Free Assassin's Touch by Laura Joh Rowland Page A

eyes and mouth. The other was Ihara Eigoro. They’d opposed Lord Matsudaira and supported Yanagisawa during the faction war. They, and some of their allies, had survived the purge by latching onto Yoritomo, who was alone at court and depended on his father’s friends for protection. But Sano knew that the protection worked both ways: Yoritomo’s influence with the shogun protected Kato, Ihara, and their clique from Lord Matsudaira. He was their foothold in the regime, the promise of another chance at gaining control over it.
    “The fall didn’t kill Ejima,” Sano said.
    “Then what did?” Ihara said. Short and hunched, he had a vaguely simian cast. He and Kato resented Sano because he’d declined to take their side during the faction war, and now worked closely with Lord Matsudaira. They envied him for rising above them in rank.
    “Ejima was a victim of dim-mak ,” answered Sano.
    “The death-touch?” Lord Matsudaira stared in amazement, as did the elders and Yoritomo. The shogun merely looked confused. The music and dancing continued while the boys joked and laughed together.
    “That’s difficult to believe,” Kato said, always ready to deride Sano and raise doubts about his judgment. “ Dim-mak is a lost art.”
    “What evidence do you have?” Ihara said.
    “When Ejima’s body was prepared for the funeral, a bruise was observed on his head. It had the shape and markings of a fingerprint.” This was the story Sano had invented to cover up the illegal dissection. “According to the martial arts literature, this is a sure sign of the death-touch.”
    “Books are hardly adequate confirmation,” Kato scoffed.
    “One can find something in them to support any argument whatsoever,” Ihara said, backing up his comrade.
    Sano understood why they were so anxious to dispute that Ejima’s death was murder. “Nonetheless, I stand by my opinion. But let us defer to His Excellency to settle the issue.”
    The shogun looked pleased to be consulted, yet daunted. He turned to Lord Matsudaira.
    “Chamberlain Sano is the expert on crime,” Lord Matsudaira said. “If he says it was dim-mak , that should suffice.”
    Sano also understood that Lord Matsudaira was so eager to confirm that Ejima was murdered that he would accept an unusual method whether or not he believed in it.
    “Well, ahh, then so be it,” the shogun said, clearly glad that Lord Matsudaira had spared him the need to think. “The, ahh, official cause of the death is as Chamberlain Sano says.”
    Lord Matsudaira nodded in approval. Kato and Ihara tried to hide their displeasure, and Sano his relief that his ploy had worked and the autopsy remained a secret. He wondered how long his luck would hold.
    Yoritomo flashed a congratulatory smile at Sano. During the past six months they’d become friends, despite the fact that Sano had once been Yoritomo’s father’s enemy. Sano had taken pity on Yoritomo, and had found him to be a decent, thoughtful young man who deserved better than a life as the shogun’s sexual plaything and a pawn of his father’s cronies, especially since his status as heir to the regime was by no means certain. That Yanagisawa had produced such a fine son amazed Sano, who had acquired yet another responsibility—as mentor to his former enemy’s child.
    “What about the three other recent deaths?” Lord Matsudaira asked Sano. “Were they also caused by dim-mak ?”
    Kato interrupted, “Do you mean the supervisor of court ceremony, the highway commissioner, and the treasury minister?”
    “I do,” said Lord Matsudaira.
    “All those deaths can’t possibly be murder,” Ihara protested.
    Sano observed Ihara and Kato growing nervous at the turn the discussion had taken.
    “We’ll see about that,” Lord Matsudaira said in an ominous tone. “Chamberlain Sano?”
    “Whether Supervisor Ono, Commissioner Sasamura, or Treasury Minister Moriwaki were murdered hasn’t been determined yet.” Sano earned a grunt of