Poisoned Bride and Other Judge Dee Mysteries (11 page)

The coroner poured hot water into the mouth of the corpse, and by exercising pressure with the palms of his hands on its breast and belly, made the water first enter, and then come out again. Then he took a thin lamella of polished silver, of about eight inches long, and slowly pushed it down till it had entered deep down in the throat. He left it there, and turning to the judge, asked him to witness the withdrawal of the lamella.

Judge Dee left his seat and stood next to the corpse while the coroner drew the lamella out again. Its surface did not show the slightest discolouration. The coroner was perplexed, and said:

“This, Your Honour, is passing strange. I cannot but state that I did not find one single trace of this man having met with a violent death. I beg to advise, however, that an older coroner of established reputation be ordered to perform a second autopsy, to see whether he confirms my findings.”

Judge Dee now was in great consternation. He slowly resumed his seat, and said to Mrs. Djou:

“Since no trace of a crime having been committed was revealed by this autopsy, I shall so report to the higher authorities, and take full responsibility for the consequences. In the meantime we cannot leave this corpse lying exposed here. We shall replace it in its coffin, so that it can be interred again.”

Before he had quite finished, however, Mrs. Djou had already kicked away one of the trestles from under the empty coffin; it fell down with a crash, and broke to pieces. She cried:

“I maintained that he died of an illness, but you, dog-official, insisted upon an autopsy. And now, having failed to discover any trace of a crime, you want to bury it again as if nothing had happened. What kind of a magistrate are you? Although I am but a poor woman of the common people, you have no right to beat and torture me when I am innocent. Yesterday you tried to compel me to make a false confession, to-day you are desecrating a grave. Since you have had the corpse exhumed, it shall not be interred again. Although we are but common people, we need not let ourselves be trod upon in this way. This corpse shall not be interred again until the day this case is solved, and you have lost your black cap!”

She went on reviling Judge Dee, and her mother soon joined in the chorus. Judge Dee could answer nothing in return.

The crowd of onlookers, however, seeing that the judge, whom they knew as an honest official, was thus being insulted in public, were all of the opinion that this was a disgraceful situation. A few elders closed in on Mrs. Djou and her mother, and reprimanded them, saying that since the corpse had already been subjected to the disgrace of the autopsy, it was outrageous to let it lie there exposed in broad daylight. Others added that the judge was an honest official who, although he had erred in this case, had done so in good faith, and after all only for her dead husband’s sake. Others again declared that they would not stand for a woman of their village to shout at and curse an official in public. Would not the people from the neighbouring hamlets deride us of Huang-hua Village, and say that we did not know the rules of propriety? She had better follow the instructions of the judge, and consent to the corpse being buried again.Mrs. Djou, seeing that this was the general opinion of the crowd did not think it expedient to insist further. She thought by herself that by her threats and recriminations she had at least achieved that no other coroner would be asked to perform a second autopsy. The main thing was to have the corpse placed again in a coffin, and buried safely underground.

Judge Dee, seeing that the old coffin could not be used anymore, sent a few constables to the village, to buy a temporary coffin. When this had arrived, the corpse was hurriedly dressed, and the coffin closed. For the time being it was to be left there on its bier.

Judge Dee had the necessary documents relating to the exhumation filled out, and then returned to Huang-hua Village, followed by the crowd.

Since it was growing dark already, he decided to stay there for the night in the same hostel. He ordered that Mrs. Bee would be allowed to go home, but that Mrs. Djou be returned to the jail of the tribunal, to be kept there until further notice.

Having issued these orders Judge Dee retired to his room in the hostel, and there sat down, alone with his troubled thoughts.

Then Sergeant Hoong came in, and after having greeted the judge, reported the following:

“Obeying Your Honour’s instructions, I have made inquiries with that young man who used to be Bee Hsun’s neighbour. I found that he had been quite friendly with Bee Hsun and regrets very much that death separated them. But he could add little to what we know already about the crime itself. He mentioned, though, that when Bee Hsun was still alive, his wife loved to show herself in the streets, joking and laughing in public and altogether did not behave as a self-respecting housewife should. Bee Hsun often scolded her for this, but that always resulted only in some violent quarrels. When, after his death, his wife locked up herself in her house, and refused to see anybody except her mother, it caused no little surprise among the neighbours.

“Now that the autopsy has produced no results”, the sergeant added, “how shall we proceed with this case? Although we are firmly convinced that Bee Hsun was murdered, as long as there is no proof, we can hardly again question Mrs. Djou under torture. Moreover, the double murder of Six Mile Village has not been solved either. More than two weeks have elapsed, but still there is no news about Ma Joong and Chiao Tai having traced the murderer. It is true that Your Honour is indifferent with regard to his own reputation, but both cases are heinous crimes which cry for justice. Cannot Your Honour devise some way…”

While the sergeant was saying this, he was interrupted by the sounds o£ loud crying, outside in the courtyard. Fearing that Mrs. Bee had turned up again to annoy Judge Dee, he wanted to go outside to intercept her. But then he heard the constable standing guard outside saying:

“So you are asking for His Excellency the Judge? Well, you may be the wife of that man, but that is no reason to get in such a state. His Excellency is doing what he can. You first rest here a while and explain to me, then I shall report it to the Judge. Now how do you know that that man was your husband?”

Sergeant Hoong went hastily outside and heard that the wife of the unidentified victim of the crime at Six Mile Village had arrived to file her case with the judge. When he had reported this to his master, Judge Dee ordered the woman to be brought in.

She was a woman of about forty, her hair was disheveled, and tears were streaming down her face. Kneeling down in front of the judge, she started wailing loudly, imploring him to avenge her husband’s death.When asked to explain, she told the following:

“My poor husband was called Wang, he was a carter by profession. We live in Liu-shuikow, about twenty miles from Six Mile Village. On the eve of the murder, the wife of our neighbour became very ill, and begged my husband to go to Six Mile Village at once and fetch her husband, who happened to be staying there for transacting some business. Now my husband was going there anyway with his pushcart to fetch some goods, so he set out that same night expecting to be back early the next morning. But I waited for him the whole next day in vain. First I did not worry, thinking that he might have found some carting to do there. When, however, after three days, our neighbour came back and told me that he had not seen my husband at all, I became very much worried. I waited another few days, and then asked some of our relatives to go out and make inquiries along the road, and in Six Mile Village. They came upon a coffin placed on its bier near the guard house and read the official notice put up by its side. From the description given there, they immediately knew that the unidentified victim was my husband, dastardly done to death by some unknown person. I beg Your Honour to avenge his death!”

Judge Dee was moved by her grief, and said some comforting words, assuring her that everything was being done to apprehend the murderer. He then gave her some silver, and told her to use this sum for having her husband properly buried.

After the widow Wang had left, Judge Dee remained sitting there, sunk in melancholy thoughts. He reflected that since he had sadly failed in his duties as a magistrate, how could he still remain in office, having proved incapable of serving the State and the people?

The waiter brought his dinner in, but Judge Dee felt no appetite and he had to force himself to eat a few morsels. With the dejected sergeant standing by, the meal was finished in dismal silence. Judge Dee went to bed shortly afterwards.

The next morning Judge Dee left the hostel early, and, accompanied by his retinue, went back to the city. He made, however, a detour via Six Mile Village, where he personally ordered the headman to give Mrs. Wang all assistance for having the coffin with her husband’s corpse transported to her own village.

As soon as he was seated in his private office, Judge Dee moistened his writing brush, and drew up a report for the higher authorities. He described in full detail how he had committed the crime of desecrating a grave, and recommended himself for appropriate punishment. When he had acquitted himself of this melancholy task, he ordered the servants to prepare a bath, and told them that he would not require any food, as he was going to fast that day.

When he had bathed, and put on clean clothes, he ordered Sergeant Hoong to go to the city temple, and inform the superior that he intended to stay there that night; the main hall of the temple was to be closed to the public after nightfall, and all persons except the priests were to be told to leave.

When night was falling, Judge Dee proceeded to the temple. Arrived before the gate, he sent his escort back, and ascended the main hall alone.

There Sergeant Hoong had already prepared a couch for him in a corner, and a cushion for meditation was placed in front of the altar.

The sergeant added new incense in the burner and then took his leave. He spread his bedding out below on one of the broad steps leading up to the main hall, and there lay down.

Then Judge Dee knelt down on the bare floor in front of the altar, and prayed fervently. He supplicated the Powers on High that they, knowing his earnest desire that justice be done, would deign to show him the right way.

He sat down on the cushion, with crossed legs and his body erect. Closing his eyes, he tried to achieve a tranquil state of mind.

Rising he walked down the steps, and there saw Sergeant Hoong, who was already sound asleep. He did not wish to disturb him, so he went again to the main hall, and there started walking up and down.

On passing for perhaps the twentieth time in front of the large altar table, he noticed a book lying there. “They say that reading will attract the spirit of sleep. Let me read a while, perhaps this book will help me to pass the time, or else bore me to such an extent that I shall fall asleep.” Thus he picked up the book, and opened it at random.

This book, however, was only the collection of answers, used when consulting the divination slips.
[Note 4]
Judge Dee thought:

“Since I have come here to receive instruction from the powers on high, I might as well consult fate through these divination slips. Who knows whether the spirits have not chosen these particular means for manifesting themselves?”

He reverently replaced the book on the altar, lighted the candles, and put new incense in the incense burner. Then he made a profound obeisance in front of the altar and silently prayed for some time. Rising again he took the vase in both hands, and shook it well, until one bamboo slip dropped out. He quickly picked it up, and saw that it bore the number 24. He again opened the book, and leafed it through till he found the entry under No. 24. The item was headed by the two words “Middle” and “Even”, and underneath there was written a name, “Lady Lee”.

Judge Dee remembered that this Lady Lee was a well-known historical person, of more than a thousand years ago. Being the concubine of an ancient king, she instigated him to kill the crown prince; shortly afterwards that kingdom was defeated, and the king had to flee for his life. Judge Dee reflected that this could point to Mrs. Djou, who, through murdering her husband, was bringing calamity to her house. Finally the entry gave a brief poem, that said:

Dawn never is heralded by the hen instead of the cock.Why did the king take Lady Lee in his favour?In women’s hearts many an evil scheme is born.And many are the intimacies on the shared couch.

Judge Dee mused that although these lines could be made to apply to the murder of Bee Hsun, they did not help to clarify the issue. The first line could well refer to Mrs. Djou’s insolent behavior, taking on the role of the man in the house, and reviling her mother and the judge alike. The second line referred to the fact that Bee Hsun, in taking Mrs. Djou as wife, had himself brought on his misfortune, and the third line implied that it was Mrs. Djou who had planned the killing of her husband. But the fourth line, that should have contained the clue, did not seem to make any sense. Bee Hsun and his wife were a wedded couple, what was more natural than that they should have the normal marital relations?

In the uncertain light of the candles, Judge Dee thought over this line for a considerable time, without arriving at a plausible explanation.

When the second night watch was sounded outside, he felt much calmer, and very tired. Thus he drew his robes closer about him, and lay down on the couch to sleep.

Then, just as he was nodding off, he saw an old gentleman with a flowing white beard entering the hall. This new arrival greeted the judge as an equal and said:

“Your Honour has had a trying day, why should you remain here in this lonely place? Come with me to the teahouse, and let us, sipping the fragrant brew, listen for a while to the talk of the people there.”

Judge Dee thought that the old gentleman looked exceedingly familiar, but for the moment he could not place him. Finding it awkward to show that he had forgotten who the other was, he hurriedly rose and accompanied him into the street.

Outside a teeming crowd was still filling the streets. They walked through a number of thoroughfares, and finally arrived at a large teahouse, that Judge Dee could not recall ever to have seen before. The old gentleman bade him enter.

Inside he found a spacious courtyard, with in a corner a hexagonal pavilion. There, seated around small tables, a large number of guests were talking and drinking tea. They went up the steps of the pavilion, and sat down at an empty table. Looking around, Judge Dee noticed that this pavilion was appointed in quite elegant taste. Its walls consisted of intricate lattice work, and roofbeams and pillars were decorated with boards of black lacquer, engraved with quotations from the Classics and lines of poetry in golden letters. His attention was drawn especially by two lines of poetry displayed there, which greatly puzzled him. Somehow or other this verse seemed familiar to him, but he could not remember in what book he had read it. The verse read:

Seeking the lost traces of the Child, one descends the couch,And finds the answer to all past riddles.Asking Yao Foo about the secrets of divination,It proves hard to discover the man in Szuchuan Province.

These lines intrigued the judge, and he asked the old gentleman: “One would expect to find on the walls of a tea house some well-worn lines by famous poets about the delights of drinking tea. Why did they put up this verse here? It mentions historical persons who must be unfamiliar to most of the guests that frequent this place, and moreover the verse does not scan well.”

“Your remarks”, the old gentleman answered with a smile, "are very much to the point. But then, who knows whether they did not put up this verse not for the common guests, but especially for such a learned gentleman like you? Some day you may make some sense out of it”.

Judge Dee did not quite get his meaning and he was just debating with himself whether it would be impolite to press the old gentleman for a further explanation, when suddenly he heard a terrific clanging of gongs and the strident sounds of music that nearly deafened his ears. Looking up he found that the tea pavilion had disappeared altogether and that he was standing in a theater, right among the noisy crowd of spectators.

On the scene an acrobatic act was in progress, there were speardancers, sword swallowers, jugglers, and what not. Among these acrobats he especially noticed a woman of about thirty years of age, who was lying on her back on a high tabouret. On her raised legs she balanced a huge earthenware jar, making it spin round on her footsoles like a wheel. Then a good looking young man approached the tabouret and smiled at the woman. She seemed overjoyed at seeing him, and giving the jar a kick, she sent it up flying in the air. Then she jumped up with amazing swiftness, and caught the jar in her arms when it came down. Having performed this feat, she said with a smile to the young man: “So you have come again, my husband!”

Then a tiny girl climbed out of the jar’s mouth, and crawling to the young man, clutched at his robe.

Just when those three were laughing together, the crowd of spectators suddenly melted away, the stage was empty, and Judge Dee found himself standing there all alone. Before he could start wondering, however, suddenly the old gentleman with the white beard again appeared at his side, and said to him:

“You have now seen the first act, but not yet the second! Come along with me quickly!”

Without giving the judge time to ask a question, he took him along over what seemed a lonely plot of land, overgrown with weeds. There was a thick mist all around, through which weird birds could be seen fluttering about. Every now and then they came upon a corpse, lying among the weeds.

Suddenly Judge Dee came upon a naked corpse, of a greenish colour. A bright red adder came out of one of its nostrils and started crawling towards the judge.

Judge Dee was terribly frightened, perspiration broke out all over him, and he woke up.He found himself again on his couch in the temple hall and heard the third night watch being sounded outside.

He sat upright and remained thus for some time, trying to collect his thoughts. His mouth was parched, so he called out to Sergeant Hoong. The sergeant brought the portable teastove, and poured him a cup of hot tea. After the judge had thus refreshed himself, the sergeant asked:

“Your Honour has been here now for the greater part of the night. Did you sleep at all?”

“Yes, I did sleep for a while”, Judge Dee answered, “but I still feel very confused. What did you dream when you were asleep there below?”

“To tell Your Honour the truth”, the sergeant answered, "these last days I have been so busy running hither and thither on this case, and so worried over the trouble you got into over Bee Hsun’s murder, that I slept like a log. And if I had any dreams, I don’t recall a single one of them! But perhaps Your Honour was more lucky”.

Judge Dee then told him all, from his consulting the divination slips to the strange dream he had had. Again taking up the divination book, he read out aloud to the sergeant the verse he had found there. The sergeant said:

“Usually the explanations given in these books are very obscure. Yet although I am but an unlettered man, the meaning of this particular entry seems obvious to me. I don’t look for an explanation in the old story the poem refers to, but take the words as they stand. Now, as for the first line, this refers plainly to the last hour of darkness, before daybreak. That is the quietest time of the night, and that is the usual time for secret lovers to sneak out of the house of their lady love. The intimacies mentioned in the fourth line don’t refer to wedded love, but to the illicit relations of Mrs. Djou and her paramour. You assumed from the very beginning that there must be such a person. Now this poem advises us that he was present when the crime was committed, and probably an accessory. This would fit in with the time schedule. We know that Mrs. Bee, her son and his wife, after they had come back from the races, had an elabourate dinner. Then they drank wine, and talked some. When Bee Hsun complained of his stomach ache, it must have been quite late in the night. Then Mrs. Bee told his wife to bring her son to bed. She tidied up, made her toilet, and it was thus very late in the night when she was awakened by her son’s cry. Now is it not probable that Mrs. Djou’s lover came during the third night watch, was surprised by Bee Hsun, and that Mrs. Djou thereupon killed him, in a manner as yet unknown to us? That must have been the way it went."Judge Dee nodded and said:

“There is much in what you say. I assumed that there was a third person involved, because else Mrs. Djou would have had nothing to gain and everything to lose by killing her husband. But I was sure that she would confess, and then we could know who her lover was, and what part he took in the murder. Thus I made no attempt to locate this man. This was a bad mistake. Now, however, it is even more important to find him, for now it is he who must tell us how the crime was committed. But how do we find him?”

“That”, Sergeant Hoong said, “cannot be difficult. When you have returned to the tribunal, set Mrs. Bee and Mrs. Djou free. Then we secretly send some of our best men to Mrs. Bee’s house and watch it closely, especially during the night, the last hours before daybreak. This lover is certainly somewhere about, and when he hears that Mrs. Bee has been released, he will try to contact her sooner or later. And then we catch him.”

Judge Dee was very pleased with this plan, and complimented the sergeant on his clever reasoning. Then he asked him what he thought about the dream."When you meditated here”, asked Sergeant Hoong, “did you think only about Bee Hsun’s murder, or also about the double murder of Six Mile Village?”

“As a matter of fact”, Judge Dee answered, “before I went to sleep I had been going over in my mind again all features of both of them. But I fail to see what bearing my dream can have on either case”. The Sergeant said:

“I must confess that this dream is completely obscure to me also. Would Your Honour perhaps kindly again recite for me the verse that you saw in the tea pavilion? There was something about a child, and about a couch”.