The Poisoned Bride and Other Judge Dee Stories

by The Poisoned Bride(Lit)

  “When I started investigating this case, one problem arose after the other, and each made the case more complicated. Therefore I came here today directly after the case had been reported, for the purpose of making a personal investigation. In a case like this it is of the utmost importance that an inquest is held as soon as possible; thus I shall stay right here over night, so that we can open the inquest tomorrow morning”.

  He ordered a close watch to be kept over the two bodies, and went to the official quarters set up for him. After having chatted there for some time with the village head, he finally allowed everybody to retire. But he retained Sergeant Hoong, and, after all the others had gone, he said to him:

  “This crime certainly was not committed by Koong. I rather suspect Warden Pang. He immediately accused some one, in order to prevent us from suspecting him. You had better go out tonight, and try to gather some information. As soon as you have found something worth while let me know immediately”.

  Sergeant Hoong took his leave, and first went to see Warden Pang’s assistant Djao San, taking three constables on duty with him.

  Djao San was with the people standing guard over the two bodies. Sergeant Hoong walked up to him, and addressed him in a conversational tone.

  “I have come together with His Excellency Judge Dee to take part in the conduct of this case. Until now I have not bothered your superior. The only conclusion I have come to is that old man Koong must be innocent. And although I and my companions here are government servants, we never bother innocent people. All in all we had, however, rather a trying day, and we have a rather empty feeling inside. Would it be too much to assume that your boss, Warden Pang, has a bit of food and a jar of wine lying around somewhere? It is not that we are out to get a gratis meal, everybody knows how honest our master is. To-morrow he shall certainly give me and my colleagues some money for our trouble, and out of that we shall pay you for the meal. So, in the meantime, don’t let us go hungry!”

  Djao San hurriedly paid his respects to the sergeant, and said: “Please don’t be angry, Sergeant. Our warden is so occupied with this case right now, that he completely forgot to give the necessary instructions for the entertaining of His Excellency’s staff. But since you and your colleagues are hungry, allow me the honour of being your host. Let us go and have a snack and a drink in the market inn”.

  He then ordered a few men to take over the guard of the bodies, and took the sergeant and the constables to the inn. The servants there, seeing that this party consisted of official persons engaged in the investigation of the murder, stormed them with questions about this and that, and immediately brought a profusion of delicacies and plenty wine. Sergeant Hoong told them: “We are not like ordinary constables, who, as soon as they go somewhere to work on a case, immediately start gorging themselves with wine and food at their master’s expense, and on top of that demand a few pieces of silver from the inn to cover their traveling expenses. You bring only two dishes of plain food, and give each of us two cups of wine, that is all. We shall settle the bill later.”

  After Sergeant Hoong had made this nice gesture, they all sat down. Now Sergeant Hoong, of course, knew perfectly well that Warden Pang, after having received his punishment, was being detained in Koong’s hostel, guarded by Chiao Tai and Ma Joong; but the rules of propriety had prevented his mentioning this painful fact right at the start of his conversation with Pang’s subordinate Djao San. Now, however, he thus spoke to him:

  “Your boss is, frankly speaking, too careless about his duties. Why, yesterday he was out all night. Coming home early in the morning, upon learning about the murder, he suddenly remembered that old Koong was a wealthy man, who could afford some squeeze, and then hit on this wicked plan to remove the corpses to Koong’s hostel. Is that not overdoing it a bit? And where, now we come to it, did your boss go last night? The place where the bodies were found is on the open road. How is it that neither he nor you, who are supposed to make the nightrounds together, noticed them during your last watch? Today His Excellency the Judge let Pang have a hundred strokes with the heavy bamboo, and tomorrow he will certainly press the warden again to produce the criminal. Now say for yourself, is this not wilfully getting oneself into trouble?”

  “Sergeant”, answered Djao San, “you don’t know the inside of this affair. Since all of us are gathered now together around this table as old friends, there is no harm in telling you. You must know that our warden has an old grudge against Koong. Every New Year this man Koong presents our warden with only a niggardly few coppers, and every time the warden thinks he can squeeze a nice gratuity out of Koong, that old skinflint persistently refuses.

  “Now last night Warden Pang happened to be engaged in a small gambling party at Lee’s place and lost heavily. He went on gambling till dawn, until he heard people shouting that a murder had been committed. As soon as he heard that the victims had come from Koong’s hostel, he immediately thought that this was a splendid opportunity to get even with old Koong, and squeeze some badly needed funds out of him. So you see that Warden Pang has nothing to do with the murder itself. He only tried to cheat old Koong, and got a sound thrashing as his reward! Rather than harming others, he has harmed himself!

  “Now as to this murder, this surely is a most baffling affair. It is perfectly clear that the deed was done at daybreak. It must have occurred after I had returned from that place after I had made the last round of the night, and then everything was still quiet. It is true that old man Koong is a skinflint, but as far as I can see, he certainly is not the murderer”.

  Sergeant Hoong, on hearing this story, mumbled some noncommittal remarks, thinking by himself that thus neither was Warden Pang the criminal. He had only tried to swindle old Koong out of some pieces of silver, and had already received his just punishment in the form of the hundred strokes with the bamboo. So we are still faced with our original problem: who did commit the crime? Having thus ruminated, Sergeant Hoong set upon the meal with gusto, and made short work of it.

  Having eaten the last morsel, and drunk the last drop of wine, the sergeant had the bill drawn up, and, to keep up appearances, told the innkeeper to come to the tribunal the next day to receive payment. Then he left his friends, and went along to call on Judge Dee.

  After he had reported what he had just heard, Judge Dee said:

  “This is indeed a difficult case. If Koong did not commit the murder, then the two victims must have let it become known somewhere else that their pockets were well-lined; some criminal must have heard this, and followed them all the way here, till this morning, when they had left the hostel, he saw his chance to kill them. This is the only explanation for the two bodies found near the market gate. Now I, as district magistrate am considered as the father and mother of the people here. I cannot but see to it that this murder is avenged. Only then can I face our Sovereign on high, and the common people below. However, there is nothing more that we can do to-day. Let us see to-morrow morning, after the inquest”. He then allowed Sergeant Hoong to retire.

  Third Chapter

  KOONG AVERS THERE IS SOME MISTAKE ABOUT THE BODIES; JUDGE DEE GOES TO SELL DRUGS IN A PHYSICIAN’S DISGUISE.

  The next morning Judge Dee rose early, and after having attended to his toilet and eaten some breakfast, he ordered his men to stand by at the place where the corpses were lying. There, in front of Koong’s hostel, a large group of constables and other minions of the law had gathered. Judge Dee left his quarters, arrived at Koong’s hostel, and seated himself behind the high bench of the temporary tribunal erected there. First he ordered Koong to be brought before him, and thus addressed him:

  “Although you claim to be innocent of this murder, yet it is a fact that its roots lie in your hostel. You cannot, therefore, act as if this case did not concern you at all. We shall start by asking you the names of the victims, so that the inquest can proceed in the proper manner”.

  “When these two men”, answered Koong, “came to my hostel last night, I asked the
m for their names. One said his surname was Liu, the other Shao. Since at the time they were unpacking their luggage, I did not have an opportunity for asking their personal names.”

  Judge Dee nodded and taking his vermillion brush, he wrote on a slip of paper: “One male person, of the surname Liu”. Then he ordered the coroner to look over the corpse. The coroner, carrying the slip with Judge Dee’s inscription respectfully with both hands in front of him, entered the court, and with the assistance of Djao San and the constables on duty, dragged the corpse lying on the left side to the centre, in front of the bench. Then the coroner said:

  “I beg that Koong Wan-deh be ordered to come forward, and identify this corpse as that of the man called Liu.”

  Judge Dee ordered Koong to do as required.

  Koong, although he thought this a gruesome affair, could not but come forward, and approach the body all covered with blood. Trembling all over, with a great effort he collected himself, and gave it a good look. Then he said: “This indeed is the man Liu who stayed at my hostel last night.”

  The coroner thereupon spread a reed mat on the ground, and had the corpse placed on top of it. He washed it clean with hot water, and then looked over the body inch by inch. He thus reported to Judge Dee:

  “One male corpse, one knife wound at the back of the shoulder, 25 ½ inches long, ½ inch broad. On the left side a wound caused by a kick, ½ inch deep, 5 inches in diameter. One knife wound in the throat, 3 inches long, ½ inch broad, a deep cut right through the windpipe”.

  This report was duly entered in the records by the coroner’s assistants, and the document was placed on the desk of the judge.

  After Judge Dee had pondered over this report for a few moments, he descended from his chair, and himself carefully looked over the corpse. Having verified the coroner’s report as correct, he affixed his red seal to this document, and gave orders to place the corpse in a temporary coffin, and to put up an official notice to the public, asking all who knew the murdered man to present themselves at the tribunal.

  Having resumed his seat behind the bench, he again wrote with his vermilion brush on a separate slip of paper: “One person, of the surname Shao”. Then the coroner proceeded as before, and asked Koong to identify the body.

  Koong approached with bowed head, and dared to look up only when he was right in front of the corpse. Then he suddenly started violently, his eyes bulged, and uttering some incoherent sounds, he swooned.

  Judge Dee, knowing that some unexpected development was about to occur, ordered Sergeant Hoong to assist Koong to regain his spirits, so that the inquest could be continued after he had given a full explanation.

  A deep silence reigned, all spectators looking intently at Koong.

  The sergeant made Koong sit up on the ground, and ordered his wife to bring a bowl of sweet tea quickly.

  The crowd of spectators, who first had been fretting at this delay in the inquest, and had been thinking of returning home, now stayed where they were, eager to see further developments.

  After a while Koong came to. He tried to speak, but only could bring out: “This .... is all wrong, this .... is a mistake!”

  “Old man”, Sergeant Hoong said to him, “His Excellency is waiting for your report. Now speak up, who has made a mistake?” Then Koong said:

  “This is the wrong corpse. The Mr. Shao of last night was a youngster, while this body is that of an elderly man with whiskers. How could he be the second guest? Evidently there is some mistake here. I pray Your Honour to clear this up”.

  Both the coroner and Sergeant Hoong were quite disturbed by this new development. They looked to Judge Dee for clarification. Judge Dee said:

  “How can this be? These two corpses have been lying here all day, why did Koong not discover earlier that one was a stranger? Now at the inquest, at the very last moment, he changes his mind. This proves clearly that he is trying to cheat us”.

  He had Koong brought before him and angrily shouted at him to tell the truth.

  Koong, in great trepidation, knocked his head on the ground several times, and said in a wailing voice:

  “When Warden Pang tried to involve me in this affair, and threw the two corpses in front of my door, I was completely confused, and immediately rushed to the city to report. How could I be expected first to look over those two corpses carefully? Moreover this second corpse was partly covered by that of Liu, and having recognised that at first glance, I took it for granted that the other body was that of Shao. How could I have foreseen this development? I truly am innocent, and place my fate in Your Honour’s hands”.

  Judge Dee recalled that when he saw the corpses the day before, one had actually been lying half over the other. Therefore he thought it quite probable that Koong’s mistake was unintentional. On the other hand this did not tend to simplify the case. He ordered Warden Pang to be brought in court, and Pang duly made his appearance, guarded by Chiao Tai and Ma Joong. Judge Dee said:

  “You dogshead, you tamper with corpses and slander innocent people. You said that Koong murdered these men, and yesterday you therefore moved their bodies from the market to here. Thus you must have had ample opportunity for observing them. Now speak up quickly, what did they look like?”

  Warden Pang, who had already heard the news that there had been some mistake about the corpses, now, being thus addressed by Judge Dee, greatly feared that he himself might be accused of the crime. He hastened to come forward with the truth, saying:

  “I said that Koong was the murderer, only because the victims had been staying in his hostel, and because the murder happened to have been committed near there. One victim certainly was a youngster, and the other an elderly person with whiskers. But since Koong Wan-deh, displeased about my placing the corpses in front of his door, immediately rushed to the city, I had no opportunity to check with him whether he recognised both corpses. Whether or not there is a mistake about the identity, I therefore could not say, since I did not meet the two merchants when they arrived at Koong’s hostel the evening before”.

  Judge Dee ordered the constables to give Pang a second beating with the bamboo, pronouncing that Warden Pang had been guilty of entering a false accusation, and of trying to involve an innocent person.

  Then he had the other three guests who were staying at Koong’s hostel brought before him, and again questioned them. All the three of them confirmed that both merchants had been young men, and that the elderly victim had not stayed at the hostel; they could not identify him, and did not know how he met his death. Then Judge Dee said:

  “This being so, it is clear to me where we shall find the criminal”.

  He ordered the coroner to proceed with the inquest on the corpse of the unknown man. The coroner reported:

  “One corpse of an unidentified male person, on the left arm a bruise mark, measuring 3 inches, and in the small of the back a wound caused by a kick, measuring 3 by 5 inches. Under the ribs a knife wound, 1¼ inches broad, 5½ inches long, and 2¼ inches deep. And one knife wound in the back, 23 ¾ long.”

  These details were duly noted down by the coroner’s assistants. When the formalities had been completed, Judge Dee said: “Since this man was probably from this district the corpse is to be left here, in a temporary coffin. His relations and his friends may not be living far from here. I shall now affix my seal, and have a notice put up, calling upon those who knew the man to report to me. In due time, as soon as the criminal is arrested, the trial shall proceed!

  “Koong Wan-deh is released on bail, but must present himself again at the tribunal when this case is tried, to testify as a witness. For the time being, Warden Pang Deh will be kept under detention”.

  Having issued these orders, Judge Dee then ascended his palanquin, and surrounded by the personnel of the tribunal, left Six Mile Village and returned to the city.

  There he first proceeded to the temple of the tutelary deity of the town, and he burned some incense.

  Then he proceeded to the tribunal, and s
eated himself behind the bench. He called the roll of the court personnel, and finding everything in order, retired to his private office at the back of the court hall.

  Taking up his writing brush, he first drew up a despatch to the authorities of Kiangsu Province, giving a full description of the murdered man Liu, and asking them to try to locate his family and relations. Then he drafted a circular letter to the magistrates of the districts neighbouring his own, with the request to have their men watch out for a man answering the description of Shao, the merchant who had disappeared.

  He handed the drafts to his clerks to be written out and despatched, and then called Chiao Tai and Ma Joong.

  “This case has now become clear”, he told them. “There can hardly be any doubt that that man Shao is the murderer. If this man is caught, then we can try him and close the case. So I now order you two to make a search for him, arrest him and bring him here without delay.”

  When Chiao Tai and Ma Joong had departed, Judge Dee called Sergeant Hoong. To him he spoke as follows:

  “This unknown murdered man is probably an inhabitant of this district. You must make inquiries all over the countryside, and try to locate somebody who knows him. Further, I don’t think that the murderer will have fled to some remote locality; probably he finds it safer first to remain in hiding somewhere in the country around here, delaying his escape till the hue and cry has died down. Thus at the same time you might make discreet inquiries about this man Shao”.

  Several days elapsed while Judge Dee waited for his detectives to return. But they neither appeared nor were they heard from.

  At last Judge Dee became alarmed, and thought: “Since I assumed my office in this district, I have solved not a few intricate cases. How can it be that that which is apparently the last phase of this investigation, is so slow in materialising? It is best that I myself set out on a secret investigation to see whether I cannot trace this murderer”.