Free Dragon's King Palace by Laura Joh Rowland Page B

his power. He slapped Goza hard on each cheek. “Where are they?” he shouted. If this criminal was withholding facts that could save Reiko, he deserved no mercy.
    “Hurting him won’t do any good,” Jun said smugly. “He won’t talk unless you save us.”
    Incensed that the men had gained the upper hand, Sano turned on Jun and would have struck him; but Magistrate Ueda said quietly, “Sano- san . Wait.” Then he addressed the criminals: “Tell us what you know, and I’ll consider revoking your sentences.”
    His stony expression told Sano how torn Magistrate Ueda was between his duty to uphold the law and his need to save his daughter. Although he often showed leniency toward petty offenders, he never released anyone guilty of a major crime.
    Goza rattled his shackles. “Free us first,” he said, “or there’s no deal.”
    “Talk, or you go to the execution ground.” Magistrate Ueda gave the men the fierce stare that had subdued many an adversary and beckoned the guards.
    The criminals quailed visibly and looked at each other. Jun nodded at Goza, who said, “I’ve heard talk that the Black Lotus is planning a big attack on the Tokugawa. Could be it’s the kidnapping, and Profound Wisdom arranged it.”
    Sano stood back and eyed the man with suspicion. “Who carried out the kidnapping? Where might they be hiding the women?”
    Goza shrugged. “I’ve told you all I know.”
    “You’ve told me what you think will save your skin.” Angry contempt heated Sano’s blood. The story was plausible but vague, and as much as he longed to believe he had a lead on the kidnappers, Sano distrusted its source. “I say you’re lying.”
    “It’s the truth,” Goza said, his chin raised defensively.
    “Can we go now?” Jun asked the magistrate.
    Sano gave Magistrate Ueda a look that warned him against falling for a trick. Magistrate Ueda frowned, compressed his lips, then told the men, “I’ll delay your sentences until I find out whether what you’ve said is of any use.” He signaled his guards. “Take them to Edo Jail. Confine them in a cell by themselves, and make sure no harm comes to them.”
    The criminals protested as the guards dragged them from the court. Sano and Magistrate Ueda expelled gusts of breath. “If that lout told the truth and his information helps us rescue the shogun’s mother, His Excellency will praise my cleverness,” Magistrate Ueda said. “If he’s proven a liar, I’ll be ridiculed as a fool and condemned for subverting justice.”
    With bleak candor he added, “But I don’t care what happens to me. All I want is my daughter saved.”
    Sano forbore to offer sympathy that would embarrass his father-in-law. “Maybe this priest can lead us to her. My men and I will begin looking for him now.”
    The lane was one of many that branched like crooked ribs off the main boulevard near the foot of the Nihonbashi Bridge, the official starting point of the Tōkaidō. The bridge’s great wooden curve arched over the canal beyond the rooftops. Along the street, businesses that catered to travelers sold hats, noodles, sake, and guidebooks depicting highway attractions. Noisy crowds of religious pilgrims, carrying walking staffs and laden with heavy packs, browsed the merchandise.
    The Buddhist supply shop occupied a storefront in the middle of the block. Inside, past the blue entrance curtain, a white-haired man sat behind a counter amid beaded rosaries hung from the low ceiling and shelves crammed with Buddha statues and boxes of incense. Sano and Detective Arai loitered outside while Detective Inoue, clad in a plain cotton robe hastily purchased for this occasion, entered the shop and approached the proprietor.
    “I’m looking for Yoshi,” Detective Inoue said, as Sano had instructed him to do.
    The proprietor scrutinized Inoue, and a leery expression came over his wrinkled face. “I’m sorry, master, there’s no one by that name here.”
    Sano was dismayed because the