Hiroshi had probably been killed to keep him from talking to the police. As soon as they had found the bundle of Tora’s clothes in the well, Hiroshi had to disappear. Next Feng’s clerk had disappeared and might also be dead. Akitada felt he had waited too long to arrest the merchant.
An overlooked aspect affecting all those tangled cases was that both Hakata and Hakozaki were shipping ports. Lord Tachibana had been killed before he could board his ship in Hakata harbor. Hiroshi had worked for the privately owned port of Hakozaki, but his body had been dumped into Hakata harbor. Mitsui senior had delivered his dolls to ships docked in Hakozaki but had been sentenced to be transported to the Tsushima mines in a police boat from Hakata. Those who committed serious crimes were commonly dispatched to Tsushima, an island where they worked in the silver mines. Tsushima was very much like Sadoshima where Akitada had been imprisoned in a gold mine. Tora had come to find him then. Could it be Tora this time who had been condemned to the mine? They should have checked with the harbor authorities about recent departures from both ports.
Lieutenant Maeda returned to his office, and Akitada shared his concern. “I think we should check both here and in Hakozaki.”
Maeda nodded. “Yes, of course. A convict boat left with prisoners two days ago, but there were only three convicts, two sailors who got in a fight and killed someone, and a man from Osumi province who had killed a prefect. A police sergeant and guards were on board.”
“Not a likely conveyance then.” Akitada got up from behind Maeda’s desk. “Saburo is busy with a report to Dazaifu. I’d like you to accompany me to arrest Feng. We’ll take some of the constables and soldiers. There may be trouble.”
Maeda looked surprised but did not object. He left instructions to check on shipping, and then joined Akitada.
“By the way, sir,” Maeda said as they rode in a drizzle into Feng’s compound, followed by the tribunal guard, “when I sent for Feng’s clerk again, my constable returned and said the shop was closed. I think the clerk may have become frightened and run.”
“Either that or he’s dead,” Akitada said dryly, looking at the many deep wheel ruts left in the gravel of the courtyard.
Maeda was shocked. “Surely not, sir. I don’t know what things are coming to. Is Feng behind all of it?”
“I don’t know, Lieutenant, but I hope to find out.” He dismounted. Leaving constables and soldiers in the courtyard, Maeda and Akitada knocked on the door.
The same aged servant admitted them. The house was as silent as last time, but there was a subtle difference. Last time, Akitada had had the feeling of being watched by many eyes. Now the place felt merely empty.
“We are here to see your master,” Akitada said.
The old man bowed, but that was all.
Maeda asked in Chinese, “Where is your master?”
The old man bowed again and said nothing.
“We’re too late. He’s gone,” Akitada said. “I think he’s taken his goods and his family with him.”
Maeda stared. “What? Why?”
“I noticed tracks of many wagons in the courtyard.”
“The sly devil! We’d better search the house.” Maeda pushed the servant aside and walked in.
“The men can help you,” Akitada said, and turned to issue commands. He asked the servant, “When did your master leave, and where has he gone?”
The old man bowed, again silently. His behavior frustrated Akitada to the point where he wanted to shake him, but he reminded himself that such loyalty deserved respect. Feng might be a criminal and a murderer but he had inspired devotion in this old man. As he followed the soldiers and Maeda, the old servant brought up the rear, watching everything they did.
The house showed signs of having been left hurriedly. Gaping trunks stood about with some of the fine clothes still inside, a beautiful lacquer screen had been knocked over and broken, and papers covered the floor in what must have been Feng’s own room.
Akitada stooped to look at these, but they were in the same puzzling writing as the account book. He suddenly knew they were wasting time.
“Does Feng have a country estate?” he asked Maeda.
“Not allowed, Excellency. Merchants, especially those of foreign descent, are not permitted to own land.”
“Then I think Feng has escaped to the harbor. Are any Chinese ships in Hakata?”
“Also not allowed. Foreign ships dock at the korokan. But I think there’s one in Hakozaki. Lord Akisuki has a special permit. I wish we knew when Feng left. We’d better hurry.”
A break-neck gallop of nearly an hour through Hakata to Hakozaki brought them to the wharf where boats were still ferrying trunks and bundles across the gray, white-capped water to a large ship with a finely carved dragon writhing from its bow.
“Low tide. It’s too shallow for big ships to dock,” said Maeda with a grin of satisfaction. Now we shall see.” He dismounted and walked quickly to the wharf. “You there,” he shouted to some boatmen. “We need a couple of boats. Stop loading. The ship’s not going anywhere.”
On board the Chinese ship, their arrival had been noted. People were shouting and the sailors ran to raise the anchor and the big sails.
“They’re trying to make a run for it,” said Akitada. “Hurry, or we’ve lost him.”
Maeda laughed. “They’ll never make it. Wind and tide are against them, and it takes too long to get out of the harbor.”
Akitada and Maeda were in the first boat across. With them were four constables and four of Akitada’s soldiers. It was a joint operation.
The Chinese sailors had given up their efforts to get under way, and Akitada and the others boarded well ahead of other boats, bringing more support in case the Chinese made objections.
Feng and a man who must be the ship’s captain awaited them on deck. In the background huddled several women and children huddled under a canopy. Feng was white-faced.
As it turned out, his pallor apparently was due to furious anger rather than fear.
He ignored Maeda, who confronted him with the words, “You’re under arrest,” and addressed himself to Akitada who had followed more slowly.
“This is an outrage, Governor,” he shouted. “My family and I were taking our annual journey to worship at the tombs of our ancestors. This is a deeply spiritual journey for us and we had prepared carefully for it. This rude and disrespectful interruption is upsetting my women and children. Please take your men off this ship. If you insist, I’ll come ashore to answer whatever questions you may have.”
Maeda was about to respond equally angrily, but Akitada raised a hand. “Let it be so,” he said. “We do not make war on women and children. Come with us now, and you may return to your family as soon as you have satisfied the investigators. Lieutenant Maeda will stay on board with his men to look for a fugitive.”
Maeda stiffened into a salute, but from his set features, Akitada knew he did not like the order. Akitada not only hoped the search would turn up the thug Ling, but needed to make certain the Chinese ship did not leave Hakozaki harbor without causing a political incident with China.
Akitada took Feng back to Hakata. There, in Maeda’s office in police headquarters, with Saburo and a police scribe in attendance, and began his questioning.
Having been treated with a modicum of courtesy, Feng relaxed. “It is my pleasure to help your Excellency and the police in every way I can,” he said. “I’ve said so before. You had but to ask.”
Akitada smiled coldly. “Good. You may recall my assistant, Lieutenant Sashima, from our recent visit. Where is he?”
“I do remember him indeed. A very impressive young man. Alas, I have no idea where he might have got to. I never saw him again.”