by I. J. Parker
"Day after tomorrow?"
"Have you forgotten the date? While you were lying here these past three days, Akinobu, Yukinari, and I have been slaving like mules to get all the arrangements worked out." He smiled. "If I do say it myself, I'm a brilliant organizer. I cannot wait for you to hear the details."
"I am very sorry. I had forgotten all about that."
"No wonder. You were hallucinating most of the time. We took turns watching and wiping your brow."
"I am very grateful."
Motosuke's face became serious. "Did Seimei tell you that the Tachibana woman and her nurse are both dead?"
"What?"
Motosuke nodded. "Double suicide in jail."
"I don't believe it," cried Akitada. "Ikeda must have killed them...and it's my fault."
"No. Ikeda's gone, and from what we could make out, he left before they died."
Akitada's head spun. He realized now the grave mistake he had made when he had allowed Ikeda to take the women to his jail. The fact that he had already felt ill at the time was no excuse for such carelessness. The image of the butterfly caught in the snow flashed again through his mind. It had been prophetic. He grimaced. "Do you know any details?"
"I have all the details because I sent Akinobu over to investigate. It happened two nights ago. Apparently, Ikeda left the night before, not long after you had the women arrested. There was a message on his desk that he had been called away to a case out of town. So far he has not returned, and I have arranged for Akinobu to take over his duties temporarily. Anyway, Lady Tachibana demanded to speak to Ikeda, and when the head clerk informed her that Ikeda had left town, she became frantic and sent for Joto."
"Naturally," groaned Akitada, clenching his fists. "What a fool I have been."
Motosuke gave him a questioning look. When Akitada did not explain, he continued, "Well, the head clerk assumed that she wanted spiritual comfort in view of the charges against her and he allowed the visit. Joto did not come himself, but he sent his deacon Kukai and two other monks the same evening. According to the guards, they prayed with her and then left. She settled down quietly for the night. In the morning, the warden found her hanging from a beam. She had taken off one of her silk gowns, twisted it, and used it for a rope. When they checked on the nurse in the next cell, the older woman had done the same, using her sash."
"They killed them," Akitada said. "The women knew too much."
Motosuke shook his head. "I don't think so. But whatever happened, it saves us unpleasantness."
It sounded callous, but Akitada knew that women who committed adultery and then killed their husbands could not hope for mercy. They were made to suffer harsh and public torture, as did servants who raised their hands against a master. Public morality demanded it. But this case involved Lady Tachibana. Stripping this beautiful child in open court and flaying the skin off her back to assure a speedy confession would shock even the most callous and prurient crowd. From Motosuke's point of view, Lady Tachibana and her nurse in court presented a problem. Being dead, they satisfied the demands of justice. And chances were that they had themselves sought an easier end. Yet Akitada did not share Motosuke's relief.
"This is my fault," he said again. "When she insisted on sending for him, I should have suspected that it was Ikeda who was her lover."
"Ikeda? Are you sure?" Motosuke looked shocked.
"It fits. When I charged her with her husband's murder, Ikeda surprised me by taking my side, even though she had accused me of trying to rape her. He ordered both women arrested, and she meekly allowed herself to be taken away to the prefectural jail. She would not have done so if she had not expected Ikeda to get her out." Looking at Motosuke, Akitada said, "And now everything points to both of them having been Joto's accomplices. That is why she sent for the abbot when Ikeda decided to flee. I should have listened to Tora."
As if on cue, Tora strolled in. Unabashed by the presence of the governor, he seated himself and, recalling his manners belatedly, bowed to Motosuke, saying, "Hope to see you well, sir." To Akitada he said, "Thank the gods, you're better! Did Seimei tell you about Jasmin?"
"Yes, but there is no need for concern," Akitada said. "I know who killed Hidesato's girlfriend."
"Yeah. That bastard Scarface. He's beaten the poor thing all along. This time he just decided to butcher her."
Akitada shook his head. Seeing Tora's expression, he said, "Come on, Tora, surely you can work it out. Think of all the blood! It was you who told us about the bloodthirsty cretin with the knife."
Tora's eyes widened. "Yushi!" he breathed.
"Yushi. Though Scarface may well have had something to do with it." Akitada looked at the governor. "It seems a gang of three--a scarred man everyone calls Scarface, a giant by the name of Yushi, and a third man ..."
"Jubei," Tora supplied.
"... and Jubei--has been taking protection money from small merchants in the market and from prostitutes. Tora had them arrested, but Ikeda let them go. I suppose Akinobu will have to be told. Perhaps this time we can put the whole gang away for good."
Motosuke rose, shaking his head. "Such shocking news all around. Horrible," he said. "You must tell me all about it some other time. I had better go talk to Akinobu about the murder. You need a little more rest, elder brother. I'll return later to discuss the festival."
When Motosuke had left, Akitada turned on his side and propped himself on an elbow. He smiled at Tora. "My compliments. It seems you were absolutely right about Ikeda and Joto being accomplices."
Tora tried to look modest and failed.
"And how is Hidesato getting along with Higekuro and the girls?"
Tora's face lengthened. He looked away. "Fine."
"Did you tell them about my illness?"
"Yes. They sent best wishes for your recovery."
Taken aback by such indifference, Akitada tried again. "What did Ayako say?"
Tora poked at the incense burner, rolling it about on the desk. "Oh, the same," he said, scowling. "They are all very busy, what with a houseguest and everything."
Akitada thought he knew the cause of his depression. "Otomi is a very pretty girl," he said gently. "It's only natural that Hidesato should think so, too."
Tora swung his head around to stare at him. "Otomi? Hidesato's not looking at Otomi. It's Ayako he's after, curse him!"
"Ayako?" Akitada blinked, then laughed. "Heavens," he said. "I forgot. They are both masters at stick fighting. No doubt they found much to talk about. Relax, Tora. I'm glad Hidesato is staying there. Otomi is in real danger now that Joto has seen the dragon scroll. I'm convinced he sent his people to cause the death of Lady Tachibana and her nurse, and there is nothing to prevent him from doing the same with Otomi. With Hidesato there, at least they will think twice before attacking her."
Tora got to his feet. "Hidesato's not there. He and Ayako went off to the bathhouse this morning." As soon as he said it, he flushed crimson. "That is, he went to the bathhouse. I don't know where she went." He took a deep breath. "If you don't need me," he said, "I guess I'd better get over there quick," and ran out.
The room seemed to dim, as if a large cloud had passed over the sun. Akitada sat back up. For a long time he just stayed there, hunched over, twisting his hands. What was it that Seimei had said? "More fearful than a tiger is the scarlet silk of a woman's undergown." He had been warning him against Lady Tachibana at the time. Ayako was not the type to wear a scarlet undergown. She was no pampered, perfumed seductress. Ayako was clean and natural as life itself. But Ayako had betrayed him.
When the pain hit, it was sharp as a sword thrust into his belly. He cried out and doubled over, hugging himself and rocking back and forth.
"Sir? Sir? What's wrong?"
Seimei's voice, frantic with worry, penetrated the fog of grief and pain. Akitada opened his eyes and willed himself to relax his body and unclench his hands. "Nothing," he croaked. "A cramp. My empty stomach rebelling."
Relief washed ove
r Seimei's anxious face. "Is that all? I brought the gruel. Boiled it with herbs. That's what took so long." He pressed a bowl into Akitada's hands and watched him as he sipped the thin gruel. It tasted like bile. "You don't look well," he said dubiously.
Somehow Akitada managed to force the food down and, surprisingly, felt slightly better. He lay down and closed his eyes. "I'm tired, Seimei," he said listlessly.
"Yes, yes. You sleep a little. Later I will bring you more food, some nourishing fish broth with noodles perhaps." Seimei quietly gathered the dishes and tiptoed from the room.
The pain returned. Not so sharply perhaps, but as a dull soreness seeping from his belly into his head, like thick black ink soaked up by a sponge. And with it came a sense of profound loss--as if he himself had been swallowed up by this dark flood.
Too much had happened. He was no longer the same man who had relished this ill-omened assignment in hopes of serving his emperor well and finally fulfilling his mother's expectations. It seemed to him now that that Akitada had been a foolish dreamer, that nothing was as he had thought, least of all himself.
This made him angry, but his anger was not directed at Ayako or, he thought, at the scruffy sergeant. Would not any sane man take such a gift if it were offered? And why should not Ayako, for whatever reasons motivated her--pity, curiosity, or affinity--offer herself to Hidesato as readily and naturally as she had given herself to him? No doubt Akitada, too, had aroused feelings of pity or curiosity in her. She had probably thought him a pathetic weakling, much like Tora once had. Or perhaps she had taken him to the bathhouse to find out how noblemen from the capital made love.
Ayako had always lived by her own rules and never promised him anything. It was he, in his arrogance, who had believed that she must feel for him what he had felt, no, was still feeling, for her. Ayako belonged to no one, not even Hidesato.
This thought made him feel a little better until it occurred to him that Hidesato might like such an arrangement. What if this rough soldier took his pleasure with Ayako and afterward simply walked away without another thought, treating casually that which had been offered casually? He pictured the two of them on the grass mat together, and a desperate rage seized him.
There was a scratching at the door.
"Are you awake, my dear Akitada?" asked Motosuke, peering through the opening.
"Yes," said Akitada, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Please come in."
"I brought Akinobu and Yukinari. You do not mind?"
"No, no. Come in and sit down."
Yukinari and Akinobu filed in slowly, bowing and casting dubious glances at him. Yukinari's head was without its bandage, but a thick scab had formed near his hairline and most of his forehead bore a purple bruise.
"I think there is some tea left," said Akitada, "or would you prefer wine?"
Nobody wanted anything. They seated themselves. Yukinari and Akinobu asked politely about his health, then fell silent.
"The governor told me that you are filling in for Ikeda," Akitada said to Akinobu, trying to banish the image of the lovers from his mind. "It will be difficult to carry out both responsibilities, especially since the matter of the tax conspiracy is complex and time-consuming."
Akinobu bowed. "I was fortunate in finding a number of bright and reliable people in the prefecture," he said in his dry voice. "Once order was established, the normal routine could be resumed. I expect to leave prefectural matters in the capable hands of the head clerk when I have other duties. Just now I have given him full instructions about the criminals named by Your Excellency. A special team of constables familiar with the local underworld is searching for the three men, and I hope to report their arrests by tonight."
"Thank you. Well," said Akitada, looking at the others, "arresting Joto and his supporters during the temple festival will be more difficult. We must at all costs avoid bloodshed. Our man has proven again and again that he can act swiftly and decisively, and that human lives mean nothing to him. The temple enclosure will be packed with townspeople and pilgrims, and his monks are trained fighters who have an armory of halberds in one of the storehouses. No doubt other weapons are hidden elsewhere on the grounds. We have only the element of surprise on our side."
Yukinari spoke up. "What sorts of weapons and how many?"
"I only know about the naginata, but in the capital there were rumors of weapon shipments to the east. On the journey here, I had occasion to see the barrier logs at Hakone. They showed an unusual number of religious objects passing along the eastern road in this direction. It is likely that those objects were, in fact, arms destined for the Temple of Fourfold Wisdom. A man like Joto would have little compunction about causing a bloodbath on the temple grounds or of plunging the province into civil war to preserve himself."
Akitada looked at the three men and wondered how each would act under the stress of the coming days. Yukinari's fists were clenched. He muttered something under his breath, but Akitada judged him to be above average in courage. Besides, his conscience would spur him on to give his life, if necessary, to atone for his affair with Lady Tachibana.
Motosuke, normally buoyed by high spirits, looked drawn and grave, but Akitada knew now that Motosuke was his friend and committed to their undertaking. While Motosuke had much to lose if they failed, he would also gain enormous prestige by subduing an incipient rebellion.
"I blame myself," said Motosuke when their eyes met, "that this conspiracy should have grown to such proportions without my knowledge."
Akinobu said quickly, "You could not have known, Governor. Buddhist clergy are revered and protected from the normal checks and searches we carried out everywhere else. Besides, Ikeda seems to have covered up all misdeeds by Joto's monks."
Akinobu's loyalty to Motosuke was as impressive as his sense of personal honor. He had been ready to sacrifice his family property to make some sort of restitution for thefts he had not been responsible for. Had Motosuke still been a suspect, Akinobu might have been his accessory, but that possibility had been eliminated long ago.
"I knew it!" muttered Yukinari. "Ikeda's been involved all along. That's why he ignored all my complaints."
"Yes." Akitada sighed. "I hope we find him alive."
Akinobu cleared his throat. "I am, no doubt, very obtuse," he said apologetically, "but may I ask what caused Your Excellency to identify Joto and Ikeda as the conspirators?"
It was a reasonable question from a man who was used to accounting for the smallest detail in the documents he had been handling all his life, but the new Akitada was impatient with details. With an effort he dragged his thoughts from his troubles and said, "I started my investigation with the usual questions. When someone acquires sudden wealth as the result of a major robbery, there are signs in the local economy unless the person resides outside the province. I found many such signs here. The economy had improved dramatically recently. Merchants prospered, at least one of them beyond all expectation. Rapid new building was under way everywhere, most strikingly in three places, at the Temple of Fourfold Wisdom, at the governor's residence, and at the garrison."
"I used personal and discretionary funds to strengthen the garrison and add to my residence," Motosuke said defensively, "and I assumed Joto's preaching attracted large donations."
"I have seen your accounts," Akitada said with a smile. "But the temple prospered too quickly. Its fame had not reached the capital, and there was not enough money in local coffers to pay for its expansion. Seimei and I studied the historical records in your archives and in Tachibana's library. Joto started his building program shortly after the first tax convoy was ambushed."
"I should have made the connection," said Yukinari, "but when I arrived, there was a general mood of enthusiastic support for the temple."
Akitada nodded. "Exactly. Why investigate good fortune? I'm afraid the people will not like what we are about to do. But their good fortune also brought crime, violence, and corruption to this city. Everywhere Tora and I went, there was
dissatisfaction with the local administration. We were told that calling the constables was useless, because the appointed officials themselves took bribes. This first alerted me to Ikeda. From what I had seen of the man, it was not incompetence or dereliction of duty that had caused the breakdown of trust between prefect and citizen. That left greed, and I came to suspect him. My servant Tora first linked Ikeda to Joto. He had an instinctive dislike for both men. As it turned out, Ikeda and Joto are perfect allies. Joto had the men and means to carry out the robberies, and Ikeda, as the local prefect, provided the details about time, route, and military strength for each convoy."
Motosuke and Akinobu exchanged looks. "Impossible," said Motosuke. "Ikeda was not involved in the planning of the tax convoys. He could not have known those things."
"Are you certain?" asked Akitada, astonished.
Motosuke nodded. "Akinobu and I always met in my library with the garrison commandant. Only the three of us knew precisely the circumstances and details of the shipments. Only we three checked the goods in the tribunal warehouse and only we counted the gold and silver bars before packing them in boxes and sealing them."
