Poets and Murder

VI

Judge Dee went to the counsellor's office, and asked Kao to inquire whether Magistrate Lo could receive him. The coun­sellor came back after only a few minutes.

'My master'll be glad to see you, sir. In his private office back of here.' Giving the judge a shy look, he added, 'I do hope you'll be able to cheer him up a little, sir!’

The small magistrate was sitting in a cushioned armchair behind a colossal writing-desk of polished ebony, staring moodily at the pile of documents in front of him. When he saw the judge he jumped up and shouted:

'All those self-styled experts on the calendar in our Ministry of Rites should get the sack, Dee. At once! They don't know their job. The fools marked today as a particularly lucky day! And since noon just about everything has been going wrong!' He let himself down into his chair again, angrily puffing out his round cheeks.

Judge Dee took the armchair beside the desk and poured himself a cup of tea from the padded basket. After he had greedily emptied it, he refilled the cup, then leaned back with a satisfied sigh and listened silently to his colleague's tale of woe.

'First we got that nasty murder of student Soong, just after a copious repast, and that ruined my digestion. Then the lady in charge of the Sapphire Bower informed me that their best dancer is ill. I'll have to make do for tonight with two second-rate ones, and for the main number I could only get a wench called Small Phoenix, and I didn't like her looks. Silly face, and as thin as a beanpole! Push that tea-basket over to me, will you?' He refilled Judge Dee's cup and his own, took a sip and resumed, 'Finally, that nice surprise I had thought up for you came to nothing. The Academician and the Court Poet will be terribly disappointed too. And it means we'll be five at dinner. Besides you and me, Shao, Chang and Sexton Loo. An odd number at table means bad luck. And the calen­dar said specifically that this would be a lucky day. Pah! ' He set his cup down hard and asked peevishly, 'Well, what's the news about our murder case? The headman dropped in a few moments ago and reported that his men haven't heard any­thing about a local ruffian being free with his money. Just as we had already expected.'

The judge emptied his third cup.

According to one of the maids who used to serve Soong, he had visited this city before. And apparently he had a girl friend here.'

Lo sat up. 'The devil he had! But not in the Sapphire Bower, at any rate. I described him to the girls, and they had never set eyes on him.'

'Second,' Judge Dee continued, 'I suspect that Soong came here for a special reason which he wanted to keep secret, and that his historical research was just a pretext.' He took the student's notes from his sleeve and handed them to Lo. 'These six pages are all the notes he made during those two weeks!’

Lo glanced through the notes. When he nodded, the judge continued:

'Every afternoon Soong visited your archives, to keep up appearances. In the night he went out about his real business. The maid saw him slip outside, in a dark gown, and in a stealthy manner.'

'Not a single clue as to where he went or what he did, Dee?'

'No. The maid knows a waiter in a tea-house near-by who seems to be rather a gay blade, and he never saw Soong any­where in that neighbourhood.' He cleared his throat. 'That maid firmly believes in fox-magic, you know. Maintains that Soong's girl was in fact a fox, and murdered him!’

'Oh yes, the fox plays an important role in local folklore, Dee. We have a fox shrine in the residence, it's supposed to guard the premises. And there's a big one on a piece of waste­land, near the south city gate. Place is haunted, people say. Well, we'd better keep the supernatural out of this, Dee! Case is sufficiently difficult as it is!’

'I couldn't agree more, Lo. You also reckon with the possi­bility that it was an inside affair, don't you?'

'Yes, indeed. Meng's reputation is of the best, but that doesn't mean a thing, of course. Might have known Soong when the student visited this district formerly. And Meng did quite a bit of detective work all on his own, Dee, just after his discovery of the dead body. And was very eager to pass his theory on to us. Easiest thing for Meng to walk round the block, and knock on his own garden door! And I don't like this business about Soong having a girl friend. Don't like it at all. Girls mean trouble.' He heaved a sigh. 'Anyway, there are no sessions of the tribunal tomorrow, because of the Mid-autumn Festival. That gives us a little respite, at least.'

Lo poured himself another cup, and sank into a morose silence.

Judge Dee looked at him expectantly, waiting for Lo to explain how he was planning to proceed with the investiga­tion. If this case had happened in Poo-yang, he would at once have ordered his three lieutenants, Ma Joong, Chiao Tai and Tao Gan, to make inquiries in the tea-merchant's neighbour­hood, about Meng himself, his family and his lodger. It was amazing how much information experienced officers could collect in vegetable, fish and butcher shops. Not to forget the cheap street-stalls where the chairbearers and coolies gather. As his colleague remained silent, Judge Dee said:

'We can't do anything about this case ourselves tonight, because of the dinner. Did you send out members of your staff to make further inquiries?'

'No, Dee, I employ the staff of the tribunal for routine matters only. All confidential inquiries are organized by my old housemaster.' Seeing Judge Dee's astonished face, he went on quickly, 'The old geezer was born and bred here, you see, knows the city like the palm of his hand. He has three distant relatives, slick fellows who work as clerks in a pawnshop, at a silversmith's, and in a popular restaurant in the market. I pay them a generous salary out of my own pocket, for acting as my stool pigeons and secret inquiry agents. System works quite well. Enables me to keep a check on my counsellor and the rest of the tribunal personnel too.'

The judge nodded slowly. He himself relied unreservedly on his old adviser Hoong and his three lieutenants. But every magistrate was free to work in his own way, and Lo's system didn't seem too bad. Especially since during his previous visit to Chin-hwa he had come to know Lo's housemaster as a crafty old rascal. 'Have you told your housemaster to ...' he began. Then there was a knock on the door. The headman came in and reported:

'A Miss Yoo-lan asks for an audience, Excellency.'

Lo's face lit up in a broad smile. He thumped his fist on the desk and exclaimed, 'Must mean she's reconsidered! A lucky day after all, maybe! Show her in, my man! At once!’ Rub­bing his hands, he told Judge Dee, 'To all appearances my little surprise for you is coming off, elder brother!'

The judge raised his eyebrows.

'Yoo-lan? Who is that?'

'My dear fellow! Do you mean to say that you, one of our greatest experts on crime, haven't yet heard about the maid's murder, in the White Heron Monastery?'

Judge Dee sat up with a gasp.

'Merciful heaven, Lo! You can't mean the case of that awful Taoist nun who whipped her maidservant to death?'

Lo nodded happily.

'The very same woman, Dee! The great Yoo-lan. Courtesan, poetess, Taoist nun, famous ...'

The judge had grown red in the face.

'A despicable murderess!’ he shouted angrily.

The magistrate raised his podgy hand.

'Steady, Dee, steady, please! In the first place, may I re­mind you that it's the consensus of opinion in scholarly circles that she has been falsely accused? Her case was heard in the District, Prefectural and Provincial Courts, in that order, and none of them could reach a verdict. That's why she is now being conveyed to the capital, where she'll be judged by the Metropolitan Court. Second, she is without doubt the most accomplished woman writer of the Empire. Both the Acade­mician and the Court Poet know her well, and they were delighted when I told them I had ordered her escort to let her stay two days in my residence.' He paused, and plucked at his moustache. 'However, when I went to see her this afternoon, in the inn behind the Sapphire Bower where she's staying with her armed escort, she refused my invitation point-blank. Said she didn't want to meet old friends until her innocence had been proved beyond all doubt. Imagine my mortification, Dee! I had hoped to give you the opportunity of discussing the most sensational murder case of the year with the accused herself. Offer you a stimulating puzzle that is baffling three judicial inquiries. Present it to you on a platter, so to speak! I know you aren't exactly an ardent student of poetry, Dee, and I wanted you to have an interesting time here all the same!’

Judge Dee smoothed his long beard, groping in his mind for the details of the murder case. Then he said with a smile:

'I do appreciate your kind thought, Lo. But I still hope she won't come. For as regards puzzles, we have ...'

The door opened. The headman ushered inside a tall woman clad in a black gown and jacket. Ignoring Judge Dee, she strode up to the desk and told Lo in a deep, melodious voice:

'I want to tell you that I have reconsidered, Magistrate. I accept your kind invitation.'

'Excellent, my dear lady, excellent! Shao and Chang are both looking forward to meeting you again. Sexton Loo is here too, you know. And let me introduce to you another admirer of yours! This is my friend Dee, the magistrate of our neighbour-district, Poo-yang. I present the great Yoo-lan to you, Dee!'

She gave the judge a cursory look from her vivacious, long-lashed eyes, and made a perfunctory bow. When the judge had acknowledged the greeting by inclining his head, she turned her attention to the small magistrate, who was setting out on a detailed description of the courtyard he had prepared for her, next door to his own women's quarters, at the back of his residence.

Judge Dee put her age at about thirty. Formerly she must have been remarkably beautiful. She still had a regular, ex­pressive face, but there were heavy pouches under her eyes, a deep furrow between her long, curved eyebrows, and thin lines by the side of her full mouth, very red in her pallid face, devoid of rouge and powder. Her hair was done up in a high coiffure of three jet-black coils, held in place by two simple ivory needles. The severe black dress accentuated her broad hips, slender waist and rather too heavy bosom. When she bent over the desk to pour herself a cup of tea, he noticed her white, sensitive hands, unadorned by rings or bracelets.

'A thousand thanks for all your trouble,' she cut short her host's harangue. A soft smile lighting up her face, she con­tinued, 'And ten thousand thanks for showing me that I still have friends! I was beginning to think I had none left, during the past few weeks. I gather there will be a dinner tonight?'

'Certainly, but just a small affair, in my residence. To­morrow night we shall all go to the Emerald Cliff, and cele­brate the Mid-autumn Festival there together!’

'That sounds most attractive, Magistrate. Especially after six weeks spent in various prisons. They treated me well, П must say, but still ... Well, tell your headman to take me to your residence and introduce me to the matron of your women's quarters. I must take a good rest, and change before dinner. Even a woman past her prime likes to look her best on such occasions.'

'Of course, my dear!’ Lo exclaimed. 'Take all the time you want! We'll start dinner late, and go on till deep into the night, in the style of the ancients!’ As he clapped his hands for the headman, the poetess said:

'Oh, yes, I brought Small Phoenix with me. She wanted to have a look at the hall where she's supposed to dance tonight. You made a good choice there, Magistrate.' And to the head­man who came in, 'Bring the young woman here!’

A slender girl of about eighteen stepped inside and dropped a curtsey. She was dressed in a plain dark-blue gown, a red sash wound tightly round her wasp-like waist. Magistrate Lo surveyed her critically, a frown creasing his thin eyebrows.

'Ah, yes. Ha hm,' he said vaguely. 'Well, my girl, I don't think you'll find anything wrong with my hall.'

'Don't try to be nasty, Magistrate!’ the poetess intervened curtly. 'She's very serious about her art, and wants to adapt her dances to the floor-space available. Tonight she's going to dance to that enchanting tune "A Phoenix among Purple Clouds". That's her most popular number. The title goes well with her name too! Come on, don't be shy, dear! Always remember that a handsome young girl needn't be afraid of any gentleman, high official or not.'

The dancer looked up. Judge Dee was struck by her curious still face. The long, pointed nose and the large, lacklustre eyes with a pronounced upward slant gave it a mask-like quality. Her hair was drawn back tightly from her smooth high brow, and gathered in a simple coil at the nape of her long, thin neck. She had angular shoulders and thin, long arms. There was a strange, sexless aura about her. The judge could well imagine that his colleague was not greatly impressed, for he knew that Lo went for flamboyant women, with obvious and very feminine charms.

'This person regrets her slender abilities,' the dancer said in a voice so low as to be hardly audible. 'It is too great an honour to be allowed to dance before such distinguished com­pany.'

The poetess patted her lightly on the shoulder.

"That'll do, dear. I'll see you tonight at dinner, gentlemen!'

Again she made a perfunctory bow and went out with her quick, long stride, followed by the shy dancer.

Magistrate Lo raised both his hands and cried out:

'That woman had absolutely everything! Great beauty, extraordinary talent, and a forceful personality. To think that a cruel fate ordained that I should meet her ten years too late!’ Sadly shaking his head, he pulled a drawer out and took from it a bulky dossier. He resumed briskly, 'I collected copies of all relevant documents concerning the murder for you, Dee. Thought you'd like to know all the circumstances of the White Heron murder case. Added a brief note on her career too, for your orientation. Here, you had better have a look at these papers before dinner.'

The judge was touched. His colleague had really gone to a great deal of trouble just to see that he, his guest, wouldn't be bored. He said gratefully:

'That's most thoughtful of you, Lo! You are really a perfect host!'

'Don't mention it, elder brother! No trouble at all!’ He darted a quick look at the judge, and resumed, a little con­tritely, 'Ahem, must confess that I have also what might be described as an ulterior motive, Dee. Fact is that I have been planning for some time to publish an annotated edition of Yoo-lan's complete poetical oeuvre, you see. Drafted the pre­face already. A murder conviction would wreck the plan, of course. Hoped you'd help her to draw up a really convincing plea of innocence, elder brother. You being such a past master in the drafting of legal documents and so forth. See what I mean?'

'I do indeed,' Judge Dee replied stiffly. Giving his colleague a frosty look, he rose and tucked the dossier under his arm. 'Well, I'd better set to work at once.'