Black Lotus (11 page)

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 Hani. 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.

9

Through the power of expedient means,

I shall pry living beings loose from false convictions,

And induce them to follow the Law of the Black Lotus.

-----FROM THE BLACK LOTUS SUTRA

Distant temple bells heralded dawn. Dressed in white kimono and trousers, Reiko stood barefoot in the garden, her hand on the sword at her waist, her face upturned toward a pale sky filmed with drifting gray clouds. The estate lay dark and quiet around her. Moisture veiled the air; dew pearled the grass. Reiko concentrated on the energy spreading from the spiritual center within her abdomen, through her whole body. With a sudden rapid motion, she drew the sword. She lunged and slashed in combat against an imaginary opponent.

At first the sword felt cumbersome and her movements awkward from lack of practice. Soon Reiko was panting and drenched in sweat, but eventually she felt her skill returning. She resolved to train daily, as she had before her pregnancy. The ritual calmed her mind while building her strength. Now she could think objectively about last night's talk with Sano, and she began to understand why she'd been so eager to refute evidence that raised valid concerns regarding Haru.

Proving that her judgment was sound had become a matter of honor. Though she knew she shouldn't let personal needs guide her, Reiko still trusted her own instincts and intelligence. Her suspicions about the Black Lotus fed her belief in Hani's innocence.

Reiko pivoted, ducked an imaginary strike, and lashed her blade against her doubts about her detective abilities. She and Sano would solve the case and deliver the real killer to justice, together.

When Reiko arrived at the Zōjō Temple convent, a nun told her that Haru was in the garden. Reiko left her entourage outside the front door. Carrying a package she'd brought, she walked around the building. The clouds cast a gloomy pall over gravel paths and autumn grasses. The breeze carried the scent of rain; nuns gathered laundry from balconies. Then Reiko heard Haru's voice --- shrill, frightened --- and a man's gruff, threatening one.

Reiko hurried around a cluster of pines and saw Haru standing near a lily pond in the secluded garden, her back pressed against a boulder. A priest loomed over the girl.

"Leave me alone!" Haru tried to squirm away, but the priest planted his hands on the stone surface on either side of her, preventing her escape.

"You've had your chance to cooperate voluntarily," he said. In his early forties, he was tall and strong; sinewy muscles corded his neck and bare arms. His domed head sloped to a low forehead, flat nose, full lips, and jutting chin. "Now I've run out of patience."

He clamped his big hand across Haru's throat and shoved. The girl's back arched; her head slammed against the boulder. She cried, "Help!"

Reiko dropped her package, rushed over, and grabbed the priest's arm. It felt hot and hard, like iron newly tempered in a forge. "What are you doing?" She saw scars crisscrossing his bare scalp, the most prominent one a raised seam that ran from the corner of his eye over his ear, ending in an incrustation of flesh that resembled a lizard. Revulsion filled Reiko as she tried to pull the priest away from Haru. "Stop!"

The priest looked down at Reiko. Harsh lines carved the skin around his mouth. Heavy, slanting brows added menace to his frown. His arm shot out, flinging Reiko aside. Then he turned back to Haru, increasing the pressure on her throat.

Choked cries emanated from Haru; she clawed at the priest's hands. Outraged, Reiko drew the dagger strapped to her arm under her sleeve.

She jabbed the priest's back with the blade, ordering, "Get away from her!"

He didn't even flinch. He didn't seem to notice Hani's fingernails tearing bloody scratches on his hand. "You set the fire," he said, bearing down on Haru. "Confess!"

Hani's face reddened; her eyes rolled in terror. Her voice emerged in a strangled whisper: "No!"

Reiko didn't want to injure the priest, but she had to save Haru. "Guards!" she called. Her five escorts came running. "Stop him!"

In an instant, the guards had the priest pinned facedown on the grass. Haru crumpled beside the boulder, coughing and clutching her throat.

"Are you all right?" Reiko asked, touching the girl's shoulder.

With a shaky, grateful smile, Haru nodded.

Reiko bent over the priest, holding the dagger against his neck. "Who are you?" she demanded.

Twisting his head sideways to look at Reiko, the priest regarded her with scorn, as though she were at his mercy, not the reverse. "Withdraw your weapon," he said. "Release me."

His manner made it obvious that he would say no more unless she complied. Reiko sheathed her dagger and nodded to her guards. They hauled the priest to his feet and stood around him lest he try to attack.

"Who are you?" Reiko repeated.

"My name is Kumashiro." He scrutinized Reiko with a hostile, unblinking gaze. His rough voice sounded like rocks shifting during an earthquake.

"From the Black Lotus Temple?"

The priest nodded curtly, although disdain twisted his mouth. "Who are you to ask?"

"I'm Lady Reiko, wife of the shogun's
sōsakan-sama
," Reiko said, observing the sudden wariness that hooded Kumashiro's eyes. "I'm investigating the fire at the temple. What is your position there?"

"I am second-in-command to High Priest Anraku, and chief security officer for the Black Lotus sect."

Reiko thought it odd that a Buddhist temple should be organized on such militaristic lines, or require a security staff. Did this have anything to do with prisoners, underground construction, and secret projects?

"You're a former samurai?" Reiko said, hazarding a guess based on Kumashiro's scars, physique, and arrogance.

"Yes."

"Whom did you serve?"

"My clan are retainers to Lord Matsudaira, daimyo of Echigo Province."

"What is your business with Haru?" Reiko gestured toward the orphan girl, who cowered against the boulder, biting her fingernails.

Kumashiro's contemptuous gaze flicked over Haru. "I was questioning her about the fire."

"The shogun has assigned my husband the job of investigating the arson," Reiko said, stifling her anger. Kumashiro was obviously the common type of man who disdained women as inferiors, but she sensed in him an abnormal hatred for her sex. "You've no right to interfere."

"The safety of the Black Lotus sect is my responsibility," Kumashiro said, "as is anyone who harms its members or property." He bared jagged teeth in an unpleasant smile. "You can save your husband a lot of trouble by going away and leaving Haru to me. I shall get her confession, and the
sōsakan-sama
shall get the criminal he seeks."

Here was another official who seemed determined to pin the crimes on Haru. "How can you be so sure that Haru has done harm?" Reiko asked the priest. "Where were you when the murders were committed and the fire set?"

A gleam of amusement in Kumashiro's eyes told Reiko that the priest recognized her intent to cast him as an alternative suspect. "Between sunset and dawn, I made my usual three tours of inspection around the temple grounds, and spent the rest of the time in my quarters. My lieutenants can confirm this --- they never left me."

Another dubious alibi that would be hard to break, Reiko thought unhappily.

"Haru has admitted that she left the orphanage to meet Commander Oyama," Kumashiro continued with an air of satisfaction. "She admitted that they were lovers, and they used the cottage for their illicit liaisons."

Shock hit Reiko like a fist to the heart. Even if Kumashiro had forced Haru to incriminate herself, Oyama's son also claimed that Haru had been involved with the commander.

"Is it true?" Reiko anxiously asked Haru. "Were you having an affair with Commander Oyama, in the cottage where he died?"

The orphan girl ducked her head. Mute, with her face hidden behind lank strands of hair, she looked the picture of guilty shame. Reiko's heart sank.

"She wanted to be the wife of a powerful
bakufu
official, so she seduced Oyama," said Kumashiro. "When she found out that he had no intention of marrying her, she killed him for spite."

In Reiko's mind rose an image of Haru glaring at Oyama and spitting on the ground at his feet, as clear as if she'd witnessed the incident that Oyama's son had described to Sano. She remembered Abbess Junketsu-in saying that Haru had seduced novice priests. Had Oyama exploited Haru, or had Haru used sex to serve her ambitions --- then committed murder and arson when her ploy failed?

Reiko envisioned the case as a lotus bud slowly opening to reveal first a white petal, then a black one, then more whites and blacks, with Haru at the center. Every piece of information contradicted or complemented another, painting Haru as either victim or criminal.

"You seem very certain of your theory," Reiko said to Kumashiro, "but perhaps the crimes stemmed from other illicit activities in the Black Lotus Temple."

"Such as?" The priest smirked, as though humoring her, but the tendons in his neck tightened.

"Such as the imprisonment and torture of novices. Or the breeding of children by nuns and priests. Or the construction of underground rooms, and the business that takes place there."

Reiko knew that by voicing these accusations she was putting the sect on its guard; yet she hoped to goad Kumashiro into an admission, because she couldn't count on Sano to investigate the temple. Regardless of his promise to her and his dedication to the truth, he thought Haru was guilty and the Black Lotus a legitimate sect; he might overlook evidence that said otherwise. The realization that she was losing trust in her husband dismayed Reiko.

"I wonder if the woman in the cottage was a novice who tried to escape, and the child an orphan who died from torture during religious indoctrination," Reiko said.

Kumashiro laughed, a sound like gravel scattering against steel. "Who told you those ridiculous rumors?"

"There's often truth in rumors." To protect Pious Truth, Reiko added, "The
metsuke
has spies everywhere."

The tendons in the priest's neck relaxed: Either he knew she had no proof to support her accusations, or he didn't fear the Tokugawa intelligence service. "Don't believe everything you hear," he said derisively. Then he strode toward Haru. "Get up. You're coming with me."

Whimpering, Haru scuttled backward on her hands and knees. Reiko stood between Kumashiro and the girl. "You're not taking her anywhere," Reiko told the priest.

"She belongs to the temple." Anger darkened Kumashiro's swarthy complexion. "I'll deal with her as I wish."

"She's under my protection now," Reiko said, "and I won't let you torment her."

Veins bulged in the priest's temples and rigid arms, as though swelling with fury. He spoke with quiet menace: "Those who interfere with the affairs of the Black Lotus sect always regret it."

"You dare to threaten me?" Reiko experienced a stab of fear despite her status as the wife of a high
bakufu
official and the protection of her guards. She saw in Kumashiro a truly dangerous man.