I Parker: The Convict's sword

Tora was chained. He was also bruised about the face, and smears of dried blood covered his clothes and hands. When he saw Akitada, he rose awkwardly from a pile of dirty straw, rattling his chains, and tried a weak smile. “Sorry, sir. Didn’t mean to make trouble for you.”

“Never mind that. Are you hurt? Have you been beaten?”

“A little. It was after hours when I was brought in, and they didn’t put their hearts into it.” He looked at his hands and clothes. “The blood’s not mine.”

Akitada scowled at the guard. “This man is one of my retainers,” he snapped. “Nobody is to lay a hand on him again, do you hear!”

The guard looked blank. “Yes, your honor. I shall tell them what you said.”

But the screams which came from the courtyard behind the cells were not reassuring. Tora’s eyes flickered uneasily.

“You may also tell them that Tora will be transferred today,” Akitada said. He glanced at the dirty floor. “This place is filthy. Take us to one of the offices.”

The man pondered. He was clearly torn between his duty to keep the prisoner chained in his cell and Akitada’s rank. After reflection, he apparently decided the present threat had precedence over potential future repercussions. He unchained Tora and took them to a small, empty room which contained nothing but a desk and a few shelves of documents. The floor was wooden and reasonably clean. Akitada sat down and Tora followed suit.

The guard remained standing, an iron rod used to subdue unruly prisoners in his meaty hand. He listened nervously toward the corridor. “You won’t be long, your honor?” he asked.

Akitada ignored him. He said to Tora, “I went to the blind woman’s place, but her body had already been removed. Tell me how you found her.”

Tora grimaced. “I was worried, so I went back to talk some sense into her. Not wanting to bother her landlord and that shrew of a wife, I went through the back.”

“In the dark? How is it that you know your way about people’s service yards in the dark?”

Tora flushed. “I’ve been there before. Her landlady has a vicious tongue, and I didn’t want her to see me.”

“Well, she saw you at some point and took you for one of her lodger’s clients.”

Tora just shook his head tiredly. “She’s wrong. That’s what I mean about her tongue. Anyway, I got to Tomoe’s door and scratched. I didn’t want to make much noise, and she keeps it latched on the inside. I got her to get a new latch. Well, it wasn’t latched last night. The door moved when I touched it. I thought she’d left it open in case I stopped by, but then I could smell the blood.” Tora shuddered. “I went in. Couldn’t see a thing, so I had to feel my way about. I slipped on something wet. Blood, I think. And then I stepped on the knife. Well, I knew it was a knife as soon as I picked it up. And right after that I touched her. I was bent over, feeling for her face to see if she was still alive, when all hell broke loose. People rushed in with lights. They knocked me down and held me. Constables from the warden’s office. And her landlord. And I think her landlady, too. Maybe their kids. The whole room was full of people talking and shouting. After that I couldn’t get a really good look at Tomoe.”

“Yes, I see. Well, just tell me what you could see.”

Tora gulped. “She was near the door. The door to the main house. There was a lot of blood. I could see blood on the walls. And on the door. And on the knife I was holding. It was covered with blood.” He extended his stained hands for Akitada to see. “They pried it from my hand right away. I guess it’s the knife that killed her. It took me a minute to realize they thought I had done it. After that I was trying to explain why I was there so they’d take the chains off me. It was no good. They figured I did it all right. I’m sorry. It’s not much help, is it?”

“Not much, but it’s still early. What made you think Tomoe would leave the door ajar for you last night?”

Tora hung his head and heaved a big sigh. “When I left her in the market, I told her I’d try to walk her home. But I didn’t get to. I guessed she thought I’d come later. I’ve been sitting here, blaming myself. For not walking her home, and for making her leave her door unlatched when there was a killer lying in wait outside.”

“Nobody could have known,” Akitada said, uneasily aware that he had some responsibility in the matter also.

Tora looked around the room. “I feel like a trapped beast in here. Any chance of getting me out?”

“I’ll speak to Superintendent Kobe today, but the best we can hope for is a transfer across town. The case against you is strong, and it’s the only one they have. The landlady says that you had threatened to kill Tomoe.”

Tora stared. “That’s a lie.”

“You didn’t quarrel the night before?”

“Maybe I raised my voice a little. Trying to get her to give me some information. She was stubborn.” He buried his head in his hands and muttered, “Amida, I should have stayed with her. I should never have let her out of my sight.”

Akitada bit his lip. “Tora,” he asked, “were you Tomoe’s lover?”

Tora lowered his hands. “No.” But he looked confused, puzzled, and Akitada waited. “There was something about her. I thought a man would be very lucky to have a woman like her. I really don’t know how I felt.” Then, to Akitada’s dismay, Tora’s eyes filled with tears. “I wish she were still alive,” he said brokenly.

“Tell me about her.”

But Tora glanced at the guard, saw the man’s avid interest, and reddened. “I really didn’t know her very well,” he said.

Akitada gave an inward sigh. Whatever else Tora might have said about his relationship with the dead woman would not be said here and now. “Did she have any family?”

“No. I asked her that. She said they were all dead.”

“What about her customers? Could there have been a man?”

“I don’t think so. Sometimes she didn’t seem to like men at all. There was a lot she was keeping quiet. I know she went to a private house sometimes to sing to the noble ladies there. She looked forward to that. They paid well and were very kind to her, she said. I told you she was respectable. They wouldn’t have had her there if she wasn’t. And she was saving her money so she could stop working in the market.” He paused and frowned.

Akitada considered the noble family. Tora had a point. No loose woman would be admitted to the private quarters of respectable ladies. “Did she mention the family’s name?”

“No. She was funny about names.”

“She was certainly a baffling woman. I found a lacquer cosmetics box and some silver in her trunk. Do you know anything about that?”

Tora looked astonished. “What would she want with cosmetics? She couldn’t see her face.”

“I know. That’s why I asked.”

Tora thought. “Do you suppose one of those noble ladies…? No. Why would they? But the silver she must’ve been saving. You could see she bought nothing for herself.”

“What was she saving it for? There was not enough to retire on.”

Tora shook his head.

“Did she ever mention someone called Nobunari?”

Tora stared at Akitada. “No. I would’ve remembered. That’s a gentleman’s name.”

“What about Nobuko?”

“That might’ve been one of the ladies. But I told you, she never talked about them. What’s going on?”

“It may mean nothing, but the silver was wrapped in a piece of paper. Someone had scrawled the names on it with a piece of charcoal. Could Tomoe write?”

“Write? She was blind.”

Silence fell. Tomoe’s secrecy intrigued Akitada. “Who do you think killed her?” he finally asked.