“Oh.” Tora’s face reddened. He reached for the note. “I guess I got some of the characters mixed up. The fact is, I had a shocking night.”

Akitada’s stomach hurt, and Tora’s problems were not his. He snapped, “Well, well? What did the doctor say about the medicine?”

“Oh. Can you imagine, he recognized me right away and knew all about your loose bowels? He must have the eyes of a cloud dragon!”

“Medicine!” Akitada bellowed. “What am I to do with these pellets?”

Tora looked hurt. “You take one in some hot wine three times a day.”

“Hamaya!”

The clerk put his head in the door. “Excellency?”

“Some hot wine. Quick!”

“Well, as I was saying ...” Tora tried to continue his report.

“Wait!” Akitada scowled ferociously, and Tora sank into glum silence.

After the wine arrived and he had taken his first dose, Akitada sighed and remarked more peaceably, “It was good of you to stop by the doctor’s place and ask for these. I am sorry I snapped at you. What shock did you have?”

Tora did not meet his eyes. “Uh ... I didn’t exactly... that is, the doctor recognized me at the Golden Carp and asked about your, uh ... and gave me the pills. I offered to pay him, but he said not to unless they work. The fact is, he was calling on a patient at the inn. Mrs. Sato wanted to get rid of a sick guest, but the doctor forbade it. She was very angry. She said sick guests are bad for her business, and this one also had no money. When the doctor left, I ran after him to pay for the poor fellow’s medicine. That’s when ...”

Akitada held up a hand. “Wait! If you were at the Golden Carp, you may as well start your report at the beginning. What did you find out in the market?”

Tora shifted miserably. “A little. There was one fellow who thought he’d changed money for Takagi or someone like him, but he wasn’t sure about the day. Two men remembered Okano’s act in the wineshop.” He sighed deeply. “There’s not much point in checking out those guys. I know they didn’t do it.”

“And how do you know that?” Akitada asked, astonished.

Tora swallowed. “I ... the maid and I, uh, last night. I thought it was a good way to get some information. Amida, I shouldn’t have touched her. She did it, sir! She killed the old man. I bet the bitch slits men’s throats regularly. Start digging behind her kitchen and no telling what you’ll find. She gets ‘em in her bed and then ...”

“Tora!”

Tora stopped and looked at him blearily.

“Did she admit to the murder?”

“Not in so many words. But I knew. I put the clues together, just like you do, and they added up.” Tora raised a finger and counted off, “One, she hates her mistress, but not because she works her too hard or pays her too little. Oh, no! She hates her because old Sato married a pretty young thing and doted on her. Two, Kiyo—that’s the maid’s name—used to take care of Sato. If you know what I mean.” Tora glowered.

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, yes,” Tora said bitterly. “She’s one of those females who can’t get enough of it. I guess even an old geezer would do for her.”

“Hmm. Why are you so upset?”

Tora looked at Akitada. “It’s disgusting—like I slept with a leper.”

“You think she killed her employer? Why?”

“She hated him. You should’ve heard her. She went on taking ‘care’ of him after his marriage because the wife wasn’t interested, but it was the wife he gave the money to, the wife he talked about in bed as if she were some kind of goddess. Well, one day, while the wife was visiting her parents, she got fed up and took her revenge and his gold. I bet Kiyo figured the money was hers—for services rendered. She must’ve done it that afternoon, while the three guests were at the market. Nobody saw or heard old Sato after midday. And remember, she used her own kitchen knife. Takagi saw it in the kitchen in the morning, but in the evening, when they were back from the market, it was gone, and she was slicing radish with a little knife. So you see? She had the motive and the opportunity.”

Akitada nodded. “Those are very good points.”

Somewhat consoled, Tora concluded, “There’s one more point, and it clinches the matter. After those three fools went to sleep, she slipped back into the kitchen and put the bloody knife in Takagi’s bundle. Who else could’ve done that?”

“Hmm.” Akitada thought, pulling his earlobe and pursing his lips. “It seems to me you supposed a lot of things. What did she actually say?”

“What I just told you. How she took care of him all those years, and the wife didn’t, and how the wife got everything she wanted and was ungrateful.”

“But that is hardly a murder confession, is it?”

Tora looked confused. “But... you should have been there, sir. It would have turned your stomach, she was so full of hate. It had to be her.” He shuddered. “I slept with a murderess.”

“Well, let it be a lesson to you not to sleep with every girl you run into. You have made an interesting case against that maid, but for the moment we do not have enough evidence to arrest her. Where is Hitomaro?”

“He hasn’t come in? That’s not like Hito. I’ll go look for him.”

“No.” Akitada pushed the documents aside irritably. “We don’t have the time. While you and Hitomaro were out, I have been checking the records. We have a bigger problem than that murder. For three generations now, the Uesugi have ruled this province as their personal domain. During that time they resisted every effort by the government to bring Echigo in line with the Taiho and Yoro law codes. No wonder Judge Hisamatsu runs his court to please the lords of Takata and himself. No wonder the three travelers are being made scapegoats. I expect miscarriage of justice has been the order of the day. And no wonder everybody wishes to be rid of me.”

“Let them try!” Tora said belligerently.

Akitada gave him a long look. “Think, Tora. We have no real power. We don’t even have the support of the military guard, and there is no police force. On five separate occasions the imperial government has dispatched trained police officers from the capital with instructions to set up a local force. The Uesugi sent them all back, claiming that a high constable and a judge were all that is needed. In consequence, the local people take their orders from Takata and ignore us.”

“Why didn’t the other governors object?”

“Apparently they were bribed or threatened into acquiescence.”

Tora’s mind returned to another matter. He frowned. “Something must’ve happened to Hitomaro.”