The judge fell silent, he shivered. He hastily pulled his fur mantle closer to his body. His three lieutenants stared at him with pale, haggard faces. The sinister atmosphere of that insane crime seemed to hover in the room.
After a long pause Judge Dee resumed:
"I was now convinced that Chu Ta-yuan was the murderer; I only lacked concrete proof. I had planned to explain to you my theory about Chu last night, after the session, and to discuss with you how to organize a surprise search of his mansion. If we did indeed find Mrs. Pan there, Chu was lost. However, Chu then murdered the Sergeant. If I had talked with Pan Feng half a day earlier, we would have proceeded against Chu before he could have killed Hoong. But Fate had decided otherwise."
A mournful silence fell in the room.
At last Judge Dee said:
"Tao Gan can tell you all the rest. After you two had left the city together with Chu, I went with Tao Gan and the headman to Chu's mansion, where we found Mrs. Pan. She was conveyed to the tribunal in a closed palanquin, without anybody knowing about it. Tao Gan has discovered in all bedrooms secret peepholes, and my questioning of the old maidservant proved that she knew nothing about Yu Kang's affair. Now we know, indeed, from Mrs. Pan's confession that it was Chu himself who spied on Yu Kang and his fiancee. I presume that once Chu made some careless remark to Yeh Tai, and that the astute rascal guessed the rest. But when Yu Kang asked Yeh how he had come to know his secret, Yeh made up the story of the old maidservant, because he didn't dare to involve Chu in his blackmail scheme. Whether later Yeh Tai yet made bold to blackmail Chu, or whether Chu overheard Yu's talk with the maid and only feared that Yeh would try to blackmail him — as I surmised — these are things we'll probably never know. For Chu is insane, and I am convinced that Yeh Tai's dead body is lying somewhere out in the snow fields.
"I also talked with Chu's eight wives; what they told me about their life with Chu I wish to forget. I have already issued the necessary orders for them to be sent back to their respective families, and after the case has been closed they will receive a substantial portion of Chu's wealth.
"Chu Ta-yuan's madness places him beyond the pale of the law. A Higher Power shall judge him."
The judge took Hoong's old card case, that was lying on the desk before him. He softly rubbed his fingertips over the faded brocade, then he carefully put it away in the bosom of his robe.
He spread a sheet of paper out on the desk, and took up his writing brush. His three assistants hastily rose and took their leave.
Judge Dee first wrote a detailed report for the Prefect on the murder of Miss Liao Lien-fang, then he wrote two letters. One to Sergeant Hoong's eldest son, who was serving as steward in the house of Judge Dee's younger brother in Tai-yuan. The Sergeant had been a widower, his son was now the head of the family, and he would have to decide the place of burial.
The second letter was to his First Lady, at the address of her old mother, also in Tai-yuan. He began with a formal inquiry after the old lady's illness, then apprised his wife also of the Sergeant's demise. After the customary formal phrases he added a more personal note. "When someone who was very dear passes away," he wrote, "we lose not only him, but also a part of ourselves."
When he had handed the letters to the clerk for immediate dispatch, he ate his solitary noon meal, deep in melancholy thought.
The judge did not feel like thinking about Lan's murder or the case of Mrs. Loo; he felt utterly tired. He told the clerk to bring him the file with his notes on a plan for Government loans, to be issued without interest to farmers when the crops failed. This was his favorite project. He had worked on it with Sergeant Hoong many an evening, trying to formulate a proposal that would meet with the approval of the Board of Finance. Hoong had thought it could be done by economizing on other expenses of the district administration. When his lieutenants came in, they found the judge engrossed in calculations.
Pushing away the papers he said:
"We must have a consultation about the murder of Master Lan. I still think that it was a woman who poisoned him. But up to now the only indication we have of his knowing a woman well is the statement by that young boxer. He told you about a woman visiting Master Lan at night, but said that the words he overheard gave no clue to her identity."
Ma Joong and Chiao Tai nodded ruefully.
"It only struck us," the latter said, "that neither used the customary greetings. We may conclude therefrom that they knew each other very well. But as you remarked before, sir, we knew that already because Lan didn't make any attempt to cover his nakedness when she entered his bath room."
"What were the exact fragments of conversation the youngster overheard?" Judge Dee asked.
"Oh," Ma Joong replied, "nothing special. She seemed to be angry because he avoided her, and Master Lan answered that it did not matter, and added a word that sounded like 'kitten.' "
The judge sat up abruptly.
"Kitten?" he asked incredulously.
He suddenly remembered the question of Mrs. Loo's small daughter. She had asked him where the kitten was her mother's visitor had been talking to. This changed everything! He said quickly to Ma Joong:
"Go at once on horseback to Pan Feng's house. Pan knew Mrs. Loo when she was still a child. Ask him whether she had a nickname!"
Ma Joong looked very astonished. But he was not in the habit of asking questions, and he immediately took his leave.
Judge Dee made no further comment. He told Tao Gan to prepare fresh tea, then discussed with Chiao Tai the solution of a difficulty that had arisen about the jurisdiction of the military police over the civilian population of the district.
Ma Joong came back in a remarkably short time.
"Well," he reported, "I found old Pan very depressed. The news about his wife's misconduct has hit him harder than the first tidings about her having been murdered. I asked him about Mrs. Loo, and he said that her schoolmates used to call her by the nickname 'Kitten.' "
Judge Dee crashed his fist on the table.
"That's the clue I was hoping for!" he exclaimed.
Eighteenth Chapter
When Judge Dee's three lieutenants had taken their leave, Mrs. Kuo came in.
The judge hastily motioned her to be seated and to pour herself a cup of tea. He felt very guilty toward this woman.
As she leaned forward over the desk to fill his cup first, Judge Dee again noticed the tinge of fragrance that seemed to be part of her.
"I came to report to Your Honor," she said, "that Mrs. Pan doesn't eat, and cries all the time. She asked me whether her husband could be allowed to see her once."
"That is against the rules," Judge Dee replied with a frown. "Besides, I don't think it would do either of them any good."