The Emperor's Pearl

by Robert Van Gulik

  ‘The criminal made a bad mistake there,’ the sergeant observed.

  ‘Not too bad. He couldn’t have known that I take dominoes so seriously that one missing piece would be enough to set me thinking about the implications. Well, enough of theorizing! We must set to work now, for there is much to do, and little time. We really ought to initiate an extensive investigation into the background and movements of all the suspects, of course, but unfortunately there’s no time for that. We can’t afford to have a fifth murder! We have to take action, but I can’t do anything before we have located Kwang. Go and have a look whether our headman has turned up yet!’

  The sergeant left hurriedly to make inquiries with the guards in the gatehouse. Judge Dee got up from his chair and walked over to the window. He pushed it open and leaned outside. He noticed with satisfaction that there seemed to be a faint current of air about. Then he bestowed a pensive glance upon the rock-garden. The small tortoise was happily plodding along among the plants that bordered the miniature goldfish pond. He moved his sturdy small legs with a purpose, his head eagerly stretched out. The judge turned round when he heard Sergeant Hoong come in.

  ‘Our headman hasn’t come back yet from the landing-stage, Your Honour.’

  ‘I hope Kwang hasn’t run away!’ Judge Dee said worriedly. Then he shook his head and added: ‘No, he won’t have fled. He is much too clever for that.’ He took his fan of crane-feathers, sat down again and resumed: ‘While waiting for Kwang I may as well explain my theoretical case against him. Then you’ll know exactly where we stand as regards the three gentlemen who head our list.’

  The judge draped a new wet towel round his neck.

  ‘I assume,’ he began, ‘that in the capital Mr Kwang Min leads an exemplary life. It is on his frequent business trips that he gratifies his depraved lusts. He is an uncommonly clever man, he keeps his perverted pleasures secret, very secret. He even takes the trouble to build up in the hostels he stays in the reputation of a perfectly normal person, a man who now and then has his fling with a professional woman, ordered from the innkeeper in the regular manner -healthy and cheap. But through his interest in the antique trade Kwang has come to know during his visits to Poo-yang the students Tong and Sia. He employs first Tong, then Sia for his real pleasures-not so healthy and not so cheap. The same interest in antiques brings Kwang into contact with Kou Yuan-liang; Yang, the curio-dealer, told me that Kou occasionally bought from Kwang. We know that the Amber Lady acted as her husband’s secretary, sorting out and cataloguing his antiques, so Kwang must have met her a few times while visiting Kou. Kwang wants Amber, and for the same reason as I mentioned in my theory regarding Dr Pien: the urge to maltreat and humiliate a refined lady. Kwang orders Sia to warn him as soon as the youngster sees a possibility for delivering the Amber Lady into Kwang’s hands.

  ‘Some days ago Kwang must have informed Sia by letter that he would be arriving at Marble Bridge yesterday morning. Anticipating Kwang’s wishes, Sia had hired the three ruffians to abduct the prostitute Lee whom Kwang had singled out as a future victim; Kwang had seen her at a party here, during one of his previous visits to Poo-yang. Yesterday morning Sia hurried to Marble Bridge. He told Kwang about his arrangements for the kidnapping of Miss Lee, but also the big news: Kwang can get the Amber Lady, the selfsame night. Sia then tells Kwang about the planned rendezvous of Amber and Tong in the deserted house for selling the pearl, and adds that he is willing to go there instead of Tong. Kwang agrees with enthusiasm, for as well as amusing himself with the Amber Lady, he will get ten bars of gold. Kwang probably does not believe the story about the pearl, but those doubts he keeps to himself. His first concern is how to get rid of Tong Mai. Sia informs him that before the races the crews will be entertained at Marble Bridge, and that Tong will be there as Dr Pien’s drummer. That solves Kwang’s problem. He sends a note to Dr Pien asking him to come and see him on his junk. Pien answers that he is busy, but that he’ll come later in the afternoon. All the better. Kwang lets Pien take him to the entertainment, and there he puts the poison in Tong’s wine-cup. Sia will keep the appointment in the deserted house, Kwang will proceed there as soon as Sia has reported to him that the Amber Lady has been locked up in the pavilion. Kwang will ” discover ” the distressed woman there the next morning, when he meets Dr Pien in the deserted house to have a look at his property. Since Kwang is a greedy man, he gives Sia the necessary instructions regarding the cornering of the bets. Finally, he orders Sia to cancel the agreement with the three ruffians. For Kwang’s mind is now on higher things than maltreating a common prostitute.’

  Judge Dee fell silent. He listened for a while to the roll of thunder. It seemed to be quite near, this time.

  ‘Why did Kwang visit your barge last night, sir?’ the sergeant asked.

  ‘I have been asking myself that same question, Hoong! The explanation must be that Kwang wanted to establish the fact that he was there during the boat race, and didn’t return to Marble Bridge till late in the night. The boatmen were drunk and Sun ill, so it would be difficult to trace Kwang’s movements. However that may be, Kwang purloins the domino, hands it to Sia, then hurries back to Marble Bridge. Later in the night he meets Sia there, and Sia informs him that all has gone wrong: that he had to kill the Amber Lady, and got only the gold because my arrival prevented him from making a search for the pearl. Kwang regrets the lost hours with Amber, but-and this is perhaps even more important to him-he has gained ten gold bars. Then we get the same story as before: Kwang persuades Sia to go to the deserted house this morning, disguised as a carpenter, in order to make a thorough search for the pearl. Kwang has a good reason for his own presence there, namely his appointment with Dr Pien. After Sia has searched the pavilion, Kwang kills him. The last phase, the murder of the old procuress, is the same as I outlined in my theories regarding Kou and Pien. That’s all.’

  Judge Dee wiped off his face with a new towel, and Sergeant Hoong followed his example. It was stifling hot in the small office. After a while Hoong remarked:

  ‘A small point in Kwang’s favour is his becoming so violently sick at seeing Sia’s dead body. That’s not so easy to feign.’

  The judge shrugged.

  ‘Kwang politely turned his back on us, and our attention was concentrated on our gruesome discovery. Kwang may have rammed his finger into his throat, for all we know!’

  There was a knock on the door, and the headman came in. He began with a contented smile:

  ‘I had to wait a long time, sir, but I got Mr Kwang! The captain of the junk told me that Mr Kwang and Mr Sun had gone into town directly after the noon rice, to do some shopping. Mr Sun came back alone, he said that Mr Kwang had some business on the waterfront. I went there at once, traced him to a small pharmacy, and collared him there. He is waiting now in the guard room.’

  ‘Good! Where is Dr Pien?’

  ‘The doctor is having a cup of tea with the coroner, sir, in the chancery. He has dictated his report on the assault. I have here also Mr Yang’s written statement. Mr Yang has gone back to his shop.’

  The judge glanced through the two papers. He handed them to the sergeant and asked the headman:

  ‘Did your men catch that footpad?’

  The headman’s face fell.

  ‘No, Your Honour. They questioned lots of people in Halfmoon Street, and searched all likely places. But they found no trace of the ruffian.’

  He gave the judge an anxious look expecting a sharp rebuke. But Judge Dee did not scold him, he silently tugged at his side-whiskers. Then he spoke:

  ‘Tell Mr Kwang that I shan’t see him now, because I want Mr Kou and Dr Pien to be present when we have our talk. I want to keep that discussion quite informal, therefore I have decided to hold it in Mr Kou’s house. That is much better than here in the tribunal. You can now take Mr Kwang and Dr Pien to Mr Kou’s residence, in a closed palankeen. Tell Mr Kou that I want to hold our meeting in his library. That is a quiet room in a secluded section of his mansion, t
he same where Mr Kou received me last night. You may inform Mr Kou that I myself shall proceed there as soon as I have dealt with a few routine matters here. Have you got all that?’ As the headman bowed obsequiously, the judge went on: ‘After you have delivered Mr Kwang and Dr Pien to Mr Kou’s house, you come back here at once for further instructions.’

  When the headman had left, Sergeant Hoong asked eagerly:

  ‘Does Your Honour expect that if those three are cross-examined together, the guilty one will betray himself?’

  ‘That’s what I am hoping, at least! I have an errand for you now, Hoong. I need a wooden hand.’

  ‘A wooden hand, sir?’

  ‘Yes. Go to Mr Yang’s curio-shop and ask him whether he can help us. He’ll certainly have some spare hands of Buddhist statues lying about. As a rule those are carved from a separate piece of wood, and added to the statue only after the body has been completed. I want a left hand, life-size or larger. I want him to paint that hand white, Hoong, and to put on the forefinger a brass ring with some cheap red stone. You will explain to Mr Yang that I need that hand as an exhibit, during a meeting with Dr Pien and Mr Kwang which I am going to hold in Mr Kou’s library tonight.’

  A flash of lightning lit up the paper window, followed almost at once by a deafening thunderclap. Judge Dee resumed quickly:

  ‘You had better take a sedan-chair, Hoong, in case the rain should start. When you are back I shall explain what I am planning to do. Get going now, time presses!’

  Chapter 16

  DUSK HAD FALLEN when the perspiring chair coolies put Judge Dee’s large official palankeen down in the front courtyard. Six enormous lanterns of oiled paper hung from the eaves of the surrounding buildings, each bearing in large red letters the legend: ‘Kou’s Residence ‘. Their light shone on Kou Yuan-liang’s anxious face as he came running towards the palankeen, accompanied by his house steward. The two men had been standing in the courtyard for a long time, waiting for the magistrate’s arrival.

  Judge Dee descended from the palankeen, followed by Sergeant Hoong. Mr Kou made his deepest obeisance. The judge nodded, then addressed him affably:

  ‘I am sorry that urgent official business detained me in the tribunal, Mr Kou! Mr Kwang and Dr Pien have arrived already, I suppose?’

  ‘Indeed, Your Honour. We were getting worried, sir; we feared that the storm might start while Your Honour was still on the way here.’ As there was a flash of lightning, followed by a low rumble, he added quickly: ‘This way, please!’ and hurriedly conducted them inside.

  He took Judge Dee and the sergeant through the winding corridor to his library in the back of the compound.

  When the judge stepped inside he saw with satisfaction that the library was exactly as he remembered it from the previous evening. The large, sparsely furnished room was lit by six tall candelabras, arranged in three pairs between the four windows in the back wall. To the left of the door stood a large cabinet with a fine display of antique porcelain and foreign glass. The wall on the right was taken up entirely by high racks, loaded with books and manuscript rolls. A thick-piled blue carpet covered the floor. In the centre stood a heavy square table of polished ebony, and four chairs of the same material. Dr Pien and Mr Kwang were sitting at the round tea-table in the farthest corner, by the window on the right.

  They rose hastily and came to meet the judge, Dr Pien supporting himself on a bamboo stick. Judge Dee was glad to see that the long wait in the hot, close room had evidently upset the two men. Their faces were haggard in the candlelight and their thin summer robes clung to their wet shoulders. He called out jovially:

  ‘Resume your seats please, gentlemen! Glad to see you are doing well, doctor. You should be careful though, don’t move about too much!’ He took his seat at the tea-table, and continued: ‘I am so sorry to have kept you waiting, but you know how it is, in the tribunal …’ Cutting short the polite murmurs of Mr Kou, he told him: ‘My assistant shall help your steward with the tea, Mr Kou. It’s a bit hot here, I must say, but you were right in keeping the windows shuttered. We’ll have a real tempest before long, I dare say. But, taking all in all, we shouldn’t complain about the climate here, you know. When I think of the severe winters up north …’

  There was a further exchange of polite remarks while the steward and Hoong served tea. The judge took a sip and said with a broad smile:

  ‘This tea is truly excellent, Mr Kou! As one would expect in the house of a man of such elegant taste!’

  Seeing Judge Dee’s high good humour the others had visibly brightened up. Dr Pien wiped the moisture from his forehead and asked:

  ‘Is there any news about the rascal who assaulted me, Your Honour?’

  ‘Not yet, Dr Pien, but my men are at it. Don’t worry, we’ll get the scoundrel!’

  ‘I deeply regret to cause this extra trouble,’ the doctor said contritely. ‘Your Honour must be very busy just now, with that astounding mur-‘ He broke off in the middle of the word, cast a quick glance at Kou, and corrected himself: ‘-with other, graver matters.’

  ‘Yes, I am being kept very busy indeed. And that brings me to the purpose of the present conference. I have requested you to come here, gentlemen, because I am in need of your advice.’ Turning to Kou, he went on: ‘I trust that you’ll forgive me for choosing your residence, during these sad days of mourning. But since you are so directly concerned in the awful tragedy, I hope that you will …’ He did not finish his sentence. As Kou gravely inclined his head, the judge went on: ‘You can tell your steward to leave, Mr Kou. I see that refreshments are standing ready on the side-table. My assistant will attend upon us.’

  Judge Dee waited till the steward had left. Then he leaned forward in his chair and resumed:

  ‘I have always taken the view that a magistrate should share his problems with the notables of his district, so as to be able to profit by their knowledge and experience, and to solicit their advice.’ He bestowed a smile upon Kwang and added: ‘It’s true that you are not a resident, Mr Kwang, but since you visit our district so frequently, I took the liberty of including you too.’ Ignoring Dr Pien’s astonished look, he continued: ‘I don’t mind telling you frankly, gentlemen, that I am badly needing your advice now. Four murders have been committed in our city, and I am completely in the dark as to the identity of the person who is responsible for these foul crimes. A detailed investigation is indicated. The purpose of this conference is to draw up together the lines along which my inquiries might be most profitably conducted. I expect that it will take many days before we can hope for results, but that does not matter. Slow but sure, eh, as the saying goes.’

  Kwang raised his thin eyebrows.

  ‘Does that mean, sir,’ he asked, ‘that I shall have to stay here in Poo-yang all that time?’

  ‘Not necessarily, Mr Kwang. Sometimes a most baffling case is solved unexpectedly by a lucky chance, you know! Let’s have some of those cold fruits, Sergeant! And no talk about business while we are eating, gentlemen, please!’

  While they were tasting the delicious slices of iced fruit served by Sergeant Hoong in bowls of antique coloured porcelain, Mr Kou thawed somewhat. When he had emptied his bowl, he related an interesting story about a faked painting. Then Judge Dee told of an amusing case he had dealt with on a former post. He told the story well, and all laughed heartily. Despite the oppressive heat there was a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere now. When the sergeant was about to refill the teacups, Judge Dee suddenly rose and said briskly:

  ‘Now we had better get down to business, gentlemen!’

  He walked over to the table in the centre of the library. He sat down in the armchair at the end where he had the windows on his left and the door on his right. He motioned the others to take the three chairs that Sergeant Hoong was placing along the opposite side of the table. Dr Pien took the one in the middle, straight across from the judge. Mr Kwang sat down on the doctor’s right hand, Mr Kou on his left.

  Judge Dee pushed the large silv
er candelabra aside so that it stood to the left of him. He said testily:

  ‘Heavens, it’s really hot! Put those candles along the wall there out, Hoong! They only make the heat worse! And their light bothers me. I am having trouble with my eyes nowadays, gentlemen. The glare of the sun, I suppose. Let me see whether I have brought my eyeshade along.’ He felt in his sleeve and took out an envelope. ‘Good gracious!’ he exclaimed, ‘I haven’t even opened this letter! It was delivered to the tribunal just when I was leaving. Marked “personal and urgent”, eh? Will you excuse me a moment?’

  CORRIDOR

  He tore the flap open and extracted a folded sheet of paper. It was a long letter in a very small, crabbed handwriting. Glancing through the beginning, the judge muttered: ‘Fellow says that a niece of his, serving as maid somewhere, was abducted and came back sorely maltreated. Well, well, the poor girl must have fallen into the hands of a maniac.’

  He read on silently for a while.

  ‘The man says,’ he resumed, ‘that she got a glimpse of her tormentor. Quite a well-known person here, it seems. Therefore, he says, he hesitated long before reporting to me, postponed it time after time. Since he feels, however, that such things shouldn’t be allowed to happen in a well-administered city, he asks for an immediate investigation, suitable measures to prevent … yes, yes, we know all that. He should have reported at once, of course. Where does he mention the offender’s name now? ‘He brought the letter closer to his eyes, then shook his head and said: ‘Can’t find it, never saw such bad handwriting!’ Looking up, he added: ‘Here, you had better read the rest aloud for me, Mr Kou!’