He was delighted by his clever compromise. Three days. The words felt like a delayed death sentence to Sano. The time seemed cruelly short, his prospect of solving the forty-three-year-old murder case impossible. But Sano didn’t argue and risk changing the shogun’s mind. Lord Matsudaira’s temper visibly brightened.
“If you don’t succeed, she must die. As for you and your family and your associates…” The shogun creased his brow. The threat of execution, banishment, or being stripped of his rank and samurai status and cast out on the street in disgrace hung in the air over Sano. “I must say I am reluctant to put you to death, because I’ve always been fond of you. You’ve always served me well.” He cast a dubious look at Lord Matsudaira. “I’ll think of something before the time comes.”
Sano met Lord Matsudaira’s gaze. Lord Matsudaira smiled and mouthed words at Sano. Sano read his lips: So will I.
After leaving the palace, Sano returned home with Hirata and Detectives Marume and Fukida. He told his staff not to disturb him for anything less than a second Great Fire. He and his men sat down for an emergency conclave.
“Lord Matsudaira wins this round,” Marume said.
“What’s our next move?” Fukida asked.
Sano was still reeling from the horror of seeing his mother hauled off to jail and his own fate-and that of everyone who mattered to him-dependent on what he accomplished in three days. He drew on samurai discipline to calm his mind and help him think up a strategy.
“We need to undo the damage that Egen did,” he said.
“I say we make him undo it himself,” Marume said. “How about I pay him a visit and convince him to eat his words?”
“Good idea,” Fukida said. “I’ll help you teach him a lesson.”
Hirata said, “I’m all in favor of one bad turn deserving another, but coercing Egen won’t solve the problem.”
“Why not?” Marume said.
“The most that Egen can do for us is admit he lied,” Hirata said. “That won’t prove Sano-san’s mother is innocent.”
“He’s right,” Sano said, and the other men nodded reluctantly. “It also won’t help us identify the real killer. What we need is evidence.”
“What kind of evidence can we hope to find after forty-three years?” Fukida said.
Marume punched Fukida’s arm. “Hey, don’t sound so discouraged.”
Sano hid his own discouragement. He must bolster his men’s morale, keep them and himself moving.
“All right,” Fukida said with forced cheer. “Where do we start looking for witnesses and evidence?”
“How about the soldier that Egen said was your mother’s partner in crime?” Marume suggested to Sano.
“Chances are he’s either dead, lost, or Egen made him up. Let’s not waste our time on him.” Sano thought about his visit to Tadatoshi’s family. “I’d like to talk to Lady Ateki and her daughter again. I’ll ask them to testify on my mother’s behalf. At least they can give her a good character reference. That would help counteract what Egen said. And maybe they can direct us to other witnesses.”
“Maybe those witnesses will lead us to some evidence,” Hirata said.
“I had a feeling that Lady Ateki and Oigimi know more than they told me,” Sano said. “I’d like to find out what it is.”
On his way out of the house, Sano met Reiko in the corridor. She said, “I heard you were home. I need to talk to you.” Looking around, she said, “Where’s your mother?”
When Sano told her, Reiko’s face showed dismay, but none of the shock he’d expected. “What is it?” He recalled how he’d come upon her and his mother arguing in the garden, but he didn’t have time for her now. He explained where he was going and why. “Can we talk later?”
Reiko hesitated, then said, “Yes. It can wait.”
A brief rain spattered Sano and his men during their second trip to Fukagawa. When they arrived at the estate where Tadatoshi’s family lived, the wet street was deserted. With its shutters closed against the rain and its eaves dripping water, the house had an inhospitable air. And the moment Sano walked into the reception room, he noticed a change in the atmosphere.
Lady Ateki and Oigimi greeted him with the stiff courtesy due a stranger visiting for the first time. It was as if they’d forgotten the conversation they’d had with him yesterday. Lady Ateki made the usual offer of refreshments. The tiny, birdlike old woman was pensive, her gentle face troubled. She sat in silence while food and drink were brought. Oigimi brooded under the black head drape that hid the scars from her burns. She exuded coldness.
“How may we serve you?” Lady Ateki said politely.
Sano knew something had happened. “I’m still investigating your son’s murder, and I’m looking for more witnesses. Do you know the whereabouts of anyone who belonged to your household when Tadatoshi disappeared?”
The women didn’t answer.
“Any family members, retainers, or servants?” Sano prompted.
“We have already informed you that most of the people from my father’s estate were killed by the fire,” Oigimi said in a distant tone.
“More have died in the years since,” Lady Ateki said, equally distant. “Others have scattered. We don’t know where or if they’re still alive.”
“Are any living in this house?” Sano asked.
“No,” Oigimi said.
“I’m sorry we can’t help you.” Lady Ateki’s air of finality hinted that Sano should leave. When he didn’t, she said, “Was there something else?”
“Yes,” Sano said. “I want you both to tell the shogun what you said about my mother yesterday.”
“Why?”
“To attest to her good character and help me prove that she’s innocent.”
Lady Ateki and Oigimi exchanged glances that united them in opposition. “I don’t believe we can do that,” Lady Ateki said.
Sano began to have an idea why he’d lost their cooperation. “Have you recently had news about Tadatoshi’s murder?”
“As a matter of fact, we have,” Lady Ateki said.
“We’ve learned that you’ve found Egen the tutor,” Oigimi said, “and that he says your mother and a soldier from the estate kidnapped and killed my brother.”
Bad news traveled fast. Sano was dismayed to have one of his suspicions proved correct. “How did you learn that?”
“Lord Matsudaira was good enough to send an envoy to tell us,” Lady Ateki said.
Sano’s other suspicion had hit the mark. Lord Matsudaira had wasted no time capitalizing on Egen’s treachery. He’d quickly moved to influence these witnesses. They now believed Sano’s mother was guilty and so was Sano, by association.
“Egen lied,” Sano said, hiding his rage lest it offend the women and increase their antipathy toward him. “He and my mother were both accused of the crime. He told me they were both innocent, but when he testified in front of the shogun, he changed his story. He put the blame on my mother to protect himself. Did Lord Matsudaira’s envoy tell you that?”
Sano could tell from Lady Ateki’s and Oigimi’s blank expressions that they hadn’t been told. “Egen can’t be trusted. Don’t believe anything he said.”
“We don’t believe everything we hear.” Oigimi’s tart voice rebuked Sano for implying that she and her mother were so gullible or should take his word as the truth. “But the news about Egen made us think.”
“About Etsuko,” said Lady Ateki.
“We decided that maybe we didn’t know her so well after all,” Oigimi said.
“She seemed like a good, harmless girl,” Lady Ateki said, “but that could have been just the face she showed us.”
“She might have been hiding her true nature,” Oigimi said. “She was beautiful. She could have made that soldier fall in love with her. Maybe she talked him into kidnapping my brother to get the money they needed to run away together and elope.”