I. Parker - Death of a Doll Maker

Tora and Maeda exchanged a glance. Tora asked Suyin, “What about his children? Did she mention them?”

Suyin shook her head. “I asked her after he struck her that time, but she just shook her head. Something wasn’t right with them. I know he had a grown daughter and son, but both married and moved away.” She glanced at her eagerly listening family and drew a small child with a snotty nose and a thumb in his mouth closer to her. “Poor Mei,” she said again, shaking her head.

The sun was setting when they left the Zhous. Tora squinted at it. “Well, now you’ve got your motive. Mitsui must have done it. A man who beats his wife because she asks for a bit of money for a new dress is going to do a lot more when he discovers she’s kept five pieces of gold from him.”

“Maybe. Time to go to Hakozaki. Let’s see what the son has to say.”

They asked for Hiroshi at Hakozaki harbor. This was not as large or as busy as Hakata’s, but here, too, some large ships anchored, and the shore was covered with bundles and boxes of goods which had either just arrived or were to be loaded. Tora wished he had time to look around, but Maeda headed straight for the office of the harbor master. There he got directions to a warehouse much like the ones in Naniwa. Tora suppressed a shudder climbing the steep stairs. The memory of that terrible night of fire and of the burning body falling down still haunted him.

“Hiroshi?” The warehouse manager shook his head. “I got rid of the lazy bastard. He’s always either drunk or half asleep.”

“When was that?” Maeda asked.

The man scratched his head. Let’s see. Yesterday? No, the day before. He didn’t seem to care. Sorry I can’t help. But when he wasn’t working, he used to head straight for the wine shops.”

They walked the streets near the harbor, peering into various evil-smelling dives to ask for Hiroshi. They found him in the fifth, enjoying life in the company of friends.

Hiroshi was a big young man with a deep tan from working in the open, but his face was puffy from too much drink. Like the others, he wore only a dirty loincloth and a ragged shirt, but he had wine before him and was shooting dice with three or four other porters.

When Maeda and Tora approached, he looked up, and for a moment they thought he would run, but he relaxed.

“You’re Mitsui Hiroshi?” asked Maeda.

“Who wants to know?”

One of his friends supplied the answer. “Hoho! The police want you, Hiro! What have you done?” They all laughed.

Hiroshi flushed. “Shut up!”

Maeda said, “Would you mind stepping outside to talk to us?”

“Yes, I mind. I’m finally winning.”

Maeda said, “We’ll wait.”

Hiroshi cursed but decided to leave the game. Outside, he asked, “What the hell do you want? If it’s about my father, I know you bastards arrested him.”

Maeda raised his brows at this. “I would have thought you’d be more upset that he’s in jail for having killed your stepmother.”

“A lot of good that would do. You got the wrong man but what else is new?”

“Do you have proof he’s innocent?”

Hiroshi heaved a sigh. “The one hundred questions of a fool! You’ve got the wrong man because the police are idiots, that’s how.” He looked from Maeda to Tora. “Who’s he?”

Tora said, “I work for the governor. Your father claims he found your stepmother already dead. He says he was here in Hakozaki that day, making a delivery, and got home late. Is this true?”

“Sure. He was here. We didn’t talk much. He delivered his goods and left.”

“So then he would have gotten home when?”

“How should I know? I was working all day.”

Maeda frowned. “When did you last see your stepmother?”

“Weeks ago. It’s a lousy job. I don’t get much time off.”

“Did she mention having money of her own?”

“Are you kidding? How would she get money?”

“Maybe from your sister?”

Hiroshi made a face. “You must be joking. Atsuko is a stuck-up bitch who won’t have anything to do with her poor relations. Especially when they ask for money. She’s too good for the likes of us.” He suddenly looked angry. “Life’s easy for women. They just spread their legs for some old rich guy.”

It was crude, but having met the shrine priest’s wife, Tora could understand the brother’s bitterness. Still, why had Hiroshi not done better for himself? He said, “You’re married?”

“Am I? To a lazy wife with six brats. All of them eating like hungry wolves. How’s a man to feed a family like that on fifty coppers a week?”

Tora did not point out that drinking and gambling were bound to reduce his wages even more, but Maeda was sarcastic. “You have my sympathy. Especially since you’re out of work again. Your master says he fired you for drinking, and we found you gambling just now.”

Hiroshi flared up, “The son of bitch! I told him what I thought of him and his job. He didn’t like it. And I’m trying to earn a few coppers playing dice.”

“Right.” Tora grinned. “Did you ask your father or sister for help?”

“No. My sister set the dogs on me last time.”

“Yours isn’t a very close family, is it? Let’s go back to your stepmother’s murder. What did you do the day of the murder?”

“What, me? I worked.”

“And after work?”

“I met some friends and went home. What business is it of yours? Are you accusing me of killing my own stepmother?”

“I’m not accusing you of anything. Did you get along well with your stepmother?”

“Sure. She’s my father’s wife.”

“Be a little more specific.”

“Look, I told you I haven’t been home in weeks. I’ve got nothing to tell you.”

Maeda nodded. “Very well. Can you think of anyone who might have had a reason to kill her?”

Hiroshi narrowed his eyes. “What sort of reason?”

“I was hoping you’d tell us.”

Hiroshi lost his temper. “Fuck you, Policeman! You’re too lazy to find her murderer so you’re trying to pin it on me or my father. You’re not going to get me to do your dirty work. If I knew, I’d have told you from the start. You’d better start doing your job.”

Tora cleared his throat. “Your stepmother was Chinese. Did your parents have any problems with their neighbors?”

“Not that I know of, but my sister doesn’t want people to know. Me, I couldn’t care less. I’ve got friends among the Chinese.”

“Who do you think killed your stepmother?”

Hiroshi shook his head. “How the hell should I know? I wasn’t there.”

Maeda said through clenched teeth, “If you think of anything else, get in touch,” and turned away.

Hiroshi snorted. “Don’t hold your breath.” He glared at Tora. “My stepmother’s dead, her killer’s loose, and the police have nothing better to do than harass the family. I’m glad I’m not a policeman.”

“So am I,” Maeda called over his shoulder.

Hiroshi spat and went to rejoin the gamblers, and Tora caught up with Maeda.

The sergeant muttered, “He’s worse than his sister. They were well rid of them.”

“He wasn’t exactly helping his father, was he? I bet the old guy disapproved of the son’s life. Maybe Mitsui wasn’t a good husband, but he earned his money with hard work.”

“Whatever the case may be, the father could have gotten home earlier than he said.”

“What about the witness who saw the old man after dark?”

“Unreliable. He was drunk.”

“There’s too much drinking going on. The son does a lot of drinking himself. He seems to be a regular in the “Auspicious Cloud.”

Maeda just grunted. He was in a sour mood.