I knew what she was implying.
‘You mean to say did she kill others? Maybe her mother too?’
Gurbesu nodded.
‘We will never know, I imagine. That may be buried too deep in Jianxu’s mind. And the executioner will soon put an end to her life and any hopes of discovering the truth.’
Tadeusz could not believe what Gurbesu and I had suggested.
‘You cannot mean what you say! The girl was . . . what . . . seven when her mother died? What reason could she have for killing her? I mean, we can guess why she killed the others and tried to do away with Madam Gao. It was a pursuit of the money the old lady possessed, sure. Geng stood in her way, and the deaths of Wenbo and Sun were merely to keep her deeds secret. She said herself that she planned to have Sun accused of the murder of Madam Gao. If she had succeeded in that, she would then have her money free and clear.’
I agreed with Tadeusz.
‘But she did all this with a coldness and precision that transcends mere greed. And the ease with which she killed people who stood in the way of her wishes may have begun earlier in her life. Maybe that is why her father so readily farmed her out to Madam Gao for money and never returned. Perhaps he feared her without knowing quite why. And whether he knew it or not, his action probably saved his life.’
A sad silence descended on the room. Outside an unseasonal flurry of snow began to fall.
Table of Contents
Cover
Further Titles by Ian Morson
A Deadly Injustice
Copyright
Preface
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine