The Way of the Traitor: A Samurai Mystery (25 page)
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Authors: Laura Joh Rowland
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BOOK: The Way of the Traitor: A Samurai Mystery
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The sparsely furnished office smelled damp from the rain. Flanked by two sergeants, Ohira knelt behind a desk on the dais before an assembly of townspeople. The two samurai dumped the captive peasant on the floor. Curious about the stoic man whose son awaited execution, Sano knelt to watch the proceedings, which evidently concerned minor crimes that fell under Ohira's jurisdiction.
oWho is this person, and what is his offense? Chief Ohira asked the sergeants.
oYohei, a servant on Deshima. He tried to enter the island without a pass.
Ohira frowned. oWhat have you to say for yourself, Yohei?
The servant bowed. oHonorable Chief, I had my pass when I left home. He was a meek-looking man with dazed eyes. oBut it was gone when I got to Deshima; I must have lost it along the way. If I'd known, I would have come straight to you and reported the pass missing. I never would have tried to enter the island, I swear.
Sano expected Ohira to let the servant off with a warning and send him to Governor Nagai's office for a replacement pass. But the chief's frown deepened. oAttempting to enter Deshima without a pass is a serious offense, he said sternly. oAs a punishment, you shall spend the rest of the day chained to the gate; your shame and disgrace will deter would-be criminals. Dismissed.
oNo, please, I beg you!
The servant prostrated himself before the chief, whose unyielding expression didn't change. From the back room the sergeants fetched iron chains and shackles, fastened them around the servant's wrists and ankles, and dragged him outside. Sano wondered whether Ohira's personal troubles had occasioned his extreme punishment of an honest mistake. Was the chief venting his anger on the unfortunate servant "or might he actually approve of cruel justice, even for his son?
Chief Ohira turned to Sano, and his guard went up, as if an invisible suit of armor had suddenly grown on him. He said to his sergeants, oClear the room, then see that no one disturbs myself and the ssakan-sama.
Unflinchingly he held Sano's gaze while the sergeants obeyed, then said, oI should have thought you'd be meditating on your wrongs, cleansing your spirit, and preparing to die like a proper samurai. Bitter antipathy roughened his tone. oWhat do you mean by coming here now?
oWhat do you think? Sano strode up to the dais, hot with fury at this man who had incriminated him.
Then a closer look at the chief unexpectedly awakened his pity and admiration. Ohira's ashen skin was so taut that Sano could see every brittle bone in his face. The shadows rimmed his eyes like bruises; his emaciated body seemed little more than a skeleton beneath the folds of clothing. Ohira must be mortally ill with grief for Kiyoshi; yet, like a true samurai, he continued to perform his duties. Sano spoke more politely than he'd intended.
oI want to know why you framed me for treason.
Ohira glared. oI can assure you I don't know what you're talking about, he said through clenched teeth. oYour accusation is ridiculous, though criminals often try to shift the blame for their misdeeds. What I fail to understand is how you could corrupt a decent, honorable youth like my son. When you arrived in Nagasaki, I knew you would be trouble. But I've underestimated your evilness.
Sudden doubt arose in Sano. Maybe Ohira wasn't part of the smuggling ring and had nothing to do with Spaen's murder, or Peony's. Maybe, truly believing that Sano was a villain who had destroyed Kiyoshi, he wanted revenge. Maybe Governor Nagai had simply exploited this desire in order to create more evidence against Sano. Now Sano changed tactics.
oI don't think Kiyoshi is guilty, he said. oBy telling the truth, you may be able to save him.
Ohira rose and stepped off the dais. As he walked to the window, his wasted muscles quaked with the effort. oOf course Kiyoshi is guilty, Ohira said, turning his back on Sano to look outside.
In the rainy street, the servant stood chained to the gate, his head ducked in shame while a crowd jeered and threw horse dung at him. oKiyoshi was caught in the act; he confessed, Ohira said. oHe must endure his punishment: It's the law. No one can save him now.
Yet Sano detected a fissure of hope in his stony voice. oAre Governor Nagai and Interpreter Iishino involved in smuggling? Or are you and they following Chamberlain Yanagisawa's orders to ruin me?
oYour accusations against Governor Nagai and Interpreter Iishino are slanderous. Ohira gazed steadily out the window. oAnd I'm not privy to the chamberlain's orders.
Outside, a band of ruffians set a dog upon the chained captive, whose pleas for mercy chimed plaintively between the animal's barks. Ohira silently watched the consequences of his actions.
oWhich barbarian helped Spaen import goods illegally? Sano asked. oDeGraeff? Or Dr. Huygens, whispered his inner voice, which he ignored. oWho on your staff helped moved the goods off the island? Who piloted the lantern boat? Who killed Jan Spaen?
Slowly Ohira turned. The opposing forces of honesty and fear warred on his face. Sano spoke quietly, nudging the balance to his own advantage. oOnly the truth can salvage Kiyoshi's honor.
At the sound of his son's name, the indecision in Ohira's eyes froze to solid, impenetrable resolve. oYou lost your authority in Nagasaki when you broke the law, he said coldly, oand I am under no obligation to answer to you. His mental armor shimmered almost visibly.
Sano's doubts about Ohira's guilt wavered. oYou relaxed security on Deshima, he accused. oYou ordered the guards to remove goods from the warehouse, open the water gates, and let the lantern boat approach. The police and harbor patrol are your accomplices. The townspeople didn't interfere; they're afraid of the mysterious lights because of the ghost stories you spread. You let barbarians leave Deshima because they insisted on accompanying the goods and collecting payment from the customers.
The audacity of the scheme awoke fresh outrage in Sano. He suddenly remembered the overheard conversation between Governor Nagai and Ohira on his first day in Nagasaki, and the chief saying, oThis never would have happened if... Meaning oSpaen wouldn't have disappeared if you hadn't ordered the smuggling ? Was crime the basis for the alliance Sano had sensed within Nagasaki's administration?
oAnd then you incriminated me to save your own corrupt skins, he finished bitterly.
oYou destroy my son, and now you dare insult my honor? Ohira's eyes burned in their reddened sockets as he choked out the words. oI've devoted my life to upholding the law. I would never break it, and I'll tell you why.
oThe summer I was ten, I had three best comrades. One day we formed a scheme to dive for pearls, then trade them to the Chinese merchants for fireworks. Even though this is illegal, there was little risk involved. Security is weak around the Chinese settlement, and deals are often made over the walls.
oAs it happened, my grandmother died and I couldn't leave home, so my friends went without me. Memory darkened Ohira's face. oOne drowned while diving for the pearls. The other two, who were brothers, sold the pearls to the Chinese. The next night they burned to death when their house caught fire. Only I, who had no part in the scheme, was spared. I took this as a sign from the gods that it should thereafter be my vocation to obey the law and deter others from doing wrong. And I can assure you that I've fulfilled my vocation. Anyone who says otherwise will pay in blood!
He reached for his sword. Sano grabbed Ohira's hand before the chief could unsheathe the blade. The conviction in Ohira's voice made him wonder again whether Ohira might be innocent. The chief was strict with his staff, his civilian subjects, and the Dutch. Sano knew that clever subordinates often worked illicit schemes right before an unsuspecting superior's eyes. Still, he didn't believe that Ohira, who seemed able and intelligent, could have been totally unaware of what was happening on Deshima.
Sano tightened his grip on Ohira. The chief's bony, feverish fingers possessed a determination that compensated for physical weakness. Locked together, their hands shuddered on the hilt of the sword.
oWhere were you when Jan Spaen disappeared? Sano demanded.
Ohira strained to pull the sword free. oLet go, and fight like a samurai!
Sano grabbed Ohira's other hand before it could reach his short sword, oDid Peony see something that made her dangerous to you? He shoved the chief against the wall, savoring the release of anger. He was sick of his countrymen's treachery, which made them no better than the barbarians they despised and with whom they had conspired. oDid you kill her?
oPeony committed suicide. As Ohira struggled, his breath exuded the sour reek of illness. oAnd I never go near that disgusting pleasure quarter.
oDid you order the Deshima guards to shoot me? Where were you last night?
oTraitor! Coward! Are you afraid to fight without your foreign allies to help you?
Goaded by the worst insults anyone could inflict upon a samurai, Sano felt combat lust assail him like a typhoon. He wanted to draw his sword and do battle. Then he saw the sick, gloating triumph in Ohira's eyes: The chief wouldn't mind dying in a duel, ending his misery. However, killing one of his accusers would land Sano in jail for murder, depriving him of the chance to exonerate himself and Hirata, to serve truth and justice.
Sano tore the swords from Ohira's waist. He threw them across the room, and the chief to the floor. oAnswer me! he shouted while he fought his anger. One more day until the Dutch captain's deadline; two more days of freedom. Could he keep temper from overcoming wisdom for that long?
Ohira fell with a crash that must have hurt, but when he rose, his icy dignity betrayed no pain and acknowledged no defeat. oI was in my office on Deshima on the occasions you mention, surrounded by my staff. And I can assure you I gave no orders to shoot you.
Just then the curtains parted. In walked the Deshima second watch commander. oHonorable Chief, Nirin said, owe must talk. He did not appear to notice that his superior wasn't alone; the room was dim, and Ohira stood between Sano and the door. oWhat happened last night changes everything, and I need new orders about "
oCan't you see I'm busy? Ohira snapped. oGet out!
Nirin glanced at Sano and frowned, then said, oSorry to interrupt, but this can't wait. We have to tighten Deshima security at night to prevent future thefts. I need your permission to assign more troops to the warehouses. He touched his sword. oIs the ssakan-sama giving you trouble?
oI was just leaving, Sano told them.
As he walked out the door, a sense of vindication energized him. The second watch commander had dissembled quickly, but Sano guessed that what he'd really meant to ask Chief Ohira was how they would continue smuggling now that their operation had been exposed.
Then despair eclipsed Sano's elation. He mounted his horse and stared at the rain.
Even if Ohira was guilty of treason as Sano now believed "and possibly of murder, too "he would never confess, because it wouldn't save Kiyoshi. The law demanded that a criminal's entire family share his punishment for these serious offenses. Should Ohira admit his crimes, he would condemn himself, Kiyoshi, his wife, and five other children to death. Without hard evidence, Sano would never break Chief Ohira.
Therefore, he must try to break the other Japanese suspects "or the Dutchmen.
Chapter 22
FROM THE HOUSE on Deshima where Jan Spaen's body had lain since its recovery from the sea, guards brought out the plain wooden coffin draped with black cloth and set it in the street. Across the bridge milled gawkers waiting to see the barbarians' funeral procession, and the officials who attended all diplomatic functions. The rain had diminished to a drizzle. A holiday atmosphere belied the solemnity of the occasion.
Dutch East India Company Assistant Director Maarten deGraeff watched the scene from the roof of his residence, where he went whenever he couldn't bear the prison of his rooms. For years he'd longed for Jan Spaen's death, yet the murder of his partner had not freed him as he'd hoped, but only multiplied his troubles. He should have known he could never escape the evil inside his soul, though he'd tried since his nineteenth year, when he'd joined the company.
He'd left the Netherlands, abandoning his parents, university studies, and a future career in the church not for money or adventure, but because of his crimes: the profane desire that prayer could not banish; sordid encounters with sailors in Amsterdam's alleys; and an affair with a fellow student that had ended when the other youth, torn by guilt, hanged himself in their dormitory. If his true nature was ever exposed, deGraeff wanted to be far away, so his family needn't witness the disgrace of a son executed for the sin of forbidden love.
Now a bitter laugh caught in deGraef's throat. What had he achieved by his self-imposed exile? Here he was, half a world away, still a sinner, and a murder suspect besides.
A noise from below interrupted his glum reverie. Someone was ascending the ladder from the balcony to the roof. Then Dr. Nicolaes Huygens's worried face appeared over the eaves. oMay I join you? he said.
DeGraeff groaned inwardly as the stout doctor sat beside him. Since Spaen's death, he'd avoided Huygens. But they needed to talk.
Panting, Dr. Huygens took a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his sweaty brow, then folded the cloth with meticulous care before putting it away. He clasped and unclasped his plump hands. oIt's almost time for the funeral, he said at last. oAren't you coming?
His hesitancy indicated that this wasn't what he'd come to say, but deGraeff, preoccupied with his own concerns, didn't care. oNicolaes, he said, oplease, I beg you not to tell anyone what I've done.
He should have realized that he couldn't keep a secret on this tiny island. At first he'd used male whores dressed as women to hide their true gender from his comrades. Then he'd begun a foolish liaison with a junior interpreter. Huygens had accidentally walked in on them. Jan Spaen, who had learned of his sins years ago, was gone. Now deGraeff's fate lay in the hands of Dr. Huygens. He waited in cold terror as the doctor turned to him.
oWho is this person, and what is his offense? Chief Ohira asked the sergeants.
oYohei, a servant on Deshima. He tried to enter the island without a pass.
Ohira frowned. oWhat have you to say for yourself, Yohei?
The servant bowed. oHonorable Chief, I had my pass when I left home. He was a meek-looking man with dazed eyes. oBut it was gone when I got to Deshima; I must have lost it along the way. If I'd known, I would have come straight to you and reported the pass missing. I never would have tried to enter the island, I swear.
Sano expected Ohira to let the servant off with a warning and send him to Governor Nagai's office for a replacement pass. But the chief's frown deepened. oAttempting to enter Deshima without a pass is a serious offense, he said sternly. oAs a punishment, you shall spend the rest of the day chained to the gate; your shame and disgrace will deter would-be criminals. Dismissed.
oNo, please, I beg you!
The servant prostrated himself before the chief, whose unyielding expression didn't change. From the back room the sergeants fetched iron chains and shackles, fastened them around the servant's wrists and ankles, and dragged him outside. Sano wondered whether Ohira's personal troubles had occasioned his extreme punishment of an honest mistake. Was the chief venting his anger on the unfortunate servant "or might he actually approve of cruel justice, even for his son?
Chief Ohira turned to Sano, and his guard went up, as if an invisible suit of armor had suddenly grown on him. He said to his sergeants, oClear the room, then see that no one disturbs myself and the ssakan-sama.
Unflinchingly he held Sano's gaze while the sergeants obeyed, then said, oI should have thought you'd be meditating on your wrongs, cleansing your spirit, and preparing to die like a proper samurai. Bitter antipathy roughened his tone. oWhat do you mean by coming here now?
oWhat do you think? Sano strode up to the dais, hot with fury at this man who had incriminated him.
Then a closer look at the chief unexpectedly awakened his pity and admiration. Ohira's ashen skin was so taut that Sano could see every brittle bone in his face. The shadows rimmed his eyes like bruises; his emaciated body seemed little more than a skeleton beneath the folds of clothing. Ohira must be mortally ill with grief for Kiyoshi; yet, like a true samurai, he continued to perform his duties. Sano spoke more politely than he'd intended.
oI want to know why you framed me for treason.
Ohira glared. oI can assure you I don't know what you're talking about, he said through clenched teeth. oYour accusation is ridiculous, though criminals often try to shift the blame for their misdeeds. What I fail to understand is how you could corrupt a decent, honorable youth like my son. When you arrived in Nagasaki, I knew you would be trouble. But I've underestimated your evilness.
Sudden doubt arose in Sano. Maybe Ohira wasn't part of the smuggling ring and had nothing to do with Spaen's murder, or Peony's. Maybe, truly believing that Sano was a villain who had destroyed Kiyoshi, he wanted revenge. Maybe Governor Nagai had simply exploited this desire in order to create more evidence against Sano. Now Sano changed tactics.
oI don't think Kiyoshi is guilty, he said. oBy telling the truth, you may be able to save him.
Ohira rose and stepped off the dais. As he walked to the window, his wasted muscles quaked with the effort. oOf course Kiyoshi is guilty, Ohira said, turning his back on Sano to look outside.
In the rainy street, the servant stood chained to the gate, his head ducked in shame while a crowd jeered and threw horse dung at him. oKiyoshi was caught in the act; he confessed, Ohira said. oHe must endure his punishment: It's the law. No one can save him now.
Yet Sano detected a fissure of hope in his stony voice. oAre Governor Nagai and Interpreter Iishino involved in smuggling? Or are you and they following Chamberlain Yanagisawa's orders to ruin me?
oYour accusations against Governor Nagai and Interpreter Iishino are slanderous. Ohira gazed steadily out the window. oAnd I'm not privy to the chamberlain's orders.
Outside, a band of ruffians set a dog upon the chained captive, whose pleas for mercy chimed plaintively between the animal's barks. Ohira silently watched the consequences of his actions.
oWhich barbarian helped Spaen import goods illegally? Sano asked. oDeGraeff? Or Dr. Huygens, whispered his inner voice, which he ignored. oWho on your staff helped moved the goods off the island? Who piloted the lantern boat? Who killed Jan Spaen?
Slowly Ohira turned. The opposing forces of honesty and fear warred on his face. Sano spoke quietly, nudging the balance to his own advantage. oOnly the truth can salvage Kiyoshi's honor.
At the sound of his son's name, the indecision in Ohira's eyes froze to solid, impenetrable resolve. oYou lost your authority in Nagasaki when you broke the law, he said coldly, oand I am under no obligation to answer to you. His mental armor shimmered almost visibly.
Sano's doubts about Ohira's guilt wavered. oYou relaxed security on Deshima, he accused. oYou ordered the guards to remove goods from the warehouse, open the water gates, and let the lantern boat approach. The police and harbor patrol are your accomplices. The townspeople didn't interfere; they're afraid of the mysterious lights because of the ghost stories you spread. You let barbarians leave Deshima because they insisted on accompanying the goods and collecting payment from the customers.
The audacity of the scheme awoke fresh outrage in Sano. He suddenly remembered the overheard conversation between Governor Nagai and Ohira on his first day in Nagasaki, and the chief saying, oThis never would have happened if... Meaning oSpaen wouldn't have disappeared if you hadn't ordered the smuggling ? Was crime the basis for the alliance Sano had sensed within Nagasaki's administration?
oAnd then you incriminated me to save your own corrupt skins, he finished bitterly.
oYou destroy my son, and now you dare insult my honor? Ohira's eyes burned in their reddened sockets as he choked out the words. oI've devoted my life to upholding the law. I would never break it, and I'll tell you why.
oThe summer I was ten, I had three best comrades. One day we formed a scheme to dive for pearls, then trade them to the Chinese merchants for fireworks. Even though this is illegal, there was little risk involved. Security is weak around the Chinese settlement, and deals are often made over the walls.
oAs it happened, my grandmother died and I couldn't leave home, so my friends went without me. Memory darkened Ohira's face. oOne drowned while diving for the pearls. The other two, who were brothers, sold the pearls to the Chinese. The next night they burned to death when their house caught fire. Only I, who had no part in the scheme, was spared. I took this as a sign from the gods that it should thereafter be my vocation to obey the law and deter others from doing wrong. And I can assure you that I've fulfilled my vocation. Anyone who says otherwise will pay in blood!
He reached for his sword. Sano grabbed Ohira's hand before the chief could unsheathe the blade. The conviction in Ohira's voice made him wonder again whether Ohira might be innocent. The chief was strict with his staff, his civilian subjects, and the Dutch. Sano knew that clever subordinates often worked illicit schemes right before an unsuspecting superior's eyes. Still, he didn't believe that Ohira, who seemed able and intelligent, could have been totally unaware of what was happening on Deshima.
Sano tightened his grip on Ohira. The chief's bony, feverish fingers possessed a determination that compensated for physical weakness. Locked together, their hands shuddered on the hilt of the sword.
oWhere were you when Jan Spaen disappeared? Sano demanded.
Ohira strained to pull the sword free. oLet go, and fight like a samurai!
Sano grabbed Ohira's other hand before it could reach his short sword, oDid Peony see something that made her dangerous to you? He shoved the chief against the wall, savoring the release of anger. He was sick of his countrymen's treachery, which made them no better than the barbarians they despised and with whom they had conspired. oDid you kill her?
oPeony committed suicide. As Ohira struggled, his breath exuded the sour reek of illness. oAnd I never go near that disgusting pleasure quarter.
oDid you order the Deshima guards to shoot me? Where were you last night?
oTraitor! Coward! Are you afraid to fight without your foreign allies to help you?
Goaded by the worst insults anyone could inflict upon a samurai, Sano felt combat lust assail him like a typhoon. He wanted to draw his sword and do battle. Then he saw the sick, gloating triumph in Ohira's eyes: The chief wouldn't mind dying in a duel, ending his misery. However, killing one of his accusers would land Sano in jail for murder, depriving him of the chance to exonerate himself and Hirata, to serve truth and justice.
Sano tore the swords from Ohira's waist. He threw them across the room, and the chief to the floor. oAnswer me! he shouted while he fought his anger. One more day until the Dutch captain's deadline; two more days of freedom. Could he keep temper from overcoming wisdom for that long?
Ohira fell with a crash that must have hurt, but when he rose, his icy dignity betrayed no pain and acknowledged no defeat. oI was in my office on Deshima on the occasions you mention, surrounded by my staff. And I can assure you I gave no orders to shoot you.
Just then the curtains parted. In walked the Deshima second watch commander. oHonorable Chief, Nirin said, owe must talk. He did not appear to notice that his superior wasn't alone; the room was dim, and Ohira stood between Sano and the door. oWhat happened last night changes everything, and I need new orders about "
oCan't you see I'm busy? Ohira snapped. oGet out!
Nirin glanced at Sano and frowned, then said, oSorry to interrupt, but this can't wait. We have to tighten Deshima security at night to prevent future thefts. I need your permission to assign more troops to the warehouses. He touched his sword. oIs the ssakan-sama giving you trouble?
oI was just leaving, Sano told them.
As he walked out the door, a sense of vindication energized him. The second watch commander had dissembled quickly, but Sano guessed that what he'd really meant to ask Chief Ohira was how they would continue smuggling now that their operation had been exposed.
Then despair eclipsed Sano's elation. He mounted his horse and stared at the rain.
Even if Ohira was guilty of treason as Sano now believed "and possibly of murder, too "he would never confess, because it wouldn't save Kiyoshi. The law demanded that a criminal's entire family share his punishment for these serious offenses. Should Ohira admit his crimes, he would condemn himself, Kiyoshi, his wife, and five other children to death. Without hard evidence, Sano would never break Chief Ohira.
Therefore, he must try to break the other Japanese suspects "or the Dutchmen.
Chapter 22
FROM THE HOUSE on Deshima where Jan Spaen's body had lain since its recovery from the sea, guards brought out the plain wooden coffin draped with black cloth and set it in the street. Across the bridge milled gawkers waiting to see the barbarians' funeral procession, and the officials who attended all diplomatic functions. The rain had diminished to a drizzle. A holiday atmosphere belied the solemnity of the occasion.
Dutch East India Company Assistant Director Maarten deGraeff watched the scene from the roof of his residence, where he went whenever he couldn't bear the prison of his rooms. For years he'd longed for Jan Spaen's death, yet the murder of his partner had not freed him as he'd hoped, but only multiplied his troubles. He should have known he could never escape the evil inside his soul, though he'd tried since his nineteenth year, when he'd joined the company.
He'd left the Netherlands, abandoning his parents, university studies, and a future career in the church not for money or adventure, but because of his crimes: the profane desire that prayer could not banish; sordid encounters with sailors in Amsterdam's alleys; and an affair with a fellow student that had ended when the other youth, torn by guilt, hanged himself in their dormitory. If his true nature was ever exposed, deGraeff wanted to be far away, so his family needn't witness the disgrace of a son executed for the sin of forbidden love.
Now a bitter laugh caught in deGraef's throat. What had he achieved by his self-imposed exile? Here he was, half a world away, still a sinner, and a murder suspect besides.
A noise from below interrupted his glum reverie. Someone was ascending the ladder from the balcony to the roof. Then Dr. Nicolaes Huygens's worried face appeared over the eaves. oMay I join you? he said.
DeGraeff groaned inwardly as the stout doctor sat beside him. Since Spaen's death, he'd avoided Huygens. But they needed to talk.
Panting, Dr. Huygens took a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his sweaty brow, then folded the cloth with meticulous care before putting it away. He clasped and unclasped his plump hands. oIt's almost time for the funeral, he said at last. oAren't you coming?
His hesitancy indicated that this wasn't what he'd come to say, but deGraeff, preoccupied with his own concerns, didn't care. oNicolaes, he said, oplease, I beg you not to tell anyone what I've done.
He should have realized that he couldn't keep a secret on this tiny island. At first he'd used male whores dressed as women to hide their true gender from his comrades. Then he'd begun a foolish liaison with a junior interpreter. Huygens had accidentally walked in on them. Jan Spaen, who had learned of his sins years ago, was gone. Now deGraeff's fate lay in the hands of Dr. Huygens. He waited in cold terror as the doctor turned to him.
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