Akitada jumped up. “Heavens, I forgot about that. Kobe was out this morning, so I left a message about your adventure. He may be trying to see to me. I only came home to change. Soga has died of smallpox, and two senior officials found fault with me when they came to see who was running the ministry.”
“Soga has died?” Tora clapped his hands in glee. “That’s great news. Congratulations, sir. What a piece of luck!”
“You’d better keep those sentiments to yourself. I’m in enough trouble without having my retainers start to celebrate.”
Tamako apparently had taken care of her problem, so Akitada went to the small bathhouse, where he stripped off his dirty clothes, leaving them in an untidy pile on the floor. The wooden tub was covered with a lid, and the water inside was still warm. He sluiced himself off, and then immersed his body, feeling gradually refreshed after a sleepless and bruising night and the troubles of the morning.
He considered how best to investigate the Haseo case without losing his position in the ministry. Soga’s illness and death had given him a brief respite, but instead of being free from hostile oversight, he was once again under scrutiny for dereliction of duty.
He needed to visit the village where the crime had taken place. He must find and talk to witnesses, especially that nurse. What could have made the woman tell such a vicious and tragic lie?
Akitada saw no possibility of getting official leave, however brief, at a time when all the government offices were short of staff. But he could speak to Judge Masakane. He might even be able to read the trial transcript, learn precisely what the nurse claimed to have seen and heard, and find out what corroborating evidence there was, for surely there must have been something besides her word against Haseo’s.
He had no time for long deliberation and got out of the bath after only a few minutes, slipping on a light cotton house robe. On the way back, he thought to look in on Yori, but when he stopped outside his son’s room, he heard Tamako’s voice reading to him. Akitada frowned. The boy should be reading himself. More pampering. He was afraid he would just lose his temper again if he went in, so he went instead to change into a good robe, comb and retie his hair, and put on the prescribed headgear. On the way to the ministry, he stopped to have himself shaved by a barber who made a good living by offering his services to those who worked inside the Greater Palace.
His appearance met with Nakatoshi’s silent approval, but Sakae said rather cheekily, “A vast improvement, sir. My compliments.”
Akitada met this with a grunt and fled into Soga’s office, where he spent the subsequent hours dealing with routine paperwork. He had debated briefly whether he should move back to his own room-now occupied by Sakae. The two visitors had so obviously disapproved of his having assumed honors that did not belong to him. But he decided that efficiency would suffer and remained.
The afternoon passed much too slowly. There were no more surprise visits or “inspections” and no urgent problems to be solved, but it was not until sunset that Akitada could pay his visit to Judge Masakane.
Masakane lived in a modest villa south of the Greater Palace and received Akitada with cool courtesy. They were seated in the judge’s study overlooking a small garden rather similar to Akitada’s. The judge said bluntly, “I assume you’ve come about your retainer’s case. What was his name again?”
“Tora. But since his case has been postponed because of the epidemic, I came about something else. I trust you and your family have been spared?”
“I’m an old man and alone in this world. Death holds no fears for me. It is life that concerns me. There’s too little time for a man to leave a good name behind.”
Akitada said warmly, “No need to worry about that, Your Honor. You are praised by all as a fair and wise judge.”
He had meant the compliment, but Masakane drew back stiffly. “Don’t flatter me, young man, or I shall think you plan to damage that reputation.”
Akitada flushed. Young man-and that superior tone? How dare Masakane think he had come to influence his judgment! He bit his lip. No sense in showing his anger. He needed help, though not in the way Masakane expected. This would not be an easy interview after all.
“As I said, I’m not here about Tora,” he began and saw that Masakane relaxed slightly. “My visit concerns another case, one you tried five years ago. The accused was a man called Tomonari Haseo. Do you recall it?”
“Certainly. I am not senile yet. It was a sensational double murder. Are you going to question my verdict?”
The judge’s belligerence told Akitada that he still disliked and distrusted him. Anger stirred again. The old man was insufferably rude, and Akitada was fed up with the disrespect he had been shown by all and sundry lately. If the judge was already hostile, he had nothing to lose. He raised his chin and said rather sharply, “I was taught that justice requires us to question the truth. The man you condemned to exile is dead, but he was my friend and I’m alive to keep a promise. That is why I am here. Tomonari Haseo was falsely accused and the real murderer is free.”
Masakane’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You talk nonsense. At best you are carried away by false sentiment. At worst…”
Akitada interrupted, “I trust my record speaks for my integrity, sir. I must ask you to think before making rash accusations.”
The judge looked startled. He bent forward a little, as if he distrusted his hearing. “Are you correcting my manners?”
“I’m only pointing out that we are not going to get anywhere unless we both attempt to observe minimal courtesies, regardless of our private opinions.”
Masakane smiled thinly. “How foolish you are. I don’t want to get anywhere, as you put it. It is you who wants something from me.”
Akitada sighed in defeat. He rose and bowed. “In that case, forgive me for having troubled you.”
Masakane waved a thin, spotted hand. “Sit down. Sit down. I have nothing better to do. What do you want to know?”
Akitada sat. “I would really like to read the trial transcripts.”
“Impossible. They have been sealed, and you would need an order from the chancellor himself to unseal them.”
“Then I must rely on what you remember.” Akitada saw Masakane’s frown, and added quickly, “It was more than five years ago, and no doubt many witnesses appeared in so heinous a case. I know that the main witness was the accused man’s own nurse.”
“And what a witness! Distraught, of course. She suckled him and raised him through his childhood and now had to condemn him. But she served in his father’s house and she saw it all happen. This was a much stronger case than the one against your retainer. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the accused was guilty.”
“She claimed to have seen both murders done?”
“Yes.”
“But were there other witnesses?”
“Why worry about them? It is the nurse who is your problem.”
“I believe she lied.”
Masakane stared at Akitada. After a moment, he said, “I have heard that you pursue even the most far-fetched notions with incredible determination. Sometimes successfully. But this time you’re quite, quite wrong.”
“What about the other witnesses?”
Masakane pursed his lips. “Let me see. A maid testified that father and son had quarreled before. And a monk saw the murderer run toward the house with a terrible look on his face. Ah, yes. A local overlord offered your friend employment when he heard that he wished for independence, but he was turned down quite rudely. I think the young man said he knew of a better way to get what he wanted.”
“The local overlord would not by any chance be Yasugi?”
“Very clever. Yes, it was Yasugi. Of course he is the only man of influence in the area. The Tomonaris came down in the world as the Yasugi family rose. There was no love lost between them. All in all, Yasugi behaved rather well, I thought.”