I Parker - The Masuda Affair

The streets had become quagmires after the rain, and he sloshed through puddles, raining his boots and trousers. Worse, he lost his way in the dark. A lantern would have helped, but thieves roamed the streets of the capital at night. It was better not to announce your presence by carrying a light.

When he heard the lowing of the tethered ox, he knew he was on the right street. An impenetrable blackness seemed to weigh down on the city. Akitada almost missed Hanae’s house because it showed a glow of light. This was strange, but perhaps the nosy neighbor had come to snoop.

The little gate squeaked after the rain. Akitada walked quickly up the walk.

The door of the house flew open, and, for a moment, a girl’s figure stood outlined against the light. Then she rushed down the steps and flung herself into Akitada’s arms.

Akitada thought he was holding a child. She was small, and her body felt as fragile of bone and flexible of limb as a child’s. The perception lasted only a moment, because she gasped and started flailing and kicking to get free. Akitada released her instantly, saw she was falling, and reached to catch her. A stinging slap landed on his cheek, followed by a series of punches from small fists. She cried, ‘Take your hands off me!’ and screamed for help.

A light came on next door. The girl backed away, and Akitada saw a small oval face that was painted so white that it seemed all eyes. It expressed panic and fury in equal parts. He took a wild guess: ‘Hanae? Are you Tora’s Hanae? We’ve been looking for you everywhere.’

She still looked frightened. ‘Who are you?’

‘I am Sugawara. Tora works for me.’

A small hand covered her lips. ‘Oh, no,’ she moaned. ‘I didn’t know. Forgive me, sir.’ She bowed deeply.

‘You couldn’t know. You are Hanae, then?’

‘Yes, I’m Hanae. Where’s Tora?’

The neighbor’s door flew open. ‘What’s going on over there?’ she shouted.

The slender girl cried back, ‘It’s me, Hanae, Mrs Hamada. Sorry. I was startled, but everything’s all right.’

If she had hoped that Mrs Hamada would close her door and leave them in peace she was mistaken. The woman immediately came to the fence. ‘Hanae? You’re back?’ she cried. ‘That man of yours was looking for you and a noble gentleman also. How was your visit? I expect you’ll leave us now.’

Akitada snapped, ‘Go back inside, woman. You can gossip tomorrow.’

Mrs Hamada gave him a startled look. ‘Oh, you’re back, sir. I see.’ She giggled. ‘You’ve become very popular, Hanae.’

‘She’ll think the worst now,’ Hanae muttered.

Akitada had taken note of the fact that Hanae was wearing the gaudy costume of a professional dancer. Irritation at Tora’s taste in women surfaced again. He wanted to get to the bottom of this affair as quickly as possible so he could take care of his own problems. ‘Let’s go inside,’ he said curtly.

She hesitated just a moment, then led the way. The little house was painstakingly clean, but so cramped for space that Akitada could see all of it at one glance. A single oil lamp cast some light. He saw Tora’s sword hanging on the wall and looked again at his wife’s dance costume and her heavy make-up. Her childlike size made him wonder how old she was, but he had had proof enough that day that women fell early into the life of pleasure.

She also gave him an appraising look, then placed a cushion for him, knelt, bowed, and apologized for the humble surroundings. Her hands were shaking badly, and as Akitada looked, he saw rips in the sleeves of her embroidered robe. The brilliant blue silk was wet all over and mud stained her skirt. None of this made up for the trouble she had caused.

‘Where have you been?’ he demanded, ignoring her courteous welcome.

She lifted her hands helplessly. ‘I don’t know.’

‘You don’t know?’

‘I was picked up in a closed sedan chair. The bearers took me to a house. There an old woman gave me some wine to drink. The wine made me sleepy, but I was very thirsty and drank a lot of it. When I woke up, I was alone and my hands and feet were tied. After a while I got loose and escaped, but it was dark outside and I ran so hard that I don’t remember the street.’

Akitada found this hard to believe. The very economical account left out a great deal. What of the elaborate costume and make-up? ‘You went to perform for Lord Sadanori?’ he guessed, gesturing to her costume.

‘No,’ she cried and pulled at the gown in disgust. ‘This isn’t mine. I don’t know what happened to my own clothes. I was wearing a plain gown when I left. I thought I was to be a nursemaid.’ She touched the thick white paste on her face. ‘Someone else did all this after I passed out.’

‘Really?’

They stared at each other. The make-up looked as if it had been applied by an expert, but Akitada was no judge of such matters. She was probably very pretty under all that paint. Kobe was right: Tora had good taste in women. Her hair was long and loose, and her small hands graceful. Whatever her age, she was certainly no child and knew all the tricks to attract a man like Tora. And that childlike fragility would appeal to his protectiveness.

As if she guessed his thoughts, she asked again, ‘Where is Tora, sir?’

‘In jail.’

She jumped a little at that. ‘In jail? Why? Because of me?’

Akitada nodded. ‘When he couldn’t get any answers about your whereabouts, he attacked a few people in the Willow Quarter.’

Her eyes filled with tears. He thought, she won’t really cry because it will smudge all that black paint around her eyes. But the tears fell and left black streaks in the white paint.

Akitada was ashamed. ‘He should be released tomorrow.’

‘He didn’t attack Lord Sadanori?’

This made him wonder if she had been raped after all. ‘No. Should he have?’

‘Of course not. They would kill him.’

He raised his brows at that. ‘Will you tell Tora what really happened?’

She flushed. ‘I told you the truth. I don’t know what happened after I passed out. Nothing, I think.’

He nodded. ‘Much the safest way. But he’ll want better answers than you gave me.’

She looked around helplessly. ‘I cannot stay here,’ she said. ‘I’m not sure where I’ll be.’

‘Why can’t you stay?’

‘They may come after me when they find me gone.’

Akitada opened his mouth, but thought better of it. He rose. ‘You’d better come with me,’ he said.

She shook her head. ‘Oh, no, I couldn’t. What would your lady say?’ She got to her feet and gestured to her costume. ‘I have worked in the Willow Quarter,’ she said, adding defiantly, ‘As a dancer.’

‘Tora says you’re his wife.’

‘Yes. We wanted to tell you, but-’ She broke off and sighed. ‘Did he tell you we are going to have a child?’

Akitada eyed her flamboyant costume and slender waist. ‘Yes,’ he said coldly. ‘Under the circumstances, you should not have had dealings of any kind with a man like Sadanori. You must have known of his reputation, even if Tora did not.’

She started trembling again, but her voice was steady. ‘You’re right, sir. I was a fool and know that now. But I was offered a great deal of money, and we needed it if I was going to give up dancing.’

He turned away. ‘Get your things and let’s go.’ He went out onto the small porch and waited. When she joined him, she had washed her face and changed into a plain blue hemp gown. A large covered basket hung over her arm, and she clutched Tora’s sword. He gave a grunt and set off.

The truth was, he would rather not insult Tamako by introducing a dancer from the amusement quarter into their house, but neither did he want Hanae to disappear again. She had caused him enough trouble when he needed to concentrate on rescuing the child. He thought about the situation in Otsu and became distracted by its difficulties.