Black Lotus (10 page)

Pious Truth pressed his fist to his mouth to stifle the sobs that choked him. "They killed her!"

Aghast, Reiko said, "How do you know?"

"The next morning, there was the fire in the cottage, and the fire brigade found a woman's body there," the monk babbled through a spate of tears. "Yesterday I overheard the priests telling the detectives that no one was missing from the temple. Today Dr. Miwa told you that no one knows who the woman was. Well, they're lying. My sister is missing. I've asked around, and I've looked all over for her, but she's not with any of the other groups of novices. No one has seen her."

Reiko felt a thrill of excitement, mixed with pity for the young man before her.

"What about the child who died in the fire?" she asked.

"I don't know who it was."

"Could it have been one of the temple orphans?"

If Dr. Miwa and Abbess Junketsu-in had lied about knowing the woman, they could have lied about the child, too.

"They're not all orphans," Pious Truth said. "Many of them are children of sect members --- conceived and born at the temple."

Reiko was shocked. "The Black Lotus permits relations between the nuns and priests?" Buddhist orders usually required the clergy to observe vows of celibacy.

"The sect breeds children as future followers. At the orphanage, they're starved and beaten as part of their indoctrination. It's a test of physical and spiritual strength. The strongest ones will become the Black Lotus's leaders someday; the weaker will be their slaves. And the ones who don't survive…"

The monk's voice trailed off in a thin stream of despair. "I've heard of children vanishing from the nursery. Supposedly, they were adopted by kind families, but I don't believe it. The child in the cottage probably died during the indoctrination, and the priests used the fire to get rid of the body."

Fresh shock warred with skepticism inside Reiko. The notion of peo-ple bred like animals defied credibility, as did such cruelty to children. Yet even as Reiko wondered if Pious Truth was inventing tales to enlist her aid, his statements supported her theory that Haru was a victim rather than a criminal. Haru was covered with bruises. She'd claimed to be happy at the temple, but her recollection of torture could have vanished along with her memory of the night before the fire. Perhaps she, like Pious Truth's sister, had tried to run away and failed, then somehow escaped death in the fire meant to destroy her and other evidence of the sect's crimes.

"I'm just guessing about the child," Pious Truth said, "but I'm sure about Yasue. The Black Lotus priests killed her."

"To keep her from running away and telling outsiders how the novices are treated, or about the underground tunnels?" Reiko wondered if Haru had also posed this threat to the sect.

"No, not just for that." Pious Truth's words emerged between deepening gasps and sobs: "I overheard the priests talking. The Black Lotus is working on a secret project. Yasue must have seen something. They had to silence her."

Slavery, imprisonment, torture --- and now, diabolical plots. Reiko shook her head as her mind reeled from the torrent of allegations. "What is this project?"

"Last night, I went there. I saw. I heard. I know everything." Hysteria reduced Pious Truth to incoherence; his eyes were black pools of fear. "If they find out, they'll kill me, too!"

"I can't help you unless you tell me what --- "

Weeping, Pious Truth grabbed Reiko by the shoulders. "The whole country is in terrible danger. You must warn everyone. Convince your husband to save us!"

The pain of his hands on her, the violence of his plea, alarmed Reiko. Afraid for her safety, she ordered, "Let go!"

She pulled away and backed toward the gate, but Pious Truth hurried after her. Falling to his knees, he grabbed the skirt of her kimono, clutching her legs, oblivious to her dismay at his effrontery. "Please don't leave! Help me!"

Then Reiko heard hurrying footsteps outside the shrine. A shadow darkened the precinct. Turning, Reiko saw two priests standing under the torü gate, blocking the sunlight from the street. One was old, with a long gentle face; the younger was thickly muscled, his rough-hewn features blank. At the sight of them, Pious Truth inhaled a deep hiss of breath. He let go of Reiko and stumbled backward against the shrine building. Terror sharpened the bone structure of his gaunt face. His voice rose in a thin wail.

"Go away. Leave me alone!"

While the muscular priest advanced on him, the gentle-faced one addressed Reiko in a voice that exuded concern: "Did he hurt you, Honorable Lady?"

Daunted by the pair's sudden arrival and Pious Truth's reaction, Reiko faltered, "No. I'm fine."

"On behalf of the Black Lotus Temple, I apologize for any trouble caused you by Brother Pious Truth," the priest said with a kind smile. "He suffers from madness. He sneaked out of our hospital when his nurses weren't looking."

The heavyset priest grabbed Pious Truth, who struggled, crying, "Let me go! Help! They're going to kill me!"

Reiko didn't know what to think. Pious Truth seemed genuinely terrified, but the old priest sounded so reasonable. "He says he's in danger. He asked me to rescue him."

The priest shook his head sadly. "Delusions. Symptoms of his spiritual malady. It is he who is dangerous. We must restrain him to prevent him from hurting himself or others." As his comrade wrestled Pious Truth to the ground, the old priest removed thin cords from beneath his robe. He bound Pious Truth's wrists and ankles while his comrade held the shrieking, thrashing monk. "He has a habit of assaulting women. You're fortunate that we came along in time."

"Don't believe him!" Pious Truth shouted at Reiko. "Don't let them take me! The Black Lotus is evil. The mountains will erupt. Flames will consume the city. The waters will flow with death, and the air will breathe poison. The sky will burn and the earth explode. You must prevent the conflagration!"

The priest gagged him. He retched and moaned, straining against his bonds, but his captors lifted him and carried him out the gate.

"Wait!" Reiko ran after them. Pious Truth's words sounded like the ranting of a madman, but she distrusted the priests as associates of Abbess Junketsu-in and Dr. Miwa, potential murder suspects who had thwarted her investigation. She needed Pious Truth because his story would help her defense of Haru. "I want to see for myself that he'll be all right."

In the street, the priests bundled the novice into a black palanquin and shut the door. "We'll take Brother Pious Truth back to our hospital, where he'll get the care he needs," the old priest told Reiko. "For your own safety, do not attempt further contact with him."

The priests lifted the handles of the palanquin and trotted down the crowded street toward the Black Lotus Temple. Reiko helplessly watched them go. As she walked back to join her entourage, she wondered whether her inquiries would ultimately benefit or hurt Haru. Of all the conflicting statements she'd heard today, which should she believe?

8

The truth is elusive,

The door to wisdom difficult to enter.

——-FROM THE BLACK LOTUS SUTRA

Dusk spread a canopy of vibrant rose and aquamarine sky over Edo. Lights glowed behind windows, at neighborhood gates, in temple grounds, and in boats along the river's gleaming dark ribbon. The moon, like a huge silver coin worn thin at its edge, shone above Edo Castle. In the torch-lit courtyard of Sano's estate, hooves clattered against the paving stones as mounted guards escorted Reiko's palanquin to the mansion.

When Reiko alighted, the nursemaid O-hana threw open the front door, crying, "Thank the gods you're back!"

Anxiety struck Reiko; she hurried into the mansion. "Is something wrong with Masahiro?"

"The young master has missed you so much that he's been crying and fussing all day. He wouldn't drink milk from O-aki." This was Masahiro's wet nurse. "He refused to eat, and he wouldn't take a nap."

In the entryway, Reiko hastily kicked off her shoes, then ran down the corridor. While she'd been out, her beloved son had gone hungry and endured great misery. Now she heard him wailing in a continuous, mournful drone. She rushed into the nursery and found her own childhood nurse O-sugi jiggling Masahiro on her lap.

"There, there," O-sugi cooed. Masahiro squirmed, his face unhappy. Then O-sugi spied Reiko. "Look, Masahiro-chan," she said with obvious relief. "Mama is home."

The sight of Reiko abruptly silenced Masahiro. His eyes became round. Laughing with the joy of seeing him again, Reiko knelt and gathered his plump, warm body in her arms. She pressed her cheek to his soft hair.

"My baby," she whispered. "Oh, how I've missed you!"

A loud howl issued from Masahiro.

"What's wrong?" Puzzled, Reiko looked at her son and saw his face contorted with distress. She tried to comfort him, but more howls gave way to wild screams. His little hands pushed at her chest; his feet kicked her stomach.

"The young master is just tired and cross," O-sugi said. "He's been working himself up to a tantrum."

"No, he's angry at me for abandoning him!" Her son's rejection of her was too much for Reiko to bear, and tears sprang to her eyes. While Masahiro screamed and thrashed, she held him tighter. "I'm here now, it's all right," she murmured.

She and O-sugi and the maids cajoled and soothed. His face bright red, Masahiro beat his fists at them. Between his ear-splitting screams, Reiko heard the front door open, and men's voices in the entryway.

Sano was home.

Alarmed by the screams that had greeted his arrival, Sano sped down the corridor, fearful that harm had befallen Masahiro. He burst into the nursery. Discovering his son safe in Reiko's arms, Sano experienced relief, but Masahiro continued shrieking. Sano saw tears in Reiko's eyes.

"What happened?" Sano knelt at his wife's side. "Is he hurt?"

Struggling to hold the squirming child, Reiko gave him a forced smile and pitched her voice above the screams: "No, he's just being difficult."

Now Sano noticed that Reiko wore an outdoor cloak. Concern about her replaced his fear for their son. "Did you just get home?"

"Yes."

"You were supposed to go to Zōjō Temple in the morning. Why are you so late? Has something happened to you?"

For a mere instant, Masahiro ceased his tantrum. His flushed face smeared with tears, mucus, and drool, he regarded his parents with curiosity. Then he let out a tremendous bellow, thrusting his arms toward Sano, who lifted Masahiro from Reiko's lap and cuddled the damp, feverish child.

"I persuaded Haru to talk," Reiko said. "After what I heard, I had to investigate further."

Masahiro squalled as Sano clumsily rocked him. At last Sano gave up and handed his son to the maids. He said to Reiko, "Let's talk elsewhere."

They went to the parlor, which was chilly; the charcoal braziers hadn't been lit. A draft swayed the hanging lanterns. From the nursery drifted the muted sounds of Masahiro's wails. Reiko explained that Haru didn't know the victims and couldn't remember anything about the fire or why she'd been at the cottage, then described her bruises.

"I think Haru was an intended victim of the arson. She's afraid she'll be attacked again, and executed for the crime. She's all alone in the world." In a voice laden with compassion, Reiko explained how Haru's parents had died and moneylenders had seized their noodle shop in Kojimachi. "I promised her I would try to clear her of suspicion and find the real arsonist."

Obviously, an emotional bond had formed between Haru and Reiko, blinding Reiko to the possibility that the girl was indeed guilty of the crimes. Sano thought of what he'd learned today, and a sinking sensation weighted his heart.

"My congratulations on breaking Haru's silence," he said, easing into a discussion that he feared would cause discord. Encouraged by the glow of pride on Reiko's face, he said cautiously, "However, before we draw any conclusions about Haru, we need to examine other evidence."

"What evidence is that?"

Reiko's posture stiffened. The weight in Sano's heart grew heavier as he perceived that she was upset at the idea that he didn't share her inclination toward Haru's innocence. He regretted the necessity of telling her something she probably wouldn't want to hear.

"I met Commander Oyama's family," Sano said, then related what he'd learned. "The elder son's story about Oyama introducing him to Haru indicates that Haru did know at least one of the victims, despite what she told you."

Although Reiko neither moved nor altered expression, Sano could feel that she was shaken by his news, and appalled to think that Haru had bed to her.

"Oyama's son wants someone punished for his father's murder."

Reiko said. "Maybe he fabricated that story about Haru because she's an obvious suspect."

"She's the only suspect," Sano amended. "Commander Oyama's death caused his family much harm and benefited them not at all. My detectives spent the whole day at the temple and haven't discovered evidence to place anyone besides Haru at the scene."

"Just because your men found nothing doesn't mean that other suspects and evidence don't exist," Reiko said. "The Black Lotus sect clearly benefits from Oyama's bequest and is trying very hard to control the investigation and incriminate Haru. After I talked to her, I went to the temple, and as soon as I got there, the abbess waylaid me. I wanted to question the nuns and orphans about Haru, but she wouldn't let me. And your detectives were having no better luck performing an independent investigation. They had Black Lotus priests following them like shadows."

"The priests were probably just assisting with their investigation," Sano said, alarmed that Reiko had gone ahead on her own. "I found them very cooperative yesterday."

Nevertheless, Sano wondered whether this cooperation signified an attempt to hide compromising facts behind a guise of helpfulness. Was the Black Lotus indeed trying to misdirect the investigation? The thought disturbed Sano and increased his concern about what Reiko had done.

"You shouldn't have gone to the temple," he said. "For you to poke around without my knowledge or permission could harm the investigation and my standing with the shogun."

"I'm sorry," Reiko said, contrite.

"And if there really is a killer at large, then it's dangerous for you to wander around the temple alone." Seeing Reiko's frown, Sano said, "I have the results of Dr. Ito's examination of the arson victims. All three were killed before the fire. The little boy was starved and tortured. His neck was broken."

Reiko recoiled in horror. "How terrible," she murmured. The sound of Masahiro's whimpers drifted through the house. Then her expression turned sharply alert as she absorbed the news. "Could a girl as frail as Haru have smashed the skull of a man, strangled a woman, and broken the neck of a boy --- all on the same night, yet --- then placed all their bodies in the cottage to be burned? Under what circumstances could an orphan girl starve and torture a child? Dr. Ito's findings strengthen the possibility that the killer is someone other than Haru."

His wife had a point, Sano realized: The scenario she described did sound implausible. "At this stage it's too early to eliminate any possibilities," he said, warning himself against prejudice. He could be wrong about Haru, despite what he'd learned today.

"Well, if we're looking for other suspects, then Dr. Miwa and Abbess Junketsu-in are good candidates. There's something very strange about them." Reiko described the sinister pair. "They both knew Commander Oyama. They were quick to offer alibis, and even quicker to cast suspicion on Haru."

Reiko told how the abbess and doctor had portrayed Haru as a troublemaker who suffered from spiritual disharmony, lied, fornicated, prowled at night, and had set the fire as revenge against the temple for disciplining her. Sano mentally tallied the information on Haru. To him, it was clear that the negative outweighed the positive.

He said carefully, "Maybe the abbess and doctor are telling the truth about Haru."

"I don't trust those two. Someone beat and bruised Haru; maybe they had something to do with it."

Reiko spoke with certainty, her back against a partition. Sano understood that his disputing her assessment of Haru had only caused her to cleave to the girl. He was troubled to see the case dividing him and his wife.

"You think she's guilty, don't you?" Reiko said.

"I won't decide until all the facts are in," Sano said, although he could tell that his hedging didn't convince Reiko. "So far, there's no evidence to say that anyone except Haru had a motive for the crimes."

"But there is." Brightening, Reiko described her meeting with a novice monk.

Sano shook his head in amazed disbelief. "That's not possible. There's no law against underground construction at temples as long as it doesn't extend outside the religious district, but a sect couldn't hide the kind of work you describe. The
bakufu
keeps tight control over the clergy. Officials from the Ministry of Temples and Shrines conduct frequent inspections of all temples. They would have discovered the imprisonment and mistreatment of the novices and children and disbanded the sect. And the
metsuke
watches for any activities that pose a danger to the country." The Tokugawa intelligence service had spies everywhere. "Those priests who took Pious Truth away said he was mad. That sounds like a good explanation for his story."

Reiko's chin lifted. "The fact that the child in the cottage was beaten and starved supports his claims. And his story provided a lead on the dead woman. Is there a better one?"

"No," Sano admitted. "Hirata checked out a report on a runaway wife from the Suruga Hill district. He just told me that he went there and found her alive and well --- she'd returned to her husband. But the search has just begun. Maybe the woman is Pious Truth's sister; maybe not. We shouldn't jump to conclusions."

He placed his hands on Reiko's shoulders. "Please don't be so quick to believe some things you hear and disregard others, or to take the side of a suspect."

Sighing, Reiko nodded, but she replied, "You said yourself that it's too early to eliminate any possibility. If there's the slightest chance that Pious Truth is right about the Black Lotus sect, then we have to check into it. That's why I want to go back to the temple tomorrow, with you, to find Pious Truth and look for the things he described."