Poets and Murder

Back in the pine forest behind the Temple of Subtle Insight, the judge left his lantern under a tree. When he had brushed himself down as well as he could, he entered the temple com­pound by the back gate. The window of the corner room where he thought he had seen the sexton was now shut.

Two monks stood talking together on the stairs of the main hall. He stepped up to them.

'I came to see Sexton Loo, but apparently he has gone out.'

'His reverence came here the day before yesterday, sir. But this morning he moved to the residence of His Excellency the Magistrate.'

The judge thanked them, and went to the main gate. His two litter bearers were squatting by the roadside, playing a gambling game with black and white pebbles. They quickly scrambled up. The judge told them to take him to the tribunal.

Upon his arrival at the residence, Judge Dee went straight into the main courtyard. He wanted to talk to Lo before the other guests arrived; after that he could change quickly into a more formal costume.

Half a dozen maids were rushing around in the elegant landscaped garden in front of the main hall, hanging coloured lampions among the flowering shrubs, and two boy servants were putting up a bamboo scaffolding for fireworks on the other side of the lotus pond. Looking up at the balcony of the second floor, the judge saw Magistrate Lo standing by the red-lacquered balustrade, talking with his counsellor. Lo wore an elegant wide robe of blue brocade, and a high winged cap of black gauze. Glad that the dinner had not yet begun, Judge Dee hastily ascended the broad staircase of polished wood.

When the small magistrate saw him coming along the bal­cony, he exclaimed, aghast:

'My dear fellow! Why haven't you changed yet? The guests'll be here any moment!’

'I have an urgent message for you, Lo. Personally.'

'Go and see whether the housemaster is managing all right in the banquet hall, Kao!’ When his counsellor had gone inside, Lo asked rather curtly, 'Well, what is it?'

Leaning against the balustrade, Judge Dee told his colleague how the clue of the 'Black Fox Lay' had taken him to the deserted shrine, and the gist of his conversation there. When he had finished, the magistrate exclaimed, beaming at him:

'Magnificent, elder brother, magnificent! This means that we are half-way to the solution of our murder case, for we now know the motive! Soong came here to trace his father's murderer, but that chap got wind that the student was on his track, and he killed the poor fellow. It was Soong's notes concerning that old murder of eighteen years ago that the scoundrel searched for in the student's lodging. And found, too!’ As Judge Dee nodded, Lo resumed, 'Soong consulted my archives for details of his father's case. We must now go over all dossiers of the Year of the Dog, and look for an unsolved murder, disappearance, kidnapping or what have you, involv­ing a family of the surname Soong.'

'Any such case,' the judge corrected him. 'Since the student wanted his investigation to be a secret, Soong may be an assumed name. He planned to reveal his identity and file an official accusation as soon as he had found his man and col­lected proof of his crime. Well, the man murdered Soong, but now he has us on his heels!’ Tugging at his moustache, he resumed, 'Another man I'd like to meet is Saffron's father. It's a shame that the heartless scoundrel lets his illegitimate child live in those filthy surroundings! And she's ill too. We must check with the dancer, Lo. She may have recognized Saffron's father, and if not she can give us at least a description of him, for she saw him when he was leaving the ruin, with the scarf removed from his face. After we have located the fellow, we'll make him confess what woman he seduced, and see what we can do for the poor girl. Has Small Phoenix arrived yet?'