Reiko regarded her with scorn. “Your wiles won’t work on me. Right Minister Ichijo, Lady Jokyōden, Prince Momozono, and the emperor were all told that my husband was coming to the palace. I imagine that the news spread rapidly around the Imperial Court. You could have heard it and decided to kill my husband so he couldn’t arrest you for the murder of Left Minister Konoe. You sneaked out of your family’s house and went looking for him. But you found Chamberlain Yanagisawa and his men, and you mistook them for my husband’s party. You killed the wrong person.”
“That’s not so!” Kozeri cried in panic. “I didn’t kill anyone. Ask your husband. He knows-”
Her protests faded under Reiko’s glare; she sighed, bowed her head in defeat, and spoke in a low, forlorn voice: “All right. I’ll tell you what happened. The left minister came to Kodai Temple the day before he died. He said he was going to close down the convent and force me to return to him. Then he ordered me to come to the Pond Garden the next night, to celebrate a special occasion.” Kozeri swallowed hard. “I was terrified. When I was his wife, he beat me almost to death. I knew that if I had to live with him again, he would kill me. I had to save myself somehow.”
This story, which contradicted what Kozeri had told Sano about her marriage and the time and nature of her last encounter with Konoe, only increased Reiko’s distrust. “How could the left minister close down the convent, when the Imperial Court has no authority over religious orders?” Reiko asked.
Kozeri lifted her hands, then let them fall. “He said he could. I believed him.”
Had she been so convinced of her former husband’s power over her that she’d taken the threat seriously? Reiko wondered. Or was Kozeri lying again? “What was the special occasion?”
“He didn’t say. I didn’t ask. But I knew he meant to take his pleasure from me.”
“Go on,” Reiko said.
“I agreed to meet him,” Kozeri said. “The next night his attendants came to the temple after everyone there was asleep. They took me in a palanquin to the Imperial Palace. We traveled to the imperial enclosure without meeting anyone. We stopped in the Pond Garden, and the attendants took me to the cottage on the island. They lit a lantern and left me alone inside.”
Prince Momozono claimed he’d seen a light in the cottage just before he and Emperor Tomohito discovered Konoe dead, Reiko remembered; there had indeed been someone else in the Pond Garden besides them. The secrecy with which Konoe had arranged the rendezvous explained why the imperial records showed no outsiders in the palace that night and Yoriki Hoshina hadn’t identified Kozeri as a suspect.
“There was a sake decanter with two cups on the table in the cottage,” Kozeri said. “I sat and had a drink and prayed for the courage to kill the left minister.”
Reiko couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “Wait. You admit you went to the Pond Garden to kill him?”
“Yes.” Kozeri moved into the shadows beneath a tree. A breeze riffled the leaves, casting patterns of light and dark across her haunted face. The pulse of drums punctuated the singing in the courtyard. “I had a small vial inside my sleeve. It contained a drug that I’d bought from a peddler. I was going to pour it into the left minister’s sake. After he drank, he would fall asleep and never awaken. I hoped I could slip away and everyone would think he’d died of a sudden illness.”
She’d planned to use poison, not the power of kiai? Reiko listened, dumbfounded.
“Then I heard him call out, ‘Help!’ First he was running, then it sounded as if he were dragging himself across the ground. His breathing was loud and strange. I looked out the window and saw him standing by the cottage. He cried, ‘No. Please, no.’ I was terrified. Then-”
Shuddering, Kozeri said, “There was a terrible scream. It went on and on. I watched the left minister writhing in agony while blood gushed from him. Then he lay still. The scream stopped.” She fixed a strange, blurred gaze on Reiko. “The left minister was dead.”
She’d wanted to kill him so he couldn’t abuse her anymore, but the murderer had spared her the trouble. The explanation made sense to Reiko, and her skepticism waned. “What did you do then?” she asked.
“I knew that everyone in the palace would have heard the scream,” Kozeri said, caressing the top of her bosom. “Someone would come and find the left minister. I didn’t want them to think I’d killed him, so I blew out the lantern and ran away. In the kuge district, I found a watchtower with fire equipment underneath. I got a ladder and climbed the palace wall. I took the ladder with me and threw it in an alley so no one would know that someone had sneaked out of the compound. Then I walked back to Kodai Temple.”
Reiko felt a pang of sympathy for the nun who’d suffered so long and witnessed a terrible murder. “Please forgive me for upsetting you,” she said, taking Kozeri’s soft, smooth hands in hers. “I’ll tell my husband what you said. Attempted murder is a crime, but under the circumstances, surely he’ll pardon you.”
Tears of gratitude streamed from Kozeri’s eyes. “A thousand thanks,” she murmured, smiling gladly. “You’re so understanding and kind.”
Although Reiko had never been attracted to women, touching Kozeri gave her a sensuous pleasure. Her anger dissolved in hazy confusion. She couldn’t remember why she’d hated Kozeri just a moment ago. Sexual arousal burgeoned inside her. Then realization jolted Reiko alert.
“You’re doing to me what you did to my husband!” she cried, recoiling from Kozeri.
“What?” The nun gaped in surprise.
“You used mental energy to keep him from asking where you were during the murders. I didn’t believe him when he told me, but I do now, because you’re confusing me the same way!” Now Reiko regretted accusing Sano of lying to her.
Fear shimmered in Kozeri’s eyes, but she said bravely, “Yes, but I meant you no harm. I just wanted you to believe me. I needed to make you like me so you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“And you made him want you.” As enlightenment dawned, Reiko cursed herself for doubting Sano’s love for her.
Whatever had happened between Sano and Kozeri hadn’t been entirely his fault. If she could entice a woman, then what a strong effect her magic must have on men!
Reiko lashed out at Kozeri: “Liar! You didn’t try to poison the left minister. You didn’t just watch him die. You murdered him, and Aisu too!”
“I didn’t!” Hurt indignation welled in Kozeri’s eves. “I wouldn’t wish such an awful death on anyone.”
“Not even the man who murdered your first husband?”
The blood drained from Kozeri’s face, leaving her lips so white that Reiko could see red marks where she’d bitten them. “How-how did you know?”
“You were once married to Konoe’s secretary. Konoe stabbed him to death. Then he married you. Somehow you discovered what Konoe had done. You plotted revenge.”
Kozeri drew herself up; angry color blotched her checks. “All right. I knew. I hated the left minister for killing Ryōzen. I blamed him for the loss of the child I miscarried after the murder. But it all happened years ago. If I had wanted revenge against the left minister, I had plenty of opportunity when we lived together. Why would I wait so long?”
“Because you didn’t have the ability to murder him back then,” Reiko retorted. “Instead, you ran away. At Kodai Temple, the nuns taught you how to channel your mental energy through your voice. You acquired the power of kiai.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Kozeri laughed, a shrill, hysterical sound. “We do exercises that bring tranquility and enhance our prayers. We can influence people’s thoughts, but we don’t believe in violence.”