The Phantom of the Temple

IV

When Ma Joong entered Judge Dee's private office, Sergeant Hoong was assisting the judge into his heavy official robe of green brocade with the gold-embroidered collar. While the judge was adjusting his winged black cap in front of the cap-mirror, Ma Joong reported on his conversation with the tailor.

'I don't know what to think about all this,' Judge Dee said. 'Hoong has gone over the file on missing persons but he also drew a blank. Tell Ma Joong what you found, Sergeant!'

Sergeant Hoong picked up a sheet of notepaper from the desk.

'On the fourth day of the ninth month,' he told Ma Joong, 'two persons were reported missing. A Tartar horse-dealer here said his daughter had suddenly dis­appeared; but she turned up the following month, com­plete with a husband from over the border and a small baby. Second, the brother of a metal-worker and lock­smith called Ming Ao reported that he went out on the sixth of the ninth month and never came back. To be quite sure, I went over all the entries belonging to the year of the Snake, but no person of the name Jade was mentioned.'

The booming sound of the large bronze gong at the entrance of the tribunal came towards them. It was beaten three times, indicating that the session of the tribunal was about to begin.

Sergeant Hoong drew the curtain that separated Judge Dee's office from the court room aside. The violet curtain was embroidered in gold thread with a large image of the unicorn, the traditional symbol of perspicacity. The judge ascended the dais and sat down behind the high bench, covered with a piece of red cloth, the front side of which hung down to the floor. On the bench lay a small pile of official documents, beside it a large, rectangular package wrapped up in oil-paper. The judge bestowed a curious glance upon the package, then he folded his arms in his wide sleeves and inspected the court.

It was fairly cool in the spacious, high-ceilinged hall. There were only a dozen or so spectators. They loitered at the back. Evidently they had come to escape the heat outside rather than to assist at an exciting murder trial. Eight constables stood at attention in two rows of four in front of the dais, their headman somewhat apart, his heavy whip in his hand. Two pairs of iron handcuffs dangled from his broad leather belt. Behind him the judge saw four men of the labouring class, dressed in neat blue jackets and looking ill at ease. To the left of the dais two clerks were sitting at a low table, their writing-brushes held ready for recording the court proceedings.

After the sergeant and Ma Joong had stood themselves behind Judge Dee's armchair, the judge took the gavel, an oblong piece of hardwood, and rapped it on the bench.

'I declare the session of the tribunal of Lan-fang open!’ he announced. He called the roll, then ordered the head­man to have the accused led before the bench.

On a sign from the headman two constables went to the door-opening on the left and dragged a beanpole of a man before the dais. He was dressed in a patched brown jacket and wide trousers. Judge Dee quickly took in his long, sun-tanned face adorned by a ragged moustache and a short chinbeard; the long, unkempt hair hung over his forehead in greasy locks. Then the constables pressed him down on his knees on the stone flags in front of the bench. The headman stood himself close by the kneeling man, swinging his whip to and fro.

Judge Dee consulted the paper on top of the pile before him. Looking up, he asked sternly, 'Are you Ah-liu, aged thirty-two, of no fixed profession or domicile?'

'Yes I am,' the accused wailed. 'But I want to say here and now that—'

The headman let the butt-end of his whip descend on Ah-liu's shoulders. 'Only answer His Excellency's ques­tions!’ he barked at the prisoner.

'State the Court's case against the prisoner, headman!’

The headman stood at attention, cleared his throat im­portantly and began:

'Last night this man ate the evening-rice in Chow's tavern, just inside the east city gate, together with Seng-san, a notorious bully of that neighbourhood. They had four jugs of wine and quarrelled over the payment. The innkeeper Chow intervened, and a compromise was reached. Thereupon Ah-liu and Seng-san began to throw dice. After the latter had been losing heavily for some time, he suddenly jumped up and accused Ah-liu of cheat­ing. A hand-to-hand fight resulted, Ah-liu trying to bash in Seng-san's head with an empty wine-jug. The inn­keeper enlisted the help of the other guests. Together they succeeded in persuading the two to leave the premises. Seng-san was heard to tell Ah-liu that he would settle his hash in the deserted temple. That means the old Buddhist Temple of the Purple Clouds, Your Honour, on the hill outside the east gate. It has been standing empty for more than ten years now, and all kinds of riff-raff pass the night there.'

'Did the accused and Seng-san actually proceed there together?' Judge Dee asked.

'Indeed they did, Your Honour. The guards at the east gate stated that the two passed through the gate one hour before midnight, violently abusing each other all the time. The guards warned them that they were about to close the gate for the night, and Ah-liu shouted that he would never come back anyway.'

Ah-liu raised his head to say something. But as the headman raised his whip he quickly bent his head again to the floor.

'This morning, just after dawn, the hunter Meng came to the tribunal and reported that when entering the main hall of the temple to take a rest there, he found a dead body lying in front of the altar. I at once set out there with two of my men. The head had been severed from the neck and was lying beside the body, in a pool of blood. I identified the victim as the bully Seng-san. The murder weapon was lying there too, namely a heavy double axe, of Tartar make. I instituted a search of the temple grounds and found the accused lying asleep under a tree, at the edge of the temple garden. His jacket was stained with blood. Since I feared that he might escape if I went to take out a warrant first, I arrested him then and there on the technical charge of vagrancy. When he told me that the last place he had visited in town was Chow's tavern, I proceeded there at once and Chow told me about the quarrel. Mr Chow is present here in court to deliver testimony, together with two of his customers who witnessed the quarrel, and the hunter Meng.'

Judge Dee nodded. He turned round to Ma Joong and asked in a low voice, 'Isn't it rather unusual that a quarrel between ruffians is settled with an axe?'

'Indeed, sir,' Ma Joong replied. 'One expects a knife thrust, or a blow on the head with a heavy club.' 'Let's see the murder weapon!' Ma Joong undid the oil-paper. They saw a double axe with a crooked handle about three feet long. The razor-sharp edges were covered with dried blood. The bronze butt end was wrought into the shape of a grinning devil's head.

'How did the murderer obtain this outlandish weapon, headman?'

'He found it ready to hand, Your Honour. The temple hall is empty except for the old altar table against the back wall. But in a niche in the side wall stand two hal­berds and two axes. When the temple was still inhabited, those weapons were used during the ritual dances. They were left behind when the priests vacated the temple. No one has dared to steal them, because they are sacred objects that bring bad luck.'

'Did Seng-san have any relatives here, headman?' 'No sir. He had a brother called Lao-woo, but that fellow moved to the neighbour district Tong-kang some time ago.'

Sergeant Hoong bent over to the judge and said, 'I saw in the copies of official proceedings forwarded by Your Honour's colleague there that he condemned Lao-woo to six months in jail recently, together with the woman he was living with. The charge was the stealing of a pig.'

'I see.' Then the judge said, 'Ah-liu, report to this court exactly what happened last night!’

'Nothing, noble lord, nothing at all. I swear it! Seng-san is my best friend, why should I want to ...?' 'You had a violent quarrel with him and you tried to bash in his head,' Judge Dee cut him short. 'Do you deny that too?'

'Of course not, sir! Seng-san and me, we are always quarrelling, it helps to pass the time. Later Seng-san said I was cheating at dice, and I was. I always do, and Seng-san is always trying to catch me at it. That's part of the fun! Believe me, noble lord, I didn't murder him. I swear it! I have never so much as harmed a hair on nobody's head, I would never—'

The judge rapped his gavel.

'State what happened after you two had left the tavern!’

'We walked together to the east gate, noble lord, curs­ing each other in a friendly manner. When we had passed the gate, we walked on arm in arm, singing a song. Seng-san helped me to get up the steps, for I was very tired. I'd been carrying wood the whole afternoon for that skinflint of a ... Well, when we are up in the yard of the temple, Seng-san says, "I'll walk on to the hall, I'll sleep on the altar table! " I feel so sleepy that I lay myself down under a tree then and there. I woke up only this morning so find that son of a . . ' He checked himself as the headman raised his whip again and concluded sullenly, '... to find the officer here was kicking my ribs and shouting that I was a murderer!’

'Was there anybody else about in the deserted temple?'

'Not a living soul, noble lord!'

'Has the coroner examined the remains, headman?'

'Yes, Your Honour. Here is his report.'

The headman took a folded sheet of paper from his sleeve and placed it on the bench, respectfully, with both hands. Judge Dee glanced through the document, Ma Joong and the sergeant reading it over his shoulder.

'Funny that he went to the trouble of severing the head!’ muttered Ma Joong. 'Cutting his throat would've done the job!’

Judge Dee looked round at him.

'The coroner states,' he said in a low voice, 'that the body did not show any scars or other signs of violence. Since Seng-san was a professional bully, that also seems a little curious to me.' He thought for a few moments, smoothing his long black beard. Then he went on to his two lieutenants: 'Our coroner is a pharmacist by profes­sion. A good man, but he has little experience of forensic medicine. I think we'd better have a look at the remains ourselves before we go on with the interrogation.' He rapped his gavel and spoke:

'Lead the accused back to jail, headman! There will be a recess until further notice.'

He rose and disappeared behind the unicorn screen, followed by Sergeant Hoong and Ma Joong.