The Way of the Traitor: A Samurai Mystery by Laura Joh Rowland Page B

partitions divided rooms and corridors. In the reception hall, doors led to a garden full of shrubs, trees, and plenty of other places for an assassin to hide.

oMaster, would you like a meal? a servant asked.

Hirata started to say yes, then hesitated.

He'd been born into the police service, inheriting his fathers job as a doshin "patrol officer "at age fifteen. He'd captured criminals and maintained order in one of Nihonbashi's roughest sectors. When assigned to help with the Bundori murder investigation, he'd won a permanent post as Sano's chief retainer by demonstrating his competence and loyalty. Ecstatic over leaving a corrupt police force, he thought he'd gained his heart's desire: a master whose character he could respect.

A year later, reality had set in. Bushido dictated that he provide Sano with protection, assistance, and counsel until his own death, which would ideally occur during battle at his master's side. But Sano refused Hirata's service when he needed it most, often leaving Hirata at home during crucial stages of murder cases, spying assignments, and the shogun's ghost hunts. Now he'd done the same thing again!

Upon leaving Governor Nagai's mansion, Hirata had begged Sano not to lead the search for the barbarian. oIt's my duty to tell you that you're placing yourself in grave, unnecessary danger, he'd whispered as they walked out the gate. oNagai and his men let the barbarian escape; they're the ones who should suffer if he's not found.

But Sano, waiting for the guards who would escort him to the harbor, had already withdrawn into his private world of inner compulsions and self-imposed challenges.

oAt least let me help you, Hirata had persisted. oDelegate the investigation to me, so that if it fails, I'll die, not you.

Sano had said gently but adamantly, oHirata-san, I appreciate your loyalty. But I've made my decision.

oWhy must you always push me away and do things alone? Confusion had made Hirata outspoken. oIt's the same with the detective corps. They're supposed to serve you, yet you give them the safest, easiest tasks. It's as if you don't want them hurt, even though you've barely gotten to know them beyond their names and work records. What "

The arrival of the guards had cut short their conversation. oYou have your orders, Sano had said. oI'll see you later.

Now resentment kindled beneath Hirata's fear for his master. Sano was thwarting his fulfillment of Bushido and wasting his detective skills. Hirata couldn't loaf while Sano faced danger; but neither could he violate Bushido's most important tenet: unswerving obedience to his master. Yet Hirata was forced to acknowledge a more personal motive that exacerbated his dilemma. The present situation reminded him of a time when his character had been tried and found inadequate, an experience that had changed his life.

He'd been eighteen, a doshin for three years, with a growing reputation for courage and skill. Craving official recognition, he'd gotten it when Senior Police Commander Terukuni had singled him out of the ranks to help break up a crime gang, and become his mentor. Hirata had been a self-centered young man who had valued the relationship mainly because of what it could do for him. Ambitious for wealth and power, he'd aspired to a position in the shogun's court. When the gangsters had ambushed him and Yoriki Terukuni in a teahouse, Hirata had chosen to escape with his own life, letting his master die.

He'd repaid Terukuni's kind generosity with betrayal, forsaken samurai loyalty for personal gain. After much soul-searching, he'd seen the error of his ways and vowed to embrace the Way of the Warrior. Hence he could not abandon Sano, his present master, to stand or fall alone, regardless of orders to the contrary.

Fierce resolve inspired Hirata. Sano had told him to amuse himself in town, but hadn't specified how. oI don't need anything, Hirata told the waiting servant. oI'm going out for the rest of the day.

When