“That’s what I said.”
“But he did not bring enough, and so you got angry, eh? Very angry, I would say.”
Yasaburo bit his lip. “I was not pleased and let him know it. He left right away.”
“What about refreshments? After a long, cold journey?” Kobe raised his cup. “Some of your hot wine? After all, the man was related to you by marriage.”
Was there a nervous flicker in Yasaburo’s eyes? He definitely hesitated before answering. “A cup of wine, that was all.”
“Ah!” Kobe nodded and smiled. “Do you keep poison? For the birds, perhaps?”
Yasaburo paled. He was clearly frightened now. “He was alive. I swear he was!”
Kobe clapped his hands. A thin boy with bulging eyes and open mouth appeared so instantly that he must have been eavesdropping. “Where are the other servants?” Kobe barked.
“There’s only me and Mr. Harada.” The boy was lost in amazed contemplation of his master, who sat wringing his hands and moaning into his beard.
“Do you remember a visitor a week ago?” asked Kobe. “Middle-aged. Thin. Came on a horse?”
“A horse?” The boy was still staring at Yasaburo, who had turned beseeching eyes on him.
“His name is Nagaoka. The antique dealer who married your master’s daughter.”
“Oh, him.”
“Pay attention!”
The boy reluctantly took his eyes off Yasaburo. “He came in the morning. On a horse. I took the horse. Then he came for his horse.” The boy frowned. “He was scared, maybe. Like there were demons after him.”
Yasaburo gave another moan and hid his face in his hands. “The boy’s a half-wit,” he mumbled. “Tell them that he rode away!” he cried.
Kobe glared at him and snapped, “Stay out of this!” Then he asked the boy, “Did he look ill? You know, like he needed to vomit or relieve himself ?”
The boy fell into a fit of giggles.
Kobe looked disgusted. “We had better call Harada!”
“Can’t. He’s gone,” the boy volunteered.
“Gone? What do you mean?”
“He took the master’s horse.”
Yasaburo cried, “The dissembling cheat has stolen my horse and run. No doubt with my money. Quick, after him!”
Kobe snapped, “Fetch my sergeant!”
The sergeant was sent in pursuit of the flighty Harada, and Kobe began pacing, muttering under his breath. The boy stood staring at Yasaburo and picking his nose. Akitada got up to wander about the room.
“You!” Kobe snapped suddenly at the boy. “Look at me! Who was here the day Nagaoka visited?”
The boy said, “She was here. With him. He gives me coppers.”
Yasaburo cried, “I told you the boy is slow. He is confused and remembers an earlier visit by my daughter and her husband.”
Akitada paused in his examination of the musical instruments to cast a surprised glance at Yasaburo. So the man had another daughter. Come to think of it, he had referred to daughters earlier. There was no reason why he should not, but neither Nagaoka nor his brother had mentioned this.
Kobe asked the boy, “Did they come the same day as Mr. Nagaoka?”
The boy thought. “It was before. He gave me five coppers.”
“A boat without oars,” Kobe muttered under his breath. He tried again, “Your master’s daughter and her husband, did they meet Mr. Nagaoka? Talk to him?”
But he had run out of luck. The boy shook his head. “Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t.”
“What about Mr. Nagaoka’s horse? Did he leave his horse behind?”
The boy grinned. “I was tending his horse.”
With a sigh, Kobe let him go. Yasaburo started up again about Harada’s duplicity. Kobe snapped, “Shut up! You’re in enough trouble,” and started pacing and muttering again.
After a while, Yasaburo tried again. “I confess I’m as surprised as you at Harada’s flight, Superintendent,” he said. “It must mean he is involved in this murder. Frankly, I never did like the man. With all his crazy talk, I always thought he was half-mad, but I never dreamed he would kill anyone. He knew about the eighteen bars of silver. No doubt he thought Nagaoka carried more. Harada drinks like a fish, and nobody knows what he does in the capital. Maybe he gambles.” Yasaburo glanced nervously at the dais, where Akitada was still looking at the instruments.
“I am curious, Professor Yasaburo,” Akitada asked him, “what made you employ a man as untrustworthy as Harada?”
Yasaburo fidgeted. “Oh. He was a colleague. Lost his university position because of his drinking after his family died. Smallpox. But he was good with numbers. His fingers play tunes on that abacus of his, and his bookkeeping is immaculate. He got no wine from me while he was working, but once a month I let him off for a few days in the capital.” Seeing disbelief in their faces, he added grudgingly, “And he worked cheap.”
Akitada drifted on. In a niche hung a calligraphy scroll above a vase filled with dead branches. Both the scroll and the ledge for the vase were covered with thick dust, but a large trunk next to it looked clean. Idly Akitada opened it. It was filled with brilliant robes and gowns. On top lay a carved mask of some magic creature. He opened his mouth to ask if Yasaburo’s daughters had taken part in theatrical performances, but thought better of it.
It was becoming obvious that Harada had made good his escape. Kobe stopped in front of Yasaburo. “We will take you back to the capital for further questioning. You may pack some clothes and enough money to purchase food from the prison guards.”
“Why?” wailed Yasaburo. “I’ve done nothing. You cannot do this!”
While Kobe had Yasaburo readied for the return journey, Akitada made a quick tour of the house.
At one time, the dwelling and an adjoining smaller building must have accommodated comfortably a family and several servants, but now Yasaburo seemed to be living in one room, for the other rooms were not only shuttered and empty, but thick layers of dust lay on everything. Managing with only Harada and the boy, Yasaburo would not expect much in terms of service. However, in the other wing, one room was the exception to the general state of dereliction. Here a few grass mats covered the floorboards and trunks held clean bedding. Several braziers and oil lamps stood around and the room had been cleaned recently. No doubt this was where Nagaoka’s other daughter stayed with her husband on their visits.
He walked back to the courtyard. The sergeant and his men were getting off their horses with glum faces. No Harada. Since the man knew the area better than the constables, he could have hidden anywhere and nobody the wiser. Harada was the biggest puzzle of all.
Kobe came out with Yasaburo and two constables. Yasaburo’s hands were tied behind his back. Kobe said, “One of the horses in the stable bears the marks of a post station in the capital, and my men found poison. Arsenic. He says it’s for the birds, but I charged him. Dr. Masayoshi will be able to tell what Nagaoka took. Ready? It’s a long ride back.”
They rode ahead of the others. Akitada felt vaguely uneasy. He asked Kobe what he thought about the visit of the other daughter and her husband.
“That half-wit of a boy! I doubt they are involved, but we’ll get the truth out of Yasaburo.” After that they fell silent, each caught up in his own thoughts.
Akitada found the recent revelations confusing rather than enlightening. Until now they had not been aware that the dead woman had had a married sister. And the costumes in Yasaburo’s trunk were even more intriguing. Yasaburo had claimed his interest had ended when his daughters had moved away, but as dusty as the rest of the room had been, Yasaburo seemed to have cared lovingly for the reminders of a happier past. Most troubling were the ubiquitous ties to the acting profession. Everyone connected with the case so far had some interest in or involvement with actors.