A Deadly Injustice by Ian Morson Page A

who had killed the old man, she had hesitated. Just like a good, obedient woman, she had demurred, not accusing anyone directly. But she thought she had convinced Gurbesu that she did suspect someone. So she knew the demon and his wife would be back.
    â€˜Li Wen-Tao could tell me nothing that was not in the official records already. I could tell he was toeing the party line. He even had the nerve to refer me to Taitemir, knowing of course that even a Chin official as highly connected as I am could not contradict a Mongol. It was a waste of my time. How about the girl?’
    We had met up over a meal in Lin’s rooms, which were, as usual, far better organized than any of ours. Mind you, he had a servant, and I would have expected nothing less of Lin. He always surrounded himself with serenity, whereas I thrived on chaos. We complemented each other in that way. Before I answered his question, I looked at Gurbesu. Did she want to voice her opinions directly? She gave a little shake of her head, which left me, as ever, in her debt. She knew I needed to maintain my position as the main investigator, even amongst our little group. So it was I who replied to Lin’s question.
    â€˜She did no more than confirm what was in the documents we already have. Her story has not changed. So there is nothing new yet. But it is only the beginning. We need to talk to the son and the old lady . . . what’s her name?’
    â€˜Madam Gao.’
    â€˜Yes, we need to speak to her. And maybe I can have a go at the prefect myself.’ I grinned wolfishly. ‘I can be a mite rougher than you, Chu-Tsai. Besides, I want to appeal to his baser instincts.’
    Lin frowned a little, though his face was normally impassive and didn’t show too much about his inner workings.
    â€˜What have you in mind, Nick?’
    â€˜It is better that you don’t know. Then you can keep your hands clean.’
    Lin settled back on his couch, looking somewhat out of sorts, and I took charge of the meeting. I looked over at Tadeusz, who had been very quiet during my exchanges with Lin.
    â€˜What about you, Tadeusz. Did you learn anything in the marketplace?’
    Tadeusz Pyka tugged at his beard, and seemed not sure where to begin. Finally he put into words what he had learned by chatting to the tradesmen he had met.
    â€˜I wandered around a few of those big squares we came through when we arrived. I reckoned that one of them had to accommodate workshops. I found the one for doctors and astrologers first. They teach reading and writing there too, you know. I saw a local magistrate settling an argument between two doctors who, from what I could tell, were disputing the efficacy of something called dang gui .’
    Lin nodded his head.
    â€˜Yes. It’s also called female ginseng, and I believe it’s used for all sorts of women’s complaints.’
    â€˜The argument seemed to be about whether it should be boiled or steeped in wine.’
    Gurbesu laughed.
    â€˜I would prefer the last method.’
    â€˜The magistrate resolved the matter, but by then the client – an older woman – had walked away. So neither doctor gained from arguing. Anyway, the next square I came to was the craft square. They say there were twelve guilds represented, and each workshop employed up to forty men. It was certainly a busy and bustling square, and I could see some men had got quite wealthy from the trade. I went to the silversmiths’ quarter – you can always find it by the sound.’
    I knew what he meant. The tap-tap of small hammers on silver plates is a distinctive noise, like the sound of tiny bells.
    â€˜They were all Chinee, and reluctant to talk at first. But when I spoke about their techniques, and showed them that I was one of their guild, some of them spoke freely. Working in the trade, they knew some Turkish and we got on fine. They wanted to know about Xanadu and Tatu, and what it was like working