gravely:
'Madam, I have at last found sufficient evidence for arresting Lin Fan. At the same time I discovered another murder committed by him, here in Poo-yang.'
'Did you find Liang Ko-fa's body?' the old lady exclaimed.
'Whether it was your grandson, Madam, I can't say yet,' Judge Dee replied. 'Only a skeleton was left, and there was nothing to identify it.'
'It must be his!' Mrs Liang cried out. 'Lin Fan planned to kill him as soon as he learned that we had traced him to Poo-yang! Let me tell you that when we escaped from the burning redoubt, a falling roof-beam struck Liang Ko- fa's left arm. I had the broken bone set as soon as we were safe, but it never healed properly.'
The judge looked at her thoughtfully, slowly caressing his side-whiskers. Then he said:
'I regret to inform you, Madam, that the skeleton did indeed show a badly-healed fracture of the bone of the left upper arm.'
'I knew that Lin Fan murdered my grandson!' Mrs Liang wailed. She started trembling all over, tears came flowing down her hollow cheeks. Sergeant Hoong quickly gave her a cup of hot tea.
Judge Dee waited till she had composed herself. Then he spoke:
'You may rest assured, Madam, that this murder shall now be avenged. I hate to cause you more distress, but I must ask you a few more questions. The records you gave me state that when you and Liang Ko-fa had escaped from the burning redoubt, you found shelter with a distant relative. Could you give me a more detailed account of how you managed to elude the attacking ruffians, and how you made your way to that relative?'
Mrs Liang looked at the judge with a vacant stare. Suddenly she started to sob convulsively.
'It… it was so horrible!' she brought out with difficulty. 'I don't… I don't want to think of it… I____________________' Her voice trailed off.
Judge Dee gave a sign to the sergeant. He put his arm round Mrs Liang's shoulders and led her away.
'It's no use!' the judge said resignedly.
Tao Gan pulled at the three long hairs on his left cheek. Then he asked curiously:
'Why are those details of Mrs Liang's flight from the burning redoubt important, Your Honour?'
'There are a few points,' Judge Dee answered, 'that puzzle me. But we can discuss that later. Let's now see first what action we can take against Lin Fan. He is an extremely astute scoundrel, we'll have to formulate our charge with the utmost care.'
'It seems to me, Your Honour,' Sergeant Hoong said, 'that the murder of Liang Ko-fa provides the best approach. That's the most serious charge, if we can convict him on that we needn't bother about his attack on us or about his smuggling!'
The three others nodded their approval, but the judge made no comment. He seemed deep in thought. At last he said:
'Lin Fan had ample time to obliterate the traces of his salt smuggling. I don't think we could assemble sufficient evidence for getting him on that charge. Besides, even if I could make him confess to the smuggling, he'll slip through our fingers. For cases of infringing on the State monopoly are beyond my jurisdiction, they can be dealt with only by the Provincial Court. And that gives Lin Fan time and opportunity to mobilise his friends and relatives on his behalf, and have them distribute bribes wherever they can.
'Further, his attempt at trapping us under the bell is, of course, assault with murderous intent. And on an Imperial official to boot! I must look up the Code, if memory serves such an assault is even termed a crime against the State. Perhaps there's a good opening there.'
He pensively tugged at Ms moustache.
'But doesn't the murder of Liang Ko-fa provide a much better way of attack?' Tao Gan asked.
Judge Dee slowly shook his head.
'Not with the evidence we have at our disposal now,' he answered. 'We don't know when and how that murder was committed. The records state that Lin Fan closed the temple because of the dissolute behaviour of the monks. He may give a very plausible explanation of the murder, saying, for instance, that Liang Ko-fa while spying on him struck up an acquaintance with the monks. And that it was presumably they who killed him after a gambling quarrel and concealed his body under the bell.'
Ma Joong looked unhappy.
'Since we know,' he said impatiently, 'that Lin Fan is guilty of Heaven knows how many crimes, why bother about legal technicalities? Let's put him in the screws and see whether he won't confess!'
'You forget,' Judge Dee said, 'that Lin Fan is an elderly man. If we subject him to severe torture, he may well die on our hands, and then we would be in serious trouble. No, our only hope is to get more direct proof. During the afternoon session of the tribunal I shall first hear Lin Fan's steward, and the captain of his boat. They are sturdy fellows, if necessary we shall question them with legal severities.
'Now you, Ma Joong, will go with Sergeant Hoong and Tao Gan to the Lin mansion, and institute a thorough search for incriminating documents or other clues. Also____________________'
Suddenly the door burst open and the warden of the jail came rushing in. He seemed very upset.
He knelt in front of Judge Dee's desk and knocked his forehead on the floor several times in succession.
'Speak up, man!' the judge shouted angrily. 'What has happened?'
'This unworthy person deserves to die!' the warden wailed. 'Early this morning Lin Fan's steward engaged one of my stupid guards in conversation, and the blockhead told him that Lin Fan had been arrested and would be tried for murder. Just now when I inspected the jail I found the steward dead.'
Judge Dee crashed his fist on the table.
'You dogshead!' he barked, 'didn't you search the prisoner for hidden poison and didn't you take his belt away from him?'
'All routine precautions were taken, Your Excellency!' the warden cried. 'The fellow bit his tongue through and bled to death!'
The judge heaved a deep sigh. Then he said in a calmer voice:
'Well, you could not help it. That man is a ruffian of unusual courage, and if such a man decides to kill himself there is little one can do to prevent it. Go back to the jail and have the junk captain chained hands and feet to the wall. Also put a wooden gag between his teeth. I can't afford to lose another witness!'
When the warden had taken his leave, the archivist came back. He unrolled a long scroll, yellowed by age. It was a pictorial map of Poo-yang, painted one hundred and fifty years before.
Pointing to the north-west section of the city Judge Dee said with satisfaction:
'The water passage is clearly marked here! At that time it was an open watercourse, feeding an artificial lake on the site now occupied by the Taoist temple. Later it was covered up, and Lin Fan's mansion was built over it. Lin Fan must have accidentally discovered this subterranean waterway, and found that the house was even more suitable for his smuggling than he had surmised!'
The judge rolled up the map again. Looking at his assistants he said gravely:
'Better be on your way now! I do hope that you find some clues in Lin Fan's mansion, for we sorely need them!'
Sergeant Hoong, Ma Joong and Tao Gan quickly took their leave, but Chiao Tai made no move to depart. He had taken no part in the discussion, but he had been listening intently to every word said. Pensively pulling at his small moustache he now spoke up:
'If I may speak frankly, Your Honour, I received the impression that Your Honour is loath to discuss the murder of Liang Ko-fa.'
Judge Dee shot him a quick look.
'Your impression is correct, Chiao Tail' he replied calmly. 'I consider discussion of that murder premature. I have a theory about it, but so fantastic that I can hardly believe it. Some time I shall explain it to you and the others. But not now.'
He took a document up from his desk and started reading it. Chiao Tai rose and took his leave.
As soon as the judge was alone he threw the paper on the table. He took from his drawer the thick roll with documents.relating to the case Liang
