Sano Ichiro 9 The Perfumed Sleeve (2004)

by Laura Joh Rowland

  But Ibe said, “I’m tired of arguing over everything. Let him come. What does it matter?”

  Otani subsided with a grudging nod. “Today you’ll arrest either the widow or the concubine for the murders of Senior Elder Makino and Daiemon,” he told Sano. “You’ve run out of reasons to delay.”

  “Not quite,” Sano said. “There’s another clue that I must investigate before arresting Agemaki or Okitsu. Last night, I received this message.”

  He handed Otani a folded paper. Otani opened it and read aloud, “ ‘If you want to know who killed Senior Elder Makino, go to the middle house on the west side of Tsukegi Street in Kanda.’ ” He said, “There’s no signature. Who sent this?”

  “I don’t know,” Sano said, although he’d written the message himself. “The letter was slipped under my gate sometime during the night. No one saw who did it.”

  Last night Sano had devised this ploy to investigate Daiemon’s house under Ibe’s and Otani’s very noses. If they didn’t know the house belonged to Daiemon, or how Sano had learned of it, they might not object to going there, and they couldn’t blame him for whatever he found.

  Ibe took the paper from Otani and inspected it suspiciously. “Anonymous messages are not to be trusted.”

  “True, but I can’t ignore this one,” Sano said. “That would be neglecting my duty to the shogun.”

  A silent consultation ensued between the watchdogs. Sano waited, hoping that if fear of their lord didn’t sway them, curiosity would.

  At last Otani said, “Very well.”

  “But if this is a trick, someone will pay.” Ibe’s glance at Sano proclaimed exactly who that someone was.

  Reiko knelt at the dressing table in her chamber, preparing to call on the friends whom she hoped would tell her the identity of Daiemon’s mistress. A good night’s sleep had restored her spirits and strength. Having washed the soot out of her hair, applied makeup to her face and black dye to her teeth, and donned clothes appropriate for the wife of an important bakufu official, she looked like herself instead of the hapless servant she’d been yesterday. But her return to normal didn’t assuage her worries.

  The watchdogs’ men never let Masahiro out of their sight. They’d hovered near while Reiko dressed and fed him this morning. She hated to leave him with them, even though Sano’s detectives stood ready to defend him. And she feared for Sano, navigating through the war zone that Edo had become, alone except for his own retainers now that he’d refused to join either faction. Reiko saw the anxiety on her face reflected in the mirror. She deliberately smoothed her expression. She’d risen and put on her cloak, when a maid came to the door.

  “Fetch my palanquin, bearers, and guards to the courtyard,” Reiko said.

  “Yes, mistress,” the maid said, bowing, “but I must tell you that Lady Yanagisawa is here to see you. She’s waiting in the reception hall.”

  Dismay, coupled with anger, flashed through Reiko. No sooner had she arrived home than Lady Yanagisawa was after her again! Reiko decided she could no longer tolerate Lady Yanagisawa’s destructive madness. She must put an end to their friendship once and for all—now.

  She hastened to the reception room and there found Lady Yanagisawa. “Reiko-san!” Lady Yanagisawa cried, hurrying to greet her.

  The woman’s usually pale cheeks were flushed; her eyes glittered with unnatural intensity. “At last we’re together again,” she said. Her rapid breathing was audible as she clasped her hands at her bosom and gazed yearningly at Reiko. “It is so good to see you after our long separation.”

  “It’s good to see you.” For the last time, Reiko thought.

  “I have something important to tell you,” said Lady Yanagisawa.

  “Oh? Well, I have something important to tell you, too.”

  Because Sano had already repudiated and offended the chamberlain, Reiko thought she could do little more harm with his wife. Reiko prepared to say exactly what she thought of Lady Yanagisawa, and good riddance.

  “I bring a message from my husband,” Lady Yanagisawa said.

  “For me?” Reiko said, taken by surprise. A message from the chamberlain was not to be ignored. “What is it?”

  Lady Yanagisawa grasped Reiko’s hands and drew her downward until they were kneeling opposite each other. Reiko felt Lady Yanagisawa trembling; the woman’s hands were damp and feverishly hot. Something more than usual was wrong with Lady Yanagisawa. A warning note sounded inside Reiko.

  “My husband asks two favors of you,” Lady Yanagisawa said. “First, you must convince your husband to declare that Senior Elder Makino was murdered by Lord Matsudaira’s nephew Daiemon.”

  Amazement stunned Reiko. That Lady Yanagisawa had done various shocking things hadn’t prepared Reiko to expect what she’d just heard. Reiko said, “I can guess why the honorable chamberlain wants Daiemon blamed for Senior Elder Makino’s murder.” That would exonerate Chamberlain Yanagisawa, disgrace the Matsudaira clan in the eyes of the shogun, and give the chamberlain a political advantage. “But why ask this favor from me, of all people?” He’d never deigned to notice her before.

  “He knows you have much influence over the sōsakan-sama,” Lady Yanagisawa said. “And since you and I are such close friends, he sent me on his behalf.”

  Reiko’s mind was still reeling from astonishment. “But why does he think I would ask my husband to do such a thing?”

  “He knows you love your husband and want what is best for him. What’s best for him is to name a dead man as the murderer of Senior Elder Makino. Who’s to say whether Daiemon is really guilty or not? And he can’t be punished or cause trouble. Surely you can persuade your husband to do right by himself and by you and your son.” Lady Yanagisawa spoke as if presenting the most reasonable views in the world. She smiled, anticipating Reiko’s agreement.

  That the woman could imagine she would even consider asking Sano to cooperate in this scheme to subvert justice and ally himself with the corrupt chamberlain! Reiko sat stupefied by the audacity of Lady Yanagisawa.

  “What’s the second favor your husband wants?” Reiko asked.

  Lady Yanagisawa glanced out the door toward the corridor, along which detectives and servants passed. She beckoned Reiko to lean close. When Reiko unwillingly did, Lady Yanagisawa whispered in her ear: “He wishes you to assassinate Lord Matsudaira.”

  Reiko had thought herself already surprised beyond the point where anything else that Lady Yanagisawa said could surprise her. But now, as she recoiled in shock from Lady Yanagisawa, she saw that she’d underestimated the woman—and the chamberlain as well. It appeared that Lady Yanagisawa had worked her way into her husband’s life and become his partner in evil. The request was so outrageous, it seemed absurd. Involuntary laughter burst from Reiko.

  Lady Yanagisawa laughed, too, in delight. Her plain, dour features grew animated, almost pretty. “Isn’t that a wonderful idea?” she said, misinterpreting Reiko’s reaction. “If Lord Matsudaira were to die, his faction would fall apart. The trouble would end.”

  She spoke as if reciting words the chamberlain had told her. “And you are the perfect person to rid us of Lord Matsudaira. You’re so clever, and so adept with swords, and killing is nothing new to you.” Reiko had killed, in self-defense, some of the men who’d ambushed and kidnapped them, and Lady Yanagisawa had seen her. “My husband says he’ll disguise you as a prostitute and sneak you into the camp near the battlefield where Lord Matsudaira meets with his generals. You can stab Lord Matsudaira, then run.” Lady Yanagisawa caught up Reiko’s hands and clasped them to her bosom. “My dearest, precious friend! I am so glad that you will grant my husband these favors!”

  The conversation had taken on a nightmarish quality, and it had lasted long enough. “I will not!” Reiko exclaimed, wrenching her hands from Lady Yanagisawa. “That the chamberlain expects my husband to conspire with him, and me to kill for him, is an insult! We would never violate our honor by doing those things. I would never commit such a crime. You
can tell your husband I said so!”

  Surprise erased the delight from Lady Yanagisawa’s face. She seemed to falter and her mind to change direction. “Allow me to mention a certain murder inquiry in Miyako,” she said. “The chamberlain killed a man in order that your husband would live. If not for the chamberlain, you would be a widow. You owe him a death.”

  This justification had a certain logic. Society operated on favors and obligations, and Yanagisawa must be desperate enough to think it reasonable that she should pay him for Sano’s deliverance. Reiko supposed that he’d been waiting for the right opportunity to call in the debt.

  “Killing to save a life is one thing,” she said. “Assassination is quite another, even if the chamberlain doesn’t make the distinction. I won’t do it.”

  Dismay clouded over the glitter in Lady Yanagisawa’s eyes. “But—but he wants these favors from you.” She sounded less fluent and sure of herself. “And what he wants... he must have.”

  “Not from me, nor my husband,” Reiko said. Her anger at all the evil that Chamberlain Yanagisawa had done to Sano boiled up inside her. “The honorable chamberlain can do his own dirty work and leave us out of it.” Reiko was beyond caring about the danger of saying no to such a powerful man. “That’s my answer to his request, although it hardly deserves the courtesy of an answer.”

  “But if I tell him you won’t do what he wants… my husband will be very angry with me.” Fear crept into Lady Yanagisawa’s voice.

  “That’s your problem, not mine,” Reiko said.

  “If you won’t do it for the chamberlain…” As Lady Yanagisawa hesitated, her eyes pleaded with Reiko. “Will you do it for me? Because we’re friends?”

  Reiko’s anger boiled higher and hotter at the thought of everything Lady Yanagisawa had done to her under the guise of friendship. “You think I should do you a favor, after you tried to kill my son and then me? After that, you call yourself my friend?” Reiko uttered an incredulous, disdainful laugh.

  An astounded look came over Lady Yanagisawa. She sat rigid, her mouth open, gazing blankly at Reiko. Either the woman had forgotten her attempts at murder, or she’d never admitted them to herself.

  “Well, here’s what I meant to tell you,” Reiko said, carried along by the tide of her emotions. “We’re not friends. We never have been. I’ve put up with you and your attacks on me only because I was afraid you would do even worse if I didn’t. But now I’ve had enough of you.” Reiko surged to her feet. “Get out of my house, you evil, jealous madwoman!” she shouted. “Take your husband’s request and throw it back in his face. Never come near me or my family again!”

  Lady Yanagisawa blenched as though Reiko had slapped her. Her flushed cheeks turned pale with shock. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She rose, groping as though blinded. Reiko felt a pity that spoiled her pleasure at finally speaking her mind to Lady Yanagisawa. Her harsh words had clearly hurt the woman by shattering her illusions about their relationship.

  Then a strange, internal energy transformed Lady Yanagisawa. The hectic color returned to her complexion. Her body seemed to swell and undulate, like a serpent readying to strike. The eyes that she now focused on Reiko blazed with hatred and rage. She looked as if all the madness and evil hidden deep inside her had come to the surface.

  “I am sorry that you feel so badly toward me,” Lady Yanagisawa said. Her gruff voice had a vindictive, threatening undertone. An eerie smile hovered upon her lips. “But you must do as my husband wishes.”

  “I already told you I won’t,” Reiko said, although suddenly frightened by Lady Yanagisawa.

  “If you don’t,” said Lady Yanagisawa, “I will tell your husband everything that happened between you and the Dragon King.”

  “What?” Confusion unbalanced Reiko.

  “I’ll tell him that you fell in love with the Dragon King,” Lady Yanagisawa said. “I’ll tell him that I saw you and the Dragon King making passionate love together in the palace.”

  “But you didn’t see that.” Reiko’s confusion turned to disbelief. “It didn’t happen.”

  Lady Yanagisawa’s eerie smile stayed fixed in place. “Who is there besides you to say that it didn’t? The Dragon King is dead. Your husband can’t know what happened on that island because he wasn’t there. But I was.”

  Now Reiko understood Lady Yanagisawa’s intention. “You’re trying to bend me to the chamberlain’s will by threatening to tell my husband lies about me,” Reiko said. Complete revulsion toward Lady Yanagisawa increased Reiko’s determination to stand firm. “Well, don’t waste your breath. It won’t work. My husband knows I’ve always been faithful to him.”

  A rusty, unpleasant laugh issued from Lady Yanagisawa. “Are you so sure? Would you risk your wonderful marriage on the chance that he would believe you instead of listening to me?”

  “Of course he would believe me.”

  But horror dawned as a shard of doubt lodged in Reiko’s heart. She’d never told Sano what had happened between her and the Dragon King. He’d hinted several times that he wanted to know, but she’d always evaded answering. She’d been so loath to relive that awful time, and to confess the things she’d done in an attempt to win her liberty, that she’d left Sano free to imagine whatever he chose. Now she wished she’d told him the whole story, because it was nowhere near as bad as the one Lady Yanagisawa proposed to tell. Reiko’s secrecy had bred suspicions in Sano’s mind, which malicious slander from Lady Yanagisawa would feed.

  “I think I could persuade your husband to believe me,” Lady Yanagisawa said. “Men are possessive and jealous. They don’t like to think that their woman has given her favors to someone else. And they’re suspicious. One hint of infidelity can break their trust. But we needn’t argue about whether you’re right or I am. I’ll just tell your husband my story about you and the Dragon King, and we’ll see what happens.”

  Aghast, Reiko blurted, “You stay away from my husband!”

  Lady Yanagisawa laughed again. “Perhaps you’re not so sure of him after all. Do you think he’ll be so angry that he’ll divorce you for cheating on him? Do you fear that he’ll throw you out of the house and you’ll never see your son again?”

  Reiko did. Although Sano was a reasonable man, she couldn’t predict how he would react to Lady Yanagisawa’s claims. He knew Reiko was hiding something about her experiences at the Dragon King’s palace. There was no one besides herself to refute Lady Yanagisawa. Midori and Lady Keisho-in hadn’t seen what had happened between Reiko and their kidnapper. The Dragon King’s henchmen, who’d witnessed much of it, were dead. And Sano’s trust of Reiko’s fidelity had never been tried before. He might be quick to suspect and retaliate. Even if he didn’t, their marriage would never be the same. Reiko vowed never to keep a secret from Sano again. But her vow came too late to help her now.

  “I’ll take the chance that my husband will listen to you and punish me,” Reiko said, pretending confidence. She folded her arms across her chest. “I won’t coax him into conspiring with the chamberlain. I won’t assassinate Lord Matsudaira, not even to protect my marriage.”

  “Why not?” Lady Yanagisawa’s gaze, alight with madness, burned into Reiko. “Lord Matsudaira seeks to usurp power from the shogun. He is a traitor to his own cousin. He deserves to die. Isn’t your marriage worth his life?”

  “Nothing is worth manipulating my husband or killing in cold blood,” Reiko said.

  Yet as she floundered amid this nightmare, a voice deep inside her mind whispered that Lord Matsudaira’s life as well as his clan’s good name were but small prices to pay for protecting her marriage. She didn’t know the man, or care about him. Her own attitude horrified Reiko. But a primitive, selfish part of her would sacrifice almost anyone or anything to keep the husband she loved. It reasoned that Lady Yanagisawa was right, and Japan would be better off without Lord Matsudaira; it inclined her toward believing that she should do the shogun a favor by killing his overambitious cousin. It argued that Lord Matsudaira’s
death would prevent a big civil war and save many lives. Reiko pictured herself disguised in the gaudy clothes of an army camp whore, stealing into Lord Matsudaira’s tent, a dagger clutched in her hand.

  Lady Yanagisawa smiled a sly, nasty smile. “You’re smart enough to assassinate Lord Matsudaira and not get caught. Your husband will never have to know. The chamberlain will never tell. Nor will I.”

  The moral, rational part of herself told Reiko that if she did kill Lord Matsudaira, she must always live with the knowledge that she was guilty of murder even if she got away with it. And killing a member of a Tokugawa branch clan was treason even if Lord Matsudaira could be considered a traitor himself. Furthermore, Reiko knew better than to trust Lady Yanagisawa or the chamberlain. Bowing to blackmail would only put her under their power for the next time they wanted a favor.

  “I won’t obey. Leave my house at once,” Reiko said.

  Her voice lacked force and conviction. Lady Yanagisawa greeted her wavering with a look that was almost affectionate. “I’ll go now and give you some time to think things over,” Lady Yanagisawa said. “I’ll expect your decision by tonight.”

  Clearly, she believed that Reiko would capitulate. Shaken and terrified, Reiko faced the choice between committing murder and treason or losing everything that mattered most to her. “But even if I should decide to give in to you, my husband will resist pinning Senior Elder Makino’s murder on Daiemon. How am I supposed to persuade him?”

  “That’s your problem, not mine.” With a triumphant smile, Lady Yanagisawa turned and walked out the door.

  * * *

  29

  Lady Yanagisawa arrived, breathless and excited, outside her husband’s office. Her heart throbbed wildly; exhilaration dizzied her. She flung open the door and staggered across the threshold. The chamberlain, seated at his desk, and some eight or ten officials kneeling around him, all stared with disapproval at her. But then the ire on her husband’s face gave way to anticipation. He quickly dismissed the officials, shut the door behind them, and turned to her.