Motosuke got up and looked. “How very odd,” he said. “How did the deaf-mute girl come to paint this?”

“I think she witnessed the ambush of the tax convoy and painted the criminals. If I’m not mistaken, those soldiers are armed monks. Yukinari just reported an encounter with a small band of naginata- armed monks.” Akitada paused, frowning. “I’m afraid that Joto may have realized just now what the scroll means.”

“He’s nearsighted. Besides, it looks like just another dragon painting. You did not find any trace of the tax goods at the temple?”

“No. They must be elsewhere. I have a suspicion about one of the local merchants, but that will have to wait. Gennin and the others must be released first.”

Motosuke sighed and looked at Akitada helplessly. “I don’t think you quite understand the problem, my dear Akitada. We cannot storm the temple with constables or soldiers. The local people will not permit it. They will rise up against anyone who attacks their benefactors.”

Too true. Akitada realized it immediately. The frustration caused him to burst into angry speech. “Then they must be made to see that it is not saints but monsters they protect.”

“But how?” yelped Motosuke.

Akitada suddenly had a wild idea and seized Motosuke’s arm. “The ceremony! The one we are invited to attend. Don’t you see? There will be a huge crowd. What more perfect excuse to move in soldiers? And when we bring out our proof in the person of the liberated Gennin, the people will be convinced of Joto’s guilt.”

Motosuke stared. “Holy Buddha! You can’t mean it. Oh, my dear friend, think of the risks.”

Akitada released Motosuke. Suddenly, he saw the situation from the other man’s perspective. If the Buddhist faction at court found out, as they must, that Akitada and Motosuke had disrupted a religious ceremony with arms and caused, as was probable, bloodshed, both Motosuke’s career and his daughter’s elevation to empress were in jeopardy. Against this the fate of a few elderly monks in a subterranean prison must weigh very lightly, indeed.

But the governor surprised him. Motosuke straightened his small, fat body and squared his round shoulders. He said firmly, “It is a brilliant idea, elder brother. We shall do it. Leave the details to me. There is only one problem. We are going to need Yukinari’s cooperation.”

“Yukinari will support us. As I mentioned, his patrol ran into a group of Joto’s monks. There have been bad feelings on both sides for a long time.”

Motosuke frowned. “When did you find out?”

“Yesterday. Incidentally, Yukinari had a strange accident before I saw him. A heavy bronze bell came off its support and nearly killed him. Such an accident could have been arranged quite easily. The monks may have an accomplice in the garrison.”

“I expect you worry too much. But we still don’t know Tachibana’s murderer. You thought Tachibana was killed because he knew something about the robberies. Do you now suspect Joto of that crime also?”

Akitada hesitated. So much had happened. They had evidence that Joto and his martial monks were behind the theft of the tax shipments, but that did not mean they had murdered the ex-governor. The mysterious nighttime visitor still needed to be accounted for. There was also the Rat’s peculiar story about Jikoku-ten. Jikoku-ten was usually portrayed as wearing armor, and he had been seen coming through the back gate. Akitada did not believe in manifestations. The Rat had not encountered an incarnation of one of the four divine generals, but a murderer, and the murderer had knocked the old beggar down, perhaps intending to kill him.

Motosuke cleared his throat.

“Forgive me,” said Akitada. “I just remembered another detail.” He explained the Rat’s adventure and added, “Lady Tachibana may have a lover.”

Motosuke raised his brows. “I cannot say I’m at all surprised. It was one of those spring and winter marriages. Tachibana gave her a home when her father, his best friend, died. She was a mere child while he was old enough to be her grandfather. Frankly, I thought he was in his dotage to do such a thing. Her background did not promise well either.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her mother was a courtesan in the capital. Her father became enamored of this female on a visit there, bought her out, and brought her back with him as his concubine. After she bore him a child, he lost interest. The woman returned to her old life, taking the girl and a small fortune in gold with her. When she died, the girl was shipped back to her natural father, who, after the initial shock, ended up spoiling her terribly. Nothing was too good for her. She is said to have ruined him, and she tried to ruin Tachibana with her expensive tastes.” Motosuke looked disgusted. “I never met her. Is she very handsome?”

“Oh, yes!” Akitada thought of his feelings for the lovely creature in her embroidered silks and felt a little foolish.

Motosuke eyed him shrewdly. “A beguiling flirt like her mother?”

“Perhaps.” Actually, he was certain of it now that he knew her story. And—he was honest enough to admit it—because he had found Ayako and was no longer vulnerable to childlike beauties with their appealing ways. He recognized the sudden faintness, the tears, the small hand creeping into his for what they had been: the wiles of a seductress.

“Could Yukinari be the lover?” Motosuke asked.

“He was. In fact, I suspected him of the murder. His refusal to see her struck me as very strange. Then one of the maids told me of the affair. She is the woman who thought she saw him leave the night of the murder. But Yukinari was out of town the entire night and swears he broke off the affair last summer.”

Motosuke scowled. “He met my daughter.”

“Yes. He is very distraught.”

“Infernal fool! And you think Lady Tachibana then took up with someone else?”

“Yes. Perhaps the man is another officer.”

Motosuke pursed his lips. “Women are vengeful creatures. Perhaps she killed Tachibana. Wouldn’t a soldier have used his sword?”

“It seems unlikely that an armed man would bludgeon his enemy to death. Tachibana was hit over the head with some heavy piece of glazed tile or ceramic utensil. I found a green shard in his topknot. That suggests an unpremeditated act by an unarmed man.”

Motosuke asked, “What will you do next?”

Akitada sighed. “I promised Lady Tachibana some help in settling her estate. It may serve as a pretext to snoop a little.”

“Excellent. I shall begin to make plans for the temple affair and let you know as soon as I have talked to Yukinari.”

Now that he had got his way, Akitada began to feel uneasy.