Dragon's King Palace (16 page)

The chamberlain moved his shoulders in a gesture that bespoke the quandary weighing upon them. However much he wanted to rescue Lady Keisho-in and win the battle for the shogun’s favor, should he allow the execution of his lover? Sano realized that Yanagisawa must care a great deal for Hoshina, or he would have already taken the letter to the shogun, and Hoshina would be on his way to his death. Still wondering why Yanagisawa had chosen to break the news about the ransom letter to him this way, Sano faced his own dilemma. He couldn’t condone a blood sacrifice in exchange for the women, but Hoshina was his enemy, and Reiko’s life was at stake.

Sano said, “When are you going to tell Hoshina-
san
?”

“Right now.” Yanagisawa called to his guards: “Fetch the police commissioner.”

Soon Hoshina ambled up the path, clad in a beige silk dressing gown that exposed his bare chest, calves, and feet. He yawned, his eyes heavy with sleep. When he saw Sano, he stopped outside the pavilion and blinked in drowsy surprise.

“What’s going on?” Hoshina asked, looking to Yanagisawa.

“We’ve received the kidnappers’ ransom demand.” Yanagisawa took the letter from Sano and proffered it to Hoshina.

“At last!” Hoshina appeared not to notice Yanagisawa’s cold manner; the news had captured all his attention. He vaulted up the steps into the pavilion and eagerly snatched the letter. Scanning the text, he frowned in bafflement at the poem. He read the ransom demand, and Sano watched his eyes widen in shock, his mouth slacken in disbelief.

“The kidnapper wants me dead!” Hoshina burst out. “That’s the reason for the crime!” He threw down the letter and turned to Yanagisawa in alarm. “But the shogun wouldn’t kill me to get Lady Keisho-in back, would he?”

Yanagisawa avoided his lover’s gaze. Sano knew that the shogun not only loved his mother much more than he cared about Hoshina, but would gladly slay any of his retainers for her sake. Now Sano saw the horrified realization sink into Hoshina.

“You won’t show His Excellency the letter, will you?” Hoshina said, clutching Yanagisawa’s arms. “You won’t let him kill me to save his mother, will you?”

The chamberlain’s hands came up to clasp Hoshina’s forearms in a gesture of restraint and affection. “I cannot intervene on your behalf.” Yanagisawa spoke with quiet regret as he looked directly at Hoshina. “Matters must take their course.”

“What?”

Hoshina recoiled from Yanagisawa as though the chamberlain had struck him a physical blow. Sano also experienced shock because he’d expected Yanagisawa to protect his lover.

“You’re going to sacrifice me to save Lady Keisho-in.” Hoshina shook his head, resisting belief. He uttered a laugh tinged with hysteria. “But—but there’s no need. You can talk the shogun into sparing me. We can find some other way to rescue Lady Keisho-in.”

His eyes beseeched Yanagisawa, but the chamberlain said in the same quiet tone, “What you ask is impossible.”

Sano watched angry comprehension darken Hoshina’s face. “You mean you won’t defend me because you don’t want to risk displeasing the shogun,” Hoshina said.

Yanagisawa inclined his head, silent and pensive.

“You’d rather let me die than lose your position or your chance to rule Japan through your son when he becomes the next dictator,” Hoshina said. “After everything we’ve done together and been to each other?”

Blazing with outrage, Hoshina paced circles around Yanagisawa. “I’ve helped you build your power. I’ve fought your enemies. I’ve given you my body and my heart.” He thumped his chest. “And now, when I need your help, you cut me loose.”

Sano inwardly squirmed with embarrassment at witnessing a private quarrel. Yanagisawa must have known this would happen, and Sano wondered again why the chamberlain wanted him here.

Suddenly Hoshina crumpled to his knees before Yanagisawa. “Please don’t abandon me,” he wailed, erupting into sobs. His hands scrabbled against the chamberlain’s robes. “I love you. I don’t want to die. Please, please, if you love me, don’t let the shogun execute me!”

Sano recalled the meeting where he’d heard the news of the kidnapping, and how eagerly Hoshina had welcomed the crime as a chance to better his own position. What a contrast between that ambitious, cocky Hoshina and this groveling creature!

Yanagisawa stood speechless, unmoved; yet Sano sensed anguish tormenting him: He did love Hoshina, though he loved power more. Sano pitied them. Then Yanagisawa stepped away from Hoshina.

“It’s no use,” he said with firm, desolate resolve. “I can’t stand in the way of rescuing the shogun’s mother. My enemies would jump at the chance to attack me, and their combined power is stronger than mine.” Sano knew Yanagisawa referred to Lord Matsudaira, other Tokugawa clan members, and Priest Ryuko. “For me to protect you would mean certain death for us both.”

Hoshina sprang to his feet. Panic flashed through the tears that blurred his face. He rushed toward the doorway of the pavilion, but the sight of the guards on the path froze him. Sano watched Hoshina realize that escape was impossible; he wouldn’t get out of Edo Castle alive. Sweat glistened on his skin, and he exuded the sour reek of terror. Breathing hard, crouched in a defensive posture, he glanced wildly around him. His eyes lit upon Sano; cunning inspiration focused them.

Sano suddenly knew what Hoshina was going to say, and the reason for his presence. Enlightenment appalled him.

“Do you remember when you were investigating the murder of Lord Mitsuyoshi last winter?” Hoshina said. “I gave you a tip, in exchange for a favor. You promised to do whatever I asked, whenever I wanted. Well, now I’m asking you to honor our deal.” Squaring his shoulders, Hoshina lifted his chin and faced Sano with the brazen aggression of a man seizing upon his last resort. “Save my life.”

His promise to Hoshina had menaced Sano like a poisonous snake lurking in a forest, waiting to strike him. Finally the snake had sunk its fangs. Sano had expected Hoshina to make the most extravagant request at the least convenient moment, but the nature and timing of this demand were worse than Sano could have predicted.

“How am I supposed to save you?” Outraged and horrified, Sano flung out his hands. “Tell the shogun to let you live and his mother die?” Sano uttered a sarcastic laugh. “You’re asking me for a miracle!”

“That’s your problem,” Hoshina retorted. “Solve it however you can. We made a bargain, and you have to uphold your end.”

Sano looked at Yanagisawa, who regarded him with a steady, penetrating gaze that confirmed his suspicions. Yanagisawa had been aware of the bargain. He’d known Hoshina would need help now, and he’d brought Sano here because he knew Hoshina would call in the favor. Yanagisawa had contrived to manipulate Sano into saving his lover for him! Sano gave Yanagisawa a bitter, resentful glare, then turned back to Hoshina.

“This is one time I’ll gladly break my word,” Sano said, folding his arms in defiance. “After you’ve done your best to ruin me, you don’t deserve my protection.”

“I deserve the same good deed I did for you.” Hoshina’s perspiring face was savage with determination. “If I hadn’t given you that tip, you would be dead now. You owe me your life. And you’ll repay me by saving mine.”

Sano made a sound of vehement denial, but he couldn’t ignore Hoshina’s logic. Sano had been a suspect in that murder case, and without the tip, he might still have cleared his name and arrested the real killer ... or not. If he’d failed, he would have been punished by death. He could never know for sure whether he would have prevailed no matter what, or if Hoshina had prevented his downfall.

“I won’t sacrifice those women for the likes of you!” Sano shouted, furious at Hoshina, Yanagisawa, and himself for the circumstances that ensnared him. “Nor will I let you interfere with my duty to rescue Lady Keisho-in.” He snatched up the ransom letter from the pavilion’s floor where Hoshina had thrown it. “I’ll take this to the shogun now and advise him to comply with the demands. I’ll personally deliver you to the executioner.”

In the heat of his anger, Sano didn’t want to think that Hoshina had a legitimate claim on him. Sano cared most about saving Reiko. He reached out to grab Hoshina, but the police commissioner shoved him away.

“Behold the mighty
sōsakan-sama
,” Hoshina said. Though his eyes registered fear that he’d lost his last gamble, he bared his teeth in a mocking grin. “He pretends to champion justice and uphold honor, hut he would condemn me to a disgraceful death, without even knowing what murder the kidnappers have accused me of, or if I’m guilty. And why? Because he wishes to serve duty by rescuing his lord’s mother?”

Hoshina addressed his questions to an imaginary audience. He ignored Yanagisawa, who silently watched. “No—he only wants to save his wife.” Hoshina stank of desperation, but he sneered in contempt at Sano. “You despise other men for serving selfish interests. Well, you’re a hypocrite.”

“Shut up!” Sano yelled, incensed because Hoshina spoke the same criticism that his conscience was whispering to him.

“You always insist on knowing the truth, but the truth hurts sometimes, doesn’t it?” Hoshina taunted.

“I’ll execute you myself!” Sano reached for his sword, which Yanagisawa’s guards had confiscated.

“You wouldn’t even if you could,” Hoshina said, more reckless as he perceived that he’d gained the upper hand. “You won’t abet my death even though you love your wife and hate me. We both know you have to keep your promise.”

Sano experienced a sensation of careening down a steep hill as he realized that Hoshina was right. Whatever his reluctance, he must concede. The samurai code of honor that he lived to serve forbade reneging on his word or giving in to a demand from a criminal. Lifelong adherence to
Bushido
had destined him to perform the favor Hoshina wanted. And he began to perceive other, even more important reasons why he must. Stricken by defeat, he glared at Hoshina.

The mockery in Hoshina’s smile turned to triumph. Yanagisawa betrayed no emotion. Sano understood that his own honor had always been their strongest weapon against him. Even as his heart rebelled, his samurai spirit quelled its protests. The onus settling upon him bowed his head.

“We’ll go to the shogun now,” Yanagisawa said.

He took the ransom letter from Sano, clearly bent on doing just what he’d said he would—letting matters take their course. Sano’s mind raced with frenetic thoughts. How could he save Hoshina, and Reiko besides?

13

The shogun sat on the dais in the palace audience chamber, holding the ransom letter in his spindly hands. His head moved, his lips formed inaudible words, and concentration puckered his face while he read the columns of characters. Utter quiet immersed the room.

Sano, kneeling below the dais at Tokugawa Tsunayoshi’s left, felt his heartbeat accelerate and his stomach tighten behind his stoic countenance. As he mentally rehearsed what he would say, he eyed Police Commissioner Hoshina, who knelt near him.

Hoshina had donned a silk kimono, trousers, and surcoat in shades of green before coming to the palace. His sweat had already spread damp patches across the garments. Unable to sit still, he kept looking from the shogun to Sano, from the shogun’s guards stationed along the walls to Sano’s detectives kneeling at the back of the room, and finally to Yanagisawa.

The chamberlain sat at the shogun’s right, his aloof demeanor like a shield between him and everyone else. Sano marveled at Yanagisawa’s control, for he himself couldn’t have remained so calm while depending on his enemy to save his beloved.

“What is this peculiar poem about a, ahh, drowned woman and the dragon king?” the shogun said, baffled. “And what does it have to do with, ahh, the kidnapping?”

No one answered. Everyone waited while he read the ransom demand. “Ahh!” Surprise raised Tokugawa Tsunayoshi’s eyebrows; then comprehension illuminated his face. Looking up from the letter, he exclaimed, “Now I can rescue my mother!”

He turned to Hoshina. “You have, ahh, served me well, and it is a pity that I must, ahh, sacrifice you. But you shall have the, ahh, ultimate honor of dying in the line of duty.”

Hoshina gulped; his Adam’s apple jerked: All his verbal prowess had deserted him. Sano had expected Tokugawa Tsunayoshi would concede to the kidnapper’s demands, but he was amazed that the shogun spoke with such callous disregard for Hoshina, though of course he owed his retainers nothing. Sano realized that appeals to the shogun’s compassion wouldn’t save Hoshina.

The shogun signaled to his guards. “Take Hoshina-
san
to the execution ground at once. After he’s, ahh, dead, place his corpse and severed head on a frame at the Nihonbashi Bridge, with a sign that, ahh, proclaims him to be a murderer.”

Four guards advanced toward Hoshina, who stared at Sano, willing him to keep his promise. Yanagisawa watched the scene with cool detachment. Now was Sano’s last chance to go back on his word, do nothing, and let Hoshina die; yet honor and wisdom overpowered selfish impulse.

“Your Excellency, please wait,” Sano said in a voice fraught with his conflicting emotions.

Everyone’s attention shifted to Sano. The shogun regarded him in surprise. “Wait for what?” Tokugawa Tsunayoshi said. “The sooner I, ahh, execute Police Commissioner Hoshina, the sooner the, ahh, kidnappers will return my mother to me.”

“Not necessarily, Your Excellency,” said Sano.

The guards seized Hoshina and yanked him to his feet. He resisted, his muscles straining, his features set in a grimace of terror. The shogun planted his fists on his hips and leaned toward Sano.

“How dare you interfere?” Tokugawa Tsunayoshi demanded. “Are you so, ahh, disloyal to me that you would, ahh, protect Hoshina-
san
at my mother’s expense?” Ire reddened his cheeks. “Perhaps you wish to, ahh, join him at the execution ground.”

Although fear threatened to choke Sano, he must continue his risky course, for Reiko’s sake as well as Hoshina’s. “My only wish is to serve you, Your Excellency,” he said. “And I must respectfully advise you that killing Hoshina-
san
won’t guarantee the honorable Lady Keisho-in’s safety.”