Necklace and Calabash
- Автор: ван Гулик Роберт Ханс
- Серия: Judge Dee #15
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Другие детективы
Электронная книга - «Necklace and Calabash». Краткое содержание книги:
Due to its proximity to the Water Palace, the summer residence of the Emperor's favorite daughter, Riverton lies within a Special Area administered by the military. To Judge Dee, returning to his district of Poo-yang, the peaceful town promises a few days' fishing and relaxation. But it is not to be. A chance meeting with a Taoist recluse, a gruesome body fished out of the river, strange guests at the Kingfisher Inn, a princess in distress--before long the judge is facing one of the most intricate and baffling mysteries of his career.
Judge Dee nodded. It had been heavy going upstream; Fern's shoulders glistened moistly in the sun that was steadily gaining in strength. The north bank was less thickly wooded; here and there a fisherman's thatched hut appeared among the green foliage. When they were close Fern threw a hook weighted with two bricks into the water. The boat floated down the stream for a while, then the anchor caught and it lay still. She said with satisfaction:
'This is just about the right place. When I was here with. Tai Min the other day, we caught a couple of fine perches. Look, in this jar are the crabs' legs, the very best bait!'
'Our Master Confucius always fished with a rod,' the judge remarked as he prepared the bait, 'never with a net. He thought the fish ought to be given a sporting chance.'
'I know the quotation. When father was still alive he used to read the Classics with me. He was the head of our village school, you see. Since mother died when I was still young, and I was the only child, father spent a lot of his time on me. No, take that other line! You need a longer one for perch.' Throwing out her own line, she added, 'We had a very happy life. But when father died I had to move to the inn here, for Uncle Wei was the nearest relative. I couldn't take along the books we used to read; they belonged to the school. You being a learned doctor, you must have got a large library, haven't you?'
'Fairly large. But little time to use it.'
'I'd like to live in a scholar's home, you know. Read books about all kinds of interesting subjects, practise painting and calligraphy. Makes you feel secure, if you know what I mean. When my aunt was still there it wasn't so bad in the Kingfisher, mind you. Uncle never gave her much for her clothes, but she inherited a few bolts of good silk, and I helped her make new robes from them. Her favourite jacket was made of red brocade, with flowers in gold thread. She thought it suited her very well, and she was right too!’
The judge lowered his line into the brown water. Settling back in the bow, he said:
'Yes, I heard that your aunt was a nice woman. I can well understand an impressionable youngster like Tai Min conceiving a kind of calf-love for her.'
'He was absolutely crazy about her! I am sure he began to gamble just because he wanted to be able to give her a present now and then!’
'Gambling is a sure way to lose money instead of making it,' the judge said absent-mindedly. He thought he felt a slight tug at the line.
'Tai Min won. But I think that Mr Lang let him win on purpose, the better to fleece him afterwards! That Lang gives me the creeps!’
'Lang? Where did they gamble?'
'Oh, Tai Min went to Lang's wing a few times. Hey, watch it!’
He let the line slip through his fingers. In a flash he saw a pattern emerging. Lang', would never have befriended the young cashier without a good reason.
'Give him more line!’ Fern called out excitedly.
Yes, he would give Lang rope. Lots of rope. It might lead to the link connecting Lang's ramshackle godown with the golden palace gates. Alternately slackening and tightening the line, he tried to survey the consequences of his discovery.
'Pull him in!' she hissed.
Slowly gathering in the line, he saw a fair-sized perch come to the surface. He leaned over the gunwale and got the squirming fish on board and into the basket.
'Well done! Now watch me!’ She stared at her floater, her face flushed. The breeze shifted a stray strand of glossy hair from under her straw hat. The judge was eager to get back to the south bank, for he wanted to go ashore and check whether there was perhaps a pathway there. But it would be cruel to spoil her pleasure. He threw out a short line and again went over in his mind the various possibilities. The fact that the cashier had been tortured had struck him at once as curious. Now he saw a possible explanation. Her voice roused him.
THE JUDGE CATCHES A PERCH
'They won't bite at all. Tell me, how many wives do you have?'
Three.'
'Is your First a nice lady?'
'Very. I have a happy and harmonious household, I am glad to say.'
'You being a famous doctor, you should have four. Even numbers bring good luck! And speaking about luck, I think ...'
She tugged at her line, and brought up a smaller fish. Then they remained silent for a long time, she intent on her line, he occupied with his own thoughts. After she had caught a fairly large perch, the judge remarked:
'My legs are getting a bit cramped. I'd like to try my hand at sculling the boat. Haven't done it for many a year!’
'All right! As long as you don't overturn the boat!’
Crouching on the bottom, they exchanged places. The boat began to rock, and he had to steady her with his arm round her shoulders. 'It's very nice to be with you!’ she whispered.
Judge Dee quickly took the long oar. He knelt in the stern and moved the boat upstream a little so that she could haul the anchor up. Then he turned the boat away from shore. It didn't go too badly, but in his kneeling position he could not use his body weight and had to depend on his arms alone. The wound on his forearm began to throb. He tried to get to his feet, but the boat began to rock dangerously. She burst out in peals of laughter.
'Well, I'll manage without standing,' he said sourly.
'Where are you heading for?'
'I'd like to go ashore somewhere. I might find some medicinal herbs in the undergrowth over there. Do you mind?'
'I don't. But you won't be able to do more than poke about a little around the small coves. There is no path of any sort.'
'In that case we'll head back for the quay. It'll be easy; we'll have the current with us.'
He soon found, however, that it was easier said than done. There was much traffic now, and it took all his skill to avoid
collisions. He listened to her with half an ear as she chattered away happily. Suddenly he asked:
'Searched? Who searched what?'
'My uncle, I said! He must have searched poor Tai Min's attic. When I tidied it up this morning, I noticed someone had been over it with a fine comb! Can't imagine what uncle expected to find there! I'll take over here; you'll never manage to berth it properly!’
X
They parted on the landing-stage. Fern took the main street, carrying the fish-basket and humming a song. Judge Dee walked past the fish-market and entered the first small eating-place he saw. He ordered a large bowl of noodles stewed with bamboo sprouts. After a quick cup of tea he went back to the Kingfisher, for he was eager to take a bath.
As he had expected, the bath was empty, for it was the hour of the noon rice; even the bath-attendant was off duty. Stretched out in the pool, he carefully considered the move he was contemplating. It was a long shot, a very long shot. His theory was based on only two facts: first, that the poor cashier Tai Min had been severely tortured prior to his being killed; and second, that his room had been searched. All the rest was mere guess-work, based on his knowledge of the mean, grasping nature of men like Lang Liu. Yes, he would risk it. If his theory should prove correct, he would have successfully completed the first phase of his investigation. If he was wrong, he would at least have frightened a few people. And frightened people are liable to make bad mistakes.
The bath-attendant came in while Judge Dee was putting a new bandage on his forearm. He told him to fetch clean robes from his room and to give the soiled ones to the laundrywomen. Clad in his brown travelling-robe, now crisply laundered, he went to the hall and asked the clerk if Mr Lang had finished his noon rice. When the clerk nodded he gave him his visiting-card and told him to inquire whether Mr Lang could see him for a few moments.