He lied bravely, looking straight into Sano’s eyes, yet Sano easily pieced together the truth. Kiyoshi and Junko were illicit lovers who’d just stolen some time together here. Feeling the loss of Aoi, Sano pitied the young couple. He said, “I wanted to ask Junko what she knows about the mysterious lights in the harbor.” Seeing panic flare in Kiyoshi’s eyes, he thought he might learn something after all. “Do you ever work the night watch?”

“Sometimes.” Kiyoshi’s long-fingered hands toyed with the spyglass. “Not often. I usually work in the harbor patrol then.”

“Perhaps you’ve seen the lights,” Sano suggested. “Do you know what causes them?”

Kiyoshi stole a glance out the window. “No. I mean, I’ve never seen the lights. Actually, I don’t believe there are any. I think a drunk must have imagined he saw something, then told his friends. Now everyone in Nagasaki thinks he’s personally seen the lights, and has ideas about what they mean.” His laugh was a sickly croak. “You know how it is.”

Sano knew how gossip could spread and turn fantasy into apparent reality, but he couldn’t see why Kiyoshi was so eager to deny that the lights existed, or discourage his interest in them. Looking out the window, he saw that the tower was a perfect place from which to monitor the vast panorama of sky, city, and sea.

“May I look through your spyglass?” Sano asked Kiyoshi.

“Yes, of course, sōsakan-sama.”

Obviously glad for a change of subject, Kiyoshi handed over the instrument and explained how to operate it. Sano aimed the long tube out the window, peering through the lens while scanning the landscape. He turned the focusing ring, and blurred scenes leapt into brilliant clarity. In a sky of cool, glowing azure that shaded to gold in the west, clouds drifted, every whorl and puff distinct. Birds soared over trees down the hillside; palanquins and tiny figures filed through the streets. Ships in the harbor appeared so close that Sano instinctively raised his hand to touch them. On open sea floated the Dutch vessel, masts and sails clearly defined. Sano experienced a pang of foreboding even as he admired the technology that had produced the spyglass. The ship’s captain and crew must have received his message by now. What would be their response?

Sano trained the spyglass on Deshima. He saw guards patrolling the perimeter and main street. He could almost read the warning signs on the poles around the island.

“You have a wonderful view,” he remarked, handing the spyglass back to Kiyoshi. “Tell me—were you on duty the night Director Spaen disappeared?”

The young man fumbled and almost dropped the instrument. Holding it across his chest like a shield, he said, “Yes. I guess I was.”

“Did you notice anything unusual on Deshima then?”

Eyes wide and alarmed, Kiyoshi shook his head. His Adam’s apple jerked.