by I. J. Parker
Akitada frowned at her for such blatant disrespect for the emperor's sister. "Princess Takahime is the consecrated Ise Virgin," he said pointedly. "She cannot fall in love." He was aware of how ridiculous this must sound and flushed a little.
Old Lady Tachibana gave a mocking cackle. "You're as foolish as that priest The girl is young and she met a good-looking man. What else should she do but fall in love with him. People don't change just be cause they serve the gods. She decided she did not want to be the Virgin any longer, "- here she gave another short cackle-"and left. There you have it, the whole dirty tale. Now leave us alone."
"Alas, I cannot." Akitada located a cushion and seated himself. Both women glared at him. "Now," he said, "you will answer some questions and the first concerns the young man. Who is he?"
They looked at each other. This time it was Lady Tamba who spoke. "I cannot be blamed. It was the most harmless visit How could I know what would happen? He came to pay his respects to his cousin. A family member! It was quite proper, and she was never alone with him."
Akitada stared at her. He was beginning to have a troubling suspicion and was getting very angry. Before he could insist on a name, the old lady said, "He's the Minamoto who has the lodge up the road. They grew up together. My daughter's only mistake-though mind you, it was a very stupid mistake, as I told her-was to think them a charming couple and let them spend time together."
Akitada said, "I know him. Do I assume she is now with him?"
Again they looked at each other, and lady Tamba started sniffling again. Her mother said, "She was." "She was? What do you mean? Where is she now?" Lady Tamba burst into tears and wailed, "We don't know."
Akitada sat, aghast. After a moment he asked, half hoping, "How do you know that she is no longer with Lord Minanoto?"
"Because he carne here yesterday to ask if she had returned."
And there it was, the full disaster. For a moment, Akitada considered reporting the truth to the imperial secretary and returning home. Let the court decide what was to he done with a pair of wayward lovers.
But the moment passed and pity for the princess, lost somewhere or dead, took over. And his anger returned. He was angry with the foolish women who had allowed the affair to blossom, and furious with Minamoto who had seduced an Ise; Virgin, offending thereby both the gods and his emperor, and had next allowed her to become lost, the gods knew where.
He got to his feet. "I don't know what will happen next," he said heavily. "The first step is to find Her Highness. I shall come back if there is news or if I have further questions. Meanwhile you are not to speak to anyone about any of this. Do you understand?"
Lady Tamba nodded tearfully. Her mother said, "I hope: you have the brains to find her, young man. And be quick about it."
==
A seething Akitada strode out of the pavilion, slamming the door behind him. He was going to confront Minamoto to tell him what he thought of him. 'Then he would obtain the sordid details of how the princess could have become lost without Minamoto's knowledge. Preoccupied with thoughts of the culpable
lovers, he did not notice right away the light steps and silken rustle that followed him. When he did, he turned.
It was Lady Ayako.
She ran up to him quite boldly and said, "Meet me after dark at the Tanoe shrine. I'll tell you how it happened." And as quickly as she lead come, she turned with a flutter of silken gowns and was gone again.
Akitada looked after her, shaking his head. He wanted to know what this was about, but a meeting at a dark shrine somewhere in the forest was not advisable. What possessed this young woman to conceive of such a thing? Apparently, she had as little care for her safety as the princess had had.
There was nothing he could do about it, so he got back on his horse and rode to Minamoto's hunting lodge.
There, his frustration grew further. The old gatekeeper opened the gate. It was daytime on this occasion, but the old man seemed even more put out by the visit than he had the night before. He glared at Akitada and snapped, "No use coming here again! There's noBody home. Go away!"
He was closing the gale again, but Akitada urged his horse forward. The old man stumbled back and fell as the gate flew open. Cursing under his breath, Akitada swung himself out of the saddle and went to help him. "Sorry, old man," he said. "Are you hurt?"
The gatekeeper glared. "What do you care? Ride an old man down like so much cord wood. The young don't care."
Akitada extended a hand to help him up, but the old man waved it aside. "Don't touch me, you brute. Do what you want I'm too old for this job. I told him to get someone else, but he doesn't listen. He just looks and mutters and rides away again."
Akitada sighed. "Where did your master go?"
"You know as much as I do." The old man felt his hip and grimaced. "Probably more." With infinite care he began to struggle to his feet, failing twice before Akitada grasped him under the arms and stood him up. He stood swaying for a moment, then angrily brushed off Akitada's supporting am. Without another word, he limped to his small house.
Akitada took the steps to the lodge, calling out for Minamoto. He got no answer and pushed open the door to look in. The room was empty.
He returned, walked his horse out through the gate and closed it behind him, then he got back in the saddle and rode to Uji-tachi.
So far he had been foiled or hindered at every step he took. Most of it was due to human stupidity and carelessness. Even the elderly seemed to lack the good sense and probity that demanded respect In a very sour humor he reached the village and rode to the police station. Since his identity was already known to the lieutenant, he might take him into his confidence-up to a point, for the princess's disappearance was not his to divulge.
But here he ran into more trouble. According to a constable, Lieutenant Matsuura was dealing with the murder of another young woman.
Akitada's heart lurched in his chest Had he reached the end of his search already? Was the princess dead? The sense of failure nearly overwhelmed him.
Taking a big breath, he asked, "Can you tell me about it, Constable?"
"What's to tell?" said the man, giving Akitada a suspicious look. "What's it to you anyway? Have you lost a daughter?" He laughed. "Or maybe your girlfriend?"
Age becomes flexible when you are past forty. Lady Tamba's mother had called him "young man," but this young, and very rude, constable thought him old enough to have a grown daughter.
Akitada gave him a cold look. "What's your name, Constable? I'd like to tell Lieutenant Matsuura about your helpfulness. Tell him Yoshimine Takatsuna is here to see him."
The constable flushed. "We're a bit busy. If you have any information, I'll take it"
"I'll give any information I have to the lieutenant" "I'll see what I can do, but we already know who the victim is."
This gave Akitada some hope. The police were unlikely to have seen the princess closely enough to recognize her. And there would surely be more excitement in that case.
"She's a local girl then?"
The constable nodded. "Seems like our girls are forever running away and getting into trouble."
At that moment, the door of the station opened and a wild-eyed Mrs. Inabe rushed in. "Where is she?" she cried. "Are you sure it's Keiko? Where did you find her? Amida, please make them be wrongl"
The constable took one look at her, said, "One moment, Mrs. Inabe," and left the room.
In shocked surprise, Akitada said, "Mrs. Inabe, is it your daughter they found?"
She turned a tear-stained face to him. "They said it was her, but maybe they're wrong. Keiko left early yesterday."
The constable returned. "Sorry about your loss, Mrs. Inabe. The lieutenant says you can come and have a look."
The woman wailed and swayed against Akitada, who caught her. He felt very sorry for her, but even sorrier for the pretty and cheerful girl. "What happened?" he asked the constable again, but the man merely shook his head, and walked Mrs. Inabe out of th
e room.
Akitada remained, thinking about the murders and the missing virgin. It seemed unlikely that these things could be unrelated. He hoped they were, but something told him that it had become important to find out about the deaths of the two young women.
So he waited.
14 Another Murder
Akitada was still trying to puzzle out the connection between the murders and the lost Virgin when the constable returned without Mrs. Inabe. His manners slightly improved, he told Akitada, "The lieutenant said you can come, too, sir.'
Akitada followed him through the building and out into a graveled exercise yard. A little group of people stood in the center around something on the ground. As he got closer, Akitada saw Mrs. Inabe fall to her knees. She was sobbing loudly. The lieutenant bent to say something to her. An elderly man in a stained black gown stood beside them.
And then they parted and Akitada saw the figure on the ground.
She was still pretty, but her hair was disheveled and her head lay at an unnatural angle. The bright eyes were closed, and her lips would never smile again. They gaped in a grimace of pain.
"I'm so sorry," Akitada said, and meant it. "She greeted me the morning she left and made the feel welcome. She was both lovely and kind."
Lieutenant Matsuura nodded. "Yes. I knew Keiko before she went away to work in Mikawa. She was always laughing. What a pity."
Mrs. Inabe wailed, "Oh, I should never have told her to leave! It's my fault and all for the sake of that drunken lout. I've been a bad mother! I'll be punished in the hell of burning fires."
After a brief silence, the lieutenant said, "She was found in the woods, in some tall grass growing along the path to Oyodo. The shortcut. We think she ran into a hand of prowlers."
Akitada frowned. "Didn't she leave in the morning sometime, Mrs. Inabe?"
"I'he woman nodded. "In the morning. Oh, why didn't I believe her? She was always a good girl." She rocked back and forth in her grief. "Aiih! Who did this? What animal killed my baby?"
The lieutenant glanced at Akitada, then said, "We don't know, Mrs. Inabe. We were hoping you could tell us."
She looked at him angrily. "Me? How would I know? She was fine when she left. I had nothing to do with this. You'd better find out who did it. Time you earned your pay. But I suppose the whores are more important than a decent girl."
"You know that isn't true," the lieutenant protested. Akitada bent to study the dead girl's neck. It was heavily bruised and marked. You could almost make out the imprint of fingers. "She was strangled?" he asked.
The seedy man in black with an unfortunate chin beard consisting of some pitiful strands of black hair, answered, "Perhaps strangled, but she died from a broken neck, sir."
"This is our coroner," Lieutenant Matsuura said. "Kuroda. He's the pharmacist in Uji-Iachi."
Akitada nodded a greeting. "Yoshimine."
The coroner-pharmacist made him a small bow. "I'm afraid she was also . . ." he glanced at Mrs. Inabe, and added softly, "interfered with."
"They raped her? Oh, the animals," she cried.
At this point, the constable appeared again, bringing with him the father of the girl.
He glowered at all of them, then took one look. "So it's true. They got our girl." He bent to put an arm around his wile. "Come, Setsuko! Come home with me. You can't do anything here."
She allowed herself to be pulled up and buried her head in his chest, weeping.
He told the lieutenant, "Find out who did this and I'll kill him personally. I'm taking my wile home. We've still got a business to run, and you've got your work to do."
They walked away together, he murmuring soothing words to her, and she nodding.
The constable left as well. Akitada, the lieutenant, and the coroner stood, watching them leave. Then the coroner sighed. "Do you want me to take a closer look?' he asked the lieutenant.
Matsuura glanced at Akitada and when he nodded, he said, "Yes, Kuroda. Just in case it will tell us what happened beyond the fact that she was attacked in the woods, raped, and strangled. It looks like the same killer as Michiko's."
The coroner cleared his throat. "Umm, in this case, cause of death is a broken neck, Lieutenant, but it may have happened when the killer was trying to strangle her. She's a dainty little thing. It wouldn't take much for a big man. However, as you know, there are other differences between this one and Mrs. Akechi's Michiko."
Akitada regarded the pharmacist-coroner with more respect. "What differences, Doctor?" he asked.
The coroner gave him a grateful smile for the courtesy title. "The girl Michiko wasn't raped, but she was beaten badly before she died."
Akitada thought back to the scene at the river. The body had been fully clothed and on its back. "Beaten?" "Yes, sir. Her back and the backs of her legs were cut up badly."
"She had been whipped?"
"Yes. Strung up by her anns; she also had badly chafed wrists."
Akitada turned to the lieutenant. "That sounds like torture to me."
Matsuura looked glum. "Yes. I suppose it's possible the two aren't connected. And that just means we've got to find two killers." He nodded to the coroner. "Very well, Kuroda. Report to me when you're done." The lieutenant turned back to Akitada. "Let's go to my office, sir. I assume you didn't come here about Keiko?"
"No." Akitada's thoughts shifted again to his own problem, which seemed more insurmountable by the moment.
In Matsuura's office Akitada accepted a cup of rather sour wine and tried to find a way to get the information he wanted without revealing the true state of affairs. That seemed not only premature but dangerous. He must find some other way to learn,what was going on in the district.
The lieutenant started the conversation. "I don't mind telling you, sir, I'm nervous. We've had several deaths of young women this year. All were prostitutes and all but one committed suicide. Now it looks like we've got two killers loose. I'd be very glad of any advice you might have."
"I think you have a very good coroner, lieutenant. He insists on getting things right. It may well be significant that Keiko's neck was broken and that she was raped, while the other young woman was not but had been beaten before being killed."
"It still sounds like sexual attacks to me. It could be an angry lover. You told me yourself that Michiko had been working as a prostitute. Besides, you'd be sur prised what goes on in our brothels. There are men who beat and abuse the women all the time without having sex with them. Mostly they don't kill them, and the aunties just demand more money to pay a doctor and to cover their losses while the woman can't work. I don't like this. If we have someone here who enjoys hurting women, we may never get him. Uji-tachi has a transient population."
"Yes. That means you don't have much time. But Lieutenant, consider that Keiko certainly wasn't a prostitute. And no sexually perverted male would get satisfaction from whipping his partner while she was fully dressed. I think there must be something else going on here. And there is so far no proof that the murders are connected, except that both girls were young."
The lieutenant suddenly brightened. "Wait," he said. "You may be right. Keiko was found near the road to Oyodo. It must've been those prowlers again. That puts it outside my jurisdiction. The roads are controlled by the high constable." He nodded with satisfaction. "He's in town, as it happens. I'll send a report to him immediately and ask for an investigation."
Akitada pursed his lips. "Are the roads very dangerous here? I heard about those prowlers and decided to take my sword after dark."
"Very good idea, sir. Yes, we've had nighttime attacks. They don't bother people in the daytime. There's too much traffic then, but if a visitor makes his journey homeward too late, or if he lingers too long in Oyodo or wherever, he's likely to be stripped of everything he owns and left naked and tied to a tree."
"You don't say? That must be bad for trade. How many of those prowlers are there?"
"Accounts differ. Some victims have said fifteen or more; other
s five or six. They're likely to exaggerate the number, being embarrassed, you see.",
"Yes. Very likely." Akitada considered this information. "And the high constable," he asked, "how has he reacted to these goings on?"
"Lord Sukemichi? By doing nothing. Well, sometimes he sends some of his soldiers. They spend their time interviewing the whores." He guffawed. "They claim the prowlers collect information in the brothels."
"Well, it's possible," Akitada said judiciously. "Didn't you tell me that the high constable comes here to hunt?"
"Yes. And he brings his friends with, him. But they keep to themselves, though they sometimes send for women."
"Is Lord Sukemichi a friend of Lord Minamoto, then?"
"I don't think so. I've never heard anything like that. Come to think of it, that is a little strange. Their lodges aren't far from each other and their land adjoins."
"I would think the high constable would care about the safety of the roads if he spends much time here." Matsuura laughed. "I've heard he won't be high constable much longer. Has his eye on an appointment in the capital. I can't say I'll be sorry to see him leave."
"Oh?"
The lieutenant glanced toward the door and lowered his voice. "Just between you and me, sir, he has a bad reputation even if he is the biggest landowner in the province."
High constables were traditionally appointed from among the local gentry because they kept warriors for the protection of.their own domain and could employ these for general enforcement of laws without costing the central government any money. A higher rank or a new title was all that it required. Some high constables were very capable men, but this was never certain and to Akitada's mind the temptation to use their official powers to enrich themselves was enormous. He intended keeping a close eye on his own high constable in Mikawa.
"What do you mean by `bad reputation'?" he asked. Matsuura looked uncomfortable. "'There's no proof, mind you, but people talk. They say he's in some sort of trade that brings in a lot of gold."
"Ah!" Akitada nodded. "As it happens, I find that very interesting. I believe I mentioned to you that I had a purpose for coming here other than a shrine visit. We have been plagued by pirates along the shores of Mikawa. I thought I'd see if they might be coming from here."