‘Since Hao's contact was evidently a man who knew what he was talking about, I thought I might as well see whether I could rope in the cashier. I knew he needed money. I invited him for a friendly gambling-bout, let him win at first, then lose heavily. When I told him about the planned theft, as a favour, he agreed at once. So I told Hao it was all right. If Tai Min was caught, I would, of course, disclaim all knowledge of the scheme, and point out that the boy had been tempted because he had lost all his money at the gambling-table.’
‘I'll take your word for all that, Lang,’ the judge said wearily. ‘I am still waiting to hear why you didn't get the necklace. The rest we'll take for granted!’
‘I just want to give you the whole picture,’ Lang said, annoyed. ‘Well, Tai Min started from my godown at the time indicated. He promised to come straight back there, deliver up the necklace, and get his twenty silver pieces, minus what he owed me. Now I admit I make mistakes sometimes, but at least I know the routine work. I posted a couple of my men on the roads leading west, east and south from this town—just to make sure that if Tai inadvertently forgot about our appointment in the godown, we would be able to remind him, you see. My accountant waited for Tai in the godown for a couple of hours, in vain. Then the fellow was brought in by the two men who'd been watching the road east. They had caught Tai Min galloping blithely along, and nicely dressed too. He had gone back to the Kingfisher first, you see.’
The judge suppressed a yawn.
‘You must spend a lot of your time listening to the story-tellers in the market, Lang !’ Then, harshly: ‘What about the necklace?’
‘The bastard said he never got it! Everything went all right to the point where he had scaled the wall and was inside the pavilion. There was no one about, there, or in the bedroom. And no necklace, no baubles at all worth the taking. He came back, but didn't dare to keep our appointment. He said he was afraid we'd think he was deceiving us and had hidden the necklace somewhere. Well, by an odd coincidence, that was exactly what my men thought he had done. They tried hard to make him tell the truth—so hard that he died on their hands. I don't know how well your league is managing with personnel, but as for me, I don't seem to be able to get any really good men any more.’ He sadly shook his head and went on : ‘Not only did they bungle the questioning of that thieving cashier, they also chose the wrong place to heave his body into the river. It ought to have been found a couple of miles downstream. As a matter of routine, I had Tai Min's attic here in the inn searched. Found nothing, of course. And I can't search every hollow tree and every nook and cranny of that blasted pine forest, can I? So I've written off the necklace, and that's all there is to it.’
Judge Dee heaved a deep sigh.
‘It's a nice story, Lang. Just as nice as the one Tai Min told to your men. The only difference is that he couldn't prove his story, while you can. Just by introducing me to your good friend, Mr Hao.’
Lang shifted uneasily in his chair.
‘Hao was supposed to turn up here yesterday morning. With the ten gold bars. But he didn't. And I don't know where to find him.’
There was a long silence. Then Judge Dee pushed his chair back and got up.
‘I am very sorry, Lang, but I can't go back home with that story. I'm not calling you a liar, mind you; I'm just saying I must have proof. I'll be staying on here for a bit, in order to observe the situation, so to speak. Needless to say, I have a few friends hanging about here too, so don't repeat your mistake of last night! Should you feel like having another friendly chat, you know where my room is. Good-bye!’
The bullet-headed accountant conducted him respectfully to the door.
XI
Up in his room Judge Dee sat down heavily in the armchair by the window. The murder of Tai Min had been solved now. He would see to it that Lang Liu and the men who tortured and killed the unfortunate cashier would get their deserts. But first he would have to identify the real criminals who had planned the theft of the necklace. For now his surmise had been proved right: the theft was the essential part of some complicated court intrigue, and the contact of the mysterious Mr Hao must be inside the palace. It was only to be expected that there would be a Mr Hao, for when depraved courtiers want to hire professionals from outside to do their dirty work, they always employ a ‘broker’. If only he could lay hands on Mr Hao! Arrested and interrogated, Hao would tell who his contact was. But something had gone wrong somewhere: Hao had not contacted Lang, and the judge had the uneasy feeling that Mr Hao had disappeared from the scene for good.
Again the soft sound of the moon-guitar came from the room below. A quick melody this time, expertly played; unfamiliar but quite attractive. It ended on an abrupt chord, then a woman laughed. There were no courtesans in Rivertown, but apparently some guests had brought their own girl friends along. Judge Dee tugged pensively at his moustache.
What could Tai Min have done with the necklace? It had been easy enough to grab it from the side-table where the Princess had put it. The cashier could have reached it even without stepping inside the pavilion. Could one of the plotters have been waiting for Tai Min, behind the bars of the water-gate, underneath the buttress? The water-gates had low arches, no higher than three or four feet, as the judge had seen for himself from the river, but presumably the underground canal could be negotiated in a small, flat-bottomed boat. The man could then have taken the necklace and handed Tai Min a reward through the iron grating; perhaps one gold bar, instead of the ten promised to Lang. The plotters in the palace were experts in intrigue, and it would not be beyond them to play such a trick on Lang. And the same transaction could have taken place in the pine forest—Mr Hao waiting there for Tai Min to return. In either case Tai Min could have hidden the gold bar, in a hollow tree, possibly, planning to retrieve it at a later date, after he and Mrs Wei had discussed their future in Ten Miles Village. The judge heaved a deep sigh. There were too many possibilities, too many unknown factors.
One thing was certain: Lang Liu had had nothing to do with the murderous attack on himself and Master Gourd. The killers had taken them to Lang's godown only because they knew Lang used the place for torturing victims and other dirty work, and that it was convenient, the neighbourhood being deserted at night. They had been hired by the same ‘Mr Hao’ for that was the name the bearded leader had just managed to pronounce before he died. The plotters’ first attempt on his own life had failed. But they were apparently determined that he should not interfere with their scheme, and therefore he would have to reckon with a second attack. He sat up. There was a slight tap at his door.
Judge Dee took his sword from the side-table, pushed the bolt back and opened the door a few inches, his sword ready. It was Lang's accountant.
‘Mr Lang asks you to step into the hall, sir. He has just received a message he wants to show you.’
The judge put his sword back on the table and followed the bullet-headed man down the broad staircase. Mr Lang stood at the counter, talking to the innkeeper.
‘Ah, Doctor, glad you are still at home! One of my clerks has a bad stomach attack. I would be very grateful if you would have a look at him. I'll show you his room!’ About to turn round, Lang groped in his sleeve and brought out an open envelope, addressed to him in large, well-written characters. He showed it to Wei and asked : ‘By the way, who delivered this letter just now, Mr Wei?’
‘I was at my desk behind the lattice screen, sir. I only got a glimpse of the street urchin. He threw it on the counter and rushed off. When I saw it was addressed to you, I had the clerk take it to your suite at once.’
‘I see. Well, come along, Doctor.’
When the three men were back in Lang's study, the gangster handed the envelope to Judge Dee.
‘You wanted proof,’ he said dryly. ‘The little scene at the counter I staged for your benefit, to show you the letter was actually delivered here, and not a forgery made by me after you had left us just now.’
The judge unfolded the single sheet. It sai
d that the undersigned regretted that unavoidable circumstances had prevented him from visiting Lang on the appointed day, to discuss the purchase of the raw silk. Today, however, he would be in Lang's godown at six. If the samples of silk were satisfactory, the deal would be concluded then and there. It was signed ‘Hao’. The style was impeccable, the writing, the formal, regular hand used in chanceries. It was doubtless genuine, for it would have taken Lang at least a day to find in Rivertown a scholar who could write such a letter. Handing it back to Lang, the judge said:
‘All right. This is indeed the proof I wanted, Lang. Our truce continues, as agreed. I shall be at the godown at six.’
Mr Lang raised his thin eyebrows.
‘At the godown? You don't think we are going there, do you? The whole thing is off! Hao'll find no one there, and the door locked!’
Judge Dee gave him a pitying look.
‘No wonder you can't get good personnel, Lang. You are losing your power of judgement! Heavens, man, here are ten solid gold bars coming to you, and you lock your door and put up a notice that you aren't at home! Listen to me, my friend, I'll tell you exactly what we'll do! We shall receive Mr Hao very politely, and inquire whether he has the gold with him. If so, we'll gratefully accept it. Adding that we didn't get the necklace, but that we went to a hell of a lot of trouble and expense on his behalf, and that we are willing to consider the ten bars as an amicable settlement.’
Lang shook his head.
‘That dogshead Hao must represent powerful people. High officials by the smell of it. Or friends of palace officials, seeing they knew so much about the lay-out of the place. I am a man of peace, brother, I don't like trouble.’
‘Don't you see that we have them in the hollow of our hand, Lang, high officials or not? If Mr Hao doesn't like our fair proposal, we say that as law-abiding citizens we are perfectly willing to go together with him to the Headquarters of the Guard, and let the authorities decide the case. We shall then have to explain, of course, that we went along with the criminal proposal to steal an Imperial treasure only because we wanted to have full proof of the outrage before reporting it. And now we claim the government reward.’
Lang hit his fist on the table.
‘By heaven!’ he shouted. ‘Now I understand why your league always gets the best of us. You have real men, while I must make do with stupid sons of dogs like this self-styled accountant!’ He jumped up and viciously slapped the bullet-headed man twice. Having thus given vent to his feelings, he resumed his seat and told the judge with a broad smile: ‘It's a beautiful, a splendid plan, colleague!’
‘It means five gold bars to us,’ Judge Dee remarked dryly. ‘Four for the league, and one for me, as commission.’
‘Your leaders ought to give you two !’ Lang said generously. He snapped at the accountant, ‘This is your last chance to make good, fathead! You go to the godown with our colleague here.’ And to the judge: ‘I can't afford to go personally, of course. I have my reputation to consider. But you two won't be alone, for I shall post a dozen or so good men in the godown behind mine.’ He shot the judge a quick look and added hurriedly, ‘Just in case our Mr Hao brings a couple of men with him, you see!’
‘Yes, I quite see your point!’ the judge said coldly. ‘I'll be in the godown a little before six. Tell your men to let me pass, will you?’ He went to the door, and Mr Lang saw him personally to the corridor, saying jovially:
‘It was a pleasure making your acquaintance, colleague! We'll have a drink here together afterwards. To the friendly co-operation of the Blues and the Reds!’
XII
Judge Dee went to his room to fetch his calabash and his sword. He had to see Captain Siew at once, tell him about the meeting in the godown, and make arrangements with him for the arrest of the mysterious Mr Hao and Lang's hoodlums.
Fern was standing at the front entrance of the Kingfisher, haggling with an old woman selling toilet articles. He was about to pass her with a friendly nod, when she laid her hand on his arm and showed him an ivory comb, set with cheap jewels. ‘Do you think this one would suit me?’ she asked coyly. When he bent over to look at it she quickly told him in a whisper: ‘Watch out! The two men outside were asking after you.’
‘It'll suit you very well,’ he said and stepped out on the portico. Feigning to inspect the sky, he saw out of the corner of his eye two gentlemen standing at the gate of the Nine Clouds. Their sedate costume, grey robes with black sashes and black caps, gave them a nondescript character. They might belong to Lang's league, or they might be agents from the palace. And from now on he would have to reckon also with agents of the Red League, who might have learned that he was masquerading as one of their own. Whoever they were, they must not know that he was going to visit Captain Siew.
He strolled up the main street, occasionally halting to inspect the wares displayed in the shop fronts. Yes, the two men in grey were following him. In vain he tried a few well-known dodges. He would round a corner at a leisurely pace, then suddenly rush ahead and try to get lost in the crowd, but the two men stayed behind him, and without any apparent effort. They were old hands at the game. Getting annoyed, the judge went into a large eating-house and chose a table at the back. When the waiter came to take his order he told him he had forgotten something and ran outside by the kitchen door. But one of the gentlemen in grey was standing at the corner of the back alley. The judge walked back to the main street. If he had known the town well, he might have had another try at eluding his pursuers. As it was, he had to resort to a trick that would force them to show what they were, and at the same time get him to Headquarters.
He went along with the stream of traffic till he spotted the spiked helmets of guardsmen ahead. Then he suddenly quickened his pace, halted abruptly and turned round. As he bumped into the taller of the two pursuers, he shouted at the top of his voice: ‘Pickpockets! Hold them!’
At once a small crowd gathered round them, asking excited questions. ‘I am a doctor!’ Judge Dee shouted. This tall scoundrel bumped into me while the other tried to put his hand into my sleeve!’
A burly coolie grabbed the tall man by his collar. ‘Shame! To rob a doctor! I'll…’
‘What's all this?’ A squat sergeant had pushed his way towards them. The two men in grey had made no move to flee. The elder one told the sergeant quietly:
‘This man is falsely accusing us. Take us to your captain!’
The sergeant quickly looked the judge and his two opponents over. Hitching up his swordbelt, he told the coolie:
‘Let the gentleman go! It's all a misunderstanding, if you ask me. But my captain ‘ll decide. Come along, gentlemen, the office is right ahead.’
While they were walking to Headquarters the two men in grey maintained a haughty silence. Lieutenant Liu took them up to the captain's office.
Captain Siew looked up from his papers. Ignoring Judge Dee, he curtly ordered the sergeant to report, then he held out his hand. ‘Your papers, please!’
The two men in grey put similar papers on the desk; each had red edges and bore a number of stamps. The elder told the captain:
‘This so-called doctor is an imposter. We have orders to take him to the palace. We want a military escort at once.’
Captain Siew pushed his helmet back.
‘You know I can't do that, gentlemen! Not without a warrant issued by my commander. Doctor Liang's document is quite in order. Properly registered here by my own office, I see.’ He scratched his nose. Tell you what I'll do, though. You take a note from me to Colonel Kang, then you come back here for this gentleman.’ He selected a blank from the papers before him and moistened his writing-brush.
‘Come back here to find our man gone?’ the elder man asked with a sneer. ‘We have explicit orders, Captain!’
‘Sorry, but I have my orders too, sir!’ Siew rapidly filled out the form, and pushed it across the desk. ‘Here you are!’
While the other put it in his sleeve, he said curtly:
�
�You'll keep this man under detention pending our return.’
‘Only if the doctor is agreeable, sir. Can't detain a properly registered citizen without a warrant. “Benevolent rule”, you know! On the other hand, if the doctor is willing to co-operate…’
‘Of course!’ the judge said quickly. ‘I don't want the rascal these gentlemen are mistaking me for to get away. The misunderstanding must be set right as quickly as possible.’
‘Well, then all is settled!’ the captain said beaming on them. ‘You want horses, gentlemen?’
‘We have our own.’ The two men in grey turned round without another word. The sergeant took them downstairs.
‘D'you know those two stick-in-the-muds?’ the captain asked Liu.
‘Yes, sir. They belong to the Superintendent's Office. They wear grey; the agents of the Chief Eunuch wear black.’
The captain cast a worried look at Judge Dee.
‘You said it, sir! You're certainly getting involved!’
‘How long will it take them to come back here?’
‘An hour and a half, sir. Two hour, perhaps, if they don't find my colonel in his office.’
‘That won't do. I must be in Lang's godown at six. I'm meeting Lang's accountant, and a man who calls himself Hao, a dangerous criminal. Lang doesn't trust Hao or me, and he is putting a dozen or so of his men in the godown opposite his own. I want you to throw a cordon round the godowns, arrest the whole lot of them. Can you spare sixty guardsmen tonight?’
‘Depends on what you are going to charge all these people with, sir.’
‘Lang's men with the murder of the cashier Tai Min. The others with a crime against the State.’
The captain gave him a searching look.
‘In that case I'd better be there myself, sir. Now about those panjandrums from the palace. I am not so sure my colonel ‘ll issue the warrant. I said in my note that you are duly registered, and he'll want more particulars first.’
Necklace and Calabash: A Chinese Detective Story (Judge Dee Mysteries) Page 8