to contact Genba again. After that I want you to check on the outcasts. They ounger Uesugi has an irrational hatred for them. I want to know why. You must both be quick and discreet and report back as soon as possible.”
They left, and Akitada went insearch of his wife. While he would never admit such a thing to her, he found great comfort in her good sense and loving care.
FIVE
THE GOLDEN CARP
Tora and Hitomaro slipped out of the tribunal by removing some loose boards from the back palisade and stepping into a weed-choked alley. Dressed in the rough,quilted cotton jackets and short pants of laborers, they walked to the market,a collection of shops crammed together under the deep overhanging eaves of the houses that lined the main street. Here they parted company.
Tora headed toward the outskirts of town to Sato’s inn. He raised his eyebrows at a large new sign above its open gate. A gilded fish sported on it, and the words “Golden Carp”and “Mrs. Sato, Proprietress” were executed in elegant lettering. As the old couple had predicted, the new management planned to cater to a better type of guest. With old Sato barely dispatched to the judge of the underworld, Tora thought such haste a little unseemly.
As he pondered what this might mean, a lanky youth came through the gate and began to sweep. Tora strolled across the street. The youth stopped what he was doing and stared at him.
“You’re a good worker,” Tora commented. “Your boss is a lucky man. If you play your cards right, he’llinvite you to marry his daughter some day and, before you know it, you’ll be the boss yourself.”
The youth spat. “Hah! My boss is a woman,” he said.
“Even better. Marry her. Nevermind if she’s a bit long in the tooth, you’ll be all the more precious to her.”
“Shows what you know!” snapped the youth and kicked the last chunk of horse dung into the road before disappearing into the inn’s stable.
Tora looked after him.Apparently the beautiful widow h
ad not endeared herself to her staff. He crossed the yard of the Golden Carp and, since no one else was about, he walked into the inn.
Today the hallway was scrupulously clean. In the kitchen, he found his objective. She was scrubbing vegetables with a vicious fury.
He leaned against the door frame and whistled softly. The maid swung around. When she saw Tora, her eyes widened and she dropped her radish. He stroked his mustache and let his eyes travel appreciatively over her tall, sturdy frame. Her scowl changed to asmile. She was a plain-faced girl and her teeth were crooked, but Tora could make even pretty girls forget the simplest prudence. And he distinctly recalled the shapely limbs under her dirty skirt.
“Well-met, pretty flower,” he said with a bow. “How is it that you do this dirty work when you ought to save your charms to greet the guests?”
She put on a tragic look. “I’m just the kitchen maid. Somebody’s got to do the work around here now that we’ve become fancy, with a cook and singsong girls to serve to the guests.” She eyed Tora’s patched clothes. “I hate to tell you, but if you’re hoping to spend the night, it costs a fortune and you don’t look like a rich man.”
“Ah.” Tora made a face, but he knew that old clothes did little to hide his strong physique and flexed his shoulders.
“It’s a great pity,” she said,watching him. “If it were up to me . . .” She dimpled.
Tora smiled back. “The old man across the street warned me, but I thought I’d look in anyway. Where is everybody?”
She jerked her head toward the back of the house. “One of the guests is sick and the mistress is wetting herself for fear it’ll hurt her business.”
“Didn’t someone just die here?This must be a pretty unhealthy place.”
“Shh! Not so loud.” The girl peered down the hall. “It’s all right. She’s still in his room. We’re not supposed to talk about it. It’s her husband that died and he was murdered. But she’s had an exorcism, so you needn’t fear. That’s why she’s so upset about the sick one. She was all for dumping him in the temple grounds during the night tolet the monks tend to him, but that might get back to the authorities, so she sent for the doctor.”