The Emperor's Pearl

He handed the paper he had been reading to the judge. Standing by the desk, Judge Dee glanced it through. The corpse was described as that of a young married woman, killed by a dagger-thrust that had penetrated into the heart. There were no bodily defects, but her shoulders were dis­figured by old scars of undetermined origin. She had been in the third month of pregnancy.

Judge Dee gave the document back to Hoong, and seated himself in the large armchair behind his desk. He put the saddle-bag on the table, leaned back in his chair and asked:

'Did our headman bring in that fellow Sia Kwang, Tong Mai's friend?'

'No sir, he came an hour ago and told me that Sia hadn't returned yet. The old-clothes dealer, his landlord, said that it was no use waiting for Sia, for he keeps very irregular hours and often disappears for a day or two. The headman searched the attic Tong and Sia shared, then came back here. He left two constables there to watch the house till tomorrow morning, with orders to collar Sia as soon as he turns up.'

The sergeant cleared his throat and resumed:

'I had a long talk with Professor Ou-yang, sir. He doesn't share Dr Pien's and Mr Kou's high opinion of Tong. He told me that both Tong and Sia were clever enough, but dissolute youngsters, fond of wine and women, and not averse to shady financial deals. They were always very irregular in attending courses, and in recent months had hardly shown themselves in the temple school at all. The professor was not sorry about that, he said that those two had a bad influence on the other students. He was sorry for old Mr Tong, who was a learned, very cultured gentleman, he said. As to Sia Kwang, he thought that his parents lived in the capital. It seems they had disowned Sia because of his bad conduct.'

Judge Dee nodded. He sat up, took the saddle-bag and shook its contents out on the desk. Putting the two wrapped-up daggers aside, he untied the handkerchief and let the tortoise out. It crawled ahead, blinked solemnly at the candle, then withdrew into its shell. Sergeant Hoong stared at the small animal in speechless astonishment.

'If you let me have a large cup of hot tea, Hoong,' the judge said with a bleak smile, 'I'll tell you where and how I became acquainted with my small friend here.'

While the sergeant was busying himself over the tea-table in the corner, the judge got up and went, with the tortoise in his hand, to the back window. Leaning outside he placed the animal among the artificial rocks in the small, walled-in garden.

After he had resumed his seat, he gave Sergeant Hoong a detailed account of what had happened in the haunted house. He was interrupted only once, when the corporal of the south gate came in to report that neither he nor his col­leagues at the other city gates had found a man with a fresh knife wound. When the corporal had taken his leave, Judge Dee told Hoong also about his interview with Kou Yuan-liang.

'So it's clear, Hoong,' he concluded, 'that the facts at our disposal now admit of two entirely different theories. I shall outline these for you, just for our general orientation, mind you, and mainly to map out a course for our investigation. Have a cup of tea, Hoong.'

The judge emptied his own cup, and resumed:

'In the first place, let us base ourselves on the assumption that Mr Kou told me the complete truth just now. In that case Tong Mai was poisoned by an unknown person who had learned about the planned sale of the pearl; he wanted to keep the appointment with the Amber Lady in Tong's place, and steal the gold and the pearl. He had not hesitated to murder Tong in order to achieve this purpose, and he didn't hesitate to kill Amber, either because she attacked him with a knife, or just to silence her. Less likely, but also possible, is that the man who kept the appointment with the Amber Lady had nothing to do with the poisoning of Tong Mai. But he did know about the impending transaction in the deserted house. When he learned that Tong had sud­denly died, he then and there resolved to keep the appoint­ment in Tong's place, in order to obtain the gold and the pearl. In that case Amber must have been killed by accident, for thieves and murderers belong to classes apart.'

Judge Dee paused. He caressed his side-whiskers for a while before he went on:

'My second theory is based on the assumption that Kou's statements were only partially true, and that he lied when he told me that he didn't know where the Amber Lady was going to meet Tong Mai. In that case Tong Mai and Amber were murdered on the instructions of Kou Yuan-liang.'

'How could that be possible, sir?' Sergeant Hoong ex­claimed.

'Remember that Tong grew up together with Amber, Hoong! Tong was a likeable, handsome young man, and Amber an intelligent, attractive girl. Suppose that these two young people had become lovers? Unfortunately there are not a few householders who condone intimacy between their young sons and maids or slave-girls in the house, and old Mr Tong may have been one of those. If that was so, then it is quite possible that the lovers continued their liaison in secret, after Amber had entered Mr Kou's house­hold.'