“Merchant Feng was a frequent visitor here and came to see his Excellency off. They left together. His lordship, Merchant Feng, and that Chinese servant of his.”
“Feng admitted as much. By any chance, were you aware that Lord Tachibana had a relationship with a courtesan called Fragrant Orchid?”
Mori blushed. “Oh, yes. We all knew. He was very taken with her. Merchant Feng introduced them.” Mori paused. “I’ve had a look at Mr. Feng’s account book.”
Feng’s secret account book must hold the key to Tachibana’s death, and they badly needed evidence again Feng. The recalled governor’s very close business relationship with the merchant had ostensibly been based on his obsessive acquisition of Chinese art, but such a fixation was a weakness that could be exploited by unscrupulous men. If Tachibana had indeed engaged in illegal and treasonous dealings through Feng, then his departure for the capital, where suspicion of malfeasances would have brought interrogation by the censor’s bureau, was a mortal danger to Feng and possibly others.
Akitada gave Mori an encouraging nod. “Excellent! And what have you found out?”
Mori went to his desk and returned with the book.
“I am not quite sure, your Excellency. Mr. Feng used colloquial Chinese, but I also believe some of the names and objects are disguised by other words.”
“Very likely. Have you learned anything at all?”
“Yes. Merchant Feng has been ordering pictures and some carved figures in exchange for certain sums or unspecified favors. He listed expenditures also, in one case, one of the last entries, he mentions children’s toys. Since the pictures and so forth were for Lord Tachibana, possibly the moneys and favors might have been supplied by Lord Tachibana in payment?”
“Probably. I hate to think what favors Lord Tachibana did the Chinese merchant.” Locking away the account book, Akitada thanked Mori, adding, “We’ll let Lieutenant Maeda ask one of the Chinese merchants to translate this.”
Akitada went to his study for a cup of tea and a brief rest before returning to Hakata. The distance between the tribunal and police headquarters was becoming a nuisance. At least the rain had stopped. To his surprise, he found the houseboy Koji squatting on the floor. The boy shot up and immediately prostrated himself.
“Askin’ pardons, zir. Is a message.”
Irritated to be kept from his refreshment, Akitada snapped, “What message? And why didn’t you give it to Mori?”
Koji shrank. “Very private. Only for governor’s ears. I promise on my mother’s grave.” The boy eyed him anxiously. “You’re angry. I cannot tell you if you’re angry.” He turned to go.
“Koji!” thundered Akitada.
The boy froze, his back to him. Akitada said more gently, “I’m not angry, but I have much to do, so please say what you’ve come to tell me.”
Koji did not turn. “I waited ‘cause I promised.”
“It’s all right. I appreciate your patience.”
“Someone’s here,” Koji offered, looking at him over his shoulder. “He won’t come out if you’re angry.”
Come out? “Who is here?”
Koji shook his head. “I cannot tell if you’re angry.”
Akitada controlled himself with an effort and managed a smile. “Did you ask his name?”
“Yezzir. I ask many times. No name.”
Akitada sighed. “Where is this person?”
Koji walked into the adjoining eave chamber and pointed at one of the trunks standing in a corner. It had held Akitada’s books and papers but was now empty.
Or so Akitada had thought. He crossed quickly to it and flung back the lid.
A man cowered inside. He was on his knees and had his head tucked under his arms as if he expected to be beaten.
“Don’t hurt him, zir,” Koji cried. “He’s afraid.”
“Get out,” snapped Akitada.
After a moment, the slight figure of Feng’s clerk Masashi unfolded its thin limbs and stepped out of the trunk. He was sobbing. He stood for a moment, then fell to his knees and knocked his head against the floor. “Save me, your Excellency,” he cried. “They are going to kill me.”
Akitada nearly smiled. This was a stroke of luck and should fix Feng for good. He said in a reassuring tone, “Don’t worry, Masashi. You’re quite safe here. Koji, this is Masashi. Go and get us some wine and something to eat. Masashi looks worn out.”
“Good!” Koji clapped his hands, grinned, and ran out.
“Now then, Masashi. Sit up and explain.”
The clerk did indeed look pitiful. He was pale and trembled uncontrollably. His stringy hair hung into his face, and his clothes were torn and dirty. He wept again, quite noisily.
“Calm yourself now, “Akitada said a little more firmly. “There is nothing I can do for you unless you speak freely.”
Masashi nodded, hiccupped, and wiped his blubbered face with a dirty sleeve. “Ling came to kill me,” he managed. “I got away, but he’s looking for me.” He pulled the shirt from his neck and pushed his hair back. Masashi’s neck was covered with huge bruises. There were other bruises on his arms and on the side of his face.
“Why did he do this?”
“The master sent him. Just as with Hiroshi. Ling kills people for the master.”
No surprise there. Akitada regarded the clerk with an encouraging smile. Surely Masashi was about to give him more proof of Feng’s crimes. “I suspected as much,” he said. “Why did you come here?”
“Where else could I go? Nobody in Hakata would help me. They’re afraid of Feng or owe him money.”
“Hmm. I take it you know we found the governor’s body?”
The clerk nodded.
“Did Feng kill Governor Tachibana?”
Masashi looked frightened. “I don’t know. I wasn’t there. Surely not even Ling would have dared touch one of the good people.”
“What about the courtesan Fragrant Orchid?”
“Feng bought her house and set her up. He introduced her to Lord Tachibana.”
“Did Feng have anything to do with her death?”
Masashi gave him a startled look. “They said Fragrant Orchid killed herself out of grief over Lord Tachibana leaving.”
“She was poisoned because she wanted to speak to me. What sort of secret might she have had knowledge of?”
Masashi became agitated again. “Oh, this is terrible,” he moaned. “That Ling is a monster.”
“He is Feng’s monster. Did Feng send Ling to kill Fragrant Orchid?”
“Maybe. Feng told Ling, ‘The woman is going to talk. Take care of her.’ And he gave him something wrapped in paper. I thought it was gold and he meant to pay her off to keep quiet. The governor must have told her about Feng’s business.”
Koji came back with a tray of food and a flask of wine. Giving Masashi an encouraging nod, he set these down before him and left.
Akitada thought back to the alleged suicide letter. It did not fit. He decided he had been wrong about the killer leaving it. Ling was not clever enough. Perhaps it had been something Fragrant Orchid left lying about, something she had saved from her affair with Tachibana.
But the rest was falling into place. Feng’s business indeed! Masashi was a godsend! “Go ahead! Eat and drink,” Akitada urged.
Masashi eyed the bowl of rice cakes hungrily, but settled for a gulp of wine instead. He was not shaking quite as badly as before.
“And what was Feng’s business exactly?” Akitada prodded.
But here Masashi was no help. “I don’t know. He didn’t trust me. I don’t think he trusted anyone, not even Ling. He did a lot of business with China, but this is permitted.”
“In his case, probably not. What about those dolls Ling wouldn’t let me touch?”
“Ling was very rude. Feng really doesn’t like him waiting on customers. The dolls were a special shipment meant to go on the ship to China. I couldn’t see it myself. The other dolls were much better made. These were careless, as if the Mitsuis had rushed the job.”
“Did Feng ask you to pay Mrs. Mitsui five pieces of gold for them?”
“Five pieces of gold? No. That would have been crazy.”
No doubt Feng had dealt with Mrs. Mitsui personally. There was no proof, of course, but Akitada thought about it and decided Mitsui had not been involved in the special dolls. Feng had spoken to his wife, probably because she was also Chinese and could be trusted to keep the secret from her abusive husband. Too bad Hiroshi had found out about the gold.