That finally produced a fleeting smile. “What nonsense you talk,” she said, but reached across his desk to touch his hand affectionately. “This is not about us. It concerns your sister.”
“Ah.” Which one, Akiko or Yoshiko? Akiko had been on his mind almost constantly since he had spoken with her stepson. But he knew that Tamako meant Yoshiko. “Is something wrong?”
Tamako nodded, looking at her hands, which lay neatly folded in her lap. “I am afraid it will sound as though I am spying on your sister, which I am not,” she said with a sigh. “Even though I am worried about her, I do not keep a watch over her. Still, living in the same house, we can hardly avoid meeting. I noticed that your sister left the house every day at the same time, always between the hours of the monkey and the rooster. She left before sunset and returned after dark, just before the evening rice. And she carried a basket each time.”
Akitada sat up. The day he had returned from the painter Noami, Yoshiko had come home just before he did, and she had held a basket. An empty basket, though she had claimed to have been to the market. “Have you asked her about it?”
“How could I? She never volunteered an explanation and it is none of my business. She is a grown woman, and this is her home. But today, just a little while ago, the same thing happened again. Only this time, she rushed past me without a greeting and ran to her room. I wondered if she was ill and followed. I stood outside her door and heard her weeping. Oh, Akitada, she was weeping dreadfully hard. I was afraid to intrude, but what if she needs help? What should I do?”
Akitada got to his feet and started toward the door.
“Wait, Akitada,” cried Tamako, getting up also. “Don’t rush in! You may make things worse. This is clearly a private matter. Perhaps, if anyone is going to burst in on her grief, it had better be me.”
She was right, he thought, suddenly fearful. Something had happened, wherever she had been. Or it might be some female ailment. Or—heaven forbid—rape. The thought of some man doing violence to Yoshiko made him clench his hands. “I suppose you are right,” he said. “Go to her, then. Only come back and let me know.”
Tamako nodded and left.
Akitada sat back down and stared sightlessly at his accounts. His troubles seemed to be multiplying when they should have been at an end. He was finally free of a lifetime of blaming himself for the dislike shown to him by the woman he had believed to be his mother. His father no longer was the unfeeling authoritarian of his memory. He had come back to his home, truly his now, and was taking care of his own family as his father had done, at the desk his father had used. His career for once seemed secure. Yet peace and contentment escaped him. Happiness was slippery as an eel. Just when you thought you had a solid grip on it, it twisted this way and that, and was gone again. Oh, Yoshiko!
Seimei, his other point of discontent, came back in. “A visitor, sir,” he announced with a bow. Seimei had become very formal lately.
The visitor turned out to be Kobe, and his arrival at this moment was anything but welcome. The superintendent strode in stiffly, nodding instead of bowing, and announced abruptly, “I must speak with you privately.”
Akitada glanced at Seimei, who asked, “Shall I bring wine or tea before the gentlemen begin?”
“Nothing for me.” Kobe stood waiting impatiently for Seimei to leave the room. When the door had closed behind Akitada’s secretary, he waited, then walked quietly to the door and jerked it open. The corridor was empty. He grunted and slammed the door shut again with such force that the panels shuddered. Akitada watched with rising anger as Kobe returned and sat down stiffly across from him.
“My secretary,” Akitada said coldly, “is not the kind of person who listens at doors. I gather from your manner you bring bad news of some sort.”
Kobe stared at him for a moment. “Unpleasant for you, at any rate. I have discovered your little plot. How dare you compromise my investigation by slipping your minions into the prison? You will immediately produce your accomplice. She is under arrest. It is regrettable that I cannot do the same with you because of your position. However, I shall make an official report of the affair and protest in the strongest terms against your abuse of power.” Fists clenched on either knee, he leaned forward and glared at Akitada. “I once thought better of you, by heaven, than that you would resort to sending a woman where you are forbidden to go. This time you have gone too far, Sugawara. This time I shall do my damnedest to put a permanent stop to your meddling.”
Akitada wondered what new trouble was brewing. Kobe appeared furiously angry about some incident at the jail. It was all a mistake, of course, regrettable because he had hoped for a congenial discussion of his discoveries at the temple. Kobe looked angry enough to mean his threats. He said, “I haven’t the faintest idea what you are talking about.”
Kobe’s face darkened and he struck the desk. Boxes, water containers, and ink stones jumped and rattled. “Don’t lie to me!” he shouted. “You know precisely what this is about. Today we followed her, and she walked into this house not an hour ago.”
Yoshiko! The answer came to Akitada unbidden, unwanted, and dreaded. His certainty was linked to a memory of a woman with a basket, familiar to him even at a distance, walking away from the prison where Nagaoka’s brother was being held. What had Yoshiko done?
Kobe snarled, “I see you know what I am talking about. Call her! I want to speak to her. I don’t care who she is to you—your wife, for all I care. After she tells me everything that’s been going on, she will be under arrest.”
Akitada felt himself go cold with fear. He knew very well that Kobe could carry out his threat, and he also knew the man well enough to fear his temper. He must try to find the right approach to defuse the other man’s rage.
“You are mistaken, Superintendent,” he said as haughtily as he could manage. “I am still completely in the dark about what you accuse me of, except that it must have something to do with Nagaoka’s brother. Considering your threats against me and mine, I must remind you that it is customary to make certain of one’s facts before laying accusations against persons of rank. I have only recently returned from—”
Kobe interrupted, “No, my lord, not even your fine record in the north is going to protect you from these charges. Flagrant abuse of power and perversion of the due process of justice will disqualify you from all future administrative positions.”
For all his bluster, Kobe seemed a bit less certain of himself. Akitada considered his position. In spite of a fine record up north, Kobe could make trouble for him here. Akitada still had some enemies at court, and while he had been very successful, he had not always followed the rules. A charge of high-handedness in the capital so soon after his return could be used against him.
But at the moment Akitada was less concerned about his career. He was innocent. No, it was the danger to Yoshiko which worried him. In her present state, she could not handle what Kobe had in mind for her. He tried another tactic.
“I must remind you that my family is mourning the recent death of my mother,” he said, keeping his voice low and firm. “My wife and son only arrived a few days ago, hours before my mother died. The funeral is barely over. The only women in this house besides my wife are my sister and a cook and two maids. I hardly think that any of them is likely to be involved in a murder case.”
Kobe stared at him. It was impossible to guess what was going through his mind. Akitada knew better than to think he would now apologize and depart. What he wished to avoid at all costs was that Yoshiko would be dragged off and subjected to interrogation. Even women were stripped by constables and beaten with bamboo whips if the investigating judge or officer was not satisfied with their account. He must hope that Kobe would hesitate to inflict this indignity On a member of his family.