when the Imperial Court has no authority over religious orders?” Reiko asked.
Kozeri lifted her hands, then let them fall. “He said he could. I believed him.”
Had she been so convinced of her former husband’s power over her that she’d taken the threat seriously? Reiko wondered. Or was Kozeri lying again? “What was the special occasion?”
“He didn’t say. I didn’t ask. But I knew he meant to take his pleasure from me.”
“Go on,” Reiko said.
“I agreed to meet him,” Kozeri said. “The next night his attendants came to the temple after everyone there was asleep. They took me in a palanquin to the Imperial Palace. We traveled to the imperial enclosure without meeting anyone. We stopped in the Pond Garden, and the attendants took me to the cottage on the island. They lit a lantern and left me alone inside.”
Prince Momozono claimed he’d seen a light in the cottage just before he and Emperor Tomohito discovered Konoe dead, Reiko remembered; there had indeed been someone else in the Pond Garden besides them. The secrecy with which Konoe had arranged the rendezvous explained why the imperial records showed no outsiders in the palace that night and Yoriki Hoshina hadn’t identified Kozeri as a suspect.
“There was a sake decanter with two cups on the table in the cottage,” Kozeri said. “I sat and had a drink and prayed for the courage to kill the left minister.”
Reiko couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “Wait. You admit you went to the Pond Garden to kill him?”
“Yes.” Kozeri moved into the shadows beneath a tree. A breeze riffled the leaves, casting patterns of light and dark across her haunted face. The pulse of drums punctuated the singing in the courtyard. “I had a small vial inside my sleeve. It contained a drug that I’d bought from a peddler. I was going to pour it into the left minister’s sake. After he drank, he would fall asleep and never awaken. I hoped I could slip away and everyone would think he’d died of a sudden illness.”
She’d planned to use poison, not the power of kiai? Reiko listened, dumbfounded.
“Then I heard him call out, ‘Help!’ First he was running, then it sounded as if he were dragging himself across the ground. His breathing was loud and strange. I looked out the window and saw him standing by the cottage. He cried, ‘No. Please, no.’ I was terrified. Then-”
Shuddering, Kozeri said, “There was a terrible scream. It went on and on. I watched the left minister writhing in agony while blood gushed from him. Then he lay still. The scream stopped.” She fixed a strange, blurred gaze on Reiko. “The left minister was dead.”
She’d wanted to kill him so he couldn’t abuse her anymore, but the murderer had spared her the trouble. The explanation made sense to Reiko, and her skepticism waned. “What did you do then?” she asked.
“I knew that everyone in the palace would have heard the scream,” Kozeri said, caressing the top of her bosom. “Someone would come and find the left minister. I didn’t want them to think I’d killed him, so I blew out the lantern and ran away. In the kuge district, I found a watchtower with fire equipment underneath. I got a ladder and climbed the palace wall. I took the ladder with me and threw it in an alley so no one would know that someone had sneaked out of the compound. Then I walked back to Kodai Temple.”
Reiko felt a pang of sympathy for the nun who’d suffered so long and witnessed a terrible murder. “Please forgive me for upsetting you,” she said, taking Kozeri’s soft, smooth hands in hers. “I’ll tell my husband what you said. Attempted murder is a crime, but under the circumstances, surely he’ll pardon you.”
Tears of gratitude streamed from Kozeri’s eyes. “A thousand thanks,” she murmured, smiling gladly. “You’re so understanding and kind.”
Although Reiko had never been attracted to women, touching Kozeri gave her a sensuous pleasure. Her anger dissolved in hazy confusion. She couldn’t remember why she’d hated Kozeri just a moment ago. Sexual arousal burgeoned inside her. Then realization jolted Reiko alert.
“You’re doing to me what you did to my husband!” she cried, recoiling from Kozeri.
“What?” The nun gaped in surprise.
“You used mental energy to keep him from asking where you were during the murders. I didn’t believe him when he told me, but I do now, because you’re confusing me the same way!” Now Reiko regretted accusing Sano of lying to her.
Fear shimmered in Kozeri’s eyes, but she said bravely, “Yes, but I meant you no harm. I just wanted you to believe me. I needed to make you like me so you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“And you made him want you.” As enlightenment dawned, Reiko cursed herself for doubting Sano’s love for her.
Whatever had happened between Sano and Kozeri hadn’t been entirely his fault. If she could entice a woman, then what a strong effect her magic must have on men!
Reiko lashed out at Kozeri: “Liar! You didn’t try to poison the left minister. You didn’t just watch him die. You murdered him, and Aisu too!”
“I didn’t!” Hurt indignation welled in Kozeri’s eves. “I wouldn’t wish such an awful death on anyone.”
“Not even the man who murdered your first husband?”
The blood drained from Kozeri’s face, leaving her lips so white that Reiko could see red marks where she’d bitten them. “How-how did you know?”
“You were once married to Konoe’s secretary. Konoe stabbed him to death. Then he married you. Somehow you discovered what Konoe had done. You plotted revenge.”
Kozeri drew herself up; angry color blotched her checks. “All right. I knew. I hated the left minister for killing Ryozen. I blamed him for the loss of the child I miscarried after the murder. But it all happened years ago. If I had wanted revenge against the left minister, I had plenty of opportunity when we lived together. Why would I wait so long?”
“Because you didn’t have the ability to murder him back then,” Reiko retorted. “Instead, you ran away. At Kodai Temple, the nuns taught you how to channel your mental energy through your voice. You acquired the power of kiai.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Kozeri laughed, a shrill, hysterical sound. “We do exercises that bring tranquility and enhance our prayers. We can influence people’s thoughts, but we don’t believe in violence.”
“I don’t believe you.” Determined to implicate Kozeri in another crime, Reiko said, “Have you ever been to Lord Ibe’s house in the cloth dyers’ district? Do you know the outlaws who’ve been living there? Where are they now? Where have they taken the weapons?”
While her mouth soundlessly formed the words outlaws and weapons, Kozeri looked at Reiko as if she’d gone mad. But Reiko conjectured that she’d befriended the outlaws during her travels through the city and joined their cause as a way to gain power against her former husband. What if she’d learned that Konoe had discovered the plot and decided to kill him before he could report it to the bakufu? She could have contacted Konoe, pretended she wanted a reconciliation, and arranged the secret meeting in the Pond Garden.
“Don’t pretend you don’t understand.” Fists clenched, Reiko shouted into Kozeri’s terrified face, “Where are the weapons? What are the outlaws planning?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Kozeri cried. Her eyes darted; she leaned away from Reiko, then blurted, “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell your husband. Something that will help his investigation.” When Reiko only stared at her in speechless fury, she said, “As I was leaving the Pond Garden after the left minister died, I saw a man hiding in the shadows. It was Right Minister Ichijo.”
Did Kozeri think her gullible enough to fall for another trick? Reiko felt angry blood suffuse her face.
Obviously daunted by Reiko’s expression, Kozeri began to babble: “He didn’t see me, but I recognized him from when I lived in the palace.” Her eager smile didn’t erase the fear in her eyes. “Don’t you see what that means? There was somebody else in the garden besides me. Ichijo must have killed my former husband.”
Reiko’s emotions exploded. “I don’t want to hear any more of your lies!” she shouted. “Ichijo wasn’t there. Only you.”
“I’m not lying,” Kozeri protested.
Reiko grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her; Kozeri’s head snapped back and forth. “You’re part of the rebel conspiracy. You killed Konoe. Admit it!”
“Stop. You’re hurting me.”
Limp and unresisting, Kozeri began to sob. Reiko understood how Konoe’s love for her had turned to murderous rage. So meek yet so contrary, she was weak despite her magic powers, pitiful but exasperating.
Was this what Sano wanted in a woman?
