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.
'First, hundreds of our tourists are decent people, and most merchants come here on legitimate business. We can't possibly verify the antecedents of every one of them. Second, a considerable portion of the income of the local people is derived from the tourist traffic. If we clamped down on all travellers, they would avoid this place, and we have strict orders from the capital to keep on good terms with the population. "Benevolent Rule" is His Majesty's reign-name, as you know, sir. It's a ticklish situation, for no one can tell when trouble'll flare up among some of the big scoundrels on holiday here. And I am responsible for the maintenance of peace and order in Rivertown!’
'Quite true. But I can't see what I can do about it.'
'You might just have a look at the situation, sir! From the other side of the counter, so to speak. A man of your long experience and splendid record as a criminal investigator would '...'
Judge Dee raised his hand.
'All right. I don't mind getting a first-hand impression of the problems presented by a Special Area. I ...'
There was a knock and the lieutenant came back. He put two sheets before his chief. One was Judge Dee's own identity document. The captain concentrated his attention on the second, a slightly soiled piece of paper with frayed edges.
'Good!’ he exclaimed with a broad smile. 'Very good indeed, Liu! Have a look at this, sir!’ He pushed the second document over to the judge. It was an official identity paper issued four years before by the metropolitan authorities and made out to Dr. Liang Mou. The date of birth was Judge Dee's own, but the address was a well-known residential quarter in the capital.
'You notice the date, sir?' Captain Siew asked, rubbing his hands. 'The exact date on which the metropolitan authorities issued new papers to all citizens! Well done, Liu!’ He took a seal from his drawer, stamped a corner of the paper, then wrote across it: 'Bearer is on his way back to the capital. Permitted to stay three days.' He added the date, and initialled it with a flourish of his brush. 'There you are, sir! All set! Your own paper I'll keep here under lock and key for you. Awkward if you were found to be carrying two different ones! I advise you to stay in the Kingfisher, sir; it's a nice quiet hostel, and most of the bigwigs lodge there.' Rising he added briskly, 'Needless to say, I am completely at your service, sir! Any time, day or night!’
Judge Dee got up too.
'To tell you the truth, Siew, when you mentioned your problem, I thought you were referring to the murder of the cashier of the Kingfisher. The man whose corpse you viewed on the quay.'
'Bad case, that! But the chap was murdered outside my territory, sir. Had it looked into at once. The night-watch spotted him leaving town an hour or so after midnight, going east. And my patrols haven't found any trace of robbers or highwaymen inside or near this area. Chap was murdered somewhere on the road to the mountains, and his body thrown into the river a couple of miles upstream. Got caught in the water-weeds opposite the ferry-house here. I'll be passing the case on to your colleague, the magistrate of our neighbouring district, to the east of Rivertown. Together with the stuff over there that we found in his sleeves.'
He took the judge to a side-table and pointed at a folded map, an abacus, a package of visiting-cards and a string of cash. Judge Dee casually unfolded the map and studied it for a while.
'It's a detailed map of the province,' he remarked. 'The road from Rivertown to Ten Miles Village, beyond the eastern mountain-ridge, is marked in red.'
THE CAPTAIN SHOWS JUDGE DEE A MAP
'Exactly! That's evidently where the chap was heading for, absconding with his employer's twenty silver pieces. That innkeeper is a notorious miser, you know. Fellow had the cheek to ask me to make good his loss! Please take this abacus and give it back to the old skinflint, sir. Wouldn't put it beyond him to accuse me of having stolen it!’
The judge put the counting-frame into his sleeve.
'I'll gladly do that. But you had better mention the thing in your report to my colleague. It might have a bearing on the case. It might mean, for instance, that the cashier was prepared for some complicated financial transaction in the village he was going to.'
The captain shrugged.
'An abacus goes with a cashier, sir. But I'll mention it anyway.'
While Judge Dee was strapping his sword to his back he asked:
'How do you know that the cashier wanted to steal the silver?'
'Old Wei stated that the youngster took the silver from the cash-box, sir. And you can trust Wei to know how much there was, to the very last copper! He runs the Kingfisher well, but he's a sour old codger. People say that his wife did wrong, of course, but they don't blame her too much. She eloped, you know, couple of weeks ago. Well, I am awfully grateful that you'll let me have your views on the situation, sir. But don't let it keep you from making a few fishing-trips up river! They have fine perch here. Trout too.'
He conducted the judge ceremoniously downstairs, and the burly lieutenant Liu opened the door. It was pouring with rain.
'Beastly weather, sir! Fortunately the Kingfisher is only a little way ahead — on your right. Good-night!'
III
The judge quickly walked on, holding the oiled cloth over his head as protection against the downpour. The main street was deserted, for the hour of the evening rice was approaching. With a wry smile he reflected that Captain Siew had been much too glib. His story about the problem presented by unwanted visitors had been so much eyewash. And Siew wasn't interested in the murder of the cashier either. There must be another reason why Captain Siew wanted him to stay in Rivertown incognito. And a very cogent reason too, otherwise the captain wouldn't-have made such elaborate arrangements to furnish him with a new identity. Siew was a shrewd customer, and observant too — he had spotted him at once on the quay, despite his dishevelled appearance.
Suddenly Judge Dee halted in his steps, oblivious of the rain. On the quay the captain had seemed rather slim, whereas Siew was a thick-set man. And on the quay he had got only a glimpse of the man's face, half-covered by his neckcloth. The judge creased his thick eyebrows. The lieutenant had expertly whisked him upstairs by a side-entrance, and nobody had seen him, the judge, enter or leave the captain's office. Now he was alone in a town he didn't know, and carrying faked papers. For one brief moment he had a premonition of trouble ahead. Then he shrugged. If there was any trickery about, he would know soon enough.
A large lampion was dangling from the eaves of a pillared portico, inscribed 'Inn of the Kingfisher'. Across the street he saw an even bigger one, bearing the inscription 'Inn of the Nine Clouds'. After a momentary hesitation he stepped onto the portico of the first. Having shaken out the wet oil-cloth, he entered the cavernous hall. It was lit by a tall brass candle that threw weird shadows on the plastered walls.
'All the large rooms are taken, sir,' the young clerk behind the counter informed him. 'But we have a nice small back-room left on the second floor.'
'That will do,' Judge Dee said. While filling out the register with his new name and profession, he added, 'Before going up I want a bath and a change of clothes. When you have shown me the bathroom, you'll send a man to the blacksmith on the quay to fetch my saddle-bags.' As he pushed the register back over the counter, he felt the weight in his sleeve. He took the abacus out. 'When I registered at Headquarters, they asked me to return this counting-frame. It belonged to the cashier here, whose body was found in the river.'
The clerk thanked him and put the abacus in the drawer. 'When the boss saw our poor Tai on the quay,' he said with a sneer, 'he thought this thing was the package with his twenty silver pieces. Serves the old miser right!’ He cast a quick glance over his shoulder at the high screen of lattice work. Behind it a man sat bent over a writing-desk. I'll lead the way, Doctor!’