Part 11 (1/2)
oBut you recently quarreled about the private trade, didn't you? Sano said.
The barbarian picked up the picture that lay on his desk, turning it over to reveal an oil painting of a cobbled street lined with stone houses. DeGraeff contemplated the image while he listened to Iis.h.i.+no's translation. Then he laid the painting aside ”face up. oSpaen and I often argued. He had a quick temper, as do I. But we always settled our differences to our mutual benefit.
So you claim, Sano thought. The barbarians odor had grown stronger from nervous perspiration. oDid Dr. Huygens also have disputes with Spaen?
oMy job is to ensure that trade proceeds smoothly. As long as it does, my colleagues' personal relations.h.i.+ps are none of my business.
Was this evasive answer an expression of genuine ignorance, loyalty to comrades, or something else? Sano couldn't believe that after two years' virtual imprisonment together, quarrels hadn't arisen between the men, or that deGraeff would not know of them. Once again, he felt handicapped by his lack of knowledge about Dutch culture.
oWhat were you doing the night Director Spaen disappeared? Sano asked.
oI worked, here. Then went to bed. The guards can verify that. They were outside my room the whole time.
Sano predicted that the guards would corroborate his story even if it wasn't true, for two possible reasons. To do otherwise would be tantamount to admitting negligence. And Sano couldn't imagine deGraeff disposing of Director Spaen's corpse alone. One or more j.a.panese must have played a role in the murder ”at the very least, facilitating a coverup. With difficulty, Sano relegated this unwelcome thought to the back of his mind. DeGraeff had sufficient motive for murder. Sano just needed evidence to prove his guilt.
oI apologize for invading your privacy, but I must search your quarters now, Sano said.
oHe says go ahead; he has nothing to hide, Iis.h.i.+no said after the barbarian spoke.
Sano went through deGraeff's office without finding anything except more ledgers, writing supplies, pipe, and tobacco pouch. There were no travel souvenirs; no hunting trophies such as Director Spaen had owned. What, besides a mutual desire for money, had bound these dissimilar men together? Sano moved on to deGraeff's adjoining bedchamber, where the same austerity prevailed. Cabinets and chests held a minimum of worn clothing.
oThose are everything he has, and it's all there, all there, Iis.h.i.+no said. oThere's nothing that doesn't belong, either.
From the doorway, a.s.sistant Director deGraeff and Chief Ohira watched, expressions stony.
oWhat are these? Sano asked Iis.h.i.+no, holding up some papers he'd found in the bedside cupboard. All bore red censors' seals; the law required that foreign doc.u.ments be inspected before entering j.a.pan.
Iis.h.i.+no bustled over and scanned the papers. oLetters from a.s.sistant Director deGraeff's father. He is dying, and begs his son to come home, become a priest, and take over his position in the village church.
The paucity of clues discouraged Sano, as did the absence of blood. He looked under the futon, bed, and other furniture; he examined floor and walls for secret hiding places. But he found no knife, which could have been dumped into the sea along with Spaen's corpse. Sano peered out the window into the yard. The ground looked hard and smooth, the gra.s.s kept short by the barbarians' grazing cow. The soil in the vegetable garden seemed undisturbed. Sano guessed that a search for buried evidence would prove futile.
DeGraeff spoke. Iis.h.i.+no said, oHe asks if you're satisfied that he didn't kill Director Spaen.
Far from it, Sano thought, yet he was forced to admit temporary defeat. Identifying the killer ”and incriminating the Dutch ”wouldn't be easy. Keenly he regretted the inner drives that always endangered his life. What cruel G.o.d had endowed him with this fatal curiosity and desire for truth?
The servant returned with a tray of food, which the barbarian eyed hungrily.
oWell, ssakan-sama, Chief Ohira said, odo you still think you can solve the mystery?
With an effort, Sano kept his voice and expression untroubled. oThat will be all for now, he told the Dutchman. He nodded to the servant, who set the tray before deGraeff.
oWatch the barbarian eat, Interpreter Iis.h.i.+no said, giggling.
Thoroughly tired of Iis.h.i.+no, Sano nonetheless couldn't help staring as the Dutchman devoured the food. Instead of sipping soup from his bowl, he slurped it out of a wooden spoon. Instead of using chopsticks, he crammed rice, fish, and vegetables into his mouth with his hands. Between bites, he swilled huge, noisy gulps of water and sake. Such crude table manners disgusted Sano, while intuition told him that the Dutchman knew more about Director Spaen's death than he'd admitted.
Accompanied by Chief Ohira and Interpreter Iis.h.i.+no, Sano descended the stairs and walked down the street toward the residence of Dr. Nicolaes Huygens: Dr. Ito's trusted friend and Sano's last Dutch suspect, upon whom his hopes for a quick, successful end to the investigation now rested.
Chapter 8.
THE DOOR TO Dr. Huygens's residence stood wide open and unguarded when Sano arrived there with Chief Ohira and Interpreter Iis.h.i.+no.
oI can a.s.sure you that this negligence is atypical, and the sentries will be disciplined for it, Ohira said grimly, preceding Sano and Iis.h.i.+no through the door.
In the doctor's study, shelves held wooden boxes labeled in foreign script; leatherbound books; a human skull; cases displaying seash.e.l.ls, rocks, b.u.t.terflies, and other insects; and clear gla.s.s jars in which floated preserved specimens, including a two-headed newborn kitten. On the floor sat shallow pans filled with water, in which lived crabs, snails, and sea urchins. Potted plants stood on the windowsills, and a samurai youth was watering them with a spouted pot. Two guards leaned on either side of the desk beneath the window, watching the Dutchman.
Dr. Huygens sat with his back to the door, his head bent over something he was working on amid a jumble of books and writing materials.
oWhat are we going to see now? a guard asked him.
The youth spoke to the doctor in Dutch, then translated the reply as he tended the plants. oA drop of pond water.
Ohira stalked over to the guards; they looked up in dismay. oFraternizing with a barbarian, he fumed. oDisgraceful! Get back to your posts. Now!
The men fled.
oI'll take over here, Iis.h.i.+no told the junior interpreter, who scurried from the room.
The doctor turned and rose. With his bulky physique and disheveled appearance, he looked not at all like the j.a.panese ideal of a refined, elegant scholar. His skin was very pink; his round nose and cheeks glowed like cherries. He must have pa.s.sed his fortieth year, for white hairs streaked the long, coppery waves that receded at his temples. On the bridge of his nose sat a pair of clear gla.s.s circles, joined with a loop of gold wire: the famed barbarian eyegla.s.ses that miraculously improved vision. From behind these, the Dutchman's pale amber eyes regarded Sano with intelligent curiosity. His hands had thick, blunt fingers that seemed unsuited to delicate medical procedures. In the right one he held a small metal object. The sight of this raised an instinctive flare of alarm in Sano.
oLook out! he shouted, drawing his sword. oHe's got a weapon!
Dr. Huygens shrank against the desk, his large, pink face aghast, eyes frightened behind his gla.s.ses.