Sano felt no animosity toward the boy who’d almost killed him. He would have done the same to protect his own father. “When the judges learn of your crimes, they’ll have no choice but to impose the death penalty,” Sano said. “I can’t save you—and you don’t want that anyway, do you?” Ohira’s silence was his affirmative. “But when I regain power, I’ll persuade the bakufu to exempt your wife and younger children from punishment.” He had done so for the families of other criminals, under special circumstances. “And Kiyoshi needn’t die if I don’t report what you’ve told me. Which I won’t—if you’ll help me.”

Ohira stared, as though not daring to believe what he’d heard. “Of course. I’ll do anything. Anything!”

“Tell me who killed Jan Spaen,” Sano said, “and the names of all the smugglers.”

“I don’t know.” Fresh despair deepened the lines in Ohira’s face. “I wasn’t there when Spaen died. I’ve never even been to that cove. My second watch commander piloted the boat.” So it was Nirin whom Sano had followed across the harbor on the night of his arrest. “My job was to falsify the inventory, relax surveillance on Deshima, and supply manpower.”

And to take the blame if anything went wrong, Sano thought as his hope of exposing the criminals faded. How efficient of Nagai to set up a scapegoat in advance!

“I don’t know who the smugglers are, or who leads them,” Ohira finished.

“But you must have communicated with them,” Sano said, grasping for any possible clue.

“Anonymous messages arrived at my office in town. I never tried to trace them—I didn’t want to know any more than necessary. And I destroyed every one.”

Thus there was no written evidence against Governor Nagai, Interpreter Iishino, Urabe, or anyone except Ohira. But Sano refused to give up. “What exactly did these messages say?”

“The day and time of the smuggling. The place where my men should take the goods …” A grimace of revulsion twisted Ohira’s lips, as if provoked by an unpleasant memory.

“What is it?” Sano asked.

“Another message came yesterday. My men are to transfer the rest of the illegal goods off the island tomorrow.”

“Where?” Sano demanded. “When?”

If he could deliver the information to the tribunal judges, perhaps they would free him and pursue the real criminals. For the first time Sano felt success within his grasp. And maybe, when the smugglers were caught, he would learn who had killed Spaen and Peony and burned his house.

“The message said that a new rendezvous location must be arranged,” Ohira said, “because the cove is sealed. I’m to await further instructions, which will arrive soon.”

Soon enough to save himself, Sano wondered, and Hirata? Soon enough to deliver Spaen’s killer to the Dutch captain and prevent a war?