I Parker: The Fires of the Gods

The little kitchen was still dark. Tora struck a flint and lit an oil lamp. It was unusual for Yuki to wake up before daylight. When he raised the lamp to check on his son, he saw to his amazement that Yuki seemed to be sitting on a blanket of shining gold coins. The baby squinted against the light, then crowed with laughter at the sparkling new toys.

Tora’s jaw dropped. What the devil was this? So much gold. Was it a miracle? Had the Buddha heard his bitter complaints when he had lost his winnings the other night? But there was much more here than he had lost. Tora picked up a coin and bit it. It was real. Setting down the lamp, he gathered the gold, ignoring Yuki’s wails. He counted twenty pieces. Where had they come from?

He finally picked up the baby – who was making enough noise to wake Hanae – and set him on the floor with one of the coins. Then he started the kitchen fire under the pot of gruel Hanae had prepared the night before. It was only after these chores that he turned his attention to the wet bedding in the basket. A crumpled piece of paper fluttered to the floor.

Tora snatched it up before Yuki could grasp it and flattened it out. There was writing on it – thick, poorly shaped characters – but the message was short and simple. Tora had no trouble deciphering it.

Thank you for your help. Forget about the kids.

There was no signature; instead Jirokichi had drawn a small rat.

Tora was profoundly shocked. It was not only the very large amount of gold that upset him, but also the way it had been left in his house. How had the bastard got in? And when? Had he been spying on them while they were making love? A man was not very observant at such a time. In fact, someone probably could have ripped the roof off the place, and he would not have noticed.

So, instead of gratitude, he felt a hot fury when he looked at the gold. He wanted to shove it down the little bastard’s throat.

Yuki reminded him of the gruel by whimpering. Tora hid the gold in an empty jar on the high shelf, then mixed a small amount of gruel with some cow’s milk and, taking his son on his lap, fed him his morning meal.

He decided not to tell Hanae about their night-time visitor, because it would frighten her. His master, on the other hand, must know about it right away.

As soon as Hanae joined them, yawning widely, then smiling at husband and son, he went to wash at the well, combed his hair and tied it, and put on a clean robe.

‘You look very handsome, husband,’ Hanae crooned when he came back. She came to stand on tiptoe and kiss him.

Tora briefly considered postponing his errand, but better sense won. He released Hanae regretfully and watched her take Yuki for his bath, then he scooped the gold out of the jar and hurried to the main house.

Akitada was in his study, bent over the account ledger, his face looking drawn, as if he had not slept.

‘Here,’ said Tora and deposited the two handfuls of gold coins on Akitada’s desk. ‘I found them this morning. They’re yours.’

His master regarded first the gold, then Tora. ‘Found them? Is this the gold you were robbed of?’

‘No. I suppose I earned it. It’s from Jirokichi.’ He laid the slip of paper next to the gold.

His master read the note and shook his head. ‘I can’t take this. It’s yours,’ he said, pushing the gold towards Tora. ‘Why are you so angry?’

Tora explained about the shocking intrusion into his home. ‘I was going to ram the gold down his throat, sir, but I figured you might have a need of it. For that matter, if the bastard got into our place, he may have done a bit of thieving in your house. Maybe you’d better check.’

Akitada called Seimei, and together they made a brief search of the valuables. The money box was untouched, and everything else was as it should be.

‘A clever burglar,’ said his master. ‘You may do with the gold as you see fit, but find him and see if he can help us with the fires.’

‘I thought you didn’t want to become involved in that.’

‘I have reconsidered. I may as well try to earn a living by investigating crimes.’

Tora left the gold in his master’s strongbox and went to look for Jirokichi. He started with the thief’s girlfriend.

Hoshina’s eyes narrowed when she saw him come into her wine shop. ‘Tora,’ she cried brightly. ‘You haven’t forgotten me.’ Every man in the wine shop turned to look at him.

Tora was embarrassed. The woman was almost as tall as he and nearly twice as wide. Her arms and shoulders would have done credit to any man. Besides, the hungry way she looked at him made him uncomfortable. He liked women to be dainty and a little shy.

‘Why, you’re even more handsome today,’ she trilled and sidled up close enough to stroke his chest through his blue robe.

One of the men shouted, ‘Hey, Hoshina. I want some more wine before you drag him off to have your way with him.’ The others laughed.

Tora glared around and stepped away from Hoshina. ‘I need to talk to Jirokichi,’ he told her in a low voice. ‘Where can I find him?’

She stroked his cheek. ‘Why bother with him?’ she cooed and pressed her body against his. This brought more shouts of obscenities and laughter from the audience. ‘Sit down,’ she said, pushing him. Tora sat. She blew him a kiss. ‘We’ll talk about it over a cup of wine.’ She walked away slowly, moving her hips to the hoots and whistles of the men.

So much for Jirokichi’s romance. Tora almost felt sorry for the little rat – almost, but not quite, seeing that the encounter was proving more embarrassing by the moment. Hoshina returned to more applause, with wine and freshly painted lips. She bowed to her audience, then sat down so close to Tora that their thighs touched. The other customers watched avidly.

Tora moved away a little, but she wiggled closer and whispered in his ear, ‘Bet I can make you much happier than that wife of yours.’

‘Then Jirokichi must be a lucky man,’ Tora said hoarsely and gulped some wine.

She put a hand on his thigh and let it wander higher to whistles and a bawdy request that she offer such service to all the guests. Tora had had enough. He removed her hand from his thigh, put some coppers down, and left, his face flaming. More shouts and laughter followed him out.

His failure grated. He had got nothing from the disgusting woman, and that was not like him. Perhaps marriage had ruined his style. In the old days, he would have made up to her and taken her to bed. She was crude, but that large body was voluptuous and promised a good lay, and she would have ended up telling him whatever he wanted to know.

A sudden suspicion gave him pause. Had she performed that flagrant and very public bit of seduction to drive him away because she did not want to answer questions about Jirokichi?

Tora glowered and clenched his fists. He had expected to find Jirokichi quite easily and was wearing his ordinary clothes. The trouble was that they marked him as a retainer belonging to the household of an official. And that meant he would get no information on the whereabouts of a thief.

He wandered aimlessly around the Western Market in hopes of seeing Jirokichi on his way to Hoshina. It was a waste of time, but when he passed the vegetable sellers, he encountered the handsome youth he had seen outside Hoshina’s wine shop the day before. The boy was haggling over a daikon radish and a small cabbage.

Tora gave him a nod and a grin. Being caught by another male at such an embarrassingly feminine activity made the boy flush and turn his head away.

A little cheered by the fact that others had their troubles, too, Tora decided to have a look at the Kiyowara residence before going home. He would not be admitted, but outside the houses of great nobles there were always people who knew all about the inhabitants. Street vendors and beggars quickly assembled where the wealthy lived. The common people, largely invisible to the powerful nobles, kept themselves extremely well informed about their betters. When you are poor, you spend a good part of your life watching the wealthy.