polite manner. The shogun had no understanding of detective work, and thus expected that every killer should be caught within the day.
“This case is a complex one, with many people to interview.”
“And many leads to pursue,” said Hirata, the only person to come to Sano’s defense.
“But I’ve got search parties looking for Lady Wisteria, the missing courtesan who was with the Honorable Lord Mitsuyoshi last night,” Sano said, “and-”
An impatient gesture from the shogun cut him short. “At least you can tell me exactly how, ahh, Mitsuyoshi-san was killed. No one else seems to know.”
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi cast an annoyed look at Yanagisawa and the elders, who turned to Sano. He understood that they did indeed know, but preferred not to deliver the news themselves.
“The Honorable Lord Mitsuyoshi died of a stab wound through the eye, inflicted with a woman’s hairpin, probably while he was semiconscious,” Sano said reluctantly.
The shogun drew a great inhalation of horror. “Merciful gods,” he whispered, then began to pant, clutching his chest. “Ahh, ahh, ahh! I’m dying!”
Physicians hastened to his aid. Sano and Hirata exchanged stricken glances. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi often fancied himself on his deathbed, but perhaps he really was this time.
Dr. Kitano held a cup to the shogun’s mouth and said, “Please drink this, Your Excellency.” The shogun gulped, then flopped back on the bed, sighing.
“My poor cousin,” he lamented weakly. “So beautiful and full of life one day, then dead and disfigured the next. The loss of his, ahh, companionship grieves me.” Tokugawa Tsunayoshi liked handsome young men, and Lord Mitsuyoshi had won the position of heir apparent by flattering, amusing, and flirting with the shogun. “For such a cruel killer, no punishment is too harsh, Sosakan Sano, have you any idea who committed this terrible crime?”
“So far there’s one definite suspect: Lady Wisteria’s yarite.” Sano explained that the hairpin belonged to Momoko, and that she had found Lord Mitsuyoshi dead.
The shogun pushed himself upright. “Ahh, then this woman may be the culprit?”
“Yes. And I have arrested her,” a masculine voice said from the doorway.
Police Commissioner Hoshina entered the room. He must have ridden as fast and hard from Yoshiwara as had Sano; yet he’d changed from traveling garb to a maroon silk kimono, and looked stylish and vigorous. As he knelt beside the chamberlain, they betrayed no sign of their intimacy. Yanagisawa’s relationship with the shogun had never been exclusive, and it was no secret that they’d both enjoyed many other lovers, but Sano knew Yanagisawa never flaunted his affairs, lest their lord take unexpected offense. The elders’ courteous bows to Hoshina acknowledged his special status. Sano’s gut tightened: Hoshina’s arrival boded no good for him.
The shogun responded to Hoshina’s bow with a feeble smile. “Ahh, Hoshina-san, welcome. I was not aware that you were helping Sosakan Sano with the, ahh, investigation.”
“I’m always ready to help when I’m needed,” Hoshina said in a humble tone that didn’t hide his arrogance from Sano. “And I believe I am needed in this investigation, because with all due respect to the sosakan-sama, he appears determined to make slow progress.”
Sano had expected trouble from Hoshina, but this was the first time Hoshina had attacked him in front of the shogun. His heart began to race, for he understood that his adversary had decided to make their rivalry public here and now.
Before he could counter the accusation, Hoshina said, “In spite of all the evidence against the suspect, the sosakan-sama would not arrest her. He preferred to give her the benefit of the doubt. I had no choice but to step in.”
“You refused to arrest the person who killed my cousin?” The shogun gaped at Sano, appalled. “After I have elevated you, a former ronin, to a high position and trusted you to do my bidding? Can this be true?”
“I am most grateful for your patronage, but I must say that the yarite’s guilt is by no means certain,” Sano defended himself. “The evidence doesn’t prove she’s the murderer.”
“Ahh, you are correct,” the shogun said, his opinion always easily swayed.
While Sano detested squabbling for power, he had to strike back at Hoshina. He said, “The police commissioner would rather persecute a convenient suspect before all the facts are in than make any effort to identify the true culprit.”
Now the shogun turned to Hoshina. “Would you indeed?” Angry color suffused his pale cheeks. “I allow you to, ahh, take over the police force, and you shirk your duty?”
“My duty is the reason I jailed the yarite,” Hoshina said deferentially, but with a venomous glance at Sano. “If there’s any chance that she killed Lord Mitsuyoshi, she shouldn’t be left free to attack other members of the Tokugawa regime.”
The shogun looked from Hoshina to Sano in confusion. The elders sat like stones, and Sano perceived their attention focused on Chamberlain Yanagisawa, though nobody looked straight at him. Yanagisawa, the power behind the shogun, usually took charge during meetings and settled arguments, but tonight he was in an aloof, enigmatic mood.
Smoking his pipe, his expression hooded, he merely said, “Have you anything else to report concerning your investigation, Sosakan Sano?”
“I do,” Sano said, uncertain whether to be thankful that Yanagisawa had changed the subject, or fearful of what his former enemy had in store for him. “I’ve identified another potential suspect. It’s Treasury Minister Nitta Monzaemon.”
The shogun exclaimed in surprise; the elders frowned, while Chamberlain Yanagisawa sat alert. As Sano told of Nitta’s history with Lady Wisteria and Lord Mitsuyoshi, his presence in the ageya at the time of the murder, and his suspicious departure, Hoshina narrowed his eyes. Apparently, the story was news to him, and he disliked that Sano had beat him to it.
“Nitta-san has served me well, and I never doubted his, ahh, loyalty to my clan. That he might have, ahh, killed my cousin is unthinkable!” The shogun’s skepticism immediately turned to anger. “If he did, he shall die for his treason.”
The reminder that a taint of suspicion could negate years of faithful service poisoned the air. Hoshina said to Sano, “How did you learn about the treasury minister?”
“From a confidential informant,” Sano said, keeping his promise to Senior Elder Makino.
Hoshina glanced at Yanagisawa. When Yanagisawa didn’t speak, a shadow of bafflement crossed Hoshina’s face. Evidently, Hoshina couldn’t fathom the chamberlain’s mood any better than could Sano.
“Has Nitta been questioned?” Hoshina spoke cautiously, as if now less certain of victory over Sano without his lover’s backing.
“I’ve sent troops to his estate.” Sano had done this before coming to the palace. “If Nitta is there, he’ll be under house arrest by now. If he’s not, my men will send search parties after him. I’ll interrogate him as soon as possible.”
The shogun nodded in approbation, but Hoshina compressed his lips, clearly displeased by Sano’s efficiency.
“What other plans have you, Sosakan Sano?” Chamberlain Yanagisawa’s bland manner gave no hint of what lay underneath.
While Sano was loath to reveal his strategy to Hoshina, he couldn’t refuse to answer. “I’ll call on the family and associates of Lord Mitsuyoshi and ask whether he had any enemies, and what he might have done to make someone want him dead.”
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi lurched forward off his bed. “Lord Mitsuyoshi was a fine, honorable young man, beloved by all. He never, ahh, wronged anyone in his life!” The shogun sputtered in outrage; droplets of saliva flew from his mouth. “Are you saying you would, ahh, blame him for his own death?”
“Of course not, Your Excellency,” Sano said, horrified that what he considered basic detective procedure had been misinterpreted. “I just think Lord Mitsuyoshi’s background could provide valuable clues that we can’t afford to overlook.”
“Well, we shall overlook them because, I, ahh, won’t let you cast aspersion upon Lord Mitsuyoshi.” The shogun’s red eyes smoldered at Sano. “And you shall not, ahh, bother his family with questions during their time of mourning.”
The elders looked perturbed, as did Hoshina: He realized that the shogun’s pronouncement applied to him, too.
