“Shinagawa was just an experiment,” Dr. Miwa huffed. “Trial and error are necessary to scientific progress.” He busied himself arranging jars of chemicals on his workbench. “You will please leave. I have things to do.”

“Indeed. Your other formulas aren’t working out very well, are they? Especially the one that exploded accidentally and destroyed Anraku’s temple in Shinagawa.” Junketsu-in laughed, then sidled near Dr. Miwa. “Why do you pretend you don’t like me when we both know better?”

He smelled her musky perfume, felt the warmth of her body. Hot, unwelcome desire suffused him. Memories of other times like this roiled in his mind. Working day after day with Nurse Chie, he’d longed for her even as he saw revulsion in her eyes. She, like Junketsu-in, had aroused him without any intention of satisfying his longings. Now Junketsu-in raised her hand to his face and brushed her sleeve against his cheek.

“Be nice to me, and maybe I’ll put in a good word for you with Anraku-san,” she said, tittering.

She wouldn’t touch her bare skin to him, not even to tease! The insult enraged Miwa. Chie hadn’t wanted physical contact with him, either; she’d repelled his advances. She’d also threatened him and the whole sect. She, like Oyama, had deserved to die. Dr. Miwa’s anger exploded.

“Leave me alone!” he shouted, lashing out his arm and knocking Junketsu-in aside. His breath hissed furiously as he picked up a jar from the workbench. “Go away, or I’ll throw this acid in your face. You’ll be uglier than I, and Anraku won’t want you anymore. If you don’t stop tormenting me, I’ll tell the sōsakan-sama that you hated Chie and killed her.”

The fear in Junketsu-in’s eyes gratified him. She fled the laboratory, and Dr. Miwa clutched the edge of his workbench, breathing hard, trying to calm his temper. To succeed in his task and keep the position and respect he’d worked so hard to gain, he must control himself. He could not, and would not, fail again.

26

Reiko sat in the round, sunken tub in the bathchamber, submerged up to her neck. She’d opened the window and lit lamps around the room; the hot water steamed in the cool breeze and reflected wavering flames. Sick horror still knotted her stomach, though hours had passed since she’d seen the corpses of the Fugatami; her mind continuously revisited the bloody scene. When Sano entered the chamber, she looked up at him with eyes swollen and sore from weeping.

“I keep thinking about Hiroko and Minister Fugatami,” she said in a ragged voice. “This is the third bath I’ve taken since I left that house, but I still don’t feel clean.”

“I understand,” Sano said gently. “The aura of death always lingers.”

He stripped off his clothes. Crouching on the slatted wooden floor, he poured a bucket of water over himself, then washed his body with a bag of rice-bran soap. His vigorous scrubbing bespoke his own desire for purification.

“This afternoon I went to tell Hiroko’s father what happened.” Sorrow welled inside Reiko as she remembered how the dignified old man had tried to hide his grief over Hiroko’s death and his anxiety about his missing grandsons. She wondered guiltily whether her contact with Minister Fugatami had somehow triggered the murders.

“Thank you for sparing me the task,” Sano said, his expression bleak and strained as he washed his hair.

“What happened with the shogun?” Reiko asked.

“He refused to shut down the sect. He ordered me to stay away from the temple.”

“Oh, no. What are you going to do?”

“What can I do but obey orders?” Sano said unhappily. He rinsed himself, then climbed into the tub. The water shifted and rose around Reiko as he sat opposite her. “I’ll look for evidence outside the temple that will convince the shogun to change his mind. And I’ve sent a message to Chamberlain Yanagisawa, explaining the situation and asking him to come back to Edo. I think he’ll consider the Black Lotus problem serious enough to deserve his attention.”

Reiko was both glad and alarmed that Sano had taken the major step of summoning Yanagisawa, but feared that the chamberlain might not return in time to prevent a disaster. “At least some good has come of Minister Fugatami’s death,” she said. “You finally believe he was right about the Black Lotus.” That she and Sano were at last on the same side comforted Reiko. “And Haru can be released from jail,” Reiko added, now more certain than ever that the sect was guilty, which argued in favor of the girl’s innocence. “She can’t go back to the temple, so we’ll have to find a place for her to live.”

Then Reiko noticed a disturbed look on Sano’s face. “What’s wrong?” she said.

“Haru isn’t going anywhere.” Sano’s tone was cautious yet decisive. “She’s staying right where she is.”

“But you can’t keep her locked up when the case against her has weakened so much.” Reiko couldn’t believe she’d heard him right.

Sano shook his head. He inhaled deeply as if mustering the energy for an argument he’d hoped to avoid. “What happened today doesn’t clear Haru.”

“You agree that the sect killed Minister Fugatami and attacked people in Shinagawa. Isn’t it logical that they also killed Commander Oyama, Chie, and the child?”

“Logical,” Sano said, “but not certain. That the Black Lotus is evil doesn’t necessarily mean Haru is good. Whatever the sect has done, my case against Haru remains the same.”

“Then you’re still sure she’s guilty?” Incredulity jolted Reiko. “You still intend that she should be tried for the crimes?”

“I do,” Sano said.

His expression was regretful, but Reiko heard the finality in his voice. The steaming water around them seemed to grow cold as she realized that she and Sano weren’t on the same side after all. He was still in danger of condemning the wrong person, ruining his honor, and letting killers escape justice.

“Minister Fugatami probably died because he knew too much about the Black Lotus and was a danger to the sect,” Reiko said. “I think the same conditions apply to Haru, Commander Oyama, and Nurse Chie. They must have seen and heard things inside the temple. High Priest Anraku decided he couldn’t trust them to keep his secrets. He had Oyama and Chie murdered, then framed Haru so she would die too.”

“I understand how much you want to believe that,” Sano said, “but there’s no proof.”

Reiko perceived obstinacy beneath his gentle tone. She drew up her knees, avoiding contact with him. “Have you asked Haru what she knows of the sect’s business?” When Sano shook his head, Reiko said, “Neither have I, because I didn’t have the chance. Maybe if we go to the jail and ask her now, she’ll give us information that will clear her and persuade the shogun to let you investigate the Black Lotus.”

A current rippled the water as Sano folded his arms. “I’ll not give Haru another opportunity to invent tales about other people or pretend she doesn’t know what she did the night before the fire. I don’t trust her to tell the truth about the Black Lotus, so I won’t bother asking.”

“That’s unfair,” Reiko said, angry now. “Haru deserves a chance to save herself, especially since the Fugatami murder is evidence in her favor.”

Temper flared in Sano’s eyes. “She’s had plenty of chances to tell a better story about what happened to her. She’ll get another chance at her trial. And I’ve been more than fair to her-and to you-at my own expense. I put off arresting Haru so I could check out all the possible leads. My hesitancy gave Senior Elder Makino the means to destroy my reputation. I’ve also delayed Haru’s trial so I could hear Minister Fugatami’s report on the Black Lotus, as you wished. The shogun has ordered me to convene the trial, and I intend to do so before he can punish me for disobedience. Haru is guilty, and I shall welcome her conviction.”