The merchant blinked, disconcerted by the abrupt change of subject. "Two years ago," he said.
"Your family ran the business in Miyako for many generations. Why did you relocate it here?"
"Competition was tougher every year," Naraya said, and Sano watched him squint as he tried to figure out the point of the questions. "Business is much, much better in Edo."
"Your decision had nothing to do with the fact that Hoshina-san had moved here the year before?" Sano said.
"No." The merchant frowned in perplexity, then acquired an owlish look of wisdom. Pointing a finger at Sano, he said, "You think I followed Hoshina-san. You think I came to Edo to do him harm. But I didn't. The day I heard he'd left Miyako, I celebrated because he wouldn't foul the place anymore. If there were any other city as big as Edo, I'd have gone there instead, so I wouldn't have to breathe the same air as him."
Suddenly Sano lost all tolerance for restrained, deliberate interrogation. His urgent need to solve the case, save Reiko, and avoid execution flared up in him. He grabbed Naraya by the front of his kimono.
"No more denials!" he shouted at the merchant. "If you kidnapped the women, you'd better tell me!"
Startled, Naraya inhaled a loud gulp of breath. Fright widened his eyes. "I didn't," he protested.
If there was any chance that he was the Dragon King, Sano wasn't going to let Naraya dupe him. He slammed the merchant against the building and yelled, "Don't lie to me!"
"It's the honest truth," Naraya said. "I didn't kidnap anybody. I swear on my ancestors' honor."
"What have you done with my wife?" Though Sano hated resorting to brute force, he had two choices: He could be nice to the merchant and leave empty-handed, or pressure Naraya and perhaps elicit the facts he sought. Sano shook Naraya back and forth. "Where is she?"
"I don't know!" Naraya's head thumped on the wall. "Please, let me go. You're hurting me."
"Talk, and I'll stop." Sano shook him harder and faster.
The merchant grabbed Sano's hands and tried in vain to pry them off him. His feet kicked Sano's shins. "Help! Help!" he screamed.
"Tell me!" Sano ordered.
Workers rushed out of the factory, armed with paddles, clubs, and iron shovels, ready to defend Naraya. The detectives drew their swords.
"I'm innocent," Naraya cried. "Torture me until I confess, then kill me-but it won't bring back the women, because I didn't take them. I don't know where they are!"
Sano saw Naraya's terrified face, and a brawl impending. He realized he'd gone too far. Beating Naraya's head to a pulp would do Reiko no good, even if Naraya was the Dragon King. Sano released his hold on Naraya. The merchant sat down hard on the filthy ground.
"Go back to your business," Sano told the workmen.
They obeyed; the detectives sheathed their blades. Sano leaned against the wall, spent by his violent impulse and horrified that his life seemed a nightmare in which he must start and restart this investigation for all eternity, and never find Reiko. He looked at the suspect he'd almost killed. Naraya reclined with eyes closed and limbs splayed, moaning. Blood from his head smeared the wall.
"Are you all right?" Sano said, fearful that he'd beaten Naraya senseless.
Naraya opened his eyes. "No thanks to you," he said, and cracked a weak smile. "But no hard feelings. I understand that you're very, very upset, because I know what it's like to lose someone you love. And I really want to help you." With a pained grunt, he stood up and said timidly, "May I make a suggestion?"
Drained of energy for more verbal combat, Sano said, "Go ahead." His hope that Naraya was the Dragon King had diminished so much that he needed all the advice he could get-even from a suspect.
"If you really want to find the kidnapper," Naraya said, "you should forget me and look into other people Hoshina-san hurt. He made himself very, very unpopular around Miyako. Maybe his other old enemies came here after his blood. Maybe they took the shogun's mother."
"Maybe you're just trying to cover your own crimes by diverting suspicion elsewhere." Sano spoke with scorn, although he recognized that unless he found evidence against Naraya, he would have to do as the merchant suggested.
"I'm just trying to do the shogun a favor and keep you from making a big mistake," Naraya said. "May I tell you where else I think you should be looking for the kidnapper?"
Sano's silence indicated assent.
"Inside the Black Lotus," Naraya said.
"The Black Lotus?" Sano frowned, startled that the sect should crop up after the investigation had turned away from it. He regarded Naraya with skepticism, wondering if the merchant was just directing blame toward the notorious scourge. "Why do you say that?"
Naraya looked around, as if fearful of eavesdroppers. He spoke in a low, confidential tone: "I've heard that the police are very, very rough on the Black Lotus folks they arrest. Hoshina-san has his own secret jail where he and his men torture them into informing on their comrades. While he asks them questions, his men drip molten copper into their eyes. They all talk, eventually."
The news disturbed Sano. Although he abhorred the Black Lotus, he disapproved of torture, and he was finding more to dislike about the man he'd obligated himself to save. And he couldn't dismiss Naraya's story as mere rumor. The police had lately made a large number of Black Lotus arrests. If those stemmed from a personal crusade headed by Hoshina, then he'd been responsible for executions that the Black Lotus would view as murder.
"The Black Lotus has as much reason to want revenge on Hoshina-san as I do," Naraya said. "Besides, it has many, many crazy people who would slaughter a Tokugawa procession and kidnap the shogun's mother if their priests ordered them." Naraya echoed the reasoning that had initially caused Sano to suspect the Black Lotus.
Yet Sano warned himself against reverting to his original theory. Even if the Black Lotus priests did want Hoshina dead, they would more likely assassinate him-as they'd done other foes-than concoct the kidnapping plot. They would know that eliminating Hoshina wouldn't end their persecution by the bakufu. Sano also thought other elements of the crime didn't fit the Black Lotus. The ransom letter bespoke a personal attack against Hoshina, not religious warfare. The poem didn't sound like Black Lotus scripture, which derived from ancient Buddhist texts, not dragon legend.
Furthermore, a good detective wouldn't let a suspect influence his judgment.
"After your daughter died, you told Hoshina-san that you would make him pay," Sano reminded Naraya.
The merchant grimaced in annoyance. "Is that what he told you? Well, I suppose he's so desperate that he'll say anything to help himself. Or maybe my daughter's death meant so little to him that he's forgotten what went on between us. But my memory is as clear as if it happened yesterday. This is what I said to Hoshina-san: `Someday you'll suffer for what you did to my daughter. You can't escape the bad karma you've created. Someday the wheel of fate that crushed my daughter will crush you.'
Exultation shone through Naraya's fear. "And it looks as though my prediction is going to come true."
Repeated interrogation of Naraya proved futile because Naraya only reiterated his protests of innocence. At last, Sano and his detectives left the factory and gathered outside by their horses. The afternoon sunlight glared dully on the canal; boatmen shouted curses; a beggar limped along the dusty road, empty bowl in hand.
"Keep a secret watch on Naraya," Sano told two of his men. "Follow him wherever he goes. Maybe he'll do something to show he's the kidnapper and lead us to the women."
"Yes, Sosakan-sama," chorused the detectives.
But Sano feared Naraya was another dead end on another hunt in the wrong direction. He regretted all the more his decision to prevent Hoshina's execution and give up a chance to save Reiko. He wondered how Chamberlain Yanagisawa fared with the Kii clan and he hoped for better results than Naraya had produced, because otherwise they were out of luck.
As he mounted his horse, sudden recollection buoyed Sano's mood. There was one more potentia
l lead to the Dragon King, overlooked in the commotion generated by the ransom letter.
"We're going back to Edo Castle," Sano said. Slapping the reins, he galloped down the street, while his two detectives hurried to catch up with him.
17
The storm on the island diminished to a light rain that dripped through the roof of the ruined keep. Inside, amid the puddles and dank gloom, Reiko, Midori, Lady Yanagisawa, and Keisho-in sat clustered together and watched the door creak open. The fierce samurai who had almost ravished Reiko strode into their prison. After him came two younger samurai whose threadbare clothes and surly air branded them as ronin.
"You," the fierce samurai said, jabbing a finger at Reiko. "Come with us."
Alarm struck Reiko. "What for?" Her voice shook with the fear that sickened her heart.
During the hours that had passed since the kidnappers had captured her outside the castle, she'd had little to occupy her except trying to predict what they would do to her and the other women. Common sense told her that the kidnappers couldn't just keep them here like this forever. The leader she'd met must have another purpose. Reiko's instincts warned that something worse would happen. Now it seemed the time had come.
"Don't talk back," the fierce samurai ordered. His scowl deepened. "Just do as you're told."
Midori whimpered; Lady Yanagisawa emitted an ululating groan like a cat's growl. Reiko felt them clutch her hands, trying to prevent her departure.
"She's not going," Keisho-in said with panicky bravado. "Get out. Leave us alone."
The samurai sneered, then nodded to his comrades. They seized Reiko and tore her from her friends' grasp.
"Oh, Reiko-san," Midori wailed.
Lady Yanagisawa made inarticulate sounds of protest. Keisho-in shouted, "Let her go, you filthy, disgusting beasts!"
As the men roughly propelled Reiko toward the door, she glanced backward at her friends. Their faces expressed their horror at losing her and their hope of salvation.
"I'll be back," she told them with a confidence she wished she felt. "Don't worry."
Outside the door, two peasant thugs crouched. They leered at Reiko as her escorts urged her to the stairway. One of the younger men descended first. Their leader positioned himself behind Reiko, gripped her shoulders, and forced her to walk down the stairs ahead of him. The third man followed. Splinters from the rickety steps needled her bare feet. On the lower levels, more guards lounged, smoking tobacco pipes. As Reiko and her escorts neared the door, the cruel samurai took hold of her right arm, while one comrade restrained her left. The other dogged her heels. The tip of his sword pricked her back. Her heart hammered and her stomach churned.
Where were they taking her? Did they mean to finish the assault that their leader had interrupted?
They dragged her from the keep. The clouded sky darkened the afternoon. Rain pelted her face; the stone landing felt cold and slick under her toes. The men led her past still more guards who loitered on the steps, and along an unfamiliar path through the forest. Three more samurai joined their procession. The trees dripped water; moisture saturated the air, which smelled of loam and decaying leaves.
Reiko barely noticed the sharp twigs that gouged her feet, because an awful thought occurred to her.
The kidnappers intended to murder their victims. They'd chosen her to be the first to die.
Panic compressed Reiko's chest; her breath emerged in wheezes as she tried to control her fear. She longed for Sano, but three days had gone by since her abduction, and he hadn't come. He would not come in time to rescue her now.
Suddenly the forest was behind her, and the path edged the lake, a dull silver mirror of the sky, rimmed by misty woods and mountains on the opposite shore. Would the kidnappers drown her? Reiko imagined Masahiro never knowing why his mother didn't come home. The panic swelled, dizzying Reiko; she stumbled. Borne along by the men, she passed a ramshackle dock that extended into the water. She spied three boats secured to the pilings. The boats were simple wooden shells, with oars laid inside. Her will to survive outbalanced her fear of death, and her spirits momentarily rose. Now she knew that here were her means of transport across the lake, if not how to gain them.
The cruel samurai hustled her past the boats. His grin said he'd read her thoughts and scorned her hope.
On their right loomed what appeared to be the main palace. A paved square, and a crumbling wall studded with ruined guard turrets, fronted the lake. Beyond the wall rose a building crowned with tile roofs whose gables boasted tarnished copper dragon crests. Reiko's captors led her through portals where a gate had once hung. Moss-coated stone lanterns flanked the path through a wilderness that had once been a garden. The buildings seemed intact, though the plaster had flaked off them, exposing weathered wood. Ivy entwined the foundation posts and window grills. The quiet seemed alive with the ghosts of warlords from a bygone era. A shiver chilled Reiko as the men marched her up a flight of steps, into the palace through an open doorway, and along a dim corridor. Torn, moldy paper hung from the lattice walls. Dark stains marred the floorboards, and Reiko sensed that blood had been shed where she now walked. The place breathed a wicked miasma that increased her dread.
Would her blood soon spill here?
They turned a corner and entered a reception chamber. The smoky, bittersweet scent of incense laced the atmosphere. Jagged cracks in sliding doors along the wall gave a view of a veranda outside. Beyond an expanse of rotting tatami, the man in the dragon kimono stood waiting on a dais. Behind him stretched a faded mural that portrayed a fanciful underwater scene of blue waves and green seaweed flowing over gardens and pavilions. He watched Reiko and his men cross the chamber and stop before him. Again his sinister, brooding stare burned into Reiko. Again the peculiar longing in his eyes disturbed her.
"Leave her with me, Ota-san." He flicked a glance at her erstwhile attacker, who seemed to be his chief henchman. "You can all go."
"But she's dangerous." Ota stood firm, his hand still gripping Reiko's arm. His comrades also held their positions. "She killed four of our men during the ambush. She attacked Jiro and me this morning. You shouldn't be alone with her."
Nor did Reiko want to be alone with him. Although she feared her escorts, she wished they would stay.
Angry impatience flamed in the man's eyes. "Then wait outside," he ordered his men.
Ota spoke quietly to Reiko: "Behave yourself, or your friends will be punished."
Then he released her. He and his fellows walked out the door, but Reiko sensed him loitering nearby. She saw the other men line up on the veranda, ready to protect their master.
He descended from the dais and approached Reiko. His flared nostrils twitched as though scenting prey; saliva gleamed on his pursed lips. Reiko folded her arms across her bosom and stepped backward. Her heart beat an escalating rhythm as she eyed the swords at his waist.
Had he brought her here so that he could kill her? Had he kidnapped her and her friends because he enjoyed slaughtering helpless women?
He advanced nearer with that proud yet hesitant swagger. The odor of incense was stronger around him, as if soaked into his skin and clothes. "What's your name?" he said, his gaze intent on her face.
She didn't want to tell him, but she was afraid of what he would do if she didn't answer. She opened her mouth. No speech emerged. Swallowing the dry lump in her throat, she tried again. "Reiko," she whispered.
A shadow of displeasure crossed his features. "That name doesn't suit you. I shall call you. Anemone." He lingered on the word, savoring it.
Reiko hoped she wouldn't be here long enough for him to call her anything, but if he bothered to rename her, then perhaps he intended her to live awhile. Her mettle revived, emboldening her. "Who are you?" she said.
His brows rose in surprise, as if he thought she should have already known. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "You can call me `Dragon King.' "
She frowned, baffled by his strange talk. Why would he name himself a
fter the legendary spirit? She was also perturbed that he wouldn't tell her his real identity.
A secretive smile touched his lips. "Yes, I am the Dragon King, who rights the wrongs done by evil men and balances the cosmic forces in the universe."
What he meant by that eluded Reiko's comprehension. "Where am I?" she asked.
"You're with me, where you belong."
He prowled in a circle around her. Pivoting, Reiko watched him, leery that he would attack her. If she was to die, she wouldn't succumb without a battle, and she wanted some answers first. She said, "I mean, where is this place?"
"This is a castle that a member of my clan built as a summer home. He was a general during the civil wars, more than a hundred years ago. One day, enemy troops attacked him here. They fired mortars, gunshots, and flaming arrows from rafts on the lake. The castle caught fire. The enemy invaded. Although my clansman and his army fought bravely, they were doomed. He committed seppuku to avoid the disgrace of capture."
Laura Joh Rowland - Sano Ichiro 08 - Dragon King's Palace Page 18