“Then I pronounce you guilty.” Sano hated condemning a man who’d faithfully served the regime for years, who’d rashly stolen from it during his time of need. “I sentence you to death by decapitation.”
Guards escorted Nagasaka from the courtroom in shackles. Sano didn’t think the amount of money involved was worth a man’s life, but it exceeded the threshold between petty theft and serious embezzlement. Since the earthquake, the law was even harsher than usual. Samurai who misused relief funds couldn’t redeem their honor by committing seppuku. They had to be executed like common criminals.
All except Yanagisawa.
Remembering the family camped outside Edo Castle, Sano was more determined than ever to rid the world of Yanagisawa. But he also had his new job to do. Since the earthquake, desertion of one’s post was also a capital crime.
“Next case,” he said.
“Your next case will have to wait,” said a voice from the back of the courtroom.
Sano looked across the audience. As if summoned by Sano’s thoughts about him, Yanagisawa stood in the doorway, backed by a squadron of troops.
Anger seethed in Sano. “You can’t just walk in and interrupt the trials.”
“I beg to differ.” Yanagisawa’s face was smooth, but Sano read animosity behind it. “Everybody leave, so I can have a private talk with Sano-san.” His troops cleared the room.
Sano rose as Yanagisawa strode across the room to meet him. “What do you want?”
Yanagisawa’s smooth façade transformed into a scowl. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m doing the job you assigned to me.” Sano knew that the thing he’d wanted to avoid had happened: Yanagisawa had learned about his investigation.
“Don’t play innocent.” A harsh rasp edged Yanagisawa’s suave voice. “Why have you been sniffing around Lord Tsunanori’s estate?”
Sano had hoped Yanagisawa’s spies wouldn’t get around to reporting his movements until after he’d finished the investigation. “Why have you been stealing earthquake relief money? To buy political support?”
Yanagisawa ignored the questions. He didn’t seem to care whether anyone knew about his embezzlement. He probably thought nobody could hold him accountable. “Answer me.”
“Lord Tsunanori’s wife died. I went to pay my condolences to him.”
“Don’t play games.” Yanagisawa moved threateningly closer. “Nobody else has set foot in that house. Everybody is afraid of catching smallpox. You wouldn’t have gone, either, except for one reason.”
Sano saw new, tight lines of strain etched into Yanagisawa’s handsome face. “Why are you so on edge?” He took a step toward Yanagisawa, counterattacking to give himself time to think of how to find out whether Yanagisawa was guilty of the murder without letting him know that he and Yoshisato were suspects. “Can’t you relax now that you’re the adopted father of the shogun’s heir?” He took a stab in the dark. “Or isn’t it working out as well as you expected?”
Either the stab missed, or Yanagisawa hid his flinch. “You think Tsuruhime’s death wasn’t natural. You think someone deliberately infected her with smallpox.”
“Murder by disease?” Sano feigned surprise. “That’s an interesting theory.”
“Don’t act as if this is the first you’ve heard of it. Who put it in your mind? Was it Lady Nobuko? She paid you a visit yesterday.”
There was no use denying it; Yanagisawa’s spies were as effective as Sano had warned Lady Nobuko. “Unless you’ve taught flies to eavesdrop on my conversations for you, you don’t know what Lady Nobuko and I discussed. Why would you jump to the conclusion that she thinks Tsuruhime’s death was murder and she put me up to investigating it?” Yanagisawa had jumped as fast as Lord Tsunanori had, Sano thought.
Yanagisawa’s liquid eyes glinted. “Because I know the old bitch. She has it in for me. And I know you, too.” He pointed a finger at Sano’s heart. “Stop this investigation. Keep your nose out of Tsuruhime’s death.”
“Maybe I should investigate it, now that you’ve raised the possibility that she was murdered. Why would you want me not to?” Sano said.
“Because you’re doing it to attack me,” Yanagisawa said. “You can’t stand the fact that I have you beaten.” The odor of sweat and turbulent emotions wafted from him. “You’ve cooked up a crime where there was none. You’re plotting with Lady Nobuko to frame me and Yoshisato and turn the shogun against us.”
“Tsuruhime was the shogun’s daughter. If she was murdered, it’s my duty to find out who killed her and yours to back me.” Sano added, “Tsuruhime was also Yoshisato’s half sister. If indeed Yoshisato is really the shogun’s son.”
The glint in Yanagisawa’s eyes ignited. He grabbed for Sano’s neck. Sano seized Yanagisawa’s wrists.
“You’ve been causing me trouble for fourteen years! You killed my son!” Yanagisawa shouted, trying to pull free of Sano. “I’m not going to let you ruin everything for me this time!”
Sano was startled that Yanagisawa had lost his self-control so fast. If he’d been so quick to lash out physically every time someone crossed him, he would never have climbed so high in the regime. Success in politics required discipline. His elder son’s death had wreaked havoc with his mental state, and the earthquake had quickened tempers all around. Sano was no exception.
Fed up with Yanagisawa’s insults, sabotage, and attacks on his family, he flung his weight at Yanagisawa, propelling him across the room, and slammed him against the wall. “I’m sorry for what happened to Yoritomo, but it’s not my fault he’s dead! It’s yours!” Sano’s talk with Hirata had put Yoritomo’s death in a new light. “If you hadn’t made a political pawn of him, he wouldn’t have been at the palace with the shogun that day. He would still be alive!”
“Don’t you put the blame on me!” Yanagisawa shouted. His guards grabbed Sano and tried to yank him off Yanagisawa.
Holding on, Sano yelled into Yanagisawa’s face, “I’m going to talk some sense into you whether you like it or not!”
Yanagisawa thrust his head forward. It banged Sano’s. The jarring impact and the pain momentarily blinded Sano. He lost his grip on Yanagisawa and reeled backward, taking the guards with him. The guards stumbled, then held him steady. Sano regained his senses. Yanagisawa breathed hard as he struggled to compose himself. He rubbed his wrists. The flesh where Sano had held them was reddish-purple with bruises.
“If you don’t quit your investigation-” His words issued from between clamped teeth.
“You’ll what? Put me to death?” A burst of sarcastic laughter escaped Sano. “Why didn’t you do it yesterday? It would have made a nice climax for the big purge.”
Yanagisawa didn’t answer. Sano felt the quality of his foe’s anger change for a moment, as if its heat were aimed toward someone other than Sano.
“What’s the real reason you don’t want me investigating Tsuruhime’s death?” Sano asked. “Is it because you or Yoshisato killed her and you’re afraid I might find enough evidence that I wouldn’t need to frame you to take you both down?”
“Only in your fantasies!”
Before Sano could mention that he knew Yoshisato had visited Tsuruhime shortly before she got smallpox, Yanagisawa said, “By the way, isn’t it terrible what happened to Lady Nobuko three years ago? Kidnapped and raped, poor thing.” Yanagisawa gave Sano a tantalizing smile. “Wouldn’t it be even more terrible for it to happen to your wife?”
Sano stared, speechless with horrified rage. Yanagisawa was as good as saying he was responsible for the assault on Lady Nobuko and would have the same done to Reiko if Sano didn’t cease his investigation. Yanagisawa knew that his family was Sano’s most vulnerable spot. And with his army reduced, Sano couldn’t prevent Yanagisawa from invading his estate and taking Reiko any time.
Yanagisawa added, “I hear Lady Reiko is pregnant,” then stalked out of the room with his guards.
Alone in the courtroom, Sano sat on the dais, letting his temper cool before his next trial, thinking about what had just happened. If Yanagisawa hadn’t killed Tsuruhime, would he be so desperate to stop the investigation? His own behavior was good evidence of his guilt.