Laura Rowland - The Cloud Pavilion

The embankment was deserted and dark. The teahouse proprietors had gone inside their buildings, and there was no one in sight. Rain pelted the lotus leaves in the pond. All appeared as peaceful and desolate as before. But Hirata felt alarm raise every hair on his body. Someone he couldn't see was watching him. His hand instinctively flew to his sword. His heart began to race, his own energy gathering in preparation for combat. He'd seldom had cause for fear; there were few men in all of Japan that he couldn't beat. But then why did he feel so certain that he was in the presence of danger?

The impulse to flee vied with the impulse to hunt for the person whose aura threatened him. Before Hirata could succumb to either urge, the aura vanished as suddenly as if some great, cosmic machine had ceased to run. All Hirata heard or felt was the rain. He was alone.

Down the corridor from Sano's office, Masahiro crouched on the floor, lining up his toy soldiers. He watched the man dressed in gray come out of the office. As the man walked away from Masahiro, he looked over his shoulder and smiled faintly before he vanished around a corner.

Masahiro told himself that he hadn't meant to listen in on his father's business.

Well, maybe he had.

He was curious about what Father did. Someday he would inherit Father's position. Father had said so. He should try to learn as much as he could, shouldn't he? There was nothing dishonest, sneaky, or wrong with that. He wasn't hurting anyone.

He'd overheard Father's whole conversation with the man named Toda. Now Masahiro thought about what they'd said. Toda seemed to be a spy. Father had sent him to follow Yanagisawa, the evil enemy who had tried over and over to destroy Father. Masahiro had heard Father and Mother trying to figure out why Yanagisawa wasn't attacking them anymore. Masahiro was interested in the secret meeting with the two old ladies. Why was it important whom Yanagisawa's children married?

And what did "politically advantageous" mean?

Masahiro had heard the term spoken around the estate, but the adults never explained. But he understood that Yanagisawa was up to something, and Father thought it was bad. Masahiro wished he could help Father. While he played with his toys, he felt sorry for himself. If only he could grow up quicker!

A sudden idea lit up his mind like the fireworks that were shot into the sky over the river in the summertime. Masahiro smiled. He knew what he could do!

Father had said to stay out of the kidnapping investigation, but this should have nothing to do with it. And Masahiro didn't think it would be dangerous. Father and Mother shouldn't mind.

The door to the office slid open. Before his father stepped out, Masahiro snatched up his soldiers, darted around the corner, and hid. He felt guilty because he suspected that Father wouldn't like him eavesdropping.

He wouldn't tell Father or Mother what he was going to do. They might say no. It would be a surprise for them. Masahiro was sure they would be pleased.

The sound of children laughing enlivened the private chambers of Sano's estate. In the main room, Reiko chatted with her friend Midori, who was Hirata's wife, as Akiko played with Midori's little girl and boy. The children turned somersaults across the floor. Servants cleared away the remains of the evening meal.

"Take it easy," Midori cautioned the children good-naturedly. "You'll get dizzy and throw up."

Masahiro lay on his stomach beneath the lantern, writing a lesson assigned by his tutor. Reiko peeked over his shoulder. He didn't need her to supervise his homework, but she enjoyed seeing how good his calligraphy was, and how well he expressed his ideas, even at such a young age. She smiled proudly, enjoying the peaceful, cozy evening.

The rain had stopped, and the open windows let in the cool, damp breeze that blew in from the garden, where crickets chirped and cicadas hummed in rhythm to the drip of water from the trees. Frogs sang in the pond. The garden was radiantly silver with moonlight. Life was good tonight, Reiko thought.

Sano entered the room. "Papa!" cried Akiko.

She ran to him, and he lifted her onto his shoulders. Masahiro jumped up and said, "Look at what I just wrote."

As Sano read and admired Masahiro's composition, Reiko took pleasure in the company of her family. She was glad to see Sano, for she was bursting with questions about his investigation and eager to tell him what she'd learned.

She was also relieved that he'd come home safely. She still felt a lingering anxiety from the dangerous days when they'd been threatened by war at every turn.

In walked Hirata. His children clung to his legs, and he trudged under their weight while they rode and cheered. Midori greeted him, smiling and giggly. Reiko knew they'd had marital troubles in the recent past. Hirata had been gone for the better part of five years, pursuing his mystic martial arts studies, Midori had suffered from his absences, and they'd grown apart. They'd since reconciled, and Reiko was happy for them. She wanted to enjoy the peace, however long it lasted.

"Have you eaten yet?" she asked Sano and Hirata. "Are you hungry?"

"I forgot to eat, I was so busy," Sano confessed.

"Same here," Hirata said.

"Oh, you men," Midori chided. "If it weren't for us, you'd starve to death."

Reiko ordered the servants to bring food. She made hot tea on the charcoal brazier and served cups to Sano and Hirata.

"Any luck today?" Sano asked Hirata.

Midori glanced at Reiko. Both women knew that talk about serious subjects was coming, and they didn't want the children to hear. "It's time for us to go," Midori said.

Her children groaned and protested. Hirata said, "I'll be home soon and tuck you into bed."

"Come along," Midori said, and departed with her family.

The nurse led Akiko away. Masahiro picked up his things and followed without argument. Reiko was surprised. He'd been so interested in the investigation that she'd expected him to beg her and Sano to allow him to stay and hear about it. She hoped he was outgrowing his penchant for detective work.

"Don't keep me in suspense," she said to Sano and Hirata. "What happened?"

"I went to see Jirocho," said Hirata.

"The gangster?" Reiko had heard about him from her father, Magistrate Ueda, in whose court Jirocho had appeared more than once. "How is he involved in the kidnapping?"

"There were two other women kidnapped before Chiyo," Hirata explained. "One is Jirocho's daughter."

"Is her case related to Chiyo's?" Sano asked.

"I don't know. Jirocho wasn't very cooperative. He wouldn't tell me anything." Hirata described his conversation with the gangster boss. "He wants to handle the case himself."

Concern showed on Sano's face. "So does Major Kumazawa. I talked to him today. He's not happy with my investigating two other crimes that we don't know for sure are related."

Reiko was offended that Sano's uncle would criticize Sano's work. To ask a favor after all these years of family estrangement, then object to how it was carried out! But Reiko kept silent. She didn't want to fan the fire that was obviously heating up between Major Kumazawa and her husband.

"Did you have any better luck with Fumiko?" Sano asked.

"Even worse." Hirata reported that her father had thrown the girl out and she was living in the marketplace.

"That's awful!" Reiko exclaimed. All day she'd felt bad for Chiyo. Now she deplored that a young girl's life had been destroyed. Which was crueler, the rapist or society?

"When I tried to talk to her, she tried to stab me, and then ran away." Hirata sounded rueful. "But I did turn up a witness-the man who found her by Shinobazu Pond. He heard an oxcart."

Sano nodded, gratified. "Maybe it was the same one that transported Chiyo."