The Masuda Affair by I. J. Parker Page A

he introduced as Judge Nakano.
    Nakano looked at him and frowned. ‘Surely,’ he said to the warden, ‘this confinement is not necessary. I doubt Lord Sugawara would run off like a common criminal. Take us to a private room.’
    A more hopeful Akitada was soon seated across from Nakano in a small back room where the warden stored his documents. But if he had thought that this promising beginning would lead to a rapid dismissal of the charges against him, he was disappointed.
    Nakano stared at him for quite a while before he said, ‘I am afraid the charges are serious. Very serious. We have had such cases before. Apparently, there is a call for small children – boys, I should say – in some circles in the capital.’ He made a face. ‘So far the villains have been common criminals. Yours is a peculiar case.’
    Akitada, who by now had a very good notion of what he was being accused of, snapped, ‘I have no idea what you are talking about. I found this child a few days ago. He was wet, hungry, cold, and apparently lost. I bought him food and dry clothing, and when his alleged parents finally remembered him, I returned him to them with a gift of money to take care of him. Today, I found him tied by his neck like a dog behind their house. He was bruised and cut from a recent beating. My money had been spent on new clothes for Mrs Mimura and heaven knows what else. I was outraged and took the child away with me. That’s all.’
    ‘Hmm. The parents maintain you stole the boy from theirvillage and spent the night with him in the Inn of Happy Returns.’
    ‘I found the boy on the highway.’
    ‘But you spent the night with him?’
    ‘What else should I have done? Abandoned him in the street in the rain?’
    ‘But then you went back to get him again, and again you took him to the inn. Why did you come back for the boy? Warden Takechi says you intended to buy him. For what purpose?’
    Realizing belatedly the unfortunate name of the inn, Akitada flushed. ‘I lost my son this past spring,’ he said stiffly. ‘It pained me to see another boy mistreated.’
    ‘Hmm.’ The judge regarded Akitada fixedly. Silence fell. Nakano clearly did not believe that a man of Akitada’s rank would bother to adopt the ragged, deaf-mute child of a fisherman.
    ‘You are charging the Mimuras?’ Nakano began again. ‘With what?’
    ‘Torturing the child. Stealing him. Taking my money under false pretenses.’
    Nakano considered. ‘The last one might work. Dubious, though. I think you’d better drop the charges and hope the Mimuras are willing to forget your behavior in return for some payment for their pain and suffering.’
    Akitada fumed. ‘Absolutely not! What about the child’s pain and suffering? And what will become of him?’
    Nakano sighed. ‘This cannot be very good for your reputation, sir.’
    ‘Let
me
worry about my reputation.’
    They glared at each other. Nakano looked away first and said, ‘You are senior secretary in the Ministry of Justice?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘It would be quite wrong to hold you here, under the circumstances. On the other hand, we must make certain that you will attend your trial. Feelings in the community run high in this case. Shall we announce that you will deposit a certain sum in gold as surety for your return?’
    Relief washed over Akitada. ‘How much?’
    Nakano pursed his lips and then mentioned an amount that was surprisingly close to what Akitada had in his saddlebag.
    Akitada agreed.
    Nakano rose and bowed. ‘Delighted to make your acquaintance, My Lord,’ he said. ‘I trust we shall meet again when the time comes to clear up this matter to everyone’s satisfaction.’
    Akitada got up, too. ‘What about the boy? I am anxious to have custody of him.’ Seeing Nakano’s lips tighten, he added quickly, ‘To take him home to my wife.’
    ‘Impossible.’
    Akitada clenched his fists. For all he knew, he had made the boy’s fate worse. ‘Can he remain with the people who are