He turned round and disappeared behind the door-curtain.
Chiao Tai rose and went downstairs.
XXI
Shortly after Judge Dee had sat down to his breakfast, Tao Gan came in. After he had wished the judge a good morning, he eagerly asked whether someone had turned up to claim the reward. The judge shook his head and motioned him to be seated. He finished his rice gruel in silence. After he had laid down his chopsticks, he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms in his wide sleeves. Then he told Tao Gan everything about the unexpected result of the faked proclamation.
'So it was a love affair that brought the Censor back to Canton!’ Tao Gan exclaimed.
'Partly. At the same time he wanted to investigate Mansur's seditious plot. For he told Zumurrud clearly that he had to see some Arabs here.'
'But why did he keep everything to himself, sir? Why didn't he take up the matter with the Grand Council on his return to the capital, after his first visit here, and...'
'He knew little about women, Tao Gan, but he was indeed well versed in all affairs of state. He suspected that it was his enemies at court who were behind the plot. Therefore he could take no one into his confidence until he had concrete proof; his enemies are highly placed officials, they may well have their spies in the Chancery who keep them informed about the secret deliberations in the Council. In order to obtain that concrete proof, the Censor came back to Canton. And was killed here by the misguided woman he loved.'
'How could a refined gentleman like the Censor lose his head over a vulgar Arab dancer, sir?'
'Well, for one thing she was quite different from the elegant, cultured Chinese ladies the Censor used to meet in the capital. And she must have been the first Arab woman he ever saw. For unlike Canton, in the capital one hardly sees any Arabs, and certainly no Arab girls. I imagine that it was the novelty of the experience that first appealed to him. Thereafter her strong sexual attraction must have roused his long-suppressed desire. Such burning passion would have bridged any gap in race, social status and education. Chiao Tai was also extremely fond of her, Tao Gan. You had better not mention her to him; the tragedy shocked him deeply.'
Tao Gan nodded sagely.
'Brother Chiao always has bad luck with his women,' he remarked. 'Who could have murdered her, sir?'
'Chiao Tai thinks it was Mansur. He says that Mansur was in love with her too, and that when she was introduced to Chiao Tai at Mansur's party, the Arab took her interest in Chiao Tai very badly. Mansur may have followed her when she went to Chiao Tai's inn, and climbed on the roof of the house behind it to watch them. When he saw them together, scantily dressed, he thought it was an amorous meeting, and killed her in an excess of jealousy. Plausible, but not convincing.'
Judge Dee took a sip of his tea, and resumed:
'However that may be, this tragedy has now been reduced to a side issue. The main issue is to discover who her patron was. The man who tried to involve the Censor in the Arab plot, who wanted to conceal the Censor's death, and who is responsible for the murder of Dr S00 and Mrs Pao. We must finish the task the Censor had to leave unaccomplished, namely to obtain the concrete proof needed to unmask his enemies, the cowardly traitors at court. Since it was they who took Zumurrud's patron into then-employ, it is he who must reveal to us their identity. We could not have prevented the Censor from being murdered, but it is our duty to prevent his enemies from reaping the results of their infamous crimes. And they have already begun to do just that, as evidenced by the bad news contained in the secret letter from the Grand Council. I must therefore locate this man, before I return to the capital today. My agents are questioning her maid and the crew of her boat, but I don't expect much from that routine measure. The fellow will have seen to it that no one knew his true identity.'
'What are we to do then, sir?' Tao Gan asked worriedly.
'After Chiao Tai had left,' Judge Dee replied, 'I surveyed again all that has happened here these last two days. I have tried to arrange the known facts into a more or less logical pattern, and have formed a theory. On the basis of this theory I shall take action, this very morning.' He emptied his teacup and continued, slowly tugging at his sidewhiskers:
'We do have some clues to the identity of the dancer's patron. They open up some quite interesting possibilities.' He pushed a sheet of notepaper over to Tao Gan. 'You'd better note down my list of clues, for I shall refer to them when I explain my theory.
'Now then. First, our man must occupy a fairly important position here in Canton, else the Censor's enemies at court would never have chosen him as their agent here. Those traitors are no fools; they would never select a common crook who would sell them out to the highest bidder. Second, it follows that the man's motive must be a compelling ambition. For he is risking his position and his life. They must have promised him, as a reward, a high official position, perhaps even a post in the central government. Third, he must have friends or relations in the capital, for the court hardly bothers with this region in the far south, and someone in the capital must have recommended him. Fourth, he must live in the palace or be closely connected with affairs here, for he knows every move we make. The implication of this point is that we may confine our suspicions to those people we are in regular contact with here. Fifth, he must have good connections with the underworld, as proved by his employing both Arab hooligans and Tanka stranglers. Note, Tao Gan, that these contacts are maintained through henchmen; Mansur, for instance. I shall come back to that later. Sixth, he must have a special reason for wanting to eliminate Chiao Tai; and he must hate Captain Nee, because he wanted Nee to be accused of Chiao Tai's murder. Seventh, he is interested in crickets. Eighth, he must have close relations with the blind girl. Yet that does not prevent him from making two determined efforts to kill her, as soon as he knows that she is turning against him. She, on her part, tries to help us in an indirect way. She can't bring herself to denounce him openly to us. Jot down as a query: Is she his daughter, or his mistress, perhaps? Ninth, he must, of course, qualify as lover and protector of Zumurrud. Have you got all that?'
'Yes sir.' Tao Gan perused his notes, then resumed, 'Shouldn't we add, sir, that he hasn't got an official position? For Zumurrud told Chiao Tai clearly that her patron, though very wealthy, had no official status, and could not, therefore, procure Chinese citizenship for her.'
'No, Tao Gan, not necessarily. For my first point, namely that he must be a man of some prominence here, implies that he must have met her incognito. Arab dancers are never invited to Chinese parties, of course. He must have made her acquaintance while visiting the flowerboat where she was employed, and kept his real identity hidden from her ever since. There was no risk of her finding that out, for she would never meet him in company.' As Tao Gan nodded, Judge Dee went on, 'The Governor heads our list. To all appearances he is a loyal, industrious, slightly fussy official; but perhaps he is at the same time a consummate actor. He has, of course, many friends in the capital who could have recommended him to the Censor's enemies, when they were casting about for a possibility of compromising the Censor in some out of the way place. That he answers my fourth point goes without saying. As to his motive, he is devoured by ambition, and they may well have promised him the post of Metropolitan Governor he is hankering after. The intermediary for his Arab contacts is Mansur, whom he employs as a kind of sub-agent.'