I Parker: The Convict's sword

“I’m sorry, sir. But something’s really wrong. You can see that Tomoe’s blind and can’t help herself.”

Akitada thought of what the beggar had said. A woman need not have eyes to earn a living by selling her body. “She’s a prostitute,” he said coldly. “They learn to handle themselves.”

Tora gasped. “A prostitute? Tomoe? Never! She’s afraid to death that some guy will rape her again.”

“Hmmph, spare me. I have more important matters on my mind than street singers.”

Tora’s fixation on this woman irritated Akitada. To his knowledge, it was the first time in the many years they had been together that Tora had ever shown a romantic interest in a plain woman who was older than he. And in addition to being unattractive, this one was blind and had a bad reputation, regardless of what Tora thought of her. It was not normal, and something must be done before Tora ruined himself. The trouble was that ordering Tora to stop seeing the girl would only produce the opposite result.

Near the wine shop beside the market gate, Akitada remembered that he had promised to treat Tora. Perhaps it would make up for his refusal to speak to Tora’s girlfriend. The waiter scraped and bowed before the tall official and his handsome servant and quickly led them past the customers filling the rooms at street level and up some narrow stairs to a pleasant private room overlooking the bustling market below.

Akitada ordered a flask of their best and two servings of noodles. Tora looked dejected and kept glancing through the thin bamboo railing toward the drum tower where the blind woman was singing another ballad. He muttered, “That girl will not listen, no matter how hard I try to talk sense into her stubborn head.”

They seemed to be well matched in personality at least. Akitada asked, “Why not?” and regretted it immediately. He had no intention of becoming involved in the woman’s alleged problems. In his opinion, she was just using her helplessness to attach Tora more firmly to herself.

Tora plunged into explanations. “It’s like this, sir. Somebody’s been following her home. She can hear his steps. Once she turned around and asked who was there, but he stopped and didn’t answer. It scared her. She says she can smell him. He has a disgusting odor, and she’s sure it’s the same man each time.”

“In her way of life, what does she expect? I imagine it’s a customer who is a bit shy and loses his nerve.”

“There you go again. I told you Tomoe is no whore. People make up bad tales about single women like her. When someone’s as hard up as she is, people should try to help. The trouble is, Tomoe doesn’t complain. She’s too proud to ask for help, even if she’s blind, and very poor, and all alone in the world.” Tora glowered at Akitada. “And she’s only a woman,” he added, as if that made her case even more pathetic.

Akitada’s heart sank. He saw the whole scenario now. This Tomoe, clearly in need of a protector and a meal ticket, had found the perfect fool in the softhearted Tora. Pity for her situation was just about the only thing that would make him forget her lack of physical charms. He controlled his anger at the cunning vixen, and said soothingly, “I am sorry, Tora. No doubt, she has a hard life. But she seems to manage very well and has survived so far.”

Tora said bitterly, “That woman knows nothing about taking care of herself, but she’s as proud as a lord.”

Akitada flinched.

The waiter arrived with the wine and two steaming bowls of buckwheat noodles and vegetables in a savory broth. The food was excellent, and for a while they ate and drank in silence.

Finishing his noodles first, Tora picked up his tale again, “Take this business with the gangster, for example. It’s funny, but some people seem to think a blind person is also deaf and dumb. They go right ahead talking about private business just as if she wasn’t there at all. This character thinks she brings him luck. He asks her to sing a special song before he does a job. I asked her for his name, but she won’t tell me. Doesn’t think it’s right to carry tales. Hah! I told her it’s dangerous, but does she care? Why are women so stupid?” Tora scowled in frustration.

“Well,” said Akitada, weakening, “perhaps I’ll have a talk with her after we’ve made some progress tracing Haseo.”

“Thank you, sir! You won’t be disappointed. And you’ll see that Tomoe’s a very refined person.”

Akitada suppressed a snort.

Tora’s eyes went to the drum tower again. “It’s getting late. We could go around to that last school tomorrow,” he suggested.

“Why not today? I like to finish what I start.”

“But you could take off from work again tomorrow.”

“No.”

“Why not? I thought you were ready to quit anyway.”

The notion apparently did not trouble Tora at all. Akitada reflected bitterly that the people who depended on him for their livelihood seemed to place total trust in his ability to provide. “Don’t be a fool,” he snapped. “I just took off a few hours. The minister is only going to be away for a short time.”

Tora looked at him. “Slacking off ’s not like you, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

“I am not slacking off. Sometimes more important matters take precedence.”

“I guess you don’t want his high and mighty lordship to find out, because that bastard’s just waiting for you to make a mistake.”

Akitada glared at Tora. “You must think me a coward.”

“No, sir. I know better. But you’ll do crazy things when you think it’s your duty to do them. And I’m confused. You used to think being an official and working for the emperor was the most important thing in the world.”

Akitada had no answer to this. He had walked away from his work because he could no longer bear Soga’s insults and the dull routine of paperwork. Would he have put aside a more challenging and interesting assignment for Haseo’s sake? Haseo had died five years ago on a distant island, and they had hardly known each other. It struck Akitada forcibly that he was trying to solve a criminal case without knowing what crime had been committed, who the victim was, or where it had happened. All he had was the name of the alleged culprit. It would have been so much easier if the government did not expunge the records every time someone made a case for doing so. To Akitada, records were inviolable.

But he said stubbornly, “A promise to a dying man cannot be broken.”

Tora nodded and finished his wine. “Maybe we’ll pick up something at the next school,” he said with a sigh.

As they rose, Akitada glanced out at the market. Though the sun had not quite set, a lantern lighter was already lighting the big paper lanterns in front of the restaurant. The housewives and maids with their baskets had disappeared, and the crowd was mostly male now. Government clerks, artisans, laborers, farmers on a city visit, soldiers, servants on their night off, teachers, and a few young rakes of noble blood strolled about, eyeing the wares of fan sellers and comb shops for a present to give to some woman, peering at waitresses, and shouting rude compliments at the pretty harlots. Tora’s singer had left. The tower platform was empty except for a tall man who was leaning against one of the pillars.

Akitada looked, then looked again. It could not be. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.

“What is it?” Tora asked, following his glance.

The man turned his head a little, and Akitada took a deep breath.

“A ghost.”

The stranger walked down the steps of the tower and disappeared in the crowd.

“A ghost?”

“That man at the tower. I swear it was Haseo.”

“Ah.” Tora nodded wisely. “It happens when you’re thinking too much about the dead. They take shape in someone’s body. Even animals sometimes. I had an aunt who…”