The+Case+of+the+Great+Wall

by Alicia Chaung The rain made //pitter patter// noises as each droplet splattered against the window. Ian Gray stared mindlessly at the window, watching the droplets slowly slide down the window. The television blared in the background. “Good morning, Mr. Gray,” greeted Cross. Ian’s face showed no recognition of hearing Cross. Cross frowned and cleared his throat. He turned off the television as Ian turned to look and repeated, “Good morning, Mr. Gray.” “Morning, Cross,” Ian sighed. “Any new cases?” “Well, we have a stolen bike—” “No.” “A lost dog—” “Bloody hell, no.” “Helping a little old lady cross the street—” Cross snickered. “That’s enough with your sarcasm,” Ian interrupted. “Do we have any //interesting// cases?” “Well—” Cross began. The doorbell rang. “Oh, it seems as if the mail has arrived.” He walked to the door as Ian turned the television back on. “Any mail for me, Cross?” Ian turned to look, seeing Cross hide something that looked like a pamphlet behind his back out of the corner of his eye. “No, nothing of importance,” Cross said quickly, closing the drawer. “Only a couple of bills that are unpaid.” “So on to my question from before: Are there any interesting new cases?” Ian asked. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gray, but after you solved the case for the Queen, everything has been pretty quiet,” Cross chuckled. The phone rang. As Cross moved to pick up the phone, Ian quickly moved towards the table and opened the drawer. He carefully shut it quickly and returned to his seat. “Cross here. Speak of the devil. No—pardon? I was just blabbering to myself. Yes…yes…yes, right away madam.” “Who was it, Cross? Do we have a new case?” questioned Ian impatiently. “Yes, as a matter of fact, we do,” Cross said, flustered. “It was the Queen. She wants us to go to China. There seems to be a tip that the emperor will be killed in a matter of six days.” “Well, I’ve always wanted to see the Great Wall,” mused Ian. “When are we leaving?” “I beg your pardon Mr. Gray? ‘We?’” “Why yes, Cross. You missed the Queen’s case because you were ill. I would believe that you have already booked the plane tickets. Why, they’re right here. Hmm, first class, I hope?” Ian pulled out two plane tickets from behind his back. Cross laughed, “You know me too well, Mr. Gray. Our plane leaves in the morning.” The scenery flew by as Ian looked out the window of the train. People were in the rice paddies with their mules and their bamboo hats. The white snowy mountains flashed in the background like white Christmas lights. “Mr. Gray, we will be there in a few hours. Would you like something to eat or drink?” said Cross. “No, thank you, Cross. I’m fine. But can I ask you for a favor?” “Yes, anything, Mr. Gray.” “Besides the emperor himself, don’t mention anything about the threat against him to anyone else. I don’t want to cause a panic attack throughout the country. For all they know, we’re here on a business trip.” “And what, may I ask, ‘business’ are we exactly?” chuckled Cross. “Hmm, a…bakery business?” laughed Ian. “I’m not completely positive, but I’m sure we’ll think of something.” “Please follow me, sirs,” said the servant. “The emperor’s throne room is this way.” “Blimey, this palace is bigger than the Queen’s,” exclaimed Cross as he gazed in wonder at the massive courtyard filled with lush flowers and trees. The palace itself loomed in the background. “Yes, each piece of this palace was man-made,” the servant said proudly. “Just like the Great Wall.” “What do you guys do around here?” said Ian. “How did you come to work for the emperor?” “Most of the villagers work in the rice paddies. Many servants, like I, for example, used to work in the rice paddies. We would have to toil all day in the heat. It was hard work, let me tell you. I was not even able to attend school when I was a young boy. Luckily, we found a better job, thanks to the emperor,” said the servant. “This emperor sounds like a good guy, huh? But about the Great Wall,” began Ian. “Exactly how far is it from the emperor’s palace? Does it have any paths or anything inside of it?” “It is approximately a twenty minute walk from here,” stated the servant. “I have not heard about any paths, but…” he lowered his voice. “Between you and me, there is a secret pathway underneath the Great Wall that leads to all sorts of places. No one really knows about it, but most of the servants do. Here we are.” The threesome stopped in front of vast a double door with two guards standing beside it and two guards standing in front of it. “ 这些人这里在看见皇帝, ” said the servant. The guards moved aside. “Please, go ahead. I am not allowed to enter after this point. Good luck.” The servant waved his hands. “Thank you,” said Ian appreciatively. The two men opened the doors and stepped inside. The emperor was sitting on his throne talking to a man with enormous muscles dressed in a uniform, fully equipped with a belt and sword. The man seemed to be in a rush, talking hurriedly and glancing up every few seconds. When he saw the two men, he bowed to the emperor and quickly left. When he walked out, he brushed by Ian. Ian said, “Hey, you dropped your…blueprints?” The man barely took notice and left. Ian quickly stuffed the papers into his pocket, examining the room. “Greetings, Mr. Cross. And you must be Ian Gray. The Queen says that you are the most brilliant detective in all of London,” smiled the emperor. “Do you think you can help me solve this case?” “Why yes, I believe I can solve this case. Pardon me for asking, but who was that man that was talking to you a few moments ago?” asked Ian. “He’s my chief of guard,” the emperor said. “The finest in all of China.” Ian noticed a little tension in the emperor’s voice when he said that. “Is something going on between the two of you?” The emperor sighed, “I guess the Queen was right. You //are// the finest detective in London.” Cross chuckled. “Yes, Lao Xue, the chief of guard, and I have had a few disagreements these past couple of days about security and such. He believes that there is a traitor within my palace, but I’ve told him that that is impossible.” The door opened. “Excuse me, Your Majesty,” said the guard. “But it’s time.” “Oh, all right,” said the emperor standing up. He turned to Ian and Cross. “My apologies, but I must take my leave now. There are important matters that I need to discuss.” “No problem,” said Cross. “There will be another servant outside waiting for you to take you to your rooms,” said the emperor. “Thank you.” Ian and Cross exited from the throne room. As the servant was showing them their rooms, Ian asked innocently, “Excuse me, but do you know where the chief of guard’s room is? I would like to speak to him about security measures for the emperor.” “Down the hall on the left,” said the servant and left. “You can’t possibly be going now,” exclaimed Cross. “We haven’t even unpacked yet.” “I don’t think we’ll need to,” smiled Ian. “You’ve already—? Are you certain?” said Cross, bewildered. “Yes, I think I have. I need to be certain though,” said Ian. “Go to the emperor and tell him to call his guards into the room. I’ll be there in twenty minutes, bringing the big guy.” “Well, all right then,” chuckled Cross. “The Queen was right. You //are// the most brilliant detective in all of London.” “Well, it has been twenty-five minutes. Where is Mr. Gray, and what urgent thing does he have to show me?” said the emperor impatiently. “I’m here,” said Ian, as he pushed opened the doors with a tight grip on Lao Xue. Everyone turned to look at Ian. “I find this man guilty of high treason. He has been plotting to kill the emperor.” Everyone gasped. Ian threw the blueprints on the floor, pushing Lao Xue against the wall, “I found these blueprints in his room before. They are blueprints of the secret passageways within the Great Wall. And this sword, it reeks of blood.” Ian threw a sword on top of the blueprints. “T-this is impossible,” stammered the emperor. “Lao Xue has been my chief of guard for fifteen years.” “I know,” smiled Ian. “That’s why you should learn to trust him more.” He released his grip on Lao Xue and pressed a secret button on the wall, which revealed none other than the servant. “Blimey, that’s the servant who showed us to the emperor’s throne room,” exclaimed Cross. “Kai?” said the emperor puzzled. “What are you doing here?” “Trying to kill you,” shouted Kai, as he lunged at the emperor, revealing a sword in his hand. “I don’t think so,” grunted Lao Xue, as he parried Kai’s blow with his own sword. Ian sighed, “I wasn’t aiming for violence but…I guess it’s time for me to join the fight.” Ian jumped into the fight and sent a blow into Kai’s stomach. Kai wheeled away in pain, right into Lao Xue’s tight grip. “How did you—” “Oh, that? Black belt,” chuckled Ian. “What is going on here?” the emperor cried. “Well, for one thing, Lao Xue is not the traitor,” said Ian. “He is a great man and very trustworthy, at that.” Lao Xue bowed modestly. “And the servant, Kai, is the traitor.” Kai snarled, “How did you know?” “At first, I thought Lao Xue was the traitor. No offense to you.” Ian bowed to Lao Xue. “But then I realized that Lao Xue was trying to use the blueprints I found to block all the secret passageways from the Great Wall into the palace. This was all confirmed when I went to talk to him and when I knew who already was the traitor.” “So you //were// going to talk about security measures,” exclaimed Cross. Ian laughed, “I told you I wasn’t lying, Cross. As for you, Kai, well, you said you were a villager who worked in the rice paddies all day long and didn’t have any education whatsoever. However, when you led us to the throne room, I looked at your hands. They were not calloused at all but smooth as a baby’s bottom. Also, when you spoke to the guards to open the door, you spoke in the formal Chinese dialect. If you didn’t have any education, you would not know how to speak formally. So clearly, you lied.” “You lied to us all,” the emperor said sadly. “Guards, please take him away.” As Lao Xue turned to follow, the emperor hesitated, “Lao Xue, a moment.” “Yes, Your Majesty?” Lao Xue said. “I’m sorry for not believing you the first time,” the emperor apologized. “It’s fine, Your Majesty,” said Lao Xue. “No problem at all.” “No, it’s not fine,” said the emperor. “You have been my chief of guard for fifteen years. It’s time I learn to be more trusting of you. I would like to appoint you as my chief advisor for military tactics and security so please see me later.” Lao Xue bowed modestly and left. “As for you, Mr. Gray and Mr. Cross, you two have done a fine job of solving this case. The Queen was right to send you here. As for a reward—” Cross interrupted, “I don’t think a reward is necessary. However, my colleague here would like to see the Great Wall and a tour guide would be excellent.” Ian laughed, “Yes, Cross is right. No reward at all. However, I would love to see the Great Wall up close…”
 * “The Case of the Great Wall”**