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  When he returned to his seat,his host had disappeared. Akitada was uneasily aware that his repeated absenceshad caused curious glances from the guests. To cover his embarrassment, Akitadaasked the judge about criminal activity in the province and got another drearylecture on the need for harsher penalties. When Uesugi returned soon after, helooked tense and preoccupied. “The snow is getting worse,” he announced, “andthe road to Naoetsu may become impassable. I hope you will all honor my houseby spending the night.”

  Akitada was seized by outright panic at this idea and rose abruptly. “Thank you, no. This has been a lavish entertainment and most pleasant company, but I must not impose on your hospitality any longer,” he said. “Urgent duties await me back in the city.”

  A general bustle ensued. Most of the others also made their good-byes, intending to join Akitada’s cortege on the journey back to the city.

  Uesugi made only the barest ofprotests to the sudden exodus. He accepted Akitada’s formal thanks, his facedevoid of expression, but his small eyes glittered and moved about strangely in the flickering light. Perhaps it was Akitada’s illness, but suddenly Uesugi appeared menacing, and the shadows in the corners of the great hall seemed alive with danger.

  Akitada knew his escape into the snowy night was craven and irrational, and a fitting end to the most unpleasant and unproductive evening he had ever spent. He was filled with foreboding.

  FOUR

  THE THREE PRISONERS

  Three days after the visit to Takata, on a clear and cold morning, the tribunal’s dilapidated buildings huddled inside the broken-down palisade and looked more depressing than usual with patches of dirty snow in piles and corners. The brief snowfall had changed to watery sleet, then back to snow, and to sleet again during the past days.

  When Akitada stepped out on the veranda, he saw that the main gate was still closed even though the sun was upand it was well into the day. Tora and Hitomaro were below, shouting for the constables who trotted out reluctantly, some still chewing their morning rations. The creaking gate finally opened- somewhat pointlessly, since no one waited outside and access to the tribunal could be gained anywhere a man wished to kick down a few rotten timbers in the fence.

  Akitada descended the steps into the courtyard and looked sourly at the ragged line of constables drawn upfor inspection, their breath steaming in the cold air. Hitomaro was in full armor and exhibited stiff military bearing. When he saw Akitada, he gave a shout, and the ragtag constables in their mostly unmatched garb fell to their knees and bowed their heads to the ground. From their sullen expressions, Akitada gathered that Hitomaro was about to put them through a drill.

  Their headman, Chobei, lounged against the gate, his arms crossed and a mocking grin on his coarse face.

  The insolence of the brute!Akitada could feel his blood rise and lost his temper. Glaring at Chobei,Akitada snapped, “Make that dog kneel, Lieutenant.”

  Hitomaro shouted an order, then drew his sword and approached the headman. Chobei stared stupidly, his grin fading slowly. For a moment it looked as though he would ignore the order, but then he went to his knees, placing his hands on the icy patch of gravel beforehim.

  Tora, also armed, walked acros still he towered over the kneeling man. “Head down!” he ordered. Chobei startedup with a curse. Tora drew his sword and brought its flat side down on the man’s bare head. With a cry of pain, Chobei assumed the proper position.

  “Pity you didn’t bother with mittens and a warm coat this morning, Sergeant,” Tora said conversationally. “My guess is that your hands will freeze to the gravel in less time than it takes to fill your prisoners’ water bowls. And you won’t budge till you’re ready to crawl all the way to his Excellency to apologize for your lack of manners.”

  Akitada already regretted the incident but could not take back his words without losing face. “See to it that he remains until he has learned proper respect!” he snapped. Then he strode back to the main hall.

  This building was in better repair than the others, but it was large and extremely drafty. In the chilly front area, the public part of the building, his senior clerk, a sober,middle-aged man, waited.

  “The documents about rice storage are on your desk, sir. They seem accurate.”

  “Ah. Is there any new business,Hamaya?” Akitada asked, as they passed through to the quiet archives where two shivering junior clerks were shuffling papers. Akitada was headed for a corner room under the eaves that he had made into his private office.

  “Nothing, Excellency,” said the thin Hamaya, hurrying after him.

  In his office, Akitada removed his quilted coat. Hamaya received it respectfully and waited as Akitada sat down at the low desk.

  “I don’t understand it,”Akitada muttered, rubbing his chilled hands over the charcoal brazier filled with a few glowing pieces of coal. “The notices have been posted for days. A province of this size must have a tremendous backlog of civil cases. My predecessor not only departed without explaining the empty granary, but he left unfinished business.”

  The clerk still stood,clutching Akitada’s clothing. “Under the circumstances, I suppose,” h eventured, “it is a good thing, sir. Only two of the clerks have reported for duty.”

  Akitada rubbed his belly morosely. He still suffered from occasional bouts of cramping and had refuse dbreakfast as well as another dose of Seimei’s bitter brew. Now his stomach grumbled also. And he still felt ashamed of his outburst in the courtyard. By losing his temper he was playing into the hands of enemies who apparently manipulated both the tribunal staff and the local people. Since his visit toTakata, Akitada thought he understood the reasons for his difficulties.

  Now he looked at his clerk. “Tell me, Hamaya, are you and the other clerks afraid to come to work here?”

  Hamaya hesitated, then said, “I believe that the two youngsters outside have great need of their salary because their families are very poor. As for me, I have no family and need not fear anybody”

  Akitada clenched his fists. “This is intolerable!” he muttered. He thought for a moment, then said, “Tell my lieutenants to report when they are free. I know you and Seimei are still organizing the archives, but have one of your clerks make a search for information about the outcasts and their dealings with the Uesugi family.”

  He spent the next hour as he had for the past week, reading reports left by his predecessors. Some of these were woefully sketchy and tended to cover up the fact that the incumbent had been unable to cope with matters. A pattern began to emerge. Of the four types of major reports each governor or his representative had to dispatch to the capital every year, three showed adequate levels of productivity for the province. These were prepared carefully and signed off on by the governor. The fourth report, called the court report, was a different matter. It indicated the condition of the provincial administration, both of its buildings and supplies and of its staff. These reports listed woeful shortages, were poorly written and prepared, and liberally laced with complaints by the incumbents.They pointed to inadequate staffing, insufficient funds, lack of labor, and lack of grain delivery to the provincial granary. The specific details were better than the conditions Akitada had found, but they explained to some extent why governors and their representatives had eventually absented themselves from the provincial capital. The tribunal was “uninhabitable” and the staff “nonexistent,”one recent official had written.

  The documents Uesugi had provided to account for rice collection and storage were as neat and careful as the earlier three. They specified what amounts were stored locally and what had been shipped north as provisions for the fighting troops.

  The difference between the court report and the others, as Hamaya had explained, was that anything involving the collection of rice and tribute was in the hands of the high constable. The appointed officials had simply approved documents prepared elsewhere.

  It was an appalling situation.Akitada was effectively without the authority he needed to govern.
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  When Tora and Hitomaro reported, he said, “Sit down! The day for registering civil suits is past. I fully expected a stack of depositions by now, yet not even a single case has been filed. Since human beings cannot live together for a whole year without disagreeing, we must assume that the people have been instructed not to file their claims with this court.”

  “But why worry?” asked Tora. “It’s less work.”

  Hitomaro shot him an impatient look. “Think, Tora. If there’s no work for him, our master will be recalled.”

  “Exactly,” said Akitada. “Someone wants to be rid of us, and everything points to the Uesugi.”

  Tora thought about it. His face darkened. “What if we don’t leave?”

  Hitomaro grunted. “What? Five of us against hundreds of Uesugi warriors and thousands of locals? And the provincial guard are not exactly our friends either.”

  The five were, of course, all male and included, besides Akitada and his three lieutenants, the aged Seimei. Akitada said, “I’m glad you understand our position.” Unlike Tora, who was the son of a farmer, Hitomaro belonged to provincial gentry and was therefore better educated and quicker to see political intrigue. “Since, as you remind us, we are without military support, we must find allies as quickly as possible. We need the support of the local people and must try to win their trust. That is why I wish we had court cases. They attract the curious, and we might gain a bit of respect among the townspeople that way.”

  Hitomaro scratched his short beard. “There is always the case of the innkeeper’s murder. They brought in the suspects last night. Chobei and his men have been questioning them all night and say they have confessions. You could hear the case instead of Judge Hisamatsu.”

  “I have to show cause to do that.” An uncomfortable silence fell. Akitada’s stomach growled noisily.

  Tora and Hitomaro exchanged glances. Tora said, “I bet they beat those confessions but of them, sir.”

  Akitada shifted in his seat.Constables customarily flogged prisoners to encourage confessions. By law, a confession was necessary for conviction of a crime, but these confessions had come very promptly, and the questioning might have been rather too efficient.He frowned and said unhappily, “I suppose I could take a look at the documents.Tora, go get the transcripts of the interrogation!”

  Tora returned with a fistful of loose papers and a grin on his face. “That threw them into a proper tizzy. Didn’t want to turn them over. Said they were for the judge’s eyes only. I had to use a bit of pressure.”

  Akitada noted his bruised knuckle but said nothing. Instead he took the papers and sorted through the badly written pages of questions and answers. They did not take long to read.Akitada laid down the last page with a sigh. His lieutenants looked at him expectantly.

  “I’m afraid the evidence is solid. There are witnesses who have identified two of the men as belonging to a notorious gang which has been robbing inns up and down the northern road. The one called Takagi had the bloody knife still on him when he was caught. He is from this province.” Akitada paused. “And the other two, Okano and Umehara,have signed confessions.”

  Tora and Hitomaro said simultaneously, “But, sir-” and broke off. Tora nodded to Hitomaro. Hitomarosaid, “If you will permit, sir, Tora and I’ll have a look at the prisoners.”

  “No. I don’t want to give that judge any more reason to complain that I have been interfering in his affairs.Just return the transcripts with my thanks.”

  They exchanged glances again.Hitomaro bit his lip. “Tora and I heard screams during the night. It soundedlike torture. The prison is part of the tribunal. What goes on there falls under our jurisdiction.”

  Akitada thought about the brutish Chobei and his men. “Very well. But make it an inspection rather than an investigation.”

  They returned quickly. Hitomaro was grim-faced, and Tora barely suppressed his outrage.

  “The inhuman bastards nearly killed them,” he snarled the moment he entered. “There’s no way those poor devils could have done it. I’ll never believe it. You’ve got to investigate,sir. It’s just common decency.”

  Akitada looked at Hitomaro.

  “Tora is right, sir. If you would take a look at Umehara and Okano, you’d see that they could not possibly be robbers. A mouse would send them scurrying. Those confessions were beaten out of them. We’ve seen their backs.”

  Akitada still hesitated.Uncooperative defendants often got a taste of the “green bamboo,” but both Tora and Hitomaro knew that. “Hmm,” he said. “What about the third man? The one withthe knife.”

  “He looks worse than the others. And he never confessed. They got tired of beating him.”

  Tora said, “They’ll kill him,poor brute.”

  “Hisamatsu has already released the body for cremation. Tell me again what you found at the inn.”

  They did. Tora laid much emphasis on Chobei’s officious behavior and the judge’s lack of interest in thecase.

  Akitada sighed. “Very well.Bring the prisoners to me one at a time. And tell Hamaya to come in and take notes.”

  The first to arrive was Umehara. He was in his fifties, a skinny fellow with alarge runny nose and a continuous shiver. When told that he was before the governor, he crouched on his knees and trembled so badly he could hardly support himself. His eyes were red, either from his cold or from weeping.

  Akitada saw that the man was on the point of physical collapse. “Get him a cup of warm wine, Tora,” he said. “Have you had your morning meal, Umehara?”

  The prisoner gaped at him.Someone had knocked some of his teeth out recently and his gums still bled a little. Akitada repeated his question and got a shake of the head in answer. “Can you speak?”

  “Yes.” It was a croak, like an old man’s, hoarse and quavery. “I don’t think I could swallow food.” He received the brimming cup of wine with trembling hands and drank, then asked timidly, “Is there good news? Have they found the real killer?”

  Akitada raised his brows. “No.According to the documents you have confessed to the murder of the innkeeper.”

  Tears rose to the man’s eyes.He trembled again. “Will there be more beatings?”

  “No, but it does not look good for you.” Akitada watched him sink back dejectedly and added, “I wanted to heary our story myself. From your deposition I see that you arrived in town two days before the murder. What made you choose this particular inn?”

  Umehara recited hopelessly, “Ia lways stay at Sato’s. It’s cheap. I sell weaving supplies. In my line of work,you can’t afford to spend your income on high living.” He paused. “But it was different this time.”

  “How so?”

  “Old Sato was sickly, and his new wife didn’t want to be bothered with commercial travelers. When I got there, she was angry with him for giving me a lower rate. He walked away, and she told me to sleep on the kitchen floor or pay extra.”

  “And you slept in the kitchen?”

  The man nodded.

  “And the murder happened during the night?”

  “Not that night. The one after.”

  “Very well. What happened the next day?”

  “The next morning the wife left. The maid was supposed to take care of her sick master and the guests. The girl had a cold and did as little as possible.”

  “Yet you stayed for another night?”

  The wine must have given the prisoner some of his strength back because he spoke more easily now. “I didn’tmean to, but I needed a new backpack. I paid a fellow twenty coppers for one.He cheated me. There was a hole in it. But I didn’t know that and left it at the inn while I went to call on a customer in the city. I didn’t get back till evening rice. Too late to leave by then.”

  “I see. What about your companions?”

  Umehara looked uneasy. “They’re strangers.”

  “They arrived after you?”

  “The actor must’ve come late the first night. I found him there in the kitchen when I woke up. P
eople like that keep late hours. And Takagi came the next day after I’d left to take care of my business.”

  “What about the two pieces of gold they found on you?”

  His eyes widened with fear. “They were mine. I swear it.” He nearly wept again and looked at Akitada beseechingly. “I don’t like to carry loose coins, so I always change my coppers into gold. I tried to tell the constables, but they said I was lying. Your Honor, I swear I’m innocent. Buddha’s my witness.”

  “Hmm. So during the night of the murder you slept on the kitchen floor with your two companions?”

  Umehara nodded, sniffed, an dwiped his nose on his sleeve.

  “They were, as you said,strangers to you, yet you were not afraid that they might steal your gold?”

  Again Umehara became evasive. “Theyl ooked decent enough. Just hardworking fellows like me.”

  Akitada raised his brows, bu tonly asked, “Did they get up during the night?”

  “I don’t know. I sleep like the dead.”

  An unfortunate remark, but Umehara apparently was not aware of it.

  “So now we come to the morning after the murder. Why did you all leave the inn together before anyone was up?”

  “We knew there wouldn’t be any food in the morning and wanted to make an early start.” He shook his head. “Icould’ve made good money. So many customers still to visit in the northern part of the province. A lot of orders, what with winter coming. Why, I could have earned at least another gold piece. And now my money’s gone-and I’ve lost my customers, too.”

  Akitada nodded to Hitomaro, who helped Umehara up and led him from the room. Akitada winced when he saw the blood stains on the back of the man’s jacket.

  Tora said, “You see what I mean? That dried plum hasn’t got the willpower to say ‘boo’ to a mouse. He’d never have the get-up to kill someone.”

  “It does not take much strength to slit the throat of a sick old man,” said Akitada. “A woman could do it.”