On grasping this truth, the darkness seized him again.
*
The children and the others had left again, and only Tora and Genba remained. They sat beside their master, one on each side, much as if he were a corpse already. Neither man had prayed, though the women had.
Genba thought of his master’s children, sighed, and shook his head. They had not cried, but their eyes had been filled with pain and fear. It was all happening to them again, first their mother and little brother, and now their father.
Tora watched him and asked, “What?”
Genba started. Seeing Tora’s eyes on him, he said, “The children. I cannot bear it. What must they be feeling?” And his tears came again until he covered his face in shame.
Tora said fiercely, “They are strong like their father. He’ll live. I know he will.”
Genba sniffed and nodded. “I’m sorry. Shokichi’s pregnant. It makes a man protective,” he said apologetically.
Tora sighed. “You’d better go and tell Saburo. He has a right to know.”
Genba nodded and got to his feet.
But at the jail, they turned him away. Orders from the Superintendent, they said.
Genba went to Kobe’s office, arriving there the moment Kobe himself got in. He saw Genba, frowned, then paused to give him a second look.
“Anything wrong?” he asked brusquely.
Genba was past caring about proper greetings and bows. His voice choking, he said, “The master’s dying. I need to tell Saburo, but the guards turned me away.”
Kobe stared. “What?”
Genba sighed and started over, “There’s not much time, I think. Tora sent me. The doctor said—” He stopped for another gulp of air and said, “Tora found the master before daylight this morning. Someone had stabbed him in the back. Twice. He must’ve been lying in that alley all night. The doctor says there’s no hope. He may die any moment.”
Kobe had turned white. He said to one of his officers, “Go to the jail and bring Saburo. Be quick about it.”
Genba’s knees started shaking. “Thank you, sir,” he muttered.
“Sit down and tell me what you know.”
So Genba did, and then Saburo came, hovering between disbelief and shock. And Genba told the story again as they walked back, Kobe in the middle and Genba and Saburo on either side. Three of Kobe’s police officers followed behind. By the time they reached the Sugawara compound, Kobe knew all about Kanemoto, Phoenix, the secret house near the Rokujo Palace, and their somewhat tenuous connection to the trial of the blind shampoo girl. He made his officers wait on the veranda of the main house and went in to see Akitada.
Tora rose when they entered. The room was dim again. A sharp smell of herbs and a faint whiff of blood hung in the air. Kobe nodded to Tora and bent to look at Akitada.
Tora said, “He’s not moved, sir, but he’s still breathing.”
Kobe nodded. “The doctor has given up hope?”
Tora looked away. “What do doctors know?”
Saburo went to kneel beside the bedding and touched his master’s hand. “He feels cold,” he said. “It might be from losing so much blood.”
Nobody said it, but they all thought, “Or because he’s dying.”
Tora bethought himself and brought a cushion for Kobe. The superintendent shook his head. “No,” he said. “I have delayed too long. This wouldn’t have happened if I had trusted him and taken action. Now there is nothing I can do for him except finish his work. Send for me if there is … any change.”
And with this he nodded and left.
Saburo wiped his face and looked up at Tora. “Does that mean I’m free to stay?”
“I don’t know. I think so.” Tora sat back down.
Saburo bowed his head. “I have done this,” he said. “I have brought nothing but evil fortune to all of you. And now I’ve killed him, too.”
Tora said fiercely, “Shut up! He won’t die.”
Genba sighed. “I suppose I’d better see what needs to be done. What do you think Kobe is up to?”
Tora eyed him bitterly. “He’ll find Kanemoto and Phoenix and arrest them. Then he’ll stop the trial. After that he’ll get the bastard who knifed the master. It will all get done, but I’d give anything if it had gotten done without this.”
Genba left, and Tora and Saburo sat together, watching anxiously for Akitada’s every breath.
29
Kobe Risks All
Superintendent Kobe left the Sugawara house with a heavy heart but a quick step. His men could barely keep up with him. As he walked, he issued orders and as soon as they reached police headquarters, they gathered constables who dashed off in different directions. Kobe himself went to the jail to talk to Sachi.
He found her sitting dejectedly on her pallet, but she raised her head when she heard the lock. In the manner of the blind, she did not look at him directly but cocked her head to hear better.
“Sachi?” he said. “I’m Superintendent Kobe. I have some more questions to ask you.”
She got on her knees and bowed. “Thank you, sir,” she said, “but I’m to go to my trial this morning. Surely it’s too late for questions. Forgive me, but I’d hoped to spend the little time I have left with my thoughts and prayers.”
He felt a pang of pity, and somehow this confirmed him in his decision. “I’m here because I hope to help you. You have friends, you know, and your friends have been working very hard to prove that someone else killed Nakamura. Even at this late hour, we may be able to set you free.”
She sat up a little at his words. “Oh, I remember. Two men came to see me here. Are they the ones? They said they were going to help, but they didn’t come back, and I thought they’d given up.”
He explained how Saburo and Tora, and finally even Akitada had become involved in her case, and she grew thoughtful.
“It was very good of them,” she said. “But why would they care about me? I don’t understand any of this.”
Kobe could see that what Akitada and his men had done passed understanding for most people who acted either out of self-interest or obligation. He started again, and this time Sachi began to look hopeful.
“Oh,” she said. “They did all that for me? They must be saints.”
Kobe did not tell her that Akitada would most likely pay with his life for her freedom. Instead he asked his questions.
“I was told you left the room at the Daikoku-yu because Nakamura made sexual advances. What did he do that upset you?” He had been troubled by this because, like most people, he assumed that shampoo girls who worked in bathhouses were accustomed to earning extra money by performing sexual services.
Sachi blushed and covered her face. “He asked me to use my mouth … to do a dirty thing. I said that I didn’t do such things. Then he touched me.” She gestured to her breasts and groin. “I … I didn’t want to make a scene and I made an excuse to get some lotion. I told Jinzaemon, but he made me go back and finish my job.”
“Did you make an exception with Nakamura or would you have refused sexual services to anyone?”
“To anyone, sir. I made it clear to Jinzaemon that I would not do such things. He didn’t like it. I think I was about to lose my job.”
“I see. Now to a more important question. Do you know who might have killed Nakamura while you went to get the lotion?”
“No, sir.”
“Did you hear or notice anyone near the room when you left it or when you returned?”
This time she did not answer right away. She sat very still, then said, “It’s a long time ago now, but I think there were two people there. One was outside the room when I came out. I heard a footstep walking away. It sounded heavy, and so perhaps it was a man. The other I passed in the corridor when I came back. I smelled her.”
“A woman?” asked Kobe quickly.