by I. J. Parker
The constables had gathered in a circle around five middle-aged men who sat on the floor, trying to look innocent. There was no sign of dice or money anywhere. The oldest of them, a stoop-shouldered fellow with a ragged gray beard and long hair tied up in a piece of black cloth blustered, “What’s this? I run a respectable establishment here.”
That raised some appreciative murmurs from his companions and caused one of the constables to kick him in the side.
The lieutenant said, “Up, scum. Bow to your betters.”
The man turned stubborn. He took his time getting to his feet, then searched their faces one by one. “My betters? I don’t see them,” he said defiantly. “You’ve got no right, busting in on a private citizen entertaining his friends.”
The constable retracted his foot again, but Akitada said sharply, “Leave him be!” He stepped closer. They had had no time to hide their gambling pieces properly. If the policemen took it into their heads to search them, they could all be arrested. In that case, they would certainly not part with any information. He said to the bearded man, “I’m sorry for the interruption, but we’re searching for a young friend of mine. He was said to have come here earlier today. I’m very worried, because there is a rumor that someone was murdered behind your hostel. If any of you men have information to give me, speak up and we’ll be off.”
They looked at each other, suddenly dead serious.
The bearded man cleared his throat. “At least someone has some manners,” he said, making Akitada a small bow. “I’m Kunimitsu. I’m in charge here. This relative of yours, was he a young kid, acting important?”
“That sounds like him. His name is Sadenari. He’s a stranger in Naniwa and thinks he can handle himself in any situation.”
Kunimitsu snorted. “Wet behind his ears like a newborn kitten, if you ask me. He didn’t think twice about walking in and asking questions. We get some rough customers here. As to what happened to him, I can’t say, but he was alive and well when he left here. I got busy collecting from the crew of the Black Dragon before they rushed off to their ship. When I remembered him, he’d gone.” He glanced at his companions. “Any of you see him leave?”
They shook their heads in unison. Akitada decided that they were neighbors rather than guests of the hostel. They had the look of small tradesmen and were probably fairly honest. None seemed the type to take violent action, but one man was a tall, skinny fellow with sharp features and shifty eyes.
“The Black Dragon?” Akitada asked.
Saeki said, “A large ship from Kyushu. It arrived two days ago, unloaded its cargo and left again this morning.”
“It has left?” This was worrisome. What if Sadenari had been abducted and was now somewhere on the Inland Sea?
Akitada thanked Kunimitsu, adding, “If you should hear anything, will you let me know? I’m staying in Naniwa. You can reach me at the foreign trade office. There’s a piece of gold in it for you.” Turning to the lieutenant, he said, “Come. We must look elsewhere.”
Lieutenant Saeki cast a longing look around. “We should search the place. He runs a gambling den and is a money lender on the side. I bet we’d find dice and money.”
This set his constables to grumbling. No doubt they had hoped to pocket the haul.
Akitada said firmly, “We have no time for that now. You can make your raid another time.”
He was still afraid that a search might turn up the bodies of his attackers. The Hostel of the Flying Cranes was a likely shelter for thieves and robbers. He wanted to explore it a little more without the heavy-handed police along and told Saeki, “Have your men question the people who live on this street if anyone saw Sadenari leave, if he was alone, and which way he was going.”
Lieutenant Saeki rounded up his constables. No one had tried to leave the hostel by the back way. He gave his instructions and took them on their house-to-house visits.
Akitada watched them for a while, then went back into the hostel. As before, the “sleeper” gave his sharp whistle, and as before all the dice had disappeared, and the men sat with Kunimitsu, acting innocent. It would have been amusing, but Sadenari’s fate was beginning to hang on Akitada like some monstrous burden of guilt.
“Sorry for the interruption,” he said. “I didn’t want to ask my questions while the police were here in case they started searching the premises. I didn’t think you would welcome that. Earlier this day I ran into two robbers on the other side of the wall behind the hostel. One was tall and muscular, the other slim. They carried unusually long knives and came from the footpath that passes through your broken wall. I’m afraid they got hurt in the encounter. Have you seen any wounded men pass by here?”
They stared at him and looked at each other, then shook their heads. Kunimitsu said cautiously, “A lot of people take that shortcut. And people get into fights.” He paused. “Was it you who wounded them?”
“Never mind what happened. Do I take it that you know nothing of these two?”
Kunimitsu frowned. “As I said, this is a legal establishment. I don’t allow weapons here. You’ll have to look elsewhere for your robbers.”
It had been a long shot and Kunimitsu’s answer might or might not be true. Akitada was almost certain that the man knew the two thugs, though he might not have knowledge of the attack or had a hand in getting them away. He looked at Kunimitsu’s companions. All but one looked back at him with blank faces. The one who was preoccupied with picking a scab on one of his feet, was the small one with the sharp features of a weasel.
Akitada missed Tora more than ever and decided that he would send for him. Experience had taught him painful lessons about meddling in the affairs of violent men. The last time he had taken matters into his own hands, he had angered a gang in the capital. They had buried him alive.
A shout outside made up his mind for him. With a nod to Kunimitsu, he hurried from the hostel.
Lieutenant Saeki stood in the street, looking around. When he saw Akitada leave the hostel, he came quickly.
“Thank heaven,” he said, adding sternly, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, sir. It’s not safe for you to go about alone. Especially not after what happened to you earlier.”
The man was right, but the remark chafed. Akitada hated being thought of as a helpless official. He snapped, “Never mind that. Have you found out anything?”
The lieutenant looked offended, but he nodded. “An old crone in the house at the end of the street claims she saw something.”
Chapter Nine
The Black Dragon
The old one received them, enthroned on a barrel in front of her tiny home. She was surrounded by a group of women and children, their eyes wide with curiosity. Dressed in a plain brown cotton dress and barefoot, she had thrown a piece of old quilted bedding around her shoulders and from the distance, the colorful fabric looked a little like the costly, embroidered Chinese jackets worn by highborn ladies at court. Her long white hair hung loose and added to the aristocratic impression.
She watched them as they walked toward her and maintained a noble reserve when they arrived, but her eyes were quick and bright with interest.
Lieutenant Saeki addressed her. “Tell this gentleman what you told me, auntie.”
She studied Akitada’s tall figure in a leisurely fashion. He had the odd fancy that she searched for outward signs of depravity in his face, proof of physical weakness in his body, and bad taste in his clothes. When he cleared his throat, her eyes came back to his face, and she cackled.
He said, “Please, grandmother, if you have any news of the young man I lost, tell me. He is my responsibility. I must account for his welfare to his parents.”
She nodded. “Good! Parents should take care of their children. Children should take care of their parents. The Ancient One teaches this.” Her voice was high and strident, and she spoke in a singsong rhythm.
He said, “I also admire Master Kung-fu-tse. I see you are a wise woman.”
She pursed he
r lips. “He didn’t have any liking for women, the Ancient One.”
“Possibly his only mistake,” said Akitada politely.
He must have passed the test, for she decided to answer his question. “I sit here most days. I like to watch the sailor boys come and go.” She cackled again. “Such bodies! Young. Strong. Such muscles. Give me a muscular man any day. They make the best lovers because they don’t get tired.”
The women around her squealed and giggled. One of them covered her face and said, “Mother, please don’t say such things.”
The old one opened a toothless mouth and burst into more cackling laughter. “Stupid girl,” she told her daughter. “You with that weakling of a husband, what do you know?” She looked Akitada up and down again. “You’re tall for one of the good people. Do you please your wives in bed?”
Akitada kept a straight face. He had only one wife, who had ideas of her own on the subject. “As often as I possibly can.”
“Hehehe!” She slapped her thighs, then got serious again. “Well, I was sitting here when the boys from the Black Dragon passed by. Time for them to go home to Kyushu. I know them all. We pass comments as they walk by.” She grinned. “They like to show off to the women, even old ones like me. Those thighs and buttocks!” Her hands made grasping motions and she smacked her lips. “Sailors use those legs and hindquarters extra hard on a ship.” She winked at Akitada. “And elsewhere, too.”
The women covered their mouths and giggled again.
The old woman shot them a glance. “You know what I mean, don’t you girls? Hehehe. So long as your husbands are at work, what do they know?” Her daughter pulled her sleeve and muttered, “Please, Mother!”
Lieutenant Saeki was getting impatient. “Never mind all that. Get on with what you saw.”
The old woman glared at him. “Thighs and buttocks! That’s what counts in a man,” she said firmly, giving the lieutenant’s a disparaging glance. But she relented and turned back to Akitada. “There was a youngster with them. A city boy, wearing a prissy robe and hat, like you.” She grinned. “Couldn’t see his thighs and buttocks, but he was young and tall and eager. The kind of boy a woman can teach a thing or two.”
It must have been Sadenari. Akitada asked the lieutenant, “Where is the Black Dragon now?”
“It left hours ago.”
Akitada thanked the old woman, and took Saeki aside. “We must go after that ship. I believe my clerk was tricked and is on board.”
Saeki shook his head. “Can’t be done, sir. If he’s really on the Black Dragon, and there’s no proof of that, he’s on his way to Kyushu. You can’t catch that ship. It’s one of the fastest. And on its homeward journey, it’ll be even faster.”
Akitada bit his lip. What if the Black Dragon was run by pirates? Otherwise, surely they would have brought Sadenari back. He said, “Perhaps Watamaro could help us.”
Saeki grinned. “The Black Dragon’s not a pirate ship. It belongs to Watamaro, sir.”
*
Akitada and the lieutenant stopped at the Kawajiri harbor to ask if a young man of Sadenari’s description had been seen climbing into a boat with some sailors returning to the Black Dragon. They found no witnesses, perhaps because the ship was already in the channel and on the point of departure.
It was after dark before he reached Naniwa again. Although he was tired and his arm throbbed again, he went straight to Nakahara’s office. He almost did not recognize the room. Someone had removed the disordered piles of confiscated goods, and the space was now large, spare, and businesslike. All the empty space and the flickering light of candles and oil lamps emphasized the impression that he was walking into a court session. Governor Oga, Nakahara, and Munata awaited him, seated side by side like judges of the underworld awaiting the souls of wrongdoers.
Oga, his corpulence compressed in a stiff brown brocade robe and his double chins nearly strangled by the collar, sat in the middle and addressed him coldly and without preamble.
“Finally! Whatever the details and circumstances of your assignment, sir, it seems to me that it should have been handled differently. I don’t hold with secretiveness and prevarication. You should have reported to me when you first arrived here.”
He had a point. Courtesy as much as proper protocol required that the highest ranking official be apprised of problems immediately. But Akitada’s instructions had been to speak with Nakahara and investigate the matter quietly. The trouble was that it had not remained quiet.
Akitada bowed. “My apologies, Governor. I arrived here with specific instructions from the Ministry of the Right to check out an internal matter connected with the foreign trade office. Since that office is separate from the provincial administration and operates directly under the Ministry of the Right, I was not required to notify you. Things got out of hand when my clerk was abducted and I was attacked while searching for him in Kawajiri.”
Oga huffed rudely.
Akitada ignored this and continued, “I’m afraid the situation has become dangerous. I thought it best to notify you. Provincial forces may be needed to arrest and punish the guilty. It turns out that Sadenari may have been taken away on a ship and must be rescued. His father is a court official who is much respected. I think any indifference shown by the province or the prefecture would not sit at all well with his friends or the central government.”
This was an exaggeration. Sadenari’s family was of very minor importance, but Oga might not know that. More importantly, Akitada had reminded Oga of his authority in the investigation.
Oga hooted his derision. “The young fool probably just went off on a little jaunt. It’s ridiculous to link his going on board a ship with some sort of conspiracy or with pirates. Ever since the Sumitomo rebellion, certain people have nursed unreasonable fears about a few ambitious fishermen who try to improve their lot by stealing small items from careless skippers. There have always been cases of piracy on the Inland Sea. It’s our version of the thieves and robbers in the capital who terrify the courtiers in their very offices.”
It did not help that the comment about the lack of security in the capital was deserved. Akitada fully agreed with Oga that flagrant crimes committed in the very heart of the government enclosure were a shameful sign of a lack of control. But a far bigger problem for the emperor and his ministers was the threat of an uprising in the provinces. That might topple the government and cost thousands of luves.
Munata and Nakahara, their faces were stiff with disapproval, agreed with Oga. Akitada’s anger and his worry about Sadenari had caused him to speak much too harshly to Nakahara and Munata earlier. It had got him nothing but stubborn non-cooperation and hostility. Now the governor had joined their faction. He felt defeated.
“What is it that you recommend doing, Governor?” he asked after a moment.
“Nothing at all. The police have done all that needed to be done. Your clerk has gone on a sea voyage. The young have an adventurous spirit and get carried away by foolish notions. My own son . . .” He stopped himself. “When your clerk gets tired of his explorations, he’ll return. And you were careless and tangled with some rough men from the waterfront. Fortunately, nothing much happened. As for the notion of someone selling shipping information to the pirates, it seems to me if that were the case, the information would have come from Hakata in Kyushu where the ships originate, and not from here. I propose informing His Gracious Excellency, the Minister of the Right, that we have met, discussed the situation, and found that the reports were mistaken. No doubt, you will wish to return to your duties in the capital.”
Akitada struggled to keep his temper. “You’ll forgive me, Governor,” he said, his voice shaking a little, “but the report is mine to make, and I will certainly not put my name to what you propose. What is more, if you impede my investigation, I shall make my own report to His Excellency. I suggest you offer some cooperation instead. His Excellency specifically required the local administration to do so in his letter to Nakahara. Perhaps Nak
ahara would be good enough to show His Excellency’s instructions to you?”
Nakahara gulped and reached into a document box that stood before him. He handed Oga the minister’s letter. Akitada was fairly certain that he had shared its content with the other two men already.
Oga barely glanced at it. “Bah, what is this besides the usual court language on every document? It means nothing.”
Such disrespect was profoundly shocking. Akitada looked at Munata and Nakahara to see if he had heard correctly. Munata’s face was expressionless, but Nakahara squirmed a little and avoided his eyes.
“In that case,” Akitada said coldly, “we have nothing else to discuss. My thanks for your hospitality, Nakahara, but I shall move to the official hostel for the remainder of my stay. Someone will come for our things.” He barely nodded to the others.
Nakahara made some sputtering protest. Akitada had reached the door when it opened and Yuki stood there with Watamaro.
For once the burly ship owner was not smiling. He bowed to Akitada and said, “Forgive me. I was just coming to see you, sir. Lieutenant Saeki told me that your clerk has been taken aboard the Black Dragon. Is this true?”
“Don’t believe a word of it, Watamaro,” cried the governor before Akitada could speak. “Come in, and let’s try to unravel this ridiculous story.”
Akitada turned to give Oga a look. Then he took Watamaro’s arm. “Thank you for coming so promptly, Watamaro. If you don’t mind, I’d like a word in private. Let’s go outside.”
Watamaro hesitated. He bowed deeply to the governor, but Akitada was firm. Either this man was about the plot against him and Sadenari, or he was innocent. Akitada intended to find out.
As they walked down the hallway, Watamaro asked, “What was that about, sir? Has anything else happened? Why are we talking in private?”
