Samurai's Wife (15 page)

"Of course I do!" Now Sano's temper snapped. That Reiko should accuse him of compromising his personal principles for the sake of a quick solution to the case! He sat up and turned on his wife. "You just don't understand the stakes involved. One more mishap after the fiasco over the Lion, and I'll be expelled from my post, or even put to death. Shall I make you a widow who shares my disgrace? Is that what you want?"

"Of course not." Anger and bewilderment clouded Reiko's eyes. "And I do understand what's at stake. What I don't understand is why you're so angry with me."

"I'm not. Why must you take every disagreement so personally?"

"If you're not angry, then why are you shouting?"

As they glared at each other, Sano realized that he was angry at himself for desiring Kozeri, and taking it out on Reiko. He had a frightening premonition that this case would destroy his marriage along with everything else that mattered to him. Forcing a smile, he took Reiko's hand. "I'm sorry. It's been a long day, and I'm irritable. Forgive me."

Reiko sat wary and unrelenting for a moment; then she smiled back, and her hand clasped Sano's. "I do know why you arrested Lady Asagao, and I shouldn't have spoken so strongly. You were right to be angry. I'm sorry, too."

Her honest apology only fed Sano's guilt.

"It's just that I feel responsible for what happens to Lady Asagao," Reiko continued in a worried voice. "I was the one who searched her room. I found the clothes and gave them to you."

"You didn't make her confess," Sano said. "It was my decision to have you investigate the palace women, and your duty to turn whatever you found over to me."

"1 know," Reiko said unhappily, "but still..."

Sano couldn't offer any absolution, because he shared her sense of responsibility for Lady Asagao. They sat for a moment, holding hands, joined in dread of the future.

"What shall we do?" Reiko asked. "Find the real killer?"

"Or try to," Sano said. "There's not much time. Delaying Asagao's trial will give me a bad reputation that could spread to Edo and have me thrown out of the bakufu before I can solve the case. Someone else will take over my job, and Asagao will die."

"But we won't give up yet," Reiko declared.

"No, we won't," Sano said, heartened by his wife's determination. "Tomorrow I'll restart the investigation. If there are any clues or suspects Yoriki Hoshina missed, I'll find them."

"Speaking of other suspects," Reiko said, "I forgot to ask if you saw the left minister's former wife."

Suddenly the space around Sano seemed a landscape of quicksand, deep holes, and sharp-edged rocks. He withdrew his hand from Reiko's, lest she feel his nervousness, and said, "Yes, I did." Then, in as neutral a voice as he could manage, he recited the dry facts from his interview with Kozeri.

"So Konoe was a constant problem for his wife since she left him," Reiko mused. To Sano's relief, she didn't seem to suspect anything amiss. "Kozeri belongs to a peaceful Buddhist order that shuns violence and doesn't practice the martial arts. Still, I find it hard to believe she bore no ill will toward Konoe. I wonder if she told you the whole story. She might be more frank with another woman. Maybe I should go see her."

"No!" The word burst from Sano. Reiko looked at him, obviously perplexed by his vehemence. "I mean, I think Kozeri is a less likely suspect or witness than the members of the Imperial Court."

He had to keep Reiko and Kozeri apart. If Reiko saw Kozeri, she might guess how he'd felt toward the beautiful nun. Also, if the investigation required another interview with Kozeri, he wanted to be the one who went, because he wanted to see her again. The knowledge filled Sano with fresh guilt.

"But she's the only lead I can follow," Reiko said, disappointed. "Now that the Imperial Court knows I spied for you, there's no use in my going back to the palace; the women won't tell me anything. It would be better for me to talk to Kozeri than just sit here and do nothing while time runs out for you-and Lady Asagao."

A knock at the door spared Sano the necessity of answering. "Come in," he called, grateful for the reprieve.

Detectives Marume and Fukida entered the room. They bowed to Sano and Reiko. Marume said, "Please excuse the interruption, Sosakan-sama, but just as we arrived at the inn, an imperial messenger came asking for you."

"He brought you this," Fukida said, holding out a cylindrical black lacquer scroll case decorated with gold chrysanthemums.

Sano opened the case and unrolled the document inside. He scanned the message written in bold, black calligraphy and inspected the signature seal. "It's from the emperor," he said. "His Majesty demands that I come to see him immediately."

"What for?" Reiko said.

"He doesn't say, but I'm guessing that he wants to persuade me to free Lady Asagao." Sano's heart sank at the prospect of another clash with the Imperial Court. "Still, I can't ignore an order from the emperor. I have to go."

With a sense of leaving one dangerous situation for another, Sano rose and donned his swords. "Marume-san, Fukida-san, come with me." To Reiko, he said, "We will finish our conversation later."

Sano, Marume, and Fukida rode up to the Imperial Palace just as the temple bells signaled half past the hour of the dog. Outside the palace gate, two sentries-one a Tokugawa soldier, the other an imperial watchman-stood guard.

Dismounting, Sano introduced himself and said, "I'm here to see the emperor, at his request."

"Yes, Sosakan-sama." The Tokugawa soldier bowed, then turned to the watchman. "Go and fetch the imperial escort."

The watchman went inside the palace. Sano and his detectives waited in the quiet, empty street. Beneath a deep violet sky full of stars, a dark mass of leafy treetops rose above the palace walls. Time passed. The moon's irregular white orb floated over the hills. Sano grew restless as hunger, thirst, and weariness of body and spirit strained his patience. Looking at the tired faces of his men, he knew they felt no better than he. They'd spent all day investigating the fern-leaf coins, to no avail. On the way to the palace he'd told them about Lady Asagao's confession and arrest. They shared his doubts, and had loyally seconded his decision to seek out the truth before taking Asagao to Edo for trial. They, too, would suffer if he got in trouble, because their livelihood and honor were tied to his.

Finally the watchman returned with two guards bearing lanterns. They led Sano and his men into the imperial compound.

The palace was a different world at night, enfolded in a darkness more dense than in the city outside. The guards' lanterns spilled weak light against fences and cast long shadows as they preceded Sano, Marume, and Fukida through the kuge quarter. They met no one. Their footsteps echoed forlornly; the only other sounds were the trickle of water in drains and the ever-present insect songs. The warm, humid air breathed a scent of earth, ashes, and the decay of centuries past.

"This place is eerie," said Marume. His jovial voice sounded hollow in the gloom. "Give me the noise and lights and bustle of Edo Castle any day."

Fukida looked around nervously. The same uneasiness infected Sano, who imagined hidden watchers peering at him. In his tired, tense state, the notion of three armed samurai afraid of the dark didn't seem as laughable as it should have. He wished the guards would hurry, but they maintained a slow, decorous pace.

Entering the imperial enclosure, they crossed a lane and passed through an inner gate to a compound of interconnected buildings. They walked a circuitous route around halls, then through a passage and into an open courtyard surrounded by dark buildings and roofed walkways.

Suddenly the guards divided and fled in opposite directions, taking the lights with them, and vanished.

"Hey, what is this?" Marume demanded, his voice raised in surprised protest.

The compound, plunged into darkness, became a labyrinth of shadows. The white gravel and walls shone faintly in the moonlight, but black gloom filled the walkways and surrounded the buildings.

"Wait. Come back!" Sano called to the guards.

The echo of their rapid footsteps faded into the distance.

"Something strange is going on here." Suspicion disturbed Sano. "This feels like a trap."

He and his detectives started across the courtyard, swords drawn, treading quietly. Sano experienced a peculiar sensation, like a silent, windless air current vibrating around him. His skin prickled; his heartbeat accelerated; his breath quickened involuntarily with the physical urgency of fear. His muscles tightened in reaction to an evil presence.

Halting, he said, "What is it?"

Marume and Fukida had also stopped, apparently arrested by the same inexplicable feeling. Sano felt his heart beating harder, and the blood pulsating in his head.

"Where are you?" Fukida muttered, waving his sword as it under attack by a ghost.

"Show yourself!" Marume lunged at shadows.

In the near distance beyond the courtyard, through a walkway and the lacy black foliage of trees, a strange, pale haze tinged the air. The vibrations issued from this eerie brightness, muting noises that sounded like frightened cries. Sano pointed and said, "Whatever it is, it's over there."

Marume and Fukida hurried to stand between him and the unknown threat. "Sosakan-sama, we're taking you out of here," Fukida said.

"Come on, let's go," Marume said.

But now, Sano's sense of danger was overpowering. Ignoring his men's attempt to protect him, he ran across the courtyard, bounded over the walkway, and through a garden toward the light.

The detectives chased after him, calling, "No! Stop!"

Sano came upon a wall that stood between him and the eerie glow. He could still feel the ominous presence, like an invisible net. Then he heard the loud, raspy breathing of some monstrous creature. Battling an instinctive urge to flee, he sheathed his sword. He crouched, arms raised, then jumped. His hands grasped the top of the wall; his feet scraped the plaster as he pulled himself up.

Suddenly the night exploded in a scream of thunderous intensity, as though a million voices had combined into a single horrific sound. Its force knocked Sano off the wall. He landed hard on his back, but he hardly noticed the pain. Rolling facedown, he clasped his arms over his head, trying to block out the dreadful noise that blasted through him. Involuntary sobs wracked him as he felt his muscles tremble uncontrollably, his tendons contract, and his ears throb in pain. Every nerve vibrated; his stomach and chest shuddered. Sano realized that this terrible scream was the spirit cry heard across Miyako the night of Left Minister Konoe's murder.

He cried out in terror, but he couldn't even hear himself over the noise. He feared for the safety of his detectives as the killer unleashed the deadly power of kiai.

Who was it?

Despite his agony, Sano experienced a sense of awe. Witnessing this ultimate expression of the martial arts affirmed not only his belief in kiai, but his faith in the Way of the Warrior.

The scream abruptly stopped. A huge void of silence spread across the night. Sano gasped in relief. His ears rang from the blast. He ached all over; his head throbbed; his heart still pounded. Pushing himself to his knees, he inhaled deep breaths of air and looked around. The strange brightness was gone. In the moonlight Sano saw two inert bodies sprawled on the grass nearby.

"Marume-san!" he cried. "Fukida-san?"

To his relief, the men stirred and sat up. "Merciful gods, am I alive or dead?" Marume groaned.

"I'll never again think of kiai as just an ancient superstition," Fukida said, gasping.

Sano realized that they'd all survived because they'd been far enough away from the source of the spirit cry to feel only minor secondary effects. He said, "Now we know for sure that Lady Asagao didn't murder Left Minister Konoe, because she's locked up in police headquarters. The killer is still out there."

From beyond the wall came the rapid, irregular rhythm of retreating footsteps.

"Quickly!" Sano said.

He and the detectives helped one another scramble over the wall, into another compound. Out of the darkness before them rose long buildings with piles of wood stacked against the walls and huge stone hearths outside. A hush pervaded the palace, as though everyone knew that the scream heralded death and chose to hide until the danger passed.

"These must be the kitchens," Sano said in a low, hurried voice. "We'll spread out. If you see the strange light or feel the vibrations again, make a lot of noise and disrupt the killer's concentration to prevent another spirit cry."

Marume and Fukida disappeared into the shadows. Sano crept around the hearths, alert for any movement or other hint of the killer's presence. He remembered the horrendous noise and power of the spirit cry, and icy fear seeped through him while he searched the kitchen compound. Then he spied a dark shape on the ground outside a building. He approached cautiously and recognized the shape as a prone human figure, lying motionless on its stomach, arms and legs splayed, a sword clutched in its hand.

Blackness surrounded the body like a viscous shadow. Sano touched the shadow, and hot liquid smeared his fingers. The raw, metallic odor of fresh blood and the reek of feces assailed him. He listened for the sound of breaths, but heard nothing. Sano rolled the corpse over. It had a weird pliancy, as if the bones had dissolved, and felt oddly warm. Despite the meager light, Sano saw that the dead man's face was awash in blood that had poured from his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears, drenching his clothes. He recalled Yoriki Hoshina describing Left Minister Konoe's death... hemorrahaged almost all his blood... internal organs ruptured... many bones broken..."

Nausea and horror churned Sano's stomach. Because he hadn't solved the case, someone else had died.

Hurrying footsteps pounded toward him. Was the murderer returning to attack again? He looked up, saw Marume and Fukida coming, and exhaled in relief.

"We couldn't find the killer," Marume said. "Whoever it is could be anywhere in the palace, or out in the city by now." Then he saw the corpse beside Sano. "Merciful gods!"