oEnough gold to make our families agree to our marriage? Junko had asked eagerly.

oEnough to make all things possible.

Now Junko tried to remind Kiyoshi of the fortune tellers advice. oThe mysterious lights "

oI said, forget them! Kiyoshi shouted, eyes blazing.

He'd never before raised his voice to her in anger. Silently Junko turned away, blinking back tears.

oI'm sorry, Kiyoshi said. The anger had left his voice, and he sounded weary. oI didn't mean to hurt you. But this is what's best, you have to believe me.

The cold draft from the window made Junko shiver. Sniffling, she said, oBut what about the money? Our plans?

Kiyoshi hovered beside her, his hand clasping her shoulder. With a forced laugh, he said, oThat old fortune teller was just repeating town gossip and saying what we wanted to hear. There's no ghosts or treasure. We were fools to believe it.

Disturbed by the forlorn note in Kiyoshi's voice, Junko glanced sideways at him. He was watching her with concern, but a part of him remained separate, preoccupied.

oIf the lights aren't Dutch ghosts, then what are they? Junko asked, loath to relinquish their dream.

Kiyoshi's hand dropped from her shoulder, leaving behind a fleeting warmth. oI can't tell you.

His recalcitrance destroyed Junko's fragile dignity. She whirled to face him. oPlease, tell me what's wrong, she pleaded, clutching his sleeve. oI want to help!

Holding her, Kiyoshi stroked her hair. She felt his hand tremble, his ragged breath on her forehead, his warm strength. But his body stayed rigid. oThere's nothing you can do, he said hopelessly. oI have to handle it alone. After a long pause, he continued, though more to himself than her, oI have to decide whether to do what's right, even if it hurts... someone.

Then he released her. He swallowed hard, then said, oI don't want to say this, Junko. But... I think we should stop seeing each other.

oStop seeing each other? Why? Junko could no longer hide her insecurity. oDon't you love me anymore? she cried. oIs there someone else?

oThat's not what I mean! Kiyoshi seized her hands, crushing them to his chest. oI love you. There will never be anyone else for me. But this is for the best. Please, believe me.

oNo!

A sound paralyzed them both: footsteps on the stairs.

oIt's the lieutenant, Kiyoshi said. He pushed Junko toward the window, where a ladder extended to the ground. oGo! Before he sees you.

oWait, Kiyoshi, Junko pleaded. They couldn't part like this, with matters left unresolved.

The footsteps grew louder, closer. Much as Junko wanted to stay, she couldn't endanger Kiyoshi's career. She let him help her out the window. Her hands and feet found the ladder's rungs. As she descended, she peered upward through the rapidly fading daylight for one last glimpse of Kiyoshi.

After a quick wave and a brief, strained smile, he turned away from the window and vanished from sight.

oh.e.l.lO! IS ANYONE up there? Sano called, ascending the stairs inside the watchtower.

Enc.u.mbered by his horse, he'd lost track of Junko in the forest. Still, the tower seemed the only place where she might have gone. He called out his name and t.i.tle so the guard on duty wouldn't mistake him for an attacking enemy. Emerging through the opening in the floor of the room at the top of the tower, he faced a young man who stared at him in speechless dismay.

oIt's Kiyoshi, isn't it? Sano asked, remembering him from the beach yesterday. oChief Ohira's son?

Kiyoshi gulped. oI... was expecting the lieutenant, he said, then bowed hastily. oMy apologies for this rude greeting, ssakan-sama. Please allow me to be of service.

oI'm looking for a young lady named Junko, Sano said, wondering why Kiyoshi was so nervous. oShe's the daughter of the merchant Urabe. Have you seen her?

oNo! Kiyoshi backed toward the window and picked up a spygla.s.s from the floor. He clutched the long metal tube as if eager for something to hold. oI mean, I haven't seen anyone.

oI heard voices up here, Sano said.

oThat was me, talking to myself. I'm learning the Dutch language. Kiyoshi gestured to a book that lay on the floor. oI was just practicing.

From below came a m.u.f.fled thump. Seeing the boy's worried glance out the window, Sano joined him there. He looked down and saw the ladder. A brief, fluttering movement disturbed the forest beneath.

oDo you know Junko? Sano asked.

oNo! That is, I may have seen her in town. But I'm not actually acquainted with her, no.

He lied bravely, looking straight into Sano's eyes, yet Sano easily pieced together the truth. Kiyoshi and Junko were illicit lovers who'd just stolen some time together here. Feeling the loss of Aoi, Sano pitied the young couple. He said, oI wanted to ask Junko what she knows about the mysterious lights in the harbor. Seeing panic flare in Kiyoshi's eyes, he thought he might learn something after all. oDo you ever work the night watch?

oSometimes. Kiyoshi's long-fingered hands toyed with the spygla.s.s. oNot often. I usually work in the harbor patrol then.

oPerhaps you've seen the lights, Sano suggested. oDo you know what causes them?

Kiyoshi stole a glance out the window. oNo. I mean, I've never seen the lights. Actually, I don't believe there are any. I think a drunk must have imagined he saw something, then told his friends. Now everyone in Nagasaki thinks he's personally seen the lights, and has ideas about what they mean. His laugh was a sickly croak. oYou know how it is.

Sano knew how gossip could spread and turn fantasy into apparent reality, but he couldn't see why Kiyoshi was so eager to deny that the lights existed, or discourage his interest in them. Looking out the window, he saw that the tower was a perfect place from which to monitor the vast panorama of sky, city, and sea.

oMay I look through your spygla.s.s? Sano asked Kiyoshi.

oYes, of course, ssakan-sama.

Obviously glad for a change of subject, Kiyoshi handed over the instrument and explained how to operate it. Sano aimed the long tube out the window, peering through the lens while scanning the landscape. He turned the focusing ring, and blurred scenes leapt into brilliant clarity. In a sky of cool, glowing azure that shaded to gold in the west, clouds drifted, every whorl and puff distinct. Birds soared over trees down the hillside; palanquins and tiny figures filed through the streets. Ships in the harbor appeared so close that Sano instinctively raised his hand to touch them. On open sea floated the Dutch vessel, masts and sails clearly defined. Sano experienced a pang of foreboding even as he admired the technology that had produced the spygla.s.s. The ship's captain and crew must have received his message by now. What would be their response?

Sano trained the spygla.s.s on Deshima. He saw guards patrolling the perimeter and main street. He could almost read the warning signs on the poles around the island.

oYou have a wonderful view, he remarked, handing the spygla.s.s back to Kiyoshi. oTell me "were you on duty the night Director Spaen disappeared?

The young man fumbled and almost dropped the instrument. Holding it across his chest like a shield, he said, oYes. I guess I was.

oDid you notice anything unusual on Deshima then?

Eyes wide and alarmed, Kiyoshi shook his head. His Adam's apple jerked.

oAny suspicious activity; any strange comings or goings? Any boats around the island?

More negative responses. Then Kiyoshi blurted, oPlease forgive me, but the harbor is very dark at night. It's hard to see what's going on from here, especially when there's a storm, like there was then. And I "I might have fallen asleep. Or gotten too interested in my studies. I'm sorry I can't help you.

Unconvinced, Sano probed harder for information, but met with more disclaimers. Finally he took his leave of Kiyoshi. The youth definitely knew something, his denials notwithstanding. Sano recalled how upset he'd seemed while viewing the corpse on the beach. He was beginning to believe that the lights were somehow linked to the murder, if only because the mention of either provoked similar reactions from Kiyoshi.

If other leads didn't point to the killer, Sano must question Kiyoshi again, and push him harder.

Chapter 13.

WHEN SANO RETURNED to town, the western sky was an intense orange. Framed by ma.s.ses of lavender and pink clouds, the setting sun cast a l.u.s.trous red sheen upon the ocean, where ships floated as if in a sea of blood. In the streets, lamps flared above gates and behind windows. Hills and cliffs lost their definition, becoming lofty but insubstantial barriers against the oncoming night. Sano rode up to the Deshima guardhouse just as ten divers swam ash.o.r.e.

oYou didn't find the gun? he asked, noting with disappointment their empty hands.

oNo, and it's too dark to see anything now, said the leader.

oResume the search in the morning, Sano said.

He'd intended to requestion Chief Ohira and the staff, but before he could dismount and enter the guardhouse, a strange spectacle drew his attention. He rode down the waterfront promenade for a better look.

In the harbor, a Chinese junk glowed with hundreds of lanterns that hung from its masts, golden sails fluttering like flames. On the deck, musicians played a dissonant melody on flute, drums, and cymbals.

Sailors danced, queues waving; their song drifted across the water. Down the hill came a procession of marchers carrying red lanterns and orange-robed priests bearing two litters. The first held the large gold statue of a fat, smiling G.o.d, surrounded by flowers and smoking incense burners. Upon the second litter rode a diminutive old man with a shaven head. He wore a multicolored brocade stole over his clerical robes. Other priests carried objects fashioned from gilt paper: houses, boats, furniture; animals; stacks of money. A boisterous crowd of Chinese sailors followed. j.a.panese guards, armed with bamboo canes, accompanied the marchers down a pier toward the junk.

Dismounting, Sano joined the crowd that had gathered to watch the procession. oWhat's going on? he asked a soldier.

oThis is a launching ceremony for the Chinese junk. The statue is their sea G.o.d. They pray to him for a safe journey.

oAnd the priest on the litter? Sano asked, already guessing the answer.

oLiu Yun. Abbot of the Chinese temple.

Eager for a better look at this suspect, Sano gave the reins to the soldier, along with orders to mind his horse. He eased his way through the crowd of Chinese on the pier, where priests were helping Abbot Liu Yun off his litter. They handed him a flaming torch. Chanting in a deep, resonant voice, he set fire to an elaborate gilt-paper mansion. Smoke rose to the sky; ashes wafted over the water. From his litter, the golden sea G.o.d smiled benignly as the symbolic offering was sent heavenward. The sailors aboard the junk waved and shouted. The music played louder and faster. The audience cheered. Sano approached a guard.

oIs there anyone here who can translate Chinese and j.a.panese? he asked, regretting that while he'd learned to read Chinese, he couldn't speak it. oI need to talk to Abbot Liu Yun.

oAn interpreter is not necessary, interjected an oddly accented voice.

Turning, Sano saw that the other priests had a.s.sumed the task of burning the offerings, and Abbot Liu Yun stood beside him. The abbot's wrinkled skin had the thin fragility of ancient silk and the yellow color of old ivory. His head, supported by the feeble stalk of his neck, seemed too large for his body, but his features were delicate and precise, with a pointed chin and ears like tiny seash.e.l.ls. He bowed stiffly.

oYou speak j.a.panese very well, Your Holiness, Sano said, impressed. Here was the elegant, scholarly refinement he'd expected of the Chinese and found lacking in the merchants. The abbot exuded a distinct air of cla.s.s, wealth, and education. Sano was awed at actually meeting a citizen of the venerated Middle Kingdom, and curious to know more about him. This was as close as the hateful bakufu would let him get to that land of ancient knowledge and tradition. oHow did you learn our language?

oIn my youth, I was an official in the Ming Imperial Court in Peking, the abbot said. oThis was before your government forbade its subjects to travel abroad. Sano noticed that he slurred his r sounds and retained the musical cadence of his own tongue. oI studied with a j.a.panese tutor, and later served as a minister of foreign relations, receiving j.a.panese merchants, priests, and scholars who came to pay homage to the emperor. And I have been in your wonderful country for six years now.

Chinese priests, like their j.a.panese counterparts, often pursued other careers before entering the monastery, yet Sano was surprised to learn that Abbot Liu Yun had done so. He had the ethereal serenity that Sano a.s.sociated with priests who'd taken their vows early and had limited contact with secular life. His voice carried a faint echo of shadowed worship halls. His tilted eyes, which did not quite focus on the same point, seemed to behold a landscape visible only to him. But Abbot Liu Yun was cognizant of city affairs, as his next words proved.

oI understand that you are investigating the murder of the barbarian. Is there some way in which I might a.s.sist you in this endeavor?

Sano moved up the pier, separating himself and Liu Yun from the crowd. It was risky to speak to any foreigner alone, but Sano took the chance to further his investigation and indulge his curiosity. oI'm questioning everyone who had a connection with Jan Spaen and the Dutch. Your name has come up as someone with a grievance against them.

Placidly the abbot contemplated the festivities. The priests were setting fire to a paper barn full of paper animals, chanting as it flamed and smoked. The junk's crew had extended a long platform from the prow over the water. Upon this, an acrobat performed somersaults and handsprings.

oAh, yes, Liu Yun said, nodding slowly. oNagasaki, the great international port, is really just a small, gossipy town. My personal affairs, like those of everyone else, are grist for the local rumor mill.

oAnd exactly what is this grievance that has inspired the rumors? Sano asked.

The priests lit the paper money and cast burning fragments into the sea. Liu Yun watched with benign detachment. oJan Spaen was the man immediately but not solely responsible for the death of my only brother.

A series of booms rocked the earth as rockets shot up from the ship and burst in great showers of red, gold, and green stars. The crowd gasped and exclaimed. The colored light illuminated Liu Yun's serene face.

oHow and when did your brother die? Sano asked, surprised that Liu Yun could speak of the death with such equanimity. His own father had died a year and a half ago, but a part of him would never recover from the loss.

oThe story of my brother is really the story of recent Chinese history, Abbot Liu Yun said. oI am seventy-five years old; he would have been seventy-three now. Thus we came of age during the decline of the great Ming dynasty. If you are familiar with Chinese history, you know that it follows a predictable cycle. A dynasty, founded by a strong leader, rises to power. The leader receives the Mandate of Heaven and becomes emperor. Eventually the dynasty loses its reigning vigor. The problems begin.

oBankruptcy, famine, civil unrest, Sano said, remembering his lessons at Zj Temple. oAnd when government control over the country weakens enough, the emperor loses the Mandate of Heaven. Amid war and turmoil, a new regime rises to challenge the old. The cycle goes on.

oExactly, Abbot Liu Yun said. oIn this most recent instance, the challenge came from the northeast Manchurian nomad tribes. They conquered Fushun, Liaoyang, Mukden, Shensi, Honan, Shantung, Kiangnan, Kiangsi, Hupeh, Szechuan, f.u.kien, Chinchou, Amur, and eventually Peking. The chieftain proclaimed himself emperor and founded the Ching dynasty.

oMost of the population, including officials of the former dynasty, accepted Manchu rule. I was one of many who donned foreign costume and arranged my hair in a queue. But a few Ming loyalists would not concede defeat. A rebel named Kuo Hsing-yeh organized several thousand troops along the coast. They managed to take Amoy, Quemoy, c.h.i.n.kiang, and the island of Taiwan. The Ching rulers recovered all the mainland territory, then hired the Dutch East India Company to help capture Taiwan. Taiwan fell seven years ago, in a fierce sea battle, after nearly two decades of war. My brother was one of Kuo Hsing-yeh's commanders "a broken old man and one of the last defenders of a lost cause. Jan Spaen was captain of the Dutch ship that destroyed his squadron. Spaen took my brother prisoner and tortured him to death. I suppose it's understandable that people who know this story would believe I bear a grudge against the Dutch in general, and Spaen in particular.

oYou mean you don't? Sano asked skeptically. A samurai would take the torture and slaying of a brother as a personal insult, and seek revenge. Were the Chinese so different?

Aboard the junk, the acrobat executed an impressive backflip, then bowed to the abbot. Liu Yun raised his hand in a gesture of praise before turning a condescending smile upon Sano. oWhen I entered the monastery, I freed myself from the pain, suffering, and complications of earthly life. I relinquished my diplomatic career, my wealth, and my family to seek spiritual enlightenment. Once I would have grieved over my brother's death. But in my present station, grief is an emotion that exists on a plane far below me. I feel only the joy of approaching nirvana "the eternal, ecstatic union with the cosmos.

oSo you didn't blame Jan Spaen for killing your brother, or wish him dead? Sano asked, still unconvinced.

The abbot's chuckle sounded like a cricket chirping inside a bra.s.s temple bell. oI did not, and would not have even before I turned my back on secular life. It was my brother's own stubbornness that really destroyed him "his refusal to accept that the Mandate of Heaven had pa.s.sed to the Manchu rulers. Jan Spaen and the Dutch East India Company were merely agents of his fate.

More rockets exploded; the smell of gunpowder scorched the air. Smoke veiled the sky. Sano asked, oWere you personally acquainted with Director Spaen?

oBefore I came to j.a.pan, I managed a temple in the Dutch trade settlement of Batavia, Indonesia, where there are many Chinese sailors, merchants, and laborers, Abbot Liu Yun said. oJan Spaen was stationed there at the time. We met once or twice. But I did not know him well. My command of the Dutch language is far from perfect.

In view of the priest's fluency in j.a.panese, Sano couldn't help suspecting that this gifted linguist had achieved equal facility in Dutch. oWhen did you learn of Spaen's role in the conquest of Taiwan?

oA year later. When a merchant ship brought the news to Batavia.

oAnd did you renew your acquaintance with Spaen when he arrived here?

The abbot turned toward Deshima, where lamps burned outside the guardhouse. Sano couldn't tell whether Liu Yun's imperfectly aligned eyes saw the island, or some private scene, but his tranquil expression didn't waver. oI have not seen Jan Spaen since leaving Batavia. Chance brought us both to j.a.pan, but there was no reason for us to meet again.

Sano knew he must check the visitor's log and question the governor's staff to verify this statement, but could he trust either Nagasaki's officials or their doc.u.ments? Was it really a coincidence that both Spaen and Liu Yun had ended up in j.a.pan, or had the abbot followed his brother's killer?

oHow did you happen to get a.s.signed here? he asked.

oThe previous abbot had died, Liu Yun said. oMy superiors chose me to replace him because of my language skills and diplomatic background.

oI see. Do you own a gun, Your Holiness?

The abbot chuckled again. oCertainly not. My Buddhist faith prohibits violence and killing. I have no need of weapons.

But he did have contact with his compatriots who owned them. Sano had seen the relatively lax security around the Chinese. It wouldn't be difficult for a merchant or sailor to smuggle weapons into the Chinese settlement, then pa.s.s them to the abbot during a ceremony such as this. A search of the temple might be necessary if the divers didn't find the gun off Deshima, evidence against other suspects didn't materialize, or if Sano found witnesses to acrimonious relations between Abbot Liu Yun and Spaen. For now, Sano turned the conversation to the subject that had brought Liu Yun to his attention.