The Phantom of the Temple
- Автор: ван Гулик Роберт Ханс
- Серия: Judge Dee #13
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Другие детективы
Электронная книга - «The Phantom of the Temple». Краткое содержание книги:
On a wooded hill in the Lan-fang district, a phantom stalks in a century-old Buddhist temple and three mysteries unfold-the vanishing of a wealthy merchant's daughter, the disapperance of twenty bars of gold, and the discovery of a decapitated corpse. In the Phantom of the Temple, the clever Judge Dee pieces together these strange occurrences to reveal one complex and gruesome plot.
'Very good, Your Honour.'
The scribe was about to make his bow when Ma Joong asked him, 'Do you know where our headman is?'
'He has gone out to arrest a vagrant, sir. There was a violent quarrel in a winehouse down town last night, and the vagrant killed a professional bully.'
'Well,' Judge Dee said, 'since that is evidently an ordinary crime of violence of the underworld, it won't necessitate much paperwork. So, get on your way! Good luck!'
When the senior scribe had left, Ma Joong said sourly, 'So that's what our good headman is doing! Arresting a murderer. And without having taken out a warrant, too! If the fellow doesn't take care of himself, he'll fall ill from working overtime, one of these days!’
'Pity we couldn't keep old Fang as headman,' the sergeant remarked. 'By the way, what is that small box there, Your Honour? I've never seen it on your desk before.'
'A box?' Judge Dee asked, roused from his thoughts. 'Oh that! I bought it at the curio-dealer's, on the corner behind the Temple of Confucius. Saw it there half an hour ago, when I was taking my morning walk. I bought it as a small birthday present for my First Lady. I'll give it to her at our festive dinner tonight.'
He picked the box up and showed it to his lieutenants.
'The character for "long life" on the cover makes it most suitable for a birthday present. The jade disc has been beautifully carved into the shape of the character's antique form.' He pointed over his shoulder. 'Exactly the same style as the character used as decoration in the latticework of the window here.'
He gave the box to Ma Joong, who looked at it appraisingly and remarked, 'Just the right size for keeping visiting-cards in.' Then he brought the box closer to his eyes. 'Pity there are a few scratches on the cover. Some fool tried to scribble the word "entrance" here on one side of the disc. And on the opposite side he tried to write something like "below". Let me have it this morning, sir. After the session I'll take it to a cabinet worker I know near the south gate. He'll polish the cover nicely.'
'Yes, that's a good idea. What are you looking at?'
Ma Joong had casually opened the box. Now he was scrutinizing the inside of the cover.
'There's a small scrap of paper stuck on here,' he muttered.
'That'll be the price-tag,' the judge said. 'Peel it off, will you?'
His lieutenant put his thumbnail under a corner of the paper. Suddenly he looked up.
'No, this isn't a price-tag, sir. I see two lines in reversed writing, and in red ink. Good, it comes off. Now we can turn it over. Clumsily written. I can't make out what it says.'
He handed the tiny scrap to the judge, who raised his tufted eyebrows and read aloud:
'I am dying of hunger and thirst, please come and get me out. Jade. The twelfth day of the ninth month, the year of the Snake.'
The judge looked up, annoyed. 'Why paste such a silly thing on the cover of this box?'
JUDGE DEE SHOWS A BIRTHDAY PRESENT
'Perhaps it is no joke, sir!’ Ma Joong said excitedly. 'A girl called Jade, that must be a nice wench! She was kidnapped, of course!'
Sergeant Hoong smiled indulgently. He was well acquainted with Ma Joong's amorous disposition. He said quietly, 'You are always ready to rush to the rescue of damsels in distress, Brother Ma. But this is evidently only a scrap torn from the page of a romantic novel, or a play.'
'Nonsense!’ Ma Joong said peevishly. 'The poor wench wrote it with her own blood, then put it in this box and threw it out of the window of the room she was kept captive in. The writing was still wet, and when the box rolled over after it hit the ground, the scrap got stuck to the cover. It happened nearly a year ago, but that's no reason why we should let the scoundrels who let her starve to death get away with it!’ Turning to the judge, he asked eagerly, 'What do you think, sir?'
Judge Dee had smoothed the scrap out on his desk and was examining it, tugging at his sidewhiskers. He looked up.
'Your reasoning is quite clever, Ma Joong. However, I agree with the sergeant. If this were a genuine message of distress, then ...' He turned his eyes to the door. 'Come in!’
The headman entered and saluted smartly. A pleased grin creased his coarse face, surrounded by a stubbly chinbeard.
'I beg to report that I have just arrested a murderer, Your Honour. A vagabond called Ah-liu. He killed a local bully last night after a quarrel in—'
'Yes, the scribe told me already. Good work, headman! I shall hear the case presently, during the morning session. Were there witnesses?'
'Plenty, sir! The innkeeper, two gamblers, and—' 'Good. See that they are present in court.' After the headman had left, Judge Dee rose. He picked up the ebony box and regarded it pensively, weighing it on the palm of his hand. Then he put it in his sleeve. 'We shall pursue the matter of the queer message in this box a bit farther,' he told his two lieutenants. 'We have an hour or so left before the session begins. No matter what the message is, it has spoilt the auspicious atmosphere that must surround a birthday present. So I shall go back to the curio-dealer anyway, to select another present. I shall then ask him when and how he came by that box. You go to the chancery, Sergeant. Verify in the files on missing persons whether in the ninth month of the year of the Snake a woman called Jade was reported as having disappeared. You, Ma Joong, shall accompany me to the curio-shop. It's only a short distance; we'll walk.'
III
When Judge Dee and Ma Joong descended the broad steps at the tribunal's main gate, they saw that the main thoroughfare leading to the southern city gate was quite crowded already, notwithstanding the early hour and the muggy heat. The slender spire of the pagoda in the Lotus Lake was only vaguely visible through the humid haze that hung over the city.
The judge walked ahead. Nobody recognized him as the magistrate, for he was still wearing his simple blue robe, and had exchanged his high official headdress of black gauze for a small skull-cap. Ma Joong, who was following close behind him, wore the uniform of an officer of the tribunaclass="underline" a brown robe with black belt and borders, and a flat black cap.
After they had gone some way, Ma Joong suddenly halted in his steps. A few paces away a pair of large, burning eyes were fixing him with an intense, unwavering stare. He got a brief glimpse of a pale, handsome face, partly concealed by the piece of cloth the woman wore over her head, Tartar fashion. She seemed unusually tall. Just as he was going to ask what she wanted, two coolies carrying a large wooden box on their shoulders came between them. When they had passed, the woman had become lost in the crowd.
Judge Dee turned round to him and pointed at the high roof of the Temple of Confucius ahead. 'The shop is on the corner of the second side-street behind the temple, on the right.' Then, seeing Ma Joong's bewildered face, he asked, 'What is wrong with you?'
'I just saw a most extraordinary woman, sir. She had uncommonly large eyes, and—'
'I wish you wouldn't always stare at every female person you meet!' the judge told him peevishly. 'Come along, we haven't much time!'