The Chinese Nail Murders

Fourth Chapter

Shortly after dark, six constables stood waiting in the court­yard with lighted lamps of thick oil paper. Seeing them stamping their feet to keep warm, the headman said with a grin:

"Don't you men worry about the cold! You know how liberal the Honorable Chu Ta-yuan is, he'll see to it that all of us get a good meal in the kitchen out there!"

"And he doesn't usually forget the wine either!" a young con­stable said contentedly.

Then all stood at attention. The judge appeared at the door, followed by his four lieutenants. The headman shouted for the bearers, and the judge ascended the palanquin, together with Sergeant Hoong and Tao Gan. As the groom brought the horses of Ma Joong and Chiao Tai, the latter said:

"We'll pick up Master Lan Tao-kuei on the way, Your Honor!"

Judge Dee nodded, and the bearers set off at a brisk pace.

Leaning back against the cushions Judge Dee said:

"That messenger from Tai-yuan brought disturbing news. My first wife's mother is gravely ill, and she decided to leave tomorrow morning. My second "and third wives will accompany her, to­gether with my children. It won't be an easy journey this time of the year, but it can't be helped. The Old Lady is over seventy now, and my wife is very worried."

Sergeant Hoong and Tao Gan expressed their sympathy. The judge thanked them, then continued:

"It is very inconvenient that tonight I have to go to Chu Ta-yuan's dinner. The guards are bringing three tilt carts to the tri­bunal for transporting my family; I would have liked to be there to supervise the packing and loading. But Chu is the leading citizen here, I can't make him lose face by canceling my visit at the last moment."

The Sergeant nodded. He said:

"Ma Joong told me that Chu has made preparations for a formidable repast in the main hall of his mansion. He is a gay fellow; Ma Joong and Chiao Tai thoroughly enjoy the hunting parties he organizes for them—not to speak of the drinking bouts!"

"I wonder how he manages to stay so gay," Tao Gan remarked, "seeing that he has eight wives to keep the peace with!"

"Well," Judge Dee said reprovingly, "you know that he has no children. It must worry him greatly that he can't beget a son to continue his family. He is quite an athletic man but I don't think he keeps that harem just for his amusement."

"Chu Ta-yuan is very wealthy," Sergeant Hoong said philo­sophically, "but there are things even his wealth can't buy!" After a while he added: "With Your Honor's ladies and children all gone, I fear it will be very lonely for Your Honor these coming days!"

"With that murder case pending in the tribunal," the judge replied, "I don't think I would have much time for my family anyway. During their absence I shall eat and sleep in my office. Don't forget to tell that to the chief clerk, Sergeant!"

He looked out of the window and saw the black mass of the Drum Tower looming against the starry winter sky.

"We'll soon be there!" he said.

The bearers halted in front of an imposing gate. The high, red-lacquered doors swung open, and a very tall and heavy man, swathed in costly sable furs, came forward and helped the judge descend from his palanquin. He had a broad, florid face and a neatly trimmed black beard.

After Chu Ta-yuan had welcomed the judge, two other men made their bows. Judge Dee recognized with dismay the old guild-master Liao with his thin face and quavering gray goatee. He re­flected that during the dinner Liao would certainly question him about the progress made in locating his lost daughter. The young man standing next to him was Yu Kang, Chu's secretary. Seeing his pallid, nervous face, the judge knew that he also would doubt­less ask news about his fiancee.

Judge Dee was still more dismayed when Chu, instead of tak­ing them to the large reception hall inside, led them to an open terrace in the southern wing.

"I had planned," Chu Ta-yuan said boisterously, "to offer Your Honor a dinner in the hall, but we are but simple northern peas­ants here, you know; we could never compete with the cooking Your Honor gets at home! I thought Your Honor would much prefer to have a real hunter's dinner out in the open. Roasted meat and rustic liquor, just country fare, you know, but not entirely without taste, I hope!"

The judge made a polite reply but secretly he thought this idea of Chu's a most unfortunate one. The wind had subsided, and high screens of felt stood all around the terrace, but it was still very cold. The judge shivered. His throat was feeling sore. He thought he must have caught a bad cold that morning in Pan's house, and would have much preferred a comfortable dinner in the warm hall.

The terrace was lighted by numerous torches; their flickering light shone on a large square formed by four tables, thick boards placed on trestles. In the center stood an enormous brazier, heaped with glowing coals. Three servants stood around it, roasting pieces of meat on long iron forks.

Chu Ta-yuan made the judge sit down on a campstool at the head of the table, between himself and Master Liao. Sergeant Hoong and Tao Gan were placed at the table on the right, to­gether with Chu's secretary, Yu Kang, opposite two elderly men whom Chu introduced as the masters of the guilds of the paper merchants and wine dealers. Ma Joong and Chiao Tai sat at the table opposite the judge, with the boxing master Lan Tao-kuei.

Judge Dee looked with interest at the famous boxer, the cham­pion of the northern provinces. The light shone on his closely shaved head and face. The boxer had shaved off all hair so as not to be encumbered by it while fighting. The judge knew from the enthusiastic tales of Ma Joong and Chiao Tai that Lan devoted himself entirely to his art; he had never married and he lived a most austere life. While making the usual polite conversation with Chu, Judge Dee reflected that he was glad that Ma Joong and Chiao Tai had found in Pei-chow such congenial friends in Chu Ta-yuan and Lan Tao-kuei.

Chu proposed a toast to the judge, which he had to return, al­though the raw liquor hurt his aching throat.

Then Chu inquired after the murder, and Judge Dee gave him a brief account, in between tastes of the roasted meat. But the fat made his stomach turn. He tried to pick up some vegetables but found it difficult to handle the chopsticks as the others did with gloves on. He impatiently pulled them off, but then his fingers froze and made eating still more difficult.

"That murder," Chu said in a hoarse whisper, "has greatly disturbed our friend, Liao, here. He fears that his daughter Lien-fang may have met with a similar sad fate. Couldn't Your Honor cheer him up a bit?"

Judge Dee said a few words to Master Liao about the efforts made to locate his daughter, but that encouraged the gray-beard to launch upon a long account of her excellent qualities. The judge felt much sympathy for the old gentleman, but he had heard his story several times in the tribunal, and he had a splitting headache. His face was glowing, but his back and legs were ice-cold. He wondered unhappily whether his wives and children would not have a very uncomfortable journey in this weather.

Chu again leaned over to the judge, and said:

"I do hope that Your Honor will find that girl, either dead or alive! My secretary is fretting himself to death about her; I quite understand, mind you, for she is his fiancee, and a fine wench. But there is much work to do on my property, you know, and the fellow really hasn't been much use, of late!"

Whispering at his ear, Chu enveloped the judge in a smell of liquor and garlic. He suddenly felt sick. He murmured that everything possible was being done to find Miss Liao, then rose and asked to be excused for a moment.

At a sign from Chu, a servant with a lamp led Judge Dee in­side. Through a maze of dark corridors they reached a small courtyard with a row of washrooms at its back. Judge Dee quickly entered one of them.

When he came out another servant stood waiting for him with a copper basin of hot water. The judge rubbed his face and neck with a hot towel, and felt somewhat better.

"You needn't wait!" he told the servant, "I remember the way." He started pacing the moonlit courtyard. It was very quiet there. The judge thought he must be somewhere at the back of this vast mansion.

After a while he decided to rejoin the party. But inside the house the corridors were pitch-dark and he soon found he had lost his bearings. He clapped his hands to summon a servant, but no one answered. Apparently all the servants were out on the terrace serving the dinner.

Peering ahead he saw a faint streak of light. Carefully walking on he came to a door standing ajar. It gave onto a small garden, surrounded by a high wooden fence. It was empty except for a few shrubs in the farthest corner, near the back door. The branches were weighed down by a thick coat of frozen snow. Looking out over this garden, Judge Dee suddenly felt afraid. "I must really be getting ill!" he muttered. "What is there to be afraid of in this peaceful back garden?" He forced himself to descend the wooden steps, and walked across the garden to the back door. The only sound he heard was the crunching of the snow under his boots. But he felt positively afraid now; the uncanny feeling of a hidden menace was upon him. He involuntarily halted in his steps, and looked around. His heart stood still, A strange white figure was sitting motionless under the shrubs.

Standing stock-still, the judge stared at it in horror. Then he sighed with relief. It was a snowman, made to resemble a life-size Buddhist priest sitting cross-legged against the fence, in meditation.

The judge wanted to laugh, but the smile froze on his lips. The two pieces of charcoal that represented the snowman's eyes had disappeared, and the empty sockets fixed him with an evil leer. There emanated from the figure an oppressive atmosphere of death and decay.

Sudden panic seized the judge. He turned and quickly walked back to the house. He stumbled while climbing the steps, and hurt his shin. But he walked ahead as fast as he could, feeling along the wall of the dark corridor.

After two turns he met a servant with a lamp, and he was led back to the terrace.

The diners, in high spirits, were lustily intoning a hunting song. Chu Ta-yuan was beating the measure with his chopsticks. As he saw the judge Chu quickly rose. He said anxiously:

"Your Honor doesn't look too well!"

"I must have caught a bad cold," Judge Dee said with a forced smile, "and imagine, a snowman in your back yard gave me quite a fright!"

Chu laughed loudly.

"I'll tell the servants that their children may make only funny snowmen," he said. "Here, another drink will do Your Honor good!"

Suddenly the steward appeared on the terrace, leading a squat man whose pointed helmet, short mail-coat and baggy leather trousers proclaimed him to be a corporal of the mounted military police. He stood stiffly at attention in front of the judge, and said in a clipped voice:

"I have the honor to report that my patrol has arrested the man Pan Feng six miles south of Five Rams Village, two miles east of the main road. Just now I delivered him to the warden of the jail in Your Honor's tribunal."

"Excellent work!" Judge Dee exclaimed. To Chu he added: "I greatly regret that I have to leave now to look into this. But I don't want to break up this splendid feast. I'll take along only Sergeant Hoong."

Chu Ta-yuan and the other guests conducted the judge to the front courtyard, where he took leave of his host, apologizing again for his abrupt departure.

"Duty comes first!" Chu said heartily. "And I am glad that the scoundrel has been caught!"

When they were back in the tribunal Judge Dee said curtly to Hoong:

"Call the warden of the jail."

The warden appeared and greeted the judge.

"What did you find on the prisoner?" Judge Dee asked him.

"He carried no weapons, Your Honor, only his pass and small money."

"He didn't have a leather bag with him?"

"No, Your Honor."

The judge nodded and told the warden to lead them to the jail.

When the warden unlocked the iron door of a small cell and lifted his lantern, the man who was sitting on the bench rose with a clanking of heavy chains. Judge Dee thought that at first sight Pan Feng looked like a rather inoffensive old man. He had an egg-shaped head with tousled gray hair, and a drooping mustache. His face was disfigured by a red welt across his left cheek. Pan did not start upon the usual protestations of innocence but looked at the judge in respectful silence.

Folding his arms in his wide sleeves Judge Dee said sternly:

"A very serious accusation has been brought against you in the tribunal, Pan Feng."

Pan said with a sigh:

"I can easily imagine what happened, Your Honor. My wife's brother Yeh Tai must have brought a false charge against me. That good-for-nothing is always bothering me for money and of late I have resolutely refused to lend him any more. I suppose this is his revenge."

"As you know," the judge said evenly, "the law doesn't allow me to question a prisoner in private. But it might spare you em­barrassment in court tomorrow if you now told me whether you have had any serious quarrels with your wife lately."

"So she is in it, too!" Pan remarked bitterly. "Now I understand why she has been behaving so strangely these last weeks, going out at unusual hours. No doubt she was helping Yeh Tai to con­coct the false accusation. When day before yesterday I . . ."

Judge Dee raised his hand.

"You'll tell the full story tomorrow," he said curtly. He turned around and left the jail.