Death on an Autumn River Read Online Free PDF

too careful, you know.  Everybody and his dog walks in here.  So, you’re here, Sugawara, and what d’you think of the place?  Ever been to Naniwa before?  Know any of the local luminaries?  Got connections?”  He paused and moved quickly to look past Akitada.  “You’re alone? Tsk , tsk .  Should’ve brought your people.  You’ll have to do your own work then or use my people.  Well, let’s not stand here.  Come in, come in.”  Nakahara dashed back behind the pile of goods.
    Akitada followed more slowly.  This did not promise well.  He had been told that Nakahara probably could be trusted, but this official seemed an oddly careless person and lacking in good sense.
    On the other side of the pile of goods was a reasonably large area with Nakahara’s desk and several smaller desks.  Doors stood open to a courtyard.  Nakahara grabbed one of the new silk cushions from the pile and dropped it on the floor beside his desk.  The desk was large but barely visible underneath mounds of loose papers and open document boxes.  An abacus balanced precariously on top.
    Nakahara waved at the cushion.  “Make yourself comfortable. It’s a little cluttered here, but for all that, it’s handy.  Well, mostly.  I think, I misplaced the lists of tribute goods from Chikuzen.”  He sat down and began to rummage.  The abacus slipped and would have struck his head if Akitada had not caught it.
    “Oh, Morito?” a youthful male voice called from beyond the pile of goods.  A smiling young face looked around the boxes. “Dear me, you’ve got company.  Hello, there.  Morito, we’re sending out for food.  We thought Uzura’s Crabhouse would be nice.  Can we order something for you and your friend?”
    Akitada’s jaw nearly dropped at this young man’s casual manner.  Nakahara seemed to see nothing wrong with it.  He smiled.  “No, thank you, Yuki.  This is Lord Sugawara.  Just arrived from the ministry in the capital.  You might tell Tameaki to find a room for him in my house.  I expect we’ll walk into town for a while.  He’ll want to have a look around.” To Akitada, he added, “You never said if you’ve been here before.”
    Akitada shook his head, still speechless.
    “Good,” said Nakahara, rubbing his hands briskly.  “That’s what we’ll do.  But it was very good of you to ask, Yuki, and the crab rolls at Uzura’s are very fine.  Very fine.”  He licked his lips. “ Perhaps we’ll . . . but never mind, I’ll leave it up to our guest.  So run along, Yuki.”
    The youth grinned.  “Well, if you’re headed there, stay away from the sake.  Uzura spikes it with something that’ll curl your hair.  You know what happened last time.”  His chuckle turned into a peal of laughter and he vanished.
    Akitada found his voice.  “Who was that?”
    Nakahara looked a little shamefaced.  “Oh, that’s my senior clerk, Nariyuki.  We call him Yuki.  A very funny fellow.  Likes to tease.  You’ll like him.”  He lowered his booming voice to a whisper, “Nothing like that stiff and proper black crow Tameaki.  That one has no sense of humor or friendliness.”
    Akitada took it that Tameaki was the very serious young man who had shown him in.  His opinion of Nakahara plummeted further.  He took his papers and the documents from his sleeve and passed them across.  “The Minister of the Right has asked me to deliver these letters and to assist you in any way I can.  He has signed my credentials himself, as you will see.”
    Nakahara stared at the batch.  “Did he now?  You must be important, then.”  He flipped through them.  “Where is it?  Oh, never mind.  I’ll read it all later.”  He shuffled Akitada’s documents together, found a loose piece of silk cord and tied them up.  “Now, what do you say?  Shall we walk into town?”  Not waiting for an answer, he hopped up and headed past Akitada to the door. 
    Being accustomed to the bone-chilling