Sano, ordered by the shōgun to capture the body thieves, had placed agents around town. Disguised as itinerant peddlers, they’d loitered in teahouses, entertainment districts, gambling dens, and other places frequented by the criminal element. This morning an agent had overheard a servant boast that the thieves had paid him to help steal the body of his dead master, during the funeral vigil tonight. The agent had followed the servant to the home of a rich oil merchant and reported the location to Sano.

“If the thieves come, we follow them,” Sano reminded Hirata and his men now. “We have to catch their leader and find out what happens to the corpses.”

The detectives surrounded the merchant’s house, while Sano and Hirata hid in a recessed doorway across an alley from the back gate. They waited for a miserable, wet hour, breathing the weather’s humid warmth. Still the streets remained silent and deserted. Sano’s urgency grew.

The son of a rōnin, he’d once earned his living as an instructor in his father’s martial arts academy and by tutoring young boys, studying history in his spare time. Family connections had secured him a position as a senior police commander. He’d solved a murder case, saved the shōgun’s life, and been promoted a year and a half ago to the exalted position of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi’s sōsakan-sama. By capturing the Bundori Killer, who had terrorized Edo with a series of grisly murders, he’d won the shōgun’s greater favor. Since then, he’d solved many other cases, seen his income and personal staff grow, and achieved a satisfying sense of professional accomplishment. His socially and financially advantageous marriage to Reiko, daughter of the rich, powerful Magistrate Ueda, would take place in the autumn. Yet a dark cloud shadowed Sano’s existence.

He’d grown increasingly disillusioned with the bakufu, a corrupt, oppressive dictatorship. Under its orders, Sano had to spy on citizens who’d criticized government policy or otherwise offended the Tokugawa. Distorted and embellished, his findings were used to discredit honest men, who were then exiled or demoted. And the shōgun was no better than the regime he commanded. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi indulged a weakness for religion, the arts, and young boys, while neglecting affairs of state. He also sent Sano on fruitless searches for ghosts, magic potions, and buried treasure. Yet Sano had no choice but to pursue such immoral or ridiculous activities. The shōgun commanded his complete loyalty, and his future. And his personal life offered no consolation.