“It’s surely unusual for an experienced servant to disobey in this manner,” Akitada suggested.

Kenzo agreed. “Tomoe has always been difficult. She came here as her late ladyship’s nurse and took orders from no one but her mistress. It was very frustrating. All the other servants disliked her.”

“Why was that?”

Echoing Koremori, Kenzo said evasively, “She was an unpleasant person.” When Akitada raised his brows, he added, “It’s true. Even the master had trouble with her. Only the day before she died, I heard them shouting at each other in the master’s study. Imagine a servant shouting at the master of the house! A very unpleasant woman.”

At this point, the boy looked up from his chore and said, “Tomoe took money and things from people. I told the maid not to give the old demon her best sash, but she slapped my face and said to keep my mouth shut.”

“And very good advice too,” said Kenzo. “Nobody asked you.” He apologized to Akitada. “He’s only a silly boy and not very bright, as you can see, sir.”

“Not at all,” said Akitada, smiling at the boy. “I am sure he is quite clever.”

The boy nodded. “I watch everything and I remember. You were visiting the master yesterday and the day before that. Go ahead, ask me about the master and Tomoe.”

“Enough, Jiro!” snapped Kenzo.

But Jiro had something to prove. “I heard them. The master was going to send Tomoe away, but she talked about her mistress and Master Akemori, and the master got really quiet, and when she came out, she looked very pleased.”

Kenzo lost his temper. “Leave the room this instance, Jiro. You’re as foolish as a monkey.”

Jiro gave Akitada an impudent grin, dropped his oily rag, and scampered off.

Akitada did not agree with Kenzo’s estimate of Jiro, but he said nothing. Instead he asked, “Were any of Lord Koremori’s guests regular visitors in this house?”

“Ah, you mean the incense party. Only Lord Sakanoue. He’s related to the young lady, I believe, and visits her quite often. The other gentlemen only attend for the incense guessing.”

Koremori had refused to give Akitada the names of the contestants, but Kenzo had no such reservations. When Akitada asked, he listed them. “In addition to Lord Sakanoue, there was the senior secretary of the imperial household office, the captain of the inner palace guards, the recorder in the ministry of popular affairs, the abbot of the Ninna Temple, and Professor Tachibana from the university.”

It was as he had thought. They were men above and beyond reproach and incapable of concocting poisonous substances in order to do away with Koremori. Akitada thanked Kenzo for this very precise and useful information and asked to speak to some of the other servants.

This effort also produced little that was new. They had not liked Tomoe and had hoped the master would dismiss her. They denied taking or hiding the incense stores. They refused—quite properly—to comment on the new mistress or her relative, though Akitada caught a smirk or two from the maids. The general feeling was that Tomoe had died from old age and poor health and that they were not particularly sorry.

Akitada thanked them and went to find his cousin.

“Well,” Koremori greeted him, “have you learned anything yet?”

“Yes,” Akitada said grimly. “You were not the intended victim.”

Koremori’s jaw dropped. “But...”

“The nurse was meant to die.”

Koremori sneered at that. “Don’t be ridiculous. Who would go to such lengths to get rid of an old woman?”

“She was blackmailing the people in this household. I think she blackmailed you.”

His cousin glared. “How dare you suggest such a thing!”

“What did you and Tomoe quarrel about the day before she died?”

“Who says we quarreled?”

“Kenzo. He overheard you. My guess is that you tried to dismiss her and she threatened you. What did she know that would make you tolerate her in your house?”

Koremori flushed and looked away. His pudgy fingers drummed on the desk. After a moment, he heaved a deep sigh. “I suppose it had to come out. You see before you a broken man. I’m ashamed of my foolishness. Look at me, Akitada. I’m old and ugly. Yoshiko only wanted me for my wealth. I knew about those visits from the handsome Sakanoue, but she claimed they were related and merely good friends. I accepted it. I’ve been very lonely since my wife died. I did not want to lose Yoshiko. It was hopeless, of course. I surprised them caressing each other. The nurse, who should have been there, left them alone together—a serious dereliction of her duty, but no doubt Sakanoue paid her off. I was very angry with the woman and called her to my study to dismiss her. She became rude and threatened to tell people about the affair. That is what Kenzo overheard.” Koremori shuddered and buried his face in his hands.

Akitada felt an unaccustomed surge of pity for his cousin.

Koremori dropped his hands. “It must have been Sakanoue who tried to poison me. Yes, I’m sure it is his handwriting on the tag. Yoshiko recognized it too—do you remember? Dear heaven, perhaps she even helped him. Oh, what a fool I’ve been!”

Akitada did not like any part of this theory and stiffened his resolve. “Are you accusing your mistress and Sakanoue of plotting to kill you? What would be their motive?”

Koremori made a face. “Isn’t it obvious? They are lovers.”

“That is ludicrous. The poisoned incense could have killed everyone at the party, and Sakanoue was to be a participant.”

“You forget that I test all samples first. He knew that and expected me to be dead before the judging. I don’t think I like your attitude, Akitada. What is the matter with you? You’re my cousin. We are family.”

Akitada snapped, “By marriage only, I’m thankful to say.”

“What?” Koremori’s face reddened. “You would do well to think before you insult me.”

“I have thought. You killed the old woman because she blackmailed you, and now you are trying to punish Yoshiko and Sakanoue by accusing them.”

Koremori’s eyes bulged. “Have you gone mad?”

“Sakanoue and Yoshiko have no need to kill you. Yoshiko can leave you anytime. But your pride cannot tolerate scandal. I expect the nurse knew that.”

“That is an outrageous lie. Get out of my house, now!”

“I’m not done, Cousin. There is still the little matter of murder. As an expert in the preparation of incense, you are familiar with poisonous substances, and you knew the nurse was fanatical about her shrine ritual. You made sure there would be none of the usual incense in the house. Then you prepared the poisoned incense and left it where she would find it. You murdered her, Koremori.”

Koremori stared at him. “I never knew you, Akitada. Your mother was right about you all along.”

Even coming from Koremori, that hurt. Akitada rose and looked down at his cousin. “You don’t know me at all, Koremori. I never liked you, but I didn’t think you capable of murder. You actually gloated over the old woman’s death and made verses about it. Then you tried to use me to pin the crime on your rival. You made sure that I had all the clues: the tag written by Sakanoue and his relationship with Yoshiko. And, while you were about it, you got rid of Yoshiko’s kitten. It irritated you, and you used it to test your poison.”

Koremori gave him a twisted smile. “You think you’re clever, but you are only a fool after all. Even if you were right, you could do nothing. There is no proof.”

“That remains to be seen. I will lay charges against you, and the police will question your friends, your servants, and Lady Yoshiko. They will find I am right. Even if by some miracle you escape prosecution, the scandal of the investigation will put an end to your social life.” Seeing Koremori’s fury, he added, “What would your son have thought of such a father ... or did the old nurse perhaps reveal something of his true parentage?”