This was the first evidence a witness not personally involved in the case had given that Kira was other than a blameless man. But even as Sano welcomed the evidence, he remarked on an important point: “Nothing seems to have come of the rumor.”
“It was never proven. If the government had thought there was any truth to it, Kira would never have risen so high. So you can understand why I haven’t brought it up until now.”
Sano unwillingly spotted more weaknesses in the evidence. “Even if it was true that Kira poisoned his brother-in-law, I can’t see that Lord Asano would have cared enough to attack Kira.” And he was hard-pressed to demonstrate that Lord Asano’s motive for attacking Kira had any bearing on the forty-seven ronin’s vendetta.
“Maybe there was a connection between Kira’s brother-in-law and Lord Asano. People of their rank are so inbred.” Now Kajikawa seemed eager to promote the theory that the supposed murder was the motive behind the attack.
Still, Sano saw a new line of inquiry, the histories of the people involved in the case. It might lead him to proof that Kira hadn’t been an innocent victim and the forty-seven ronin had done the world a favor.
He warned himself that he must hold tight to his objectivity despite the evidence that swayed his opinion even further toward pardoning Oishi and his comrades. Even if it meant driving the runaway horse cart off the cliff.
19
Riding his horse downhill through the passages inside Edo Castle, Hirata saw auras flare like torches in his mental landscape, given off by the guards stationed in the watchtowers and by people passing him on horseback, in palanquins, and on foot. He didn’t detect his stalker’s. But the man had access to the castle; once he’d even invaded Hirata’s own home. Nowhere was Hirata safe. Hirata thought of the priest and the birds he’d seen yesterday. He felt himself and his stalker moving toward a confrontation.
Would it happen today?
Hirata remembered his conversation with Sano. He hoped he wouldn’t be needed to protect Sano’s family, because he wasn’t sure he would live long enough.
He recognized the aura of the other man for whom he was searching. Its unobtrusive, steady pulse led him to the precinct in the castle that housed the shogun’s treasures. Rows of fireproof storehouses with white plaster walls, iron doors, and heavy tile roofs were separated by narrow aisles. They contained furniture, silk robes, antique porcelain, and other priceless artifacts. Some of these were rotated in and out of the palace; others were too old, fragile, or unfashionable, and never saw the light of day. Servants were cleaning snow off the storehouses’ roofs with long-handled brushes, so that it wouldn’t melt, seep inside, and damage the treasures. The aura Hirata had followed belonged to an older man in a wicker hat, baggy coat, and patched leggings. When Hirata approached him, the man said under his breath, “If you give me away, I’ll never give you or your master any more information.”
Hirata kept his own voice low as he said, “Your identity is safe with me, Toda Ikkyu. But why is our best spy posing as a servant?”
Toda was an agent with the metsuke, the Tokugawa intelligence service, which monitored the citizens and protected the regime from insurrections. His face was so nondescript that people without Hirata’s mystical powers had difficulty recognizing him even if they were longtime acquaintances. His forgettable looks served him well in his profession.
“Someone’s been filching loot,” Toda said. “I’m trying to find out who it is.”
“Good luck,” Hirata said.
Toda raised his eyebrows at Hirata’s unfriendly tone. “You don’t like me, do you?”
“That’s right. Because you pretend to help Sano-san while you help his enemies behind his back.”
“Sano-san is aware that I play both sides. It’s a matter of survival.”
That didn’t absolve Toda, as far as Hirata was concerned. “The last time he asked you to find out what Yanagisawa was up to, you withheld important information. If you hadn’t, the shogun’s wife might not have been hurt. Sano-san might not have been demoted.”
“Speaking of disservice to Sano-san, does he know that you ride around town while you’re supposed to be working?”
Hirata couldn’t hide his chagrin. He’d been aware he was under surveillance by metsuke agents but hadn’t known they’d thought his actions significant enough to report to Toda.
“What are you looking for?” Toda asked.
“None of your business,” Hirata said. “What do you know about Kira Yoshinaka?”
Toda chuckled. “You know I’m not to be trusted, and you ask me anyway?”
“You can give me more dirt on people than anyone else can, even if you hold back half of it.”
“All right, as long as you know I might very well hold it back. Here’s a story about Kira. He’s always enjoyed much more prestige than monetary gain. His annual stipend was low compared to other important officials, and he had financial problems. His banker gambled away a lot of his savings. He overspent on keeping up appearances, throwing lavish banquets and such. He made a little extra money by taking bribes from men he instructed in etiquette.”
Hirata had gathered that from Oishi’s story. “Go on.”
“Kira couldn’t keep his head above water. He borrowed money, with his house as collateral. When he fell behind on the payments, the moneylender filed a complaint. The magistrate ruled that either Kira paid off the debt, or the moneylender could seize his house. This was two years ago.”
“Kira must have paid,” Hirata deduced. “When he died, he still had the house.”
“Here’s what happened,” Toda said. “Lord Asano attacked Kira inside Edo Castle. Lord Asano was put to death. His assets were confiscated. A short time later, Kira paid off his debt and saved his house. Where could he have gotten the money?”
“You’re implying that it came from the confiscated assets.” Hirata was intrigued by the theory but skeptical. “Are you forgetting that the government received the goods from Ako Castle? They all should have gone straight into these storehouses.”
“Should have, but didn’t. Several chests of gold went missing.”
“So they were stolen along the way. How could Kira have gotten his hands on them?”
“Kira’s son-in-law is a captain in the army,” Toda said. “He’s stationed in Harima Province. He was one of the troops who cleaned out Ako Castle.”
“And you suspect that he and Kira took a cut of the loot?”
Toda nodded.
Hirata voiced Toda’s unspoken words: “But you have no proof.”
“None, unfortunately. The captain and his troops were interrogated. They claimed they hadn’t stolen the money. Their quarters were searched; the money wasn’t found. But when I investigated their connections, I discovered Kira and his discharged debt. I’m sure he was the brains behind the theft.”
Toda smiled and cleaned the snow off another storehouse. “Suppose that Kira had his eye on Lord Asano’s fortune. Doesn’t that put Lord Asano’s death in an entirely new light?”
* * *
In the Shogun’s private chambers, a troupe of young actors, naked except for loincloths and silk capes, sang and danced scenes from popular Kabuki plays. The shogun laughed and applauded, surrounded by his male concubines. Yoritomo, his favorite, sat beside him, keeping a watchful eye on everyone else. Masahiro was careful to sit quietly in a corner, avoiding the shogun’s attention and watching Yoritomo.
Yoritomo seemed unhappy because the shogun was ignoring him. Now he noticed Masahiro, and jealousy twisted his face. Masahiro understood that Yoritomo thought Sano meant to gain a hold over the shogun by putting Masahiro in the shogun’s bed, where disgusting things supposedly happened. It wasn’t true, but Yoritomo didn’t want anyone to usurp his place, least of all Sano’s son.