The Dragon Scroll

by I. J. Parker

  Looking at his servant drowsily, he said, "Throw away those filthy rags and take a bath."

  Tora grinned. "Later. You promised to help me look for Hidesato."

  Akitada sat up with a groan. "Very well. But find some other clothes."

  A little later, wearing clean but plain robes, they walked out through the tribunal gate and turned south into the city. It was midday, the sun had warmed up considerably, and the air was almost springlike. Akitada was silent, his thoughts on Ayako.

  When they reached the market, Tora stopped a street urchin to ask where he might buy some fried rice cakes. The boy held out a grimy hand, but when Tora placed a copper coin into it, he ducked away into the crowd. Tora cursed.

  "Is your stomach more important than your friend?" Akitada asked irritably. He was beginning to regret his promise to Tora.

  "I'm looking for the rice-cake vendor, sir," Tora explained. "I still have his money. He looked half-starved. I'm sure he needs it back."

  "Oh." Akitada was chastened. "Perhaps he only works in the evenings?" he suggested.

  But he was wrong. Moments later Tora caught the familiar smell of fried cakes and took off after it with quivering nostrils. Akitada followed and found Tora in conversation with a thin young man in ragged clothes. The vendor was staring at the silver Tora had placed in his hands.

  "We caught the crooks," Tora was saying, "so you don't have to pay them ever again. Next time report the trouble to the constables."

  The young man gave a bitter laugh. "Thanks for the advice," he said, tucking the silver away. "You say you caught the bastards, but they're on the streets again. Who do you think the constables work for? Everyone gets a cut from the take."

  "What do you mean?" Akitada demanded sternly.

  The vendor gave him a startled look and muttered, "Nothing, sir." He snatched up his bamboo yoke, hooked the hampers to it, and trotted off.

  Tora looked after him. "Crooked officials. Just like I told you," he said heavily. "That's why those murderous bastards are on the loose again." He spat in disgust.

  "I don't believe it," said Akitada. "Ikeda seemed efficient, and the governor didn't mention any problems. It must be idle gossip. Are we near that wine shop where you met Hidesato? Good. Perhaps your friend has returned to it."

  "It's not your kind of place. Only common trash like me goes there."

  Akitada stopped. "As long as you work for me, you are not to refer to yourself in those terms again!"

  Tora grinned reluctantly. "Sorry, sir."

  The fat host of the Heavenly Abode welcomed Tora like an old friend but only nodded to Akitada. Except for a drowsy old man, the place was empty.

  "What's this about those hoodlums being out of jail already?" Tora asked.

  The host rolled his eyes. "The bastards! Next time they walk in here, I'll cut out their stomachs," he boasted. "I keep a sharp knife under the counter."

  "I didn't see you doing any belly-cutting the other night."

  The host waved a hand. "You two had things well in hand."

  The solitary guest, ancient and bent almost double, suddenly cried in a cracking voice, "Amida is great. Amida saves."

  They glanced at him and looked away.

  "I've lost touch with my buddy," Tora said. "Has he been back?"

  "No." Seeing Tora's disappointment, the fat man offered, "But if he comes in, I'll tell him you're looking for him."

  "Thanks." Tora turned to go.

  When Akitada saw Tora's dejected face, he followed him out and said, "I think we should try the garrison. Hidesato was a sergeant. Perhaps he put in for duty there."

  Tora brightened. "You're right. He might do that."

  The garrison was beside the Western Gate, surrounded by high palisades and with colorful banners flying from its large main gate. Akitada gave his name and rank to the guard and asked to see the commandant. The man looked dubiously at their plain clothes but sent a recruit to report.

  The recruit returned with an older man, dark-skinned and husky, his face ringed with a graying beard. He wore short baggy pants, leggings, and half-armor over a shirt and looked sharply at them.

  "Lieutenant Nakano," he introduced himself in a gravelly voice after Akitada had repeated his name and rank. "The captain's in his office."

  The garrison covered a city block and contained several long, low buildings--soldiers' quarters and stables--and a large hall that served as headquarters. In the open courtyard, foot soldiers were drilling with halberds and long shields, and beyond it, mounted men circled a target at full gallop, their bows stretched, loosing arrows at it in measured volleys.

  "Would you look at that?" Tora said. "For soldiers they're as good as any I've seen. That captain must be a good man."

  Leaving Tora outside, Akitada followed Lieutenant Nakano into the hall. They passed busy clerks and aides to the back, where the lieutenant opened a door and announced, "Lord Sugawara."

  Akitada stopped on the threshold. Captain Yukinari's head wore a bloody bandage. He rose but looked pale and seemed to sway on his feet as he bowed.

  "That's all, Lieutenant," Yukinari said. The door closed.

  "What happened to you?" Akitada asked.

  "It's nothing. A freak accident. Please be seated, sir."

  As they sat down, Akitada saw that the captain held his left arm tucked close to his chest. "Your injuries look serious. Were you attacked?"

  Yukinari wiped perspiration from his forehead. "No, no. A foolish accident. I work out early every morning before the men get up. When I'm done, I ring a big bronze bell in the exercise yard. It signals the men to assembly. This morning, when I gave the bell the usual hard push, it fell. Fortunately, it only clipped my head and my left shoulder or it would have killed me. Apparently a wooden beam was rotten and gave way."

  "I see. Then I'm glad you escaped. I shall be brief. Would you mind telling me exactly how you traced the most recent tax convoy?"

  Yukinari nodded. "The first two raids happened before my time, but I was very careful with my orders for the last convoy. They were to proceed by land, following the coast road until it joins the Great Eastern Road. Instead of using regular bearers and grooms for the pack train, I substituted foot soldiers. In addition, the convoy was preceded by twenty mounted warriors and followed by twenty more. The men were handpicked, superb archers and swordsmen." He sighed. "Lieutenant Ono was in command, an experienced soldier who had been an aide to my predecessor. He volunteered. A brave man."

  Akitada made note of this "volunteer" but said only, "I don't doubt it."

  "Two weeks later I sent a scout by boat across the bay. He returned and reported that the convoy did not reach Fujisawa. I immediately set out myself with a small force and followed the route taken by Lieutenant Ono. We lost all trace of them in Shimosa province. It was as if they had disappeared into thin air. One day they were approaching a large village near the border of Musashi province; the next day they were gone. The barrier guards had not seen them."

  "What about the local authorities in Shimosa province?"

  "Not cooperative."

  Akitada raised his brows. "Do you suspect them or the barrier guards of abetting robbers?"

  "No. We raised the question of highway robbery, and they were offended. To them, we sounded critical of law and order in their province. I have no doubt they reported my insulting manner to the military authorities in the capital." He grimaced. "Frankly, I look forward to reassignment to the front," he said.

  His tone was fatalistic. Akitada wondered about that. The captain's pallid face might be due to the accident or it might have other causes. Yukinari looked like a very unhappy man. Akitada cleared his throat apologetically. "There is another, unrelated matter that you may be able to help me with. My servant Tora has a very close friend, a Sergeant Hidesato. They met briefly in this city two nights ago but lost touch again. I thought the sergeant might have reported here to offer his services. I understand he was out of work."

  Yukinari's ey
ebrows rose, but he did not express surprise that an imperial inspector should consult him about his servant's problem. He clapped his hands and, when the lieutenant responded, relayed the question. Nakano saluted and disappeared on his errand.

  Akitada wondered how he might next broach the Tachibana case. Yukinari relieved him of the problem.

  Fidgeting with his writing utensils and avoiding Akitada's eyes, he asked, "Is there any more information about Lord Tachibana's death?"

  "No, but I made a visit of condolence and found the widow very distraught. Apparently she has been deserted by everyone."

  Yukinari's ears turned pink. "It is difficult to know what to do," he said vaguely.

  "I should have thought that your friendship with both would have made it proper and dutiful to offer your services to the young widow."

  Yukinari gave him a desperate look and mopped his brow again. "It...you don't understand," he stammered. "She would not expect it."

  "Just what is your connection with Lady Tachibana, Captain?" Akitada asked bluntly.

  Yukinari turned crimson. "May I ask why you are interested, sir?"

  Yukinari hardly looked like a killer, but love could do strange things to a man. Akitada decided on more shock tactics. "Lord Tachibana was murdered. You were seen in the Tachibana compound the night he died."

  Yukinari dropped his face into his hands and muttered, "Dear heaven."

  Akitada said, "Are you admitting the murder, Captain?"

  Yukinari shook his head dazedly. "No, of course not. I respected him like a father."

  "Then what did you mean?"

  Yukinari flushed again. "I don't know. I feel responsible. Perhaps I should have told him."

  "Told him what?"

  Yukinari looked distressed. "She is...was not happy. That is why she and I... we became lovers. I was ashamed to tell him. Didn't want to hurt him ... or her."

  "Your presence in the Tachibana mansion on the night of the murder makes you a suspect, and you have just admitted to a motive."

  Yukinari shook his head and winced, raising his good hand to the bandage. "It wasn't me. I was out of town that night and didn't return until after sunrise. That's when I heard of his accident. Besides, the affair was brief and it ended last summer." Seeing Akitada's dubious expression, he added quickly, "Believe me, I have regretted my behavior very deeply. I looked on Lord Tachibana as the father I never knew. He was kind to me." He sighed. "I cannot expect you to understand, but their marriage was not like other marriages. The age difference made her more like an adopted daughter than a wife. In fact, she was...They didn't...There were times when I thought he might even approve."

  Akitada drew himself up stiffly. Yukinari's rationalization was, to his mind, utterly reprehensible. "Did the lady break off the relationship?"

  "No, I did. She was angry with me, but I had other reasons by then."

  Akitada thought of that childlike creature and her tears. "I wonder that did not occur to you earlier," he snapped. "What other reasons?"

  "I... There was someone else," the captain stammered. "It cannot matter now." He gave a bitter laugh. "The poet Narihira said that love is as short-lived and deceitful as dew. He was right." He dropped his face into his hands again.

  The poetic image of dew reminded Akitada of the beads of moisture on Ayako's golden skin. He stared at the captain and wondered what to say, when Lieutenant Nakano returned to report that a Sergeant Hidesato had applied for military service the previous week. His application had been approved, but Hidesato was no longer at the address he had given. He had been thrown out for nonpayment of rent, and no one knew where he had gone.

  Yukinari nodded. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Now please report to His Excellency about the incident in Hanifu village."

  Nakano snapped to attention and recited, "Two days ago, after sundown, we received word about an ambush of one of our patrols. The captain set out immediately with four cavalrymen. He returned after the morning rice the following day with our men. Four of them had been wounded in a fight with a group of hooded criminals armed with swords and halberds. Their attackers escaped, but one of them was a monk." Seeing Akitada's surprise, he added, "He lost his hood."

  "Thank you, Lieutenant." Akitada turned to Yukinari. "Have you had problems with the monks from the Temple of Fourfold Wisdom?"

  Yukinari flushed angrily. "Have we?" he said. "There has been continuous friction between those hoodlums and my soldiers. This is only the latest incident, but this time they were armed. Every time my men encounter those baldpates, they come to blows with them. At first we punished our people severely, in spite of their protests that they had been provoked. Then I was a witness to the behavior of those monks in an incident with a local merchant. I have since complained repeatedly to Ikeda, most recently on the morning of the ... murder, but to no avail. In my opinion, the prefect is incompetent." Yukinari stopped, swallowed, and added more calmly, "I have ordered my men to stay away from the monks. More I cannot do."

  Akitada nodded. "Thank you. You confirm my suspicions. It may be that you can do something after all. We will speak of it later."

  Yukinari stood and bowed, then looked at him with empty eyes. "If I can be of any assistance in the other . . . case, I would be grateful for the chance, Your Excellency."

  Akitada found Tora regaling an eager group of soldiers with stories of his military exploits in the north. They parted company reluctantly.

  "You were right, sir," Tora said excitedly. "Hidesato's been here. Filled out his application and left again."

  "I know. And it was accepted, but when they tried to notify him, he had moved."

  "Oh." Tora's face fell. "One of the soldiers said he saw him in town. In the brothel quarter. I suppose I'll try there next."

  "Very well. Lead the way."

  "You?" cried Tora. "In the brothel quarter? No. I'll go by myself."

  "We go together." Akitada's expression allowed no argument.

  * * * *

  TWELVE

  RAT'S TALES

  The brothels were in the southwest quadrant, not far from the market, but in an area of poor tenements and cheap wine shops. In narrow, dirty streets littered with human and inanimate debris, cripples and blind beggars huddled wherever they could find a sunny wall. Filthy, half-naked children covered with bruises and sores ran about, screaming. Few healthy young men were in evidence, and those had hungry eyes that watched Akitada and Tora speculatively. Now and then one would approach and offer to show them to a "love house" with "first-rate girls" or introduce them to "jesters."

  "Jesters?" asked Akitada.

  Tora made a face. "Pretty boys," he said.

  They asked about Hidesato and twice paid good coppers to be led to him, only to discover that their guide had willfully misunderstood and taken them to a brothel instead.

  Eventually the streets grew dark and chill. Here and there a lantern bobbed, marking the arrival of customers. Raucous laughter and song rang into the dark streets every time someone lifted the gaudy curtains of wine shops and brothels. From behind bamboo grilles female voices called out to them, and when they looked, they saw behind the bars ghostly creatures, their eyes and lips garish in masklike faces turned a sickly green, yellow, or lavender by the colored lights of paper lanterns. Love was for sale in every color of the rainbow.

  The thought of buying one of those grotesque females nauseated Akitada. He thought of Ayako and how clean she was, how sweet the scent of her skin, how naturally she had come into his arms. His longing for her suddenly overwhelmed him. He stopped in the middle of the street. "Tora," he said, "I think we have done enough today. Why not stop by Higekuro's before we turn in for the night?"

  Tora agreed immediately.

  The quiet street of Higekuro's school was a different world. In the dusk, neighbors were having their evening chats in the street. Ayako, too, was outside her door, leaning on a broom and laughing with an elderly woman who held a small child in her arms. Ayako wore only a simple gown and
had her hair pulled back and tied with a ribbon, but Akitada's heart missed a beat.

  When she saw him, her face lit up. She smoothed back her hair with unconscious feminine grace and smiled shyly.

  Tora whistled between his teeth. "Now there's a change for the better," he said. "I guess all that girl needed to turn her into a proper female was a man in her bed."

  Akitada gave him a look of cold fury. "Ayako risked her life last night," he said through clenched teeth. "If I ever hear you insult her again, it will be the last time you will speak in my presence. Do you understand?"