Nirin lifted items out of the crates for their inspection. oSpices. Silks. Medicines.
Sano didn't believe that Nirin, despite his air of authority, led the smuggling ring. He could see two men facing away from the door and partially hidden by the statue of an armored warrior. One wore the black hat of the Dutch, the other an ordinary Japanese wicker hat. Turn around, Sano urged silently. He knew the barbarian was Dr. Huygens; he just knew it. But who was the other man? Abbot Liu Yun?
Out of a niche in the hall moved a slight figure dressed in saffron robe and brocade stole. Hands tucked inside his flowing sleeves, Liu Yun silently watched the Dutchman.
Maybe the Japanese was Urabe, whom Hirata had linked with gangsters. Or Governor Nagai, not trusting his subordinates with the sale of the loot? But the barbarian's presence clued Sano to the man's identity.
oAll right, we've seen enough, the lead gangster told Nirin. To his men, he said, oClose up those crates. Then he untied a bulky cloth pouch from his sash and offered it to Nirin.
oPay the boss, Nirin said, pointing.
The Dutchman rose and walked around the crates. It was Assistant Director deGraeff. Sano felt a melting sensation of relief "his trust in the doctor hadn't been a mistake after all "and guilt, for wrongly suspecting his friend. Then the Japanese followed, and Sano's guess was confirmed.
Clutching a portable writing desk, the man jittered with nervous excitement; his toothy grin flashed. It was Interpreter Iishino, who spoke Dutch and whose presence was therefore required for negotiations with barbarians. The oboss ; leader of the smuggling ring.
oI'll take that, Iishino said. He put down the desk, a flat rectangular box with a hinged, sloping lid. Then he cupped his hands, gloating as the gangster poured gold coins into them. oThank you, thank you. Kneeling, he counted the money into stacks on the floor. The gangsters repacked merchandise in the crates. Abbot Liu Yun, de Graeff, and the other Japanese lined up in front of Iishino.
oTo Assistant Director deGraeff, for the goods he and Director Spaen so kindly imported, Iishino said, handing coins to deGraeff. He took brush, ink jar, and a small book from inside his desk and recorded the payment. oTo Abbot Liu Yun, for the use of his temple, and for acting as liaison with the black market.
Keeping his right hand in his sleeve, Liu Yun took the money and stood beside deGraeff, who was counting his coins. Iishino continued doling out and recording payments. oTo Commander Nirin and the Deshima guards for providing security and transport. The gangsters finished packing and sealing the crates; the last guard received his money. Iishino stoppered his ink jar. The smugglers' hierarchy was clear, though not the identity of Spaen's or Peony's murderer. But Sano must act before the smugglers and goods left the hall. He only hoped he'd given Hirata enough time to secure a position outside the front door.
oWe'll go in now, Sano told Takeda.
He drew his sword, flung open the door, and burst into the hall. oNobody move! he shouted. oYou're all under arrest!
Chapter 34
SILENCE DESCENDED UPON the hall as the smugglers stared at Sano and his comrades in shocked dismay. Fragmented scenes coalesced in Sano's vision: tiny Abbot Liu Yun and tall Assistant Director deGraeff standing rigidly side by side; Nirin's fading smile; Interpreter Iishino's stricken face; the Deshima guards clutching their money; a glaring gangster, his arms blue with tattoos. Then chaos erupted.
oRun! shouted the gangster chief.
His men bolted for the opposite door. At the same time, Hirata's team burst through it, swords drawn, halting their flight. The Deshima guards had started to follow the gangsters, but Nirin called, oCome back, you cowards! Kill them, and we're safe!
He drew his sword. His men faltered, then rallied around him, unsheathing their blades. With Nirin in the lead, they advanced on Sano and Takeda. As Sano prepared for battle, he tried to watch everyone at once. DeGraeff was running toward a side exit with Abbot Liu Yun hurrying after him. Interpreter Iishino picked up his desk and fled. Hirata's team faced off against the gangsters. One of them hurled a knife, and the retainer on Hirata's left cried out and fell dead with the blade sticking in his chest.
oLet the gangsters go! Although Sano would have liked to arrest all parties to the smuggling, his small force couldn't handle everyone. oCatch Iishino, Liu Yun, and deGraeff!
Nirin lunged, sword flashing. oNow you'll pay for throwing me down the well.
Sano parried while a tornado of blades churned around him. His counterattack merely slashed Nirin's sleeve. He dodged a cut aimed at his head, then whirled just in time to deflect slices from two Deshima guards. Takeda and his retainers fought the other ten. Energy poured from Sano's spiritual center, bringing with it a heightened awareness, an expanded vision. As he advanced and retreated, he saw Hirata chasing Liu Yun and the Dutchman. The abbot held a dagger in the hand he'd earlier kept hidden under his sleeve.
oYour partner killed my brother, he screamed, tearing after deGraeff. He must have been waiting for the right moment to attack, and the raid had spurred him to action. oNow you'll join Jan Spaen in death. Order will be restored to the universe "the I Ching does not lie. I shall have my revenge on you vile, mercenary Dutch at last!
The terrified barbarian raced around the hall. Abbot Liu Yun shrieked curses in Chinese.
With a quick cut, Sano laid open a Deshima guard's throat. The man fell dead beside another slain by Takeda. Sano leapt over the bodies and continued battling Nirin and three other guards. One of Takeda's retainers cleaved a guard's skull, slashed another's chest, then took a fatal cut across the belly. The supreme judge fought expertly, but his garments hung in shreds, and cuts bled on his exposed legs. Sano felt his own strength diminishing, his reflexes slowing, and his sore shoulder leaking blood. He drew his short sword, fighting two-handed to parry strikes and reduce the stress on his injury.
Abbot Liu Yun cornered deGraeff against the altar, shrilling, oDie! Die! and stabbing at deGraeff. The barbarian threw up his hands in self-defense. The dagger gashed his palms, then pierced his chest. DeGraeff screamed and fell. Hirata tried to pull Liu Yun away, but the abbot jumped on deGraeff and kept stabbing. Then deGraeff seized the dagger, and they grappled in a desperate struggle for its possession. Dutch and Chinese curses filled the hall.
Ducking a slash, Sano swung his blade in an arc and cut a guard's legs out from under him. As he rose, he saw deGraeff win control of the weapon and turn it on Abbot Liu Yun. Now the Chinese man's cries of agony drowned out the ring of blades. Two more guards replaced the fallen man. Sano took a cut to his thigh and stumbled. His opponents closed in for the kill.
Then a figure moved swiftly behind them. They both grunted; their faces went slack, and they fell forward. Blood poured from wounds across the backs of their necks. There stood Hirata, dripping sword raised.
oLiu Yun and the barbarian are killing each other, he told Sano. oGet Iishino. I'll handle this.
He joined Supreme Judge Takeda and two surviving retainers in the battle against Nirin and seven remaining guards. Sano hesitated, loath to abandon his allies. Then he looked around. Interpreter Iishino was nowhere in sight. Sano raced down the hall, past hulking statues and gleaming murals, fearing that the leader of the smuggling ring had escaped during the confusion. Then he spotted Iishino.
In a niche near the altar, the interpreter squatted beneath an arch of gilt flames, his desk in front of him. Anticipating a victory for his side, he'd apparently chosen this spot as a safe place from which to view the battle. He blanched when he spied Sano. Clutching his desk, he scooted farther back into the niche.
oSsakan-sama, this is not what you think. He flashed a sickly version of his grin. oI can explain everything, everything.
Sano stopped before the despicable man who had framed him and left his cohorts to fight alone. oCome here, Iishino. He wouldn't kill the interpreter, but oh, how he would enjoy seeing Iishino tried and executed.
Iishino flapped his hands. oWait, wait. I am not one of them. His eyes dart
ed with anxious cunning. oI "I discovered the smuggling and infiltrated the ring to learn who the criminals were. I was going to report them to the authorities in time to save you. Iishino smiled and bobbed his head. oIt's the truth, I swear!
oHe's... lying.
The hoarse croak came from Abbot Liu Yun, who lay beside the altar. Blood from stab wounds on his torso stained his saffron robe crimson. His face was a mask of agony. Nearby, Assistant Director deGraeff lay dead, the dagger beside his hand. Liu Yun coughed, gasped, then continued:
oIishino... started the smuggling.... Paid me to make the mysterious lights... and arrange contact with... black market. And he... killed Spaen.... I saw. He stole... my revenge. But the I Ching was right. I have crossed the abyss... and killed... my brother's Dutch murderer's comrade. Now I can die... in peace. Hsi! I join you now...
His face relaxed; his eyes dulled. Sano marveled at the revenge lust that neither time, faith, nor reason could obliterate. Then he looked back at Iishino "and down the bore of a gun the interpreter aimed at him.
oGet away from me, get away! Iishino quavered.
The tubular pistol with carved ivory grip and long metal barrel wobbled in his shaky hands. Sano had instinctively raised his swords to ward off the threat. Fear paralyzed him, even as he registered satisfaction at learning the identity of Spaen's killer. His lungs seemed made of iron, incapable of inhaling or exhaling air. He'd never faced a gun before, and his knowledge of firearms came from reading war manuals. Now he truly recognized the power of the foreign weapon. In a swordfight, he could have easily defeated Iishino. The gun made Sano the weaker of them.
oDrop your swords! Iishino ordered.
The lid of his desk lay open; he'd taken the gun out while Sano was watching Abbot Liu Yun. Deploring his lack of foresight, Sano let both swords clatter to the floor. He'd known the smugglers had access to guns. He should have expected the cowardly Iishino to own one. He should have killed Iishino when he'd had the chance!
oPut the gun down, Iishino. Sano's voice sounded thin in his own ears. Hirata and Takeda were still battling Nirin and three guards; the other retainers lay dead. Now a core of angry determination hardened within Sano's fear. The venal, corrupt interpreter was a ruthless killer.
Sano refused to let him win. Though unarmed, he still had his wits to match against the interpreter's advantage. He stepped forward and said evenly, oMy men will defeat yours. Kill me, and they'll be witnesses. You won't escape. So put the gun down.
As Iishino cowered in the niche, his gaze slid back and forth; his mouth worked. Yet he kept the gun aimed at Sano. With his left hand, he reached inside the desk and grabbed his account book "a narrow sheaf of paper bound in black silk and tied with scarlet cord. Tucking this in his sash, he stood. oMove, or I'll shoot!
He thrust the gun forward in both hands. Sano leapt back. Iishino sidled out of the niche and toward the door. Sano eyed the gun's firing mechanism, a raised clamp holding a pointed flint that would ignite the powder when the trigger was pulled. oGuns aren't as reliable as swords, Iishino, Sano said. Swallowing panic, he followed the interpreter. oThe powder may not light. It was a common problem. oAnd you only get one shot. Guns recoiled when fired; even at close range, the bullet could miss its target.
Iishino giggled. oThis is a very superior gun. It belonged to Director Spaen. It fires every time, every time "he showed me. Don't come any closer, I'm warning you.
His voice had a hysterical pitch. The gun shook wildly. As Sano imagined death exploding from the barrel's round, black opening, his heart thudded. He hurried to calm the interpreter.
oIishino, why did you smuggle? he asked, knowing that criminals often liked to justify their actions.
oI had no choice, no choice. As Sano had hoped, Iishino's voice leveled; the gun steadied, and he slowed his backward flight to the door. oGovernor Nagai made a secret deal with the barbarians. He told me to arrange everything. When Sano moved closer, he flinched. oGet away from me!
Sano hastily obeyed. Iishino babbled, oHow could I refuse Governor Nagai? I would lose my position. Besides, he pays me very well, and I need the money. It's very expensive to be always buying gifts for my superiors. It's not enough to do them services.
oServices like helping to frame me? Sano interjected.
oYes "I mean, no! Oh, but you wouldn't understand. Iishino grew angry and more agitated as he spoke. oYou don't know what it is to be so lonely that you would do anything to be accepted. You're just like everyone else who shuns and ridicules me!
Hastening to placate the interpreter, Sano saw a way to learn the motives behind the murders. oI do understand, he said. oI know how cruel people can be, no matter how hard we work or how much we deserve respect.
oYes. Yes! Responding to Sano's genuine sincerity, Iishino nodded vigorously.
Sano edged between the interpreter and the door, oDid Director Spaen also mistreat you? Is that why he died?
Iishino's face crumpled. oI thought he was my friend. The gun dipped, and Sano wondered if he should grab it. No, not yet... oOh, I know he was obligated to be polite to me "especially since I helped sell his private stock of goods. But he was always so nice that I thought he really liked me. I thought a barbarian could appreciate me the way my countrymen didn't. I was so happy, Iishino wailed.
He took a hand from the gun and wiped tears off his cheeks. Sano moved closer, summoning his nerve. oBut then, that night at the cove, I realized I'd only been fooling myself, Iishino continued. oWe'd just brought the boat into the cave "Spaen, Commander Nirin, and I. We were waiting for Liu Yun to bring the gangsters. I was so excited; I laughed and hugged Spaen and said, We make the best partners in the world, you and I "though of course, you Dutch are not as smart as we Japanese. o
Iishino smiled through his tears in remembered pleasure; he didn't seem to know he'd offended his opartner. Then his expression darkened, and he lifted the gun. oSpaen sneered at me, then said I was a piece of dung who wasn't fit to lick his shoes, and if not for the smuggling, he wouldn't have anything to do with me at all! I saw that our friendship was all in my imagination, my imagination. He scorned me "just like everyone else!
oI was hurt, then angry. To be rejected even by a barbarian! Indignation flared in Iishino's eyes. oHe was wearing his gun "I kept it in my office on Deshima, and let him have it for games with his whore, and whenever he left the island. When he turned away, I grabbed it and shot him.
Now Sano realized that all the complications of the murder case " Spaen's relationships with the other barbarians; Abbot Liu Yun's history; the intricacies of Dutch-Japanese foreign affairs; even the smuggling "had been peripheral to the crime. Director Spaen had died because of one man's basic human need for friendship, a motive that transcended cultural, political, and financial concerns. Sano pitied Iishino, with whom he felt a poignant kinship. His own background and nature had made him as much an outsider in the bakufu as Iishino. Had he cared more about the approval of others, he might have someday found himself in the same position: killing in revenge for one slight too many.
But hurt feelings didn't justify murder; pity must not obstruct justice. Sano eased nearer to Iishino. oWhat happened next?
oSpaen fell. Commander Nirin shouted. I dropped the gun and bent over Spaen. As Iishino's gaze turned inward, Sano could almost see the scene reflected in his eyes. oThere was so much blood. He didn't move, or answer when I called his name. I began to weep. I didn't mean to kill him, only to hurt him as he'd hurt me!
oThen Abbot Liu Yun was there. He said, ~Dump Spaen in the ocean and say he escaped from Deshima.' But Commander Nirin said, ~If his body washes ashore, everyone will see he was shot. The murder of a barbarian will bring Edo officials to investigate. The Deshima staff will be the obvious suspects, and Governor Nagai will sacrifice us to protect himself.'
oAbbot Liu Yun undressed Spaen and cut up the bullet wound with his knife. Then he began cursing and stabbing the body. He said he'd agreed to help with the smuggling so he could kill Spa
en, and he was angry that someone else had beaten him to it. Commander Nirin pulled Liu Yun away and lifted Spaen into the boat. I took a crucifix that I'd planned to sell to the Christians and put it around Spaen's neck.
oSo that if he was found, the authorities would think a Christian had killed him? Sano asked quietly.
oNo. So that my friend's spirit would have the blessing of his god. A sob caught in Iishino's throat; the gun now pointed at the floor.
Soon, Sano thought. oAnd Peony? Why did you kill her?
oOne night when I was at the Half Moon Pleasure House, she stole my account book. Later she tried to blackmail me. Spaen had told her the book was a record of all the goods smuggled and everyone involved. She knew I dealt in Christian contraband, and when you told her about the crucifix on Spaen's body, she guessed that I had killed him. The night he disappeared, she saw me come to his room and lead him away. If I didn't pay, she would send the book to Edo, and I would be executed. She misled you by lying about Urabe being on Deshima because she didn't want you to find out about me before I paid. But I didn't have the money. So I killed her. I had no choice.
SI3 The Way of the Traitor (1997) Page 31