by I. J. Parker
Maeda said, “We’re just double-checking on the murder of Mrs. Mitsui.”
Tora added, “And the disappearance of your neighbor across the street.”
She laughed. “That slut? If Hiroshi had ever tried to get anywhere with that one, I’d have killed them both.” She swung the knife and sent more scraps flying. The children squealed.
Maeda shuddered. “If you don’t mind, we’ll have a look out back.”
“What for?” she demanded.
“My friend here thinks he’s buried the murder weapon.” Maeda chuckled..
The woman glared at Tora. “That’s just more harassment. The police said he killed the old woman, and that was a lie. Now you’re trying to pin something else on him.” Tora fled. She shouted after him, “I hope you bastards go to hell.”
The big cedar grew just outside the fence between the yard and the back alley. It was easy to see how Kichiro could have surprised Hiroshi digging in that corner.
“There,” Tora said with satisfaction, pointing to a patch of disturbed soil. “You can see where he’s been digging.” He looked around, found the spade among some other tools, and started working.
After considerable exertion on his part, it became obvious that there was nothing to be found. Tora cursed and refilled the large hole.
Maeda wisely only said, “I’ve got to get back.”
At police headquarters, a surprise awaited them. In the front room sat three young market porters, looking extremely nervous. Mrs. Kimura had described their appearance well. One of the constables announced proudly, “These are the porters who made deliveries to the Kuroki house. We have been to every food merchant in the market.”
The three youngsters squirmed. The tallest said, “I’ve done nothing. What do you want from me? I’ll lose my job. My master will think I’m a thief or something.”
The other two added their own protestations.
Maeda heard them out, then said, “If you’ve done nothing but your job, you can leave after we’ve had a talk. And you can tell your employers you were helping the police. Let’s go to my office.”
They herded the three into Maeda’s new office, where they knelt and waited. Tora judged them to be between sixteen and twenty years old. One was quite handsome, and all three were well-built and as muscular as market porters should be. Yoko had had an eye for young men. It would have amused Tora, if he hadn’t seen her corpse that very morning.
“Very well,” Maeda started after he’d sat down and directed a scribe to take notes. “Give me your names, ages, where you live, and where you work.”
They complied.
“You made regular food deliveries for the Kurokis?”
They nodded, eyeing each other.
“Who made a delivery of honey, ginger, bean paste, and candied chestnuts about a week ago?” He consulted his notes. “It would have been the nineteenth day of the month in the evening.”
They looked blank and shook their heads in unison.
The constable cleared his throat. “The purchase was made at the Miyagi shop.”
One youth said quickly, “I was sick that day.”
Tora was leaning against the wall. “It wasn’t much,” he said. “I think she carried it home herself.”
Maeda frowned at the three youths. “We know for a fact that all of you did more than deliver purchases. Were you paid for this other work?”
All three turned beet red and averted their eyes.
“Well?”
The tall youth raised his chin. “Why would she pay for a little sex? Maybe she thanked me for the delivery.” He glanced at the other two. “I didn’t know about them,” he added.
The mood in the office had changed subtly. The three had become rivals and glared at each other.
Maeda asked, “And the same true is true for all of you? You all made deliveries and stayed for sex, invited or uninvited, as the case may be?”
They nodded. The handsome one offered an explanation. “She shops at my place regularly. She said she liked me and I liked her. She’s still pretty young and looks good, and her husband’s old and can’t get it up. She was willing.”
Tora suppressed a snort.
“Did she tell all of you about her husband’s problem?” Maeda asked.
They nodded. The tall one said, “Is she in trouble? Did he find out?”
“I don’t know if he found out. She’s dead. Murdered.”
They gasped and went pale. The handsome youth cried, “Did the fat slug kill her?”
“We don’t know yet who killed her, but I think you three had better tell us what you were doing that night.”
They stared at each other, perhaps weighing the likelihood that one of the others was a killer. Then they burst into explanations.
Maeda listened patiently and asked for details. It turned out they could not have been at Kuroki’s house the night of Yoko’s disappearance. He let them go with a warning. “We’ll check it out. If you lied, it will go hard with you.”
17
THE MISSING GOVERNOR
A sudden spell of warm weather caused Akitada’s little tree to burst into blossoms. It cheered him until another summons from Dazaifu arrived.
At least it was not raining this time. He rode under a cloudless blue sky. The sun seemed mercilessly hot, and there was no breeze at all. The road had turned to dust, and passing horses and carts raised clouds of fine dirt that clogged his nostrils and covered his clothes. The weather had turned hot, and by the time he had completed the journey, he did not feel much better than last time. His clothes stuck to his body again, and sweat trickled down between his shoulder blades.
Otherwise, the atmosphere in the vice governor general’s office had improved. Akitada was admitted quickly, and Korenori rose and greeted him pleasantly before leading him to his study.
There, however, it became clear that a serious matter had arisen.
“Please be seated,” Korenori said. “We have a problem.”
Akitada sat and waited, expecting nothing good.
“Your predecessor has disappeared.”
“I believe you’ve already notified me of this, sir.”
“Yes, but now I have instructions from the chancellor himself.” He held up a rolled document with impressive seals and scarlet ribbons. “They came by a fast ship and express messenger. He has commanded that we make an immediate search for Lord Tachibana. It seems he never reached the capital.”
Akitada nodded. He had expected this but did not see how it affected him. Or the vice governor general, for that matter. “But why search here?” he asked.
“They think he never left Kyushu.”
“Oh.” Akitada absorbed this startling information. It seemed very unlikely. “What makes them think so? I was told he took ship in Hakata.”
“Ahem. Yes, but there is no evidence he actually did so.”
“Ah.”
It meant nobody had bothered to verify a dubious rumor about Tachibana’s having chosen to go by a separate ship. In fact, it had seemed to Akitada all along that there had been no very good explanation for this last minute change of plans. But his next thought made him sit up. Unless one assumed Tachibana was hiding out somewhere, it meant he had been abducted and possibly murdered.
Most likely in Hakata.
In Akitada’s own province.
And this made it his business.
His curiosity was aroused. Here was a mystery for him to solve, a case of sufficient magnitude, given Tachibana’s rank and status, to challenge his best investigative skills.
“I take it you want me to check into this, sir.” he said.
Korenori gave him an irritated look. “Naturally. What else would I call you for?”
Akitada did not remind him he had last summoned Akitada for meddling in Okata’s investigations. He nodded. “May I ask for your support?”
Korenori’ eyebrows shot up. “Naturally you have that.”
“I need to know about Lord Tachibana’s
stay here in Kyushu. And I shall need to see all the documents your office has for his administration.”
Korenori bristled for a moment, then gave in. “Very well. What do you want to know?”
“Perhaps we might start with your impression of his personality.”
The vice governor general thought for a moment. “Well, I didn’t care for him, but he was very efficient. A good administrator. His final reports were perfect, as I told you before. I don’t know much about his private life. He did not bring his family.” Korenori frowned for a moment. “That’s not unusual, by the way. You yourself decided against it. Tachibana was known to be an expert on Chinese art and seems to have collected it quite passionately. I expect he took it all with him?”
Akitada grimaced. “Every last item, unless thieves got what he left.”
“No, I think he took it.” Korenori shook his head. “I think he was a little obsessive. Talked about Chinese culture constantly, and invited me to his place just so he could show off his treasures. This was probably the most striking thing about him. If you ask me, he was a bore, though rumor had it that he visited a local woman. Not unexpected for officials without their families.” He winked at Akitada.
Akitada flushed. “Did he socialize with the local Chinese?”
“I wouldn’t know. If you mean, did he invite them to his house, I doubt it. It’s not at all encouraged, you know. But I expect he knew the merchants dealing in imported art quite well.”
“Was there anything besides the art purchases and the occasional prostitute which might have put him in a financial bind? Was he a gambler, for example?”
“No, not to my knowledge. And as I told you, his accounts were in order.”
“Yes. I would like to see those now, and anything else of sufficient significance to have been recorded.”
Korenori clapped his hands. The door opened and a clerk peered in. “Gather all the paperwork for Chikuzen province and anything else pertaining to Lord Tachibana’s administration,” he said. The clerk withdrew.
“Is this all you require?” Korenori asked.
“Yes. Thank you, sir. If you recall anything else, perhaps you’ll let me know?”
“I will. Good luck, Sugawara. The court expects an answer right away.” The vice governor general rose. “You may use this room to look at the documents. I’ll leave you to it.”
Akitada spent the next four hours sifting through the paperwork he had wished to see when he had first arrived. Apart from sending in a servant with hot tea and some rice cakes, Korenori left him in peace.
He finally closed the last document box and stared into space. He was convinced Tachibana had enriched himself from government funds in multiple ways but no more so than most governors. Court nobles tended to consider a provincial assignment a miserable life away from friends and stimulating activities, but they sought out such assignments precisely because they offered a way of rewarding themselves and their families for the sacrifice. This was clearly understood in government circles, and no reprimand would attach to his predecessor for milking the provincial treasury and the rice taxes dry.
He got up and stretched his stiff back. For some time now he had been feeling that Tachibana Moroe was dead and, like the chancellor, he thought it had happened in Kyushu, more precisely in his own province.
He went out into the main office. Korenori was dictating a letter to a young clerk. He looked up and stopped.
“All done, Sugawara?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you. I’ll head back now and see what I can find out in Hakata.”
The other man nodded. “I take it you found all the paperwork correct?”
“Yes. The answer must lie elsewhere.”
“Good. Please find the man. It is extremely urgent.”
Akitada bowed. “I’ll do my very best, sir.”
He rode homeward almost unaware of the blazing sky as he tried to understand what had happened. Tachibana’s eccentric preoccupation with Chinese art did not suggest anything, but he promised himself a visit to Feng as soon as possible. Perhaps even more interesting was the casual comment by the vice governor general that Tachibana had visited a local prostitute. Such women were often the recipients of secrets their enamored customers poured into their ears.
The image of Fragrant Orchid passed across his memory. To his own shame, he had allowed the woman to distract him at the banquet. If he had weakened enough to accept her invitation, he might well have become seriously compromised.
Then, like a blinding flash, a thought struck him, and he reined in his galloping horse. He had asked her about Tachibana, and she had admitted she had known the governor. More than likely, she had been one of his lovers. He had been the highest-ranking official in the province and would have been acquainted with its most beautiful courtesan. No doubt, they had been introduced early, as had happened to Akitada himself. The note she had sent by the little girl took on a new meaning. She had asked him to come because she had something to tell him.
And he had torn up the note.
He spurred his horse again. In his vanity, he had assumed the note was an invitation to her bed when all she had done was to let him know she had information about the ex-governor.
As soon as he reached the Chikuzen tribunal, he sent for Tora and Saburo. In his private study, he told them about his meeting with the vice governor general.
“I’d be glad to see this Fragrant Orchid for you,” offered Tora. Saburo cast up his eyes.
Akitada said, “Thank you, Tora, but considering that the lady invited me, I’d better be the one to pay her a visit. You can find out for me where she lives.”
“Gladly.” Tora knew his way around willow quarters and looked forward to the excursion.
“Then we will check on shipping departures between the fourteenth and sixteenth days of the second month. I’m interested in any ships carrying passengers bound for the east. Tachibana may have had a secret reason for changing his travel plans. He may have taken passage incognito to an unknown destination. Or he may never have left.”
Saburo frowned. “It’s all rather vague, sir.”
“I know. I’ll see Fragrant Orchid as soon as possible. We may know a lot more then.”
They exchanged glances and looked at him gravely.
Akitada said defensively, “She has information about Governor Tachibana. I have no idea what kind, but since he seems to have had—er—dealings with her, I need to speak to her.”
With a grin, Tora offered again, “I could talk to her for you, sir. It might cause gossip for you to visit her.”
Akitada snapped, “Just for once, keep your lewd thoughts to yourself.”
They left in accusatory silence.
Akitada paced the small room. He was furious. This was what came of such cursed familiarity with servants and retainers. They took an unacceptable interest in one’s private affairs and dared to voice criticism. Tora’s level of familiarity had always been a thorn in his side, and now he was even infecting Saburo with it.
But Akitada’s conscience was by no means good. He had been tempted by the beautiful woman. He had wanted to see her again. He had thought with desire of her during the lonely nights away from home.
He bit his lip and stopped pacing.
*
Maeda was in the chief’s office when Tora arrived. He looked very much at home in the place previously occupied by Okata.
Tora looked around and admired the neatness with which Maeda had arranged document boxes, writing utensils, loose paper, and assorted weapons. Hanging from one wall were swords, clubs, chains, knives, arrows, daggers, axes, truncheons, and ropes. On shelves rested jars and vials and paper twists. Each item had a small wooden tag attached. Document boxes, paper, and ink and brushes rested on his desk, lined up perfectly with the corners.
“What’s all this?” Tora asked, nodding at the armory and peering at some of the tags. They bore names and dates.
“Murder weapons,” said Maeda with a grin.
/> “Your cases?”
“No. Things aren’t that bad here in Hakata. I found them in a shed and thought they should play a more prominent role. People like to see them. What do you think?”
“Very impressive! Pity we never found the knife Mitsui used on his wife.” Tora paused. “Some day when I have more time, I’ll ask you about some of those. Today I’m on an errand for my master. He wants to know where a courtesan called Fragrant Orchid lives.”
Maeda’s jaw sagged open. “F-fragrant Orchid? He wants to know about Fragrant Orchid?”
“Don’t look so shocked. It’s not what you think. The beauty has some information about the last governor. The master is looking into problems concerning his administration.”
Maeda still gaped, shaking his head. “I don’t believe it,” he muttered.
“What do you mean?”
“The lady is dead.”
“Dead? You don’t mean she’s been murdered?”
Maeda uttered a humorless laugh. “No. Not that. She killed herself.”
Tora digested this. “When and how?” he asked.
“Nearly three weeks ago. She took poison.”
Tora shook his head, baffled. “That’s strange,” he mused. “It must have been right after the mayor’s banquet.”
“Unlike you, I wasn’t invited. When was the banquet?”
“I wasn’t invited either. The master went. That’s why he’s asking about her. It was the day after you and I talked to Yoko.”
Maeda reflected and nodded. “Yes. That sounds right.”
Tora asked, “How sure are you it was suicide?”
Maeda said unhappily, “It can’t be anything else. There was a letter she left, and the poison was hers. Some of the other women said she’d had a disappointment recently, a love affair … or whatever. Maybe the rich man she’d had her eye on decided against marriage. It certainly looked like suicide.” He paused. “But you’re going to investigate anyway, right?”
Tora sighed and got to his feet. “Where did she kill herself?”
“She shared a house with a young girl she was training. Here, let me draw you a map.” Maeda rubbed some ink and dipped his brush in it. He drew lines for streets and a river, marking the spot with a miniature house.