So Haseo was finally found. But what had become of the wives and children? No family names were listed for his wives. Which one was the wealthy one who was supposed to have taken in the others? How was Akitada to find them? He rolled up the scroll and went to find Kunyoshi, who had returned to his other duties. “What happens to the family who used to live on a confiscated estate?” he asked the old man, handing back the scroll.
Kunyoshi was not helpful. “The peasants stay, I suppose,” he said. “But the families of the condemned move elsewhere.”
“It’s the wives and children I’m concerned about.”
“Such women may choose to consider themselves divorced. They return to their own family or remarry, I believe. Some enter a convent.”
“What happened to the Tomonari land?”
“Ah!” Kunyoshi brightened. “I remembered something about that. I think I may have mentioned a certain important nobleman who was quite unreasonable in his demands that he should not have to pay a rice tax?”
Akitada did not remember but nodded.
“He’s the one who rents the confiscated estate. He claims that it had fallen into disuse and that he spent his money and used the labor of his slaves to put it back into production; therefore he should be immune from taxation. But the tax office held that he was liable for the same amount as the previous owner because he could not prove that new acreage had been created.” Kunyoshi rubbed his hands. “And quite right, too.” It was clear that he had not liked the irate nobleman.
“What’s his name?”
“Yasugi. As if he weren’t rich enough already in his own right. Pshaw!”
“Yasugi?” Akitada stared at the old man, his mind awhirl. Could it be that this detestable man now controlled the Tomonari estate? “How. ..” he began and stopped. He snatched the household register back. When he found the entry again, he saw what he had missed before. Haseo’s youngest wife was Hiroko. The name was common, but Akitada did not believe in coincidences. The beautiful Hiroko, the woman he had come to desire with every fiber of his being, was Haseo’s widow. Had she been eager to exchange the shameful existence as wife of a condemned man for the luxurious life with the wealthy Yasugi? Or had Yasugi somehow coerced her into marrying him? Akitada wanted to believe the latter. True, she had lied to him, but she had been terrified of her husband.
Giddy with excitement and hope, Akitada thanked Kunyoshi so profusely that the old man looked stunned.
At home, Akitada went straight to Tora. He found him looking a great deal better and eager to talk about his adventures.
“Wait,” said Akitada, “I have news.” He told him what he had discovered that morning.
“What a strange thing! So the sword was Haseo’s all along,” said Tora. He shook his head in wonder. “To think that we wasted all that time just because you got the name wrong.”
Akitada frowned. “You’re missing the point. The case is not solved. Haseo was charged with killing his parents, possibly with this.” He took the sword off and placed it on the floor between them.
“Never,” said Tora. “Somebody else did and you’ll find the bastard. And then you’ll find his family and make that greedy Yasugi give back their property to them.”
And set Hiroko free. Akitada sighed. It was not that simple. Even if he found the real killer and located Haseo’s family, the government would thwart the return of name and land to his heirs by instantly wrapping the case in bureaucratic red tape and innumerable codicils. But he had always known that.
Tora’s priorities were different, and he now reminded Akitada of them. “I would help you, but I’d better go back to the market to ask more questions about Tomoe’s murder.”
Tomoe. She was connected, too. Hiroko had lied about their relationship. Had Tomoe perhaps been a witness to the crime? And if she knew the real killer of Haseo’s parents, might she have been killed to keep her from telling? But that could not be. Five years had passed. If she had been a threat to the killer, he would have got rid of her years ago, before the trial.
Tora was watching him. “Are you wondering how Matsue got hold of the sword?” he asked.
“No, I was thinking about your blind street singer. Matsue could have bought the sword. In five years anything might have happened. He took good care of it anyway.”
“Why do you think he was watching Tomoe?”
“Perhaps he liked her performance and was interested. She sang martial ballads and he was a swordsman.”
Tora snorted. “He hated her. I figured maybe she told him off when he got too bold. Some men hold a grudge about that sort of thing, and he had no respect for women.”
“Well, you said yourself, he did not kill her, whatever he thought of her. By the way, what about the coroner’s report?”
“What about it?”
“The coroner found evidence that she had been with a man.”
“The swine raped her first and then killed her. He’s a dead man if I get my hands on him!”
“Not so fast. Nobody has said anything about rape. She may have entertained a lover before the killer struck. Or she gave herself to the killer voluntarily.”
“She would never do such a thing. She lived like a nun. I should know.” Tora flushed and looked away.
So the rascal had tried. Akitada said dryly, “I see. I grant you it’s truly impressive that she should have turned down even your advances, but the fact is that neither you nor I know anything about her. There may have been a man in her life. There may have been a husband even. The coroner said she had given birth.”
“Amida. I never thought of that. She was so… alone. You just felt she needed someone in her life. What happened to her kids, do you think?”
“I have no idea.”
Tora sighed. “I’ve never met anyone like her before, you know, so helpless and so… stubborn. She never complained. She was a fighter. And for what? To be slashed to pieces by some beast. I bet he did rape her. Tomoe had a pretty figure.”
Akitada tried to remember the woman he had seen only once and then through the eyes of prejudice. “I should have listened to you,” he said. “And she should have accepted your offer of help.”
Tora said bitterly, “And I shouldn’t have spoiled it all by trying to sweet-talk her. She probably thought I was just like all the rest.” A brief silence fell as they weighed their culpability against the evil fate that had stalked Tomoe. Suddenly Tora said, “Wait a moment. The soothsayer in the market warned her to leave the city. She believed him but said she needed to earn a bit more money first. What for?”
“You shouldn’t believe soothsayers. One of them just gave Tamako a terrible fright. Such people do more harm than good.”
Tora’s eyes widened. “What did he say?”
“Some silly talk about Yori. The trouble is that during an epidemic, such dire predictions have a chance of coming true.”
Tora gulped and opened his mouth, but the door slid open, and they turned. Tamako peered in, her face strained. It seemed to Akitada that he had not seen her in a pleasant mood for weeks now. “Yes?” he asked, perhaps a little more irritably than he intended.
Her eyes flicked from his face to Tora’s. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I knew you had returned and wondered… but I did not mean to interrupt. Please continue your conversation.” She bowed and withdrew, closing the door behind her.
Akitada felt relieved and a little guilty. No doubt she had another complaint of a domestic nature. The unwelcome guests had probably caused a disruption in the smooth running of the household. “How are your friends today?” he asked.
“Fine. I’m to say thanks for the hospitality. Kinjiro mostly sleeps, but Mr. Chikamura has hobbled off to police headquarters to lay a complaint against his nephew’s friends.” Tora added morosely, “If they take the trouble to check the house, they’ll find the Scarecrow and Genzo.”