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believed he must convince the assembly that they had no reasonable choice but delay.
    “The women are the kidnappers’ insurance against retaliation from us,” he said. "Criminals who are intelligent enough to plan and carry out that ambush know better than to kill the hostages. They won’t harm the women as long as they think they can get what they want.”
    Observing the other men’s skepticism, Sano wished he had more faith in his own argument. He said, “Whatever price the kidnappers ask should be a small price to pay for the return of the Honorable Lady Keisho-in.”
    Antipathy narrowed Yanagisawa’s and Hoshina’s eyes, but the shogun knelt; his resolve visibly waned. “Indeed,” he said.
    “We can hunt down and punish the kidnappers after the women are safe,” Sano said, then addressed the elders. “That the procession was ambushed, the troops slain, and the women taken has already shown that the regime is vulnerable. Denying it now would be senseless. The news will spread across the country before we can stop it. A hasty, blind rescue attempt is likely to fail, and if it does, the bakufu will look even worse.”
    Makino nodded grudgingly; the other elders followed suit. Chamberlain Yanagisawa conceded with a faint grimace, and the shogun set his weak jaw. “Sano- san is right,” he declared. “We shall wait for the, ahh, ransom demand.”
    “And in the meantime, do nothing,” Hoshina said, glowering at Sano, obviously hating to lose his big chance to be a hero.
    Sano gleaned no triumph from this victory, because his real enemies were the kidnappers, against whom he felt helpless. “On the contrary,” he said. “We must work together to figure out who’s behind the crime, so we can locate and capture him when the time is right.”
    Crisis demanded unity. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi nodded his approval, calmer now that argument had ceased and Sano had reduced the disaster to a solvable problem. An uneasy concord settled upon the other men. The atmosphere in the chamber was hot and stuffy, acrid with smoke and the stink of nerves.
    “I propose that we begin the investigation by identifying potential suspects,” Sano said.
    “The leader of the kidnappers must be someone who has enough troops to massacre an armed procession, or enough money to hire them.” Hirata, though clearly opposed to Sano’s strategy, was duty-bound to support his master.
    “He had to have known in advance that the women were going on the trip, so he could position troops to lie in wait for them,” Hoshina said. Sano noted how quickly the police commissioner had turned the investigation into an opportunity to display his detective talent. “Since the trip was a sudden impulse of Lady Keisho-in’s, and the news didn’t have time to spread far, he must live in or near Edo.”
    Sano had an unfounded but powerful sense that the crime wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed. “I wonder who is the real target of the kidnapping plot,” he said.
    Surprise lifted eyebrows on the faces around him. The shogun said, “How can there be, ahh, any doubt that I am the target, and the kidnapping is an act of war against me?”
    “The kidnapper must be an enemy of the regime, who seeks to humble His Excellency and extort ransom money from the treasury,” said Senior Elder Makino.
    Candidates included citizens who chafed under the bakufu ’s strict laws, and daimyo —feudal lords—oppressed by the Tokugawa. Disgruntled rōnin —masterless samurai—were a continuing source of trouble. Yet Sano saw other possibilities.
    “Maybe the kidnappers want more than just to strike at the regime, or money for freeing the hostages,” Chamberlain Yanagisawa said; his expression turned speculative as he voiced Sano’s thought.
    “That they didn’t bother to loot the baggage and steal the gold indicates that lucre isn’t their main concern,” Hoshina said.
    “Maybe there’s a more personal motive behind the crime.” Yanagisawa’s gaze moved