The Emperor's Woman (23 page)

Kobe beckoned over an older policeman. “See to it that Lady Sugawara has an escort home and then station five men at her house for protection.” He turned back to Tamako. “Please calm yourself. I’ll do everything I can to bring your husband back.” He cleared his throat and tried to look stern. “Really, he ought not to put you to such worries. What is he thinking of?”

She managed to say in a firmer voice, “You were his friend once and should know Akitada will always take risks to right an injustice. He told me about this case because he knew it might be politically dangerous. I support him in whatever he decides to do.”

Kobe looked away. “Yes, ahem. Well, you’d better go home now. We’ll see to it.” He gave a signal to her bearers who picked up the palanquin and trotted off.

Tora pushed his poor horse unmercifully. No more leisurely trotting like on the way to Yasaka village. No more pleasurable viewing of the countryside. He had nearly worn out the beast when the road began to climb into the mountain and he had to slow down because of loose rocks on the path. He worried he might have taken a wrong turn. This poor track seemed unlike anything an imperial prince would travel, let alone one of the emperor’s women. Eventually he dismounted and led the horse. He had not seen a soul for miles and should have asked direction from the last peasant he had passed a long time ago.

When he reached a hut where an old man was sunning himself on the front steps, he was relieved. He walked over, calling out, “Greetings, grandfather. Is this the way to Prince Atsuhira’s villa?”

The old man smiled and bowed his head in greeting.

Or maybe he had nodded. One could not be sure. In any case, he was still smiling and blinking against the sun.

“I’m on the right path then?”

No answer.

Tora looked around. Perhaps there was someone else he could talk to. He tied his horse to a post and started around the hut. The old man took his stick, got up, and followed him. He moved slowly, swaying from side to side.

It was terrible getting old. Tora slowed to let him catch up. “Are you alone here, grandfather?” he asked, raising his voice in case the old-timer was deaf.

The old man, still smiling, shook his head. “Nope. Birds,” he croaked. “Deer. Badgers. Foxes.”

“But no people?”

“People?” said the old man dubiously. “A few.”

“What about the prince? Have you met him?”

This time he got what was clearly a nod. After a moment, it was followed by a shake of the head. Tora sighed. It was better to die young than to end up like this, old, weak, and crazy.

Then he heard the woman’s call.

The old man turned and started back. “The wife,” he said.

Thank heaven, thought Tora, unless she proves even more decrepit.

They found her standing beside Tora’s horse. When she saw him, she asked sharply, “Are you looking for someone?”

“As it happens, yes. My master, Lord Sugawara. He came up here yesterday, and hasn’t come home.”

“Amida!” She clutched his arm. “Come. Maybe you can do something. If it isn’t too late.” She pointed to his horse and started up the path, huffing and puffing as she hurried.

Tora, his heart heavy, untied his horse and caught up with her. “Where is he?”

“Fallen over the cliff,” she gasped and kept going.

Tora cursed, got on his horse and drove it uphill.

Those who meddle in the affairs of His Majesty will die.

The first thing he saw when he reached the plateau where the villa stood, was his master’s horse, still tied to its post.

He was consumed by a furious anger at those in power or wrangling to gain power. They thought nothing of getting rid of anyone who stood in their way. He swore he would make unending war on them, if they had harmed his master.

The old woman caught up and disappeared around the corner of the building. Tora left his horse and scrambled after her. Behind the villa, the mountain dropped off into space. Below lay the green and golden plain where many hundreds of roofs and pagodas spread all the way to rivers and the edge of the northern mountain range. He took in none of this. His eyes were on the edge, where the old woman stood looking down into nothingness.

She shouted, “Ho, down there? Can you hear me? Someone’s come for you.”

If matters had not been so desperate, Tora might have laughed that he was being announced like a messenger. As it was, he went and looked down. He saw nothing, just a steep decline of rocks and twisted pines and a few patches of grass.

“How far down is he?” he asked, despair gnawing at his belly.

“Don’t know. He could’ve fallen again during the night.”

Oh, gods!

“How do you know he’s down there?” Tora tested the edge and noticed a freshly broken section.

“I thought he’d left. I heard his horse on the path. Later I went up to see if he’d closed the shutters. He hadn’t. And there was his horse, so he couldn’t have left. I didn’t know what to do. Then I thought I heard someone calling. From just about there.” She pointed toward an outcropping that hid what was below. “I shouted down, but there was no answer. I left after a while. I thought I’d imagined it.”

All night!

He’d fallen and shouted for help and no one had come. And the old woman had done nothing.

Tora felt vomit rising in his throat and swallowed.

“He could’ve fallen again,” she suggested.

Tora wished her to the devil. The damned ghoul had been useless. He gauged the way down to the outcropping and saw some places where he might get enough hand- and foot-hold to climb down a ways. Starting downward gingerly, he let his feet seek for support as his hands grasped at likely shrubs and protruding rocks. It had rained overnight, and the rocks felt greasy with moisture.

The old woman watched him. “You’ll fall down the mountain, too. Better get back here.” She sounded anxious.

She was not nearly as nervous as Tora, whose boots kept slipping on the wet ground. Nevertheless, he moved slowly downward. A small crippled pine was strong enough to hold on to, and he mastered another long step. Soon he would be at the edge of the outcropping and able to see past it. But the next stretch was tricky. The more he felt around with his free foot, peering down, the shakier he felt and the more tenuous the next step became. It might just be feasible if he could reach that old root protruding from a crack, but he would have to let go with his other hand and trust the root would hold his weight. If it did not, then both he and the master were lost.

The old woman had fallen silent. Tora did not bother to see if she was still there. He thought of Hanae and Yuki. They deserved better than to have him die today by falling off a mountain. And the master might already be past saving. He reflected sadly that they had always deserved better than a husband and father who was forever looking for danger and excitement.

He let go and flung himself downward, catching the root which cracked ominously but held long enough to let him take another quick step to a small ledge.

Catching his breath, he looked down and gasped.

The master lay some twenty feet below him, prone on another ledge, one so narrow that his arm and one leg hung over the side. He was not moving. Tora was afraid to call out, because he might startle him into make a sudden move and tumble over the side. Below was a straight drop no man could survive.

But the continued stillness of the figure below might mean that rescue was already too late.

Tora looked back up and realized for the first time that he had no way of bringing up his master’s body. In fact, he did not know if he could climb back up to the top himself.

Akiko Investigates

T
amako was pacing. She was far more upset than at any time since the terrible illness had taken their son Yori. There were similarities, she thought. Both times she had had a premonition, a very strong conviction that disaster loomed, and that she must act to avert it. Only she did not know how any more now than she had then.

This time it was Akitada who might be taken from her. Perhaps he had already been taken. The possibility of having lost him was unbearable. For all that he had frequently irritated her in the past with his stubbornness, Tamako knew him to be a gentle and caring man who loved her. To her, he was everything, perhaps even more than the children, though the thought shamed her. If his duties and interests took him away too much and occupied his mind to the exclusion of his wife and family, then that was a man’s privilege. A woman lived for her husband and children. Oh, what would become of all of them?

Into her terrified imaginings burst her sister-in-law.

“Wait until I tell you,” she cried, eyes sparkling with excitement and her movements those of a young girl. “Where’s Akitada? Send for him. He must hear this!”

When Tamako made no move, her eyes sharpened. “You’ve been crying,” she said accusingly. “You look terrible. What’s the matter with you?”

The reprimand did nothing to steady Tamako. “Akitada’s not come home,” she wailed. “Something’s happened to him. Oh, Akiko, what shall I do?”

“What? Don’t be silly. Nothing’s happened to him. Nothing ever happens to Akitada, you know that. He gets into a bit of trouble and immediately gets back out. What do you mean, he hasn’t come home?”

Tamako explained with a shaking voice.

“Oh, is that all? You know very well that his horse may have gone lame and he decided to spend the night somewhere. Just hope he doesn’t have a girlfriend someplace.”

That was so ridiculous it made Tamako smile. “Not Akitada,” she said loyally.

“He’s a man,” Akiko said darkly.

Tamako shook her head. “No. I have this feeling. Something’s wrong. And he’s been working on this cursed case. He knew it was dangerous and asked me about it, but I told him he should go on with it.” Tears started flowing again.

Akiko went to the door and called for the maid.

Sumiko appeared, saw her weeping mistress, and cried, “What’s happened to the master?”

“Not you, too,” snapped Akiko. “Go make your mistress some soothing tea. And if you put honey and a little juice from an orange in it, you can bring enough for two.”

The maid disappeared, and Akiko made Tamako sit down and tell her where Akitada had gone and why. “Surely,” she said, “there’s nothing to be found after all those months and when the police have already investigated.”

“Perhaps not, but your brother was restless. So many things have gone badly lately. I thought he should have something to occupy him.”

Akiko was amused. “I see you manage your husband much the way I manage mine.”

They exchanged a smile. Tamako asked, “What was the great news you were bringing when you came in?”

“Oh, I’ve had such fun, Tamako. No wonder my brother gets involved in every murder he comes across. You should have seen me. I asked questions, put my nose into matters that shouldn’t have concerned me, told such fibs, and flattered so grossly that Akitada would have been proud of me. And I got results. I wish he were here. You know, I sometimes get the feeling he hasn’t a great deal of respect for me.”

Tamako blinked. “Oh, I’m sure you’re wrong. It’s just that his mind is always on other things.”

“Yes, that’s true. The man cannot pay attention. I have a notion I may be much better at this than he is.” Akiko grinned. “I do wish women could get about more. Perhaps I could specialize in crimes committed in the women’s quarters. I think I’d be very good at that.”

Sumiko came with the tea, and the ladies sipped. Tamako found that she had relaxed and regarded her sister-in-law fondly. “Thank you for coming,” she said simply. “I needed your visit.”

Akiko waved that away. “You and I always got along. I give Akitada credit for choosing the right wife. Even Mother agreed. Now let me tell you what I found out.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Well, I visited Lady Kishi yesterday. She seemed in good spirits, and we talked a bit about children. I said I worried every day about securing the futures of my mine. She made suggestions for the boys, and we drifted quite naturally to the fate of girls, then to marriage and husbands who have outside interests.” Akiko paused to giggle. “You and I don’t have that problem, but I pretended I was familiar with her predicament.”

“Akiko! How can you speak that way of your husband who is the best of men?”

Her sister-in-law preened herself a little. “I make sure he stays interested. But to go on, her main worry is also for her children. She says she’s decided to ignore the prince’s escapades and wait for the day when a son of hers will gain enough power to provide his mother with the status she desires. So, I don’t think she would have bothered with having the emperor’s woman killed. It doesn’t make sense. Kishi knows what’s good for her.”

“Her name is Lady Masako,” Tamako corrected. “She never was in His Majesty’s bed. And you cannot believe everything people tell you.”

“How do you know she’s not shared his bed?” Akiko raised her brows quizzically.

“Well …”

“She was a woman. And as you pointed out, you can’t believe everything. Women don’t tell their lovers the truth. It’s entirely possible the child she carried was the emperor’s.”

“Oh, Akiko. How horrible! Surely she wouldn’t have gone to the prince while expecting His Majesty’s child.”

Akiko smiled and shook her head. “His Majesty’s still a boy. He’s not nearly as dashing as Prince Atsuhira, a mature male with the most extraordinary good looks.”

“You have seen the prince?”

“Certainly. His looks are common gossip among women. I saw him years ago when I was peeking out of a carriage at some festival. And I’ve seen him since when calling on his wife.”

Tamako pursed her lips as the pondered this. “But what motive would her killer have had in that case? Punishing her for her infidelity?”

“No. The succession, of course.”

“Akiko, this is becoming more dangerous by the minute. And now Akitada has gone missing. I think we must stop.”

“Nonsense. Akitada will be back soon, and I love a good story. Anyway, I didn’t say anything about my suspicions to Lady Kishi. Instead I asked her help to find out more about Masako. She told me that Masako had an attendant assigned to her in the palace. She is Nagasune Hiroko. A good family but without influence. And the girl is plain. The two were supposedly close. I shall try to pay her a visit next.”