Maeda bit his lip. “Go on. Was she home when you returned?”
“I didn’t see her, but the honey and ginger were in the kitchen, so she must have come back.”
“What do you mean, you didn’t see her?” asked Tora.
“Well, after a moxa treatment I’m always quite exhausted. I unrolled some bedding and went to sleep here. I thought she was sleeping in the other room.”
Tora and Maeda exchanged another glance. Maeda said, “But you don’t know for a fact she spent the night here?”
Kuroki shook his head. “When I got up this morning, she was gone. The ginger and honey were still there, but no gruel.” He sounded aggrieved.
“And no message?”
He shook his head again. “She can’t write.”
Silence fell.
Tora said, “Did you look at her clothes? We need to know what she was wearing.”
“Why?”
Maeda said, “She could have had an accident.”
“Oh, I hope not. Surely she’d tell people who she was?”
Tora sighed. “Not if she was unconscious.”
Kuroki started weeping. “You think she’s dead.” He made it sound like an accusation.
Tora snapped, “Go check her clothes. She could have decided to walk out on you.”
The fat man staggered to his feet and waddled to a door. “She’d never …,” he mumbled on his way out.
“What do you think?” asked Maeda.
Tora snorted. “If you were Yoko, would you stay with him if you could find another man? He certainly wasn’t her idea of a good husband. She said as much to me.”
“Really? And what did you say?”
Kuroki came back in. “Only the gown she wore is gone, and her new quilt. The gown was blue with a small white pattern of shells. The quilt was light green with a pattern of cherry blossoms. She loved it, so I bought it for her.” He shook his head. “What could have happened?”
Maeda asked, “Could she have gone to visit a friend?”
“No. She had no friends. Or family either.” He started blubbering again and wrung his fat hands. “I told you, she was a devoted wife. She had me, and I had her. We were like the two halves of a clam.”
Tora looked at him. He was a singularly unattractive man. No wonder his wife invited men into her house.
Maeda got up. “Well, we’ll ask around, Mr. Kuroki. You do the same. If you can think of anything, let us know.”
Outside, he said to Tora, “She’s gone off with a lover. Taking her favorite quilt.”
Tora thought it likely, but something nagged at him.
Across the street, Mitsui’s son was loading his father’s handcart. Now that old Mitsui had been sentenced, the son was in a hurry to sell his property.
Tora said as much, and Maeda nodded. “May he choke on the money,” he growled.
They crossed the street to Mrs. Kimura’s house. They could hear the children’s voices and laughter. When Maeda shouted a greeting, the children came running, smiles on their faces. Kichiro’s eye had healed, but he still had an ugly scab on his cheekbone.
“You look like a man who’s been in a fight,” Tora said, grinning.
Kichiro laughed. “I was. It was nothing. They ran.”
The girl, suddenly shy, said, “Kichiro, that isn’t true. Saburo made them run.”
“Saburo sends his regrets, being busy with work,” Tora said. “He may stop by some evening.” Saburo wanted to visit them, but the children only knew the bearded man, and he could not wear his facial hair during the day without someone becoming suspicious.
Mrs. Kimura welcomed them and offered fruit juice on her veranda. The garden was filled with bird song coming from the many cages hanging from trees.
“The children are such a blessing to me,” she said, watching them fondly as they tended to the birds. “I’m still afraid to let them go out, but they want to sell the birds in the market.”
Maeda said, “It should be safe enough, provided they only go there and come straight back, and never after dark. We stopped by on another matter. Mrs. Kuroki, your neighbor across the street, seems to have disappeared and her husband is very worried. Would you happen to know anything about her activities yesterday?”
Mrs. Kimura’s eyes widened. “Yoko? Disappeared? So she finally had enough.” She giggled, then covered her mouth. “Shame on me. The poor man.” But she spoiled it with another giggle. “I’m sorry. He’s been so silly about her, and she hates that so much. Some people should never get married.” She nodded toward the Mitsui house. “There’s proof for you. I hear Mitsui confessed to killing Mei?”
“He did. That case is closed. Now we’re looking for Yoko. You don’t think Kuroki killed her?”
She laughed. “Oh, no. He doesn’t have the strength for anything as strenuous as murder. I expect she’s gone off with someone.”
“Who?”
“A man. She used to have them coming around pretending to make deliveries. They went inside, stayed a while and came back out whistling.” She smiled.
“Can you describe them?” Tora asked.
They got descriptions of several young men, younger than either Tora or Maeda. They had other features in common. They were handsome and well-built. They wore short pants and colorful shirts and sandals on their feet. “Ordinary market porters,” she said, “but young and good-looking. Yoko had good taste. I used to wish them joy. Yoko and those young men were positively bubbling with hunger for each other.” She laughed.
Maeda was shocked. “How do you get such ideas? Surely it’s not proper to spy on a neighbor having an affair with a market boy.”
Tora chortled. She said, “Maeda, you have a lot to learn about women, especially old, lonely ones. Those children are a blessing for me. You’re right. Loneliness makes people nosy.”
“And where would the police be without nosy people,” Tora said.
Maeda grinned sheepishly. “I’m turning into a prude. The other day I thought Tora was Yoko’s latest victim.”
Tora blushed. “Prey maybe, but not victim. Though she’s a pretty woman and doesn’t deserve a husband like that. Do we look for one of her lovers now?”
Maeda frowned. “I don’t know. She has a right to leave her husband. Besides, I don’t want to tell the poor besotted bastard where we found her. Assuming we do.”
And that was the end of that. On the way back, they stopped to speak to Hiroshi, who glared at them as he flung a last bundle into his handcart. “What now?” he growled.
“Nothing to do with you or your father,” said Maeda. “I just wondered if you were here yesterday.”
“What if I was?”
“Well, did you happen to see the woman across the street?”
“No.”
“Or any visitors to her house?”
“No. Are you after that poor bitch now? What’s she supposed to have done, killed her husband?”
Maeda clenched his hands. Tora said quickly, “Nothing of the sort. What are you up to?”
Hiroshi transferred his glare to him. “None of your business, but if you must know, I’m selling some stuff. My father has no need for it now, and my wife and children are hungry.”
They walked away, shaking their heads.
14
“Captin Okatta, governor zir.” Koji stood aside to let the police chief enter.
Akitada was in the tribunal office, and the captain stood just inside the door. He was a slender man with a narrow face and pinched lips and wore his bright red uniform with the black feathered cap. At the moment he looked irritated. Akitada gave Mori a nod, the secretary did the same with the two scribes. They got up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.
Akitada said coldly, “So you finally show up. What kept you from reporting?”
Okata saluted and said in a clipped voice, “Press of business, sir.”
“You will address me as ‘Your Excellency.’ I’m surprised nobody explained simple protocol to you.”
Okata flushed. “His Excellency Governor Tachibana was the easy-going type. He didn’t stand on ceremony, provided a man did his job well.” He paused, then added, “Your Excellency.”