In view of the provocation, Akitada decided to ignore her outburst. “You were shown the corpse of a mutilated man,” he said. “Did you recognize him?”

“Aiih!” she cried. “It was horrible! It turned my stomach what they did to poor Mr. Kato.”

“Answer the question.”

“I recognized him. May the Buddha comfort his soul! It was Mr. Kato, one of our guests. He died last week. Someone must’ve stolen the body. They cut off his feet and hands. And shaved his head. Who’d do a nasty thing like that to a dead man? I hardly knew him except for that ear of his. I nursed the poor man till he died. The doctor and my mistress saw him, too.”

“Dr. Oyoshi has already identified the body. Where is your mistress?”

Kiyo spread her hands. “Who knows? She says she’s sick but she stays away a lot. I bet she’s meeting some man.” She turned to shoot a venomous glance in Tora’s direction and shook her fist at him. “She’s a fool.”

Akitada snapped, “Stop that! Did this Kato die from his illness?”

“Yes, sir. The night after the doctor came. The mistress sent for someone to take his body away.”

Akitada said, “Let the record show that the maid Kiyo has identified the body left at the tribunal gate as that of one Kato, a guest who died of an illness at the Golden Carp.” Turning to Goto, he asked, “What do you say now?”

The fishmonger was trembling. He prostrated himself, knocking his head on the floor, and cried, “Forgive this ignorant person, your Honor! My brother had disappeared and I... my eyes are weak. Heaven be praised it is not my brother! But the rest was true. Kimura did fight with Ogai, and now Ogai has disappeared.”

Akitada said, “Bring in the other prisoner.”

The constables dragged in a burly man in chains. He was quite ugly, with the straggly beginnings of a beard surrounding a slack mouth which lacked most of its front teeth. One of his arms was bandaged to a piece of wood.

The moment he appeared there was a cry from the crowd. A thin man in a hemp jacket and short pants pushed his way to the dais and fell on his knees.

Akitada rapped for order, and waited impatiently until the constables had made their prisoner kneel next to Goto, whose mouth fell open in surprised horror. The resemblance between the two men was apparent.

Akitada nodded to the thin man and said, “State your name and purpose here.”

“This insignificant person is called Kimura. I’m a plasterer and a neighbor of that lying piece of dung Goto. Goto told everyone I murdered his brother Ogai, but there is Ogai, safe and sound.” Kimura pointed at the ugly fellow with the bandaged arm. “Goto lied because I built a dam across the creek that waters the land he stole from us, so now the land’s no good to him. Please, your Honor, tell him to stop making trouble for me.”

Akitada frowned. “I am glad that you have finally come forward with your complaint. Let it be a lesson to you next time to have the court settle your disputes. I have reviewed the documents of your case since they had some bearing on Goto’s charges. The court gave the land to your neighbor on the evidence of a bill of sale and tax receipts for more than ten years. Why do you claim he took your land?”

“I have no proof, your Honor,” Kimura said sadly, “except that my father did not like Goto and would never have sold him the land.”

“Was it not customary ten years ago to have a sale witnessed by two neighbors of the owner?”

Kimura looked blank, but someone in the crowd shouted, “That’s true. They changed the law later.”

Akitada turned to Goto. “Why does your bill of sale not have the signatures of both witnesses?” he asked.

Goto paled. “A small oversight,” he pleaded.

“You lie,” said Akitada, nodding to one of the constables who stepped behind the fishmonger with his whip.

Goto shrank from him in horror. “No! Not another beating! I’ll tell the truth. Old man Kimura agreed to the deal, but he died before he could put his mark on the papers, so I did it for him. I didn’t know about other witnesses.” He prostrated himself, crying, “Please have mercy. Please forgive an ignorant person.”

Akitada snapped, “Why should this court believe you? You lied when you falsely identified the body. Who put you up to that?”

Goto wiped sweat and tears from his face. “Nobody,” he wailed. “I was trying to save my brother’s life. That’s why I said the dead man was him. So the soldiers would stop looking for him.”

The crowd had fallen silent, caught up in the proceedings, but now someone in the back shouted, “Don’t listen to the dirty bastard, Governor. He’s always been a liar.”

The constables made a show of glaring at the offender, and Akitada turned to the fishmonger’s brother. “State your name and profession.”

“Ogai,” the man muttered sullenly. “I’m a corporal in the provincial guard.”

“Not much longer,” shouted a jokester from the crowd.

Akitada frowned at the audience. He hoped the sweat beading his face was not visible. “I am told,” he said to the prisoner, “that you deserted and were discovered hiding in the outcast village. What part did you play in your brother’s false accusation of Kimura?”

“None.” Ogai avoided looking at Goto. “I know nothing about that. It was all Goto’s idea. Just like the land deal. He made me pick a quarrel with Kimura.”

“You lying bastard!” Goto grabbed for his brother, but a constable struck his hand with the butt of his whip.

Ogai growled, “I’m not getting anything out of this. You are! You’re the one stole the land. So don’t pin your troubles on me. I’ve got enough of my own.”

“You do indeed,” said Akitada. “I am glad you understand the seriousness of your position. You are not only a deserter, but you have proven your bad character by committing a rape in the outlaw village that offered you protection and hospitality. I have no qualms about turning you over to your captain for military trial.”

Ogai wailed.

Akitada ignored him and turned to his brother. “You, Goto, shall receive fifty lashes and do six months of conscript labor for the government. The disputed land shall be returned to Kimura, the tax payments you made serving in lieu of rent that you owe him. In addition, your own property shall be confiscated and sold. The proceeds will go to Kimura in compensation for the false murder charge. Constables, remove the prisoners.”

The crowd broke into noisy cheering. Akitada, aware only of a mind-paralyzing tiredness, raised his eyes and lifted his baton to rap for order before closing the hearing when he saw that Seimei’s startled attention was on the side door nearest him.