Agemaki was powerless to say no.”
“Ha! She had no intention of resisting him.” In her vehemence Yuriko spoke too loudly. The priest squinted at her. Ducking her head, she stirred the tea with a wooden whisk. She murmured to Hirata: “Agemaki wanted a rich patron. When Makino came here looking for girls, she was eager to latch onto him.”
“Senior Elder Makino was captivated by Agemaki’s virtue,” said the priest.
Hirata raised his eyebrows at Yuriko.
“It wasn’t her virtue that he liked best about her,” Yuriko said with a sneer. “He was weak. He’d lost his manhood. I know because he once hired me to entertain him, and no matter what we did-” Yuriko’s finger pantomimed a limp penis. “But Agemaki knew ways to excite men. She knew potions for curing their weakness. Her mother taught her. She made Makino feel young and strong again. That’s why he wanted her. But she wouldn’t let him have her unless he took her away from here, to Edo Castle.”
“So he married Agemaki,” the priest said. “She went to live in his house as his wife.”
“Not quite so,” Yuriko said, handing bowls of tea to Hirata and the priest. While they drank, she said, “Makino was still married to his first wife when he took Agemaki from the temple. Agemaki was the senior elder’s concubine at the beginning. They married later on.”
“What happened to Makino’s first wife?” Hirata said.
“I heard she died of a fever,” said the priest.
“Don’t be too quick to believe it,” Yuriko said. “Agemaki set her heart on becoming the wife of an important official. She wasn’t satisfied to be a concubine. She begged Makino to divorce his old wife and marry her, but he refused. I know because I overheard them arguing. But her mother also taught Agemaki about poisons. There were rumors that Agemaki poisoned Makino’s first wife so that she could take her place.”
Hirata glanced sharply at Yuriko, whose expression said that she believed the rumors. If they were true, then a woman who’d bloodied her hands in the past might have the inclination to kill again. Yet Hirata couldn’t take the word of a jealous, spiteful gossip. And even if Agemaki had killed her predecessor, why would she later kill the man she’d wanted so badly to wed?
“Agemaki is a suspect in the murder of her husband,” Hirata told Yuriko and the priest. “Can you think of any reason why she might have wanted Makino dead?”
“None,” the priest said. “Perhaps she had little affection for her husband, but she was dependent on him.”
“He’s right about that,” Yuriko said. “Old Makino gave Agemaki food, clothes, servants, and a fine place to live.”
“But he granted her a fortune,” Hirata said.
“I know,” said Yuriko. “After he married her, she came back here to show off. She bragged about the money she would get when he died.”
“I’m glad to hear that she wasn’t left destitute,” the priest said, still unaware of the two conversations taking place simultaneously.
“Maybe Agemaki killed Makino for the money,” Hirata suggested.
As the priest protested, Yuriko said, “Now that Makino is dead, Agemaki will have to move out of his house because his family won’t want a common whore around. She won’t be a high-ranking lady any longer. She would have hated to come down in the world.” Yuriko made a moue of distaste, as though hating to speak in favor of Agemaki’s innocence. “If money is the only thing she would get by killing him, then I don’t think she did.”
The priest regarded Hirata and Yuriko with his cloudy gaze. A mild frown puckered his face, as though he’d finally noticed the communication between them and wondered what he’d missed. “Have I told you what you wanted to know?” he asked Hirata.
“Yes,” Hirata said. “A thousand thanks.”
“I’m glad to be of assistance,” said the priest.
Hirata bid him farewell, then walked outside and across the temple precinct with Yuriko. Pilgrims strolled and doves swooped around them. The sunlight had dimmed, casting a bronze glow on the tile rooftops; the air had turned colder with the declining afternoon.
“I’m glad to be of assistance, too,” Yuriko said with a saucy smile. “Have I told you what you really wanted to know about Agemaki?”
Reserving judgment, Hirata said, “I’ll have to talk to other people who know her.”
“Let me go with you,” Yuriko said. “I can introduce you to people. Afterward, we can have some fun together.” She took Hirata’s arm. Her eyes shone with her need to attach herself to a man who could rescue her from poverty and degradation.
“Introductions would be appreciated. I’ll pay you for your trouble, but I can’t accept your other kind offer.” Happily married, Hirata had no desire for women other than Midori. “I must get back to town as soon as my work here is finished.” And he was eager to find out what Sano had discovered today, if not to face Sano’s reaction to his escaping his watchdogs.
Yuriko accepted the rebuff with the nonchalance of someone who’d survived many disappointments in life. “Maybe next time.”
As she led him toward the nuns and shrine attendants who still flocked outside Asakusa Jinja Shrine, Hirata reflected that he’d unearthed compromising evidence against both Agemaki and Okitsu. It might justify his misbehavior and please Sano, if not solve the murder case. There remained suspects in Senior Elder Makino’s household who were still unknown quantities to Hirata. He would give much to know what was going on inside that estate now.
18
Reiko carried a tray laden with food and drink down the corridor of Senior Elder Makino’s private chambers. After hours of washing laundry under the housekeeper Yasue’s strict supervision, she was more exhausted than from the most strenuous martial arts practice. Her clothes were damp, grimy, and sweaty. A bump had sprouted on her head where Yasue had hit her again, and her cut finger burned from the lye soap used in the laundry. Never did she want to touch another piece of soiled bedding or underwear! When Yasue had ordered her to serve dinner to the actor and concubine, Reiko had rejoiced at the chance to escape drudgery and spy on them.
She knelt at the open door of Koheiji’s room and staggered across the threshold, awkwardly balancing the tray. The room was bright and warm from glowing lanterns and numerous charcoal braziers. Inside, surrounded by theatrical costumes on wooden stands, Koheiji and Okitsu lolled on floor cushions, laughing together at some joke. They both wore colorful silk dressing gowns. His head lay in her lap. As Reiko set the tray near them, she reflected that she’d learned something today besides that Senior Elder Makino had had bizarre sexual habits and his chief retainer had behaved suspiciously.
There could be no doubt that his concubine and houseguest were lovers.
“Oh, good, our meal is here!” Okitsu said. “I’m starving!”
She ignored Reiko; the lavish spread of sashimi, grilled prawns, sweet cakes, and other delicacies commanded all her attention. Koheiji gave Reiko an appraising glance that she thought he probably gave all women who happened into his view. She saw his eyes register her plain looks and dismiss her as unworthy of his interest. He said to Okitsu, “Feed me.”
Okitsu popped morsels into his mouth and her own. Reiko set the sake decanter on a brazier to warm. She was glad that her disguise worked and Koheiji and Okitsu considered her beneath their notice, but she felt an unexpected sting of wounded pride. Though admired for her beauty and respected for her high social status all her life, she was nothing to these people.
“Isn’t it nice that we can be together without sneaking around?” Okitsu said, feeding a prawn to Koheiji.
He chewed and swallowed. “Yes, it certainly is. Making love in the garden at night was a bit uncomfortable. But the sneaking added excitement.” He leered up at Okitsu and tickled her ribs.
Okitsu giggled. “Naughty boy!” she said, slapping Koheiji. “I was always afraid that Makino would find out what we were up to. If he’d known, he would have been very angry.”
Koheiji snorted. “That’s an understatement. Makino was a jealous old dog. He would have thrown us both out of the house. You’d have had to go back to the brothel. And Makino would have ordered the theaters to ban me
