Blackness surrounded the body like a viscous shadow. Sano touched the shadow, and hot liquid smeared his fingers. The raw, metallic odor of fresh blood and the reek of feces assailed him. He listened for the sound of breaths, but heard nothing. Sano rolled the corpse over. It had a weird pliancy, as if the bones had dissolved, and felt oddly warm. Despite the meager light, Sano saw that the dead man’s face was awash in blood that had poured from his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears, drenching his clothes. He recalled Yoriki Hoshina describing Left Minister Konoe’s death… hemorrahaged almost all his blood… internal organs ruptured… many bones broken…”

Nausea and horror churned Sano’s stomach. Because he hadn’t solved the case, someone else had died.

Hurrying footsteps pounded toward him. Was the murderer returning to attack again? He looked up, saw Marume and Fukida coming, and exhaled in relief.

“We couldn’t find the killer,” Marume said. “Whoever it is could be anywhere in the palace, or out in the city by now.” Then he saw the corpse beside Sano. “Merciful gods!”

“Who is it?” Fukida said.

Sano took a cloth from under his sash. He wiped the blood off the corpse’s face, revealing familiar heavy-lidded eyes, flat nose, and thin mouth. “It’s Aisu,” he said, startled. “Chamberlain Yanagisawa’s chief retainer.”

Marume said, “He was a piece of scum. I’m certain he threw that bomb at us in Tobacco Lane. He deserved to die.”

“What was he doing here?” Fukida said.

“I don’t know, but his presence must mean that Yanagisawa is in Miyako, because they’re never far apart.” Sano experienced the disturbing shock of discovering that reality had a far different shape than he’d perceived. Rising, he cursed under his breath. He’d thought himself safe from Yanagisawa, free to restore his honor and regain the shogun’s favor in peace. But his enemy must have secretly followed him here. Why had Sano imagined that Yanagisawa would let him off so easily?

“But why would the chamberlain risk leaving Edo?” Marume said, his voice skeptical. “Where is he now, and what’s he up to?”

As Sano stood contemplating Aisu’s corpse, he realized that Yanagisawa must be the hidden element in the murder case. Yanagisawa was working another plot against him. Its exact details weren’t clear, but Sano glimpsed its intent, with mounting dismay.

“This whole investigation was rigged as a trap for me at the start,” he said. “Yanagisawa has been working behind the scenes, directing my every move-Aisu wasn’t clever enough to manage such a tricky operation alone. Events were supposed to culminate in my death from the spirit cry tonight. But the murderer killed Aisu instead of me.”

Marume and Fukida looked at him as if concerned for his sanity. “How do you know?” Marume said. “And how could Yanagisawa manipulate you? Even if he sent the message summoning you here and ordered the guards to abandon us inside the palace, how could he cause the killer to attack? And why was Aisu here?”

Sano had ideas, but no definite answers yet. A plan began forming in his mind. Whatever stroke of luck had saved his life, plus the knowledge he’d gained, gave him a chance to turn Yanagisawa’s scheme to his own advantage. But he needed to act fast. Instead of replying to Marume’s questions, he raised his head, listening to the night. He heard distant voices. The glow of lanterns hazed the air above surrounding areas of the palace, and he knew that soon people would flock to see what new destruction the spirit cry had wrought.

“There’s no time to talk,” Sano said. “Just listen, then do as I say. Fukida-san, give me your surcoat.”

The detective frowned in confusion, but obeyed. Sano spread the garment over Aisu’s face. “You stay with the corpse. Tell the Imperial Court that it’s me, that I was the killer’s victim.” Ignoring his men’s shocked exclamations, Sano rushed on: “Aisu was taller and thinner than I am, but the blood and filth will discourage anyone from taking a close look. You’ll have to remove the corpse as quickly as possible and figure out a way to hide it. Then issue an official report of my death. Keep the real events of tonight a secret.”

“Yes, sōsakan-sama.” Although Fukida sounded dazed, Sano knew he would carry out the orders.

“Marume-san, you come with me now,” Sano said. “We have to get out of the palace before anyone sees me.”

“Wait, please, sōsakan-sama,” Fukida said. “What shall I tell your wife?”

The question almost shattered Sano’s resolve. While the voices grew louder, moving lights shone up through trees outside the kitchen compound, and precious time sped away, he imagined how the news of his murder would affect Reiko. To let her think him dead was much worse than his lust for another woman. When Reiko found out the truth, she might never forgive his deceit. But if he didn’t use this chance to combat Yanagisawa’s machinations, he might never solve the case or win his battle against the chamberlain. Failure would doom Reiko along with him. He had to save them both.

“Break the news to my wife as gently as possible,” Sano said at last. “Not even she can know I survived, until I finish what I have to do.” Any lapse in secrecy could ruin everything. The fewer people who knew about his ploy, the better. Sano added, “With luck, I won’t have to deceive her for long.” Then he and Marume left quickly.

15

As Sano and Marume raced past buildings in the imperial enclosure, dark windows brightened. Glowing lanterns moved within corridors. All around them, Sano heard voices and movement. He and Marume changed directions repeatedly in order to avoid the notice of the people converging on the murder scene. In a garden, they ducked behind a pavilion to hide from a horde of palace watchmen. They dashed through courtyards and passages until they reached the wall that separated the enclosure from the northern sector of the kuge quarter. They scaled the wall and leapt down to the lane below.

“Which way?” Marume asked, panting.

Sano didn’t know a direct route out of the palace, and he couldn’t risk getting lost or being seen in the kuge quarter. He said, “We’ll take the overhead shortcut.”

He and Marume climbed the fence opposite the imperial enclosure and pulled themselves onto the low eaves of a villa. Rooftops spread around them like an eerie gray landscape of tiled peaks. They sped across this, and Sano hoped that if the residents heard them, they would be far away before anyone got a good look at them. They jumped from house to house and over narrow lanes. At last they surmounted the main palace wall and halted in the darkness of Imadegawa Avenue.

“What now?” Marume said.

“Go to the gate we went in by and get our horses,” Sano said. “Ride away, then double around and meet me in the alley across Teramachi Avenue and two blocks north from the gate. Don’t let the palace guards see you come back.”

Marume hurried off to obey. Sano’s own path took him through the deserted city streets around the palace, past dark houses and closed shops. By the time he reached the rendezvous spot, Marume was already there, waiting for him beneath a balcony with the horses.

“Care to let me in on what’s next?” Marume said.

Sano quickly outlined his plan. Then they stood in the alley, watching the avenue. After a brief wait, Marume said, “Look, here he comes.”

Just as Sano had predicted, Yoriki Hoshina rode up to the gate, accompanied by a group of other policemen. The group dismounted and went inside the palace.

“Let’s go,” Sano said.

They mounted their horses and rode to Miyako police headquarters, which was in the city’s administrative district, near the mansions of local officials. A stone wall enclosed stables, barracks, and a main building that housed offices. Torchlight flared within the compound. Sano had interviewed Lady Asagao here in her prison cell earlier. He’d also met with Hoshina to discuss the arrest, so he knew where Hoshina’s private quarters were. Now he and Marume left their horses in a side street. Marume went to the gate to tell the guards he wanted to talk to Hoshina about the murder at the palace. Sano crept around to the rear of the complex.