‘I quickly got up. Clutching my breast I slipped into the dressing-room. I grabbed my clothes and my guitar and ran downstairs as fast as I could. In the passage downstairs I dressed somehow or other, then ran across the courtyard. No one was there. I went outside through the narrow door in the gate, pulling it shut behind me.’
She heaved a deep sigh. Ma Joong offered her a cup of tea. But she shook her head and resumed:
‘I aimlessly walked through the empty streets, trying to think out what had happened. Evidently Mr Hoo had been spying again on Yee. When he saw me standing naked on the couch, his violent temper got the better of him. He must have jumped into the canal and climbed up on the balcony. Then, however, Yee must have told him who I really was, and that would have made them patch up their quarrel, the two men sitting down together to devise a horrible scheme for ruining us. I became panicky again, and tried to keep up my spirits by singing a little song. Then those two awful scavengers tried to assault me, and then that doctor…It was the most wretched night I ever had.’
Tears were glittering in her eyes. She wiped them off impatiently and went on:
‘Fortunately my sister was not at home. My father didn’t scold me, but he said that we would have to leave the city at once, to escape the vengeance of Mr Hoo and Yee. When we heard that Yee had been murdered…’
Her voice trailed off. She cast a shy look at the judge. He was leaning back in his chair, slowly caressing his side-whiskers.
‘Thank you, Miss Yuan,’ he spoke. ‘It was indeed a terrible experience. However, you are a plucky girl, and you are very young. The young easily forget, a privilege not shared by older persons, unfortunately.’ Turning to the puppeteer, he asked in a gentle voice: ‘Why did you include that hideous scene of your wife’s murder in your peep show?’
‘To keep my hatred alive, my lord,’ Yuan replied at once. Then he looked away. The lines of his mobile actor’s face suddenly deepened. He resumed, awkwardly groping for words: ‘I have some . ., some doubts, at times. About things, in general. I think of the milieu Yee was reared in, the “old world", with all its antiquated ideas of absolute power, all its frustration.…’ He looked at the judge and said apologetically: ‘It’s my puppets that give me those strange ideas, I fear. When I met Mr Ma in the tavern, I had been brooding again. And suddenly I felt that I had to look again at…at that incident, had to talk about it.’ He shook his head. His voice was firm again when he concluded: ‘Well, my scheme was indeed successful, after all. Hoo and Yee must have got into a violent quarrel. Hoo murdered Yee, and you have arrested him already, I hear. I fully understand that I shall have to accept the consequences of my actions, my lord.’
Judge Dee studied his drawn face for a while. Suddenly he asked Coral:
‘Did Yee pay you for your performances, Miss Yuan?’
‘No sir. He wanted to several times. But Hunchback Wang always told him that it would be included in the final settlement.’
‘In that case,’ the judge said, ‘there is no charge against you, Mr Yuan, nor against your daughter. It was wrong of you to try to take justice in your own hands, but it would be most difficult to construct a case against you on that ground. Moreover, who shall say whether Yee and Hoo did not have other bones to pick between the two of them, apart from their jealousy over your daughter? As for her, there is no rule forbidding a girl to dance gratis, even in the nude. Here, take these trinkets, Miss Yuan. The red coral goes well with your name!’
Yuan wanted to speak, but the judge raised his hand.
‘Yee was a despicable relic of an abominable age,’ Judge Dee said gravely. ‘And yet, Mr Yuan, the impartial justice I just spoke of requires that his murderer, although he freed the world of a cruel monster, shall be beheaded, unless he can prove it to have been manslaughter. For if people were allowed to take justice in their own hands, the rule of law would cease, and everybody would be at his neighbor’s mercy. I have arrested Hoo because he tried to assault your daughter Bluewhite——’
‘Mr Hoo assaulted Bluewhite?’ Yuan exclaimed.
‘When——’
‘You had better ask her that yourself,’ Judge Dee said curtly.
‘The wench never tells me anything!’ the puppeteer said angrily.
‘Anyway,’ the judge went on, ‘attempted rape is a capital charge, so Hoo’s head shall fall on the scaffold. Tell your daughter that I said that. It will set her mind at rest. You may go.’
Yuan and his daughter fell on their knees and began to thank the judge. But he told them to rise and said:
‘If you want to do me a favour, Mr Yuan, then make it known in the “old world" that there is justice for high and low, rich and poor. And that even in a time like the present, when hundreds die from the plague every day, the death of every single person who dies by violence shall be duly investigated and avenged. Good-bye!’
Ma Joong saw the puppeteer and his daughter out. He came back and exclaimed with a beaming smile:
‘How ever did you discover what happened, sir?’
Judge Dee sat back in his chair.
‘Your account of the meeting in the tavern,’ he replied, ‘told me that Yuan was emotionally involved in the bondmaid’s killing. So deeply involved that he simply had to show that scene and speak about its horrors-even to a complete stranger like you. If he had known that you were one of my lieutenants, it would have been different. In that case I would have assumed that the crime had nothing to do with him, but that, having heard about it, he wanted to get Yee punished for his iniquities, and that he therefore made the picture for his peepshow, hoping for an opportunity to bring the crime in this manner to the knowledge of an official and thus arouse his interest in this old case. Such a roundabout method would have been just what one would expect from an ordinary man of the people.
‘Second, when I discovered that Yee’s maid Cassia had caught Hoo’s fancy once, I realized that her testimony had been calculated to lead us astray by a clever mixture of truth and falsehood. After she had found Yee’s body, she had evidently had a look around the gallery for possible clues to the murderer. She understood that he must have ‘been a strong man, and when she saw the wet marks on the windowsill, she suspected at once that Hoo had done it, having entered the gallery by the balcony. Therefore she wiped the windowsill clean. In her hurry she overlooked the bloodstained piece of cloth lying behind the pillar. When she was telling her son about the murder, she remembered the dancing girl and the tout the boy had seen, and she decided to lead suspicion away from Hoo by suggesting that the tout was the murderer. She mentioned that possibility to her son, but he said that the tout was a small man. She persuaded the youngster that the darkness had deceived him, and that the tout was really a big bully, like most men of that profession: he was to describe the man as such when the constables questioned him. But the boy was not quite convinced that the shadows had indeed played him a trick, and he was also afraid to cause trouble to the girl he admired. Hence his nervousness when I questioned him about the girl and her companion. That Hoo described the tout as an elderly, high-shouldered man ought to have set me thinking at once.
‘Thereafter, however, I combined a number of seemingly unrelated and even contradictory facts, and suddenly everything fell into place. Our reptilian friend of the Special Service convinced me that Porphyry was a faked courtesan, who had evidently acted that part expressly to sow discord between Hoo and Yee. Yuan had a daughter named Coral who was a good singer—I heard her myself in the street below here—and Yee’s doorman had been much impressed by Porphyry’s sweet voice. Finally, porphyry and coral are similar stones. When adopting a faked name, people have a tendency to select one that resembles the real name: an intuitive, mystic fear of losing one’s identity by using a wholly different name, I assume. Therefore I concluded that the murdered bondmaid must have been a near relative of Yuan, and that he, being a puppeteer, had wanted to stage a plot of private vengeance, using Coral as the main actress. The emergency was the ideal time f
or executing the scheme, for Yee had sent nearly all his servants away, and the prostitutes from the brothels refused to come. Yuan’s mistake was that he wanted to take over the responsibility of the Playwright.’ The judge smiled wanly and added: ‘I should be the last to blame him for that, though! Heaven knows that I make that mistake too, on occasion! Well, let’s have a cup of tea. Then I must change, for it’s getting time to go to the Mei residence for the funeral service.’
‘With your permission, sir,’ Ma Joong said, I would like to go with Brother Chiao to the military police now. To inquire how the rounding up of the scavengers went.’
‘By all means. Call on the municipal chancery first, though. They must order our friend Mr Fang to countermand his instructions for the apprehension of “Porphyry" and her companion. Otherwise Mr Yuan and Coral will be waylaid by all kinds of thugs and plug-uglies from the licensed quarters, eager to earn the reward! Tao Gan, you will accompany me to the Mei mansion.’
XVII
‘I received the impression,’ Tao Gan said in his cautious manner, ‘that Mrs Mei made an excellent hostess. A dignified widow, I must say. Ex-courtesan or not.’
Judge Dee did not reply. Dusk had fallen. They were sitting at the balustrade of the western terrace of the Mei residence. From this platform, raised two feet above the level of the garden, they had a magnificent view of the flowering trees planted along the meandering footpaths that crisscrossed the garden right up to the moss-covered wall in the rear. Beyond the garden wall loomed the roofs and turrets of the old city, black silhouettes against the grey, threatening sky.
From the reception hall behind them came the monotonous chant of the Buddhist monks. Seated in front of the high bier where Mei was lying in state, they recited the service of the dead, punctuating their chant with sharp raps on their skull-shaped wooden hand-gongs. The dead man’s cousin had received the few mourners that had been able to come, mostly representatives of the charitable institutions that Mei had endowed, and a sprinkling of notables. Mrs Mei had stood modestly in the background, very tall and slender in her white mourning robe. From the high rafters overhead hung a profusion of white banners, proclaiming in large letters the many virtues of the deceased. Judge Dee had paid his last respect to the dead man by adding a pinch of powdered incense to the large bronze burner that stood on the altar table in front of the bier. Soon after that, however, he had taken Tao Gan outside to the garden terrace, for the pungent smell of the strong Indian incense had given him a dull headache. The air in the garden was just as close as inside, but the quiet, deserted terrace was a pleasant change after the crowded hall.
‘Strange,’ Judge Dee spoke up suddenly. ‘I had tea with Mei here on this terrace only three weeks ago. He told me that he had personally supervised the lay-out of this garden. He was a man of many talents. How well those clusters of bamboo are placed, harmonizing with the mossy stones in the rear!’ He looked up at the almond trees, laden with white blossoms that spread a subtle fragrance, and pursued: ‘It seems so incongruous, Tao Gan, This profusion of fresh flowers in this city of the dead.’ He heaved a sigh, and said smoothing his long beard, ‘You spoke of Mrs Mei, just now. Yes, she is a remarkable woman. I wonder what her plans are. I advised her to close down this mansion, and to move to their mountain villa.’
‘I think she has decided to move to another city, sir. The cousin has brought a few maidservants along. They are now packing Mrs Mei’s personal belongings.’
‘Well, Mr Mei possessed a house in nearly every major city, so his widow can pick and choose.’ He paused to reflect. After a while he said: ‘I had been planning to have a look at the scene of Merchant Mei’s accident, some time. Since we are here, we might as well do it now. Especially since Mrs Mei is planning to leave, as you just told me. Most of the mourners will have gone by now, and…’ Suddenly he broke off and laid his hand on Tao Gan’s arm. ‘Look!’ he said in a tense voice.
He pointed at a few white almond blossoms that came fluttering down from the branches overhead. Slowly they settled on the marble balustrade of the terrace. The judge rose, and lifted his hand.
‘There does indeed seem to be a little movement in the air!’
Narrowing his eyes Tao Gan peered up at the sky.
‘Yes, that big dark cloud there does seem to have shifted a bit, sir!’
‘Heaven grant that this means a change of weather!’ the judge said fervently. ‘Come along, let’s go and find the housemaster.’
They went inside. In the front courtyard a few guests were still standing about in small groups, talking in undertones. The judge went straight to the housemaster, who was hovering near the gate. He told him to take them to the main hall of the east wing.
The old man led them through a long corridor to a hall of impressive dimensions. In the centre a monumental marble staircase descended from the floor above, where there was a gallery lined by a red-lacquered balustrade, consisting of lattice-work of an intricate design. Still higher there was a kind of dome, crossed by two heavy rafters. From these hung an enormous red lampion that filled the entire hall with an agreeable diffuse light. The staircase was built in antique style, quite steep, and with marble bannisters only two feet high. At regular intervals the bannisters had newels, their tops carved into the shape of a lotus bud. The white-plastered wall on either side of the staircase was decorated by large silk hangings, embroidered with mythical representations. On the other side was a round door opening, a so-called moon door, its panels of lattice work pasted over with thin white silk. Beside the moon door stood a high wall table of carved ebony, carrying a flower vase.
The housemaster pointed at the left newel, at the bottom of the stairs.
‘The master was found here, my lord,’ he said in a hushed voice.
The judge nodded and looked up at the flight of white stairs.
‘Very steep indeed,’ he remarked. ‘Mr Mei’s library is somewhere upstairs, I suppose?’
‘Indeed, my lord. It is the largest room of those lining the gallery, right opposite the head of the stairs. The other rooms up there are smaller, and used mainly for storage.’
Craning his neck the judge looked with interest at the colossal red lampion. On either side was written one large character, the one reading ‘Good Luck’, the other ‘Prosperity’.
‘How do you manage to light that lampion?’ he asked curiously.
‘Oh, that’s quite simple, my lord! Every evening at seven o’clock I go up to the gallery, and haul the lampion towards me with a long, hooked stick. I remove the stumps of the burned-down candles, and replace them with new ones. I use thick temple candles, which last till about midnight.’
Tao Gan had been feeling with his thin fingers the pointed top of the newel at the foot of the stairs. ‘Even if Mr Mei’s head had not struck this newel,’ he remarked, ‘the fall alone would have sufficed to kill him. Hitting his head on the edge of one of the steps, or on the marble floor down here would have been fatal, from that height.’
The judge nodded. He glanced at the three characters inscribed on the wooden board over the moon door. They read ‘Abode of Elegant Leisure’. ‘Excellent calligraphy,’ he remarked.
‘They were written by my late husband,’ a soft voice spoke up. It was Mrs Mei. Doctor Lew stood beside her. He made a low bow.
‘The staircase is very steep indeed, madam,’ Judge Dee said. ‘And the bannisters are too low to take hold of, should one miss one’s step.’
‘I do not think, my lord, that higher bannisters would have saved Mr Mei,’ Doctor Lew observed. ‘He must have had a stroke when about to descend. Most probably he was already dead when his head hit the newel.’
The judge turned to Mrs Mei.
‘Could we perhaps see your late husband’s library, madam? I would like very much to see the place where my valued friend used to read and write.’
It was a courteous request. But Tao Gan did not fail to notice the hard glint in Judge Dee’s eyes. He wondered what the judge had just
heard or seen that had put him suddenly on the alert.
‘Certainly, sir!’ Mrs Mei said. She gave a sign to the housemaster, who preceded them upstairs. ‘Be careful, my lord!’ he warned the judge when he stepped onto the gallery. ‘There’s still some wax on the floor, from the candle my master let drop there.’ He cast a timid glance at Mrs Mei, who was coming up behind the judge, and added: ‘I had meant to clean up here myself, but with my illness…’
Shaking his head he pushed the double door open and ushered the judge and Tao Gan into a large room, dimly lit by the red lampion in the hall. Judge Dee saw vaguely that the walls on the left and right were covered from floor to ceiling by solid antique bookcases of polished ebony. Against the back wall stood a broad couch of the same material, on top of it a thick reed mat and a white silk pillow. On the wall above the couch hung a large painting of the Abode of the Immortals, darkened by age.
Judge Dee went to the desk of carved ebony that stood in the centre of the thick-piled dark-blue carpet and sat down in the large armchair behind it, facing the door. On his left stood a high floor-lamp, with a pear-shaped shade of white silk. He took up the book that was lying open on the desk, but found that the light coming through the door was insufficient to read by. ‘Light the floor-lamp for me,’ he told the housemaster.
While the old man lit the lamp with his tinderbox, the judge leafed the book through. Now he put it down and said to Mrs Mei, who had remained standing by the door, together with Doctor Lew:
‘Here is another proof of your husband’s devotion to public welfare, madam. This book, the last he read before his demise, is a medical treatise on how to combat epidemic diseases. Truly a great man!’
The Willow Pattern: A Judge Dee Mystery (Judge Dee Mystery Series) Page 12