Tora peered and blinked; his reading skills were still very elementary. "I can't quite make it out."

"Kurata."

"Kurata? Holy Kwannon! Can it be? Oh!" Tora straightened up and hit his head with a fist. "I'm so stupid!" he cried. "I was in his shop myself! And I never recognized the place from the canal side. You mean it was him?"

Akitada nodded.

"He's the one that choked Omaki to death with her own sash?"

Akitada nodded again.

"The bastard! I suppose he took the sash away so nobody would trace it to his shop?"

"I believe so."

"But he gave it to Umakai. Why'd he do that? He's not the type who'd spare a thin copper for a starving man."

"He had to get rid of it quickly and made the fatal mistake of thinking that giving it to a beggar was the most efficient way of doing that."

Tora's face broke into a broad grin. "Blessed be the name of the Buddha! It served the devil right!" Then his eyes widened. "And what's more," he cried, "it was me that told you about him in the first place."

Akitada laughed. "It was indeed, Tora. I would have got nowhere without you. Come, mark the spot where the warden pulled the body from the canal, and then we'll take your information to Kobe."

Tora reached for his master's brush, licked it, and then touched it to a bit of drying ink. He carefully put an X in the canal behind Kurata's shop, and they smiled at each other with satisfaction.

The captain was pacing up and down in his office when Akitada and Tora were shown in. His eyes passed over Akitada and went to Tora. "Are you the one who left the message about the beggar's body? Where the devil have you been?" he snarled.

Tora looked to Akitada who raised his brows and said, "He has been running an errand for me."

Kobe glared. "And I suppose you've come to gloat."

"Not at all. But I did wonder if you had any news."

"We dug him up. The coroner says it was murder. Someone strangled him, just like the girl. He was already dead when he was dumped into the canal. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"It is what I expected to hear," Akitada corrected him. "I am sorry it happened, but at least it helped Tora solve both murders."

Kobe stared at Tora and then back at Akitada. "You're joking. He solved the murders?"

"Why not?" They locked eyes. Kobe looked down first, and Akitada continued, "Since I was busy at the university, Tora has been working on the investigation. He has talked with Omaki's parents and her fellow entertainers in the Willow Quarter. Yesterday he went into the city to look for Umakai. He found him too late, but the old man did not die in vain. His murder finally proved who killed Omaki."

Kobe's fists clenched. "I'd like to know why your servant did not come here to report? If he found out anything about the girl's associates, he should have told us. Today we spent hours looking for him to ask him how he found the body."

Akitada said firmly, "As I said, I sent him for more information and he has just returned. We came as soon as we had anything useful to report. Now will you pay attention or are we going to waste more time?"

Kobe glared and growled, "What new information?"

Akitada spread out the warden's map on the desk and pointed to Tora's mark. "I believe this is where the beggar's body was recovered by the warden of the quarter?"

Kobe leaned over to look and nodded. "Yes. Just about there. Why?"

"Note the name of the adjoining property owner." Akitada placed Seimei's list of merchants next to the map. "And then take a look at this! These are the merchants who delivered goods for the poetry contest to the park the afternoon the girl Omaki died. The same name appears again."

Kobe picked up the list and scanned it. "Kurata." He glanced at the map. "You think one of his employees did it?"

"No. We think that Kurata killed the girl because she was expecting his child and demanded marriage, and that he killed the beggar Umakai because he could identify Kurata as the man who gave him Omaki's brocade sash."

Kobe laughed out loud. "Impossible! Kurata owns the best silk shop in the capital. Big merchants like him send their shop assistants and porters with the stuff. He'd hardly have carried it himself."

"I believe he went himself and even carried some of the silk cushions. It was an important order. Besides he had made a deadly appointment with the girl, and the porter's role was a good disguise."

"You are guessing."

"No. It is the only solution that fits all the facts. Omaki knew all about the park closing, but entered anyway. The guard saw her arriving, but forgot all about her because later he was kept busy admitting deliveries. You asked him about other visitors, and he only mentioned Tora and me. It never occurred to the man to include the deliveries. As far as he was concerned, they had legitimate business there. It follows that Omaki must have made an appointment with someone who was making a delivery."

Kobe thought about it and nodded. "I suppose that's possible."

Akitada continued, "When Tora visited the dead girl's family, he ascertained that she not only owned the costly brocade sash with which the murderer strangled her— a nasty touch, that— but also other gifts from his shop."

Kobe glanced at Tora. "But a man like that? A respected citizen? How would he meet someone like her?"

"Oh, he's a regular at the Willow," volunteered Tora. "The auntie there knows all about him. The Willow is the restaurant where Omaki played the lute."

Kobe stared at Tora, then turned back to Akitada. "So what if he did get her pregnant? Why didn't he buy her off? He's said to be wealthy."

Tora said, "Because his old lady frowns on his skirt chasing. And it's really her business."

"What?" Kobe started pacing again. "I suppose it could have happened that way," he muttered after a few moments. He went back to study the map and nodded. "So Umakai did see the killer after all," he said. "Why didn't the old fool tell us? He'd be alive today."

Akitada said, "He did."

Kobe straightened up and looked at Akitada. "He did not. All he gabbled about was Jizo. You heard him yourself."

"Precisely. The statues of the god Jizo traditionally wear red caps, because mothers make them as gifts when they are asking the god to protect their sons. Bearers also cover their heads with a piece of cloth when they carry heavy loads on their shoulders and heads. I think you will find that Kurata's people have red caps."

Kobe looked furious. "Have you known this all along?"

"No. But I believed that Umakai had seen something. I tried to find a connection between the Jizo story and the murderer. The deliveries to the park reminded me of the fact that bearers commonly wear some sort of cap. After that it was easy to guess what must have happened."

Kobe bit his lip. He grunted. "So you think the old man really recognized Kurata? Do you think he went to blackmail him?"

"No, I think Umakai must have glanced into Kurata's shop and recognized a manifestation of Jizo. I doubt he realized what he was up against. He probably told Kurata how he lost his gift. Perhaps he asked for another brocade sash. Of course Kurata could not let him live after that."

Kobe stared at Akitada for a long time. Then he cursed and sat down abruptly, putting his head in his hands and muttering, to Akitada's surprise, "So that heartless bastard killed an old man who thought he was Jizo! Damn it! It fits, and I should have seen it!" He jumped up again and pointed an accusing finger at Akitada. "But you and your servant should have reported sooner what you knew! If you had not been trying to be clever, we could have questioned Kurata days ago."