Ingrid Parker - Rashomon Gate – A Mystery of Ancient Japan

Akitada did not respond immediately, watching instead the threatening skies. The wind was picking up, he noted. In a flash of lightning, he saw that small whirlwinds of debris danced about the courtyard andthe treetops tossed their branches. The breeze blew in, almost extinguishing the lamp, and cooled briefly the sweat-soaked back of his robe. "Your act of 'justice'," he said finally, "caused one of your fellow students to take his life. Another poor young man, I believe."

Ishikawa's face contorted. He jumped up. "How dare you blame me for that!" he screamed. He advanced a few steps, his fists clenched at his side. "I had nothing to do with it, do you hear? He would have lost one way or another! If Okura had not won, I would have." Leaning over Akitada, he shook a clenched fist in his face. "I won't take any more of your sanctimonious drivel, you damned hypocrite! You ruined me! I was the best student these old fogies have had for years. I could not fail!" His voice rose shrilly. "I could not fail until you showed up! Now your damned meddling and your cursed righteousness have cost me the place I had earned with my brains and years of drudgery."

Akitada met the angry eyes without flinching and without response. After a moment Ishikawa dropped his fist and looked away. Returning to his seat, he said tiredly, "For four years I have sat in my classes all morning, cleaned up after the rich boys in the afternoons and evenings and studied during the night. All for nothing! And what have you gained by ruining me? You have preserved a corrupt system which will continue to grind good people into the dust, while putting power to rule into the hands of the incompetent."

Akitada snapped, "I disagree. A system is corrupted by its members. With the exception of you and Oe, I have found the rest of the faculty and students to be decent and hardworking people. It was precisely because of your dishonest activities that my friend Hirata asked me to investigate."

Ishikawa threw back his head and laughed. "You're a fool! There isn't one of your colleagues who wouldn't gladly have taken what Oe did. And it was one of those 'decent' fellows who killed him- a cowardly crime, for the drunken sot was dangling helplessly from Master Kung's neck when his throat was cut."

"And you made that possible," Akitada pointed out grimly.

Ishikawa sneered, "Oh, yes! I had my little revenge. When the swine fell flat on his face on the road outside, I helped him into the temple hall. That's when I got the idea. I leaned him up against old Kung, untied his sash and passed it under his arms and around the statue. His trousers fell down, adding an unexpected touch to the tableau. He was babbling and snoring through the whole thing. I took away the trousers, thinking to myself that it was high time that the rest of the august institution saw their great scholar in a new light."

"You left him to die!"

Ishikawa jumped up again. "Enough!" he said through clenched jaws. "My career may be over, but you shall not enjoy your little triumph either!" Lunging for Akitada's throat, he seized his collar with one hand and pulled back his fist.

Akitada flung himself backward, grasping Ishikawa's wrist. The tall student overbalanced and went sprawling across him. For a moment they struggled together on the floor, then Akitada rolled out from underneath, twisted one of Ishikawa's arms behind his back, and knelt on him.

The room was suddenly filled with people.

"Good work!" growled Kobe. His two constables flung themselves on Ishikawa.

"Thank you," said Akitada, rising to his feet. "This visit was somewhat unexpected and I did not know whether you had had time to arrive yet." It occurred to him belatedly that perhaps he had taken too great a chance in relying so completely on Kobe.

Kobe eyed the captive Ishikawa. "Put the chains on him a bit more tightly this time," he told the constables. "This one takes advantage of good treatment." To Akitada he said, "Well, your trap caught the sly fox! And now we got him on new charges. We heard what he told you. It's as close to a confession as I had hoped. Add the jailbreak and trying to murder you and he's as good as condemned."

Ishikawa made some gurgling protest as one of the constables knelt on him and the other tightened the thin chains around his wrists and neck.

"There was no attempted murder!" cried Akitada, shocked. "He brought no weapon and had nothing more in mind than giving me a good drubbing. As it turned out, I was easily able to defend myself. And he only confessed to tying Oe up, not to slashing his throat."

Ishikawa, jerked to his feet by the constables, protested and one of the constables slapped him viciously, telling him to shut up.

Kobe watched with great satisfaction as the two constables marched the moaning and grimacing student out of the room and down the steps into the courtyard.

Akitada said angrily, "Did you hear what I said? There was no need for this violence."

Kobe grinned. "After the lashing my men got for letting him escape they are understandably put out with Ishikawa. What do you think would happen, if I were to take the prisoner's side against them?"

"But he did not kill Oe! Let him go with a warning!"

Kobe looked surprised. "I thought your note made it clear that you meant to trap the killer. Maybe you didn't expect that it would turn out to be Ishikawa, but I believe we got our man. He's too deeply involved to be an innocent bystander." He rubbed his hip with a grimace. "Oh yes, I heard everything the arrogant bastard said. The crawl space under this hall is not very comfortable, but you can hear every word."There was another flash of lightning. "Beastly weather," Kobe muttered, glowering at the sky. "Well, I must be off and you had better go home, too."

"But you know very well whom we expected tonight."

"Not 'we.' I never believed there was anything to that," Kobe grunted. Flexing his shoulders, he stalked out. As if to punctuate his exit, a long peal of thunder rumbled overhead.

Akitada opened his mouth to call him back, but thought better of it. Kobe had made up his mind. Shaking his head, he went back to his desk. He no longer seriously believed that the murderer would come, certainly not after all the commotion of Ishikawa's arrest. It would have to wait for another opportunity. But he wished he could get the matter over. He needed to do this as much for Tamako and her father as for himself. There would be no peace for them until Hirata's death was avenged. Perhaps there was still a chance the killer might come. Rubbing fresh ink, he bent over his student papers.

Time passed slowly. Outside the storm seemed to have stalled. For the past hour, there had been little change. The darkness was now impenetrable except when lightning played behind the clouds, followed by the rumbling sound of thunder. The wind tossed the branches of the pines from time to time, but there was no rain yet. Akitada thought again of leaving. Chances were good that he would not get a soaking if he went now. Perhaps he could have his dinner with Tamako if Seimei kept their secret. They had so much to say to each other that somehow had not been said the night before. It was strange how with the act of lovemaking a relationship became so utterly changed that one had to begin to discover the other person all over again. Akitada smiled, warmed by a joy which was as new to him as it was all-consuming.

He stared at the paper he was reading. It was dull and full of repetition, and he had a feeling he had scanned the same words for the third time. He made up his mind to leave as soon as he had finished it and had deciphered and corrected another sentence, when suddenly there was again the crunching of the gravel. He froze and listened.

Light steps, accompanied by a rustling of stiff silk, ascended the wooden stairs and crossed the veranda towards his room. Akitada looked at the open doorway and saw a patch of yellow light growing brighter.