Laura Joh Rowland - Sano Ichiro 06 - Black Lotus

by Black Lotus(lit)

  Reiko faltered. "I don't think you should confess."

  "Then you believe I'm innocent?" Eager hope gleamed in Haru's streaming eyes.

  "The investigation isn't finished," Reiko said, compromising between honesty and tact.

  Desolation shadowed Haru's face: She wasn't deceived by Reiko's hedging. She hurried to the cabinet and removed a worn cotton blanket, a comb, a pair of chopsticks, and a wooden bowl. She spread the blanket on the floor and set the other items on top of it.

  Reiko frowned, perplexed. "What are you doing?"

  "I can't stay here. Kumashiro will come back. If I don't confess, he'll kill me." The words poured from Haru in a frantic rush as her fingers fumbled to tie the blanket around her meager possessions. "I must go."

  "But where?" Reiko said, dazed by events happening too quickly, spinning out of her control.

  "I don't know."

  Likely, she would end up begging in the streets. The thought appalled Reiko, as did the idea of letting Sano's only suspect go. Perhaps Haru was manipulating her by volunteering to confess, then threatening to run away, yet she saw only one possible course of action.

  "Come with me," Reiko said, taking the bundle from Haru. She put her arm around the girl's trembling shoulders, although aware that her affection for Haru had waned. "I'll take you to a safe place."

  Afterward, she must continue investigating the Black Lotus sect-even if it meant breaking her promise to Sano.

  10

  There is only one truth.

  There are not two, nor three, nor a million.

  The others are not the truth.

  -FROM THE BLACK LOTUS SUTRA

  Well, Sosakan Sano, what progress have you made in your, ahh, investigation?" said the shogun.

  He sat on the dais of Edo Castle's Grand Audience Hall, whose floor was divided into two levels. On the higher level immediately below the dais, in a row to the shogun's right, knelt the five members of the Council of Elders, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's chief advisers and Japan's supreme governing body. Sano knelt near the end of this row. Opposite knelt the abbot of Zojo Temple and four high priests. On the lower level sat a delegation of Edo's city elders: commoners who relayed communications between the townspeople and officialdom and supervised the neighborhood headmen. Sentries guarded the doors. Secretaries occupied desks along the walls. The shogun's personal attendants awaited his orders, while servants poured tea for the assembly and brought metal baskets of lit coals for tobacco pipes.

  Sano said, "I've learned that all three victims were murdered before the fire," and described their injuries. "The woman and boy haven't been identified yet; citywide inquiries have begun. So far, the orphan girl remains the only suspect. There are reports that Haru is a troublemaker who had a grudge against Commander Oyama." Sano related the statements of Abbess Junketsu-in, Dr. Miwa, and Oyama's son. "However, she claims that she can't remember anything between the time she went to bed and the time she was found at the fire. One of my detectives is working with her to recover her memory."

  The thought of Reiko stirred lingering worry inside Sano. Their compromise last night hadn't restored their intimacy. Reiko had spurned his amorous advances, saying she was tired, but this morning he'd watched her practicing kenjutsu. Her every movement seemed to proclaim her determination to prove she was right about Haru. Now Sano wondered uneasily what would happen when Reiko visited Haru today.

  "We're continuing the search for witnesses and other suspects," Sano finished. "I shall have more to report soon."

  His audience's reaction confirmed his fear that his results sounded paltry. The priests and the Council of Elders regarded Sano with veiled disapproval; the shogun took his cue from the others and frowned. The city elders watched their superiors in complicit silence.

  "I expected better from you, sosakan-sama," remarked Senior Elder Makino Narisada, whose pallid skin stretched over the prominent bones of his face. Since the truce between Sano and Chamberlain Yanagisawa, he'd taken over the role of Sano's chief detractor. "You should certainly have solved the mystery by this time; yet you've accomplished very little."

  Murmurs of agreement came from the other council members. Sano's spirits began a familiar descent. Men in the bakufu were always trying to gain by making someone else look bad.

  "Also, your activities have thoroughly disrupted the temple district," Makino said. "Isn't that correct, Honorable Abbot?"

  "Our routines have been interrupted by detectives searching for clues and interviewing everyone." The abbot of Zojo Temple spoke reluctantly, in a humming voice trained by years of chanting sutras. He was a serene, statuesque priest whom Sano had met many years ago when he'd been a student at the Zojo Temple school. Now he gave Sano an apologetic glance: While he didn't want to make trouble for Sano, he couldn't contradict a man as powerful as Makino, and he was understandably concerned about the effect of the investigation upon his domain. "But of course, the sosakan-sama has our full cooperation, and we trust that the matter will be concluded quickly."

  "Thank you, Honorable Abbot," Sano said, feeling pressured by this hint to speed up his progress.

  A faint smile cracked lines in Makino's skull face. He addressed the shogun: "May I invite the city elders to express their concerns about the situation?"

  "Permission granted," said Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. His worried gaze moved over the assembly while he tried to read the conversation's undercurrents.

  The delegation on the lower level stirred. An elderly man with sparse white hair inched forward on his knees, bowed to the shogun, and said with visible nervousness, "A thousand thanks for the privilege of speaking, Your Excellency. During the past few months there have been fires in the Suruga, Nihonbashi, and Kanda districts, causing thirty-four deaths." The old man glanced at Makino. "We fear that the fires may be related to the one at the Black Lotus Temple."

  Sano was alarmed by this theory that the Black Lotus fire might be the latest work of a habitual arsonist. However, he deduced that it was Makino who had planted it in the minds of the elders and brought them here to help make Sano's failure to solve the case seem more reprehensible.

  "I thank the city elders for the news," Sano said evenly. "While there's no evidence that the Black Lotus fire involves anyone or any place outside the temple, I shall certainly check into the possibility."

  "That sounds like a good, ahh, plan," the shogun ventured, as if afraid to contribute his opinion to an argument he didn't understand.

  A flicker of annoyance in Makino's eyes acknowledged that his ploy hadn't worked the way he'd hoped. "You exhibit an astonishing indifference to the concerns of our citizens, sosakan-sama. Perhaps you do not care about their safety. Is that why you're taking so long with your inquiries?"

  The shogun frowned in confusion, but Sano felt his lord's approval swaying toward Makino. Sano said, "A thorough investigation requires time. Perhaps the Honorable Senior Elder would prefer that the job be done poorly?"

  "An honorable man does not evade the blame for his mistakes." Although Makino's expression didn't change, anger radiated from him. "Nor does a good detective ignore what is before his eyes. The orphan girl is the obvious culprit, but she hasn't been arrested yet. She's free to set more fires and kill again."

  The other council members nodded. The abbot gave Sano a sympathetic glance. Indecision puckered the shogun's brow.

  "The evidence against Haru is a matter of circumstance and hearsay," Sano said, forced to defend the girl despite his suspicion of her. "There's no proof of her guilt."

  "Why do you need proof when a confession would suffice? Are you saying that you're incapable of getting the truth out of a fifteen-year-old female peasant?" Makino emitted a cackle of laughter. "Perhaps you need a lesson in interrogation techniques."

  Sano swallowed a sharp retort that would demonstrate bad manners and offend the shogun. "If Haru didn't commit the crimes, then torturing her would do us no good and her much undeserved harm. Executing an innocent person won't serve justic
e or protect the public."

  "Yes, you must, ahh, protect the public." The shogun echoed Sano's words with the breathless relief of a man who has just run a long distance to catch up to his comrades.

  Sano watched Makino hide his chagrin by puffing on his tobacco pipe.

  "Therefore, you should have arrested Haru long ago," the shogun continued, giving Sano a reproachful look. "Your, ahh, procrastination makes the bakufu look weak. We cannot afford to let the citizens think they can get away with, ahh, murder. Haru should have already been punished as an, ahh, example of what happens to anyone who breaks the law. I am extremely disappointed in you, Sosakan Sano."

  Anxiety filled Sano as he saw Makino's veiled glee. He said carefully, "I'm sorry, Your Excellency. Please be assured that I have the bakufu's interests at heart. Please allow me to point out that we could lose tremendous face if more fires and murders occurred after Haru's execution because the real culprit escaped justice."

  "Ahh."

  Comprehension brightened Tsunayoshi's face. Makino's ugly features darkened. Everyone else gazed at the floor.

  Then the shogun said, "However, I must demand action, Sosakan Sano. Either prove that the girl is guilty, or find out who is. Otherwise I shall put someone else in charge of the, ahh, investigation." The shogun looked around the room, and his gaze settled upon Makino.

  The senior elder's humble bow didn't hide his satisfaction.

  "If you do not produce results immediately," the shogun continued to Sano, "I shall also have to reconsider your, ahh, position at court."

  Makino flashed a triumphant look at Sano, who realized with dismay that this case could destroy his career. He also understood that the surest way to save it was to prove that Haru was guilty, and do it fast.

  "Dismissed," the shogun said, waving his fan at the assembly.

  Back at his mansion, Sano summoned four detectives to his private office and said, "I have a new assignment for you: secret surveillance on the Black Lotus sect."

  He'd picked these men because they hadn't been part of the arson investigation yet, and they weren't known at the temple. Now he turned to Kanryu and Hachiya, former police officers some years his senior. "You two will disguise yourselves as pilgrims and loiter around the temple."

  "What are we looking for?" said Kanryu. His sleepy appearance concealed a talent for spying.

  When Sano related the novice monk's story, the detective exchanged glances with Hachiya, a muscular man whose friendly disposition inspired trust, often to the detriment of people with something to hide. The pair bowed to Sano, observing the samurai tradition of unquestioning obedience to their master, but he sensed their skepticism.

  "I know it sounds unbelievable," he said, "but if there is anything wrong at the temple that may have any bearing on the arson and murders, we need to know." To the two other detectives he said, "I want you to infiltrate the sect."

  The two men, Takeo and Tadao, were brothers in their late teens, from a family of hereditary Tokugawa vassals, apprentices to Sano. They shared similar daring spirits and handsome faces. Now they listened attentively as Sano said, "You'll pose as religious youths who want to enter the Black Lotus monastery. Get accepted as novices and find out what goes on inside."

  "Yes, master," Takeo and Tadao chorused, bowing.

  "Kanryu-san, you're in charge of the surveillance," Sano said. "Report to me on everyone's progress."

  "Will you be at the temple today?" Kanryu asked as the detectives prepared to leave.

  After a moment's hesitation, Sano said, "Later, perhaps. I've got some business to take care of."

  Kojimachi district occupied the central ridge of Edo, just west of the castle, along the road that led to Yotsuya, home of the secondary branches of the Tokugawa clan. Here, in a narrow corridor between the compounds of Tokugawa daimyo and retainers, commoners plied their trades. Merchants sold and delivered food; restaurants and teahouses served travelers; Hirakawa Tenjin Shrine hosted one of Edo's few evening markets. Behind the businesses thrived a populous residential area.

  As Sano rode past a shop redolent of fermenting miso, light rain fell from the gray sky; umbrellas sprouted in the crowds around him. Trepidation weighed upon his spirit. He'd promised Reiko that he would personally investigate the Black Lotus, and sending detectives instead seemed a betrayal of her trust. And he hadn't told her that he was going to check Haru's background. Although he deemed this necessary for assessing the girl's character, he didn't want Reiko to think he lacked faith in her judgment or was persecuting Haru.

  Still, he must determine to his own satisfaction whether Haru was guilty, so he could either arrest her and satisfy the shogun and the public, or develop other leads if she was innocent. Perhaps what he learned at her birthplace would put him and Reiko on the same side of the case.

  The road led Sano to Kojimachi's most famous landmark: the hunters' market. Stalls sold the meat of wild boar, deer, monkey, bear, and fowl from the mountains outside Edo. Customers and vendors haggled; flies buzzed around carcasses hung on hooks or spread on pallets; the air reeked of blood and decay. Buddhist religion prohibited the eating of meat, with one exception: for medicinal purposes. Some diseases could be cured only by consuming stews or elixirs made from animals. Farther down the road stood the popular restaurant named Yamasakana- "Mountain Fish"-which served these remedies.

  In a row of low, attached buildings near Yamasakana, Sano saw a noodle restaurant. This must be the establishment once owned by Haru's family. Short indigo curtains hanging from the eaves sheltered a raised wooden floor where diners could sit. At this hour-midway between the morning and noon meals-the restaurant was empty, but the sliding wooden doors stood open. As Sano dismounted and tied his horse to a pillar, he heard pans rattling in the kitchen at the rear; charcoal smoke wafted out. The moneylenders who had seized the restaurant as payment for Haru's father's debts had apparently sold it to someone else.

  When Sano entered, a middle-aged proprietor wearing a blue cotton kimono and white head kerchief came to greet him. Sano introduced himself, then said, "I need information on the family who owned this restaurant before you. Did you know them?"

  The proprietor's round, honest face looked perplexed. "Yes, master. They were my parents. They died eleven years ago. My wife and I have been running the business ever since." He gestured toward the kitchen, where a woman stirred steaming pots on a hearth amid chopping blocks heaped with sliced vegetables.

  "I must have the wrong place," Sano said. "The people I'm interested in died just two years ago. They had a daughter named Haru."

  He was about to ask whether the proprietor knew the family, when the man went deathly pale, dropped to his knees, and uttered an anguished moan: "Haru-chan..."

  The woman ran out from the kitchen. Small and slender, with graying hair piled atop her head, she scolded her husband, "We agreed never to speak of her again!" Then she took a second look at the man, and her rage faded into concern. "What's wrong?" She turned wary eyes on Sano. "Who are you?"

  "He's the shogun's sosakan-sama," the proprietor said in a choked voice. "He asked about her."

  "Then you know Haru?" Sano said, baffled by the couple's reaction.

  "No." The woman shot her husband a warning glance.

  He lifted bleak eyes to Sano. "She was our daughter."

  "Your daughter? But I understood that Haru was an orphan whose parents died of a fever."

  Misery slumped the proprietor's shoulders. "Whoever told you that was wrong. We are alive. It is Haru who is dead."

  Trying to make sense of the conversation, Sano shook his head. "Haru is at the Zojo Temple convent." He explained about the fire and murders, and Haru's situation. The couple listened in blank silence: Apparently they hadn't heard the news. "I think there's been a misunderstanding," Sano said. "We can't be talking about the same-"

  Grunting noises came from the man, and Sano realized that he was weeping, although his eyes were tearless. The woman pressed her hands against ashe
n cheeks. She murmured, "Oh, no."

  In the kitchen a pot boiled over; moisture sizzled on hot coals, and clouds of steam rose. The woman rushed to the stove and removed the pot. The man stood, his movements shaky. "There's no misunderstanding," he said sadly. "The Haru you speak of is our daughter. She is dead to us, but we've known all along that she was out in the world somewhere."

  So Haru had lied about being an orphan. Disturbed, but not really surprised, Sano wondered whether she'd told the truth about anything. "Did she run away?" Then another possibility occurred to him. "You disowned her."