The Lacquer Screen

XVII

A loud murmur of voices rose from the crowd. Magistrate Teng had to rap his gavel several times. A cup of tea was placed at Judge Dee's elbow. He looked round and saw Chiao Tai standing beside his chair. Apparently he had been there for some time, for his face was pale and drawn. The judge said to himself that Chiao Tai was never very lucky in his amorous escapades. He took a few sips, then said to Magis­trate Teng:

'Would you have the banker Leng Chien called now, please?'

As the headman went to fetch the banker from the jail, Judge Dee pulled the notebook from his sleeve and gave it to Teng, saying: 'This is the book Hsia Liang spoke about. It gives all details about Leng's fraud, written out in his own hand.'

When Leng Chien had stated his name and profession, Judge Dee spoke:

'You stand accused of fraud, having systematically robbed your associate, the late Ko Chih-yuan, for an amount total­ling one thousand gold pieces. You yourself recorded every­thing in your notebook here. This court shall make a careful study of all pertinent documents and establish the extent of your fraud. Now, however, you are granted the oppor­tunity to make a concise confession.'

'I confess to having robbed my associate Ko Chih-yuan,' Leng Chien said in a tired voice. 'I am a ruined man, but I know at least that I have not driven my partner to his death! At last I can feel at peace!'

'The same goes for your creditors!' the judge said dryly.

'The other day you didn't show much concern over their interests! In due time the various creditors can submit their claims to this court for settlement.' Turning to Teng, he asked: 'Do you agree that the accused shall be remanded into custody, pending a second hearing after all pertaining documents have been studied?'

'I agree,' Teng replied. 'Leng Chien, this court finds you guilty of fraud. It shall propose a term of imprisonment for you commensurate with your crime, as soon as the investiga­tion shall have been concluded. Lead the prisoner back to jail!'

He rapped his gavel three times and closed the session.

The two judges passed through the unicorn screen to the private office, followed by Chiao Tai and Pan Yoo-te.

Magistrate Teng said with a wan smile:

'Well, you solved all my problems for me, Dee! I'll go to my library now and change. Please have a cup of tea with me there later, when you have rested a while. Now that our journey to the Prefecture is off, we have plenty of time! We must plan a few excursions together for this week. There are some interesting places out in the mountains which I would like to show you.'

He bowed and left. Pan Yoo-te asked to be excused, as he had to go to the chancery to draw up with the scribes the official report on the court proceedings, to be forwarded to the Prefect. As Judge Dee sat down in an armchair, Chiao Tai placed a large package wrapped in coloured paper on the desk and said:

'Here is your silk, Magistrate! Very best quality, as per order. I had a look at the villa of Mrs Teng's sister. A very fine place, lots of money, I'd say. It all belongs to her, for Mrs Teng was her only sister. The servants also said that Leng Te used to stay out there regularly. He did several paintings of the garden; they are now hanging in the reception hall. Leng Te's death was a great blow to all of them out there.'

Judge Dee nodded. He pensively tugged at his moustache. After a while Chiao Tai asked:

'How did you know that the Student murdered old Ko, sir?'

The question startled Judge Dee from his musings.

'The Student, you say? Oh, there were no less than four facts that pointed at him. First, when your adventure showed how little Mrs Ko had cared for her husband, I immediately thought, of course, of her having had a lover who could have been involved in Ko's demise. As a matter of fact, the Student was due to meet Mrs Ko that night, but he couldn't keep the appointment because I took him with me to the marsh. Second, on that trip the Student boasted to me that he was going to bring off a big coup, all by himself. Later he told you that he was going to get two hundred gold pieces, and both Leng Chien and Kun-shan said there had been two hundred gold pieces in Ko's safe. Third, when Baldy struck the Student in the face on our first night at the Phoenix Inn, the youngster started to bleed profusely, and Baldy remarked that there was a previous knife wound on his forehead. It was, however, the fourth and last fact that made me suddenly see all the others in their proper connection. I mean Kun-shan's statement that he had dis­covered Leng Chien's water-stained notebook hidden behind the bed in Carnation's room. I had noticed that the girl was fond of the Student, and the pleading look she gave me when Kun-shan said he had found the book in her bedroom told me that the Student must have asked her to keep it for him, but that she didn't want the Corporal to know. For the Corporal is willing to share her only with Baldy and a few selected friends — apart from "outside work", of course. Heaven, that reminds me! The fellow is still in jail! Tell the headman to bring him here!'

When the headman had brought the Corporal and made him kneel in front of Judge Dee's chair, the judge motioned him to leave them alone. He said to the Corporal:

'Rise, and let's have a friendly talk!'

The Corporal got up and stared dejectedly at the judge and Chiao Tai from under his ragged eyebrows. Wrinkling his low forehead, he said bitterly:

'So you are really a thief-catcher, and he is your running dog! Heaven, can a man never trust anybody?'

'If I acted a part,' Judge Dee said, 'it was only because I needed your help in solving a sordid crime. You did indeed help me, and I did enjoy your hospitality. I noticed that you maintain strict discipline among your men, you keep them to begging and other smaller offences and see to it that they commit no real crimes. I also had the military police look up your army record.'

'So it's worse than I thought!' the Corporal muttered. 'That means my head! Well, it wasn't much of a head-piece anyway!'

'Shut up and listen!' Judge Dee said impatiently. 'I have decided that you shall go back to the Imperial Army, that's where you belong. Baldy shall keep the men under control, as you taught him. Here is a letter to the garrison headquarters, stating that you did useful work for the magistrate, who proposes that you be re-enlisted and pro­moted to sergeant. Go now and take this to the officer in charge of personnel there.'

'Better to Captain Mao, he knows him!' Chiao Tai inter­rupted.

'To Captain Mao then. And when they have issued to you your helmet, cuirass and sword,' Judge Dee continued with a smile, 'you'd better dress yourself up in them and show yourself to Carnation. Keep her for yourself, Sergeant Liu, she's too fine a woman to share. And she needs you.' He took the package Chiao Tai had brought from the desk and held it out to the Corporal, saying: 'Give her this small present from me, I want her to look nice as a sergeant's wife! And tell her that I am sorry I can't call myself your "cousin"!'

The Corporal stuffed the letter into his belt, and tucked the package under his muscular arm. Then he gave the judge a dazed look. Suddenly his face lit up, and he shouted: 'Sergeant, by Heaven!' He turned round and rushed out.

'So that's why you had him arrested!' Chiao Tai said with a grin.

'You don't think he would have come to the tribunal of his own free will, do you?' Judge Dee asked. 'And I hadn't got the time to go hunting for him. We'll be leaving for home too, presently. Send a constable to the Hostel of the Flying Crane to get the clothes bundle we left there, and tell the groom here to select two good horses for us.'

The judge quickly rose and took off the damask robe and the official cap. Putting his own, well-worn black cap on his head he left the office and went across the large central courtyard to the magistrate's private residence.