Judge Dee at Work

'This is Colonel Shih Lang, who discovered the body.'

Judge Dee took in Shih Lang's heavy, deeply lined face, his broad shoulders and long ape-like arms. He wore a short mous­tache and ring-beard. His lacklustre eyes stared sullenly at the judge.

Indicating the squat man who wore the short mail jacket, pointed helmet and baggy trousers of the mounted military police, the Commander added: 'And this is Colonel Mao, who was in charge of the investigation. Used to be my chief of military intel­ligence during the Korea campaign. Able fellow.'

The judge made a perfunctory bow. He thought Mao's thin, cynical face had a rather foxy expression.

'I was just explaining the facts to the magistrate here,' Com­mander Fang told the two men. "Thought we might as well have his opinion.'

The two newcomers remained silent. Then Colonel Shih Lang broke the awkward pause. He said in a deep, rather hoarse voice, 'I hope the magistrate'll find another solution. In my opinion Meng is not a murderer. Let alone one who foully shoots a man in his sleep.'

'Opinions don't matter,' the military police chief remarked dryly. 'We only deal with facts. And on that basis we reached a unanimous verdict of guilty.'

The Commander hitched up his sword belt. He took Judge Dee to the large window arch and pointed at the three-storeyed build­ing opposite. 'The ground floor and the second floor across the yard there have no windows — our storerooms are located there. But do you see that big window up on the top floor? That's the armoury.'

Judge Dee saw that the window indicated was of the same type and size as the one he was standing at. The Commander turned round and resumed, 'Now then, Soo was lying with his feet pointing towards this window. Experiments with a straw dummy proved that the arrow must have been shot from the window up in the armoury there. And at that time there was no one there but Colonel Meng.'

'Quite a distance,' Judge Dee remarked. 'About sixty feet, I'd say.'

'Colonel Meng is our champion archer,' Mao observed.

'Not a job for a beginner,' Commander Fang admitted, 'but quite feasible for an expert with the crossbow.'

The judge nodded. After a few moments' thought he asked, 'The arrow couldn't have been shot from within this room, I suppose?'

'No,' the Commander replied curtly. 'Four soldiers stand guard day and night at the head of the stairs, at the other end of the corridor. They testified that after Soo had come up here and before Shih Lang's arrival, no one passed them.'

'Couldn't the murderer have scaled the wall, entered through the window and stabbed Soo with the arrow?' Judge Dee asked. 'I am just trying to cover all possibilities,' he added quickly as he saw the pitying looks of the others.

'The wall is perfectly smooth, no human could ever scale it,' Fang said. 'Not even Shih Lang here, and he is our expert in that art. Besides, there are always soldiers about in the yard below, so nobody could perform antics on the wall unnoticed.'

'I see,' Judge Dee said. He stroked his long black beard, then asked: 'Why should Colonel Meng want to kill the Vice-Commander?'

'Soo was an able officer, but short-tempered and a bit rough in the mouth. Four days ago he cursed Meng in front of the troops, because Meng had taken sides with Lieutenant Kao.'

'I was present,' Mao said. 'Meng kept himself under control, but his face was livid. He brooded over this insult, and ...' He paused significantly.

'Meng had been bawled out by Soo before,' Shih Lang remarked. 'He was accustomed to it, didn't take it seriously.'

Judge Dee said to the Commander: 'You mentioned this breach of discipline by Lieutenant Kao before. What did he do?'

'Soo cursed Kao because his leather belt was cracked. Kao answered back and Soo was going to have him severely punished. Colonel Meng spoke up for Kao, and then Soo went for Meng.'

'I was going to put in a word for Kao too,' Shih Lang said. 'That's why I came up here, directly after the morning drill. I thought that if I talked to Soo privately, I could make him drop the case. And to think that fate ordained Kao as the main wit­ness against Colonel Meng, his protector!’

'How was that?' the judge asked.

Commander Fang sighed. 'Everybody knew that Soo always used to come up here for a nap after the morning drill. And Colonel Meng was in the habit of going up to the armoury to exercise with the heavy spear before going down to the mess hall. Fellow is as strong as an ox, doesn't know the word fatigue. But day before yesterday Meng tells his colleagues that he has a hang­over, he's not going up to the armoury after drill. Yet Meng did go! Look, do you see that smaller window up there, about twenty feet to the left of the armoury window? Well, that belongs to a room where leather goods are stored. Only the quartermaster goes up there, and only once in a fortnight or so. But Kao gets it into his head to look for a new leather belt there, because Soo had reprimanded him so severely about his old one. The fastidious beggar takes quite a time selecting a belt he likes. When he turns to the door connecting the room with the armoury, he happens to look out of the window. He sees Shih Lang enter Soo's room here. Shih Lang suddenly halts in his tracks right in front of the window arch, stoops, then starts waving his hands and rushes out of the room, shouting. Kao opens the door of the armoury to run down and find out what's wrong in the building opposite, and nearly collides with Colonel Meng, who is standing there fiddling with a crossbow. Both men rush down together and come up here directly behind the soldiers of the guard, who have been alarmed by Shih Lang. Then Shih Lang fetches me and Colonel Mao. When we arrive here, we know at once where that arrow came from, and I place Meng under arrest as the most likely suspect.'