It was already dusk when Akitada walked away from police headquarters, still blaming himself for Hirata's death. He had distanced himself from his old friend, from the blackmail, and from Oe's death at least partially out of pique and injured pride. He had left all the questioning to Kobe and Nishioka, while he had plunged into the investigation of the Yoakira case, telling himself that the boy was in danger. Throughout he had behaved like a self-righteous fool!

The fact that he had solved the murder of the prince to his own satisfaction had not made any difference to the child's safety- at least not yet, and perhaps it never would. However, he had promised to see Sesshin. He turned towards the university, stopping first by his own office to gather the documents Seimei had copied.

Sesshin was at his devotions when Akitada arrived, but a young acolyte showed him into the bishop's study and brought him some fruit juice. Akitada waited, trying to gather his wits. Sesshin, for all his august descent and high position in the Buddhist hierarchy, was someone with surprising sensitivity for the feelings of others. This fact gave Akitada something to hope for, but having grossly misjudged the man, he had been guilty of the most shocking behavior towards him, and now he worried about this, wondering how to make amends. He finally came to the decision that nothing was to be gained by abject apologies. He would continue to speak frankly and hope for the best.

Sesshin appeared in due time, apologized for having been delayed, and accepted some juice from his young assistant. "Well," he said, when they were alone again, "what news do you bring?"

"Your Reverence will think that I have taken unpardonable liberties in meddling in your family affairs," Akitada murmured nervously.

Sesshin smiled a little. "Well, you struck me as the sort of person who pays little attention to soothsayers, omens or various taboos," he said dryly. "Under the circumstances it would be too much to assume that you would believe in a miracle."

Akitada looked down at his hands. The angry red patches where the skin had peeled off reminded him of the fatal consequences of procrastination. He sighed. "Perhaps I formed an opinion, and when your great-nephew approached me, his suspicions of Lord Sakanoue fit in with my own views. Perhaps I felt sorry for him and his young sister." He looked up at Sesshin. "It does not matter how I came to believe that your brother was murdered by Lord Sakanoue, only that I have succeeded in proving it." He cast an anxious glance at Sesshin, but the bishop's face remained calmly interested.

"Please explain."

"If I may, I shall tell you about the steps I have taken so far."

The bishop nodded.

"From the beginning, I had to contend with the problem of Lord Sakanoue's dramatic rise in rank and influence. That meant I had to work as secretly as possible. I could not find many people who would take the boy's part. Even now I am not in a position to proceed against a man of such stature, and neither is Sadamu because of his age. To begin with, I had my secretary search the government archives for documents that would throw some light on a motive." Akitada passed the bundle of papers to Sesshin. "I believe these will reveal certain improprieties in Sakanoue's management of your brother's estates both before and after his death."

Sesshin took the papers and set them aside. "Never mind that now. Go on!"

Akitada plunged into the heart of his report. "I next visited your brother's mansion and talked with his driver. Then I interviewed the Lords Yanagida, Abe and Shinoda. General Soga unfortunately was not available, but his evidence can be gathered later. Finally, my servant and I visited the Ninna temple and spoke with the recorder there. Each conversation was separately suggestive, but all of them together confirmed my conviction that Sakanoue had plotted your brother's disappearance. Yet without a body I still had no proof of murder. I finally found the proof in the hall where your brother was said to have disappeared."

Sesshin sighed. "I know what you found. After your visit to him, Shinoda came to me and told me what he and Sakanoue had done. I cannot speak for Sakanoue, but Shinoda wanted to protect my brother's memory."

Akitada nodded. "To continue with the motive and execution of the murder, I believe that Lord Sakanoue is an excessively proud and ambitious man who was dissatisfied with his hereditary position as bailiff. Shortly before the murder, Prince Yoakira called him to the capital for an accounting. Whether or not Sakanoue could defend himself against the charges, his relationship with the prince became very strained. It was during this time that he must have met the prince's young granddaughter, and seen in a marriage to her his chance to secure his position and win a fortune."

Sesshin muttered, "Poor child! I blame my brother's household for permitting him access to the girl."

"Apparently the prince discovered what had happened too late, and on the very day before his customary temple visit. He was furious and confronted Sakanoue immediately. He then gave orders for the removal of the family to the country the following day. Had he not insisted on performing the customary visit to the Ninna temple first, he would be alive today."

Sesshin sighed. "That was like my brother. He never forgot to fulfill his vow."

"Yes. No doubt Sakanoue was aware of it. In any case, here is what I believe happened next." Akitada detailed the events of the night journey and the movements of Sakanoue as he had done for Tora. Sesshin listened with increasing horror, interrupting only twice.

On the first occasion he said, "If the quarrel between my brother and Sakanoue took place before the trip to the temple, my brother would hardly have invited the man to accompany him."

"Exactly. It was one of the first things that puzzled me."

Sesshin's second question concerned a possible accomplice.

Akitada said, "If there had been political reasons for removing your brother, I would have considered a conspiracy, but in this instance there was no motive other than personal gain. In a crime of that magnitude, considering the rank of the people involved, the rewards and the extraordinary method used, even a single accomplice would have been too risky. Sakanoue acted alone."

When Akitada had finished, Sesshin bowed his head. His beads passed through his fingers, making small clicking sounds in the still room. After a long time, he looked up and asked, "Why bring the head? Why did the foolish man have to dismember my brother's body? Was it not enough to kill him?"

"I am afraid not. He needed proof of death to gain immediate access to the estate. Also, he may have counted on the fact that His Majesty would bestow appointments on him out of respect for your brother."

A silence fell. Then Sesshin sighed. "Poor confused man! What he must have suffered to take such incredible risks. How he must have hungered for the empty things of this world! How desperate he must have been when my brother confronted him!"

Akitada said angrily, "Don't waste your sympathy, Your Reverence! This murder was planned carefully. Sakanoue had to have made the arrangements for the sutra reading during your brother's visit well ahead of time."

Sesshin seemed to shrink into himself. "Anger is a futile emotion. Besides my vows forbid the sort of action that should be taken by the law," he said. "I must think what to do." He paused again, then asked, "What has become of the rest of my brother's body?"

Akitada had expected and feared this question. "I do not know, but I can suggest a possibility. Sakanoue apparently insisted on taking the last cart into the country himself. It contained several clothes chests from your brother's rooms and left long after nightfall, hours after the rest of the goods. I suspect that Sakanoue made a brief stop at Rashomon."