The gangster who'd escorted Hirata into the house escorted him out. When they reached the street, Hirata asked, "Where can I find Jirocho's daughter?"

"If Jirocho won't tell you, neither will I," the gangster said. "I don't talk about his business."

Hirata observed that the gangster's energy shield was weak. This was the kind of man he could manipulate. "Where is she?" Hirata said, projecting the force of his will at the gangster.

"In the marketplace," the gangster said obediently.

"Where was she kidnapped and found?"

"By Shinobazu Pond." Now the gangster's eyes widened in fright because he realized he'd broken a gang rule.

"Thank you," Hirata said. "I won't tell your boss."

The abbess led Sano into the convent's chapel, which was shaded by pine trees and darkened by closed shutters. Inside, a low altar held a gold Buddha statue that sat amid gold lotus flowers, lit candles, and brass incense burners that emitted pungent, bittersweet smoke. Before the altar knelt a nun, shrouded in a gray hemp robe, her head covered with a white drape. She rocked slowly back and forth.

"Since she was kidnapped, all she does is pray," the abbess said in a quiet, sad voice. "She won't talk to anyone. It's as if she's living in a world of her own."

Now Sano understood why the other nuns considered her a problem. As he and the abbess moved toward her, he noticed someone else standing in an alcove, like a guardian deity. It was a girl in her teens, with an innocent, pretty face, her hair tied in a kerchief.

"That's Ume," the abbess said. "One of our novices. I've assigned her to watch over Tengu-in." She whispered, "When she first came home, she took a knife and cut her arm."

Had she been trying to punish herself for the rape, which many people would consider her fault? Sano felt a terrible pity for the old woman. He knelt at the altar, far enough away from her that she wouldn't feel threatened by his presence, but close enough to see her clearly. Now he observed that her body was emaciated; her robes hung on her skeleton.

"She won't eat," the abbess said, "or sleep, either."

Her profile was sharp with facial bones visible through taut, waxen skin. Her eyes were closed tight, their lids purplish. Her lips moved, but she made no sound.

"Tengu-in," Sano said quietly.

She seemed not to notice him. Her lips kept moving; she rocked to some inner, secret rhythm.

"Can you hear me?"

There was no response. The novice gave a faint, desolate sigh. The abbess said sadly, "I warned you."

But Sano couldn't give up. "Tengu-in, I'm Chamberlain Sano. Tell me what happened when you were kidnapped."

She continued her silent praying. Her face was expressionless, animated only by the flickering candlelight.

"Who took you?" Sano persisted. "Was it someone you recognized?"

No answer came.

Sano appealed to the kind nature that the abbess had said Tengu-in had once possessed. "I believe this man has kidnapped and attacked two other women besides you. One of them is my cousin. I must catch him before he hurts anyone else. And I need your help."

His words didn't penetrate the invisible shell into which she'd retreated. In an attempt to reach her, he spoke louder, urgently: "What did he look like? Where did he take you?"

"It's no use," the abbess said as Tengu-in prayed, rocked, and ignored everyone. "Even if she's listening, she won't speak."

Sano rose, reluctantly. He didn't want to leave empty-handed. "I need to question everyone who was with Tengu-in on that trip to Zj Temple."

"Ume was." The abbess beckoned to the novice.

The girl crept over to Sano and bowed, her eyes open wide with anxiety.

"What happened?" Sano said. "How did Tengu-in just suddenly disappear?"

"I don't know," she said in a barely audible whisper. She clenched her hands under her sleeves and cast a nervous glance at the abbess.

Sano said to the abbess, "I'd like to speak with Ume privately."

Disapproval crossed the older woman's face, but she couldn't deny his request. She said, "I'll be right outside," and departed.

Sano said, "Whatever secret you don't want her to know, it's safe with me."

The girl's face crumpled. Tears shone in her eyes. "It's my fault Tengu-in was kidnapped."

Sano couldn't believe that this innocent-looking girl was in any way responsible for the crime. "How so?"

"We were supposed to stay with her. I should have watched out for her." Ume sobbed as she gazed down at Tengu-in, who seemed oblivious. "Instead, I ran ahead with the other novices. She was too slow. She couldn't keep up."

Sano envisioned the old woman hobbling through the temple grounds in the wake of the young, exuberant girls. Perhaps they had been negligent, but he said, "You're not to blame. You couldn't have known she was in danger."

"But I was doing something I shouldn't have been." Shamefaced yet eager to unburden herself, Ume said, "There was a group of novices from the monastery down the street. We-the other girls and I…"

The picture became clear to Sano. The girls had wanted to flirt with the young monks, so they'd run away from their chaperone. Joining a religious order didn't rid people of their natural human desires.

"I feel so guilty," Ume said as she wept. "I wish I could make up for what I did."

"Here's your chance," Sano said. "Help me catch the man who hurt her. When you were at the temple, did you see anyone or anything that looked suspicious?"

"No," Ume said, wiping her tears on her sleeve. "I've tried and tried to remember, but I don't."

Whoever had kidnapped Tengu-in couldn't have just suddenly appeared out of nowhere, swooped down on her like an eagle from the sky, and spirited her away, Sano thought. He would have had to single her out of the crowd, to await an opportunity to take her without anyone seeing.

He must have been watching her.

"Think back to the time before you and the other girls left Tengu-in," Sano said. "Did you notice anyone paying particular attention to your group?"

Ume pondered, then shook her head.

"Anyone following you?" Sano persisted.

"No. I'm sorry. I was busy looking at the monks." Then she frowned, as if startled by a memory forgotten until now.

"What is it?" Sano asked.

"I did see someone."

"At the temple?" Sano's pulse began to race in anticipation.

"No, not there. And not then. It was the day before. Outside the convent."

Maybe the kidnapper had had his eye on the nuns. Maybe he'd been spying on the convent, lying in wait for his chance to kidnap one. "Tell me what happened," Sano said urgently.

"It was after morning prayers. I sneaked outside." Ume's face flushed. "The monks walk past the convent on their way to the city. There's one that I-well, when he goes by, he smiles at me." Pleasure and guilt mingled in her voice. "That day, I missed him. But I saw a man standing in the street."

"Who was he?"

"I don't know. I'd never seen him before. Nor since."

"Can you describe him?"

"I didn't get a very good look. As soon as he saw me, he turned and walked away." Ume squinted, trying to bring the remembered glimpse of him into focus. "He was tall and strong. His hair was so short, the skin on his head showed through. He was old, about thirty."

Sano winced: He himself was forty-three, which she probably considered ancient. "What was he wearing?"

"A dark blue kimono."

Every commoner in Japan owned a cotton kimono dyed with indigo. And many of them cut their hair short to discourage fleas and lice. "Did his face have any distinctive features?"

"He looked like he hadn't shaved in a while." Ume brightened at a fresh recollection. "He had a big scab, here." She touched her right cheekbone. "I remember thinking he must have been in an accident or a fight."