verdict?”
The judge’s belligerence told Akitada that he still disliked and distrusted him. Anger stirred again. The old man was insufferably rude, and Akitada was fed up with the disrespect he had been shown by all and sundry lately. If the judge was already hostile, he had nothing to lose. He raised his chin and said rather sharply, “I was taught that justice requires us to question the truth. The man you condemned to exile is dead, but he was my friend and I’m alive to keep a promise. That is why I am here. Tomonari Haseo was falsely accused and the real murderer is free.”
Masakane’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You talk nonsense. At best you are carried away by false sentiment. At worst…”
Akitada interrupted, “I trust my record speaks for my integrity, sir. I must ask you to think before making rash accusations.”
The judge looked startled. He bent forward a little, as if he distrusted his hearing. “Are you correcting my manners?”
“I’m only pointing out that we are not going to get anywhere unless we both attempt to observe minimal courtesies, regardless of our private opinions.”
Masakane smiled thinly. “How foolish you are. I don’t want to get anywhere, as you put it. It is you who wants something from me.”
Akitada sighed in defeat. He rose and bowed. “In that case, forgive me for having troubled you.”
Masakane waved a thin, spotted hand. “Sit down. Sit down. I have nothing better to do. What do you want to know?”
Akitada sat. “I would really like to read the trial transcripts.”
“Impossible. They have been sealed, and you would need an order from the chancellor himself to unseal them.”
“Then I must rely on what you remember.” Akitada saw Masakane’s frown, and added quickly, “It was more than five years ago, and no doubt many witnesses appeared in so heinous a case. I know that the main witness was the accused man’s own nurse.”
“And what a witness! Distraught, of course. She suckled him and raised him through his childhood and now had to condemn him. But she served in his father’s house and she saw it all happen. This was a much stronger case than the one against your retainer. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the accused was guilty.”
“She claimed to have seen both murders done?”
“Yes.”
“But were there other witnesses?”
“Why worry about them? It is the nurse who is your problem.”
“I believe she lied.”
Masakane stared at Akitada. After a moment, he said, “I have heard that you pursue even the most far- fetched notions with incredible determination. Sometimes successfully. But this time you’re quite, quite wrong.”
“What about the other witnesses?”
Masakane pursed his lips. “Let me see. A maid testified that father and son had quarreled before. And a monk saw the murderer run toward the house with a terrible look on his face. Ah, yes. A local overlord offered your friend employment when he heard that he wished for independence, but he was turned down quite rudely. I think the young man said he knew of a better way to get what he wanted.”
“The local overlord would not by any chance be Yasugi?”
“Very clever. Yes, it was Yasugi. Of course he is the only man of influence in the area. The Tomonaris came down in the world as the Yasugi family rose. There was no love lost between them. All in all, Yasugi behaved rather well, I thought.”
“He may have had his reasons.”
Masakane frowned. “It doesn’t matter. His testimony was not needed. Anybody in the village could have told you that father and son did not get along.”
“What happened to Haseo’s wives and children?”
“I expect they went with the condemned. It’s customary.”
Akitada almost jumped up. “No, they did not. He was alone in Sadoshima. He left his three wives and six children behind.”
Masakane raised thin brows. “In that case the women may have remarried or returned to their families. Was there anything else?”
Akitada rose and bowed. “No, Your Honor. Thank you for your time. I hope you will forgive the rude intrusion.”
“Hmmph,” said Masakane.
Akitada was frustrated. He had exhausted the sources of information in the capital. Haseo’s hometown was the only place where he could learn about everybody’s movements on the day of the double murder and find out what had become of Haseo’s family. He firmly put aside the notion that he also wanted to see Lady Yasugi again.
When he got home, the gate opened to let out an elderly man accompanied by a young boy carrying a wooden case. The older man’s dark robe and the case identified him as a doctor. Seimei, his face tense with worry, was seeing them out.
Akitada wondered if Tora or one of his friends had taken a turn for the worse. Looking after the two figures, he asked, “Who needs a doctor?”
“Yori, sir.” Seimei’s voice was as bleak as his face.
“What? Yori? What’s the matter with him?”
Seimei hung his head without answering. With a sudden sense of dread, Akitada took him by the shoulders and shook him. “Speak, old man. What’s wrong?”
Seimei winced. “It could be smallpox, sir. Of course it is still early… and besides he is such a strong, healthy boy…”
But Akitada was already running toward the house.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
It was twilight in Yori’s room even though the sun had not set yet. Reed curtains had been lowered across the openings to the veranda and garden, and Yori was surrounded by low screens and blanket stands. Inside this cocoon the little patient lay under piles of silken quilts, ministered to by his mother and Seimei. The air was stagnant, warm, and heavy with the smell of pungent herbs.
Akitada pushed aside one of the blanket stands so roughly that it toppled and spilled the quilts and robes across the floor. Tamako jerked around and stared up at him with red-rimmed eyes.
“How is he?” Akitada asked harshly.
She shook her head and turned back to the child.
Akitada knelt beside his son. Yori was so smothered by bedding that only his eyes peered out at his father. The eyes were dull and feverish. Akitada pushed aside the quilt to touch the boy’s forehead. The child was burning with fever, yet his skin was dry as paper.
“Father, I’m so hot,” Yori whispered hoarsely. “I’m on fire.”
Akitada flung back the bedding. The little body looked small and forlorn among all the quilts. Someone had wrapped a thick layer of floss silk around the hips and lower abdomen. Yori started to shiver violently.
“Don’t uncover him.” Tamako’s voice was sharp. “The doctor said he must be kept warm at all times.” She tucked the blankets back around Yori.
“He is uncomfortable,” protested Akitada. “He needs air. And something cool to drink.” Yori whimpered and nodded.
