Here the judge paused a moment. Then he continued in a bitter voice:
'Those despicable ruffians roam all through the town like hungry dogs. If in a dark alley they happen to meet a defenceless old man they knock him down and rob him of the few strings of copper cash he carries. If they see a woman walking alone they beat her unconscious and then rape her, tear the rings from her ears, and leave her lying in the gutter. Slinking about among the houses of the poor, if they see a door unlatched or a window left open, they creep inside and steal the only copper kettle, or a last set of patched robes.
'Is it not reasonable to assume that such a man when passing through Half Moon Street happened to discover Wang's secret visits to Pure Jade? Such a ruffian would immediately see the chance of having a woman who could not protest against his usurping her secret lover's place. However, Pure Jade defended herself. Probably she tried to shout or to reach the door in order to rouse her parents. Then he strangled her. Having committed this foul deed he calmly ransacked his victim's room for valuables, and made off with the only trinket she had.'
Judge Dee paused and drank another cup of tea.
Sergeant Hoong slowly nodded his head. Then he said:
'Your Honour has made it clear indeed that Candidate Wang did not commit this double crime. Yet I cannot see any definite evidence we could use in court.'
'If you want tangible proof,' Judge Dee answered, 'you shall have it! In the first place, you have heard the coroner's evidence. If Candidate Wang had strangled Pure Jade, his long fingernails would have left deep gashes in the girl's throat; the coroner only found shallow nailmarks, although the skin was broken here and there. This points to the short, uneven nails of a vagrant ruffian.
'Second, Pure Jade fought back with all her might when she was being violated. Yet her worn-down fingernails could never have caused the deep, nasty scratches on Wang's chest and arms. Those scratches, by the way, were not caused by thorns, as Wang thinks; but that is a minor point to which I shall return in due time. As to the possibility of Wang having strangled Pure Jade, I may add in passing that having seen Wang's physique and having heard the coroner's description of the girl, I am convinced that if Wang had tried to strangle her he would soon have found himself being pushed out of the window! But that is neither here nor there.
'Third, when on the morning of the seventeenth the crime was discovered, the strip of cloth Wang used to climb up to the window was lying in a heap on the floor of the girl's room. If Wang had committed this crime, or if he had been in that room at all, how could he have left without the improvised rope? Wang is not an athlete, he required the girl's assistance to get up to the window. A muscular fellow with experience in housebreaking, however, would never bother to use that strip if forced to leave in a hurry. He would do exactly as you saw Chiao Tai do: swing himself down till he hung from the window-sill by his hands and then let himself drop.
'It is in this way that I obtained my picture of the criminal.'
Sergeant Hoong nodded with a contented smile.
'It is now perfectly clear to me,' he said, 'that Your Honour's reasoning is based on solid facts. When the criminal is caught, there is ample evidence to confront him with and to make him confess, if necessary by applying torture. Doubtless he is still in this city, he has no reason to get alarmed and flee to some distant place. It is known all over the town that Judge Feng was convinced of Candidate Wang's guilt, and that Your Honour concurred with his verdict.'
Caressing his whiskers Judge Dee nodded slowly and said:
'That ruffian will try to get rid of the golden hairpins and so he will betray himself. Ma Joong has established contact
with the man who should know when the hairpins are offered for sale on the clandestine thieves' market. You know that a criminal will never dare to approach a goldsmith or a pawnbroker, for a description of stolen articles is circulated among those by the tribunal as a matter of routine. He must try his luck with his fellow criminals, and then the worthy Sheng Pa will soon hear about it. Thus, with reasonable luck, Ma Joong will get his man.'
Judge Dee took another sip of his tea, then took up his vermilion brush and bent over the document in front of him.
Sergeant Hoong rose. He pensively pulled at his moustache. After a while he spoke:
'There are still two points which Your Honour has not yet explained. How did Your Honour know that the criminal would be wearing the dress of a vagabond monk? And what could be the significance of the incident with the nightwatch?'
For a few moments Judge Dee remained silent. He concentrated on the document he was studying. He jotted down a remark in the margin, put down his brush and rolled up the document. Then he looked up at Sergeant Hoong from under his thick, black eyebrows and said:
'The queer incident about the nightwatch, related by Candidate Wang this morning, added the finishing touch to my mental picture of the criminal. You know that low-class criminals often take on the guise of a Taoist or Buddhist mendicant monk. It is excellent cover for their roaming through the city at all times of day and night. Therefore it was not the clapper of the nightwatch that Wang heard the second time, but ----'
'The wooden hand-gong of the mendicant monk!' Sergeant Hoong exclaimed.
Ninth Chapter:
TWO MONKS VISIT THE JUDGE WITH AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE; HE RECITES A BALLAD AT A DINNER WITH MAGISTRATE LO
The next morning, as the judge was donning his travel robes, the senior scribe came in and announced that two monks from the Temple of Boundless Mercy had come to the tribunal with a message from the abbot.
Judge Dee changed into his formal robe and seated himself behind his desk. An elderly monk and a younger companion were shown in. As they knelt and touched their heads on the floor three times, the judge noticed that their yellow robes were of the finest damask, lined with purple silk. They carried rosaries of amber beads.
'His Reverence Spiritual Virtue, Abbot of the Temple of Boundless Mercy,' the elder monk chanted, 'has instructed us, ignorant monks, to transmit to Your Excellency his respectful greetings. His Reverence fully realises how heavy are the claims laid upon Your Excellency by official duties especially during these first days. Hence he does not dare to repair here himself for a longer visit. In due time, however, His Reverence shall give himself the privilege of appearing before Your Excellency to receive the benefit of your instruction. In the meantime, lest it be thought that His Reverence is lacking in respect for his magistrate, he begs you to accept a small courtesy gift, hoping that Your Excellency will measure it by the respectful feelings that inspired it rather than by its trifling value.'
Having thus spoken he gave a sign to the younger monk who rose and placed a small package wrapped in costly brocade on Judge Dee's desk.
Sergeant Hoong expected that the judge would refuse the present. To his utter amazement, however, Judge Dee only murmured the customary polite phrase of not being worth such great honour, and when the monk insisted he made no move to return the package. He rose from his chair, bowed gravely, and said:
'Please inform His Reverence that I am exceedingly sensitive to his thoughtfulness and transmit my thanks for the kind present, which I shall return at the proper time. Let His Reverence rest assured that although I am not a follower in the path of the Lord Sakyamuni, I am yet deeply interested in the Buddhist faith and that I eagerly anticipate the opportunity of being further instructed in its abstruse teachings by so eminent an authority as His Reverence Spiritual Virtue.'
'We shall respectfully obey Your Excellency's instructions.
At the same time, His Reverence desired us to bring to Your Excellency's notice a matter that, though small in itself, yet was deemed of sufficient importance to be reported to this tribunal; all the more so since yesterday, during the afternoon session, Your Excellency was good enough to state so clearly that our poor temple enjoys your high protection in the same degree as every honest citizen of this district. Of late our temple has been visited by swindlers who have atte
mpted to rob ignorant monks of the few strings of cash that rightfully are the temple's property and made numerous impertinent enquiries. His Reverence expressed the hope that Your Excellency would kindly issue the necessary instructions to curb the activities of these importunate rogues.'
Judge Dee bowed and the two monks took their leave. The judge was greatly annoyed. He was aware that Tao
Gan had been up to his old tricks again; also, that he had been traced back to the tribunal, which was worse. With a sigh Judge Dee ordered Sergeant Hoong to open the package.
Removing the elaborate wrappings, the sergeant saw three shining bars of solid gold and an equal number of heavy silver.
Judge Dee had them wrapped again and put the package in his sleeve. It was the first time that Sergeant Hoong had seen the judge accept what was evidently a bribe and he was much distressed. Remembering Judge Dee's previous instruction, he did not dare to comment on the monks' visit and silently assisted the judge in changing back into his travelling costume.
Judge Dee slowly walked to the main courtyard in front of the large reception hall and saw that his official retinue was ready. His travel palankeen stood in front of the steps, with six constables in front and six behind; those in front carried placards mounted on long poles with the inscription 'The Magistrate of Poo-yang.' Six sturdy bearers stood ready by the shafts of the palankeen and twelve relays were carrying the judge's bundles of luggage.
Having found everything in order, Judge Dee ascended the palankeen, the bearers hoisted the shafts on their calloused shoulders. Slowly the procession moved across the courtyard and through the double gate.
As the cortège arrived in front of the tribunal, Chiao Tai, armed with bow and sword, guided his horse to the right of Judge Dee's palankeen, the headman of the constables, also on horseback, took up his position on the left.
Then the procession started out through the streets of Poo-yang. Two runners dashed in front beating their copper hand-gongs and shouting: 'Make way! Make way! His Excellency the Magistrate approaches!'
Judge Dee noticed that none of the usual cheers came from the crowd. As he looked through the lattice window of the palankeen, he saw many passers-by casting sullen looks at the procession. Settling back among the cushions with a sigh, the judge took Mrs Liang's documents from his sleeve and began to read them.
After they had left Poo-yang, the procession followed the highroad which ran for hours on end through flat rice-fields. Suddenly Judge Dee let the roll drop into his lap. He looked out at the monotonous landscape with unseeing eyes. He attempted to survey all the consequences of the action he was contemplating, but could not arrive at a decision. Finally, the swinging movement of the bearers made him drowsy and the judge fell asleep. He awoke only as dusk was falling and the procession entered the city of Woo-yee.
Judge Pan, the magistrate of the district, received Judge Dee in the large reception hall of the tribunal and entertained him at a dinner attended by the leading lights of the local gentry. Magistrate Pan was several years Judge Dee's senior, but because of his failure of two literary examinations he had not been promoted.
Judge Dee found him an austere man of wide learning and independent spirit and soon realised that Pan had failed to pass the examinations because of his refusal to follow the literary fashion rather than because of lack of scholarship.
The meal was simple, the main attraction being the brilliant conversation of the host. Judge Dee learned much about the administrative affairs of the province. It was late when the party broke up, Judge Dee retiring to the guest quarters that had been prepared for him.
Early the next morning Judge Dee took his leave and proceeded with his suite to Chin-hwa.
The road led through a rolling country, gently waving bamboo groves blended with pine-covered hills. It was a fine autumn day and Judge Dee had the curtains of his palankeen rolled up so that he could enjoy the enchanting scenery. Yet the view could not make him forget the problems which preoccupied him. After a while weariness resulted from his pondering over the juridical technicalities of Mrs Liang's case, so he put the roll of documents back in his sleeve.
This case had barely left his troubled mind when he began worrying whether Ma Joong would succeed in finding the murderer of Half Moon Street within a reasonable time. Now he regretted that he had not left Chiao Tai in Poo-yang to engage in a search for the murderer independently.
Harassed by doubts and misgivings Judge Dee was quite perturbed as the procession approached Chin-hwa. Then, to complete his misery, they missed the ferry over the river that flows by the town. That caused a delay of over an hour. It was well past dark when they finally entered the city.
Constables with lighted lanterns came out to meet them and assisted Judge Dee as he descended from his palankeen in front of the main reception hall.
Magistrate Lo greeted him ceremoniously and led Judge Dee to the spacious and very luxuriously appointed hall. Judge Dee thought to himself that Lo was exactly the opposite of Judge Pan. He was a short, fat, jovial young man; he had no side-whiskers but affected the thin, pointed moustache and the short beard that were fashionable in the capital at the time.
As they were exchanging the usual amenities Judge Dee heard faint sounds of music from the adjoining courtyard. Magistrate Lo apologised profusely and explained that he had invited a few friends to meet Judge Dee. When the hour had advanced far beyond the appointed time they assumed that Judge Dee had been detained at Woo-yee and begun dinner. Magistrate Lo proposed that the two of them eat in a side-room of the reception hall and have a quiet talk about official affairs of common interest.
Notwithstanding the polite speech, it was not difficult to see that a quiet talk was not Magistrate Lo's idea of a pleasant evening. Since Judge Dee himself was not in the mood for another serious discussion, he said:
'To tell you the truth I am a little tired, and, without intending to be frivolous, I still would prefer to join the dinner that is already in progress and have an opportunity to make the acquaintance of your friends.'
Magistrate Lo seemed agreeably surprised and immediately conducted Judge Dee to the banquet hall in the second courtyard. There they found three gentlemen gathered round a festive dish, happily quaffing their wine cups.
They rose and bowed and Magistrate Lo introduced Judge Dee. The eldest guest, Lo Pin-wang was a well-known poet and a distant relative of the host. The second was a painter whose works were much in vogue in the capital and the third a Junior Graduate who was touring the provinces to broaden his mind. These three evidently were the magistrate's boon companions.
Judge Dee's entrance had a sobering effect on the company. After the usual polite compliments had been exchanged the conversation flagged. Judge Dee glanced about and ordered three rounds of wine drunk in succession.
The warm wine improved his own mood. He entoned an ancient ballad which earned the company's approval. Lo Pin-wang sang some of his own lyrics and after another round of wine Judge Dee recited some amatory verse. Magistrate Lo was delighted and clapped his hands. On this sign four exquisitely dressed singing girls appeared from behind the screen at the back of the hall where they had discreetly withdrawn when Magistrate Lo and his guest had entered. Two filled the wine cups, one played a silver flute, and the fourth executed a graceful dance, her long sleeves whirling in the air.
Magistrate Lo smiled happily and said to his friends:
'See, brothers, what a treacherous thing gossip is! Imagine that in the capital our Judge Dee here has the reputation of being something of a martinet. And now you can see for yourselves what a convivial fellow he really is!'
He then introduced the four girls by name. They proved to be as well-instructed as they were charming and Judge Dee was amazed at their skill in capping his verses and in improvising new words for well-known tunes.
Time passed quickly and the night was well advanced when the guests left in happy groups. It turned out that the two girls who had been pouring wine were the special pa
rtners of Lo Pin-wang and the painter, and they departed with their friends. The Junior Graduate had promised to take the musician and the dancer to a party in another mansion. So Judge Dee and Magistrate Lo found themselves alone at the banquet table.
The magistrate declared that Judge Dee was his bosom friend and in his mellow mood insisted that all empty formality be dispensed with and that they call each other elder and younger brother. The two left the table and strolled out on the terrace to enjoy the cool breeze and admire the full autumn moon. They sat down on small tabourets that stood by the carved marble balustrade. Here one obtained a beautiful view of the elegant landscape garden below.
After some animated discussion regarding the charms of the singing girls who had just left them, Judge Dee said:
'Although today was our first meeting, brother, I feel as if I had known you all my life! Allow me, therefore, to ask your advice about a very confidential matter.'
'I shall be delighted,' the other answered gravely, 'though my worthless advice will hardly be of use to a man of your riper wisdom.'
'To tell you the truth,' Judge Dee said in a low, confidential voice, 'I have a great love for wine and women. At the same time I like variety.'
'Excellent, excellent!' Magistrate Lo exclaimed, 'I completely agree with this profound statement! Even the choicest delicacies will pall on the palate if served every day!'
'Unfortunately,' Judge Dee continued, 'my present position precludes my frequenting the "pavilions of flowers and willows" in my own district in order occasionally to choose a tender blossom for enlivening my hours of leisure. You know how gossip will spread in a city. I would not like to impair the dignify of my office.'
The Chinese Bell Murders Page 9
