Kobe eyed the captive Ishikawa. "Put the chains on him a bit more tightly this time," he told the constables. "This one takes advantage of good treatment." To Akitada he said, "Well, your trap caught the sly fox! And now we got him on new charges. We heard what he told you. It's as close to a confession as I had hoped. Add the jailbreak and trying to murder you and he's as good as condemned."

Ishikawa made some gurgling protest as one of the constables knelt on him and the other tightened the thin chains around his wrists and neck.

"There was no attempted murder!" cried Akitada, shocked. "He brought no weapon and had nothing more in mind than giving me a good drubbing. As it turned out, I was easily able to defend myself. And he only confessed to tying Oe up, not to slashing his throat."

Ishikawa, jerked to his feet by the constables, protested and one of the constables slapped him viciously, telling him to shut up.

Kobe watched with great satisfaction as the two constables marched the moaning and grimacing student out of the room and down the steps into the courtyard.

Akitada said angrily, "Did you hear what I said? There was no need for this violence."

Kobe grinned. "After the lashing my men got for letting him escape they are understandably put out with Ishikawa. What do you think would happen, if I were to take the prisoner's side against them?"

"But he did not kill Oe! Let him go with a warning!"

Kobe looked surprised. "I thought your note made it clear that you meant to trap the killer. Maybe you didn't expect that it would turn out to be Ishikawa, but I believe we got our man. He's too deeply involved to be an innocent bystander." He rubbed his hip with a grimace. "Oh yes, I heard everything the arrogant bastard said. The crawl space under this hall is not very comfortable, but you can hear every word."There was another flash of lightning. "Beastly weather," Kobe muttered, glowering at the sky. "Well, I must be off and you had better go home, too."

"But you know very well whom we expected tonight."

"Not 'we.' I never believed there was anything to that," Kobe grunted. Flexing his shoulders, he stalked out. As if to punctuate his exit, a long peal of thunder rumbled overhead.

Akitada opened his mouth to call him back, but thought better of it. Kobe had made up his mind. Shaking his head, he went back to his desk. He no longer seriously believed that the murderer would come, certainly not after all the commotion of Ishikawa's arrest. It would have to wait for another opportunity. But he wished he could get the matter over. He needed to do this as much for Tamako and her father as for himself. There would be no peace for them until Hirata's death was avenged. Perhaps there was still a chance the killer might come. Rubbing fresh ink, he bent over his student papers.

Time passed slowly. Outside the storm seemed to have stalled. For the past hour, there had been little change. The darkness was now impenetrable except when lightning played behind the clouds, followed by the rumbling sound of thunder. The wind tossed the branches of the pines from time to time, but there was no rain yet. Akitada thought again of leaving. Chances were good that he would not get a soaking if he went now. Perhaps he could have his dinner with Tamako if Seimei kept their secret. They had so much to say to each other that somehow had not been said the night before. It was strange how with the act of lovemaking a relationship became so utterly changed that one had to begin to discover the other person all over again. Akitada smiled, warmed by a joy which was as new to him as it was all-consuming.

He stared at the paper he was reading. It was dull and full of repetition, and he had a feeling he had scanned the same words for the third time. He made up his mind to leave as soon as he had finished it and had deciphered and corrected another sentence, when suddenly there was again the crunching of the gravel. He froze and listened.

Light steps, accompanied by a rustling of stiff silk, ascended the wooden stairs and crossed the veranda towards his room. Akitada looked at the open doorway and saw a patch of yellow light growing brighter.

Short and dapper, Okura stepped in and closed the door. In spite of the threatening rain, he was dressed in a court costume of heavy green silk and his formal hat was tied firmly under the weak chin. In one hand he carried a lantern.

"You should really keep that door closed against the storm," he said in his high voice, peering around the plain room. "I see you poor teaching fellows must be hard at it till all hours," he added genially, echoing Ishikawa.

Akitada nodded. "As you say." He wondered what he should do, now that Kobe and his men were long gone. Well, something would occur to him. "Please take a seat. I am glad you decided to accept my invitation."

His guest made no move towards the cushion, but walked past Akitada and into the dark main hall. "Hmm," he said, holding up his lantern and looking about him, "It's a pleasure to visit the old classrooms again. You don't mind?" Without waiting for Akitada's answer, he walked away towards the other rooms.

Akitada got up and followed him. The small foppish figure tripped along in such a childlike manner that he could not work up any fear of the man. He had handled the much larger Ishikawa. Okura was frail by comparison and a coward to boot. The real difficulty was in getting him to confess to Kobe.

Okura's lantern bobbed along ahead of him, its yellow glow disappearing into one room after another, then shining out on dark verandas circling the outside of the hall. He was making sure they were alone.

In due time, he strolled back, saying, "Yes, it brings back memories, though it looks even shabbier than I remembered. I would have asked you to my own office instead, but I expect to move to larger quarters soon." He preened a little, brushing a finger over his tiny mustache. "Perhaps you have heard the rumors? I am marrying into one of the most powerful families in the realm. The Otomos' mansion is in Sanjo ward, and I shall reside there in the future. The adoption proceedings are almost completed and will result, naturally, in promotions and a higher rank."

"My congratulations," remarked Akitada dryly.

"Thank you. The fact is that you have caught me at a good moment. A month later and my rank would not allow us to meet on this familiar footing."

They returned to Akitada's room, where Okura blew out the light in his lantern and minced to the cushion, seating himself and arranging his figured silk robe carefully around him. "Now, what is all this nonsense about Hirata having visited me to discuss Oe's death?"

Akitada brought out the journal and opened it to the last page. He passed it to Okura and went to sit down himself. "I have been puzzled by this entry. Perhaps you would like to explain?"

Okura read and sighed. Putting the journal into his sleeve, he rose. "My dear fellow," he said silkily. "Surely you don't think I will stand still for more blackmail? No, no! You must not even think it. I paid dearly for first place. Oe struck a very sharp bargain, but I paid off. Is it my fault that the greedy fellow would not share and could not handle that radical, Ishikawa? What a slimy bunch all of you professors are."

"I am afraid you must return the journal. It is evidence against you in Oe's murder."

Okura raised thin brows to stare down at Akitada. "Don't be silly! This is nothing. It does not mention names. To be sure, if one were curious, one might guess. But the whole thing is so easily explained away as a simple matter of rewarding one's favorite professor. And who would dare question me now on such charges?"