The Chinese Lake Murders

Sixth Chapter

In the corridor Judge Dee told Ma Joong:

"Let the constables make my palanquin ready to proceed to Dr. Djang's house, and tell four of them to go to the Buddhist Temple, to prepare everything there for the autopsy. I'll go there as soon as I am finished with the professor."

Then he entered his private office.

Sergeant Hoong went to the tea table to make a cup of tea for the judge. Chiao Tai remained standing, waiting till Judge Dee would sit down. But the judge started pacing the floor with his hands on his back, a deep frown creasing his forehead. He stood still only when Hoong offered him a cup of tea. He took a few sips, then spoke.

"I can't imagine what made Liu Fei-po proffer that fantastic accusation! I admit that the hurried encoffining of the body seemed suspicious, but any man in his senses would first have insisted on an autopsy, instead of filing such a serious accusation! And last night Liu impressed me as a very calm and self-possessed man."

"Just now in the court hall he looked to me as if he was out of his mind, Your Honor," the sergeant remarked. "I saw that his hands were shaking, and there was foam on his lips!"

"Liu's accusation is utterly absurd!" Chiao Tai exclaimed. "If Liu was really convinced that the professor was a man of low character, why then did he consent to the marriage? He hardly seems the kind of man to let himself be tyrannized by his wife and daughter! And he could easily have had the marriage contract canceled unilaterally!"

Judge Dee nodded pensively.

"There must be more behind that marriage than meets the eye!" he said. "And I must say that Dr. Djang, despite his touching lament about the disaster that hit his house, seemed to take it rather calmly!"

Ma Joong entered and reported that the palanquin was ready. Judge Dee went out into the courtyard, followed by his three lieutenants.

Dr. Djang lived in an impressive mansion, built against the mountain slope, to the west of the tribunal.

The steward opened the heavy double door, and Judge Dee's palanquin was carried inside.

The professor assisted the judge respectfully in descending, then led him and Sergeant Hoong to the reception hall. Ma Joong and Chiao Tai stayed behind in the first courtyard with the headman and two constables.

While the judge was sitting opposite the professor at the tea table, he gave his host a good look. Dr. Djang was a tall, well-built man, with a sharp, intelligent face. He seemed about fifty years old, rather young to have been granted a pension already. He silently poured out a cup of tea for the judge, then sat down again and waited till his distinguished guest would begin the conversation. Hoong remained standing behind Judge Dee's chair.

The judge looked at the well-stocked bookshelves and inquired which literary subject had the professor's special interest. Dr. Djang gave, in well-chosen words, a concise explanation of his research into the critical study of some ancient texts. His answers to Judge Dee's questions on some details proved that he had completely mastered the subject. He made a few quite original remarks on the authenticity of a disputed passage, freely quoting by heart from lesser-known old commentaries. Although one might question the professor's moral integrity, there couldn't be the slightest doubt that he was a great scholar.

"Why," the judge asked, "did you when still comparatively young give up your chair in the School of the Temple of Confucius? Many persons retain that honorable position till they are seventy or even older."

Dr. Djang gave the judge a suspicious look. He replied stiffly: "I preferred to devote all my time to my own researches. The last three years I have confined my teaching to two private courses in

DR. DJANG SHOWS THE JUDGE AND HOONG HIS SON'S STUDY

classical literature here in my own house, for a few advanced students."

Judge Dee rose and said he wanted to see the scene of the tragedy.

The professor nodded silently. He led his two guests through an open corridor to a second courtyard, and stood still before a graceful arched door opening. He said slowly:

"Beyond is the courtyard which I had assigned to my son. I have given strict orders that no one shall enter there since the coffin has been removed."

Inside was a small landscaped garden. In the center stood a rustic stone table, flanked by two clusters of bamboos whose rustling green leaves made one forget the oppressive heat.

Upon entering the narrow portal, Dr. Djang first pushed open the door on the left and showed them a small library. There was just room for a writing desk in front of the window, and an old armchair. The book rack bore piles of books and manuscript rolls. The professor said softly:

"My son was extremely fond of his small library. He had chosen the pen name of Student of the Bamboo Grove, though the clusters of bamboos outside there could hardly be called a grove!"

Judge Dee went inside and examined the books on the rack. Dr. Djang and Sergeant Hoong remained standing outside. Turning round to them, the judge said casually to the professor:

"I see from his choice of books that your son had wide interests. It's a pity that those extended also to the damsels of the Willow Quarter!"

"Who in the world," Dr. Djang exclaimed angrily, "could have given Your Honor this ridiculous misinformation! My son was of a most serious disposition; he never went out at night. Who made that preposterous suggestion?"

"I thought I had heard a remark to that effect somewhere," Judge Dee answered vaguely. "I probably misunderstood the speaker. Since your son was such an industrious scholar I suppose that he wrote a very good hand?"

The professor pointed at a pile of papers on the desk and said curtly:

"That is the manuscript of my son's commentary on the Analects of Confucius, on which he was working of late."

Judge Dee leafed the manuscript through. "A very expressive handwriting," he commented as he stepped out into the portal.

The doctor took them to the sitting room opposite. He seemed still to nurse a grievance over Judge Dee's remark about his son's dissipated life. His face had a surly expression when he said:

"If Your Honor walks down the corridor you'll find the door of the bedroom. With Your Honor's leave I shall wait here."

Judge Dee nodded. Followed by Sergeant Hoong he passed through the dimly lit corridor. At the end they saw a door hanging loose on its hinges. The judge pushed it open and surveyed from the threshold the darkish room. It was fairly small, and lit only by the sunlight filtering in through the translucent paper pasted over the latticework of the only window.

Sergeant Hoong whispered excitedly:

"So Candidate Djang was Almond Blossom's lover!"

"And the fellow drowned himself!" Judge Dee replied testily. "We have found the Student of the Bamboo Grove and lost him at the same time! There is one curious point, though. His handwriting is quite different from that of the love letters." He stooped and continued: "Look, a film of dust covers the floor. Apparently the professor spoke the truth when he said that nobody entered this room after Moon Fairy's body had been removed."

The judge looked for a moment at the broad couch against the back wall. The reed mat that covered it showed some dark-red spots. On the right there was a dressing table, on the left a pile of clothes boxes. By the side of the couch stood a small tea table, with two tabourets. The air in the room was very close.

Judge Dee walked over to the window to open it. But it was locked by a wooden crossbar, covered with dust. He pushed it back with some difficulty. Through the iron bars he saw a corner of a vegetable garden surrounded by a high brick wall. There was a small door, apparently used by the cook when he came to gather vegetables.

The judge shook his head perplexedly. He said:

"The door was locked on the inside, Hoong, the window has solid iron bars and anyway hasn't been opened for several days at least. How in the name of Heaven did Candidate Djang leave this room that fateful night?"

The sergeant gave his master a puzzled look.

"That is very queer!" he said. And then, after some hesitation: "Perhaps this room has a secret door, Your Honor!"

Judge Dee rose quickly. They pushed the couch away from the wall and studied the wall and the floor inch by inch. Then they examined also the other walls and the entire floor, but without result.

Judge Dee resumed his seat. Dusting his knees he said:

"Go back to the sitting room, Hoong, and order the professor to write out for me a list of all the friends and acquaintances of himself and his son. I shall stay here for a while and have a look around."

After the sergeant had left, Judge Dee folded his arms. So now there was a new riddle to be solved. In the case of the dead dancer there were at least some definite leads. The motive was clear: the murderer wanted to prevent her from warning the judge about a secret plot. There were four suspects. A systematic investigation of their -relations with the courtesan would show who the culprit was, and then the plot he was planning would soon be known. The investigation was well under way, and now this queer affair had cropped up, a case where there were two main persons, and both of them dead! And here there seemed to be no lead at all! The professor was a curious man, but he did not seem the type of a philanderer. On the other hand, appearances are often deceptive, and Wan I-fan would hardly have dared to lie in court about the affair of his daughter. But neither would the professor have dared to lie when he said that his son didn't frequent the Willow Quarter. Dr. Djang was clever enough to know that such things could easily be checked. Perhaps the doctor himself had had an affair with the dancer, and used his son's pen name in his love letters! He wasn't so young any more, but he had a strong personality, and anyway it was always difficult to know a woman's preference. In any case they would compare the doctor's writing with that of the love letters; the list Hoong would have him draw up would provide them with a specimen. But the professor couldn't have murdered the dancer, because he hadn't been on board! Perhaps after all the dancer's love affair had nothing to do with her murder.

Judge Dee shifted on his chair. Suddenly he had the uneasy feeling that he was being watched. He turned to the open window.

A pale haggard face was looking at him with wide eyes.

The judge jumped up and ran to the window, but he stumbled over the second tabouret. He scrambled up but reached the window only in time to see the door in the garden wall close.

He rushed to the first courtyard and ordered Ma Joong and Chiao Tai to search at once the street outside for a man of medium height, his head shaved like that of a monk. Then he told the headman to assemble all the inmates of the household in the reception hall, and thereafter search the house to see that nobody was hiding there. He slowly walked over to the hall himself, his eyebrows knitted in a deep frown.

Sergeant Hoong and Dr. Djang came running out to see what all the commotion was about. Judge Dee ignored their questions. He curtly asked Dr. Djang:

"Why didn't you tell me there is a secret door in the bridal room?

The professor stared at the judge in blank astonishment.

"A secret door?" he asked. "What would I, a retired scholar living in a reign of peace, need such a contraption for? I myself supervised the building of this house; I can assure Your Honor that there is no such thing in the entire building!"

"In that case," Judge Dee remarked dryly, "you had better find the explanation of how your son could have left his room. Its only window is barred, and the door was locked on the inside."

The doctor clapped his hand against his forehead. He said, annoyed:

"To think that I didn't even realize that!"

"I'll give you an opportunity to ponder over that puzzle!" the judge said curtly. "Until further notice you shall not leave this house. I shall now go to the Buddhist Temple and have an autopsy conducted on Moon Fairy's body. I deem this step necessary in the interests of justice, so you can spare yourself the trouble of protesting!"

Dr. Djang looked furious. But he restrained himself. He turned round and left the hall without another word.

The headman herded about a dozen men and women into the hall. "That's all there was, Your Honor!" he announced.

Judge Dee quickly looked them over. No one showed any resemblance to the apparition he had seen outside the window. He questioned the maid Peony about her trying to rouse the newlywed couple, but her answers tallied exactly with the statement made by the professor.

When the judge had dismissed them, Ma Joong and Chiao Tai came in. The former wiped the sweat from his brow and said:

"We have searched the entire neighborhood, Your Honor, but without result. We found no one about but a lemonade vendor who sat snoring by the side of his cart. Because of the midday heat the streets were deserted. Next to the garden door we found two bundles of firewood, evidently left there by a pedlar, but the man himself was nowhere to be seen."

Judge Dee told them briefly about the weird man who had been watching him from outside the window. Then he ordered the headman to go to the houses of Liu Fei-po and Guildmaster Wang, and to summon them to the Buddhist Temple for the autopsy. Ma Joong was to go there too, to see that the constables had put everything in order. To Chiao Tai he said: "You'll stay here with two constables and see to it that Dr. Djang doesn't leave the house! And keep your eyes skinned for that queer fellow who watched me!"

The judge went to his palanquin, angrily swinging his sleeves. He ascended together with Sergeant Hoong, and they were carried to the temple.

As he climbed the broad steps of the gatehouse Judge Dee noticed that they were overgrown with weeds and that the red lacquer was peeling off the high pillars of the monumental gate. He remembered having heard that a few years before the monks had left and that the temple was now in charge of an old caretaker.

He walked with Hoong through a dilapidated corridor to the side hall of the temple. There he found Ma Joong waiting for him, together with the coroner and the constables. Ma Joong introduced three other men as the undertaker and his two assistants. On the right stood a high altar, completely bare. In front of it was the coffin, resting on two trestles. On the other side of the hall the constables had placed a large table for the temporary tribunal, flanked by a smaller table for the scribe. Before he went to sit behind the table, Judge Dee called the undertaker and his two men. As they were kneeling down he asked the undertaker:

"Do you remember whether the window of the bridal room where you washed the corpse was open or closed?"

The man looked, dumfounded, at his assistants. The younger one replied at once:

"It was closed, Your Honor! I wanted to open it because it was rather hot in the room, but the crossbar had become stuck, and I could not push it back."

The judge nodded. Then he asked again:

"Did you notice while you were washing the body any signs of violence? Wounds, bruises or discolored spots?"

The undertaker shook his head.

"I was rather astonished by all that blood, Your Honor, and therefore examined the body with special care. But there was no wound, not even a scratch! I may add that the girl was sturdily built. She must have been rather strong for a young lady of her class."

"Did you place the body immediately in the coffin after you had washed it and put it in the shroud?" Judge Dee asked.

"We did, Your Honor. Mr. Koong had ordered us to bring a temporary coffin, because the parents would have to decide later on when and where she would be buried. The coffin was made of thin boards, and it took little time to nail the lid on."

In the meantime the coroner had spread out a thick reed mat on the floor in front of the coffin. He now placed there a copper basin with hot water.

Then Liu Fei-po and Guildmaster Wang came in. After they had greeted Judge Dee, he went to sit in the armchair behind the table. He rapped three times with his knuckles and said:

"This special session of the tribunal has been convened to settle some doubts that have arisen concerning the manner in which Mrs. Djang Hoo-piao, nee Liu, met her death. The coffin shall be opened and the coroner of this tribunal shall conduct an autopsy. Since this is not an exhumation but merely a sequel to the routine preliminary examination, the parents' consent is not required. I have, however, requested Liu Fei-po, the father of the deceased, to be present as a witness, and the Guildmaster Wang, in the same capacity. Dr. Djang Wen-djang is unable to attend since he has been placed under house arrest."

On a sign of the judge a constable lighted two bundles of incense sticks. One he laid on the edge of Judge Dee's table, the other he put in a vase which he placed on the floor next to the coffin. When the thick gray smoke filled the hall with its acrid smell, Judge Dee ordered the undertaker to open the coffin.

He inserted his chisel under the lid. His assistants started to pry loose the nails.

As the two men were lifting the lid, the undertaker suddenly backed away with a gasp. His frightened assistants let the lid clatter to the floor.

The coroner quickly stepped up to the coffin and looked inside.

"A ghastly thing has happened!" he exclaimed.

Judge Dee rose at once and rushed over to his side. After one look he drew back involuntarily.

In the coffin lay the body of a fully dressed man. His head was a mass of clotted blood.