I. Parker: The Crane Pavillion

“Saburo,” he said, looking at the neat figures in his account book, “we can afford a tutor for the children. What about that poor schoolmaster of yours?”

Saburo clapped his hands. “Oh, thank you, sir! Tora and I have taken them a bit of money and some food, but they’re still in dire straits. May I go tell them?”

“Yes, but make sure he understands that he comes on trial.”

The schoolmaster came, nearly speechless with hope. Akitada probed his background with some questions, and being satisfied, introduced him to the children. The arrangement proved satisfactory, and Kobe’s tutor returned to his former duties with a present.

In time the pain in Akitada’s back lessened. But about that time, Tora brought some shocking news. “Sir, the superintendent has been dismissed from office.”

“What?”

“They say it was over the case of the blind shampoo girl. The judge filed a complaint.”

Akitada did not know what to say. So it had happened after all. Kobe had warned him that he was in danger. But he had risked his position anyway to do what Akitada had intended. He had interrupted the trial to save an innocent woman. Akitada did not doubt for a moment that Kobe had taken this step because he, Akitada, had been lying at death’s door and there was no one else to finish the job.

“I have incurred a great debt,” he said to Tora. “I wish I knew how to help Kobe. I want to see him. I wonder if I could manage to get on my horse.”

“Absolutely not, sir. You can’t leave the house yet.”

“Well, maybe a chair could be called? Where is Kobe? At his home?”

“I think so. But sir, it’s too soon. Do you want me to take a message?”

In the end, Akitada wrote a letter and Tora delivered it himself. An hour later, Kobe arrived at the Sugawara house.

He looked a little anxious when he entered Akitada’s room. More shocking was the fact that he was no longer in his impressive crimson uniform but wore an ordinary gray silk robe and a small black hat. He could have been any low-level clerk bustling about in one of the many administrative halls at the beck and call of every nobleman and guards officer. The change in clothing diminished him; he looked smaller, older, and less distinguished.

Akitada managed a smile as he gestured to a cushion. “Forgive me for not rising. I’m afraid it still hurts too much to get to my feet and then sit back down.

Kobe sat and smiled back. “I’m very glad to see you’re so much better than I’d been led to believe. Should you be up already?”

“Yes. Besides I’m impatient to catch up on what I’ve missed.” He paused to give Kobe a searching look. “Tora told me your bad news. I’m deeply sorry and very angry that they’ve treated you this way.”

Kobe’s mouth twisted. “ Karma and shadows follow a man everywhere. You know that well enough.”

“My fortune seems to have improved. I seem to have been forgiven, and today they sent me my pay. I feel all the more responsible for what happened to you.”

Kobe looked astonished. “Why? I came to my senses almost too late. In fact, if I’d acted sooner, you wouldn’t have been attacked. So don’t talk to me of responsibility.”

“I hear you arrested Kanemoto and his woman.”

“Yes, and they couldn’t wait to heap accusations on one another. She told us about Kanemoto’s strangling of the gambler Hankei. Naturally, she claimed she was an innocent bystander. When I didn’t believe her, she threatened me with retaliation. It seems one of her clients holds a rather important position in the government. I ignored this and told Kanemoto what she had said. He retaliated by informing us that she had killed the moneylender Nakamura.”

“She owed Nakamura money?”

“Oh, yes. It seems Kanemoto refused to pay her debts and told her to take care of them herself, so she did. By killing the man! She told Nakamura that she would meet him at the bathhouse and buy back her IOUs. Instead she cut his throat and took the papers she had signed, letting Sachi take the blame for the murder.”

“That poor girl!” Akitada said, shaking his head. “She must have been terrified.”

Kobe said angrily, “Sachi had no business working there. The men are animals. Nakamura tried to rape her. He would have succeeded, too. The bathhouse owner forced her to accede to his wishes. She is well out of there.”

“Is she?” Akitada raised his brows, and Kobe flushed.

“What has become of her?” Akitada asked.

“She’s at my house for the present.”

“That was very kind of you.” Akitada smiled.

Kobe glanced at him. He was clearly embarrassed. “My first lady decided to forsake the world when she heard of my dismissal. My second lady isn’t going quite so far, but she blames me for ruining our children’s futures and keeps to herself. I’m alone these days.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Akitada had always assumed Kobe’s household to be a happy one and was thunderstruck by these revelations.

“I’ve always envied you, Akitada. Lady Tamako was all that a wife could be. I was jealous of your happiness. You never wanted another woman, having all that a man needs in this one. Forgive me! I know it must pain you to think of it.”

Akitada shook his head. “You are right about us, though there were some years-.” He paused.

Kobe brushed a hand over his face. “Well, it made me see women differently. And then there was Sachi, this poor blind girl who wanted so little from life and had nothing. It occurred to me … but it’s too soon to speak of it. Forgive me.”

Akitada understood. Kobe had found his lotus flower in the mud and had fallen in love. It shocked him that a man of Kobe’s background would consider living with a bathhouse attendant. And a blind one at that.

He changed the subject. “Did you find evidence against the courtesan Phoenix apart from what Kanemoto told you?”

Kobe nodded. “Nakamura kept meticulous accounts of all his loan transactions. We found some of them hidden in an empty jar in his kitchen. It seems he didn’t trust his partner Saito or his children. Phoenix owed the equivalent of thirty bars of gold. It had accumulated over the years as she spent on her wardrobe.”

“Dear heaven! Thirty bars of gold for gowns? It’s unbelievable.”

“Murders have been committed for far less. By the way, Sachi said she smelled her. She has a very good nose. She smelled perfume and also a faint whiff of blood when she passed her in the corridor on her way back to Nakamura. The bathhouse owner testified that the Phoenix was there at the time of the murder. Saburo had already alerted us to the fact that some of the courtesans were hanging around the murder scene.”

“Well, I’m glad it’s over. Saburo got himself into trouble pursuing this case.”

Kobe smiled. “And so did you. Are you truly on the mend?”

“I think so. What will you do now?”

“Oh, I need the rest. I expect I’ll retire to the country. Life costs less there, and I have always wanted to do some hunting. I hope you and Tora will be my guests soon.”

*

Kobe’s dismissal upset Akitada a great deal. The superintendent had been facing the threat of replacement for a few years now. Still, the crisis had come over the trial of the blind girl. Akitada considered the fact that Phoenix had claimed to be under the protection of some great lord. It seemed odd, given what he knew of her, but it would explain why Sachi’s trial had been pushed forward after Saburo had started asking questions.

The morning following Kobe’s visit, he talked with Tora and Saburo about the case. They had followed events and knew that Kanemoto had confessed. Phoenix had persisted with her denials at first and suffered severe floggings. In the end, she had admitted killing Nakamura.