The Dragon Scroll by I. J. Parker

but she had already slipped away with a silken rustle, leaving behind her only the scent of her presence.
     
    He stood on the threshold, bemused and oddly bereft, and watched her walk back to the house, her colorful jacket and graceful movements reminding him of a gorgeous butterfly caught incongruously in a world of winter snow.
     
    * * * *
     

SIX
     

     
    FANNING A FOG
     
     
    A
    kitada turned away from the empty, wintry garden and back to its maker’s corpse. Bending to the scattered documents, he began to sift through them. Not surprisingly, given his suspicions, they had no bearing on the tax thefts.
     
    With a sigh he replaced them roughly the way he had found them and stood up to stretch. Then he heard voices outside, one of them belonging to the boy Junjiro. Apparently the authorities had arrived.
     
    He was mistaken, for it was a uniformed Captain Yukinari who was disputing with the boy. When Yukinari saw Akitada in the doorway, he bowed with military precision.
     
    “I came as soon as I heard, Excellency,” he said, running up the steps purposefully. “It’s truly terrible news.”
     
    Akitada thought Yukinari looked pale under his tan and that his eyes had a tired, haunted look. Was it grief for Lord Tachibana? Surely not. They could not have been very close. There was the difference in their ages, plus the fact that Yukinari had only been in Kazusa since summer. Yet he looked as if he had not slept at all. Akitada said noncommittally, “Yes, indeed, Captain. But what brings you here?”
     
    Yukinari flushed. “I had business at the prefecture when Sato brought the news. Forgive the rude question, Excellency, but how is it that you are involved in this?”
     
    “I was paying a courtesy call and found the body.”
     
    Yukinari came closer, but Akitada made no move to invite him in.
     
    “He fell, I was told,” Yukinari said, trying to peer over Akitada’s shoulder. “I have asked him many times to be careful. He was becoming quite frail. You know perhaps that he had passed his sixtieth year? A very great age, that.”
     
    This made Akitada think of the beautiful young girl he had held in his arms and he was inclined to agree. He said, “You must have known him then. He did not look particularly infirm to me. Such thin, ascetic-looking people often live much longer than their more well-fed contemporaries.”
     
    The captain seemed at a loss for words. He looked nervously down the path and scratched his chin. “Ikeda is on his way. He’s coming himself. If you have more important business elsewhere, Excellency, I could stay here. I daresay you would just as soon not be bothered with this matter.” His eye fell on Junjiro, who was hovering nearby, listening avidly to every word. He frowned at him.
     
    “Thank you, but no,” said Akitada, pretending shock. “I feel it is my civic duty. You, on the other hand, are not at all involved, are you? Though, of course, you may wish to offer your support to Lady Tachibana.”
     
    Yukinari’s head jerked around. He stared at Akitada, opened his mouth, closed it again, then bowed and strode away rapidly. Akitada watched him turn toward the gate. He was puzzled. This was the second time in as many days that Yukinari had betrayed some strong emotion.
     
    Akitada was still pondering the meaning of Yukinari’s behavior when Ikeda and his people, led by old Sato, appeared around the corner. Ikeda wore the same dark blue silk robe from the evening before, making Akitada wonder if anyone had slept the night before. With him were two minor officials and two constables in red coats, bearing the bows and quivers of their office.
     
    When Ikeda saw Akitada, he made a formal deep bow. The others, looking confused, followed suit.
     
    “What an unexpected honor,” Ikeda murmured, coming up the steps. “The servant told me that Your Excellency had the unpleasant experience of finding the body. An extraordinary coincidence.” He managed to make the