Deadly injustice

SEVENTEEN

I leaned forward, full of curiosity.

‘You have found him already.’

‘Well, I don’t know. Not really, but… let me explain.’

I raised my hand to indicate he should proceed, and returned my arms to the rim of the tub. He took a deep breath, and began.

‘When I left you, I went to see my friends in the silversmith guild. I asked them about beggars, and whether they simply begged in the street or went round to houses. They said that most beggars kept to the streets, but sometimes a beggar would try his luck at a rich man’s house. They were usually ejected by the servants without any alms, mind you. But sometimes their yun, as they call luck, could be in, and they got a scrap of food. When I described the beggar — wrapped all in white with his head covered — they fell silent, so I thought they knew who I meant. But when I pressed them, all they would say was some word that I had not heard before. It sounded like dafeng.’

‘ Dafeng? What does it mean? Do you know?’

‘If I heard it right, it literally means big wind. But further than that I could not begin to guess. I asked if there was anywhere I would find this beggar, and they said such a beggar would be in the dark alleys, not in the big squares like the others asking for alms. I did not understand why this should be so, but I thanked them and decided it might be worth just looking around in case I came across him. I walked down many of the quieter side alleys leading off the squares, quartering back and forth until I felt quite dizzy. In fact I got lost finally, and thought I would ask someone for directions. Except the area I had come to was silent as the grave. There simply was no one to ask. Then I saw him — a ghost of a figure in white lurking in the dark just ahead of me.’

Tadeusz shivered, though whether from the recollection of the ghostly sight, or the cooling of the bath water, I was not sure. He moaned a little, but finished his story.

Tadeusz knew the beggar must have seen him because he took a few paces towards him and started to raise his hand from under his white robe. But then something happened to startle him, and he stopped in his tracks. Tadeusz could not see his face as it was hidden by the enveloping white robe, so he could not see his reaction. Perhaps he was scared to be confronted by a barbarian with a burned face. Perhaps he thought, with his disfigurement, Tadeusz was just another beggar and so not worth asking for alms. Whatever it was that disturbed him, the white-clad figure turned and started to run off. Tadeusz called after him in the Chin language.

‘Wait. I must speak with you. I mean you no harm.’

The beggar did not stop, and though his gait was ungainly Tadeusz knew that, if he ducked down any of the side alleys, he might lose him. He started to give chase, and soon caught him up. The beggar was hampered by his robe, which enveloped him from head to foot, as well as appearing to be not very nimble himself. Quite the opposite, in fact. Every step he took was a lurch from side to side rather than a fleet progression forward. Tadeusz grabbed the back of his white shroud, and gave him a shove. The beggar stumbled and pitched forward on to the ground, pulling Tadeusz on top of him. His breath came out of him in a great gust, and Tadeusz could feel nothing but bony protuberances under him. He yanked the veil of cloth away that covered the beggar’s face.

Tadeusz’s eyes were like saucers as he stared at me across the scummy water in the tub.

‘Oh, Nick, it was awful. He had no hair on his head, not even on his brows which were like great horny swellings, his nose was eaten away revealing gaping holes in his face. Exhausted by the chase, his breath came in terrible hoarse wheezes. I suddenly realized what the word dafeng meant.’ He leaned towards me, and whispered. ‘The man was a leper.’

The grim truth of what Tadeusz was describing hit home to me. Leprosy. Some said there was a moral cause to catching the disease, others that the poison of it could be got rid of to a healthy person by sexual congress. The very thought of doing that made me feel cold. Whatever the cause, leprosy was a curse. Tadeusz’s description of the white robe that the beggar wore as a shroud was quite appropriate. Many said lepers existed in a place between life and death. Alive but ritually separated from mundane existence. I could see Pyka was scared by his close contact with the man, and he had a fearful addition to his tale.

‘Nick, the leper was so worn out by the chase he was gasping for breath, and spittle flew from his mouth and landed on me. Do you think I am infected?’

We were still sitting quite close, and naked, in the tub. It took all my strength not to shrink instinctively away from him at this stage. I had to remind myself of a conversation I had had with the Arab physician, Masudi al-Din. He told me that, despite people’s fears of contagion, it was very difficult to catch the disease. I deliberately leaned close to Tadeusz and put a hand on each of his shoulders.

‘Tadeusz, you are not infected. You will not get this disease, I promise you.’

Pyka relaxed a little, but still instinctively rubbed his face as he spoke.

‘Do you think the beggar could have had anything to do with Geng’s murder? I did manage to overcome my disgust at his appearance to ask him if he had ever been to the Geng house. He professed not to know it, even after I had described its location. His tone was guttural, and he was hard to understand, but he still insisted he had never been there. I had to let him go, Nick. How could I hold on to him in his state?’

‘You did well. If we want him, I am sure we can find him again. If it was him at the house, he did have a chance to administer the poison. So we can’t rule him out. Perhaps it was a random act of evil or revenge on society, who knows?’

I know I would need to keep Pyka busy for the next few days to prevent him brooding.

‘What you need to do now is to find Doctor Sun. When we get back, you will take my horse, and seek him in this village you mentioned.’

He nodded his head, glad of the task. I squirmed a little as the wooden slats at the bottom of the tub began to press uncomfortably into my buttocks.

‘Now, can we get out of this tub before the attendant thinks we are a couple of sodomites? Besides, the water has gone cold, and my privates are shrivelled to such an extent I would not like a lady to see them until I have had chance to warm them up.’

The girl — she had been called that so much by Madam Gao over the years that she even thought of herself in such terms — was now sure the wheel of fortune had turned in her favour. Wenbo had just shown up at her lonely cell with information about the investigators from Tatu, the capital. The flame-haired one had been suspicious of Madam Gao, he was sure of it.

‘And when I told him you were innocent, I think he believed me.’

Jianxu kept silent at this juncture. She could not yet convince herself that what the boy said was the case. He was rambling on, eager to please her.

‘Then the red-robe asked to see the kitchen. Why would he do that?’

She was startled by his words. She wasn’t sure, but a little bud of doubt began to grow inside her. She wanted to know more.

‘Did you tell them about the beggar?’

Wenbo nodded reluctantly.

‘Yes, I had to. Madam Gao told them about him. They seemed excited to learn about that. Maybe we should have told the prefect about him before. Then you might not be in this situation.’

He banged his hand continuously against the cell door that separated them, and Jianxu reached through the grille. She stroked his cheek to calm him.

‘Never mind that now. What’s done is done. They may even find out that the beggar is the guilty party. If so, I will be freed very soon, and it will all be thanks to you.’

Even as she spoke, she could hardly bear to look at his shining face.

I managed to slip away after it got dark. Lin had retired to his own quarters, and for once the wine had got the better of Gurbesu. Mainly because I had plied her with it during the evening. As I left, I could hear her snoring loudly. I hoped it would not disturb Lin too much. The streets were quieter and I got a few curious looks as I made my way to the central square. One woman stopped and rubbed a small charm in the shape of a dragon that hung around her neck. I was clearly an evil spirit to be warded off. Her talisman worked, because I was on my way without a thought for her. She was too old for me anyway.

The theatre was now a dark and gloomy place with scraps of paper drifting across the empty yard. The warning poster put up by Li Wen-Tao had been torn from the entrance door and shredded. The wind grew in strength, and I could hear the structure of the raised platform creaking. One of the pieces of paper lifted up and blew against my legs. I peeled it off, and looked at the Chinee letters. I think it was the last part of the poster — the bit that said ‘SEVERELY PUNISHED’. I hoped it wasn’t an omen. I screwed the warning up and threw it to one side. The creaking of the platform sounded more than the wind would account for. I guessed the fat prefect was somewhere on the stage waiting for me. So I walked over to the steps that led up to the raised area where the actors performed.

Taking each one carefully, I ended up on the stage and turned and looked out at the expanse of the bare yard. At the back, I could make out the structure of the god’s tower, where Lin and I had sat. But no one was present now to observe the little play that was about to be acted out. Once more I heard the creaking of the stage floor. The noise came from behind the backcloth on which was painted a fanciful scene of mountains and frothy rivers. I called out to Li Wen-Tao.

‘Master Prefect, it’s time to do business. Come out and state your terms.’

Though I didn’t turn round to look, the creaking of the timbers told me Li had made his entrance. I made my speech out to the empty yard.

‘You will find me very accommodating. If you want a bigger cut, you can have it. But I need my share.’

I could hear his wheezy breath close behind me. Then he spoke out confidently and harshly.

‘You will be getting nothing, barbarian monkey. I have been warned about you by a high official of the Khan’s.’

I was puzzled by his cryptic comment, but suddenly wondered if somehow Ko was stirring matters from afar. But I did not have long to think on this. I turned round, and saw why the stage had creaked so much. It was not only Li’s weight, but that of the two bodyguards I had used when I had first collected my share of the scam from Li. They had, it appeared, changed sides, and I was in for a beating. I tried to escape down the stairs, but one of the muscle-bound young men leaped through the air and stopped me. His fist crunched into my back and I collapsed in a heap. He swung his booted foot at my midriff and all the air was expelled from my lungs. Li watched with joy as the second turncoat joined in, throwing a punch at my unprotected face. Blood spurted from my lips, and I curled up in a ball as the two of them kicked and punched me.

‘Enough!’

It was Li who stopped the onslaught, apparently satisfied he had warned me off trying to worm my way back into the scam. Whatever was given to the old priestess would now all be his, apart from the temple’s share. I would have nothing. Wiping the blood from my chin, I staggered down the steps and off into the night. Li’s triumphant laughter rang in my ears.