"The only one who did see some resemblance, Your Honour", the sergeant said slyly, "was our brave fighter Ma Joong!"
The judge smiled thinly.
"It would seem", he said, "that Ma Joong observed Dark Orchid with more attention than you or I!"
Then the judge's face set again in its usual stern mien. He said slowly:
"Heavens knows in what condition they will find that poor girl, if at all. If one translates the poetic description of our excitable artistic friend into everyday language, it is clear that on her visit to the temple White Orchid wore a common night robe. That means that she was kept imprisoned in a house quite near that temple, probably by some degenerate lecher. When he discovered that she had secretly left the house he may well have become afraid and killed her. Some day her body will be discovered in a dry well…"
"In the meantime", Sergeant Hoong observed, "this does not bring us much nearer to the solution of the General's murder. I fear that we shall have to put the question to Woo under torture."
The judge did not react on the sergeant's second remark. He said:
"I noticed one interesting fact. When during the session I mentioned a woman in the case both Woo and Ding turned pale; the latter was definitely afraid. As soon as Ding heard that it was the headman's daughter, he was visibly relieved. This means that there is also a woman connected with the General's murder. Evidently the same person as the one Ding wrote his passionate poetry to."
A soft knock sounded on the door.
Sergeant Hoong rose and opened. Dark Orchid came in.
She bowed deeply before the judge and said:
"I could not find my father, Your Honour, so I made bold to come here alone to present my report."
"You are most welcome, young woman!", Judge Dee said eagerly. "We were just discussing the Ding mansion. Tell me, do you know whether young master Ding spends much of his time outside?"
Dark Orchid emphatically shook her small head.
"No, Your Honour", she replied, "the servants wish he would go out more. He hangs about in the house practically the entire day, snooping round and trying to catch them out in some mistake or omission. Once one of the maids even saw him late at night walking stealthily down a corridor. Probably he was checking up on whether the servants were gambling!"
"What was the reaction to my unexpected visit this morning?" the judge asked.
"I was in the young master's room when a servant reported Your Honour's arrival. He was sitting there drawing up an estimate of the costs of the funeral with his wife. The young master was very pleased that Your Honour had come again. He said to his wife: 'Did I not tell you that that first investigation of father's library was very superficial?
DARK ORCHID REPORTS TO JUDGE DEE
I am glad that the judge has come back, I feel certain that they overlooked many clues!' His wife remarked sourly that he should not think that he was more clever than a magistrate and he hastily went out to welcome Your Honour."
The judge silently sipped his tea. Then he said:
"Well, I am grateful to you for the work you have done. You have sharp ears and eyes! It is not necessary that you return to the Ding mansion. This afternoon we obtained some information about your elder sister, and your father has gone to search for her. Go to your quarters now; I hope sincerely that when your father comes back he will have good news!"
Dark Orchid hastily took her leave.
"It is curious", Sergeant Hoong remarked, "that Candidate Ding did not often go out at night. One would expect that he had some secret love-nest where he met that unknown woman!"
Judge Dee nodded.
"On the other hand", he said, "it may be an old affair that is long over and done with. Sentimental people have an unfortunate habit of keeping souvenirs of past affairs. Yet the originals that Dark Orchid showed me seemed written very recently. Did Tao Gan find any clue to the woman's identity in those papers he copied out?"
"No", Sergeant Hoong replied, "but Tao Gan certainly enjoyed that work! He copied the texts out in his best calligraphy, chuckling all the time."
Judge Dee smiled indulgently. He rummaged among the piles of documents on his desk till he found Tao Gan's copies, neatly written out on ornamental letter paper.
Leaning back in his armchair the judge started reading. After a while he said:
"Well, it is all about the same subject, expressed in different ways. Candidate Ding was deeply enamoured. As if poetry could serve no better purpose! Listen:
The studded door is locked, the bed curtains drawn close,
Embroidered coverlets are a soft home of love;
Who thinks of Rites and Proper Conduct in this trance?
Empassioned lovers care not what the Codes impose.
Her feet like lotus buds, her lips like pomegranate,
Her rounded thighs, her breasts like fresh-fallen snow -
Who ever deems the full moon marred by its spots?
It's the blemish that completes the beauty of agate.
Who praises perfumes rare of the far-distant West?
The fragrance of her limbs bemuses the enraptured mind
He is a fool who with such beauty right before his eyes,
Still travels far and wide, a useless quest…
The judge threw the paper disdainfully on his desk.
"It rhymes", he remarked dryly, "that is about all that can be said for it!" He slowly smoothed his long beard.
Suddenly the judge stiffened. He picked up the sheet which he had been reading aloud and eagerly scanned it.
Sergeant Hoong knew that Judge Dee had made a discovery. He rose and looked over the judge's shoulder.
Judge Dee crashed his fist on the table.
"Get me the testimony of the house steward, delivered during the preliminary hearing in the Ding mansion!", he ordered.
Sergeant Hoong fetched the leather box that contained the file of General Ding's murder. He extricated a sealed document.
Judge Dee read it through from beginning to end.
Then he put it back in the box. He left his armchair and started pacing the floor.
"What incredible fools people in love are!" the judge suddenly exclaimed. "I have now found the solution of half the General's murder. What a foul, despicable crime!"
Sixteenth Chapter
MA JOONG INVESTIGATES THE LICENSED QUARTER; HE IS MADE A PARTNER IN A NEFARIOUS SCHEME
The first nightwatch had sounded when Majoong, Tao Gan and Headman Fang gathered in the house of the warden of the eastern quarter. Their faces were tired and drawn in the light of the candles. They sat down silently at the square table.
They had combed out the entire quarter, in vain.
Ma Joong had divided the constables into three groups of seven. One group was headed by Tao Gan, one by Headman Fang, and the third by Ma Joong himself. They had entered the quarter in inconspicuous groups of two or three and by different ways. Under various pretexts these groups had made inquiries in shops and other public places, then they had entered private houses and conducted a thorough search.
The headman's group broke up a secret meeting of thieves, Ma Joong dispersed a gambling party, and Tao Gan disturbed two frightened couples in a clandestine house of assignment. But not one trace of White Orchid was discovered.
Tao Gan closely questioned the woman who kept the house of assignment. He knew that if a girl is kidnapped and kept captive somewhere, such a woman will sooner or later come to know about it. However, half an hour of skilful questioning convinced Toa Gan that she knew nothing about White Orchid; he only learned one or three queer facts about certain leading citizens.
Finally they had to come out in the open and made a systematic search of every household, checking the inhabitants with the census register kept by the warden. But now they had to admit that the search had been a failure.
After a while Tao Gan said:
"There is but one possibility left, namely that the girl was held for a few days only in a house near he
re. When her captor discovered that she had made a secret trip to the temple, he became alarmed and moved her either to a secret assignment house elsewhere in the city, or placed her in a brothel."
Headman Fang shook his head dejectedly.
"I don't believe", he said, "that they would have sold her to a brothel. We have lived here all our lives and they would run the risk that some visitor to the establishment would recognize her and inform me.
A clandestine assignment house is the most likely place. But to check all those would take many days!"
"Did I not hear", Majoong remarked, "that the so-called Northern Row, the licensed quarter in the northwest corner of the town, is rarely visited by Chinese?"
The headman nodded.
"That is a low-class place", he replied, "used only by Uigurs, Turks and other barbarians from over the border. The girls are a motley crowd, left over from the prosperous days when this town was full of wealthy barbarian chieftains and traders from the western tributary kingdoms."
Ma Joong rose and tightened his belt.
"I shall go there now", he said curtly. "To avoid rousing suspicion, I shall go alone. I'll meet you later tonight in the tribunal!"
Tao Gan had been tugging at the three hairs on his left cheek.
"That is a good idea", he said pensively, "we had better act quickly, for by tomorrow the news of this raid will be all over the town. I shall go now to the Southern Row and have a talk with the owners of the houses there. I am not very hopeful but we cannot afford to neglect even that possibility!"
The headman insisted that he should accompany Ma Joong.
"The scum of the city gathers in that Northern Row", he said. "To go out there alone is asking to be murdered on the spot!"
"Don't worry!", Ma Joong said, "I know how to handle those rascals!"
He threw his cap to Tao Gan and bound up his hair with a dirty strip of cloth. Then he tucked the slips of his robe in his girdle and rolled up his sleeves.
Cutting short the headman's protestations Ma Joong walked out into the street.
In the main street there were still many people about. But Ma Joong made quick progress, all passers-by hastily made way when they saw this huge ruffian approaching.
When he had crossed the market of the Drum Tower he found himself in the quarter of the poor. Rows of low, tumble-down houses lined the narrow streets. Here and there a street vender had lighted his oil lamp. The wares on sale were cheap flour cakes and dregs of wine.
As he approached the Northern Row the scene became more lively. People in queer foreign attire were loitering about the wine shops, talking loudly in raucous, strange languages. They gave Ma Joong but a casual look. Here his disreputable figure was a common sight.
Turning a corner he saw a row of houses garishly lighted by coloured lanterns of oil paper. He heard barbarian guitars being strummed and farther on the strident tones of a flute tore the air.
Suddenly a thin man clad in a ragged gown detached himself from the shadows. He said in broken Chinese:
"Would the master like an Uigur princess?"
Ma Joong stood still and looked the fellow up and down. The man smirked ingratiatingly, showing his broken teeth.
"If I should beat your face to pulp", Ma Joong said sourly, "I could not possible make you uglier! Run ahead and lead me to a good place. But cheap, mind you!"
As he spoke he jerked the man round and gave him a well-aimed kick.
"Yah, yah!", the other cried. He quickly led Ma Joong into a sidestreet.
On both sides stood one-storied houses. Once their façades had been gaily decorated with reliefs in plaster work. But wind and rain had washed off the colours and nobody had bothered to repair them.
Greasy, patched curtains screened the door openings. As they approached heavily made-up girls clad in garish rags pulled aside the screens and invited them in in a mixture of Chinese and foreign languages.
The guide took Ma Joong to a house that looked slightly better than the others. Two large paper lanterns hung over the door.
"Here you are, master!", the guide said. "All Uigur princesses of the blood!" He added an obscene remark, then held out his dirty palm.
Ma Joong gripped him by the throat and bumped his head against the ramshackle door.
"That will serve to announce my arrival!", he said. "Your commission you will get from the house. Don't try to earn a double fee, you bastard!"
The door swung open and a tall fellow with naked torso appeared. His bare head was closely shaved. He looked at Ma Joong with one baleful eye. The place of the other eye was taken by an ugly red scar.
"This dogshead", Ma Joong said gruffly, "wants to extract an extra tip from me!"
The other turned savagely on the guide.
"Get away!", he barked. "You can come back later for your commission!" And to Ma Joong, sullenly:
"Come in, stranger!"
A nauseating smell of burned lambsgrease hung in the room. It was stifling hot. In the middle of the stamped-earth floor stood a large iron brazier with glowing coals. Half a dozen people were sitting round it on low wooden benches. They were roasting pieces of lambfat stuck on copper pins. There were three men. They had stripped to their baggy trousers, the light of a coloured paper lantern shone on their perspiring faces. The women that accompanied them wore wide pleated red and green muslin skirts and sleeveless short jackets. Their hair was done up in thick rolls mixed with red woollen cords. Their jackets hung open displaying their naked breasts.
The doorkeeper gave Ma Joong a suspicious look.
"Fifty cash for a meal and a woman, to be paid in advance!" he said.
Ma Joong muttered something and started fumbling in his sleeve. He produced a string of money, and loosened the knot laboriously. Then he slowly counted out fifty coppers on the dirty counter.
The other stretched out his hand. But Ma Joong quickly gripped his wrist and pressed his hand down on the counter before he could scoop up the money.
"Don't you serve a drink with the meal?", he growled.
The man grimaced as Ma Joong tightened his grip.
"No!" he snarled.
Ma Joong let go and roughly pushed him back. He started to gather up the money saying:
"Nothing doing! There are other places besides yours!"
The other looked greedily at the disappearing heap of coppers.
"All right!", he said, "you can have one jug of wine!"
"That is better!", Ma Joong said.
He turned round and prepared to join the company round the brazier. Adapting himself to the style of" the establishment he first slipped his right then his left arm out of his robe, and knotted the empty sleeves round his waist. He let himself down on the empty bench.
The others looked thoughtfully at his heavy torso, covered with scars.
Ma Joong pulled a stick with lambsfat from the fire. He was something of a gourmet and the rancid smell made his stomach turn. But he ripped off a piece with his teeth and ate it.
One of the three Uigurs was very drunk. He had put his arm round the waist of the girl next to him and rocked to and fro softly humming a queer little tune. Perspiration streamed down his head and shoulders.
The two others were sober. They were spare men but Ma Joong knew that their flat, wiry muscles were not to be despised. They spoke rapidly together in their own tongue.
The owner placed a small earthenware jug on the floor by Ma Joong's side.
One of the girls rose and walked over to the counter. She took a three-stringed guitar from one of the shelves. Leaning against the wall she started to sing accompanying herself on the guitar. Her voice was hoarse but the chant had a lilt that was not unpleasing. Ma Joong noticed that the wide muslin skirts of those girls were so thin that one could see right through.
From the door opening in the back emerged a fourth girl, not unattractive in a vulgar way. She was barefoot and dressed only in a loose pleated skirt of faded silk. Her naked torso was shapely but her breasts and arms
were smeared with soot. Apparently she had been helping in the kitchen.
A faint smile appeared on her round face as she sat down next to Ma Joong.
He put the jug to his lips and swallowed a draught of the fiery liquor. Then he spat in the fire and asked:
"What is your name, beauty?"
The girl smiled and shook her head. She did not understand Chinese.
"Fortunately my business with this wench does not include conversation!", Ma Joong remarked to the two men opposite.
The taller of the two men guffawed. He asked in atrocious Chinese:
"What is your name, stranger?"
"My name is Yoong Bao", Ma Joong replied. "What is yours?"
"I am called The Hunter", the other answered. "Your girl's nickname is Tulbee. What brought you here?"
Ma Joong gave him a meaningful look. He laid his hand on the thigh of the girl by his side.
"You need not come all the way out here for that!", The Hunter said with a sneer.
Ma Joong scowled angrily. He rose. The girl tried to pull him down but he roughly pushed her back. He walked round the brazier and jerked The Hunter up by his arm. Swinging him round he barked:
"What do you mean by interrogating me, you dirty dogshead?"
The Hunter looked at the others. The second Uigur concentrated on a piece of roasted fat. The owner stood leaning on the counter picking his teeth. They made no sign to come to his assistance. The Hunter said sullenly: "Don't take offence, Yoong Bao! I just asked because Chinese rarely come here."
MA JOONG MEETS TULBEE
Ma Joong let him go and returned to his seat. The girl put her arm round him and he fondled her for a while. Then he emptied his jug in one gulp.
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he said:
"Well, since we are gathered here as old friends, I don't mind after all to answer your question. A few weeks ago I had a friendly argument with a fellow in the military post three days from here. I patted him on the head and the fellow's skull broke. Since the authorities often misunderstand such incidents, I thought I had better do some travelling. Now I am here, and my funds have dwindled to practically nothing. If there is any job to be done with money in it, I am your man!"
The Chinese Maze Murders Page 15