The Fire Kimono (26 page)

As Reiko’s shock turned to horror, anguish showed on Lieutenant Asukai’s face. He said, “I’m sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, Lady Reiko, and I’m sorry to say that’s not all. I’ve come to warn you: Lord Matsudaira has ordered his assassins to kill you and the children, too. He doesn’t want your son to grow up and come after him for revenge, so he’s decided he’d better wipe out your whole clan.”

“Solving Tadatoshi’s murder should be easier with Lord Matsudaira under arrest,” Hirata said.

“Thank the gods for that stroke of luck,” Sano said, “and that the shogun doesn’t know about my role in the power play, at least for now.”

They sat in his office, where they’d taken refuge after the debacle at the palace. Hirata poured sake. “I propose a toast to Lord Matsudaira. With friends like Lord Arima, he doesn’t need enemies.”

Sano and Hirata drank. “We might as well enjoy this moment. It won’t last long,” Sano said, for the exposure of Lord Matsudaira’s campaign to seize power would cause him new difficulties. “And we have a new crime to solve.”

“The tutor’s murder is a complication we didn’t need,” Hirata agreed.

“But every crisis creates opportunities,” Sano said. “I can think of at least one new line of investigation to follow.”

They discussed strategies. Sano said, “My wife will be anxious for news. I’d better go tell her what’s happened.” But he was interrupted by moans in the passage, accompanied by heavy footsteps that shook the floor. Something bumped the wall. Sano and Hirata hurried to the door. They saw Detectives Marume and Fukida carrying Sano’s mother on a litter. She was swaddled in a blanket that held her body still, but her head tossed as she moaned.

“Mother!” Sano was glad to see her home, but disturbed by her condition. “What’s happened?”

“There was a fire near the jail,” Marume said. “The prisoners were let out.”

The law stated that when fire threatened the jail, the prisoners must be freed, to save their lives. It was a rare instance of mercy toward criminals, due to the Great Fire, when the main neighborhood gate near Kodemmacho was closed to prevent the prisoners from escaping. All the prisoners, and many neighborhood residents-some twenty thousand people-had been trampled and killed in the crush at the gate. Now prisoners were released under strict orders to return when the fire was out. Usually they did, with a few notable exceptions.

“Mother, are you all right?” Sano asked anxiously.

Her eyes welled huge and black. They seemed to look through Sano at horrors visible to her alone. “The fire is coming,” she cried. “We have to go across the river before it’s too late.”

She was reliving the Great Fire, Sano thought. As the detectives carried her down the passage and he accompanied them, he asked, “Was she hurt?”

“No,” Fukida said. “Dr. Ito sent her to the castle with the men you left to guard her. We saw them waiting in the line to get inside. We brought her here.”

“I’m grateful,” Sano said, “but how did you get her past the sentries?”

“I talked them into letting her in,” Marume said.

“Good work.” Sano could imagine the fast talking and intimidation that Marume must have employed.

“It helped that there’s a lot of confusion in the castle,” Fukida said as he and Marume maneuvered the litter around a corner. “Everyone is running around like ants whose hill has been stepped on. What’s the matter?”

“The shogun found out that Lord Matsudaira has been trying to take over,” Hirata said. “Lord Matsudaira is under house arrest.”

The detectives set down the litter in the guest chamber and stared in disbelief. “Well, well, I guess we’ve been away too long,” Fukida said to Marume.

“We didn’t find any witnesses, and we missed all the fun,” Marume lamented. “How did it happen?”

“I’ll fill you in.” Hirata led the men out of the room, leaving Sano to tend to his mother.

The door between the room and the adjacent one slid open. Sano saw Reiko standing on the other side. Behind her, the children sat with Lieutenant Asukai and their old nurse, O-sugi. Everyone beheld Sano and his mother with surprise.

“Grandma’s back,” Masahiro said, rising from the table where he’d been playing chess with Lieutenant Asukai.

He ran over to her, and Akiko followed, leaving her dolls with O-sugi. When Sano’s mother muttered and wailed, the children backed away, puzzled and curious.

Reiko was relieved to see her mother-in-law out of jail, but the old woman’s condition and Sano’s expression made it obvious that all was not exactly well. “What happened?”

Sano explained about the fire, then told her how and why Lord Matsudaira had been arrested.

“I know about Lord Matsudaira,” Reiko said. “Lieutenant Asukai heard and told me.”

Since then, Reiko had not let the children out of her sight. She’d kept Lieutenant Asukai and O-sugi with them for additional protection. They were the only people in the household that she could completely trust.

So far nothing had happened, but of course not enough time had passed for Lord Matsudaira’s plan to be set in action.

“Do you think Lord Matsudaira will fall?” she asked, hopeful that he would before his assassins could strike.

“I’m not going to count on it,” Sano said, “and I’m not off the hook yet.” He told Reiko about how he and Hirata had found the tutor dead. “Not only do I now have two murders to solve, I’m a suspect in this one, even though Lord Arima has been implicated. As long as it’s his word against mine and that of two men who are dead, my name will never be clear.”

The fear that had plagued Reiko since she’d heard of Lord Matsudaira’s plan resurged in the wake of her disappointed hope.

“In the meantime, we’d better make my mother comfortable,” Sano said.

“I’ll fetch a maid to fix her bed,” Masahiro volunteered.

“No!” Reiko said. “Stay here!”

Sano’s and Masahiro’s eyebrows flew up in surprise at her sharp tone. Reiko said, “I’ll make the bed. Masahiro, you can help.”

“All right,” Masahiro said.

While Akiko returned to her nurse and her dolls, he and Reiko hauled the futon out of the cabinet and laid down quilts. Sano loosened the blanket around his mother, lifted her from the litter, and eased her into bed. Reiko drew the quilt over her, noticing how much weight she’d lost in the past few days.

“Can I go now?” Masahiro said. “My friends from Papa’s army are coming to say good night to me, and I want to talk to them before I go to bed.”

He’d made friends among Sano’s younger troops, whose company he preferred to boys his own age. Reiko had never minded before; she and Sano had thought they were good examples for him. Now she feared that Lord Matsudaira’s assassins numbered among them.

“No,” she said.

“Why not?” Masahiro was disappointed.

“Yes,” Sano said.

His word overruled Reiko’s. As Masahiro ran off, Reiko told Lieutenant Asukai, “Go with him. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

When she and Sano were alone with his mother, Sano said, “Why are you keeping Masahiro on such a tight rein?”

Now was the time for Reiko to tell Sano what she’d heard. “He’s in danger.”

“That’s nothing new. I seem to remember that Lord Matsudaira did have him kidnapped.”

“But Lord Matsudaira doesn’t just want to kidnap Masahiro,” Reiko said. “He wants to kill him, and you and me and Akiko.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Sano said. “As far as he’s concerned, we’re all fair game, and with what happened to him today, he must really want our blood.” Sano’s gaze wandered, and Reiko could tell he was thinking of the other problems he needed to solve. “But don’t you think the children are as safe as possible? Why start being extra vigilant?”

“Because Lord Matsudaira has nine assassins planted among your men. They’re under orders to kill us all!”

Sano refocused his gaze sharply on her. “How do you know?”

“Lieutenant Asukai has a friend among Lord Matsudaira’s bodyguards, who overheard Lord Matsudaira talking about his plans.”

Shock opened Sano’s mouth. Then he blew out his breath. “Well, thank the gods for friends in the right places. And thank Lieutenant Asukai for this valuable bit of intelligence.” Then he shook his head, and Reiko saw anguish in his eyes. “So the enemy has spread farther into our midst. Nine more of my men are traitors and assassins.”

Reiko hated to be the messenger of such upsetting news, but at least she’d made Sano aware of the threat. “Now you understand why Masahiro and Akiko are in danger at home. What are we going to do?”

“I’ll find out who those nine traitors are,” Sano said, harsh with determination. “In the meantime, I’ll have Detectives Marume and Fukida guard the children.”

“How do you know you can trust them?”

“How do you know you can trust Lieutenant Asukai?” Sano countered.

“He’s been my bodyguard for years,” Reiko said. “I have no doubt of his loyalty.”

“Marume and Fukida have served me for years,” Sano said. “I’ve never doubted their loyalty, either.”

He and Reiko gazed at each other in dismay that they dared not trust anyone in their household. Sano’s vast army offered no security; it harbored nine assassins, hiding like snakes in a forest. The walls that repelled attacks from outside couldn’t protect Sano and his family from treachery within. Until the traitors were caught, none of them was safe.

“I can’t stay home and watch over the children. I still have to clear my mother’s name, not to mention my own.” Sano sounded torn between conflicting responsibilities. “Or else we’re dead even if Lord Matsudaira’s assassins don’t get us.” He rose. “You’ll have to guard Masahiro and Akiko.”

“With my life,” Reiko vowed. “Where are you going?”

“To take care of some business. Will you be all right?”

Even though consumed by fear for her children and hating to see Sano leave, Reiko nodded. At least their shared trouble had put their quarrel behind them, and they were reunited.

Reiko looked at her mother-in-law, who lay curled in bed, whimpering in a fitful slumber. Even though Reiko foresaw a new opportunity to get the truth out of Etsuko, she resisted the temptation to try. She’d made that mistake once, and whatever Etsuko might be hiding was Sano’s task to uncover, not Reiko’s.

Sentries guarding the portals of the estates in the daimyo district looked up and down the broad, empty streets. The evening sky glowed with a smoky orange haze from fires burning in the city. High above the roofs, in the fire-watch towers, the watchers stood alert. They suddenly aimed their spyglasses downward, at a group of mounted samurai that galloped into view.

Sano and his troops reined in their horses outside Lord Arima’s estate. Two of the soldiers he’d assigned to watch Arima stepped from the shadows between the lanterns at the gates. One said, “He hasn’t moved since he left the palace.”

“Good. It’s time he and I had a talk.” Sano told the sentries, “I want to see your master. Bring him out.”

The man they fetched wasn’t Lord Arima. He was a samurai in his forties, with features that looked as if they’d been squashed vertically, the brow and chin converging toward his nose. “I’m Inaba Naomori, chief retainer to Lord Arima,” he said. “I regret to inform you that my master isn’t here.” His compressed mouth widened into a smug smile when he saw the look of dismay that passed between Sano and his men. “He left the house hours ago.”

“He couldn’t have,” protested Sano’s soldier. “We would have seen.”

“You’re welcome to search the premises,” Inaba said, “but you won’t find him, Honorable Chamberlain.”

The rat had slipped the trap. Either Lord Arima’s men had smuggled him out in disguise or the estate had secret exits, tunnels underground. “Where did he go?” Sano asked angrily.

“Sorry, I don’t know,” said Inaba. “Neither does anyone else here. He didn’t tell us his destination.”

“I’m sure,” Sano said. Lord Arima clearly didn’t want to be traced and held accountable for ordering the death of a witness in the murder case or for betraying Lord Matsudaira. But Sano could smell that Inaba wasn’t telling the truth.

“Whatever business you have with my master, you’ll have to conduct with me,” Inaba said pompously. “I’m in charge.”

“I’m delighted to hear that,” Sano said. “Now is your chance to stand in for Lord Arima. I regret that I missed him, but you’ll do. You’re coming with me.”

He gestured to his troops. They leaped from their horses and seized Inaba, who protested, “Hey! You can’t do that!”

“Just watch me,” Sano said.

As the troops marched him down the street, Inaba called, “Help!” But Sano’s other troops pointed swords at the sentries, who stood idle rather than risk their own lives.

“I don’t deserve this kind of trouble,” Inaba fumed. “I haven’t done anything wrong!”

Sano laughed with sardonic amusement. “Since when did that matter in this world?”