The banker bent and started to say something to the prefect, but the old gentleman shook his head vigorously.
‘Hold your peace, Lee. Let me tell this in my own way! My daughter is ignorant of the ways of the world, and Yang succeeded in winning her affection. On the night of the tenth day of the ninth month, I told her after the evening rice that the following day I would consult a diviner about an auspicious day for her wedding to Mr Lee. Imagine my shocked astonishment when she coolly told me she would not marry Lee because she was in love with my secretary Yang! I had the scoundrel summoned at once, but he had gone out, and I spoke harshly to my daughter, very harshly, I admit. Who wouldn’t, when confronted with such an outrageous affair? She jumped up and ran away.’
The prefect took a sip from his tea, shaking his head.
‘Then I made a big mistake, sir. I assumed that Jade had run to her aunt, an old lady who lives in the street behind ours. She is a sister of my first wife, and Jade liked her very much. I thought that my daughter had gone to seek consolation there, and would be back the next morning, to apologize to me. When, at noon, she had not yet returned, I sent my housemaster to fetch her. He was told that Jade hadn’t been there at all. I summoned Yang, but that rascal disclaimed all knowledge of her disappearance, and also brazenly stated that he had never exchanged more than a casual remark with her. I called him a liar, and had inquiries made. Yang had indeed passed the evening in a house of assignation. I dismissed the fellow anyway, of course. Then I called Mr Lee, and we made the most exhaustive inquiries, sparing no costs. But Jade had disappeared without leaving a trace. The logical conclusion was that she had been kidnapped when on her way to her aunt.’
‘Why didn’t you report this immediately to the tribunal, sir?’ Judge Dee asked. ‘In the case of a missing person, the authorities can take a number of effective routine measures and-‘
‘In the first place,’ Woo interrupted, ‘your predecessor was an ass, sir. And a coward to boot, for he didn’t dare to lift a finger against Chien Mow, that abominable renegade who usurped power here.’ He angrily tugged at his goatee. ‘Second, I am an old-fashioned man, sir. The honour of my family means a great deal to me. I didn’t want the fact that my daughter had been kidnapped to become public knowledge. Mr Lee entirely concurred with that view.’
‘I plan to marry her, Your Honour,’ the tall man said quietly. ‘Regardless of what may have happened to her.’
‘I appreciate your loyalty, Mr Lee,’ the judge said dryly. ‘But you gave Mr Woo wrong advice. The only correct course would have been to report the disappearance, and at once.’
The ex-prefect brushed the remark aside with an impatient gesture.
‘Now, what did you learn about my daughter, sir? Is she still alive?’
Judge Dee put the fan back into his sleeve, and took from it a sheaf of papers. He leafed through them till he found his notes concerning Ma Joong’s visit to the sorceress. Looking up, he asked, ‘Was your daughter born on the fourth day of the fifth month, of the year of the Mouse?’
‘Certainly, sir. You can find that in the records here in your chancery.’
‘Exactly. Well, to my regret I can only tell you that the information I received regarding your daughter is very vague. At the present stage I could tell you nothing without running the risk of either unduly distressing you, or causing you to entertain hopes that may prove false. That’s all I can say at this moment.’
‘You’ll handle the case as you see fit, sir,’ Woo said stiffly. ‘I have, however, one humble request to make of you. If your investigation reaches the stage that you feel compelled to take legal action, I’d be most grateful if you’d kindly appraise me in advance of the evidence.’
Judge Dee sipped his tea. He was wondering what his guest meant. The request seemed perfectly superfluous. Putting his cup down he said, ‘I would’ve done so as a matter of course, sir. I-‘
The prefect rose abruptly.
‘Thank you, sir. Come along, Lee!’
The judge had risen also. Conducting his guests to the door, he said to the banker, ‘I hear you have a brother who is quite a good painter, Mr Lee.’
‘I know next to nothing about fine art, Excellency,’ Lee replied, rather curtly.
Sergeant Hoong led the visitors downstairs.
‘So that girl Jade exists, after all!’ Ma Joong burst out excitedly. ‘The sorceress must have known her, for the date of birth which she gave me was correct! That last message from her we found in the ebony box must be perfectly genuine, sir! Good Heavens, we must at once-‘
‘Not so fast, Ma Joong!’ Judge Dee pushed his heavy cap back and wiped his moist forehead. ‘I perceive strange undercurrents. It would not have been polite to press the prefect for details, but … What is it now, housemaster?’ He looked astonished at the greybeard who came shuffling inside, his thin face rather upset.
‘Something quite unusual occurred in the women’s quarters, sir. The First Lady sent me.’
‘Well, speak up, man!’
‘Just now the Third Lady came to see her ladyship, bringing a sealed envelope. She reported that a veiled woman came to the back door, in a closed sedan chair. Having inquired from the maids who was the youngest mistress, and having learned it was the Third Lady, she requested an interview with her, on a personal matter. When the maid asked her name, she handed over that sealed envelope. The First Lady opened the envelope, and found the visiting-card of Mrs Woo, the wife of the retired prefect. Her ladyship sent me here at once to ask for Your Honour’s instructions.’
Judge Dee raised his eyebrows. ‘I don’t like my ladies to get mixed up in a case I am dealing with,’ he told Ma Joong with a worried frown. ‘On the other hand, I have a distinct feeling that Mr Woo wasn’t telling me the full story. Well, I shall take counsel with my First Lady. Tell the sergeant that we shall meet later, in my office.’
Chapter 12
Judge Dee found his First and Third Ladies in the former’s boudoir. He told them briefly about the interview with the old prefect. ‘Mrs Woo’s visit must have a bearing on Miss Jade’s disappearance. I would like to receive her personally, but she won’t talk to me, of course. I ought to see her, though, to get an impression of her personality… .’ He tugged vexedly at his sidewhiskers.
The First Lady turned quickly to the Third and asked, ‘Can’t you receive Mrs Woo somewhere in your apartment where our husband can see and hear her without his presence becoming known?’ In accordance with the time-honoured custom, Judge Dee had assigned to each of his three wives a separate apartment, complete with their own kitchen and their own personal maids. Although the Second and Third freely went in and out of the First Lady’s apartment in the main building of the residence, the latter never set foot in theirs. Judge Dee strictly adhered to this old-established custom because he knew that it offered the best guarantee for a peaceful and harmonious household.
‘Well,’ the Third told him slowly, ‘as you know, the moon-door that separates my bedroom from the sitting-room has a curtain of thin gauze. If I make my guest sit down near the window, and you stood in the bedroom, behind the curtain, then-‘
‘That’ll do fine!’ the judge exclaimed. ‘Let’s go!’
‘If you don’t mind,’ the Third Lady said, ‘I shall take you there by the back door, so that the maids don’t see you. They might tell Mrs Woo inadvertently that you are with me.’
‘Excellent idea,’ the First Lady approved. ‘Good luck!’
The Third took the judge outside and along the winding garden path leading to her apartment, situated in a secluded corner at the back of the residence. As she was opening the door of her sitting-room to let him inside he said quickly, ‘Try to make her talk a bit about Miss Jade. She’s Woo’s second wife, you know.’
‘All this is very exciting!’ she whispered, squeezing his hand. ‘Look, I’ll make her take that chair, facing the moon-door!’
The judge went on into the bedroom, carefully adjusting the gauze curtain b
ehind him. It was half-dark there, for the shutters had been closed to keep the heat out. Sitting down on the edge of the broad bedstead, he heard his wife clap her hands. She told the maid that she could leave as soon as she had ushered the lady guest in, for she would look after the tea herself.
Judge Dee nodded approvingly. She was a clever woman. And of exquisite taste. He looked with appreciation at the graceful flower-arrangement on the tea table. Every time he came, he discovered something new. On the wall a poem she had written, or on the table a new painting done by her, or a piece of delicate embroidery. She was happy pursuing her own artistic interests and she loved teaching the children. Her father, an egotistic wicked man, had repudiated her after the terrible ordeal she had gone through in Peng-lai,* (* See Chapter XV of the novel The Chinese Gold Murders, London 1959.) and the judge knew she felt sheltered now, and considered his First and Second as her elder sisters. Voices in the sitting-room roused him from his thoughts.
The Third Lady was receiving a tall woman, sedately dressed in a grey robe with a long-sleeved jacket on top. It was fastened round the waist by a silk scarf, the ends of which trailed down to the floor. Her head was covered by a black shawl. As soon as the maid had left, the visitor unwound the shawl, tucked it away in her bosom, and made a bow, respectfully raising her hands folded in her sleeves.
‘You’ll have seen from my card who I am, madam.’ She spoke in a clipped voice. ‘A thousand thanks for kindly consenting to see me, despite the fact that I have not yet had the honour of being introduced to your ladyship.’
Her mobile, expressive face was set off by a becoming high hairdress, without any ornaments. The judge thought she was not beautiful by classical standards; her lips were too full, her eyebrows a shade too heavy, and there were slight pouches under her large, vivid eyes. But she was certainly a woman of strong personality. He put her age at about thirty-five.
While guiding her guest to the chair near the window, the Third made the usual polite inquiries. Then she sat down and began to prepare the tea. Mrs Woo should have waited to open the conversation until the tea was ready. Instead, she began at once:
‘I oughtn’t to take too much of your time, madam, and I myself am in rather a hurry, for my husband mustn’t know I am here. So please allow me to skip the formalities and come straight to the point.’ As the Third inclined her shapely small head, Mrs Woo resumed quickly, ‘My husband has gone to His Excellency this morning, to accuse me of having kidnapped his daughter Jade.’
The Third let a tea-cup drop onto the floor. It shattered on the marble slabs.
‘I am so sorry!’ Mrs Woo exclaimed contritely. ‘How stupid of me to make such an abrupt statement! I should have told you the background first. Here, let me help you!’
After they had sat down again, Mrs Woo resumed at once. ‘Of course I have never even dreamt of harming his daughter. I want to explain the situation to you, for as a young married woman, you’ll understand. I hope that afterwards you’ll kindly communicate the gist of our talk to your husband, so that he knows what’s behind all this fuss.’
‘I can’t promise you anything before I have heard what it’s all about, Mrs Woo,’ the Third said in her soft, measured voice.
‘Of course you can’t!’ Mrs Woo said impatiently. The polite veneer was rapidly wearing off. ‘Let me begin by assuring you that I love my husband. He’s twice my age, of course, but kind and considerate, and he gave me the security I wanted. Before my marriage I was what is called an abandoned woman, you know, and I hadn’t a cent to my name. But that’s neither here nor there. The main point is that when Woo married me he had been a widower for three years. He had only one child, a daughter called Jade. He thought the world of her, but I can tell you she was nothing special. Just an ordinary chit of eighteen, with men on her mind before she was quite ready for it. I wanted to take her in hand, but Woo said no, he would look after her education. He was fond of her, a bit too fond, if you know what I mean. Probably didn’t realize it himself, but I have been around, and I knew. I didn’t tell him that, of course, but I did tell him that she was standing between him and me as man and wife, and that he’d better marry her off as quickly as possible. And that was the beginning of endless squabbles.’
THE THIRD LADY RECEIVES MRS WOO
She shrugged and went on: ‘Now, husbands and wives will quarrel from time to time; that can’t be helped. But when I smelled out that Jade had a boyfriend, I thought it my duty to warn my husband; and then the fat was in the fire! And even that was nothing compared with the row he made when the wench eloped with her lover. Woo shouted at me that I had murdered her, and hidden her dead body! After he had calmed down a bit, he realized he had been talking nonsense, of course. But then he developed the theory that I had had her kidnapped, to be sold to a brothel! I ask you!’
‘Don’t let your tea get cold,’ the Third Lady said quietly, pushing the cup towards her guest. Mrs Woo gulped the tea down.
‘Well, I denied that crazy accusation till I was blue in the face, but he wouldn’t believe me. It so happened that I was away the night she vanished, you see. Had to see an old acquaintance.’
‘Wouldn’t it be the best proof of your innocence if you told your husband the name of his daughter’s boyfriend, and where they went to? ‘
Judge Dee smiled. She was doing very well.
‘If I’d known that, I would’ve told him at once!’ Mrs Woo replied curtly. ‘She made eyes at a Mr Yang, her father’s secretary. But Yang is a decent young fellow, he feigned not to notice the wench. No, there must have been another man, but I never found out who it was. Her father gave her far too much freedom. Trust those modern young girls to handle their little affairs cleverly!’
‘Well, couldn’t you ask your friend to tell your husband you had been with him?’ the Third Lady asked sweetly.
Mrs Woo shot her a suspicious glance. ‘Well,’ she replied slowly, ‘to tell you the truth, Mr Yang had invited me. He’s a man of the world, and he had noticed that my life was very dull. So he invited me for a bite in a place he knew. All above board, of course. But if my husband knew, he’d have a fit. He is a very fine man, but rather old-fashioned, you see.’
Mrs Woo heaved a sigh. Then she went on quickly: ‘I shall be brief. This morning my husband suddenly told me he was going to take steps about Jade’s disappearance. After nearly six whole months, mind you! Your husband the judge summoned him, I suppose?’
‘That I really couldn’t tell you, Mrs Woo. At home the judge never talks about official matters.’
‘Wise man! Anyway, Woo had Lee Mai called. That’s his best friend, a banker and gold-merchant. A bit pompous, but not a bad fellow. They rushed off to the tribunal together. Now I hope that you, having heard the whole story, will kindly suggest to His Excellency that he tells Woo it’s in his own interest to forget all about his crazy suspicions of me. Then your husband can tackle the problem of the girl and her paramour. Your husband is a famous investigator, madam! He’ll locate the couple before you can say knife! And that will settle this disgraceful affair for good. Then Woo’ll treat me again as a husband should. He hasn’t set a foot in my bedroom since that silly young bitch disappeared, believe it or not! Well, that’s all.’
The Third Lady remained silent for a while. Then she said, ‘I’ll think over what you told me, Mrs Woo. But I must repeat that my husband dislikes discussing official matters with his wives, and I doubt whether he …’
Mrs Woo rose. Tapping her lightly on her arm, she said with a smile, ‘Any man will listen to a pretty young lady like you! Any man, dear! Thanks a thousand times for your kindness and your patience, madam!’
She wound the shawl round her head again. The Third Lady conducted her to the door.
When she had pulled the curtain of the moon-door aside, Judge Dee saw tears glistening in her eyes.
‘It wasn’t so exciting, after all,’ she told him listlessly.
The judge pulled her down by his side and patted her hand.
Chapter 13
The sergeant and Ma Joong had listened in astonished silence to Judge Dee’s account of what Mrs Woo had said. The judge rearranged his notes and concluded: ‘Mrs Woo is a vulgar woman, with a shrewd, intuitive insight into the carnal relations between the sexes, but who is wholly incapable of understanding the mentality of a man like her husband. Mr Woo wants to know what happened to his daughter, but at the same time he wants to protect his wife, regardless of what misdeeds she may have committed. That’s why at the end of our interview he insisted on my promising I would acquaint him of the evidence at my disposal before taking legal action. For, should I discover that his wife was indeed concerned in his daughter’s disappearance, Woo plans to persuade me to drop the case.’
‘Do you think, sir, that there might be some substance to Mr Woo’s suspicions?’ Sergeant Hoong asked.
Judge Dee pensively stroked his moustache.
‘I confess that I haven’t the slightest idea,’ he said at last. ‘What I do know is that Mrs Woo’s theory about Jade’s eloping with a secret paramour is arrant nonsense. If Jade really had a lover, you may be sure that Mrs Woo would have ferreted out who he was! As to Mrs Woo’s guilt… . She told my wife about her husband’s suspicions with perfect candour, but that proves nothing, of course; she was firmly convinced that he had gone to me to accuse her. Mrs Woo is an extremely sensual woman, and protracted frustration often leads such women to excesses.’
‘I can’t understand,’ Ma Joong spoke up, ‘why the painter Lee Ko engaged Yang as his assistant after old Woo had kicked him out. And Yang was apparently gallivanting with Mrs Woo. We ought to know a lot more about Mr Yang. After all, he was the second victim of the murder in the temple!’
The judge had been glancing through his notes. Now he looked up and said slowly, ‘It’s a curious coincidence that Yang figures both in Jade’s disappearance last year and in our present murder case. I don’t like this affair. Not a bit! The fact that the sorceress Tala knew Jade suggests that there’s a Tartar angle too.’
The Phantom Of The Temple Page 9