testified that Nitta had bribed them to let him out after curfew.
“Obviously, Treasury Minister Nitta broke the law and left because he was anxious to flee the scene of his crime.” Turning to Nitta, the magistrate said, “Have you anything to say in your own defense?”
“I didn’t kill anyone.” Nitta’s high-pitched denial trembled with vehemence. “I’m a thief, but not a murderer.”
“A samurai who is depraved enough to rob his lord is capable of murdering his lord’s cousin,” Magistrate Aoki said. “I pronounce you guilty of the murder of Lord Mitsuyoshi.”
Nitta clambered to his feet, scattering the white sandals. “I didn’t kill him!” he shouted. A ripple of excitement passed through the audience. “Whatever else I’ve done, I’m innocent of that!”
Two courtroom guards grabbed him and forced him to his knees. Whether Nitta was telling the truth, or was just trying to avoid further dishonor to his family name, Sano could keep silent no longer.
Rising, he said, “Honorable Magistrate, you mustn’t convict on such meager evidence.”
Magistrate Aoki glared as if he would like to throw Sano out of the court, but he couldn’t because of Sano’s high status. “It is the right of a magistrate to appraise evidence. I have decided that the evidence against Treasury Minister Nitta is worthy to convict him of the murder.”
“You can’t convict me!” Nitta struggled against the guards. “I’m innocent. I swear on my ancestors’ honor!”
“You’ve not even presented the evidence which indicates that he is innocent,” Sano protested.
He heard murmurs in the audience, saw faces avid with interest turned on him, and sensed the officials speculating on what would happen to him for taking the side of a confessed traitor. He knew there were people who would be eager to see him executed along with Nitta. His pursuit of the truth always led him into such peril! Yet he couldn’t allow the investigation to end with Nitta’s conviction and significant odds that the real killer might escape justice.
“I’ve presented all the evidence I deem relevant,” the magistrate said. “It’s more than enough to satisfy the law.”
This was true: Countless defendants were condemned, wrongly or rightly, on the basis of less evidence than Aoki had presented against Nitta, with the full sanction of the bakufu.
Sano said, “You’ve no witnesses to say that Treasury Minister Nitta went inside the room where Lord Mitsuyoshi died. And there was nothing in that room to prove he did.”
The magistrate dismissed this argument with an impatient wave of his hand. “Either he removed all traces of his presence, or you failed to find them. His love for Lady Wisteria is enough evidence that he seized his opportunity to murder the rival who spent that night with her.”
“I don’t love her!” Nitta wailed in desperation. “If I’d wanted her so badly, I would have bought her freedom and married her. She wanted me to, but I refused. And I would never kill my lord’s cousin for a prostitute!”
“There’s reason to believe he’s telling the truth,” Sano said, aware that his every word allied him more strongly with Nitta and impugned his loyalty to the regime. “The treasury minister enjoys other courtesans besides Wisteria. He even financed a ritual bedding display for one of them.”
“You see?” Nitta demanded of the magistrate.
“Quiet,” Magistrate Aoki said, then turned to Sano. “Whether he enjoys a million other courtesans is irrelevant. Yielding Wisteria to Lord Mitsuyoshi upset him enough to argue with the proprietor, then kill in revenge.”
“I was upset because the Owariya charged me for the appointment I lost,” Nitta said furiously.
“The musician Fujio is also a suspect, as is Wisteria’s chaperone, Momoko, who is under arrest for the murder.” Sano advanced up the aisle between the rows of seated men, toward the dais. “You could just as well have prosecuted one of them.”
“But neither of them is a convicted traitor.” Magistrate Aoki regarded Sano with veiled glee.
That the treasury minister’s bad character made him a likelier culprit wasn’t the main reason Aoki had chosen him instead of the others, Sano understood. Magistrate Aoki wasn’t evil enough to condemn someone on a whim, and he didn’t want the blood of Fujio or Momoko on his hands because he realized they might be innocent. Treasury Minister Nitta, who’d already earned the death penalty by embezzling, was a safe scapegoat. The magistrate could tack a murder conviction on him with a clear conscience-and without much concern that the real culprit could be still at large.
If Lord Mitsuyoshi had been the killer’s sole target, the killer would have no reason to kill again. The shogun would be satisfied by the conviction of Treasury Minister Nitta. The magistrate would win the promotion he craved.
His ruthless scheming chilled Sano’s blood.
“Then condemn Treasury Minister Nitta if you will,” Sano said, “but delay the execution.” Given some time, he could learn the truth about the murder, and refute Nitta’s conviction if necessary. “A few days is all I ask.”
“You have already trespassed too far into the purview of the court,” Magistrate Aoki said, vexed. “Justice will not be delayed on your account.” Turning to Nitta, he said, “I sentence you to death by ritual suicide,” then nodded to the guards. “Take him to the execution ground.”
A series of gasps and moans came from Nitta. His eyes went wide with horrified realization that all hope was lost. As the guards hauled him toward the door, his legs crumpled; he dangled between the guards like a corpse.
In desperation, Sano stood in the aisle, blocking their progress. “Stop,” he commanded.
His four detectives rose and joined him. The guards halted, looking to Magistrate Aoki for orders, as more guards rushed to their aid. Confused murmurs swept the audience.
“I’m taking Treasury Minister Nitta into my keeping,” Sano told the magistrate.
He grasped the hilt of his sword; his detectives and the courtroom guards followed suit. As the two sides faced off, the spectators leapt up and pressed themselves against the walls, clearing space for a battle.
Magistrate Aoki’s eyes blazed with an ire that told Sano he’d made a permanent foe. “I’ll not allow bloodshed to foul my court,” he said. At a gesture from him, the guards let go of their weapons and released Nitta, who collapsed on the floor. “You can prevent his death by force if you wish. But I advise you to think hard before you do.”
Deadly quiet stilled the courtroom while Sano foresaw the potential consequences of his actions. Taking Nitta seemed the only way to buy himself time to solve the case. But he would face severe criticism for protecting a traitor. Whether Sano had the power to overrule Magistrate Aoki was beside the point. Interfering with the legal process would brand him an opponent of justice. His own loyalty to the regime would be questioned, his reputation ruined. The treasury minister was officially guilty of the murder of the shogun’s heir, and many people would therefore believe Nitta really was the killer. If the shogun believed it, Sano would be exiled at the least, but more probably executed. Even if the shogun spared Sano’s family, Reiko and Masahiro would share his disgrace. Their lives would be ruined.
For the sake of Treasury Minister Nitta, who might eventually prove to be the murderer after all.
Anger and frustration boiled within Sano. He shook his head at his detectives. Then, while Magistrate Aoki gloated, they all stood aside to let the guards bear Treasury Minister Nitta from the room.
20
Treasury Minister Nitta has committed seppuku?” said Hirata.
Sano nodded unhappily. “The news is official.” Some two hours had passed since the trial. Now Sano, Hirata, and Reiko sat in Sano’s office. Reiko poured steaming tea into bowls for the three of them.
“What’s going to happen?” she said.
“The best outcome is that I can persuade the shogun to let me keep investigating the murder until I prove whether Treasury Minister Nitta really was the killer or Magistrate Aoki made a mistake.” Sano sipped tea; it scalded his mouth. “The worst is that the shogun will decide I made a mistake, failed in my duty, and offended the regime.”
He didn’t have to elaborate the consequences for Hirata and Reiko; their expressions said they understood.
