Black Lotus (21 page)

She gave an anxious, hasty nod.

"Dr. Miwa and Abbess Junketsu-in lied when they said you're a troublemaker?"

Again Haru nodded, with less conviction.

"The neighbors who say you burned your husband's house also lied?"

Haru sat frozen, speechless.

"So everyone is lying except you." A sarcastic laugh burst from Sano. "Well, I don't believe that, and I've had enough of your stories. Now let's go over that night again. This time I want the truth."

She turned a pleading gaze on Hirata, who said regretfully, "I can't help you unless you cooperate."

An abrupt change came over the girl. Her posture took on a sinuous fluidity, and her eyes a seductive gleam. She lowered her kimono to reveal bare shoulders. Licking her lips, she said to Hirata in a husky murmur, "But I'm innocent. How can you doubt me?" She leaned close to him; her cheek touched his.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Startled, Hirata leapt to his feet.

Haru rose, sashayed toward Sano, and pressed herself against him. "The truth is that I find you most appealing. Let me show you how well I can cooperate. Perhaps then you'll be satisfied that I've done nothing wrong."

Her nerve appalled Sano. He shoved Haru away. "You can't seduce us into thinking you're innocent."

Haru looked puzzled, as if her ploy had worked in the past and she didn't understand why it had failed this time. Her face crumpled, and she let out a sob.

"Crying won't help you either," Sano said contemptuously.

Now the girl's expression turned furious. A howl erupted from her, and she launched herself at Sano. The impact of her body knocked him off balance, and he staggered. Her fingernails clawed at him; lines of pain seared his cheek.

"Stop it!" Sano shouted, fending off her flailing hands.

Hirata seized Haru. She turned on him and raked her nails down his face. "Ow!" he cried, and he let her go, clutching his left eye.

"You demon!" Sano grabbed Haru.

She was stronger than she looked, and she fought like a wild beast. "You're all out to get me!" she shrieked. "Everyone blames me for everything. I hate you all. I want to kill you!"

Satisfaction filled Sano even as the girl's fists, elbows, and knees battered him. Though he hadn't gotten answers from Haru, at least he'd forced her to reveal her true self. Hirata, his eye bleeding, grabbed her legs, and she kicked his stomach. Magistrate Ueda and a trio of guards burst into the room.

"What's going on here?" the magistrate said. Seeing Sano and Hirata struggling with Haru, he said, "Guards. Subdue her."

With their help, Sano and Hirata overpowered Haru. Finally she stood captive, writhing in the guards' grip.

"The old man deserved it!" she shrilled, her face distorted by fury. "I didn't want to marry him, but they made me. He treated me like a slave. He beat me. He deserved to die!"

Magistrate Ueda frowned; Hirata gaped. A thrill of horror and anticipation rippled through Sano. "Are you saying you killed your husband?" he asked Haru.

Eyes crazed and hair tangled, Haru looked like a madwoman. "That policeman forced me to have sex with him in the cottage. I'm glad he's dead!" She spewed incoherent curses.

Sano said, "I interpret that as a confession of murdering her husband and Commander Oyama."

The worry of the past days fled him in a rush of relief. With the question of Hani's guilt settled, the investigation wouldn't come between him and Reiko any longer. Reiko would have to admit she'd made a mistake about Haru and abandon her dubious quest to prove that the Black Lotus was involved in crimes. Sano looked forward to regaining peace in his life.

"
Sumimasen
--- excuse me, but we can't be sure that what she said is really a confession, because she didn't actually say she set the fires or hurt anyone," Hirata said.

"Attacking us is proof that she's capable of harm," Sano
said
, touching the bloody scratches on his face.

"Even if she did make a confession," said Magistrate Ueda, "it doesn't account for the other two murders."

Sano said to Haru, "Did you kill Nurse Chie and the boy?"

Wild sobs wracked Haru; struggling to free herself, she seemed oblivious to his words.

"Well, we've got her for her husband's murder and Oyama's," said Sano, driven by his need to solve the case and serve justice. "That's enough for now. I'm sure we can get a full confession from her later."

Magistrate Ueda spoke in a quiet, grave voice for Sano's ears alone: "She's in no shape to make a valid confession, and there's still a chance that she's innocent. For your own sake, don't let emotion impair your judgment."

These words brought Sano to the dismaying realization that his antagonism toward Haru and wish to have her gone from his life had undermined his objectivity. He, who prided himself on serving honor through seeking the truth, had almost compromised his principles. Although tempted to blame Reiko, he knew the real fault was his own.

"Thank you for your advice, Honorable Father-in-law," Sano said, chastened.

New apprehension filled him as he wondered if this case would destroy everything he valued. He was no longer certain whether convicting Haru would solve his problems with Reiko. Though he still believed in Haru's guilt, he dreaded telling his wife about the arrest. After he took Haru to jail, he must go to the Black Lotus Temple to speak with High Priest Anraku and check Haru's stories with Dr. Miwa and Abbess Junketsu-in. His prejudice against the girl required extrameticulous investigation of all angles of the case before he could discredit Reiko's evidence in favor of Haru.

"I shall charge Haru with the murders of her husband and Commander Oyama and order a trial to determine whether she's guilty of those crimes, the other murders, and the arson," Sano decided. "The trial will be delayed until the investigation is complete. Haru is under arrest. She'll await trial in jail."

"No!" she screamed, fighting harder. "No, no, no!" She continued screaming as the guards dragged her out of the room.

19

I will send forth believers,

Monks and nuns,

Men and women of pure faith,

To propagate my Law.

----FROM THE BLACK LOTUS SUTRA

Shinagawa was a village south of Edo, and the second of fifty-three post stations along the T6kaid5 highway. The palanquin ride from the Zōjō district brought Reiko there by afternoon. Between Edo Bay and the wooded rise of Palace Hill, the highway ran past teahouses filled with citizens greeting travelers or seeing them off on journeys. More travelers browsed shops, gathered at the stables, and lined up for inspection at the station office. Hawkers called customers to inns. Now Reiko peered through the palanquin's window at passing samurai from nearby daimyo residences, and the many monks who came to Shinagawa for illicit amusements. Looking down a side street, she saw banners stamped with the Tokugawa crest protruding from a large crowd gathered between rows of connected houses with thatched roofs.

"Stop over there," she called to her bearers.

They obeyed. Reiko alighted from the palanquin. The mist had cleared, but the sky was overcast and the air cool; a damp wind wafted charcoal smoke and the smell of horse manure from the highway. Reiko and her guards walked toward the banners. The crowd included laborers, housewives carrying babies, and curious children. Men's serious voices emanated from the center.

When the guards cleared her way through the crowd, Reiko saw Minister Fugatami, his samurai entourage, and a group of aged male commoners dressed in dark robes, standing around a well, a square wooden structure fitted with a pulley and bucket. Fugatami acknowledged Reiko's arrival with a slight nod. His sharp features were grim as he returned his attention to his companions.

"This is one of three wells that we believe were poisoned by the Black Lotus during the past year," said one of the commoners, a dignified, white-haired man. Reiko supposed that he and his comrades were village elders and he was their senior, giving Minister Fugatami a report on incidents involving the sect. He lowered the bucket into the well and drew it up, full. "The water has a peculiar odor."

Fugatami sniffed the water and grimaced. "Indeed." He dipped a hand into the bucket, examined the liquid that ran off his fingers, then said to his attendants, "Note that the water also has an oily texture and faint greenish hue."

"People have complained of the odd taste," said the elder. "Fifty-three have become ill with diarrhea after drinking. Fortunately, none have died, and we've sealed the bad wells, but we're worried about possible future incidents."

Angry rumbles of agreement arose from the spectators; a baby cried. The elders silenced the crowd with stern looks.

"Why do you think the Black Lotus is responsible?" asked Fugatami as his attendants wrote down the data.

"There was never any problem with wells until Black Lotus priests and nuns began frequenting Shinagawa in large numbers. Neighborhood watchmen have seen them loitering at night near the wells that were later found to be bad."

Alarm and elation stirred in Reiko. Mass poisoning was a serious new addition to the list of accusations against the Black Lotus. However, it might induce Sano to investigate the sect.

"There have also been four reported instances of a pungent smoke drifting through the streets," said the senior elder. "Breathing the smoke causes chest pain, coughing, and shortness of breath. The last instance was three months ago, and a shopkeeper saw two Black Lotus nuns running away just as the smoke began."

"Was the source of the smoke identified?" Minister Fugatami asked. "Yes. Please come this way."

With the senior elder leading, Minister Fugatami, his entourage, and the crowd headed down the street to a tiny Shinto shrine. Reiko and her guards squeezed through the torü gate. Inside stood a primitive altar that held candles, incense sticks, offerings of food, and a gong to summon the deity.

"A pile of burning rags was found there," the senior elder said, pointing to a spot beside the fence. "They reeked of the odor. The watchman who found them was almost overcome by the fumes."

Even as she regretted the townspeople's suffering, Reiko welcomed more evidence of the sect's evil nature.

"There were no deaths?" Fugatami said.

"No," said the senior elder, "but we fear that death will occur if these incidents continue. Four families were stricken with stomach pains and vomiting earlier this month, after visits from Black Lotus priests. It seems that the priests are spreading disease."

Or poisoning the food and drink of people who allow sect members into their homes, Reiko thought.

"The most serious incident was an explosion," said the senior elder.

The crowd accompanied him across a bridge over the Meguro River to a neighborhood in a poor section of town. There, amid teahouses and shops, Reiko saw a pile of charred beams, planks, roof tiles, and burnt debris where a building had once stood. A bitter, sulfurous odor lingered around the site.

"The Black Lotus sect owned that building," the senior elder said. "They held prayer sessions and recruited followers there. Six nights ago, the building exploded with a huge boom, then caught fire. Luckily, there was no one inside or nearby, and the fire brigade put out the fire before it could spread."

"Did you examine the ruins?" Minister Fugatami asked.

"Yes. We found empty jars and some iron chests that had been blown apart, but we don't know what caused the explosion."

The sect must have used the building as a storage site for poison and headquarters for their activities in Shinagawa, but Reiko didn't understand why they'd destroyed their own property.

"Someone could have been killed or badly injured," said the senior elder. "Also, the number of kidnappings connected with the Black Lotus has increased --- there have been nine this past month. Things are getting worse, but when we went to the temple to talk about the incidents, the sect denied any involvement. Honorable Minister, we beg you to help us protect our people."

The other elders echoed his plea. Minister Fugatami said, "You've done well by bringing the matter to my attention. I promise to do everything in my power to determine what is going on and put a stop to any wrongdoing by the Black Lotus. Now I must return to Edo."

As the crowd dispersed, the elders expressed their appreciation to Fugatami. The minister looked toward Reiko and nodded to her. She and her guards walked back to her palanquin. She sat inside and waited. Soon Fugatami appeared at the window.

He greeted her formally, then said, "I regret that the
sōsakan-sama
was unable to be here."

"My husband regrets that his business kept him away," Reiko fibbed politely, "but I thank you for permitting me to observe your investigation for him."

"What I've seen and heard today, added to your monk's story about the Black Lotus, should be enough to persuade my superiors to outlaw the sect," Minister Fugatami said with satisfaction. "Even those who are followers cannot justify protecting an organization associated with so many crimes."

Reiko hated to disappoint him, but she had to bring him up to date on developments since they'd spoken yesterday. "My husband has inspected the Black Lotus Temple. He wasn't able to locate the novice monk --- according to the sect, Pious Truth doesn't exist. Nor could my husband find any sign of prisoners, torture, or underground chambers."

"Indeed." Fugatami's expression turned grave. "I suppose that the Black Lotus has permanently silenced the monk."

"You think they killed him for talking to me?" Suddenly the air seemed to turn colder; an eerie lull of quiet interrupted the shouts and laughter from inns and teahouses on the main road.

"I do," Fugatami said grimly. "And without an inside witness, my case against the sect weakens. However, there's still hope if I can enlist your husband as an ally. I will be presenting a complete report on the Black Lotus to the Council of Elders tomorrow afternoon. Will you convey to the
sōsakan-sama
my invitation to join us? I should be grateful if you could persuade him to support me tomorrow when I ask the Council of Elders to close down the sect and dismantle the temple."

"I'll do my best," Reiko promised, without much faith in her ability to persuade Sano to do anything just now. Still, if Pious Truth was alive and in danger, she must try to rescue him; if the sect had killed him, she must avenge his death. She hoped that dismantling the temple might uncover evidence that would help Haru, for she hated to think she was defending a murderer, even in a crusade against other murderers. And Reiko could not rid herself of a stubborn, visceral inclination to believe in Hani's innocence.

"These incidents and their increasing frequency attest that the evil within the Black Lotus is growing stronger and the sect is progressing toward trouble of major proportions," Minister Fugatami said. "I do not know what it might be, but I fear that Shinagawa is only the beginning."