low and urgent, spoke to someone inside the chamber.
Masahiro stopped by the door, which was slightly open. He peeked inside at a small space crammed with furniture and bundles. He had a clear view of the monk who served as Priest Ryuko’s aide, but all he could see of Ryuko was his backside. Ryuko was bent over, apparently rummaging inside a cabinet.
“But the roads are blocked,” the monk said. “The bridges are down. I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to get very far.”
“I’ll have to take a chance.” Priest Ryuko’s voice was muffled.
Masahiro deduced that Ryuko was planning a trip. He waited, hoping to hear the reason for what seemed like a sudden, reckless departure.
“Can’t you wait a month or so?” the monk asked. “The roads should be clear by then, and ferries should be available at the river crossings.”
“I can’t wait.”
Masahiro heard desperation in his tone. Was it because of the murders?
“If you go now, there won’t be any place to stay at night,” the monk said. “I’ve heard there’s not an inn open within a two-or three-day journey from Edo.”
“Stop bringing up problems! Help me!” Priest Ryuko said, his voice louder and clearer as his posture straightened. “I need porters and a palanquin and bearers.”
The monk looked worried. “They’ll be hard to find. All the able-bodied men have been put on rebuilding the castle and city.”
“Get them taken off! Bribe someone!” Priest Ryuko turned. Now Masahiro could see his angry profile. He held out a cloth pouch that jingled as he shook it at the monk. “This should be enough money.”
Masahiro silently willed the priest to say where he was going and why.
The monk took the pouch and said, “All right.”
“We have to be ready to go by tomorrow.” Priest Ryuko’s tone was threatening as well as fretful. “Or it’s over for all of us.”
Although Masahiro had failed to learn the destination or the reason for the trip, he knew that people who were innocent didn’t need to leave town in a hurry. Guilty people did.
Priest Ryuko moved toward the door. Masahiro bolted, clutching the laundry to his heart, which beat fast with excitement. He couldn’t wait to tell his father what he’d heard.
25
After leaving minister Ogyu, Sano went to the headquarters of the metsuke, the Tokugawa intelligence service. After the earthquake had flattened its offices inside the palace, it had moved to a watchtower on the castle wall halfway up the hill. The tower’s upper story had fallen off, but the lower level was solid enough for occupation. Sano pushed open the door and entered. Lanterns supplemented the light from the barred windows. Smoke from charcoal braziers turned the air gray and noxious. The room was crowded with trunks and cabinets moved from the palace. A lone agent hunched over a desk. He bowed to Sano and said, “Welcome, Honorable Chamberlain.”
The left sides of his face and neck, and both his hands, were bandaged with white cloth. He’d been burned when his house had caught fire during the earthquake, Sano knew. He wore a brown-and-black-striped kerchief tied around his head. The visible, unscathed half of his face was so ordinary, its features so unmemorable, that Sano had always had difficulty recognizing him. His appearance had once served him well in his profession as a spy.
“I’m glad to see you alive, Toda- san,” Sano said.
Toda smiled wryly with the half of his mouth that showed. “Thanks to the earthquake, I won’t be doing any more secret surveillance.” He lifted his hands to Sano, then touched the bandages on his face. “These would attract the attention of anybody I tried to spy on. The scars will be just as noticeable.”
Sano smiled, too, pitying Toda and admiring his philosophical attitude. “I’m glad you’ve kept your sense of humor.”
“My sense of humor is about all I did get to keep. The fire destroyed all my worldly goods. But sometimes in this life you just have to be glad that things aren’t worse.”
“True,” Sano said. “I came by to inspect the state of the metsuke. ” His other purpose, he couldn’t allow Toda to guess.
“Half of our agents died during the earthquake, I regret to say. Twelve are still missing. As for our informants, we’re still trying to track them down.” The metsuke had employed hundreds of informants. “But we’ve located most of the people we like to watch, those that survived.” He gestured toward the walls, which were covered with charts that listed the names and whereabouts of high government officials, the daimyo, the wealthiest merchants, the most powerful gangsters, and the clergy at the important temples. “If we notice any unusual activity, I’ll let you know.”
Sano felt guilty because he knew about a threat to the regime and he couldn’t alert the metsuke. “By the way, I just spoke with Minister Ogyu from the Confucian academy. Do you know him?”
“We’ve met a few times.” Toda’s visible eye gleamed with curiosity. “Do I smell an investigation?”
“No, I just wondered what you think of him.” Sano recalled the conversation he’d witnessed, Ogyu giving the shogun advice. “Is he trustworthy enough to be around the shogun?”
“As trustworthy as anyone else.” Toda studied Sano as if wondering whether to trust him. “But he’s hard to get to know. His manner is too smooth. One slips off him before one can penetrate beneath the surface. Even when he drinks at banquets, he never loses his self-control and starts blabbing like other men do.”
“Have you investigated him?”
“Of course. His reputation is clean. There’s never been a hint of scandal associated with him or his family. We officially pronounced him harmless, although I can’t guarantee that he’s as pure as the Buddha.”
“Why not?” Sano asked.
“No one is.” Toda exuded cynicism. “The problem with investigating Ogyu was a lack of sources.”
“What about his parents?”
“Both dead. And he hasn’t any brothers or sisters or close relatives. Or any friends who know him very well.”
“How about the scholars and teachers at the Yushima Seid o?”
“They said he never talked to them about anything except Confucianism or business concerning the school.”
“Have you cultivated informers inside his household? His retainers and servants?”
“We’ve tried. They’re remarkably closemouthed. They won’t betray him for money, or sex, either.” Toda sounded amazed by such loyalty, which he must have found to be rare.
“Such extreme privacy suggests that Ogyu has something to hide,” Sano said.
“Good luck finding out what it is.”
“I also ran into Priest Ryuko,” Sano said. “He’s very bad-tempered these days. Could he be a security problem?”
“He’s running scared,” Toda said. “Lady Keisho-in is a target of rumors about the astronomer’s pronouncement. Ryuko knows that if she goes down, so will he.”
That fear, plus the trauma caused by the earthquake, could drive any man to distraction, but Sano thought something more was afoot with Priest Ryuko. “But he has a close relationship with the shogun. Wouldn’t that continue even after Lady Keisho-in dies?”
“Doubtful. He hasn’t made himself very popular with government officials. Many of them blame him for the dog protection laws.”
The dog protection laws had been instituted when the shogun had first become concerned about his inability to father an heir. Priest Ryuko had advised Lady Keisho-in that an heir would be born only after the shogun made a law proclaiming that dogs should be protected, and killing or hurting one was a crime punishable by death. Lady Keisho-in had helped Priest Ryuko convince the shogun. So far no heir had appeared, and dogs bred unchecked, running rampant through Edo, fouling the streets, attacking citizens. People who’d defended themselves and hurt a dog in the process had been executed. The government shelter for stray dogs cost a fortune to maintain. It had
