“How are we going to get across the lake?” Marume said.

“We could swim,” Fukida said, his gaze measuring the distance over the water. “But we’ll need a way to transport the women to safety.”

“What about those boats?” Marume pointed at the far dock.

“I don’t think we should depend on them,” Hirata said. “If the worst happens and the kidnappers discover that we’re on the island before we can get the women off, they’ll guard the boats. We would all have to swim, and Midori can’t, especially in her condition.”

“I wouldn’t gamble that the other women can swim, either,” Fukida said. “We could tow them, but that would slow down our escape and give the kidnappers a chance to spot us.”

A vision of the three of them struggling to pull four women through the water, while the kidnappers fired arrows at them and chased them in the boats, momentarily quieted Hirata, Marume, and Fukida. No one speculated aloud about what hazards they might have to brave while locating the women, removing them from wherever they were imprisoned, and getting them as far as the shore.

“We need our own boat that we can hide on the island and use to carry away the women,” Hirata said, concentrating on the problem at hand. He would worry about other obstacles later. He would also postpone worrying about what Sano would think when he found out Hirata had disobeyed his orders.

“Should we ride back to the nearest village and see if the people have a boat to lend or sell us?” Marume said.

“I’m not letting the island out of my sight for that long,” Hirata said.

He looked around for an alternative, and his gaze lit on a fallen tree and slender saplings in the forest. “We’ll cut some logs and join them together to make rafts. Then we’ll wait until nightfall, row across the lake, and invade the island.”

19

In the Edo Castle sickroom, the maid Suiren lay in bed, inert and fragile beneath the blanket. Her closed eyes were sunken in dark hollows, her facial bones sharp under her pale skin. Sano knelt at one side of the bed, and Dr. Kitano at the other. They watched feeble breaths sigh through her parched, colorless lips. Incense smoke wafted over her, while the sorceress beat a tambourine and the priest recited healing spells. Vapor from simmering herbal infusions hazed the room.

“Has her condition improved at all?” Sano asked doubtfully.

He’d come to visit Suiren because this important witness to the crime had been forgotten in the turn of events caused by the ransom letter. He’d intended to follow up on Police Commissioner Hoshina’s attempt at questioning the lone survivor of the massacre, yet one look at Suiren had deflated his hope that she would provide any information whatsoever.

“She’s no better but no worse,” Dr. Kitano said. “She has a remarkable constitution and a strong will to live, but she is still in grave danger.”

“Has she regained consciousness?” Sano asked.

“Not since Hoshina-san forced me to revive her.” Dr. Kitano’s stern face expressed disapproval. “He insisted on trying to make her tell him about the ambush, even though she was too weak and dazed. His rough handling could have killed her, had I not stopped him.”

Sano was furious to hear how Hoshina had endangered Suiren’s life and jeopardized the investigation. Although a capable detective, Hoshina relied far too much on brute force. Sano wished Hoshina had never come to Edo. The man had hurt so many people, and not just Naraya’s daughter and everyone else on the list of deaths associated with him. The massacre and abduction stemmed from a wrong Hoshina had done. If Reiko, Midori, Keisho-in, and Lady Yanagisawa were murdered, their deaths would be partially his fault. Sano thought the only good thing about the situation was that Hoshina was locked away where he couldn’t do any more harm.

“Has Suiren said anything in her sleep?” Sano asked.

“No,” Dr. Kitano said.

“Keep a constant watch on her,” Sano said. “If she does say anything, write it down. As soon as she regains consciousness, send word to my estate.”

“Yes, Sōsakan-sama,” said Dr. Kitano.

After one last glance at Suiren and a silent prayer for her recovery, Sano left the sickroom to finish Hoshina’s investigation of her. He wondered what other mistakes Hoshina had left for him to discover.

The Edo Castle women’s quarters occupied a private, inner section of the palace known as the Large Interior. Here lived the shogun’s mother, his wife, his two hundred concubines, their attendants, and the palace’s female servants and officials-some thousand women in all. Sano presented himself at the door, which was made of iron-banded oak, decorated with carved flowers, and guarded by two soldiers. The Large Interior was barred to all men except a few trusted guards, doctors, officials, and messengers. Even Sano’s high rank didn’t permit him automatic access.

“I want to see Madam Chizuru,” he told the sentries.

They dispatched a messenger inside to fetch Madam Chizuru, the otoshiyori-chief lady official-of the Large Interior. Her duties included keeping vigil outside the shogun’s bedchamber while he slept with concubines, to ensure that they didn’t misbehave. She also kept order in the women’s quarters. Sano knew her reputation as an intelligent, able overseer who knew everyone in the Large Interior and missed little of what went on there. Soon she came to the door.

“How may I serve you?” she said, bowing to Sano.

Some fifty years of age and once a concubine to the previous shogun, Chizuru had graying hair worn in a knot atop her head. A modest gray kimono draped her sturdy, muscular physique. Her square face, thick, unshaven brows, and the dark hairs on her upper lip gave her a masculine appearance; but her deep voice was melodious, and her mouth daintily feminine.

“I need you to tell me about Suiren, and show me her quarters,” Sano said.

“As you wish.”

Chizuru stepped aside, allowing him to enter the Large Interior. They walked down passages with polished cypress floors, through a labyrinth of chambers enclosed by latticed wood and paper walls. In the chambers, pretty young women lounged while maids fanned them. Doors stood open to the garden, where more women and attendants reposed under shade trees. Sano inhaled the odors of perfume, hair oil, and too many people crammed into too little space. Wind chimes tinkled; female voices shrilled loudly. The kidnapping of their lord’s mother hadn’t quelled the restlessness of these women who were caged like prisoners with nothing to do but pass the time.

“Did Police Commissioner Hoshina already question you?” Sano asked Chizuru.

“He did.” Disapprobation compressed Chizuru’s mouth. “He accused Suiren of conspiring in the kidnapping.”

“You don’t believe she did?” Sano said.

“It’s not my place to have ideas that contradict those of my superiors,” Chizuru said primly.

But Sano knew that an independent mind lurked under her discretion. “I daresay you know the women here better than Hoshina or anyone else does. Tell me what you think.”

Emboldened, Chizuru said, “Suiren has attended Lady Keisho-in for more than thirty years. She’s devoted to her mistress. And she’s a kind, decent woman. The idea that she would help criminals kill her comrades and kidnap somebody is ridiculous.” Chizuru spoke with outright indignation.

Sano trusted her opinion more than he did Hoshina’s. The theory that Suiren had told the Dragon King about the trip, and he’d spared her life as a reward, lost credibility for Sano. It was just like Hoshina to incriminate a woman who couldn’t speak for herself, despite the lack of evidence against her, just so his investigation would appear to be making progress!

“This is where Suiren lives,” Chizuru said, leading Sano into a small chamber next to Lady Keisho-in’s quarters.