constables eventually showed up and asked a few foolish questions. That, too, was as usual.”
“If the three travelers hadn’t stayed here, who would you think would’ve done such a thing? His widow’s young and handsome, and he was an old geezer. There could’ve been all sorts of mischief.”
The doctor raised his grizzled eyebrows. “You didn’t like the beautiful Mrs. Sato? Too bossy? Been listeningto gossip? Well, apart from the fact that she was not here and could not have done it herself, I’ve never heard anything against her. I expect the widow’s only problem is too much
“Yang? Who’s he?” Tora askedsuspiciously.
The doctor smiled and patted Tora’s arm. “Well, there is
Tora’s forehead creased as he pondered that. “I see, and I also see that she probably led her husband by the nose. Even with all that
The doctor laughed. “Maybe so,maybe so. Farewell, my friend.”
Tora returned to the kitchen where the maid was preparing the medicine. She greeted him with a big smile. “You’re back! Give me a moment to tend to the sick man and we’ll talk.”
Tora moved closer and ran a finger down her cheek. She giggled. He blew in her ear and murmured, “I’d rather see you after work, sweetheart. When it’s more private. By the way, I’m Hiroshi.”
She put down her ladle and turned a flushed face toward him. “Oh, yes, Hiroshi. You’ll be back? Truly?”
Tora grinned and nodded. When her eyes began to shine, she looked almost handsome, though he wished she wouldn’t bare those crooked teeth which reminded him a little of fangs. Her sturdy, buxom body, at any rate, promised a vigorous encounter, and Tora felt magnanimous.
She said eagerly, “I sleep in the storeroom behind the kitchen. Come after the hour of the boar. There’s a door next to the rain barrel.”
The sharp voice of her mistress sounded from the passage. Tora pulled her close and, fondling a plump breast,murmured, “I can’t wait,” and departed.
He spent the rest of the day in the market, chatting with merchants about thethree prisoners and consuming a modest meal of stuffed rice dumplings before returning to the Golden Carp well after dark. The gate stood invitingly openfor late guests, and a dim paper lantern was lit near the door. But Tora headedfor the darkness in back of the inn.
When he opened the rickety doornext to the rain barrel into pitch blackness, a pair of sturdy arms seized him.Jerked forward, he overbalanced and tumbled, flailing wildly, into a soft nestof bedding and warm female flesh.
She gasped at his sudden weight, then giggled. “What took you so long?”
He chuckled and explored withhis hands. She choked on a little scream when his cold hands found her soft,warm belly. “You might’ve warned me,” Tora murmured into her ear, his hands busily investigating and approving large breasts, firmly muscled thighs, and a smooth bottom.
She gasped again, and tugged impatiently at his sash. “Oh, Hiroshi. I’ve been waiting so-o long,” she moaned.
Tora had planned to spend a little time getting acquainted and picking up some firsthand information about the murder before proceeding to more personal matters, but clearly the young woman had her mind on other things-and who was he to teach her modesty?
Sometime later, when they lay contentedly side by side, he asked, “Why would a nice girl like you work for a mean woman like that?”
She sat up. He could feel her staring down at him in the dark. “You don’t admire her?” she asked in a tone of surprise and disbelief. “Why not? All the men are mad about her.”
“I hope my taste is better than theirs,” Tora said primly.
She lay back and snuggled into the crook of his arm. “She’s a bitch all right. An ungrateful bitch. But he deserved her. After all I did for the old bastard for years, he had to go marry her. He was a fool about that woman. Would you believe, he’d make me ask the fishmonger for free fish bones to make soup, but whenever she wanted a new gown, he’d give her the money and more. How that man spoiled her! And she’d be gone all day, leaving me to do all the work. I was always taking care of him.Even the day he got killed. She went off to visit her family-or so she said-leaving me alone with her sick old man and the inn to look after. And now she’s got it all and I’m still the kitchen drudge. It’s so unfair.” She pounded her fists into the bedding. Tora patted her shoulder and made soothing noises.
“Well,” he said after a moment,“she’s hired those girls and the new cook. You’ve got a lot less work, I bet.And more time for me.” He gave her a little squeeze.
She giggled and rolled on top of him. “You’re right. I’m not tired,” she whispered, biting his ear and pressing her breasts against him.
Tora gave an inward sigh and stroked her buttocks. Their lovemaking had been good, but now he wanted to get on with his job. Still, there was no reason an experienced man couldn’t do both. “I guess your mistress paid him back with a bit of this at night,” he said, pulling her down on himself, “and he thought it a good bargain.”
“Oh, no,” she gasped, moving energetically, “she wouldn’t have him … and he, fool that he was … doted on her anyway.”
“Maybe she has a lover.” Theg irl was so agile, Tora was having difficulty concentrating on his questions.
“Mmm! … I like you.”
“You’re not bad yourself, my girl!” He grunted and forced his mind back on business. “I suppose she could’ve paid to have the old man killed.”
She stopped moving abruptly.For a moment she said nothing, then, “I thought she didn’t like those three.Made them sleep on the kitchen floor and said it was good enough for such rubbish. But it’s true, they did do her a big favor. Never mind. The dirty old bastard deserved what he got.” She sounded venomous when she said that, and started moving again, furiously, mumbling, “Bastard … mmm…aah!” Shec ollapsed on top of Tora with a sigh. “That woman doesn’t know how lucky she is! I tell you, she owes me!” she muttered, as they rolled apart.
Tora frowned in the dark. Kiyohad some unexpected attitudes toward her employers. He wondered about thewidow. “Well, did she have a lover?” he asked again.
“She’s a cold fish, though she acts the slut with those weird eyes of hers, and men like that. No, making money and buying clothes for herself is all she’s interested in.”
“That night Sato was killed,did you hear anything?” Tora asked, pulling the quilt over their sweat-covered bodies.
“Not me. I had a bad cold. Took some of the old man’s medicine with a little hot wine and slept like a bear. I’m glad they didn’t slit my throat, too. Would’ve been easy enough. Say, what is this? Let’s talk about us!”
Tora pulled her close. “I was thinking about you, all alone with those killers in the house,” he whispered in her ear.
She cuddled. “You know, I couldr eally go for a man like you! And not just in bed. Do you like me?”
“What do you think?”
“Want to do it again?” She propped herself on an elbow, and tickled his ear.
Tora almost yelped. “Look,Kiyo, a girl shouldn’t ask a man. It’s forward. A man likes to be in control of these situations.”
She flopped back down. “Well,if you really want to know, my cold was horrible. What with the medicine, and feeling that awful, I couldn’t cook dinner that night and forgot all about old Sato. I did feel bad about it the next morning and, seeing that the three guests had already left, I made him a special soup, with bits of mushrooms anda handful of rice and some bean paste. He used to like that before the bitch moved in. And there he was, blood all
