The Hell Screen - [Sugawara Akitada 02]

by I. J. Parker

  A cracked voice broke into his erotic imaginings. “How may we serve the gentleman?”

  Tora took his eye off the cracked door and looked down. An ancient man was closing the outer door against the snow and peered up at him.

  “I was told,” Tora croaked, “that Miss Plumblossom... er... entertains ... that is, actors come here from time to time?”

  “So they do. And other gentlemen, too. Miss Plumblossom’s name is well-known in the profession. And what might the gentleman’s preference be? Something acrobatic? Perhaps the gentleman prefers to engage in the masculine sport of swordplay? Or halberds?”

  Tora glanced toward the lit room. He could imagine the acrobatics of lovemaking, but swords and halberds? Perhaps this research would necessitate certain expenditures. “Would it be all right to have a look before I decide?” he asked the old man.

  “Certainly. Please enter!” The old man flung the inner door wide and preceded him. He hobbled to a bench against the wall next to the entrance and sat down, inviting Tora to join him. “I shall be happy to answer the gentleman’s questions,” he offered.

  Tora stopped just inside the room, his jaw sagging with surprise. He had expected to walk into a small reception area where the girls displayed themselves to the customers. In fact he was in a huge training hall. And he saw now that the tumbling young women wore loincloths and that they practiced with young men in similar undress. The agile youngsters were working out on the mats, bouncing, rolling, jumping over and under each other, the men tossing the women into the air and catching them. Their movements were so skillful and continuous that there seemed to be nothing but bobbing breasts and twisting buttocks in sight. Tora slowly backed toward the bench and sank down, his fascinated gaze on the acrobats. After a while, he managed to separate the flying bodies into three young men and two young women and realized his mistake. This was no brothel, but a training hall for acrobats and entertainers.

  There were others in the room, more conservatively dressed. In one corner, an old man sat cross-legged on the floor, beating a small drum, while two very pretty young women in silk dresses swayed in elegant dance steps. In another corner, two men were engaged in a mock sword fight, accompanying their lunges and feints with hideous shouts. Tora shook his head at such unmilitary behavior, and then looked toward the back of the room. A wrestling bout seemed in progress, though his view of the contestants was blocked by some onlookers. Then he got his next surprise. A large chair, like an abbot’s, had been placed on a raised dais and on it sat the fat woman from the restaurant, all glossy black silk and red ribbons.

  Tora gasped, “Who the devil’s that?”

  “Miss Plumblossom. Giving some pointers to the wrestlers. Very fond of wrestling, is our Miss Plumblossom. Never misses a contest, though she’s an acrobat herself, of course.”

  Tora was trying to digest that piece of information when Miss Plumblossom suddenly leaned forward and cried, “Open your hands, Master Denchichi! No punching! Ah! Very good, Master Genba! Haven’t seen that particular hold for years.”

  At first Tora thought he had misheard, but just then the onlookers started applauding and he could see the wrestlers. And there stood Genba, stripped to his loincloth and grinning inanely at Miss Plumblossom, while his opponent picked himself up off the floor.

  * * * *

  TWELVE

  The Prisoner

  Tamako rarely entered her husband’s room while he was at work, and Akitada glanced up in surprise from the family accounts when he heard her voice. She hovered at the door, after saying softly, “Forgive me for interrupting you, but there is a small matter on which I would like your advice.”

  Seimei rose from his papers, bowed to both of them, and left the room. Akitada looked after him unhappily. Their relationship had been strained since he had discovered that Seimei had concealed his parentage from him all these years. Seimei was aware of his coolness and bore it with a sad resignation, but Akitada chafed under the bitter resentment bottled up inside himself. He wished he could talk about it with Tamako, but with her fondness for Seimei she would urge him to put the matter from his mind. Easier said than done!

  He watched her sit down across from him. She looked very elegant in the dark blue silk robe which showed only the narrowest band of her white silk undergown at the wrists and neck. When she had adjusted her trailing skirts and raised her eyes to his, he gave her a smile of affection. “The gown suits you,” he said softly. “Even better than the one I took off you last night.” He watched the rosy blush rise from her neck to her face, wondering why she did not smile. He caressed her face with his eyes, urging it into joy. Her eyes were clear and steady, like shining jewels set into the translucent skin, but the soft, pink lower lip trembled. He cocked his head. “I think,” he murmured, “you must be growing more beautiful with every year.”

  That finally produced a fleeting smile. “What nonsense you talk,” she said, but reached across his desk to touch his hand affectionately. “This is not about us. It concerns your sister.”

  “Ah.” Which one, Akiko or Yoshiko? Akiko had been on his mind almost constantly since he had spoken with her stepson. But he knew that Tamako meant Yoshiko. “Is something wrong?”

  Tamako nodded, looking at her hands, which lay neatly folded in her lap. “I am afraid it will sound as though I am spying on your sister, which I am not,” she said with a sigh. “Even though I am worried about her, I do not keep a watch over her. Still, living in the same house, we can hardly avoid meeting. I noticed that your sister left the house every day at the same time, always between the hours of the monkey and the rooster. She left before sunset and returned after dark, just before the evening rice. And she carried a basket each time.”

  Akitada sat up. The day he had returned from the painter Noami, Yoshiko had come home just before he did, and she had held a basket. An empty basket, though she had claimed to have been to the market. “Have you asked her about it?”

  “How could I? She never volunteered an explanation and it is none of my business. She is a grown woman, and this is her home. But today, just a little while ago, the same thing happened again. Only this time, she rushed past me without a greeting and ran to her room. I wondered if she was ill and followed. I stood outside her door and heard her weeping. Oh, Akitada, she was weeping dreadfully hard. I was afraid to intrude, but what if she needs help? What should I do?”

  Akitada got to his feet and started toward the door.

  “Wait, Akitada,” cried Tamako, getting up also. “Don’t rush in! You may make things worse. This is clearly a private matter. Perhaps, if anyone is going to burst in on her grief, it had better be me.”

  She was right, he thought, suddenly fearful. Something had happened, wherever she had been. Or it might be some female ailment. Or—heaven forbid—rape. The thought of some man doing violence to Yoshiko made him clench his hands. “I suppose you are right,” he said. “Go to her, then. Only come back and let me know.”

  Tamako nodded and left.

  Akitada sat back down and stared sightlessly at his accounts. His troubles seemed to be multiplying when they should have been at an end. He was finally free of a lifetime of blaming himself for the dislike shown to him by the woman he had believed to be his mother. His father no longer was the unfeeling authoritarian of his memory. He had come back to his home, truly his now, and was taking care of his own family as his father had done, at the desk his father had used. His career for once seemed secure. Yet peace and contentment escaped him. Happiness was slippery as an eel. Just when you thought you had a solid grip on it, it twisted this way and that, and was gone again. Oh, Yoshiko!

  Seimei, his other point of discontent, came back in. “A visitor, sir,” he announced with a bow. Seimei had become very formal lately.

  The visitor turned out to be Kobe, and his arrival at this moment was anything but welcome. The superintendent strode in stiffly, nodding instead of bowing, and announced abruptly, “I must speak with you privately.” />
  Akitada glanced at Seimei, who asked, “Shall I bring wine or tea before the gentlemen begin?”

  “Nothing for me.” Kobe stood waiting impatiently for Seimei to leave the room. When the door had closed behind Akitada’s secretary, he waited, then walked quietly to the door and jerked it open. The corridor was empty. He grunted and slammed the door shut again with such force that the panels shuddered. Akitada watched with rising anger as Kobe returned and sat down stiffly across from him.

  “My secretary,” Akitada said coldly, “is not the kind of person who listens at doors. I gather from your manner you bring bad news of some sort.”

  Kobe stared at him for a moment. “Unpleasant for you, at any rate. I have discovered your little plot. How dare you compromise my investigation by slipping your minions into the prison? You will immediately produce your accomplice. She is under arrest. It is regrettable that I cannot do the same with you because of your position. However, I shall make an official report of the affair and protest in the strongest terms against your abuse of power.” Fists clenched on either knee, he leaned forward and glared at Akitada. “I once thought better of you, by heaven, than that you would resort to sending a woman where you are forbidden to go. This time you have gone too far, Sugawara. This time I shall do my damnedest to put a permanent stop to your meddling.”

  Akitada wondered what new trouble was brewing. Kobe appeared furiously angry about some incident at the jail. It was all a mistake, of course, regrettable because he had hoped for a congenial discussion of his discoveries at the temple. Kobe looked angry enough to mean his threats. He said, “I haven’t the faintest idea what you are talking about.”

  Kobe’s face darkened and he struck the desk. Boxes, water containers, and ink stones jumped and rattled. “Don’t lie to me!” he shouted. “You know precisely what this is about. Today we followed her, and she walked into this house not an hour ago.”

  Yoshiko! The answer came to Akitada unbidden, unwanted, and dreaded. His certainty was linked to a memory of a woman with a basket, familiar to him even at a distance, walking away from the prison where Nagaoka’s brother was being held. What had Yoshiko done?

  Kobe snarled, “I see you know what I am talking about. Call her! I want to speak to her. I don’t care who she is to you—your wife, for all I care. After she tells me everything that’s been going on, she will be under arrest.”

  Akitada felt himself go cold with fear. He knew very well that Kobe could carry out his threat, and he also knew the man well enough to fear his temper. He must try to find the right approach to defuse the other man’s rage.

  “You are mistaken, Superintendent,” he said as haughtily as he could manage. “I am still completely in the dark about what you accuse me of, except that it must have something to do with Nagaoka’s brother. Considering your threats against me and mine, I must remind you that it is customary to make certain of one’s facts before laying accusations against persons of rank. I have only recently returned from—”

  Kobe interrupted, “No, my lord, not even your fine record in the north is going to protect you from these charges. Flagrant abuse of power and perversion of the due process of justice will disqualify you from all future administrative positions.”

  For all his bluster, Kobe seemed a bit less certain of himself. Akitada considered his position. In spite of a fine record up north, Kobe could make trouble for him here. Akitada still had some enemies at court, and while he had been very successful, he had not always followed the rules. A charge of high-handedness in the capital so soon after his return could be used against him.

  But at the moment Akitada was less concerned about his career. He was innocent. No, it was the danger to Yoshiko which worried him. In her present state, she could not handle what Kobe had in mind for her. He tried another tactic.

  “I must remind you that my family is mourning the recent death of my mother,” he said, keeping his voice low and firm. “My wife and son only arrived a few days ago, hours before my mother died. The funeral is barely over. The only women in this house besides my wife are my sister and a cook and two maids. I hardly think that any of them is likely to be involved in a murder case.”

  Kobe stared at him. It was impossible to guess what was going through his mind. Akitada knew better than to think he would now apologize and depart. What he wished to avoid at all costs was that Yoshiko would be dragged off and subjected to interrogation. Even women were stripped by constables and beaten with bamboo whips if the investigating judge or officer was not satisfied with their account. He must hope that Kobe would hesitate to inflict this indignity On a member of his family.

  The superintendent finally relaxed his angry posture. “I forgot,” he said, looking away. “I did hear that Lady Sugawara had died. Your mother, you say?”

  Akitada nodded, keeping his face bleak and expressionless.

  “Yes. Hmm. Sorry to hear it. Come to think of it, there was a taboo tablet at the gate. Hmm.”

  Akitada waited.

  Kobe sat undecided for a moment, his hands now relaxed, the fingers drumming on his knees. Then he grumbled, “Er, the situation is awkward, and I regret my poor timing, but you must see that I had to investigate this matter immediately. Repeated visits of an outsider to a prisoner about to come to trial very likely will compromise the case. I must be in a position to give a full explanation to the judge or I, along with the people who were responsible for the prisoner, may be dismissed from office. I won’t allow that to happen just to observe the proprieties.”

  Akitada nodded again. “That is understandable. Your mind is on your duties, as mine is on family matters. We must find a compromise. Perhaps you had better tell me what happened and what precisely you suspect us of. How many visits were there?”

  Kobe’s high color faded. He answered in a normal tone. “The female has come every single day since the time you and I met outside Nagaoka’s house. Always in the evening.”

  Akitada thought back. Had he mentioned the Nagaoka case to Yoshiko? Yes, he recalled sharing some of its frustrations with her over dinner that day. And she had taken the brother’s side. A bit too vehemently, perhaps? Did Yoshiko know the suspect— what was his name?—Kojiro? He asked Kobe, “How did she get in?”

  “She claimed to be his wife, bringing him his dinner. It was not until yesterday that I heard of it and told the fool of a guard that Kojiro’s not married. Idiot!” Kobe angrily blew through his nostrils.

  That explained the empty basket! No doubt it was exactly what she had done, taken the prisoner food. He was not about to have Kobe probe into this mystery before he himself knew what was going on, and said, “Look, Superintendent, I cannot at the moment explain why this mysterious woman should have come to my house, and I shall certainly try to find out what is going on. But under the present circumstances, I must ask you not to trouble my family. If you agree, I shall come to you as soon as I have information. Tomorrow morning, early. For the present, I can only repeat that I knew nothing of this.”

  Kobe frowned and was about to make some comment. Akitada added quickly, “I do, however, have some information I discovered on another visit to the Eastern Mountain Temple. Only my family’s arrival and my mother’s death have intervened.”

  Kobe looked interested. “Oh? Well, what is it?”

  Akitada outlined his visit to the temple and his conversations with the gatekeeper Eikan and the novice Ancho. He explained the mechanism of the lock and his theory that the murder could have been committed by someone other than the prisoner.

  Kobe sat frowning as he digested the information. When Akitada finished, he pointed out that this discovery did not clear Kojiro. Still Akitada’s reasonable and cooperative manner had not only calmed the stormy waters, but given Kobe something to think about. He even looked slightly ashamed of himself when he said, “It is unfortunate that the death of your mother has intervened. I am pressed for time, or I would not insist on your looking into the other matter right away. Shall I expect you
tomorrow morning, then, at the hour of the snake? I’ll be at the eastern prison.” Kobe rose.

  Akitada stood also. They bowed formally to each other, and the superintendent left, closing the door almost gently after himself.

  Now that his fear for Yoshiko’s safety had been allayed, Akitada could not remember when he had last felt so angry with anyone. How could she have done this to him? He tried to control his fury before going to his sister’s room, but the memory of Kobe’s charges and the thought of what lay ahead the next day upset him anew. He would have it out with her now.

  He entered Yoshiko’s room without knocking. The two women sat huddled together, Yoshiko weeping softly and Tamako with her arm around his sister’s shoulders. They both looked up at him, Tamako clearly put out by his sudden unannounced arrival.

  Akitada ignored the unspoken reproach and said to Yoshiko, “I just had a most unpleasant visit from the superintendent of police.”

  Yoshiko gasped and turned white.

  “It appears,” Akitada continued, “that you have been paying regular visits to a prisoner who is about to come to trial. Superintendent Kobe assumes that I arranged these visits in order to communicate with the man after being warned away from him. He intends to file an official complaint.”