“You will return it? It is all I have left of her.”

Akiko cried, “Of course.”

The homeward journey was filled with Akiko’s loud chatter and frequent demands to stop and have a peek at the journal. When a rather silent Akitada refused, she spent the time on various theories about what it might contain. They were almost home before Akitada had the heart to spoil her pleasure.

“It may not contain anything useful. If it did, Lady Hiroko would have told us. I doubt Lady Masako knew her danger. She would not have made the lonely journey to the villa, knowing that someone wished her dead.”

Akiko was silent for a moment. Then she raised her chin. “Well, in that case we must read between the lines. I have a knack for that sort of thing. I always knew ahead of time what the characters in Lady Murasaki’s novel were going to do next.”

Spies

Tora waited for Saburo in front of Mrs. Komiya’s little house. He passed the time charming Saburo’s landlady, who had noticed him and come out.

“I knew right away he was good man,” she said to Tora after he had introduced himself. “I got a feeling for that sort of thing. And I have a big heart. The poor man looks terrible, and people are unkind or fearful. They believe they see goblins and oni everywhere. Me, I’ve never seen one of those, so I’m not afraid.”

Tora regarded her with surprise. He had never really seen any apparitions either, but he believed in their existence with every fiber of his being. He said cautiously, “Well, Saburo’s had some bad luck. And you’re right. He’s a good man. I can testify to that.”

She smiled and nodded. “And you’re his friend. I must say you two couldn’t be more unlike.” She chuckled. “Hell and paradise, you might say.”

Tora shook his head. “You should look past the outside of things. That’s what Master Kung-fu-tse said.”

“I know, I know. But it’s what people think when they see you two together.”

Tora humphed and wished her gone. Fortunately, Saburo appeared around the corner at that moment, his scarred face breaking into one of his twisted smiles.

“Tora. Mrs. Komiya. You’ve met, I see.”

“Your friend’s a very handsome fellow.” Mrs. Komiya ogled Tora.

“Unlike me,” remarked Saburo, “but he’s a good sort for all that.”

This made her laugh, and she left them to their business.

“I only have a small room,” said Saburo. “Maybe we’d better talk while we’re strolling down to the river.”

“Suits me. The sun’s still high and a walk along the Katsura should be pretty this time of year.”

“Yes. The cherry trees are blooming. But you have news?”

Tora related recent events, making his own role in the rescue a fairly hair-raising feat.”

Saburo was suitably impressed. “I’m glad your master wasn’t badly injured.”

“Your master, too,” reminded Tora. “He sent me to tell you he wants you back.”

Saburo frowned. “I’m no use to him. I’m not even a good secretary. All I do all day long is to keep the accounts. It only takes an hour here or there.”

Tora stopped. “Don’t forget you have other useful skills.”

“Those are the ones he doesn’t approve of.”

Tora said, “He’ll come round. He always does.”

“I know he’s kind, but his position makes it impossible for him to allow the sort of things I do.”

“As long as you don’t kill anyone or cause a scandal, he doesn’t need to know precisely how you get information. He wants you to help me clear Genba.”

Saburo said nothing.

They took up their walk again. Long stretches of greenery hinted at the open countryside. Dotted about were occasional vegetable gardens with fruit trees in bloom and a shrine or two.

They reached the river and stopped under one of the flowering trees. Ducks paddled near the shore. The Katsura River would join the Kamo River south of the capital, and together they would become the Yodo and end up in the Inland Sea. They had both been there, working together and almost dying. It was then that Saburo had joined the Sugawara household.

“Remember Naniwa?” Tora asked.

“Yes.”

A long silence fell, then Saburo sighed. “I think what you propose may be possible, but I dislike concealing my activities from my master.”

Tora burst into a shout of laughter. “That’s surely a lie, my friend. Your whole life’s been dedicated to hiding what you do.”

Saburo’s lip twitched. “Well, yes. You got me there.”

“Anyway, that’s why I’m here. The master wants us to find Tokuzo’s killer, and it looks like he’s one of your kind. You’re a spy, and so is he probably. Who better to find him than you?”

Saburo shot Tora a glance. “You make it sound so easy. Do you have any proof he’s a shinobi?”

“I think he’s the man Genba encountered just before the murder. The one who dropped the assassin’s needle. And surely he’s the one who knocked you out inside the brothel and took back his needle?”

Saburo grunted. “It could have been coincidence.”

“Don’t be an idiot. You know I’m right. Someone paid him to kill Tokuzo. The master and I think it may have something to do with Tokuzo’s treatment of his girls.”

Tora explained about the deaths of Miyagi and Ozuru. “I don’t think Ozuru’s family is at the bottom of this, but I haven’t been able to get hold of Miyagi’s people. Their name was Satake. The neighbors say the old people moved away and died, but you never know. The master wasn’t satisfied. Maybe you could find out what happened to them?”

“Yes, but it could still just have been a robbery gone wrong. Tokuzo had all that gold in his place. Maybe he interrupted the robber.”

“You mean the guy Genba ran into was a robber?”

Saburo sighed. “No. If he was a shinobi, he wasn’t there for robbery. There could be someone else involved.”

Tora grinned. “Well, you should know. Will you look into it?

Saburo nodded.

They stood a while longer, watching the ducks and some boats on the river. Above them, the blue sky shimmered through the blossoms of the cherry tree. Then they parted, Tora to return home, and Saburo to begin his search.

Saburo wanted to prove himself. His self-respect had suffered severely when he was dismissed. But he faced a dilemma with this case. In spite of his words to Tora, he was convinced the killer had been a trained shinobi, a shadow warrior, as he himself had been. He had no proof of this, except the reasons Tora had cited and a strong suspicion about his identity.

Instead of going to the address Tora had given him, Saburo decided to talk to Shokichi first.

Shokichi was at work at this hour. At the Sasaya. Steeling himself, Saburo walked to the Willow Quarter and the late Tokuzo’s brothel. His arrival there caused consternation. The customers sitting around drinking stared at him. Saburo called the waitress, a plain girl who turned pale and pretended not to have heard.

“Hoh!” shouted Saburo again. “Service!”

No reaction.

“You there! Girl! Come here. What does a man have to do to get a drink in this place?”

Tokuzo’s mother put her head through a door to see what the shouting was about. The girl finally came, but she avoided looking at him.

“So,” sneered Saburo, “I’m not to your taste, am I?”

She shuddered. “What can I bring your honor?”

Saburo still smarted from her behavior. “How much for a night with you?”

She started shaking. “Twenty coppers,” she murmured so softly he could barely hear her.

“Too much for someone like you,” he sneered. “Where’s Shokichi?”

The girl turned and ran to the back door where she told the old woman who gave a nod and disappeared. Soon, another girl appeared. She was older than the first and approached him calmly, sitting down across from him.