The Ennin Mysteries: Collected Stories 26-30 by Ben Stevens

Author:Ben Stevens [Stevens, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Nanbanjin
Published: 2014-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

1

‘I don’t know who else to turn to, Ennin-sensei, really I don’t. If you can’t assist in this matter, then…’

‘I assure you that I will certainly do my best to help you, Koike-san,’ said my master sincerely, no doubt seeking to calm this wealthy, middle-aged merchant who’d obviously been driven to the edge of distraction.

‘But first,’ continued my master, ‘if I could kindly have all the facts, given in as straightforward a manner as possible…’

‘Of course, of course,’ muttered the merchant, making a valiant effort to compose himself.

‘It concerns my son, Ennin-sensei, who is still only in his twenty-first year,’ said the merchant then. ‘His name is Yuji… He has been – well, he has been ensnared by a demon!’

My master gave a slight cough.

‘A, err, demon, Koike-san?’

‘In the form of a female,’ clarified the merchant. ‘She is exceedingly beautiful, for I have met her myself, and somehow my son has fallen under her ‘spell’, as it were.’

‘Forgive me, Koike-san, but what exactly is the reason you have come to see me today?’ asked my master, his voice becoming a little tight. I knew just how he disliked feeling that he was having his time wasted.

‘Because this woman is a demon!’ reiterated the merchant despairingly. ‘She is causing my son to lie, and steal from me! He goes to visit her at night – he thinks secretly… He takes money from the drawer in my office – how can he think I don’t realize this? It all goes to this woman, and so I made my own, discreet enquiries concerning her…

‘And I found out that just two or so months ago, another young man killed himself right there in front of her, having been squeezed dry of every single penny he could provide! Like my own boy, he was also the son of a… Well, a wealthy man, let us put it plainly…

‘Now my son walks around pale and waxen-looking, his soul clearly consumed by this woman who doubtless plays upon her beauty in order to continue living in the style to which she has become accustomed. He has become a liar and a thief, a sneak, all because of his infatuation for this… this…’

The merchant all but choked on his own indignation, and my master held up a calming hand.

‘I see,’ he said quietly; and as I glanced at him, I saw that his eyes had that curiously fixed look I knew so well…

‘This woman’s name is – ’

‘Mayumi Hata,’ murmured my master.

‘How do you know this, Ennin-sensei?’

‘She was married to a wealthy trader, who died some years ago in what might charitably be called ‘suspicious circumstances’,’ continued my master. He spoke in that curious manner he sometimes had: as though he was not actually talking to someone, but rather himself, clarifying events and details in his own mind.

‘The money she inherited from her unfortunate husband made her an extremely wealthy woman – and she was still only in her twenties,’ said my master. ‘But Hata-san is a woman

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.