And that would give Kishi an excellent motive for murder.
Tora Investigates
Never one to hold a grudge for long, Tora walked into town in a very forgiving mood toward his master. He had sent him on an errand of the kind Tora particularly relished and had done so without the usual biting remark about Tora’s past weakness for pretty women. Perhaps he was trying to make amends for having dismissed Saburo and relegated Genba and Ohiro to the ranks of outcasts.
Saburo was still lost, but he was a resourceful character and would manage. Their paths were bound to cross sooner or later. Tora ached to learn some of Saburo’s more dubious skills. His sleuthing and spying talents, in his opinion, were wasted on secretarial duties. Breaking into houses to spy on suspects, on the other hand, was a skill worth cultivating if one was engaged in tracking murderers.
But Genba’s case was worrisome. Tora had no illusions about the miseries of being jailed. It had happened to him. The floggings could get very nasty. And the falling-out between his master and Superintendent Kobe meant that Genba could not expect any protection from that quarter. His master’s anger had been reasonable in that regard.
He reached the Willow Quarter feeling cheerfully optimistic. Tokuzo’s brothel was already open for business. Tora had decided that it would be a great deal easier to get the list of names replaced by Tokuzo’s mother than to search for the women on his own. Besides, he wanted to find out what she was like..
Since it was still well before the midday rice, the downstairs room of the Sasaya was nearly empty. A very young and pretty girl came to ask what she could bring him. He eyed her appreciatively and asked, “How old are you, little charmer?”
She blushed, not a common reaction among the women employed in the quarter. “Thirteen, sir.” She paused, then blushed even more furiously. “I’m not allowed to work yet.”
“Well, aren’t you a waitress?”
“Yes, but…” She cast a glance toward the ceiling. “The mistress says I need more training.”
Tora nodded. “Like going to school, right?”
She giggled.
“Well, tell your mistress I’d like to speak to her. It’s about Ohiro.”
She ran off, light-footed like a child, but already with that seductive little motion of her slender hips. Tora shook his head.
She reappeared quickly and took him to a backroom where a thin old woman was working over a ledger. Tora looked Tokuzo’s mother over and decided he did not like her. This did not prevent his greeting her with his friendliest smile and most affable manner.
“Ah. The lady of the house looks as charming as her girls.”
She eyed him with a frown. “The girl said you’ve come about Ohiro.”
Tora sat down across from her, giving her the full benefit if his brilliant smile. “I’m Tora, Lord Sugawara’s assistant. He sent me to tell you he’s working out an arrangement.”
The frown disappeared and she positively beamed. “Fifty pieces of silver, your master said. And cheap at that. Do we still have an agreement?”
“I expect so.” Tora glanced around the room and at the account books and writing utensils. “I bet you have a lot of trouble running this business. Didn’t Tokuzo have a brother?”
She sighed. “It’s a lot of work, and I’m an old woman,” she shot him a glance, “no matter what pretty lies you tell me, young Tora.”
“Never say that! There are men who appreciate a mature female. A good woman is above the price of pearls. But you shouldn’t have to slave away over dusty books and deal with rowdy drunks. I would have expected Tokuzo’s brother to look after the Sasaya. It must be a good business.”
“My other son is an official. He likes the money well enough, but he doesn’t want to dirty his hands.” She managed to sound both resentful and proud.
“Then I bet you’re better at the business than he is.”
She chuckled at that. “Maybe. So what’s on your mind, Tora?”
This was moving too fast in the wrong direction. Tora said, “Here’s the problem: before we can do the business with Ohiro, we’ll have to get her and Genba out of jail. My master’s passed the names you gave him to the police, but I thought we might speed up things if I went and asked those girls a few questions myself.”
She looked a little disappointed but nodded. “Be my guest. I’d like to know who my enemies are. I’ve been thinking, and the most likely are Ona and Hanishi.” Her smile was gone, and she looked almost witchlike. “Ona’s the one Tokuzo caught passing her earnings to a boyfriend. And Hanishi was always causing trouble with the customers. I wouldn’t put it past them to be behind my poor Tokuzo’s death.” She waved a finger at Tora. “Get whoever did it, Tora, and you’ll do a good deed.”
Having obtained detailed directions to the girls’ lodgings, Tora decided to see Shokichi first. He caught her just as she returned from washing clothes in a nearby canal. She had shared quarters with Ohiro and was her friend, so he expected to get help from her.
Shokichi was a tall girl and would have been handsome except for her pockmarked face and crooked teeth. Life in the brothel had hardened her, and she eyed Tora with suspicion. His big smile and flirtatious manner got no response. He decided to plunge right into the reason for his visit.
“You must be Shokichi, Ohiro’s friend,” he said. “And I’m Tora, Genba’s friend. Let’s see if we cannot put our heads together and help them.”
Shokichi relaxed, invited him into the poor lodging, and poured him some cheap wine. He drank, smacked his lips, and said, “We need to find the guy who did away with that Tokuzo scum. Any ideas?”
She shook her head. “That bastard. He had more people hating him than there are flies on a dead dog.”
Tora grinned. “Good. How about his girls?”
Her face closed. “No. They wouldn’t have dared.”
“Maybe not, but can you be sure? Did he beat you?”
“Of course, but I can take it.” She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “The scum didn’t make me cry and plead.”
“Good for you. But others weren’t that strong. What about Ona and Hanishi, for example?”
“No. They’re like me. Used to it.” She turned away. “But not all the girls are like that. The animal nearly killed a couple. And one he did kill.”
Tora asked quickly, “Which one?”
“What does it matter?” Then she turned back to him, her eyes wide. “I think Miyagi came back as a ghost.”
The spirit world held many terrors for Tora. He knew the souls of people who had died violently or been wronged in their lives could not find rest after death and sought out the living who were responsible. But Tokuzo’s wounds had not been left by a ghost. Still, the killer could have been sent by the dead woman’s ghost. “Really? What happened to Miyagi?”
“It was terrible. Miyagi was still very young. Only fifteen, and she got pregnant. Maybe she wasn’t careful. But Tokuzo had just bought her and paid a lot, and now she wasn’t going to make any money for him. So he made her drink medicine. But all that happened was that she got real sick. And soon the men could see she was pregnant and left her alone. One night Tokuzo took her back to his room. I don’t know what he did, but she started bleeding. Only she didn’t stop, and the next morning she was dead.”
Tora shuddered. It was surely enough to make Miyagi become an angry ghost. “She have any family?”
“Her grandparents came to bury her. Tokuzo paid for the funeral, and they thanked him.”
Well, most likely then they would not have hired a killer. They must be poor. And that would be true of the rest of the women. Tora was becoming discouraged. “Did anyone else die?”
“Only Ozuru. One of the customers threw her over the railing. She broke her back.”
That could not be laid directly at Tokuzo’s door. “Listen, Shokichi, could the women have pooled their savings and hired an assassin?”