Judge Dee At Work

by Robert Van Gulik

  ‘Your father seemed sure someone had changed them,’ Ma Joong remarked.

  Suddenly she stamped her foot on the floor and exclaimed: ‘What a life! I hate it! Heaven be praised that I’ll be making a new start soon. At last I have met a decent fellow who is willing to pay father a handsome dowry, and take me as a concubine.’

  ‘Life as a concubine isn’t always so great, you know!’

  ‘I won’t be a concubine for long, my friend! His wife is ailing and the doctors don’t give her more than a year or so.’

  ‘Who’s the lucky fellow, anyway?’

  She hesitated a moment before she replied, ‘I’ll tell you because you are an officer of the tribunal. Keep it quiet for a while, will you? It’s the rice-dealer, Lau. He has had bad luck in business lately, and he doesn’t want to speak to my father before he can put the money on the table. Lau is a bit older than me, of course, and he’s got old-fashioned ideas in his head, but I tell you I am sick and tired of those so-called gay young blades, who just want to sleep with you once, and then on to the next!’

  ‘How did you come to know Lau?’

  ‘Met him the very day we came here to Poo-yang. He offered father help in renting this yard. Lau took a liking to me at once, he …’

  Her voice was drowned in the deafening applause from outside. She jumped up, put her headdress straight and said hurriedly:

  ‘I must go on now! Good-bye!’

  She disappeared through the curtain.

  Ma Joong found his friend sitting all alone in the deserted

  ‘I AM THE DAUGHTER OF A NOBLE KING AND HIS CHASTE QUEEN! HOW’S THAT FOR A JOKE?’

  chancery. Chiao Tai looked up and said, ‘Seems our case is solved, brother! I have a suspect under lock and key here in jail!’

  ‘Good!’ Ma Joong pulled up a chair and listened to Chiao Tai’s story. Then he told him about his interview with Miss Bao. ‘Combining our information,’ he concluded, ‘it appears that Miss Bao had a fling with Hoo, in between her meetings with the devoted Lau. Just to keep in good form, I suppose. Well, what are you looking so worried for?’

  ‘I forgot to tell you just now,’ Chiao Tai replied slowly, ‘that Hoo Ta-ma didn’t want to come nice and quiet like, I had to go through some fisticuffs with him. The fellow fought cleanly, not one dirty kick or blow. I can imagine Hoo breaking that boy’s neck in a fit of rage when he caught him peeping while he was busy with his sister; but to play that mean trick of exchanging the swords … No, brother, that isn’t in character, I tell you!’

  ‘Some people have all kinds of characters, all at the same time,’ Ma Joong said with a shrug. ‘Let’s go and see how the bastard is getting along.’

  They got up and walked to the jail behind the courtroom. Chiao Tai told the keeper to fetch the senior scribe, to act as witness and makes notes of the interrogation.

  Hoo was sitting on the couch in his small dark cell, his hands and feet chained to the wall. When Chiao Tai lifted the candle, Hoo looked up at him and said sourly:

  ‘I hate to admit it, dogshead, but that was a nifty throw!’

  ‘Thank you for nothing! Tell me more about this robbery you bungled.’

  ‘Don’t see why I shouldn’t! Assault and battery, that’s all you have on me. Only knocked out one carter, didn’t even touch the rice bales.’

  ‘How had you planned to get rid of those two cartloads?’ Ma Joong asked curiously. ‘You can’t sell so much rice without roping in the guild merchants.’

  ‘Sell nothing!’ Hoo said with a grin. ‘I’d have heaved the bales into the river, the whole lot!’ Seeing their astonished expressions he added: ‘That rice had gone bad, all of it, you see. Fellow who had sold it wanted it stolen, then the guild would have had to make good. Since I bungled the job, the rice was duly delivered, found bad, and the dealer had to pay back all the money he had received from the buyer. Bad luck all around. However, I still thought the fellow owed me a silver piece for my trouble. But when I spoke to him about it, he refused to cough up! ‘

  ‘Who is he?’ Chiao Tai asked.

  ‘One of your local rice-dealers, fellow called Lau.’

  Chiao Tai shot Ma Joong a perplexed look. The latter asked: ‘How did you come to know Lau? You are from Woo-yee, aren’t you?’

  ‘Old friend of mine! I’ve known him for years; he regularly visits Woo-yee. He is a smooth customer, Lau is, always ready for a bit of swindling. Sanctimonious rascal had a love-nest in Woo-yee; the woman he kept there was a friend of a wench I used to go around with-that’s how I was introduced to Lau. Some people have funny tastes, though. Mine was a strapping wench, but Lau’s an elderly hag. Yet he had a boy by her, my girl told me. Perhaps the hag looked good eight years ago. Heaven knows!’

  ‘Talking about wenches,’ Ma Joong said, ‘how did you get on to Miss Bao?’

  ‘Simple! Happened to see her on the stage the first night they played here, and took a liking to her. Tried that night, and the next, to get better acquainted, but nothing doing! Yesterday night I tried again-had nothing better to do while waiting for Lau to come across with the silver. It was late at night, after the performance, she looked tired; her nerves were all on edge. But when I asked her anyway, she replied, “All right. But you’d better be good, for it’s my last fling! ” Well, we slipped into an empty street stall in a quiet corner of the yard there, but just after we got started, that boy popped up, looking for his sister. I told him to make himself scarce, which he did. Whether it was that interruption or lack of proper training I don’t know, but anyway I was disappointed by what followed. That’s how it goes, you know; sometimes it turns out much better than you expected, other times it’s worse. But what I got I got gratis, so who am I to complain?’

  ‘I saw you quarrel with Lau in the street,’ Chiao Tai said. ‘You two were standing close by that sword* rack. Did you see anybody fiddle with those swords?’

  Hoo wrinkled his corrugated forehead. Then he shook his head and answered, ‘I had to divide my attention between that bastard Lau and the two women all the time, you see. The daughter was standing right in front of me before the boy started on his somersaults-I could have pinched her behind. Seeing that she is so standoffish, I pinched her mother’s instead when she came to shift the bamboo box a bit to the side. Only reward I got was a dirty look, though. Meanwhile Lau had tried to slip away from me; he nearly stumbled over the box when I dragged him back by the sleeve. Anybody could have switched those two toothpicks on the rack.’

  ‘Including you!’ Ma Joong said coldly.

  Hoo tried to jump up, the rattling chains tautened. He sank back with a cry of pain. ‘So that’s what you are after, you bastards!’ he shouted. ‘Hang that foul murder on me, eh? Of all the mean tricks …’ He looked at Chiao Tai and burst out, ‘You can’t do that to me, officer! I swear that I never killed a man. I’ve knocked some fellows about a bit, but that’s all. To kill a youngster in such a …’

  ‘Better think it over!’ Ma Joong said gruffly. ”We have ways and means to get the truth out of you!’

  ‘Go to hell!’ Hoo shouted.

  Back in the chancery Ma Joong and Chiao Tai sat down at the large desk against the back wall. The scribe seated himself opposite them, close by the candle. The two friends watched him morosely while he took from the drawer a few sheets of blank paper and moistened his writing-brush to work out his notes of the interrogation. After a long pause Ma Joong said:

  ‘Yes, I agree with you that Hoo probably didn’t do it. The bastard did do one thing, though. He messed up the case for us, thoroughly!’

  Chiao Tai nodded unhappily. ‘Lau is a crook, and a lecher to boot, despite his prim air. First kept a woman in Woo-yee, now tries to get Miss Bao in his clutches. Our miss didn’t live like a nun, but she’s still a juicy bit. Lau had no earthly reason to kill the boy or to spite Bao, but we’ll put him behind bars anyway. Our judge will want to check Hoo’s statements with him.’

  ‘Why not let the headman get the three Baos an
d the old musician here tonight as well? Then our judge will have all the human data before him, so to speak. Tomorrow morning, during the session of the court, he’ll be able to get down to business right away and settle this case!’

  ‘That’s a good idea.’

  When Ma Joong came back, the old scribe had finished his notes. After he had read them out aloud, and Ma Joong and Chiao Tai had approved them, the latter said, ‘Since you wield that writing-brush so deftly, grandpa, you’d better take down our reports too!’

  The scribe resignedly took a sheaf of new sheets. Ma Joong leaned back into his chair, pushed his cap away from his forehead, and started upon his story, beginning with how they had witnessed the murder from the window of the Kingfisher Restaurant. Then Chiao Tai dictated his report on the arrest of Hoo Ta-ma. It was hard work, for they knew that Judge Dee disliked wordy statements, yet insisted on having all details in full. When they were ready at last their faces were wet with perspiration.

  Thus Judge Dee found them when, an hour before midnight, he came in, clad in his brown travelling-robe. He looked tired and worried. As the three men jumped up quickly, the judge asked sharply:

  ‘What is this all about? When I stepped down from my palankeen the headman told me that you had two men locked up in jail as murder suspects, and four witnesses summoned!’

  ‘Well, sir,’ Ma Joong began diffidently, ‘it’s rather a sordid murder, of a young boy. My mate and I did a little investigating; all we did is written down here. It began …’

  ‘Come to my private office!’ Judge Dee interrupted curtly. ‘Bring the papers along!’

  He ordered the scribe to bring a large pot of hot tea to his office, then went outside followed by his two lieutenants.

  Sitting down in the large armchair behind his desk, Judge Dee said, ‘That affair in Woo-yee was settled all right. My colleague Pan is an efficient fellow, nice to work with. Sergeant Hoong and Tao Gan are staying on there for another day, to look after a few details.’ He took a sip of hot tea, then settled back into his chair with the sheaf of papers.

  Ma Joong and Chiao Tai sat stiffly erect on the tabourets in front of the desk. Their throats were parched, but they didn’t notice it. They anxiously watched Judge Dee’s face for his reactions.

  First the judge creased his bushy eyebrows in a deep frown. But as he read on his face gradually relaxed. When he had finished the last page, he reread some passages, and asked the two men to quote some of their conversations verbatim. Then he threw the papers on the desk. Sitting up, he said with a slow smile:

  ‘Congratulations! Both of you have done very well. You not only carried out the routine work expected from you, but also proved that you are able to take independent action. The two arrests were amply justified.’

  His two lieutenants grinned broadly. Ma Joong grabbed the teapot and quickly poured a cup for Chiao Tai and himself.

  ‘Now then,’ Judge Dee resumed, ‘let’s see where we are. In the first place, the facts now before us are insufficient to prove that it was murder. Bao was in a hurry, for after the acrobatics they had to rush back to the temple for the stage performance; besides, it was getting dark. Thus it is quite possible that Bao placed the wrong sword on top, by mistake. It’s true that he himself suggested foul play, but perhaps he was afraid of being accused of criminal negligence, and those travelling actors stand in deadly fear of the authorities.’ The judge paused and stroked his long beard. ‘On the other hand, the facts you learned about the people connected with this occurrence suggest various reasons why some of them might have intentionally switched the swords. Including Bao.’

  ‘Why should Bao want to kill the boy?’ Ma Joong exclaimed.

  ‘To take vengeance on his unfaithful wife and her paramour, the rice-dealer Lau.’ Silencing his astonished lieutenants with his raised hand, Judge Dee continued: ‘You don’t doubt that the boy in Lau’s love-nest in Woo-yee was Mrs Bao’s illegitimate son, do you? Lau is interested in the stage; I suppose he met Mrs Bao when the troupe was performing in Woo-yee. When their son was born, they entrusted the child to an old crone who kept a house of assignation there. Eight years later Mrs Bao decided to take the child, which meant that she had to confess her infidelity to her husband. Miss Bao stated that her father took this very calmly, but Bao’s indifference may have been feigned. Today, when Bao saw Lau standing near the sword rack, he realized that this was a splendid opportunity to take vengeance on his unfaithful wife, get rid of the illegitimate child and involve Lau in a murder case-all at the same time. For we can also formulate a strong case against Lau.’

  Again Ma Joong and Chiao Tai wanted to speak, but again the judge silenced them and went on: ‘Lau had the opportunity, the special knowledge of stage-props required for utilizing the opportunity, and one can imagine more than one motive. Blackmail is the first that comes to mind. When Bao’s troupe comes to Poo-yang, Lau offers his services, perhaps hoping to renew his affair with Mrs Bao. But Bao and his wife try to blackmail him-the boy is living proof of Lau’s extra-marital activities in Woo-yee. By changing the swords, Lau would destroy that proof, and he could close Bao’s mouth by threatening to accuse him of having killed, out of jealousy, his wife’s illegitimate child.

  ‘Then, we also have Mrs Bao. Her daughter gave Ma Joong to understand that her mother is practically a prostitute, and the emotions of such women are often difficult to gauge. When Mrs Bao realized that Lau, her former lover, was now transferring his affection to her daughter, she may well have taken revenge on him by having his son killed. However, we shouldn’t attach too much importance to Miss Bao’s statements, for she seems a rather unbalanced girl. She doesn’t hesitate to call her mother a whore and her father a fool, but she herself makes no bones about sleeping with a vagabond on the eve of concluding a more permanent arrangement with Lau. We must find out, by the way, whether Miss Bao knew that Lau had been her mother’s lover.’ He paused, eyed his two lieutenants speculatively, ‘I am only surveying all possibilities, mind you. It’s no use going further into all this before we know more about the emotional relationships of the persons concerned.’

  Judge Dee took the papers up again and leafed through them, studying a passage here and there. Putting them down, he said pensively, ‘We must remember that these travelling actors live in two quite different worlds. On the stage they have to identify themselves completely with the great men and women of our national past. Off-stage they are impoverished outcasts who can barely scrape enough together for their daily needs. Such a double life can distort a person’s character.’

  The judge fell silent. He took a sip from his tea, then sat for a while deep in thought, slowly caressing his sidewhiskers.

  ‘Does Your Honour agree that Hoo is innocent?’ Chiao Tai asked.

  ‘No. At least not for the time being. It is true that Hoo Ta-ma made a favourable impression on you two, and for all I know your estimate of him may be entirely correct. However, those vagrant bullies have sometimes strange sides to their character. Hoo went out of his way to stress that it was Miss Bao’s fault that their rendezvous was not a success, and he mentioned the interruption caused by the boy as a possible cause. But it may well have been the other way round, namely that it was Hoo himself who failed. He may have feared that his virility was permanently impaired, and such an obsession could inspire in him a violent hatred of that unfortunate boy. I thought it odd that Hoo spoke at such great length about his amorous exploits to two officers interrogating him in jail. It makes one suspect that he is obsessed by the problem to such a degree that he simply has to talk about it. And since Hoo had several talks with the old drummer, he also had a chance to learn about the trick-sword. On the other hand, however, Hoo’s expanding on his love-life may just as well have been an innocent desire to show off.’ Judge Dee rose and added briskly, ‘I’ll now have a look at the people concerned. This office is too small. Tell the headman to bring them all to the reception hall. And let the scribe call two clerks, so that the proceedings can b
e taken down properly. While you two are attending to this, I’ll go and have a quick bath.’

  The spacious reception hall was very bright. The wall-candles had all been lit, and on the desk in the centre stood two large candelabras of wrought silver. Bao, his wife and his daughter, and the old musician, were seated on chairs in front of the desk. Hoo stood between two constables on the left; Lau on the opposite side, also flanked by two constables. The senior scribe and his two assistants sat at a smaller table. The actors and the prisoners studiously ignored each other; all were staring straight ahead. The hall was deadly quiet.

  Suddenly the double-doors were pushed open by the headman of the constables. Judge Dee entered, followed by Ma Joong and Chiao Tai. The judge was clad in a plain, dark-grey robe, and wore a small black skull-cap on his head. All bowed deeply as he went to the desk and sat down in the large armchair of carved ebony. His two lieutenants stood on either side of him.

  Judge Dee first surveyed the two prisoners, the sullen Hoo and the prim, rather fussy Lau. He thought that his two lieutenants had described these two men very accurately. Then he silently studied the three actors. Noticing how wan and tired they looked, he thought of the long and heavy day they had behind them, and he felt some compunction about playing on their emotions, as he intended to do. He sighed, then cleared his throat and spoke in an even tone:

  ‘Before I question the two prisoners, I first want to establish the exact family-relationship that links those present here with the dead boy.’ Looking fixedly at Mrs Bao, he went on: ‘I am informed, Mrs Bao, that the boy was your illegitimate child. Is that correct?’

  ‘Yes, Your Honour,’ she replied in a voice that sounded very tired.

  ‘Why didn’t you take the child to you until it was eight years old?’

  ‘Because I hesitated to tell my husband, and because the father had promised to take care of it. At one time I thought I loved the man, sir; because of him I left my husband for more than a year. The man had told me that his wife was mortally ill, and that after her death he would marry me. But after I had found out what a mean person he really was, I broke off relations. I didn’t meet him again until, half a year ago, I ran into him when we were performing in the capital. He wanted to renew our relationship, and when I said no, he said in that case there was no reason why he should pay any longer for the boy. Then I told my husband everything.’ She gave the actor by her side an affectionate look and went on: ‘Understanding man as he is, he didn’t scold me. He said that the boy was just what he needed to complete our troupe, and that he would make a good acrobat out of him. And he did indeed! People look down on our profession, sir, but my husband and I take pride in it. My husband loved the boy as if he were his own son, he …’