September 24, 188—, 5:00 p.m.
Lower Niban-chô, Kôjimachi Ward, Tokyo
The rain that had started around noon had only grown heavier by dusk.
But it wasn’t the rain alone that had mired the house in gloom.
Minazuki Daigo was sitting alone next to a dead body.
Since the night before, the house had been filled with the smell and smoke of incense; and a smoky haze covered the flowers and gifts the neighbors had bought with their meager earnings.
He had been thinking about his mother, Sayo.
But not of the days they had spent together. He had sealed those memories away when he had discovered her body on the street only two cho west of their home two nights ago.
Before he lost himself in memories, there were things to be done—and a mystery to solve.
How had his mother lost every drop of blood in her body?
Was the count responsible?
And if it wasn’t him, why had two hundred foreign coins been left at his mother’s feet?
After having been told to get some sake, Daigo had gone to Densuke—a hard-drinking plasterer—and borrowed a bottle. When he had returned, his mother was not there. Even more unsettling was that Count Dracula was also missing. After searching in and around the house for an hour, he had found her.
He had carried her to Dr. Niide Ryojô, who ministered to the people in the row houses, but she was already gone.
The cause of death had made the doctor immediately suspicious, so he sent for the police. From that night until about noon the next day, Daigo had been subjected to brutal interrogation until his neighbors’ testimony had cleared him of suspicion. When Daigo’s landlord had gone to Renbei-jyuku to report what happened, a recovered Isanosuke wrote a letter to the superintendent of police, which had proven effective in getting Daigo released almost immediately. It would have even spared Sayo’s body from a grisly autopsy, but Daigo had wanted it to proceed.
How could he even comprehend that his mother was dead, when she had been alive only an hour before?
By evening, the coroner had released the autopsy report, from which they learned nothing they had not suspected before: that the cause of death was extreme and unnatural blood loss. When Daigo asked about the blood, the coroner and the police could only scratch their heads.
They had not found any sign of blood between the house and the street where Sayo’s corpse had been discovered.
In fact, there had been no sign of a struggle, and the body was completely unmarked.
The extraordinary detail that Daigo reported had been the two bite marks on the right side of her neck, but the wounds were so small that they were ruled out as the cause of such a high volume of blood loss. In the end, the coroner assumed that a fox or raccoon had bitten her after her death.
Needless to say, Count Dracula had also been investigated. After Daigo had told the police the man’s address, they visited the former trader’s mansion, but it was already empty.
If he called himself a count, he was undoubtedly a nobleman. The police had asked what business such an important man could possibly have with a samurai’s family from the row houses. And when Daigo could answer only that the count must have known his father who had gone overseas, the police grew only more skeptical. While their suspicions were eventually put to rest by the letter sent by the House of Peers representative Kashiwabara Isanosuke, there were others who had been paralyzed by the news of Sayo’s death.
“Excuse us.” Chizuru, wearing black, opened the door and entered.
Daigo reacted visibly when he saw the two people who followed her.
“Oh! Sensei Kanô and Shirô—I mean, Saigô-kun.”
He thanked them for coming and bowed without taking his eyes off them.
He said to Chizuru, “Thank you for coming this afternoon.”
He bowed again.
She had already visited earlier in the afternoon to offer incense. She had also been the first at Renbei-jyuku to hear the news and had asked her father to write a letter to the superintendent of police. And she had not stopped there.
“After you told me how your mother was found, I notified Sensei Kanô. We did not understand everything when we first heard the news.”
Jigorô said, “We wanted to pay our respects this afternoon, but it took some time to gather information, as well as a few other things we’ll need. Nevertheless, please allow me to offer some incense.”
After Jigorô, Shirô had also respectfully burned incense at the altar. Afterward, Jigorô turned to Daigo.
“Now we must tell you something of grave importance—something you will find very hard to believe. Can we close the door?” he asked.
Their eyes met, and Daigo nodded.
“Shirô.”
At Jigorô’s bidding, Shirô closed the shoji[3] door; and the darkness enveloped them in an instant. The only light was what seeped in from the window and the dim illumination from the paper lantern next to the body.
“I’m going to ask you to listen to what I am about to tell you without getting angry, no matter how absurd it may sound. But first, Minazuki-kun, will you examine your mother’s body with me?”
“What is the meaning of this?”
Jigorô nodded and smiled warmly in spite of Daigo’s hardened expression.
“This young lady told me about the two wounds on your mother’s neck. Her sister, who has taken ill, also has the same wounds on her throat.”
Daigo looked at Chizuru, who nodded.
“Daigo-san,” Shirô called out. When Daigo turned around, Shirô moved the bandage wrapped around his neck.
“You, too… like my mother… Sensei Kanô, what is this?”
“May I see your mother?”
“Well, all right.”
Daigo stood up and went to where his mother lay. He waited for Jigorô to follow, then removed the white cloth from her face.
“See it?” Jigorô asked, as a way of seeking confirmation.
“Yes.”
“But this will soon disappear.”
“What?”
“Minazuki-kun, please do not think I am trying to sully your mother’s memory. This may not be the best time to tell you, but because of what happened to your mother, I cannot stay silent. Shirô and Chizuru-san have spoken highly of your character, and, after just a few brief moments, I can see for myself that you are a good man. So perhaps you will be understanding when I tell you, Minazuki-kun, that your mother will soon rise from the dead.”
Chizuru and Shirô looked at the two men. Jigorô had just uttered an absurdity. But Daigo did not look surprised; instead, his eyes gleamed intensely.
“Sensei, is this a bad joke?”
“I understand if you’re angry, but please just listen. Shirô, how did you get that mark on your throat?”
The diminutive judo prodigy was standing in front of the shoji door.
“Daigo-san, I would never lie to you. I got this wound from the same man who sucked Akane-san’s blood two nights ago. He turned himself into a bat and attacked me.”
Daigo was now in a daze. Chizuru added, “My sister, Akane, has the same puncture wounds. Her illness is caused by severe blood loss, just like your mother’s.”
Crossing his arms, Daigo closed his eyes.
It was clear that beneath his calm exterior, a fierce battle was being fought.
“Was the same man responsible for what happened to my mother and Akane-san?” he asked, keeping his eyes closed.
“It was Count Dracula.”
Daigo reacted as if he had expected that answer. Nevertheless, he said, “It’s so hard to believe. He seemed like such a dignified and respectable man.”
“It’s no wonder. He was a brave general who almost single-handedly saved his country, Wallachia, from countless invading armies. On the other hand, that was four hundred years ago.”
Daigo looked stricken. He asked, “Please tell me what happened to Shirô-kun and Akane-san on that night.”
An hour passed.
First Jigorô, then Daigo, recounted the whole story of their respective meetings with Count Dracula.
The sound of driving rain outside grew louder, just as the enveloping gloom grew even darker.
“To be honest, I still can’t believe it,” Daigo said, looking intently at Jigorô. “Assuming this vampire exists, is it safe to leave Akane-san alone?”
“The Shitennô are looking after her,” Jigorô replied. A small object shone in his hand. “They seemed a little annoyed when Chizuru-san gave them these. I hope they haven’t taken them off. I’ve also taken measures so that no one can enter or leave the house. There’s no need to worry.”