Hesitation cost him his chance. By the time he raced after the two samurai, there was no sign of them. He could hear their horses’ hoofbeats receding into the distance, but although he spent hours looking for the outlaws, they’d vanished into the night.
32
I’m going out now,” Sano said to Reiko the next morning. When they’d returned to Nijō Manor last night, he’d found a message from Detective Fukida, alerting him to a matter that required action today. “Will you be all right?”
“Yes.” Seated by the window of their room in Nijō Manor, Reiko was immaculately dressed and groomed, her face pale and drawn but composed. She did not look at Sano.
“Are you sure?”
Last night he’d caught her as she ran from Gion Shrine, wild-eyed and breathless. He hurried her back to Nijō Manor, where she’d calmed down enough to tell him that Kozeri had admitted being in the Pond Garden during Left Minister Konoe’s murder, but claimed that she’d seen Right Minister Ichijo afterward. Sano didn’t know whether to believe it, but he guessed that more had transpired than Reiko would say. In bed, she’d lain rigid and silent beside him, and this morning he’d awakened to find her brooding by the window. He desperately wanted to know what had happened between her and Kozeri, yet he was afraid to ask.
Now Reiko said, “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“What will you do today?”
“I thought I’d finish examining the papers from Left Minister Konoe’s office. Maybe there are clues somewhere.”
Sano welcomed her interest in the case as a sign that they still had common ground. Always eager for the truth, he longed to break through her reticence. “Reiko-san,” he began.
“Yes?”
He heard apprehension in her voice; she still wouldn’t look at him. Forcing her to talk now would only make things worse. He said, “Marume has been questioning the associates of Yoriki Hoshina to find out where he might have gone, with no luck. Hoshina seems to have vanished completely. But Fukida had interesting news. He thinks Chamberlain Yanagisawa is on to something important that he doesn’t want us to know about.”
Rising, Reiko moved to the boxes of papers, knelt, and bent her head over them. “I hope you find out what it is.”
“Thank you.” Sano paused, then said, “Good-bye.”
“Good-bye.”
Things couldn’t continue like this, Sano thought as he left the inn. Something had to break, and he hoped that when the air cleared, they would find happiness again.
Sano, Marume, and Fukida strode into the private quarters of Nijō Castle, where Chamberlain Yanagisawa was finishing his morning meal. Outside the open rain doors, the shady garden looked deceptively cool, but the glaring, hazy sky visible above the rooftops heralded another sultry day. And Sano’s temper was as hot as the weather.
Without preliminary greetings, he said to Yanagisawa, “When were you going to tell me about Right Minister Ichijo?” He paused, then added accusingly, “Or weren’t you?”
“Whatever are you talking about?” The picture of innocence, Yanagisawa wiped his lips on a napkin. The bruises on his face had darkened to a lurid bluish purple, but the swelling had gone down. “I’ve already told you all I know.”
“Don’t bother with denials,” Sano said, furious. He heard Yanagisawa’s bodyguards stir behind the sliding walls. “You followed Ichijo to the Ear Mound and listened to his conversation with two samurai he met there.”
Lifting his tea bowl, the chamberlain’s hand gave an involuntary jerk.
“I followed you,” said Fukida.
Yanagisawa surged to his feet and glared at Sano. “Of all the low, silly tricks. With a killer on the loose and an insurrection brewing, you squander effort by sending a flunky to spy on me, as if I were the criminal! We’re working together, remember?”
“I haven’t forgotten, but obviously you have.” Sano faced down Yanagisawa. “Don’t try to confuse the issue. Putting surveillance on you turned out to be a good idea, didn’t it? You wouldn’t spy on Ichijo unless it was important to the case. I want to know why you followed him and what you learned.”
Yanagisawa gave Sano an insolent smile. “Nothing.”
“You were close enough to hear what Ichijo and those samurai were saying,” Fukida said.
“Shut up,” Yanagisawa ordered without looking at him. To Sano he said, “Even if I did hear something, why should I tell you? Many thanks for breaking Right Minister Ichijo’s alibi, but you and I are finished. I know Ichijo is responsible for the murders and the imperial restoration conspiracy.
Marume and Fukida looked at Sano, who experienced a rapid, jarring sequence of reactions. First came dismay: Yanagisawa had solved the case, and with Hoshina gone, Sano had no proof of Yanagisawa’s earlier sabotage and therefore no way to discredit his enemy’s victory. Then he felt anger: The chamberlain had beaten Sano by using the results of his work, then pursuing leads behind his back. Next came fear of dishonor, loss of his post, and the destruction of his family. But Sano saw a glimmer of hope: If Ichijo was the traitor and murderer, then Kozeri wasn’t. Maybe she’d told Reiko the truth. Could Sano and Reiko forget her and put their quarrel behind them?
Recovering his equilibrium, Sano said to Yanagisawa, “You let Ichijo’s friends get away last night. If you’d told me about your plans, we might have captured them. And if Ichijo is the killer, then why haven’t you arrested him?” The narrowing of Yanagisawa’s eyes told Sano he’d hit a nerve. “Ichijo may very well be the leader of the conspiracy, but you’re afraid you won’t be able to make him tell you where the outlaws and weapons are. You need me, because you can’t think what to do next.”
“You’re insane,” Yanagisawa declared.
“You know I’m right,” Sano said.
“Get out of here.”
“Good luck.” Sano nodded to Marume and Fukida, who followed him to the door. “I suppose you don’t want to hear my plan for coercing Ichijo. Oh, and you’d better just hope that what I’ve discovered about him isn’t the critical piece of evidence you need to get his cooperation.”
Sano and his men had walked halfway down the corridor when they heard Yanagisawa call, “Wait.” Marume and Fukida grinned at Sano. They all returned to the chamber, where Yanagisawa said, “Well? What’s this critical evidence you have?”
“First I want to know what you learned from spying on the right minister last night,” Sano said.
The chamberlain’s expression turned murderous. Sano nodded encouragingly. At last Yanagisawa grimaced in exasperation. “The two samurai are rōnin who work for Ichijo.” After describing their conversation, he said, “They must be part of the army he recruited to overthrow the Tokugawa. But they didn’t mention when or where they’ll attack, and I don’t know where they are now.”
Excitement coursed through Sano, followed by unwilling admiration for his enemy. Yanagisawa had established an apparent connection between Ichijo and the restoration conspiracy. Sano asked, “How did you think to spy on Ichijo?”
Yanagisawa’s ominous look warned Sano off the subject. “It’s your turn to talk.”
“Before I say anything, I want you to reinstate our partnership,” Sano said.
Yanagisawa nodded grudgingly.
“I also want you to agree that you won’t sneak around behind my back again, sabotage me, or try to harm me in any way while we’re working together.”
“All right, all right!” Yanagisawa threw up his hands. “You have my word. Now tell me what you know about Ichijo. And it had better be good.”
Although Sano didn’t trust Yanagisawa’s word, he had to be content with their pact if they were to go on together. “I have a witness who saw Ichijo at the scene of Left Minister Konoe’s murder,” he said, and told Kozeri’s story, which Yanagisawa’s news about Ichijo had convinced him to believe.