Chapter 22When Hiroshi pushed open the door to the sword store, Suzuki, the sword dealer, was knotting a string around a sword handle. Suzuki was not in his sagyo-bakama work outfit, but in a more formal iaidogi. The shirt, sash and pleated trousers were all neat, clean and sharply pressed. The blue and grey chrysanthemum pattern matched his tight, grey ponytail. Takamatsu’s contacts, Hiroshi had to admit, were different from everyone Hiroshi knew.
“You seem to be taking an uncommon interest in swords, detective. Are you considering one for the young lady?”
“I’m less interested in the swords than in the people who use them.”
“Swords are often the more interesting. Each sword lives its own life in the world.”
Jamie walked over to the sword racks and put her hand out to touch one, then p
