The Chinese LakeMurders

by Robert Van Gulik

  Sergeant Hoong, who had been listening intently, now asked:

  "Is Your Honor quite sure that no one was standing behind your • table when Almond Blossom spoke to you? Perhaps a waiter, or one of the courtesans?"

  Judge Dee looked soberly at him. Then he replied slowly:

  "No, Hoong, I can't say I am certain about that. At least not as regards the waiters. I only know it couldn't have been one of the courtesans, because all five of them were in view, right in front of me. But as to the waiters… One is apt to take their presence for granted…"

  He pensively pulled at his mustache.

  "In that case, Your Honor," Sergeant Hoong resumed, "I think we must reckon with the possibility that Han's story is true. A waiter may have overheard what the dancer said, but wrongly thought she was addressing Han. Almond Blossom was standing in between you two, and from behind the man couldn't see that Han was dozing off. That waiter must have been an accomplice of the man who is engaged in the criminal scheme the dancer referred to; he warned his principal, and that man murdered her. Thereafter the murderer had to make sure than Han wouldn't report the warning to Your Honor, and therefore he kidnaped and threatened him."

  "You are quite right, Hoong!" Judge Dee said. But then he added quickly: "No, wait a moment! That waiter can't have made a mistake; I remember distinctly that Almond Blossom addressed me as 'Your Honor!'"

  "Perhaps the fellow didn't catch all she said," Hoong remarked. "He must have left in a hurry directly after he had overheard her first remark; he didn't hear what she said about playing chess. For Han's kidnaper didn't quote those words."

  Judge Dee made no response. He suddenly felt greatly alarmed. If Han's story was true, then it was also true that the White Lotus was being revived! Not even the most reckless criminal would ever dare to use that fearful name in vain. And then the courtesan had discovered a treacherous plot against the Imperial House! Heavens, this was more than a murder case, it was a nationwide conspiracy that affected the security of the State! With a great effort he got hold of himself and said composedly:

  "The only one who can settle the problem of whether or not some one was standing behind me is Anemone. After you have arrested Mao Loo, Ma Joong, you may go to the Willow Quarter, and have a talk with Anemone, as a reward! Let her give you an exact account of how she noticed that Han was dozing, how she went to fetch a beaker of wine for him, everything. And in between, you then ask casually who was standing behind us at that time. Do your best!"

  "Absolutely, Your Honor!" Ma Joong said happily. "I'd better go right now, before Mao Loo has left his lair!"

  In the door opening he nearly collided with the senior scribe, who came in with an armful of dossiers. When the scribe had put those on the desk, Sergeant Hoong and Chiao Tai pulled their chairs closer and started sorting the papers out. Then they assisted the judge in going over them. There were a number of administrative matters that had come in; the morning was well advanced when Judge Dee closed the last dossier.

  He leaned back in his chair and waited till Hoong had poured him a cup of tea. Then he spoke.

  "I can't put that kidnaping story out of my mind. Quite apart from what Ma Joong may learn from that girl Anemone, we also have another means of checking Han's tale. Go to the chancery, Hoong, and fetch me a good map of the district!"

  The sergeant came back with a thick roll under his arm. Chiao Tai helped him to unroll it on the desk. It was a detailed pictorial map of the district Han-yuan, executed in full colors. Judge Dee studied it attentively; then he pointed with his forefinger and said:

  "Look; here is the Buddhist Temple where Han allegedly was kidnaped. He said they then went off in an easterly direction. That seems to fit: you first, get a level stretch through the uptown villa quarter, then you go down the mountain slope into the plain. If Han spoke the truth, this is the only way they could have taken. For if they had gone downtown he would certainly have noticed their going down those steep steps, and if they had gone north or west they would have got deeper and deeper into the mountains. But he says that after descending a slope, they went the last three-quarters of the way on level ground. That could well apply to this highroad here that crosses the rice plain in the eastern half of our district, right through to the military post at the bridge over the river that forms the boundary between Han-yuan and the neighboring district of Chiang-pei. If this had been a normal, walled city, our problem would have been solved soon. A simple inquiry with the guards of the east gate would have settled it! Anyway, we can come near enough as it is. Han was taken up and down between the city and that mysterious house in one evening. The interview can't have lasted long, so we won't be far wrong if we assume that the trip took about one hour. How far do you think a palanquin could advance in one hour from the city along that road, Chiao Tai?"

  Chiao Tai bent over the map. He said:

  "It's cooler at night; the bearers could have kept up a good pace. I guess about to here, Your Honor."

  With his finger he made a circle round a village in the plain.

  "That's good enough!" Judge Dee said. "If Han didn't lie, we must find thereabouts a country house, probably built on a slight elevation because Han mentioned that a number of steps led up to the gate."

  The door opened and Ma Joong came in. He greeted the judge with a downcast air. Sitting down heavily on one of the tabourets, he growled:

  "Today everything went wrong, I tell you!"

  "You certainly look it!" Judge Dee remarked. "What happened?"

  "Well," Ma Joong began, "first I go to the fish market. I have to ask the way a hundred times till in a maze of stinking alleys I locate the Inn of the Red Carp. An inn, hey? It's no more than a hole in the wall! The old duffer sits dozing in a corner, I hand him the two silver pieces, with explanation as per instruction. Is he glad? No, the old geezer thinks I am playing him a dirty trick. I have to show him my pass, and then he still nearly breaks his rotting teeth biting on the silver to see whether it isn't false! Well, at last he accepts the money. Then he tells me that Mao Loo is staying with his wench in a brothel nearby. I leave the graybeard still convinced that he's been had!

  "So I go to the brothel. Heavens, what a dirty hole, reserved exclusively and permanently for coolies and chair bearers! The only thing I learn from the harridan who owns the joint is that early this morning Mao Loo, his wench and his one-eyed friend left for Chiang-pei. So that was that.

  "Then I go on to the Willow Quarter, simple fellow as I am, assuming that a visit there'll cheer me up! Oh, no. That girl Anemone has the father and mother of all hangovers, and the temper she was in! Well, I get out of her that maybe somebody was standing behind Your Honor. But whether it was a waiter or the Prime Minister of the Empire, the dull bit of skirt can't say! Well, that's all!"

  "I'd have thought," Judge Dee observed, "that you'd perhaps also have another talk about the dead dancer with that girl friend of yours." Ma Joong shot him a reproachful look.

  "That girl," he muttered morosely, "had a hangover even worse than Anemone's!"

  "Well," Judge Dee said with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, "it can't be sunshine every day, Ma Joong! Now look here, we'll make a tour of inspection through the eastern part of the district, and see whether we can locate the house Han was talking about. If not, we'll know that Han lied, and we'll have had an opportunity for seeing that region; it's the granary of the district and I haven't yet had time to inspect it. We'll go on to the eastern boundary, and pass the night in the village there. Then we'll at least get an impression of the countryside, and clear the cobwebs from our brains! Go and select three good horses, Ma Joong, and cancel today's sessions of the tribunal. I can't announce to the citizens any progress in our two cases anyway!"

  Ma Joong left the room with Chiao Tai, looking slightly more cheerful. The judge said to Sergeant Hoong:

  "That long ride through the hot plain will be too tiring for you, Hoong; you'd better stay here and look after the chancery. You might collect in ou
r archives all documents relating to the guild-masters Wang and Soo. After the noon meal I want you to go to the quarter where Wan I-fan lives. He's connected with the case Liu versus Djang, and also with that of the spendthrift Councilor. I find it strange that such a wealthy and well-known person as Liu Fei-po protects such an obscure business promoter. Check especially his story about that daughter of his, Hoong!"

  Judge Dee stroked his beard, then resumed:

  "I am worried about Councilor Liang, Hoong! Since the nephew informed me about the Councilor's state, his family will from now on hold me responsible also, and expect me to take adequate measures to prevent the old gentleman from squandering his entire fortune. But I can't do anything about that until I have ascertained. whether it isn't the nephew who is stealing his employer's money, and whether he is implicated in the dancer's murder."

  "Shall I go and visit that young man this afternoon, Your Honor?" the sergeant asked. "I might go over all the accounts with him, and try to find out what part Wan I-fan plays in this affair."

  "That's an excellent proposal!" Judge Dee said. He took up his writing brush and wrote a brief letter of introduction for the sergeant, addressed to Liang Fen. Then he selected a sheet of official stationery and jotted down a few lines. As he impressed the large red seal of the tribunal on it he said:

  "This is a request to my colleague, the magistrate of Ping-yang in Shansi Province, to send me by returning courier all data about the Fan family, and more especially about Miss Fan Ho-i, here called Almond Blossom. It is very strange that she insisted on being sold in this distant city of Han-yuan. Perhaps the roots of her murder lie in her native place! Have this letter dispatched by special messenger."

  He rose and concluded:

  "Put my light hunting dress out, Hoong, and my riding boots. I'd better be off. I feel I can do with a change of air!"

  Twelfth Chapter

  MA JOONG AND CHIAO TAI DISPERSE AN UNRULY CROWD; A SWINDLER EXPLAINS THE SECRET WAYS OF KIDNAPERS

  Ma Joong and Chiao Tai stood waiting in the courtyard with three horses.

  After Judge Dee had inspected the horses, the three men swung themselves into the saddle, the guards pushed open the heavy gate, and the cavalcade left the tribunal.

  Riding toward the east, they left the city and soon found themselves on a kind of headland. Below, a fertile plain spread out as far as they could see.

  The descent was quickly made. When they were down in the plain, Judge Dee looked with interest at the sea of waving, green paddy on both sides of the road.

  "It looks promising!" he remarked with satisfaction. "We'll have a good harvest this autumn! But I don't see any country house!"

  They halted in a small village, and ate a simple noon meal in the local inn. When the village headman came to pay his respects Judge Dee inquired about the country house. But the old man shook his head. He said:

  "In this entire neighborhood there's no house built of brick. The landlords live in the mountains; it's cooler there."

  "Didn't I say that Han is a crook?" Ma Joong muttered.

  "We may have better luck farther on," the judge said.

  After half an hour they reached the next village. Passing through a narrow road lined by hovels, Judge Dee heard loud shouting in front. Arrived in the market place, he saw a crowd of peasants assembled under the old tree in the center, brandishing sticks and clubs and shouting and swearing at the top of their voices. High on his horse, the judge could see that they were beating and kicking a man lying at the foot of the tree. He was covered with blood.

  "Stop that at once!" Judge Dee shouted. But no one paid him the slightest attention. He turned round in his saddle and angrily ordered his two assistants: "Break up that crowd of yokels!"

  Ma Joong jumped down from his horse and rushed into the crowd followed by Chiao Tai. Ma Joong grabbed the first man he could lay hands on by his neck and the seat of his trousers, lifted him over his head and threw him in the middle of the crowd. Then he jumped after him and made his way by placing blows and elbow thrusts on left and right, Chiao Tai protecting his rear. In a few moments they had fought their way to the tree and separated the attackers from their groaning victim. Ma Joong shouted:

  "Lay off, you clodhoppers! Don't you know that His Excellency the Magistrate has arrived?" And he pointed to the rear.

  All heads turned round. When they saw the commanding figure on horseback they quickly lowered their weapons. An elderly man came forward and knelt by Judge Dee's horse.

  "This person," he said respectfully, "is the headman of this village,"

  "Report what is going on here!" the judge ordered. "If that man you are beating to death is a criminal, you should have brought him to the tribunal in Han-yuan. As village head you ought to know that it's a heinous offense to take the law into your own hands!"

  "I beg Your Excellency's forgiveness," the headman said. "We were acting rashly, but the provocation was great. We of this village slave from morning till night to scrape together a few coppers for our daily bowl of rice, and then that swindler comes and robs us! The young fellow over there discovered that the crook used loaded dice. I beg Your Excellency's favorable consideration!"

  "Let the fellow who discovered the cheating come forward!" Judge Dee ordered. To Ma Joong he added: "Bring that wounded man here!"

  Soon a stalwart peasant and a weird, disheveled elderly person were kneeling on the road.

  "Can you prove that this man cheated?" the judge asked.

  "The proof is here, sir!" the peasant answered, taking from his sleeve two dice. Just as he was rising to hand them to the judge, the wounded man rose too and with amazing celerity snatched the

  A VILLAGE HEADMAN REPORTS TO THE JUDGE

  dice from the peasant's hand. Waving them up and down in his hand, he shouted excitedly:

  "May all the curses of Heaven and Earth descend upon this poor man if these dice are loaded!" He handed them to the judge with a deep bow. Judge Dee let the dice roll along the palm of his hand, then scrutinized them carefully. He gave the accused a sharp look. He was a scraggy man of about fifty. His hair, streaked with gray, hung over a long, deeply lined face disfigured by a bleeding wound on the forehead. He had a mole the size of a piece of copper cash on his left cheek, from which sprouted three hairs several inches long. Judge Dee said coldly to the peasant:

  "These dice aren't loaded; neither have they been tampered with in any other way!" He threw them at the headman. He caught them and started to study them together with the others, muttering in astonishment. The judge addressed the crowd in a stern voice: "Let this be a lesson to you! If you are oppressed by robbers or treated unjustly by your landlords, you can always come to the tribunal and I'll carefully consider your plaints. But don't ever again have the nerve to take the law into your own hands, or you'll be severely punished. Go back to your work now, and don't squander your time and money on gambling!"

  The headman knelt and knocked his forehead on the ground to express his gratitude for this leniency.

  Judge Dee ordered Ma Joong to let the wounded man sit behind him on his horse; then the cavalcade moved on again.

  In the next village they halted to let the man wash himself at the well and clean his clothes. Judge Dee had the headman called and asked him whether he knew about a country house in that neighborhood, built on a slight elevation. The man replied that there was none that he knew of. He asked what it looked like, and who the owner was; there might be such a house farther along the road. Judge Dee said that it didn't matter.

  The wounded man bowed deeply before the judge and wanted to take his leave. But Judge Dee, noting his limp and the deadly pallor of his face, said curtly:

  "You go with us to the boundary post my man; you need a doctor. I don't hold with professional gamblers, but I can't leave you here as you are."

  Late in the afternoon they arrived at the boundary village. Judge Dee ordered Ma Joong to take the wounded man to the local physician. He himself rode on with Chiao Tai t
o inspect the military guard post on the bridgehead.

  The corporal in charge ordered his twelve soldiers to line up. The judge saw that their iron helmets and mail jackets were well polished; the men looked neat and efficient. While the judge was inspecting the armory, the corporal said there was a brisk traffic on the river even though it was but a branch of the Great River, which flowed through the neighboring district of Chiang-pei. He said all was quiet on their side of the river, but that there had been several armed robberies in Chiang-pei. The garrison there had recently been strengthened.

  The corporal escorted them to a small hostel. An obsequious manager came out to meet them. While a groom led away the horses, the manager himself assisted the judge in taking off his heavy riding boots. When Judge Dee had been supplied with comfortable straw sandals, he was taken upstairs to a poorly furnished but scrupulously clean room. The manager opened the window, and the judge saw over the rooftops the broad expanse of the river, reflecting the red rays of the setting sun.

  A servant brought lighted candles and a basin with hot towels. While the judge was refreshing himself, Ma Joong and Chiao Tai came in. Ma Joong poured a cup of tea for the judge, then said:

  "That gambler is a queer fellow, Your Honor! He told me that in his youth he had been a clerk in a silk store, down south. The manager took a liking to his wife and trumped up a charge of theft against him. The constables gave him a beating but he succeeded in escaping. While he was away, the manager took his wife as concubine. When the hue and cry had subsided, he secretly came back and begged his wife to flee with him, but she laughed and said she liked it better where she was. He says that during the ensuing years he roamed all over the Empire. He talks like a doctor of literature and calls himself a commission agent, but I think he is nothing but a 'guest of rivers and lakes,' or in plain language, an itinerant swindler!"