Ingrid Parker - Rashomon Gate – A Mystery of Ancient Japan

Akitada obeyed meekly. The other man's glance sharpened, but he did not relent. "So!" he said curtly. "I'm Kobe. Captain of police. Show me the body!"

Akitada led the way. They found Tora and the policemen arguing. Kobe barked an order, and his men retreated. Tora joined Akitada as they watched Kobe making a preliminary examination of the site and the body. When the captain was done, he walked over to his men, gave some orders, and they dispersed. Then he came back to Akitada and said, "Strangled, and not long ago. Two hours, perhaps less." Again his sharp eyes studied Akitada, who nodded. "I am having the park combed for the killer. You must have found her shortly after it happened. Did you move the body?"

Akitada explained and, with Tora's assistance, demonstrated the girl's original position. "She looked as if she had been flung into the reeds," he said.

Kobe looked at the body, the trampled reeds and torn shrubbery and said sourly, "Too bad people feel the need to meddle. No telling how much evidence has been destroyed." After a moment's awkward silence, he added grudgingly, "But I suppose you didn't do too much harm. She's a commoner, but not a street girl, I think. About six or seven months pregnant."

"What?" Akitada flushed with embarrassment at his oversight. "I am afraid I do not have much experience in such matters," he mumbled, reddening even more at the admission. "She looked merely heavy to me."

The other man sighed. "Never mind," he said. "At your age I didn't know any better myself. You're not a married man, I take it?"

Akitada shook his head. "Not yet."

Kobe 's lips twitched. Then he said, "Well, the coroner has to confirm it. Her sash is gone. I don't suppose you've seen it?"

"No. We looked in the immediate vicinity. It is probably red brocade, a particularly fine grade."

At this Kobe 's eyebrows shot up, and Akitada elaborated. "I recognized her. She is a young woman I saw briefly about a week ago. At that time she was wearing the same sort of clothing, and I noticed the unusually expensive sash, because it did not match the rest of her clothes. I am afraid I do not know her name."

"Where did you see her? What was she doing?"

"She was leaving the music building of the university after a lute lesson."

"Lute lessons? From a music professor? A common girl like her?"

Not liking the captain's tone somehow, Akitada said stiffly, "Nevertheless, that is how I came to see her."

"What is this professor's name and where does he live?"

This would hardly endear him to Sato, Akitada thought. For a moment he was tempted to distract Kobe from the music professor by telling him what the gate guard had said about the girl, but he decided against it. A man as efficient as this one would naturally interrogate the guard. "His name is Sato," he said. "I do not know his address."

"Hmm." Kobe thought for a moment, looking at the body of the girl again. "It gives us a place to start. I don't suppose any of the faculty are still about at this hour?"

"I doubt it."

"Sir?" Tora was becoming restive. He pulled Akitada's sleeve, whispering, "It's getting very late. The Hiratas are waiting."

Akitada recalled himself to his own problems. "Yes, of course, Tora. I forgot." Turning to the captain, he said, "If you don't need us any further tonight, I am late for an important appointment."

Kobe looked Tora up and down and asked, "Tora? Are you the one your master picked up on the highway after someone tried to rob him?"

Tora grinned. "The very same, sir," he said proudly.

Akitada stared at Kobe in speechless surprise. "How could you know about that?" he asked.

Kobe 's eyes twinkled suddenly. He clearly enjoyed the effect he had created. "Oh," he said, "in my business it's a good idea to keep my ears open. In fact, the only reason I didn't arrest you two on the spot was that I recognized your name. There was a lot of talk in this city about the way you handled those renegade monks." The corner of his mouth twitched again and he almost smiled. "But don't let me keep you. I shall know how to find you if I have further questions."

"Oh," stammered Akitada, "I see. Yes. Thank you."

They hurried away. Near the gate they ran into a group of constables who were dragging along an old ragged beggar. Worried about their lateness, Akitada rushed past them, but Tora hung back to ask a question.

When he caught up, he said, "They found that beggar hiding in some bushes near one of the gates and arrested him. Seems like he had a woman's sash in his sleeve."

Akitada stopped and looked back at the group. "That old man? Impossible! He looks too frail to lift a baby, let alone a full-grown pregnant woman."

He started towards the constables, but Tora grabbed his sleeve. "No, you can't! You have promised the Hiratas and your mother. Besides that captain looked smart enough to figure that out for himself."

Akitada nodded reluctantly.

When they had left the park and were rushing along Second Avenue, Tora said, "So she was pregnant! I thought so. I wonder what that means."

Akitada did not answer.

"That fellow Sato? Her teacher? You suppose it's his kid?" Tora persisted.

"Hmm."

"Maybe he killed her because she was blackmailing him."

"What? Will you please be quiet, Tora? I am thinking!"

Tora grinned, barely refraining from another quip about anxious suitors. They covered the rest of the distance without talking. Akitada's face wore a distracted, anxious look, and he had started to perspire, more from nerves than their rapid walk.

As it turned out, he need not have worried.

The minute he knocked on the Hiratas' gate, it flew open. Tamako herself stood before him, holding up a lantern and peering up at him anxiously. In the golden light, her slender figure looked like an apparition against the darkness of the garden behind. She wore a fine gown, but in the glow of the lantern, Akitada saw that her face was pale and tense.

"Thank heaven," she cried. "Here you are at last! I've been waiting forever. Where have you been?"

As her tone did not imply a flattering impatience to be with her future husband, Akitada was taken aback. "Has something happened?" he asked.

"No. I must talk to you."

Akitada sent Tora along to the kitchen quarters and explained the reason for their delay.

Tamako stood, her head lowered, swinging the lantern a little. "Oh," she said when they were alone. "Please forgive me! How terrible! The poor girl. I did not know."

"How could you have known? What is wrong?"

"Oh, Akitada!" It was a mere breath. She was standing close to him in the darkness, both of them enveloped by the fragrance of wisteria, peonies and a thousand nameless other blossoms. She was trembling, and he felt a powerful urge to touch her. But when he put his hand on her shoulder, she stepped away from him quickly.

"Please!" Her voice was tight and urgent. "I know that Father has spoken to you about marriage. But you must not do it. I beg you, if you care for me at all… like the sister you said I was to you… do not make an offer tonight, or ever! Oh, Akitada, I am so sorry, but I simply cannot marry you."

"But why not?" Aghast, he stepped closer but she flinched away again.

"Do not ask me why. I beg you to make this easy for me, and I shall always be grateful."

The rest of that evening would always hold a vaguely nightmarish quality for Akitada. He had informed Hirata that there would be no marriage, taking the blame upon himself by claiming the uncertainty of his future and his obligation to his family. Hirata had accepted his refusal without comment.