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"I must inform you that the treasury minister and the judicial council are ahead of him in the queue."

"I'll see Major Kumazawa first."

Sano felt a strange attraction to his uncle, the pull of blood to blood, even though they didn't get along. He discovered in himself a yearning for the sense of family that had been diminished when he'd moved out of his parents' home, when his father had died, when his mother had remarried. The Kumazawa were his closest senior kin in town.

In the reception room, he found Major Kumazawa marching slowly back and forth like a soldier at a drill. His face was as stern and hard as ever, but his restlessness told Sano how distraught he still was about his daughter.

"I wanted to ask if your investigation has made any progress," Major Kumazawa said. "My apologies for showing up like this, but I thought I'd save you the trouble of another trip to Asakusa." He sounded much more polite than before, but of course this was Sano's territory.

"You knew where to find me," Sano said.

His tone hinted at the fact that his uncle had kept track of him since his birth. He saw a glint of antagonism in Major Kumazawa's eyes, but the man simply nodded and said, "I've been here before. When this place belonged to Yanagisawa."

That his uncle had been in his house, without his knowledge until this moment, gave Sano an eerie feeling, as if he'd just learned that his home was haunted by a ghost whose presence he'd never suspected. He recalled the vision he'd had at Major Kumazawa's house. He still didn't know what it meant.

"Please allow me to welcome you back," Sano said evenly.

They exchanged wary glances, both bracing for another clash. But Sano was determined to keep things civil. He didn't want a quarrel that would be overheard by his subordinates, or bad blood with his uncle to contaminate the peace of his home.

"How is Chiyo today?" he asked.

"I went home to check on her this afternoon. She was asleep. The doctor had given her a potion." Major Kumazawa's expression was grim. "My wife says that after your wife came to see Chiyo, she was very upset."

His gaze accused Reiko, and Sano, of upsetting Chiyo. Sano refused to seize on the pretext for another argument. "It stands to reason that she would be upset by talking about the crime. But if I'm to catch the man who kidnapped her, I must know as many details about it as possible. However, I may not need any more help from Chiyo. I discovered some clues today."

"Oh?" Major Kumazawa's eyebrows and tone lifted in surprise. "What sort?"

Sano couldn't help feeling pleased that he'd exceeded his uncle's expectations. He told Major Kumazawa about the oxcart spotted by the witness.

"An oxcart." Major Kumazawa looked disappointed, and skeptical. "If nobody saw Chiyo put into or thrown off it, how can you be sure it had anything to do with what happened to her? Even if it did, there are hundreds of oxcarts in Edo. They all look alike, and you said your witness didn't see the driver. How are you going to find the right one?"

"I'll find it." Sano had people out searching now. He'd expected Major Kumazawa to find fault with his results, but that didn't make the carping any less unpleasant. He would almost rather be working for the shogun, who always complained about his lack of progress and threatened him with death, but sometimes appreciated his efforts.

Sometimes.

At least Sano could tell himself that the shogun was a fool. Criticism from someone more intelligent was harder to stomach.

"I've also made another discovery: Two other women were kidnapped before Chiyo was." Sano told Major Kumazawa about the gangster boss's daughter and the nun. "The kidnappings may be related."

After he described what he'd learned at the convent, disapproval crossed his uncle's features. "You said you were going after the man who kidnapped my daughter, but you've been investigating this other woman?" Major Kumazawa said.

Nettled by the implication that he'd wasted time, Sano said, "The other crime is a new source of clues."

"I suppose so, but it doesn't sound as if you got anything out of the nun. With all due respect, you would do better to concentrate on Chiyo. Especially since you can't be sure that the crimes are related."

"I found other witnesses at the convent, and there are similarities between Chiyo's case and the nun's," Sano said, his patience slipping. "Both women are from samurai families. Both were kidnapped at places of worship, then found nearby."

"What about the gangster's daughter?"

Sano was at a disadvantage because he hadn't any information about that. "My chief retainer is investigating her case. I expect news from him soon."

"So maybe the cases are related," Major Kumazawa said. "Or maybe you're going down the wrong path."

Fed up now, Sano spoke more sharply than he'd intended: "Maybe you're not qualified to decide how this investigation should go."

They exchanged stares in hostile silence. Then Major Kumazawa said, "By the way, I met your father a few times."

Sano felt his muscles tense, but he said coolly, "I can guess when that was. When he asked your parents for my mother's hand in marriage. At the miai where he was formally introduced to her. Then, at their wedding."

Those were the instances when social custom had forced the Kumazawa clan to associate with the lowly rnin who'd married Sano's mother.

Major Kumazawa nodded. His eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Sano. "You take after your father."

Sano knew that Major Kumazawa wasn't referring to the physical similarities. His uncle was implying that he'd inherited bad character traits, chiefly his determination to follow his own will. And Major Kumazawa was blaming heredity on his father's side for what Major Kumazawa perceived as Sano's mishandling of the investigation. Sano burned with rage, and not only because Major Kumazawa would disparage his bloodline.

"It's obvious you didn't get to know my father very well," Sano said coldly. His father had been an old-style samurai with conventional notions about duty and bowing to authority and a distaste for individual initiative-everything Sano was not. "Making snap judgments about people based on limited acquaintance isn't very smart. Perhaps you take after your father."

Now it was Major Kumazawa's turn to bristle. "Perhaps I was wrong about you, Honorable Chamberlain. Perhaps you're more like your mother."

He must think that was the ultimate blow, to be compared to a disgraced woman. But Sano had reason to be proud of his mother, of her blood that ran in his veins. "If you say so, then I must thank you for the compliment. My mother did a great service for Japan." She'd been accused of murder and, in a startling instance of irony, emerged a heroine. "The shogun holds her in the highest esteem. He's pronounced himself in her debt forever."

The shogun had not only attended her recent wedding; he'd insisted on providing her dowry. He'd given her and her second husband enough gold to support them for the rest of their lives.

"My mother has managed to distinguish herself," Sano said, "probably more than anyone else in her family has." The bitter antipathy in Major Kumazawa's eyes said he resented Sano for pointing out the truth that his mother had risen above her estranged clan. Before Major Kumazawa could retort, Sano thought of something he'd been wanting to know. "After my parents were married, did you ever see my mother again?"

Caught off guard, Major Kumazawa said, "… No."

Sano didn't miss the pause before his answer. "Did you ever see me when I was a child?"

"Of course not."

"Are you sure?"

"Are you calling me a liar?" Major Kumazawa demanded.

"Only if you deserve the name," Sano said evenly.

"I never saw her, or you," Major Kumazawa said. "That's the truth, whether you believe it or not."

But Sano knew his uncle was lying. He was sure now that he had been to the Kumazawa house, had seen his uncle and aunt, who had seen him, too. He didn't know when or why, but he intended to find out, later.

Major Kumazawa started to speak, but Sano raised a hand. "That's enough about the past. Our main priority is catching the kidnapper. We should put our differences aside and concentrate on the investigation."