Laura Rowland: The Cloud Pavilion

"Can't you play other games that don't involve weapons or murder?"

"Yes, but this is the most exciting." As he traipsed off toward the house with Akiko tagging after him, Masahiro added wistfully, "It's been a long time since anything exciting has happened around here."

It had been more than a year, Reiko thought, since Lord Matsudaira's death had put an end to the political strife that had threatened their family. Reiko shuddered to think of that dreadful time, when she and her children had lived in a state of siege, prisoners in their own home, under constant guard. Lord Matsudaira's final attack had come from assassins he'd planted in the house hold. Reiko and the children had barely escaped death. She still had nightmares. She didn't miss those days, and she was disconcerted to see that Masahiro did.

She had to remind herself that Masahiro was too young to realize how serious their situation had been. Children, especially strong, brave boys like her son, believed they were invincible. And Masahiro thrived under conditions that most people found traumatic. No wonder he thought the current state of peace was boring.

Today Reiko realized that she agreed.

At first she'd been thankful for the peace and quiet. She'd been glad that Yanagisawa apparently didn't intend to continue his hostilities against Sano. She'd wanted only to raise her family without fear; she was glad not to worry every day about whether Sano would come home alive. For the past year she'd devoted herself to being a good mother and wife. She'd become very domestic, taking up feminine activities such as flower-arranging. Since the political situation had stabilized and Sano seemed likely to hold his position for a while, people had flocked to curry favor with him. Prominent men had sent their wives to cultivate Reiko because she had strong influence with the chamberlain. The wives brought their children to play with hers. Reiko found some of the wives dull and catty, but others intelligent and stimulating. She'd made new friends and enjoyed the social whirl.

But enough was enough.

As Reiko stood alone in the garden, her old, adventurous spirit revived. She looked up at the gray clouds, ever-present during this extremely wet rainy season. The leaves of the trees, the shrubs, and the grasses were lush and green. She felt the mist in the air, heard birdsong. She appreciated the natural beauty around her, but where was the challenge?

She wasn't meant for the circumscribed existence that was normal for women of her class. She missed the days when she'd run a service that helped women in trouble, when she'd helped Sano solve crimes. Reiko inhaled deeply, as if trying to breathe her native air of excitement and danger.

She was eager to take on a new investigation. But how? And when?

Sano rode his horse out the northern portal of Edo Castle toward the temple where his cousin Chiyo had last been seen. Although peace had blessed the capital for more than a year, troops still stood sentry outside the massive iron-banded gate and occupied the guard house above. More troops manned the watchtowers. Political or civil unrest could start up again any day. A squadron from his personal army accompanied Sano. He wouldn't put it past Yanagisawa to attack him after lulling him into complacence.

His chief bodyguards, Detectives Marume and Fukida, trotted their mounts beside him along the road that sloped down from the castle. Below them spread the gray tile rooftops of the vast city, whose far reaches disappeared into the mist and rain that cloaked the hills. The brawny, cheerful Marume drew a deep breath of the humid air and said, "It feels good to be out and about again. We've been cooped up inside the castle forever."

"I'm sorry your cousin is missing, Sano-san, but I'm glad to have a new investigation," said Fukida, the serious half of the pair.

Sano shared his men's renewed sense of energy and excitement. The thrill of the chase was a relief after sitting at a desk, shuffling papers, conducting meetings, and defusing crises in the government. That was one reason he'd decided to lead the search himself, even though he'd had to put off other important business.

"And guess what," Marume said. "This is the first time we're not working for the shogun."

"For once he won't be holding the threat of death over our heads," Fukida said.

"Thank the gods for small favors," Sano said.

He and his men laughed, enjoying their unusual freedom. But darker currents of emotion ran beneath Sano's high spirits.

He had a blood connection to the missing woman even though he'd never met Chiyo. He couldn't leave her fate to someone else, not even his most trusted subordinates. And what if he didn't find her? What if she was dead when he did? Not only would a father lose his favorite daughter, a husband his wife, and two children their mother, but Sano would lose an opportunity to know this member of his new family.

"My gut tells me that we'll find your cousin," Marume said.

"Your gut has gotten fat from sitting around and eating too much," Fukida teased with a straight face.

Marume reached behind Sano, swatted at Fukida, and said, "No, I'm telling you, this is our lucky day. But even if we don't find her, at least Major Kumazawa can't kill us."

Nevertheless, Sano feared disappointing Major Kumazawa. He shouldn't care what this relative who'd ostracized him from their clan thought of him, but he did. Meeting his uncle had reawakened feelings of inferiority that he'd believed he'd shed years ago. That short time with Major Kumazawa had reverted him to the mere son of a rnin he'd once been. If he didn't find Chiyo, his uncle's low opinion of him would be justified. And even though the strong, independent part of Sano said, to hell with Major Kumazawa, that would hurt.

"It must be strange to meet relatives that you spent most of your life never knowing you had," Fukida said.

"You can't imagine," Sano said.

Asakusa Kannon Temple, dedicated to Kannon, the Buddhist deity of mercy and salvation, was Edo's most popular temple. The route to Asakusa district lay along the sh Kaid, the northern highway. Beyond the edge of town, the highway was built up on a wide earthen embankment above rice paddies. A few peasants, water buffaloes, and tiny huts dotted the lush, green paddies. The air stank of the nightsoil used for fertilizer. Even on this wet afternoon in the rainy season, Sano and his entourage found the highway crowded with traffic.

Bands of religious pilgrims, carrying staffs and chanting prayers, marched in step. Itinerant priests trudged, laden with heavy packs. Families traveled to Asakusa for blessings. Samurai rode, the privilege of their class; commoners walked. But not all the traffic was connected with religion.

Once Sano and his party had to steer their horses to the edge of the highway to make way for a cart drawn by oxen and heaped with roof tiles. Carts like this, owned by the government, were the only wheeled vehicles permitted by Tokugawa law. This restricted the movement of war supplies and prevented insurrections, at least in theory.

Many of the other travelers weren't going to Asakusa at all. Beyond the temple lay the Yoshiwara licensed pleasure quarter, the only place in Edo where prostitution was legal. Merchants riding in palanquins, gangs of townsmen on foot, and samurai on horse back streamed toward Yoshiwara's brothels. The law banned samurai from the pleasure quarter, but they went in droves anyway. Yoshiwara was good for business in the temple district. Men traveling to Yoshiwara often stopped at the temple for rest, refreshments, and prayers, combining the profane with the sacred.

"What was your cousin doing in Asakusa? If she wanted to go to a shrine, why not one in town?" Marume asked.

"The Kumazawa family estate is out there," Sano said.