The Crane Pavilion by I. J. Parker Read Free Book Online Page B

Through the double doors, Saburo could see the red coats of police. But before he and Shokichi reached the entrance, the crowd parted, and a line of policemen came marching out. In their midst was a slight figure in a white gown now terribly stained with blood. Sachi was still young and quite good-looking but for her fixed eyes. Now her head was raised, the sightless eyes seeming to search the sky for rescue. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she moaned softly. Her hands were chained together in front and two burly policemen dragged her along by this chain. As she could not see, she stumbled and started to fall once or twice. The policemen jerked her upright with a shout to “walk faster!”
    Before Saburo could stop her, Shokichi screamed “Sachi!” and rushed among the policemen to throw her arms around the blind woman. This earned her a back-handed slap from one of the constables. For good measure, he took her by the shoulders and pushed her aside so roughly that she fell to the ground. The police escort marched its prisoner away, and Saburo went to pick Shokichi up.
    She wept and railed at him for not stopping the police while he searched for a tissue in his sash to stem her tears.
    “Please,” he begged, “calm down, my love. Are you hurt? That animal! How dared he strike a woman. I’ll file a complaint against him. Hold still and hush.”
    She snatched the tissue from his hand, blew her nose, and said angrily, “This is not about me. Didn’t you see how they treated Sachi? She’s also a woman. And she’s blind.”
    “Yes, but there was no point in making matters worse. Let’s find out first what happened.”
    Shokichi looked upset but followed him inside.
    The wet steamy smell of the bathhouse met them, but there was also a whiff of something else, both sickening and disturbing. Saburo knew the smell. He had smelled blood before, his own and that of others. It seemed to come from a room at the end of the hallway to the left. Its door was open, and a few people had gathered there. Another redcoat stood at the door beside a fat man in a brown ramie robe that showed large sweat stains under the arms and around his neck.
    Saburo stopped. Shokichi had turned rather pale. He said, “I think it will be best if you stay back. Find someone who knew Sachi. Start with the bathhouse staff. Ask them if they know what happened and who the victim is. Can you do that?”
    She nodded. “What will you do?”
    “I want to have a look at the room where it happened. I’ll come to find you.”
    To his relief, Shokichi went off obediently. For a moment there, he had been afraid her anger over Sachi’s treatment by the police had spilled over to him.
    Saburo approached the fat man who was talking to the policeman. “Your pardon for the interruption,” he said, peering past them. “We came for a bath and wondered what happened.”
    The fat man turned and bowed to the customer. “Please forgive the inconvenience,” he said in an oily voice. “A small disturbance merely. I’m Jinzaemon, the owner. Allow me to show you the way.”
    Saburo eyed him with disfavor. “Someone died in there. I can smell the blood. What happened?”
    Jinzaemon fluttered a fat hand. “Sssh! No need to upset other guests. It was just a quarrel between a harlot and her customer. We discourage women soliciting here, but I’m afraid it happens anyway. The police have taken her away. It’s perfectly safe now.” He reached out to take Saburo’s elbow and lead him away, but Saburo side-stepped and slipped past the policeman to peer into the small room.
    It was barely large enough for a reed mat. Apparently it was used for massages or moxa treatments, but the scattered metal bowl, towels, and bloody shaving knife showed that Sachi had worked here, giving shampoos and shaves. Across the reed mat lay a skinny man on his side. His gray hair was undone and still wet. He wore only the thin cotton yukata provided by the bathhouse. The yukata , the reed mat,