Black Lotus

8

Dusk spread a canopy of vibrant rose and aquamarine sky over Edo. Lights glowed behind windows, at neighborhood gates, in temple grounds, and in boats along the river’s gleaming dark ribbon. The moon, like a huge silver coin worn thin at its edge, shone above Edo Castle. In the torch-lit courtyard of Sano’s estate, hooves clattered against the paving stones as mounted guards escorted Reiko’s palanquin to the mansion.

When Reiko alighted, the nursemaid O-hana threw open the front door, crying, “Thank the gods you’re back!”

Anxiety struck Reiko; she hurried into the mansion. “Is something wrong with Masahiro?”

“The young master has missed you so much that he’s been crying and fussing all day. He wouldn’t drink milk from O-aki.” This was Masahiro’s wet nurse. “He refused to eat, and he wouldn’t take a nap.”

In the entryway, Reiko hastily kicked off her shoes, then ran down the corridor. While she’d been out, her beloved son had gone hungry and endured great misery. Now she heard him wailing in a continuous, mournful drone. She rushed into the nursery and found her own childhood nurse O-sugi jiggling Masahiro on her lap.

“There, there,” O-sugi cooed. Masahiro squirmed, his face unhappy. Then O-sugi spied Reiko. “Look, Masahiro-chan,” she said with obvious relief. “Mama is home.”

The sight of Reiko abruptly silenced Masahiro. His eyes became round. Laughing with the joy of seeing him again, Reiko knelt and gathered his plump, warm body in her arms. She pressed her cheek to his soft hair.

“My baby,” she whispered. “Oh, how I’ve missed you!”

A loud howl issued from Masahiro.

“What’s wrong?” Puzzled, Reiko looked at her son and saw his face contorted with distress. She tried to comfort him, but more howls gave way to wild screams. His little hands pushed at her chest; his feet kicked her stomach.

“The young master is just tired and cross,” O-sugi said. “He’s been working himself up to a tantrum.”

“No, he’s angry at me for abandoning him!” Her son’s rejection of her was too much for Reiko to bear, and tears sprang to her eyes. While Masahiro screamed and thrashed, she held him tighter. “I’m here now, it’s all right,” she murmured.

She and O-sugi and the maids cajoled and soothed. His face bright red, Masahiro beat his fists at them. Between his ear-splitting screams, Reiko heard the front door open, and men’s voices in the entryway.

Sano was home.

Alarmed by the screams that had greeted his arrival, Sano sped down the corridor, fearful that harm had befallen Masahiro. He burst into the nursery. Discovering his son safe in Reiko’s arms, Sano experienced relief, but Masahiro continued shrieking. Sano saw tears in Reiko’s eyes.

“What happened?” Sano knelt at his wife’s side. “Is he hurt?”

Struggling to hold the squirming child, Reiko gave him a forced smile and pitched her voice above the screams: “No, he’s just being difficult.”

Now Sano noticed that Reiko wore an outdoor cloak. Concern about her replaced his fear for their son. “Did you just get home?”

“Yes.”

“You were supposed to go to Zōjō Temple in the morning. Why are you so late? Has something happened to you?”

For a mere instant, Masahiro ceased his tantrum. His flushed face smeared with tears, mucus, and drool, he regarded his parents with curiosity. Then he let out a tremendous bellow, thrusting his arms toward Sano, who lifted Masahiro from Reiko’s lap and cuddled the damp, feverish child.

“I persuaded Haru to talk,” Reiko said. “After what I heard, I had to investigate further.”

Masahiro squalled as Sano clumsily rocked him. At last Sano gave up and handed his son to the maids. He said to Reiko, “Let’s talk elsewhere.”

They went to the parlor, which was chilly; the charcoal braziers hadn’t been lit. A draft swayed the hanging lanterns. From the nursery drifted the muted sounds of Masahiro’s wails. Reiko explained that Haru didn’t know the victims and couldn’t remember anything about the fire or why she’d been at the cottage, then described her bruises.

“I think Haru was an intended victim of the arson. She’s afraid she’ll be attacked again, and executed for the crime. She’s all alone in the world.” In a voice laden with compassion, Reiko explained how Haru’s parents had died and moneylenders had seized their noodle shop in Kojimachi. “I promised her I would try to clear her of suspicion and find the real arsonist.”

Obviously, an emotional bond had formed between Haru and Reiko, blinding Reiko to the possibility that the girl was indeed guilty of the crimes. Sano thought of what he’d learned today, and a sinking sensation weighted his heart.

“My congratulations on breaking Haru’s silence,” he said, easing into a discussion that he feared would cause discord. Encouraged by the glow of pride on Reiko’s face, he said cautiously, “However, before we draw any conclusions about Haru, we need to examine other evidence.”

“What evidence is that?”

Reiko’s posture stiffened. The weight in Sano’s heart grew heavier as he perceived that she was upset at the idea that he didn’t share her inclination toward Haru’s innocence. He regretted the necessity of telling her something she probably wouldn’t want to hear.

“I met Commander Oyama’s family,” Sano said, then related what he’d learned. “The elder son’s story about Oyama introducing him to Haru indicates that Haru did know at least one of the victims, despite what she told you.”

Although Reiko neither moved nor altered expression, Sano could feel that she was shaken by his news, and appalled to think that Haru had lied to her.

“Oyama’s son wants someone punished for his father’s murder,” Reiko said. “Maybe he fabricated that story about Haru because she’s an obvious suspect.”

“She’s the only suspect,” Sano amended. “Commander Oyama’s death caused his family much harm and benefited them not at all. My detectives spent the whole day at the temple and haven’t discovered evidence to place anyone besides Haru at the scene.”

“Just because your men found nothing doesn’t mean that other suspects and evidence don’t exist,” Reiko said. “The Black Lotus sect clearly benefits from Oyama’s bequest and is trying very hard to control the investigation and incriminate Haru. After I talked to her, I went to the temple, and as soon as I got there, the abbess waylaid me. I wanted to question the nuns and orphans about Haru, but she wouldn’t let me. And your detectives were having no better luck performing an independent investigation. They had Black Lotus priests following them like shadows.”

“The priests were probably just assisting with their investigation,” Sano said, alarmed that Reiko had gone ahead on her own. “I found them very cooperative yesterday.”

Nevertheless, Sano wondered whether this cooperation signified an attempt to hide compromising facts behind a guise of helpfulness. Was the Black Lotus indeed trying to misdirect the investigation? The thought disturbed Sano and increased his concern about what Reiko had done.

“You shouldn’t have gone to the temple,” he said. “For you to poke around without my knowledge or permission could harm the investigation and my standing with the shogun.”

“I’m sorry,” Reiko said, contrite.

“And if there really is a killer at large, then it’s dangerous for you to wander around the temple alone.” Seeing Reiko’s frown, Sano said, “I have the results of Dr. Ito’s examination of the arson victims. All three were killed before the fire. The little boy was starved and tortured. His neck was broken.”

Reiko recoiled in horror. “How terrible,” she murmured. The sound of Masahiro’s whimpers drifted through the house. Then her expression turned sharply alert as she absorbed the news. “Could a girl as frail as Haru have smashed the skull of a man, strangled a woman, and broken the neck of a boy-all on the same night, yet-then placed all their bodies in the cottage to be burned? Under what circumstances could an orphan girl starve and torture a child? Dr. Ito’s findings strengthen the possibility that the killer is someone other than Haru.”

His wife had a point, Sano realized: The scenario she described did sound implausible. “At this stage it’s too early to eliminate any possibilities,” he said, warning himself against prejudice. He could be wrong about Haru, despite what he’d learned today.

“Well, if we’re looking for other suspects, then Dr. Miwa and Abbess Junketsu-in are good candidates. There’s something very strange about them.” Reiko described the sinister pair. “They both knew Commander Oyama. They were quick to offer alibis, and even quicker to cast suspicion on Haru.”

Reiko told how the abbess and doctor had portrayed Haru as a troublemaker who suffered from spiritual disharmony, lied, fornicated, prowled at night, and had set the fire as revenge against the temple for disciplining her. Sano mentally tallied the information on Haru. To him, it was clear that the negative outweighed the positive.

He said carefully, “Maybe the abbess and doctor are telling the truth about Haru.”

“I don’t trust those two. Someone beat and bruised Haru; maybe they had something to do with it.”

Reiko spoke with certainty, her back against a partition. Sano understood that his disputing her assessment of Haru had only caused her to cleave to the girl. He was troubled to see the case dividing him and his wife.

“You think she’s guilty, don’t you?” Reiko said.

“I won’t decide until all the facts are in,” Sano said, although he could tell that his hedging didn’t convince Reiko. “So far, there’s no evidence to say that anyone except Haru had a motive for the crimes.”

“But there is.” Brightening, Reiko described her meeting with a novice monk.

Sano shook his head in amazed disbelief. “That’s not possible. There’s no law against underground construction at temples as long as it doesn’t extend outside the religious district, but a sect couldn’t hide the kind of work you describe. The bakufu keeps tight control over the clergy. Officials from the Ministry of Temples and Shrines conduct frequent inspections of all temples. They would have discovered the imprisonment and mistreatment of the novices and children and disbanded the sect. And the metsuke watches for any activities that pose a danger to the country.” The Tokugawa intelligence service had spies everywhere. “Those priests who took Pious Truth away said he was mad. That sounds like a good explanation for his story.”

Reiko’s chin lifted. “The fact that the child in the cottage was beaten and starved supports his claims. And his story provided a lead on the dead woman. Is there a better one?”

“No,” Sano admitted. “Hirata checked out a report on a runaway wife from the Suruga Hill district. He just told me that he went there and found her alive and well-she’d returned to her husband. But the search has just begun. Maybe the woman is Pious Truth’s sister; maybe not. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

He placed his hands on Reiko’s shoulders. “Please don’t be so quick to believe some things you hear and disregard others, or to take the side of a suspect.”

Sighing, Reiko nodded, but she replied, “You said yourself that it’s too early to eliminate any possibility. If there’s the slightest chance that Pious Truth is right about the Black Lotus sect, then we have to check into it. That’s why I want to go back to the temple tomorrow, with you, to find Pious Truth and look for the things he described.”

Sano groaned. Women had such a propensity for remembering everything a man said and throwing it back at him! And the discussion had circled back to the issue of how much Reiko should do on the case.

“Whatever investigation needs to be done at the temple, I’ll handle it,” Sano said. He hated to disappoint Reiko, but neither did he want her to endanger herself or steer the case in a dubious direction. “You’ve interviewed Haru. Your work is finished.”

“Haru should hear Junketsu-in’s, Dr. Miwa’s, and Commander Oyama’s son’s statements about her. Her reaction might help us determine who’s telling the truth. Maybe by tomorrow, she’ll have recovered her memory. Maybe she can provide more information about the fire and the two unidentified victims.” Reiko reminded Sano, “I’m the only person she’ll talk to.”

Her arguments were persuasive, Sano acknowledged. Haru, whether guilty or innocent, represented a key to solving the case. He needed Reiko’s help.

“All right,” Sano said. “Go visit Haru again. But I want you to promise me that you’ll restrict your investigation to her and stay away from the Black Lotus Temple.”

Reiko frowned, as if about to object, then said with winsome guile, “I promise-if you’ll promise to personally investigate Pious Truth’s claims.”

Sano feared that the case was turning into a battle of wills. Although he hated to back down, compromise seemed necessary to forestall a war.

“Very well,” he said. “You work with Haru. I’ll look for torture victims, underground tunnels, and evil plots at the Black Lotus Temple.” He added, “I think we’re both in need of relaxation. How about a hot bath before dinner?”

Reiko gave him a strained smile, nodding. As they walked down the corridor together, Sano told himself that the case wouldn’t ruin their family harmony. Everything would be fine.