The Chinese Nail Murders

Twenty-second Chapter

Judge Dee rose and walked over to the brazier. As he was stand­ing there warming his hands, he heard the door open behind him. Annoyed at the disturbance he turned around. Then he saw that Mrs. Kuo had come in.

He gave her a quick smile, and said kindly:

"I am very busy just now, Mrs. Kuo. If there is anything of importance, you can report to the senior scribe."

But Mrs. Kuo made no move to take her leave. She stood there silently, with downcast eyes. After a while she said in a very low voice:

"I heard that Your Honor is going to leave us. I wanted to thank Your Honor for all his consideration . . . toward my husband and me."

The judge turned around and stood facing the window. The glow of the snow outside shone through the paper window panes. With an effort he said:

"Thank you, Mrs. Kuo. I greatly appreciate the assistance you and your husband have given me during my term of office here."

He stood still, waiting to hear the door close.

Then he noticed the fragrance of dried herbs. He heard a soft voice behind him saying:

"I know it's hard for a man to gauge a woman's thoughts."

When the judge quickly turned around to her, she continued hurriedly:

"Women have secrets of their own that a man can never fathom. No wonder that Your Honor couldn't discover that of Mrs. Loo."

Judge Dee stepped to her side.

"Do you mean," he asked tensely, "that you have found a new clue?"

"No," Mrs. Kuo said with a sigh, "not a new clue. An old one . . . but the only one that solves the murder of Loo Ming."

The judge gave her a penetrating look. He said hoarsely:

"Speak up, woman!"

Mrs. Kuo drew her cloak close around her. She seemed to shiver. Then she spoke in a voice that sounded very tired:

"Bent on the daily household chores, mending clothes that aren't worth mending any more, sewing the felt soles of our old shoes, our thoughts wander. Straining our eyes in the flickering light of the candle, we work on and on, and idly we wonder . . . whether this is all. The felt sole is hard, our fingers are sore. We take the long, thin nail, we take the wooden mallet, and hammer the holes in the sole, one by one ..."

Looking intently at the slender figure as she stood there with bent head, the judge groped for some kind words to say. But she suddenly went on in the same weary, detached voice:

"We draw the needle in and out, in and out. And our sad thoughts go in and out—weird gray birds that flutter aimlessly around a deserted nest."

Mrs. Kuo lifted her head and looked at the judge. He was amazed at the gleam in her wide eyes. She said very slowly:

"Then, one night, the idea comes. She stops her sewing, she takes up the long nail, and looks at it ... as if she had never seen it before. The faithful nail that saves her sore fingers, the faithful companion of so many lonely hours of sad thoughts."

"Do you mean to say . . ." Judge Dee exclaimed.

"Yes, I do," Mrs. Kuo replied in the same toneless voice. "Those nails have only a very small head. When driven in entirely with the mallet, that tiny point would never be discovered among the hair on top of the head. No one would ever know how she murdered him . . . and set herself free."

The judge fixed her with his burning stare.

"Woman," he exclaimed, "you have saved me! That must be the solution! It explains why she was so afraid of an autopsy, and why that autopsy produced no result!" A warm smile lighting up his haggard face he added softly: "How right you are! Only a woman could have known this."

Mrs. Kuo looked at him silently. The judge asked quickly:

"Why are you sad? I repeat, you must be right. This is the only solution."

Mrs. Kuo pulled the hood of her cloak up and drew it over her head. Looking at the judge with a soft smile she said:

"Yes, you'll find that it is the only solution."

She went to the door and left.

As Judge Dee stood looking at the closed door, his face sud­denly grew pale. He remained standing there a long time. Then he called the clerk, and ordered him to tell his three lieutenants to come to the office at once.

Ma Joong, Chiao Tai and Tao Gan entered listlessly. But their faces lit up in an incredulous smile when they saw the expression on Judge Dee's face.

He stood erect in front of his desk, his arms folded in his wide sleeves. He said with shining eyes:

"I am confident, my friends, that at the very last moment we shall uncover Mrs. Loo's crime! We shall have a second autopsy conducted on the corpse of Loo Ming."

Ma Joong looked in consternation at his two companions. But then he grinned broadly, and exclaimed:

"If Your Honor says so, it means that the case is solved! When shall we have the autopsy?"

"As soon as possible," Judge Dee said briskly. "This time we shan't proceed to the cemetery, we'll have the coffin brought here to the tribunal."

Chiao Tai nodded.

"Your Honor knows," he said, "that the people are in a dan­gerous mood. I agree that it's much easier to keep them in hand here than outside in the open."

Tao Gan still looked doubtful. He said slowly:

"When I told the clerk to prepare the sheets of paper for the placards, I could see by their looks that they understood. By now the news that Your Honor is going to resign will be all over the city. I fear that a riot will break out when they hear about the second autopsy."

"I am fully aware of that," Judge Dee said in a steady voice, "and I am prepared to take the risk. Tell Kuo to prepare every­thing for the autopsy in the court hall. Ma Joong and Chiao Tai shall go and see the masters of the Butchers' Guild, and Guild-master Liao. Apprise them of my decision and ask them to accom­pany you to the cemetery, to witness the taking out of the coffin, and accompany it back to the tribunal. If everything is done quickly and quietly, we shall have the coffin here in the tribunal before the people are aware that anything is happening. And when the news spreads, I trust that in the beginning their curiosity will be stronger than their resentment against me, while the presence of the guildmasters, whom they trust, will further help to prevent them from committing rash deeds. Thus I hope nothing untoward will happen till I open the session here in the tribunal."

He gave his lieutenants a reassuring smile, and they quickly took their leave.

Then the smile froze on Judge Dee's face. It was only by a supreme effort that he had kept up his cheerful mien in front of his lieutenants. Now he walked to his desk, sat down and buried his face in his hands.