Takao's run is noble, but far too late: inside the small cabin, he finds Hideo in his Harbor Guide uniform, lying on the ground with a knife in his belly. The ground around him is soaked with rusty dried blood, several hours old, but the rest of the cabin seems undisturbed. Whoever killed Hideo didn't quite manage a clean exit, however: partial shoeprints of bloody sandals lead the cabin's back door.
Takao notes the size of the sandals, and the pattern, before he follows the prints out the back door.
During the run, a sudden thought had come to him: what if the Harbor Guides hadn't been removed to cover the dumping of a body, but to clear the way for a barge that no one was supposed to see? He hadn't thought about it at first, because the girl had apparently been knocked out first, then killed deliberately, which looked more like a deliberate murder than just the silencing of a witness.
After this lead had run its course, Takao was going to go back to Ta and figure out what a possible destination might have been for someone who cleared this specific route.
(Takao's Track check, going at full speed to follow a character at half speed on yielding ground: 1d20+7 = 13 plus Action Die: 1d6.open = 1
Killer's Sneak check: 1d20+9 = 16 GAVE YOU THE SLIP!)
Takao's attempt to follow the tracks is not a successful one. The soft ground quickly pulled the blood from the killer's sandals, leaving Takao with just the shoeprints - and those aren't that clear, particularly once the paths get a bit more travel to them. The killer, for the time being, got away, but Takao's not one to leave it at that - now the search is on for witnesses.
(Takao's Investigate, counting the harbor area as an average-size settlement: 1d20+17 = 34 ILLUMINATING!
Takao quickly turns his search to witnesses, asking around if anyone saw a man (or woman, can't afford to be sexist with shinobi these days) come out of Hideo's hut. Most passerbys have noticed nothing, but Takao strikes gold with a fisherman who's been sitting at the shore of a nearby basin since the early hours of dawn.
"Yeah, I saw a guy," the fisherman says. "He was pretty big, you know, around the waist? He was wearing this sparkly purple kimono. Long beard, but no hair - not even eyebrows, he looked pretty weird. The damndest thing was, I saw him helping Hideo into the cabin, and Hideo was totally out of it - I mean, Hideo's usually better about his sake than the other guides, you know? Gets weirder, though! See, the big guy has this girl in the other arm, and she's even more blotto than Hideo. So this guy helps them both into his cabin, then about fifteen minutes later he walks out the back, and I'm thinking, This is pretty weird!, but you know, sometimes the traders hang out with the guides, sometimes they even buy them some...amusement. I've seen weirder people go into and come out of guide huts is what I'm saying. So this guy, he walks - and he's not running, but he's got somewhere to go, you know, he's not taking a morning stroll, eyes forward and all. And he keeps scraping his sandals on the gravel, so that is pretty weird, too. He was heading that way, you know, to the west, out of town. I figure he must have either crossed the big harbor bridge to get to the main trade road, or he took a barge from there upriver, or he's still there."
"That is very helpful. What about the girl? Did she come out as well? She wasn't in the cabin. Did she look like "- Takao adds the description from the scroll.
Takao gives the man a coin. "Can you do me a favor? Call some of Lady Ishikawa's men down here, tell them Takao - that's me - is asking for assistance. Another man has been murdered. Give them the same description you just gave me, and tell them where you think he went. Tell them they have to find the man, and I'll try to do the same. How much time has passed since you saw the man?" Takao realizes the law apparently isn't in favor down here, and keeps on adding coins to the man's hand as he watches the man's face while he's making his request.
Takao then heads west, following the fisherman's directions.
Takao hurries on to the trade camp at the harbor bridge, where he first met Lady Ishikawa's policemen. The camp is an endless, loud bustle of people, but the ronin's eyes are primed for a target - and their target they find: Takao catches sight of a bald, heavyset man with a long beard and a purple kimono climbing into the back of a wagon that's about to cross the bridge.
Takao moves through the crowd, steadily at first, then faster, until he finally bursts into a full run. For a man his size, the ronin is amazingly fleet.
As he comes close to the man, he calls:"Freeze, murderer!", and he attempts to pull the man down from the cart.
Takao's desperate lunge for the killer finds purchase, and Takao - plus a heaping helping of gravity - manage the task of bringing the fat guy to the ground. However, he seems uninclined to give up...
The fat man's silence stretches all the way to the first distant whistles - Takao turns to see several men in police uniforms running towards the scene. Among them is an older man with a scar on his cheek and fancier gold trim on his jacket. Takao wouldn't be surprised if he wore a chonmage underneath his uniform cap.
"Let go of that man and stand up!" the officer barks at Takao. "Raise your hands high, so that I can see them!"
(assuming Takao complies)
The officer turns to a young cop next to him. "Patrolman Tsu, tend to the man on the ground. And you!" The officer turns back to face Takao, taking a step forward. "What is going on here? Why did you attack this man?"
"Patrolman Tsu, watch that man on the ground very carefully, lest he stab you with a knife", Takao recommends.
"Officer, I am a concerned citizen investigating a murder on behalf of Lady Ishikawa. If I may - "Takao waits for the nod, then slowly reaches into his obi and pulls out the scroll" - this is the case. My investigations have turned up a second victim, which I have asked another citizen to report to the police, and I pursued this man in haste, as he is the principle suspect. I would be happy to come to the office with you and the prisoner and give a full report."
"Oh, you're coming to the office alright," the officer says. "I'm placing you under arrest for assault, Mr. Concerned Citizen. Patrolman Kori, secure that man."
Another cop walks up behind Takao, then grabs him by the wrists and binds his arms behind his back.
"That's right!" the fat man shouts. "Arrest this maniac! I am a law-abiding citizen, a trader on an urgent journey!"
"That urgent journey will have to wait, Sir," the officer replies. "You're coming with us as a person of interest in this case."
"This is an outrage!" the fat man says. "You can't arrest me! I've done nothing wrong!"
"You have nothing to fear from our investigation in that case," the officer says. "You got him, Tsu?"
"Got him, Sir!" the young cop replies.
With both Takao and the fat man secured, the cops take up flanking positions around the duo and lead them off towards the distant Hall of Justice. The officer walks close to Takao and restarts the conversation.
"I haven't seen you before," the officer says, "and you're not in uniform. Yet you have a case scroll of ours. Explain to me how you got that."
"I already did. Lady Ishikawa herself gave it to me and asked me to find the murderer. If you don't believe me, ask her yourself."
"There should have also been an alert down by the harbor by now, from a fisherman. I found a cabin with a second victim. I can describe where it is. I assume you'll want to send people down there, record the event, and maybe search the cabin."
"The fat man needs to be questioned urgently. There is more to this than just a murder."
"Hrm," the officer says. "Yes, we already found that body. And we are going to speak to the Lady. I really don't believe she's now sending civilians around the city to rough up suspects."
---
At the Hall of Justice, Takao is processed quickly and efficiently, bumped way up the list for an interview with Lady Ishikawa herself and placed in a separate room with her. That's about where the good news end.
"I thought I made myself very clear when you asked me this question," Lady Ishikawa says as soon as the door is closed. "What should you do when you find the suspect? I told you to fetch my men if you find the suspect. Instead, you assaulted and detained him. You had no right to do so, and what's worse, when my men questioned you, you freely dropped my name. If you had at least shut up and let them arrest you...do you have any idea how hard I have worked to make it clear to my men and the citizens of this city that the policemen are not my private army of thugs? My men wear uniforms, uphold the laws and follow our procedures."
She gives a raspy sigh.
"You're putting me in a very difficult position. By all rights, I should put you in jail for your actions. Two things keep me from it: one, for all that you're not willing to share with me, I believe keeping you locked up will allow something very bad to happen, and two, if the fisherman's testimony holds up and we get a confession from the man you caught, then the people will ask what happened to the 'hero' who caught the murderer." (Yes, Takao can hear the quotation marks on that.) "We have a hard enough time convincing everyone that our experiment is worthwhile, that policemen can be trusted to stick to the letter of the law and that every man, woman and child is equally protected by it until they are proven guilty. To answer your question, no, I would not have been happy if you had let him go, but it is better that a hundred criminals go free than one innocent man be punished. At least that is what I think. What do you have to say?"
Takao listens to his scolding with a blank face. When Ishikawa has finished, he says: "If you didn't like what has happened so far, you're almost certainly not going to like what I'm going to propose next: we should let him go."
Takao waits for a moment, but before Ishikawa can protest, he says: "The murders were a cover-up. The fat man spent good time and money last night to make sure that there were no harbor guides along a certain route, and when his distraction failed, he did not hesitate to murder any witnesses. I don't know what you make of that, but I make of it that there was an even greater crime in progress. Now, I'm guessing he won't crack under interrogation. So the only way to find out who he works for or what he's planning is to let him go again."
He exhales deeply: "Look, I'm sorry that this has put you in a difficult position. I agree with you that no innocent man should get punished. I don't agree that no suspect should get hurt, especially if he's escaping and there were several testimonies before that make his guilt almost certain. The places I've been, a single criminal with a sword can make life hell for a village, especially when he goes out and gets buddies, or even worse finds toadies in the very village he's terrorizing, who happily turn to help him and exploit their own. Crime is clear cut in those areas, and so is the proper response. This one looks clear, too, and as far as take-downs go, it doesn't get much cleaner than the one he got. He probably won't even have a bruise. I'll.. it'll take some time getting used to how things are done here. Just out of curiosity: what are your men's procedures if the suspect takes a hostage at knife-point? There were women and children around."
Ishikawa nods. "While you were away, a woman came to us telling how he saw Harbor Guide Iromi flirt aggressively with a young woman at the tavern. The only witness who was there and apparently stayed sober was Hideo...who is rather conveniently dead. The murderer is trying to tell us a story, Takao. And no matter if we believe it, we have to go by what we can prove, and right now we cannot prove a lot." She holds up her hand and starts counting off bullet points with her fingers. "Who saw your suspect besides the fisherman? More eyewitnesses will help - if he was at the tavern to pick up Hideo and the girl, maybe we can ask around there. Who owns the knife that killed Hideo? Was it the same weapon that killed the girl? We still don't know who the girl was or why she was at the tavern, either - but maybe we can tie her to the suspect somehow. We also need to look at both our witnesses and find out whether they tell the truth or if one of them might be mistaken - or lying, and if so, why. And finally, if we can find the barge shipment you suspect passed through here without the guides' knowledge, and if we could tie that to your suspect..." She sighs. "There is much to do, still."
"I'm glad our philosophies are not so different," she says. "The entirety of the problem is that you are a private citizen who assaulted another. How much you hurt him is a matter of degrees, the important thing is that you should never have laid a finger on him to begin with. I cannot hire you now; it will look like I'm trying to legitimize your actions after the fact, or worse, reward you for vigilantism. But considering that this is your first offense, you did not seriously injure the suspect and believed you were acting to prevent a greater evil, I think we can put that down as excessive zeal in your civic duty. I would let you go with a warning instead of an official charge of assault, but if the suspect wishes to charge you, I will have to put you in front of the magistrate for a proper trial. Then again, if we let him go, as you suggest...hm. Since he was already in a hurry to get out of the city, he will most likely do so instead of staying around for a trial against you that could take days. Your suggestion does seem to make the best of a bad situation, then. Very well. I'll arrange it. But we must convince him that we truly believe he is innocent and that you were in the wrong. Do you think you can manage that?"
"On the matter of the enforcement of the law, I am very well aware of how that works outside this city - which is why we work very hard to do things differently here. Whether the samurai are protectors or criminals, they have a power over the peasants that is unchecked except by the whims of local nobles. The foreigners have taught us a better way, and if we can prove that it works to keep this city and its citizens safe, then I will have the political clout to establish this system in other cities. We must be very careful to avoid any missteps - but with that said, a success like the discovery of a conspiracy would also earn us much respect. I know we are not perfect, and what you mention is a bit of a sore topic for me. I thought of just such a situation when I equipped my men with gonnes, reasoning that they could be trained to safely shoot the criminal while avoiding any injury to a hostage - but we have learned that there simply is no way to guarantee the accuracy needed for such shots. The best we can do is to surround the criminal and entice him to give up. Why, do you have a better idea?"
As Ishikawa counts off the bullet points, Takao chimes in:"Iromi described the suspect as well. He was there with Hideo and Sho. Neither of them recall seeing the girl before, though. "
"How on earth will you figure out if both people were killed by the same knife? I can see how you might identify an owner, but the murders... they didn't even have the same kind of wound. One was stabbed, the other had her throat slit." "The barge with the shipment may be the hardest part. The suspect killed to keep the route quiet, so he won't be talking either."
"I think only you must convince him that he is innocent. Then he will feel safe. I will have to stay out of sight though. Do you think you could have someone follow him? I don't think he'll buy that I believe he's innocent either way, and I don't have a way with stealth. I think he will lead us to his master, or to the barge."
"No, I don't have a better idea, and that's why it'll probably be better for me to stay off your force. I will never see how protecting the rights of a criminal, or even of a suspect, trumps the life of a bystander. My choice will always be to take the perpetrator down, and fast. I'd rather be scolded afterwards if I get the wrong guy."
Takao rises. "Well, I guess this is it then, though you will likely see me again before long. Since I am now definitely not part of the force, are you going to order me to stay away from the case? I hope you don't bother; it has piqued my interest, and I think it'll further my cause to figure out what shipment was important enough to go to such lengths to conceal it. You'd have to detain me to stop me. But you can be sure I won't drag your name into my future activities any more. I would appreciate a heads-up on where the suspect goes after he leaves the Hall."
"These laws that you enforce, who makes them? You? Did the Emperor decree them? Does the High Council decide on them? You know, I always considered myself an idealist, with a vision of the world with more justice for everyone. You are even more of an idealist than I am, but your dream is of law. Should the law really protect the wicked? How is that just?"
"Iromi's testimony is suspect, because of his drinking," ishikawa says. "As for the knife - I'm not sure. A doctor might be able to tell, but that is not my specialty. And the barge is a very long shot. Let's hope your suspect can bring us closer to it."
Ishikawa nods as Takao turns down the job she can't offer him. "I'm glad you see that yourself. You're a decent man, Takao, I'm sure of it, but you wouldn't fit in here. You ask whether the law should protect the wicked - and I have two answers. One, the law as it is used throughout the land already protects the wicked - the powerful, noble or not. Can you honestly say my way is worse? And two, the law should protect every man until he is proven, in a court of law, to be a criminal. All who pass through here are innocent until the evidence of their crimes leaves no doubt. This may protect scoundrels, but it also protects people like Iromi. Do you think the city guard of old would go through so much trouble to get to the truth of a woman's death if they could instead just arrest a drunkard and call it a day? You don't understand that...over the centuries, so much evil has been done to people in the name of 'justice'. Tortured confessions, brutal punishments and no recourse. We want to change all that. It's hard. It's hard to explain, it's hard to teach and it's hard to live, in the face of all this depravity. Perhaps it is not practical at all. But my conscience won't rest until we've tried. The Heavens know that there is much in these lands that needs to change - including some of its laws. I cannot decree anything on my own authority, but so far the other High Lords have been willing to go along with my ideas." She sighs and shakes her head. "Their pity for my...condition...and underestimation of the scope of my reforms won't last, however."
"I want you to not break any more laws," Ishikawa says, "but I can hardly keep you from going to places, looking around and asking questions. Go in peace, Takao." She reaches into her desk, retrieving a small leather pouch with coins inside. "Here. You've come this far, at least have lunch on me. I recommend the Green Leaf Society - it has a balcony with a great view of the plaza before the Hall of Justice. If you hurry out while we finish processing the suspect, I'm sure you'll find a useful vantage point for your work."
"The nobles have never been protected by the law - they were the law, or they were above it. If you can bind a noble to the laws of the common man, you have my sincere admiration, and I will go to great lengths to support you. To be honest, I'm surprised that they have gone along with your plans as far as this. Disarming the samurai - that must have met with resistance. Or perhaps one or more of the High Lords find benefit in that... food for thought."
Takao catches the pouch as Ishikawa tosses it over. "My thanks. I will be sure to pay the Green Leaf Society a visit. Good luck to you, Lady Ishikawa." He bows to her on his way out
Twenty minutes later...
Behold the Green Leaf Society. Admire its beautiful paper windows and the sun shades outside under which guests can dine. Sweep your gaze higher, to the balcony with the wonderful view over the Plaza, then higher still to the red shingles on the roof... behind which a head pops up?
Damn ninjas, Takao thinks as he scans the plaza, reaching into his bag to roll up a ball of rice and pop it into his mouth. Where are they when you need one? They did give him perspective, though. Without them, he would have never thought of following the suspect over the roofs. On the ground, he couldn't have followed the murderer for five minutes without being detected, but hardly anyone ever looks up. The narrow streets worked in his favor, too. Shouldn't be hard to cross them, even up here. He reaches into his bag again to take out the clever little container they sold the soup in, and he took a few sips. Ah, there he was. The fat belly and bushy beard were hard to miss, even in a big crowd. Takao looks wistfully down to the still half-full bag and snags on last piece of tempura, and then the chase is on.
Takao's plan seems to bear fruit. His escapades high above the streets are not for the faint of heart, skipping from roof to roof, shimmying along the edge of said roofs and even mantling gables, all in the service of staying out of sight - and indeed, while the killer stops occasionally to steal a glance behind him, his path through the dense alleys of the city is untroubled by the notion that he might have a pursuer above him. Finally, he seems to arrive at a shop next to a small warehouse of sorts - Takao can just about make out the sign dangling over the door: Mura Trading Limited.
Mura...that's the guy who organized the gonne shipment. It would make sense for him to ensure Genji's barge convoy could pass undetected, if that was his goal - but that convoy had legitimate papers, as far as Takao could tell, and is not due in town for two more days. Something doesn't add up yet.
"Oi, sunshine!" comes a voice from Takao's side - he doesn't even have to turn around to recognize RZA and the grin on his face. The black-yellow clad ninja/freelance peacekeeping agent is perched on top of a wooden awning, seemingly unconcerned about the potential for falling about three stories down if his perch should give way to his weight. "What's this I heard about you being in town doing the Lady's work? Trying to be a ninja now? That's a right daft idea, mate."
"Don't call me sunshine", Takao says mechanically as he turns around. "No, I am not doing the Lady's work, because the Lady and I had different ideas about how her work was supposed to be done. How would you know about that, anyway? It didn't even happen two hours ago. And, as for ninjas, I didn't have one when I needed one. Which kami have I offended to be treated to your presence again? What are you doing here, anyway?"
Takao had tried to keep his bearings during the chase, and now tries to reckon how far he is away from the docks and the area that the murderer tried to keep unobserved.
Gatac
