“Hirata-san? What are you doing?”
Hirata looked up to see the detectives watching him with concern. “Nothing,” he said, hastily cramming the letter into the scroll case.
“Are we going to visit Lady Ichiteru now?” asked one of the men.
All Hirata’s police instincts told him to stick to the plan he’d devised and avoid letting a murder suspect manipulate him. She’s up to no good said his inner voice. Yet Hirata couldn’t endanger Lady Ichiteru by forcing her to give evidence within hearing of spies. And he yearned to explore the full potential of an acquaintance with her-outside Edo Castle ’s confines, free from the constraints of duty and prudence.
“No,” he said at last. “I’m postponing the interview until tomorrow.” Then he would decide whether to accept Lady Ichiteru’s invitation. Deep inside Hirata, seven years of detective experience clamored in warning. “Dismissed.”
23
The inner palace precinct was strangely vacant even for a cold autumn evening when Sano and Hirata traversed the garden. Cherry trees raised bare, black branches to a soot-colored sky; moisture gleamed on the surfaces of boulders; fallen leaves matted the grass. A lone patrol guard made his rounds. Taking advantage of their momentary privacy before reporting to the shogun, Sano shared the results of his inquiries and passed Hirata the letter from Lady Harume’s room.
Hirata read, and whistled through his teeth. “Will you show this to the shogun?”
“Have I got a choice?” Sano said grimly, replacing the letter under his sash.
At the palace door, the guard said, “His Excellency is in a special emergency session with the Council of Elders. They await your report in the Grand Audience Hall.”
Dismay washed through Sano like an icy tide. Council meetings invariably meant trouble for him. He wished he could postpone his report and the inevitable repercussions, but there seemed no chance of reprieve. With Hirata beside him, he proceeded down the palace corridors. Sentries opened massive double doors carved with scowling guardian deities. Sano took a deep breath. He and Hirata entered.
Glowing lanterns hung from the coffered ceiling. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi knelt upon the dais. A gilded landscape mural set off his black ceremonial robes. Chamberlain Yanagisawa occupied his usual place at the shogun’s right, on the higher of the floor’s two levels. Near him on the same level, the five elders knelt in two facing rows, at right angles to their lord. However, the secretaries were absent. Only the shogun’s chief attendant served tea and brought tobacco and metal baskets of lit coals for pipes. The law barred all unnecessary personnel from special emergency sessions.
As Sano and Hirata knelt at the back of the room, Senior Elder Makino Narisada said, “Your Excellency, we apologize for requesting a meeting on such short notice, but the murder of Lady Harume has caused some disturbing incidents. The chief commander of the Large Interior has committed seppuku to atone for allowing a murder to take place during his watch. Rumors and accusations are rampant. One concerns Kato Yuichi, junior member of the judicial council. His fellow member and rival, Sagara Fumio, spread a story that Kato killed Lady Harume as practice for a mass poisoning of high officials. Kato confronted Sagara. They dueled. Now both men are dead, and the judicial council is in turmoil, with scores of men vying for the vacant positions.”
It was just as Sano had feared: The murder had ignited emotions within the bakufu, a gunpowder arsenal waiting to explode. The dreaded nightmare of past investigations had returned-because he hadn’t solved the case soon enough, more deaths had occurred.
“Other minor problems have caused inconvenience,” Makino said. “Many people refuse to believe that a mere concubine was the murderer’s only target. No one wants to eat or drink here.” He eyed the untouched tea bowls in front of his colleagues. “Servants have abandoned their posts. Officials have fled Edo, ostensibly on business in the provinces.” So that was why the palace seemed empty, Sano realized. “At this rate, there will soon be no one left to run the capital. Your Excellency, I recommend strong action to avert disaster.”
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who had been shrinking farther and farther into himself as the senior elder spoke, threw up his hands in despair. “Why, ahh, I hardly know what to do,” he said. Looking around for help, he caught sight of Sano. “Ahh!” he exclaimed, beckoning. “Here is the man who can restore matters to normal. Sōsakan Sano, please tell us you’ve identified Lady Harume’s killer!”
Accompanied by Hirata, Sano reluctantly approached the dais. They knelt before the upper floor level, bowing to the assembly. “I regret to say that the murder investigation is not yet complete, Your Excellency, ” Sano said. He glanced uncomfortably at Chamberlain Yanagisawa, who would surely seize this opportunity to denigrate him. However, Yanagisawa seemed preoccupied, his dark gaze turned inward. Feeling more confident, Sano began relating the progress of the case.
Senior Elder Makino assumed Chamberlain Yanagisawa’s usual role of detractor. “So you haven’t traced the poison yet. Lieutenant Kushida is under arrest for attacking you and trying to steal evidence, but you’re not convinced he’s the killer. That strikes me as extremely indecisive. What about Lady Ichiteru?”
Hirata cleared his throat and said, “Sumimasen-excuse me. We have no evidence against her.”
Sano eyed him with consternation. Hirata never spoke at these meetings unless addressed directly, and as far as Sano knew, there was no evidence proving Lady Ichiteru’s innocence, either. He couldn’t contradict Hirata in front of the assembly, but as soon as they were alone, Sano intended to find out exactly what had happened during Hirata’s interview with Lady Ichiteru-and what was causing his strange behavior.
“Well, if the killer is neither Lieutenant Kushida nor Lady Ichiteru,” Makino said, “then you now have two fewer suspects than you did yesterday.” He turned to Chamberlain Yanagisawa. “A step backward, wouldn’t you agree?”
Stirred out of his private contemplation, Yanagisawa rebuked Makino: “A difficult case like this requires more than two days to close. What do you expect, miracles? Give the sōsakan time, and he’ll succeed, as usual.”
The senior elder’s mouth dropped. Sano stared in amazement. Chamberlain Yanagisawa standing up for him at a council meeting? Sano’s suspicion of his enemy increased. Was Yanagisawa encouraging Sano to follow the present course of the investigation because it led away from something he wished to hide? However, none of the findings had implicated Yanagisawa in the murder. None of Sano’s informants had reported a new plot against him.
“I’ve found the source of the ink,” Sano said. “Lord Miyagi admits sending it to Harume, along with a letter instructing her to tattoo his name on her body.” He described the daimyo’s liaison with the concubine, and Lady Miyagi’s complicity.
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi sputtered in outrage. “Miyagi violated my concubine, then killed her? Disgraceful! Arrest him at once!”
“There’s no proof that he poisoned the ink,” Sano said. “It could have been done by someone else, either at the Miyagi estate, here in Edo Castle, or somewhere along the way. For now, Lord and Lady Miyagi remain under scrutiny. And I’ve started checking into Harume’s background, because it’s possible that the roots of her murder lie there. I’ve interviewed her father… and searched her room.”