The Chinese Bell Murders

Fourth Chapter:

Judge Dee had returned to his private office well before the gong sounded for the noon session of the tribunal. He found Sergeant Hoong and his three other lieutenants waiting for him. The judge put on his official dress, placed the black cap on his head and walked through the door-opening leading to the dais in the court hall. He saw that the brief morning session had apparently not discouraged the citizens of Poo-yang. The court hall was packed with spectators, there was no standing place left.

Having seated himself behind the bench, Judge Dee ordered the headman of the constables to bring Butcher Hsiao before him.

As the butcher approached the dais Judge Dee looked him over. He decided that this was a simple, small shopkeeper, honest but not too clever. When the butcher had knelt Judge Dee addressed him:

'I, the magistrate, sympathise with you over the loss you have suffered. My distinguished predecessor, Judge Feng, has already admonished you about your laxity in supervising your household. I shall not go into that matter again. There are, however, several points in the evidence that I wish to verify. Thus I must inform you that it may take some time before I can close this case. Let me assure you, however, that justice shall be done and that the murder of your daughter Pure Jade will be avenged.'

Butcher Hsiao mumbled some words of respectful gratitude and on a sign of the judge was led aside.

Judge Dee referred to the document in front of him. Then he said: 'The coroner will come forward!'

The judge gave him a quick look. The coroner seemed to be a shrewd young fellow. Judge Dee spoke:

'While your memory is still fresh I wish to check a few points of the autopsy. In the first place I desire your own general description of the physical features of the victim.'

'I respectfully inform Your Honour,' the coroner replied, 'that the girl was tall for her age, and sturdily built. I gather that she worked from morning till night in the household while also lending a hand in the shop. She had no physical defects and possessed the strong physique of a healthy, hardworking girl.'

'Did you,' Judge Dee asked, 'give due attention to her hands?'

'Certainly, Your Honour. His Excellency Feng was very particular about that because he hoped to find some shred of fabric or some other substance under her finger-nails that could serve as a clue to the murderer's dress. As a matter of fact she had the short nails of a working girl common to her class and no clue was discovered.'

Judge Dee nodded and continued:

'In your report you describe the blue marks left by the murderer's hands on the victim's throat. You also stated that these marks included the imprints of finger-nails. Describe those nail-marks in greater detail!'

The coroner thought for a few moments and then remarked:

'The nail prints showed the usual shape of a half moon. They had not penetrated deeply but the skin was broken in a few places.'

'This additional detail,' Judge Dee said, 'shall be entered into the records.'

He dismissed the coroner and ordered the accused Candidate Wang brought before him.

When the constables led Candidate Wang in front of the dais, Judge Dee gave him a sharp look. He saw a young man of medium height, clad in the long blue robe of a Candidate of Literature. He carried himself well, but had the narrow chest and hunched shoulders of a man who is a stranger.to physical exercise. Evidently he passed most of his time among his books. He had a pleasant and intelligent face, with a broad forehead. But his mouth was weak. His left cheek showed a few ugly, badly-healed scratches.

When he was kneeling in front of the dais, Judge Dee thus harshly addressed him:

'You are the rascal Wang, the man who has besmirched the honour of the literati! Having had the privilege of studying the Classics and imbibing their lofty teachings, you chose to use your intelligence for the mean purpose of seducing an innocent, unlettered girl, an easy victim for your vile lusts. And if that were not enough in itself, you then raped and murdered her. There is not a single extenuating circumstance and the law shall be applied with full severity. I do not wish to hear your defence. I read it in the records of this case and consider it a disgusting document. I shall ask you some additional questions and you shall tell the complete truth.'

Judge Dee leaned forward in his chair and glanced through a paper. Then he said:

'In your statement you contend that on the morning of the seventeenth you woke up among the ruins of an old mansion. Give me an exact description of what you saw there!'

'Your Honour,' Wang answered in a faltering voice, 'to his great regret this candidate is in no position to obey your instruction. The sun had not yet risen. In the uncertain light that precedes dawn I only noticed a few piles of bricks that resembled a crumbled wall, surrounded by a thick growth of thorny bushes. These two features I remember distinctly. As I struggled to my feet, my head still heavy and my eyes blurred,

JUDGE DEE HEARS CANDIDATE WANG

I stumbled over the bricks. The thorns tore my robe and scratched my face and body. At that time my only thought was to leave the dismal place as quickly as possible. I vaguely remember walking at random through a number of small alleys. I kept my head down trying to clear my brain and worrying over Pure Jade who had been waiting for me in vain the night before ---'

Judge Dee gave a sign to the headman of the constables, who immediately hit Candidate Wang in the mouth.

'Stop your lies,' the judge barked, 'and be careful to confine yourself to answering my questions!' He addressed the constables:

'Show me the scratches on this man's body!'

The headman gripped Wang by the collar of his robe and pulled him to his feet. Two constables roughly tore his robe down. Wang screamed with pain for his back was still raw from the whipping he had received three days earlier. Judge Dee saw several deep scratches on his breast, arms and shoulders, in addition to some bruises. He nodded to the headman, The constables forced Wang to his knees again without bothering to put the robe back over his shoulders. Then Judge Dee resumed the interrogation.

'You stated before that no one but the victim, yourself and Tailor Loong knew about your secret visits. This evidently is a loose statement. How can you be sure that some passer-by did not observe one of your escapades without your knowledge?'

'Before leaving the tailor's door, Your Honour,' Candidate Wang answered, 'I always carefully looked up and down the street, listening for footsteps. Sometimes the nightwatch approached and I had to wait until they had passed. Then I swiftly crossed the street and slipped into the dark alley next to Butcher Hsiao's shop. Once there I was safe, for even if someone were to pass through Half Moon Street, I could crouch in the shadows and remain unobserved. The only dangerous moment was when I climbed up, but then Pure Jade would be standing in the window to give warning if she saw someone approaching.'

'A Candidate of Literature, sneaking about in the night like a common thief!' Judge Dee said with a sneer. 'What an edifying spectacle! However, cudgel your brain and try to remember whether anything ever happened that gave you occasion to doubt.'

Candidate Wang remained in thought for some time. At last he said slowly:

'I recall, Your Honour, that about two weeks ago I had rather a bad fright. While I was watching from the tailor's door before crossing the street, I saw the nightwatch pass by, their leader sounding his wooden clapper. T waited till they had walked all through Half Moon Street. I could see them distinctly as they rounded the corner at the far end where the lighted lantern marks Doctor Fang's consulting-room.

'Yet, just as I was slipping into the blind alley opposite, I suddenly heard the clapper of the nightwatch again, and quite near too. I pressed myself against the wall and stood there in the shadows in a great fright. The sound of the clapper ceased and I expected the nightwatch to raise alarm, thinking that I was a thief. Nothing happened however. Everything remained dead quiet. Finally I decided that my imagination or the echo had played a trick on me. I left my hideout and tugged at the strip of cloth hanging from Pure Jade's window to inform her that I was there.'

Judge Dee turned his head and whispered to Sergeant Hoong, who was standing by his side:

'This is a new fact. Make a note of it!' Then, scowling at Candidate Wang, he said sourly:

'You are wasting the Court's time! How could the night-watch have come back from that distance in so short a time?'

He turned to the senior scribe and ordered:

'Read out a summary of what the accused Wang has said at this session, so that he can verify it and affix his thumb-mark.'

The senior scribe read his notes aloud and Candidate

"Wang affirmed that they represented faithfully what he had said.

'Make him affix his thumb-mark!' Judge Dee ordered the constables.

The constables again pulled Wang to his feet roughly, pressed his thumb on the wet inkstone and told him to affix his mark on the paper that Judge Dee had pushed to the edge of the bench.

While Wang tremblingly obeyed, the judge noticed that he had the thin, cultivated hands of the scholar, along with the long nails affected by the literary class.

'Take the accused back to the jail!' Judge Dee shouted. Then he rose, and angrily shaking his long sleeves he left the dais. When he passed through the door leading to his private office, he heard the crowd of spectators start murmuring behind him.

'Clear the Court, clear the Court!' the headman of the constables shouted. 'This is no theatre where you can linger after the performance! Get a move on, do you expect the constables to serve you tea and cakes?'

When the last spectator had been pushed out of the hall, the headman moodily faced his subordinates.

'What a time we are heading for!' he exclaimed. 'A stupid judge who is also lazy-that is the kind of magistrate we devoutly pray for every day. But let August Heaven spare me service under a judge who is stupid and industrious at the same time! And a curmudgeon to boot. What a calamity!'

'Why did His Excellency not apply torture?' a young constable asked. 'That weak bookworm would have confessed at the first crack of the whip, to say nothing of crushing his hands and ankles in the screws. This case could have been over and done with!'

Another added:

'What is the use of these dilatory tactics? That fellow Wang is as poor as a rat in the gutter. There is no hope of getting a bribe out of him.'

'Sheer slowness of wit, that is what it is!' the headman said disgustedly. 'Wang's guilt is as clear as crystal and yet His Excellency wants to "verify points." Well, let us go to the kitchen and fill our rice bowls before those greedy guards eat everything.'

Meanwhile Judge Dee had changed into a simple brown robe, and had seated himself in the big arm-chair behind the desk in his private office. With a contented smile he sipped the tea that Chiao Tai had poured out for him.

Sergeant Hoong entered.

'Why are you looking so dejected, Sergeant?' the judge asked him…

Sergeant Hoong shook his head.

'I just mingled with the crowd outside the tribunal,' he said, 'and listened to their talk. If I may speak frankly, Your Honour, they are unfavourably impressed by this first hearing of the case. They can see no point in the interrogation. They opine that Your Honour failed to grasp the main issue, namely to make Wang confess his crime.'

'Sergeant,' Judge Dee said, 'if I did not know so well that your remarks are motivated only by your concern about my success as a magistrate, I would scold you severely. Our August Sovereign has appointed me to dispense justice, not to please the crowd!'

Judge Dee turned to Chiao Tai and said:

'Tell that Warden Gao to come here!'

When Chiao Tai had gone, Sergeant Hoong asked:

'Did Your Honour attach so much importance to Wang's tale about the nightwatch because you think that those men are connected with this crime?'

Judge Dee shook his head.

'No,' he said, 'not for that reason. Even without having learned of the incident which Candidate Wang related today, my colleague Judge Feng closely questioned the nightwatch, as a matter of routine investigation of everyone who had been near the scene of the crime. Their headman was able to prove that neither he nor his two companions had had anything to do with it.'

Chiao Tai came back with Warden Gao, who bowed deeply before the magistrate.

Judge Dee looked sourly at him and said:

'So you are the warden in whose quarter this disgraceful affair took place. Don't you know that you are responsible for whatever irregularities occur there? Be more diligent about your duties! Make rounds day and night and don't waste the Government's time in inns and gambling dens!'

The warden hastily knelt down, knocking his head on the floor three times. Judge Dee continued:

'Now you shall lead us to Half Moon Street, so that we can have a look at the scene of the crime. I only wish to obtain a general impression. Apart from yourself I need only Chiao Tai and four constables. I shall go incognito, Sergeant Hoong will act as the leader of our party.'

Judge Dee put on a small black cap and they left the tribunal by the western side door, Chiao Tai and Warden Gao leading the way with the four constables bringing up the rear.

They first walked along the main street in a southern direction, till they came to the back wall of the Temple of the City God. There they turned west, and soon saw the green glazed tiles of the Temple of Confucius on their right. They crossed the bridge over the river that crosses the western section of the city from north to south. Here the pavement ended, they found themselves in the quarter of poor people. The warden turned left into a street lined on both sides with small shops and dilapidated houses, then entered a narrow, curved alley. This turned out to be Half Moon Street. Warden Gao showed them the shop of Butcher Hsiao.

As they stood in front of the shop, a crowd of onlookers gathered. Warden Gao shouted:

'These are officials of the tribunal investigating the scene of the crime on His Excellency's orders. Get a move on! Don't interfere with officials in the execution of their duty!'

Judge Dee noted that the shop stood on the corner of a very narrow side street and that its sidewall had no windows. The godown stood about ten feet behind it. The window of the garret where the girl had lived was visible a few feet above the top of the wall that connected the shop with the godown. On the opposite side of the alley rose the high, blind sidewall of the guild house on the other corner. Turning round and looking towards the street Judge Dee saw that Tailor Loong's shop was located exactly opposite the entrance of the alley. From the attic of the tailor shop one could see obliquely into the alley and obtain a view of the girl's window.

While Sergeant Hoong was asking Warden Gao some routine questions Judge Dee said to Chiao Tai: 'Try to climb up to that window!' Chiao Tai smiled, tucked the slips of his robe in his belt and jumped up, grasping the top of the wall. He pulled himself up and found a hold for his right foot in a hole in the wall where a few bricks had dropped out. Then he raised himself slowly, pressing his body close to the wall, till he could put his hand on the window-sill. Pulling himself up again, he put his leg over the sill, and climbed inside.

Judge Dee nodded from below. Chiao Tai swung himself over the window-sill. He hung for a moment by his hands, then let himself drop down the five feet or so to the ground, where he landed with hardly a sound by using a boxer trick known as 'a butterfly descending on a flower.'

Warden Gao wanted to show them the victim's room, but Judge Dee shook his head to Sergeant Hoong, who said curtly:

'We have seen what we came to see. Let us return.'

A leisurely walk took them back to the tribunal.

After the warden had respectfully taken his leave, Judge Dee said to the sergeant:

'What I saw just now has confirmed my suspicions. Have Ma Joong called here!'

After a while Ma Joong entered, and bowed to the judge.

'Ma Joong,' Judge Dee said, 'I must charge you with a difficult and probably a dangerous job.'

Ma Joong's face lit up and he said eagerly:

'I am at your service, Your Honour!'

'I order you,' Judge Dee said, 'to disguise yourself as a low-class vagrant bully. You will frequent the haunts of the scum of this city and try to find a renegade Taoist or Buddhist mendicant monk or a ruffian who has taken on that guise. Your man is a tall, muscular fellow-but not the type of chivalrous highwayman you used to associate with when you were living in "the green woods." This is a degenerate brute whose faculties have been dulled by a life of violence and vile debauch. He has particularly strong hands with short, broken nails. I don't know what kind of robe he will be wearing when you find him, but probably it will be a ragged cowl. I am sure, however, that he, as all mendicant monks, will have with him the "wooden fish," that skull-shaped wooden hand gong those monks use for attracting the attention of the passers-by. The final proof of his identity is that he has, or till quite recently had in his possession a pair of solid gold hairpins of peculiar workmanship. This is a sketch of them, which you must memorise.'

'That is a fair enough description,' Ma Joong said. 'But who is this man and what crime did he commit?'

'Since I never met him,' Judge Dee said with a smile, 'I cannot tell you his name. But as to the crime he committed; he is the vile ruffian who raped and murdered the daughter of Butcher Hsiao!'

'That is a job I shall enjoy!' Ma Joong exclaimed excitedly and hurriedly took his leave.

Sergeant Hoong had been listening with growing astonishment to Judge Dee's instructions to Ma Joong. Now he exclaimed:

'Your Honour, this bewilders me completely!'

Judge Dee, however, just smiled and said:

'You have heard and seen what I heard and saw. Draw your own conclusions!'