"Don't look now," Marume said, "but here comes another sorry bastard."
The sight of Yanagisawa striding toward him filled Sano with the anger that enflamed his blood every time he thought of what Yanagisawa had done.
"Greetings," Yanagisawa said, smiling as if nothing were amiss.
He'd completely escaped the responsibility the shogun had once placed on him for the disappearance of Lady Nobuko. While Sano had been busy trying to rescue her, Yoritomo had talked the shogun into forgiving Yanagisawa and heaping all the punishment on Sano. The shogun had demoted Sano to his former post of principal investigator. Sano had moved back to his old estate, while Yanagisawa had reclaimed the compound he'd lived in before he'd been exiled. Yanagisawa was now the shogun's only second-in-command, Japan's only chamberlain, once more. That was a crushing blow to Sano, but he knew things could have been worse.
His allies had persuaded the shogun to spare Sano and demote him instead of executing him and his family. They didn't want Yanagisawa in charge of the regime now or in the future. They needed someone to check his power, and Sano was the only man around who had the potential.
"I'm surprised to see you," Sano said evenly. Toda wasn't the only one who'd been avoiding him.
"I had to see this spectacle. Joju wasn't my favorite person in the world."
"I don't suppose he was." Sano knew Yanagisawa didn't like anyone who had strong influence over the shogun. Which was why he'd finally delivered the blow Sano had been expecting.
"Having Joju humiliated and banished was a risky move on your part, since he was still the shogun's favorite exorcist the last I heard," Yanagisawa said. "Does the shogun know?"
"Not yet," Sano said. "In some cases it's better to ask forgiveness after the fact than to ask permission beforehand."
Since he was already in trouble, he'd decided he might as well deliver Joju to justice. That, plus the fact that Ogita, Nanbu, and the oxcart drivers had gotten their comeuppance, was something of a consolation prize.
"That's what I always say." Yanagisawa continued, "I heard about the massacre in the paupers' cemetery. The official word is that Nanbu and Ogita were murdered by bandits. But we both know that the official word isn't always the truth, don't we?"
Sano made no comment. He would never reveal what had actually happened. Neither would Chiyo, Fumiko, Jirocho and his gang, or Reiko and her bodyguards. And all the other witnesses were dead.
"No matter," Yanagisawa said. "Your investigation was a success. Everyone responsible for kidnapping and raping your cousin and those other women has been punished."
"Not everyone." Sano leveled a hard gaze on Yanagisawa.
Yanagisawa raised his eyebrows. "You've accused me of many things in the past, but come now; you can't think I'm to blame this time."
"I don't just think. I know." Sano tried to control his temper. Losing it would only give Yanagisawa more advantage than he already had. "The oxcart drivers didn't kidnap the shogun's wife. Nanbu, Joju, and Ogita didn't rape her. What happened to her was your doing."
"Mine?" Pointing at his own chest, Yanagisawa laughed. "I never touched Lady Nobuko."
"Not personally. You have people to do your dirty work."
Yanagisawa regarded Sano with annoyance, caution, and pity, the kind of look that one gives a madman. "Why would I do such a thing?"
"Because it was the perfect way to sabotage me. You staged Lady Nobuko's kidnapping to look as if it were one in the series I was investigating. You hoped the shogun would blame me. Which he did. Which put me out of his favor." Sano's indignation mounted higher with each consequence of Yanagisawa's scheme he named. "Which is just what you wanted."
"How can you think that? Maybe in the past I would have done it, but since I came back I've done nothing but cooperate with you. Everything that's happened to you was just your bad luck." Shaking his head, Yanagisawa said, "I'm ready to let bygones be bygones."
"You never met a bygone that you could forget," Sano retorted. "Here's another reason you had Lady Nobuko kidnapped and raped: When you tried to marry your son to the shogun's daughter, Lady Nobuko stood in your way."
He watched shock wipe the condescension off Yanagisawa's face. Sano could feel Yanagisawa's impulse to ask how Sano knew about the marriage scheme and who'd thwarted it. In the moment before Yanagisawa regained his usual sardonic expression, Sano knew Yanagisawa was guilty as charged.
"You had an innocent woman kidnapped and raped because she crossed you!" Sano said, letting loose his outrage. This time Yanagisawa had outdone himself in terms of nerve, selfish disregard for human life, and sheer cruelty. "And she's your lord's wife!"
Yanagisawa smiled, his brazen confidence restored. "Let's suppose-just suppose-that I did have Lady Nobuko kidnapped and raped. You have no proof."
"I'm reinvestigating her case. Something will turn up eventually," Sano said, even though he'd been combing the city for four days and no evidence or witnesses had surfaced yet. Yanagisawa had taken pains to cover his tracks.
"Don't count on any help from Lady Nobuko." Yanagisawa's gaze said he knew Sano had asked for an interview with her and she'd refused. Even if Lady Nobuko could recognize the men who'd kidnapped and raped her-which she probably couldn't, because they'd probably given her the same drug that the oxcart drivers had used on their victims-she would never incriminate Yanagisawa. If it was her word against Yanagisawa's, who would the shogun believe?
Probably Yanagisawa.
Furthermore, Lady Nobuko must be aware that no matter how well guarded she was, Yanagisawa could get to her again.
"You won't get away with it," Sano persisted.
"Who's going to stop me? You?" Scorn colored Yanagisawa's voice. "Remember, you have less authority than you once did. I happen to know that His Excellency refuses to speak to you. Meanwhile, my allies are telling him that you're a liability to the Tokugawa regime. When you're gone, I'll still be here."
The genial mask that Yanagisawa had worn for more than a year dropped. At last his face showed his hatred for Sano and his ambition to rule Japan. His dark, liquid eyes shimmered as if with reflections from steel blades.
"Your plan to marry Yoritomo to the shogun's daughter won't work," Sano said. "Try it again, and you'll meet with a lot of resistance."
Sano had told Tsuruhime's husband and his own allies about Yanagisawa's scheme. They'd agreed to block the divorce and remarriage, with military force if need be.
Yanagisawa chuckled. "That's a case of showing up for a battle at the wrong field. Even if I had aimed to wed Yoritomo to the shogun's daughter-which I'm not saying I did-that's not my plan now. I'm exploring other options."
He gestured to a group of samurai who were apparently waiting for him. Sano recognized several Tokugawa clan members among them. Yanagisawa hadn't wasted any time pursuing new, politically advantageous matches for his son.
His son, who'd been his full partner in everything he'd done. Yoritomo had spoken against Sano to the shogun with Yanagisawa's connivance and blessing, whether Yanagisawa ever admitted it or not.
"I won't be out of the shogun's favor forever," Sano said, "and you won't always be in it. As you've learned in the past."
Yanagisawa contemplated Sano. "Here's some friendly advice." He spoke as if he were so confident he'd beaten Sano, he could afford to be magnanimous. "The game has changed. It's not just about the shogun anymore. This concerns the future, after he's gone. There's no point in squabbling with each other, vying for his good grace." Yanagisawa's tone expressed contempt for such past tactics. "The victor will be the one who insinuates himself into the Tokugawa clan and secures a place in the next regime. And even though I might have failed once, I have a head start on you."
A mischievous smile gleamed on Yanagisawa's face. "I have four sons and a daughter of marriageable age. It's too bad for you that your children are so young." As he strode off to join his allies, he said over his shoulder, "Whatever you think happened, I've won this round."