Red Chrysanthemum by Laura Joh Rowland Read Free Book Online Page B

before you woke up?”
    “No. That whole time is a blank. Maybe I drank too much. Someone must have killed Lord Mori while I was unconscious, then framed me.”
    The theory had occurred to Sano. But things were looking even worse for Reiko because she had no proof to back it up. “During your visits to the estate, did you get any idea who might have wanted Lord Mori dead?”
    Reiko shook her head, rueful. “I wasn’t looking for that kind of information. But there were many other people in the estate that night besides me. The guards, Lord Mori’s retainers and family, his wife and her attendants, the servants… One of them could have killed Lord Mori.”
    That there were other potential suspects was in her favor, yet this fact by itself couldn’t protect Reiko. Sano needed actual evidence to clear her. He released her hands and stood.
    “I’m going to the Mori estate to investigate the murder.” He must find the truth about it, which was Reiko’s best defense. “Will you be all right?”
    Reiko looked up at him and nodded, shaky yet brave, her eyes filled with faith in Sano. He hoped he wouldn’t let her down.
    In the courtyard Sano met Detectives Marume and Fukida and his other bodyguards. Wearing cloaks and hats to shield them from the drizzle, they rode to the Mori estate. They found two of Hi-rata’s detectives at the gate with the sentries.
    “Hirata-san is waiting for you in Lord Mori’s private chambers,” a detective told Sano. “I’ll take you there.”
    Sano and his men left their horses in the courtyard and continued on foot to the private chambers. The building looked drab with its half-timbered walls streaked by the rain, its gardens sodden and unappealing despite the summer flowers blooming in beds planted around boulders, ponds, and shrubs. People milled around or stood in clusters. Some were guards; others, men and women who Sano presumed were Mori relatives, attendants, and servants. As Sano walked up the stairs to the building, a stout, gray-haired samurai came out the door.
    “Finally you’re here. It’s about time!” he huffed.
    Sano paused on the veranda. “And you are… ?”
    “Akera. I’m Lord Mori’s chief retainer. Or at least I was, before my master was savagely murdered.” He seemed so furious and upset that he didn’t care if Sano thought him discourteous. “Now Sosakan Hirata’s men are swarming like maggots all over the estate. This is an outrage! What do you intend to do about it?”
    “I intend to find out who killed Lord Mori,” Sano said, controlling his temper, his gaze warning Akera that he’d better do the same or else.
    The man’s indignation deflated, but he looked at Sano with barely concealed scorn. “With all due respect, Honorable Chamberlain, but your wife killed him.”
    “That’s for me to determine,” Sano said evenly.
    “Oh. I see.” Akera’s face hardened. “You think you can sweep this crime under the mat and spare your wife the punishment she deserves. Well, you won’t, I promise. It’s my duty, and that of all Lord Mori’s retainers, to avenge our master’s death, and I assure you that we will do so.”
    Sano felt his spirits descend because the Mori clan’s huge retinue of samurai out for blood was only the first threat to Reiko and not the worst. He hid his emotions behind a severe facade. “It’s your duty to cooperate with my investigation.”
    Akera eyed Sano with fear, hostility, and resignation. “At your service, Honorable Chamberlain,” he muttered.
    “First you can answer some questions,” Sano said. “What did Lord Mori do last night?”
    “He had dinner with me and some of his other retainers. Then he went to his office and read news dispatches from his provinces. I checked in with him to report that all was well on the estate, and we discussed his plans for the next day. Then he retired to his private chambers and went to bed.”
    Sano noted the huge discrepancy between this story and Reiko’s.