Read Online A Deadly Injustice by Ian Morson - Free Book Online

hips.
    â€˜So now we have the whole evening to ourselves.’
    As I felt the warmth of Gurbesu’s thigh, I shuddered at the thought of touching Natural Elegance, and finding a male member between ‘her’ legs. I wiped the image from my mind, but as I grabbed her, Gurbesu’s face fell.
    â€˜Oh I am sorry, dear. I thought, when you said that you would be hours that I would invite Tadeusz and the friar to our room. We are going to have a little supper. You are welcome to join us, naturally.’
    Before I could protest, the door suddenly opened, and the aforesaid pair poked their heads in. Alberoni smiled broadly.
    â€˜Ah, Niccolò, you are here. I wanted to ask you about something before we got to our destination.’
    I think I must have replied a little sulkily, because Alberoni gave me a strange look, and shook his head. Gurbesu, noticing the awkwardness, started bustling around, producing smoked meat and fresh fruit from somewhere. And a stone flagon of Chinee rice wine. Tadeusz was already laying on the table some dried fruit he had brought with him. He cast a glance at me too, before asking me about the details of the case.
    â€˜Will it be resolved easily, do you think?’
    I shrugged. It seemed to be the only communication I was capable of at the moment. As we settled down together at the table, I looked out of the window and across the courtyard. In Lin’s rooms I saw a shadowy figure embracing Lin tightly. Before the lamp in the room was extinguished, I felt sure the figure looked willowy and elegant. I returned my attention to the others in my room, but not before Tadeusz also had seen what I was looking at. I tried to concentrate on the matter in hand.
    â€˜Let’s see what we do know.’
    Tadeusz had placed an oil lamp in the centre of the table, and its flame cast a circle of light in which we all sat. To my right sat Gurbesu, who was biting into a peach. I watched as the juice ran down her chin. She smiled and wiped it away with delicate fingers. She then waved them in the air.
    â€˜Don’t look at me for enlightenment. You have told me nothing so far. I feel that I am just along for the ride.’
    I brushed aside her self-deprecating words. I knew how useful she would be when it came to talking to the main suspect – and presumed perpetrator – Jianxu. She could use her wiles on a man to get him to talk, but more importantly was able to extract the innermost thoughts from another woman. And truths often emerged from such a meeting of minds that would have been held back from me or the other men. I reckoned even Alberoni would benefit from her powers of truth-finding in his confessional. The friar was the next round the table, and I raised a questioning eyebrow towards him. He clasped his hands together.
    â€˜I did manage to talk to Lin on our way here. I understand that the poor girl confessed to the crime. What more is there to say?’
    I gave a harsh and braying laugh.
    â€˜Do you know how they obtain a confession here? They use a bastinado, beating the soles of the person’s feet until they cannot stand the pain any more. Then they confess.’
    â€˜Are you saying there is no place for torture in extracting the truth?’
    I thought of all the ways a suspected person would be abused in the West – the rack, the head crusher, or thumbscrews – and shook my head.
    â€˜Not if you are a seeker of the truth. A confession is easily obtained – the truth needs winkling out. Taduesz, do you have any observations to make before we reach P’ing-Yang-Fu?’
    The little man leaned away from the circle of light and stroked his beard. When he spoke from the darkness, it was with a quaver in his voice.
    â€˜Do you not think, Nick, that the girl has been deliberately placed in the picture to allow the real killer to escape free and clear? Are not Chinee girls very obedient sorts, who would go out of their way to please? How