Chap 19 The Hunters
During that summer of 1939, Werner realised he
had no choice but to visit number 28 Chuanpan
Hutong himself...
He went first to number 27, intending to talk to
the Oparinas...
Madam Oparina had reputedly been widowed
five times over, and had financially benefited
from the death of each husband...Werner had
also heard...And then of course there was the
story about Madam Oparina once running a
brothel with Joe Knauf..
Now he managed to gain access to the roof of a
grocery store opposite number 28...from the roof
he could see over the wall of number 28 and
ascertain the layout of the brothel. Once down
from the roof, he crossed the road and was
surprised to find the door of number 28 ajar
He went in. Some Chinese servants in the central
courtyard asked him what he wanted. Werner
ignored them...
Werner ignored them and stepped sharply to the
right, walking the few steps to the bedroom that
Marie had told him about.
Comments
Werner describes his visit to the brothel on page
14 of F1510/1510/10: On my return from
Peitaiho in September last (1938) I happened to
be passing along that hut’ung& saw that the
street door of No. 28 was open. ...so I went in,
and finding no one about...It was open to the
courtyard, and in it was standing a Chinese man
Incorrect
These are Werner’s unsubstantiated remarks.
No source given.
Timeline incorrect again.
Werner page 14 (as above): I had never been
inside it, having done no more than get a general
idea of the plan by going on to the roof of the
Chinese grocery store just opposite.
This is mentioned in Werner’s second visit to No.
28 (post-May 18th, 1939..after he discovers
another “Shura”)
In F1510/1510/10 Werner writes: I saw that a
staircase led to the upper floor (on which the
room in which the murder was committed is
situated).
Marie didn’t tell Werner about the bedroom on
the ground floor (F8038/1510/10), and Werner
did not see it the first time he visited no28 in
September 1938.
In F8038/1510/10 June 30th 1939 Werner
describes his interview with Marie but does not
give a date for this conversation.
My discovery of “Shura”...enabled me to come
to an important conclusion. He informed me that
there is only one room in the No.28
establishment in which the murder could have
been committed, namely the one on the ground
... An old Russian man stood at the entrance but
did not bar Werner’s way.
Werner noted that the legs on one of the chairs
looked to have been broken and then repaired
with metal braces.
..again ignoring the old Russian and the Chinese
servants...
Another Chinese man stood leaning on the
staircase by the kitchen entrance, watching.
Is there anyone here named Chen, Chen Chingchun? He asked the man. ‘Yes, I am he’. Werner
couldn’t believe his luck
...but at that moment Brana Shazker came down
the stairs from the bedrooms above and began
to shout and scream at them both.
The cook disappeared to his basement kitchen..
..to his basement kitchen and Werner was
hustled out of the courtyard and ...shut and
bolted behind him.
For weeks afterwards, Werner’s agents went
regularly to number 28 to try and persuade Chen
to talk with Werner
Eventually they learned that he’d been fired and
smuggled out of Peking by Brana Shazker.
floor on the south side of the compound
adjoining the street....On hearing this I went to
No. 28 and the street door being ajar, went in.
Inaccurate timeline. No old Russian man present
on the first visit (F1510/1510/10) but mentioned
on the second visit (F8038/1510/10).
This description does not exist in either
F1510/1510/10 nor F8038/1510/10 in which
Werner described the No.28 brothel visits
Not difficult as they didn’t exist on the first visit.
In F1510/1510/10 Werner writes: Just in front of
the foot of the staircase but somewhat apart and
facing west was what was obviously the kitchen.
It was open to the courtyard, and in it was
standing a Chinese man whom I asked if there
was a coolie named Kuo still employed there.
Incorrect reference supplied in Sources. (it is
F1510/1510/10, not F8038/1510/10)
Werner writes:...Kuo still employed there. He
replied that Kuo had left a long while ago. I then
said “Is there anyone here named Ch’en?”. He
replied “I am Ch’en”. I said “Ch’en Ch’ingch’un?”. He said:”Yes”.
In F1510/1510/10 Werner writes;...but at this
time the Russian manageress [Mrs Leschinsky
being manageress of the No.28 brothel:
F8038/1510/10 page16] approached and the
conversation perforce ended, for I knew she
would forbid the cook to say anything
Brana Shazker (the owner of No.28) is not
present during either visit (F8038 or F1510).
The kitchen was open to the courtyard, and not
in a basement.
This doesn’t occur on the first visit, (after which
the cook can’t be found) nor the second.
Not reported by Werner on either visit
Werner only mentions one male agent.
Werner writes: ...for my agent reports that...they
tell him that Ch’en...has been dismissed- which
Brana Shazker
Werner thought he had almost everything now.
There was one other minor detail that had been
constantly worrying at him....Pamela’s last meal
had been Chinese food...He finally solved that
nagging mystery.
After a long search, Werner’s detectives had
found several former classmates of the married
student Han Shou-ching, whose nose Werner had
broken with his cane....The students
remembered....He’d been deeply upset by her
murder and had told the students that the day
before he had met her by chance outside the
American drug store on Hatamen street
And indeed, the proprietor of the drug store,
when Werner’s agents followed the story up,
remembered Pamela talking with a Chinese
youth outside the shop on 6th January.
may be true or not....
Ch’en can still be arrested if necessary but I think
it best to wait a while before taking that step...
F8038/1510/10 Werner writes: I went, on May
30th, 1939 to the Hotel de la Paix (known as the
Telegraph hotel) having learnt that Brana
Shazker, the owner of the No. 28 establishment,
was living there. As I anticipated, she like most of
the Russian women of her status turned out to
be one of those viragos who..start yelling at the
top of their voice
In F5480/1510/10 letter May 18th, 1939 Werner
reports the owner of No. 28 as being ...the
Korean, Shira, the owner of the No.28
establishment
Timeline incorrect. Much later Werner imagined
a scenario to explain the Chinese food ...DATE;
December 1st, 1941. This definitely explaining the
hitherto incomprehensible mystery of the
Chinese meal found in the stomach of the dead
girl.(F714/714/10)
This is entirely invented: the detectives, the
classmates, the conversations.
The source is given as F8038/1510/10 which
does contain Werner’s letter to Consul Archer on
May 30th, 1939 saying that: ...Mr Bourne had
originally informed me that he had seen
them[Pamela in conversation with a Chinese or
halfcaste]about 4.30 to 5pm, on the 7th January
1937 outside the American Drug Store on
Hatamen street...
The source for this, Werner’s letter to Consul
Archer, F8038/1510/10, May 30th 1939 actually
has Werner report:...you say Mr Bourne
informed you that he saw a blonde girl in
conversation with a Chinese (or half-caste) about
4 to 4.30pm on the 6th January 1937 at the corner
of Hatamen and Legation streets. Mr Bourne has
originally informed me that he had seen them
about 4.30 to 5pm on the 7th January outside the
American Drug Store...which is a long way from
the corner of Hatamen and Legation streets...
No agents were involved, Bourne is presumed to
...and in his letter he quoted an old Chinese
proverb...At the Foreign office, the note attached
to Werner’s latest letter read simply:’Murder of
Pamela Werner. Mr Werner continues
progressive investigation. Further results
obtained’
As the long and humid summer of 1938
became...autumn, Werner received an
anonymous letter...The writer stated that they
had heard Pinfold declare on 8th January 1937
‘Prentice killed her’
Werner’s agents heard...The word was...
Prentice...since being questioned by the police
By March 1937 the talk about him had reached a
point...‘to lay his cards on the table’...as it was
described to Werner
be the owner of the American drug store. The
location and date in Midnight in Peking match
neither those given by Archer or Werner.
Correct file number for the proverb quoted in
F8038/1510/10 but the note attached to that
file/letter actually reads:
‘Murder of Pamela Werner. Refers to letter of
31st December, 1938 (F 1510/1510/10).
Transmits copy letter of 30th June to His
Majesty’s Ambassador reporting further on his
investigation of the murder. While it has not yet
been possible to make any arrest, the identity of
the murderers may be regarded as established
beyond any reasonable doubt.’
Incorrect source given. No anonymous letter.
In F1510/1510/10 October 26th, 1938
Page 8 Werner wrote: Pinfold’s statements,
reported by me more than once.”Maybe I do”
(know who killed the girl) and “Prentice killed
her” still await investigation and explanation. I
am taking this up again with my latest
information
And on page 10: my discovery of Pinfold’s
statement ”Maybe I do know” (who killed the
girl) and ”Prentice killed her”
Then again, from Werner, November 12, 1938
F1510/1510/10 Page 15a: Later on, these two
[Prentice and Pinfold] were not on speaking
terms, and it was after this estrangement that
Pinfold made to a certain woman (as already
reported) the definite statement “Prentice killed
her”.
Werner wrote these theories. This is an example
of words and actions being put into another’s
mouth .
There is no record of Prentice ever being
interviewed by police.
Incorrect source given.
For once Werner didn’t quote “an informant”
and just stated (Page 8 October 26th 1938
F1510/1510/10) that: Prentice is the man who,
not long after the murder, agreed to attend a
dinner at which he would “lay his cards on the
table” to prove to those present that he was not
connected to the murder.
By writing “as it was described to Werner” puts
the comment into a third party’s mouth and thus
appears to give credence to Werner’s theories.
After her death, any chance encounters between Incorrect source given.
the two men were marked by Prentice’s efforts to Werner writes (F8038/1510/10 page 13): His
cringing politeness and exaggerated attempt
ingratiate himself
to express sympathy with me, a stranger,
who had not seen him for years.
This statement also suggests repeated behaviour
however on page 3 October 3rd 1938
F1510/1510/10 Werner states: His attitude
toward me after the murder, though I had not
seen him for several years, created in my mind a
very strong suspicion, as reported at the time. He
was so servilely polite...
Arthur Ringwalt at the US Legation had
intimated that the Americans were concerned
about Prentice’s close relationship to certain
Japanese officials...He was, in other words, a
collaborator.
Dennis had noticed the smell of fresh paint
Prentice talked to Werner in the courtyard of his
building...he admitted...And yes, he and Joe
Knauf....he did confirm he’d given some of his
pals pass keys to his flat
Neither Sun the rickshaw puller nor Marie...had
been able to identify the make and model of the
car...but Sun sketched the car...a Ford Black and
Tan....It was a common enough foreign import...
No source given. Rumour portrayed as fact.
Invention. There is no record of the police
visiting Prentice. Werner claimed that Prentice’s
flat was white or colour-washed soon after the
murder (F12367 October 31, 1939 page 7).
No source given. Werner didn’t record this
meeting. On page 3 October 3rd, 1938
F1510/1510/10 Werner wrote:
The character of his flat (to which Pinfold, Knauf,
and other intimates of his had pass-keys) is well
known.
Werner repeated these theories endlessly over
the years, and Midnight in Peking puts these
theories into Prentice’s mouth in this fictitious
meeting.
No source given.
In F8038/1510/10 page 5 Werner described his
only interview with Marie: She dilated on
Prentice’s extremely sadistic nature...she would
have said more, but was prevented by Saxen..
Marie did not report seeing a car pull up nor
did she give a description of the car.
...Now Werner went looking for Prentice’s car,
only to find that it had been sold to an
unidentified buyer shortly after the murder. He
tried to track the buyer down but too much time
had elapsed.
No source given.
Page 4 October 3rd, 1938 F1510/1510/10
Werner wrote: Pamela was taken in a (probably
Prentice’s car) (the one seen by the rickshaw
coolie)...Whether Prentice has since disposed of
his car, or changed it for another, I do not know.
...The car may have been Prentice’s or Peter
Liang’s...who had two cars of which Prentice
would have the use when necessary
Werner appealed to Consul Archer to ask the
question through official channels. Surprisingly
Archer did.....Archer prevaricated, letting crucial
time pass
Arthur Ringwalt had been told by one of his
informants that ‘there is a marine who knows
everything and is willing to talk’. Rumours....had
also reached Werner’s Chinese detectives
According to Ringwalt’s intelligence, Jack had
recently got together enough of a stash to buy
the Olympia Cabaret
Werner noted his agitation...
Werner went to the rundown house...where
Knauf lived...
Werner’s detectives had heard that O’Brian was
another person who’d held a pass-key to
Later (F714/714/10 December 1941) Werner
wrote:
After the assault in Prentice’s flat, Capuzzo and
Prentice were seen by several witnesses as
carrying the girl...to the passage in which
Capuzzo’s car was waiting. Prentice was seen to
open the door...she groaned and was seen to try
to raise her arm and to say “Chiu ming, save life”
but was stopped by the murderers and taken
away in the car...
No source given.
The Italian suspects had been investigated.
Consul Archer had questioned Del Greco.
Werner was displeased with the results.
F1510/1510/10 November 12, 1938.
Suprisingly...prevaricated...conforms to the
Midnight in Peking’s “goodies v baddies” theme.
Incorrect source given :F12367/1510/10, in
which Werner asked Ringwalt: to see, if he can,
unsuspectingly, obtain Prentice’s and Knauf’s
fingerprints.
Ringwalt was not mentioned again in this file.
On page 3, F9120/1510/10 dated July 31, 1939
Werner wrote: Mr Ringwalt offered to give me
the present address both of Knauf and another
man named Jack, the latter possibly being, he
thought, the third person I had been referred to
as “the marine who knows everything and is
willing to talk”.
It isn’t clear who had first mentioned or invented
“the marine who knows everything...”
No source given.
In his letter, F12367/1510/10 page 2, Werner
wrote: Going first to Jack (who now owns the
Olympia Cabaret, having obtained a considerable
sum of money owing to a mortgage transaction
by a rich Chinese who was leaving from France), I
had only time to hear from him...
Werner said this. Ringwalt was not mentioned.
Werner invented “facts” in the past and was
described as morbidly suspicious [see: Werner
section]
Correct file number given.
Taken from F9120/1510/10 page 6-8 in which
Werner had Knauf repeating all of Werner’s
theories and connections.
No source given.
Werner’s theory/invention, ascribed to others
Prentice’s flat...according to Werner’s sources..
Werner could only assume...