I Parker - The Masuda Affair

‘She must be a beauty then. Yes, I see your problem. The hot-head won’t see reason. If we turn him loose, he’ll confront His Lordship and the charmer.’

‘Precisely.’

They sat, pondering the problem. Outside, thunder growled again, and gusts of wind rattled the shutters. Finally, Kobe said, ‘I assume your interest is less in finding the girl than in stopping Tora from doing something foolish?’

‘Yes, of course. Or rather, it would be, except…’ Akitada paused. How to put his uneasiness into words? ‘Mind you, everything points to her having left of her own will, but what if she didn’t go freely? There’s something peculiar about all this.’

‘Out with it. It’s not like you to hold back on opinions.’

‘I’m no longer sure of much. There was another disappearance from the quarter about six years ago. A courtesan of the first rank left abruptly and was not heard of again. Sadanori was linked to her also.’

‘Ah, the beautiful Peony. As I said, he’s a well-known connoisseur of female beauty, and his power and wealth make him desirable to such women, even if his personality doesn’t.’

‘I’ve never met the man. Is he involved in anything of a criminal nature?’

‘I wouldn’t go that far.’

‘I only know he holds several high positions in the administration – in spite of poor performance – but this is common enough and throws no light on his private life.’

Kobe sighed. ‘We have nothing very substantial. Two women have complained of mistreatment. Their stories could not be proven, and in one case the victim was not sure herself. The first, a courtesan, claims that he raped her. Since she regularly sells her charms and admits that Sadanori paid her generously, we had a good laugh. The other story is more difficult. It involves a very young girl. She was only thirteen at the time and in training with a registered entertainer. She claims that Sadanori made advances to her, and that she was kidnapped and raped.’

‘Aha!’

‘Not so fast. It is true that she was raped. The prison matron examined her. But the girl was blindfolded at the time. She did not see who raped her.’

‘Did you confront Sadanori?’

‘Of course not. He would have laughed me out of his house and then seen to it that I was replaced by someone more easily bribed in case of future trouble.’

Akitada frowned. ‘But you believed him guilty.’ He raised his voice over another roll of thunder. ‘Apparently, intimidation works as well as bribery to pervert justice.’

Kobe was angry. ‘Be careful what you say.’

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean that. Things have been more than usually difficult. Tora’s problem is not my only one. I’ve been charged with stealing a child.’

‘What?’

‘A fisherman and his wife from a village near Otsu say I took the boy for improper purposes.’

Kobe’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You mean sex?’

‘Yes.’

‘What in heaven’s name have you been up to?’

Akitada said wearily, ‘It’s a long story. I found a ragged, starving child and took pity on him. The alleged parents have abused him and now see a chance to get quite a lot of money from me. Sadanori’s activities with courtesans may tie in with the boy somehow.’

‘Forgive me, but you always manage to become involved in impossible situations. If you say that those peculiar events of the dancer and the boy are somehow connected, I’ll take your word for it, but frankly…’ He shook his head.

‘I don’t feel happy about it. The boy is only about five, and he is mute.’

Kobe’s eyes narrowed speculatively. ‘Your son was that age, wasn’t he?’

‘That has nothing to do with it,’ Akitada snapped. ‘This child was lost. In the rain at nightfall. Anyone would have stopped for him.’

Kobe shook his head. ‘Well, let’s go talk to Tora. Perhaps something will come to us when we hear what he has to say.’

The first heavy drops of the storm struck them as they crossed the courtyard to the jail. There, Kobe read the charges and shook his head again.

They found Tora manacled and chained to a heavy column and clinging to it like a shipwrecked man to flotsam. Two guards stood over him with whips. His blue gown had been pulled down for the flogging, and angry red stripes marked his bare back. His head was pressed against the column.

‘Stop that,’ Kobe snapped.

The guards saluted, but Tora did not bother to open his eyes. Akitada was suddenly afraid. This was not Tora’s first arrest or whipping, but in the past he had always borne the experience defiantly. He went to him. Up close, Tora was filthy and stank.

‘Tora?’ Akitada’s voice was unsteady, so he tried again. ‘Tora, are you all right?’

There was a slight tensing of the shoulders, but no other sign that the chained man had heard.

Akitada turned to the nearest guard. ‘Untie him.’ The guard looked at Kobe, who nodded.

When his arms were released, Tora slumped and sat, his head bowed between his knees.

Akitada knelt beside him and put his hand on his arm. ‘Tora, look at me. I’ve searched for you all day.’

Tora muttered, ‘Go away, sir. I’m no good to you anymore.’

‘Nonsense. I need you, and you need me. What about Hanae?’

Tora’s head finally came up. He looked at Akitada from bloodshot eyes and said, through a split lip, ‘You know about Hanae?’

‘I? know she may be in some sort of trouble,’ Akitada said cautiously. ‘What happened?’

‘Some rich bastard’s got her. I was trying to find her, but the scum in the quarter all cover up for the cursed nobles. I got a bit impatient. When that she-man Ohiya refused to help me, I knew he was in on it, too. I was going to squeeze the truth out of that perfumed piece of dung when the constables jumped me.’

Kobe interrupted with: ‘We’d better discuss the rest in my office.’

Tora staggered to his feet with Akitada’s help and limped on one bare foot. Akitada asked, ‘What happened to your clothes, and your other boot, and…?’ He ran out of words to express his shock.

‘I walked to Uji and back. Never mind. Did you mean it? About helping me find Hanae?’ When Akitada nodded, Tora’s hand shot out and grasped Akitada’s fiercely. ‘Even after I left you in Otsu?’

Akitada nodded again. ‘I meant it,’ he said and felt some of the tightness in his chest giving way. He put his hand on Tora’s shoulder.

‘I’m not too proud to beg, sir,’ Tora said. ‘I left you because I was afraid for Hanae. You’d do the same for your lady, I think.’

The comparison made Akitada uncomfortable. Tora’s assumption that he, too, would set aside every other consideration, even the most sacred obligations, to protect Tamako troubled him. It had been a long time since he had felt this strongly about his wife.

As they crossed the courtyard, Tora said, ‘Hanae’s my wife, and she’s going to have my child, sir. Can you make the superintendent turn me loose so I can find her?’

‘Your wife?’ Akitada still did not want to believe this. A woman from the Willow Quarter? Tora had never needed to marry his women, or to pay for prostitutes. He almost said so, but Tora’s face stopped him. He said instead, ‘Why didn’t you tell me? How long has this been going on?’

‘We met after Yori died. I didn’t want to bother you and your lady with my concerns so I kept waiting for a chance, but it never came.’

Akitada opened his mouth and closed it again. He should have looked after his family better. There was more to be mended than the roof of his house.

In Kobe’s office, Akitada asked, ‘Can we get the charges dismissed?’

Kobe said, ‘Of course not.’

‘There must be something you can do.’