Michael Jecks - The Malice of Unnatural Death

‘If the bishop had a man in his room while he briefed the nuncius ,’ Baldwin pointed out, ‘that man might have heard something. And then, if he had a brother, or a friend, out here in the cityitself, he might have been able to contact him, tell him to take this fellow …’

‘And then he caught the wrong man on the first night?’ the coroner rumbled.

‘Many thieves and felons are less bright than the common dog in the street,’ Baldwin pointed out. ‘It would not surprise meif one of them caught the wrong man. In the dark along an alley, they could have mistaken him, I suppose.’ In his mind hewas reviewing the two men: the messenger was a lot taller, but Baldwin knew that gauging a man’s height in the dark couldbe very difficult. Yes — it was possible.

Considering, Simon said, ‘It at least makes sense of the poor man’s losing his fingers, certainly. I’d be happier knowingthat there was someone in the bishop’s household who could have done such a thing, though. It is far-fetched to say that someonewas in a position to learn about this theoretical message, and happened to know a friend in the city who could kill the messenger. You might as well suggest some supernatural agent. What?’

Simon had caught sight of Baldwin’s quick look at the coroner. Coroner Richard grinned to himself and knocked on the door as Simon set his hands at his sword belt and glowered. ‘I wasn’t saying this was a ghost, Baldwin!’ He knew how his friend looked down upon the idea of malevolent spirits of any type. In Baldwin’s world,all was easily explained by rationality. ‘Look, all I was saying was, you may as well suggest that it was the devil who cameand killed the fellow. Until we have more information and a genuine possible suspect, I think that we ought to …’

‘Consider other possibilities. I know,’ Baldwin said coolly.

Simon was silent. He was annoyed at being treated so dismissively at first, but then he saw a strange look in the coroner’seye, a look almost of anxiety, and the sight was enough to make him pause. There was something about this matter that he wasnot yet aware of.

‘Well,’ he said, ‘I can at least offer some help with the bishop. I have a young lad with me, and if Rob can’t sniff out aconspiracy at ten paces, no one can.’

‘You mean that boy from Dartmouth?’ Coroner Richard boomed unenthusiastically.

Simon shook his head. ‘Coroner, he has spent his life in the company of the most devious, thieving set of people in the realm- sailors. If he cannot recognise when someone sees the possibility of making money from a situation, I doubt if anyone can.’

‘Very well,’ Baldwin said. ‘Where is this fellow? Would he have gone on his rounds already?’

Art was leaning against the wall, picking his nose. He shrugged now and looked about him. ‘Doubt it. Too early for him. He’sprobably up at his old place.’

‘Where is that?’ Baldwin asked.

‘Where that man died — Mucheton.’

Coroner Richard’s face screwed up as his brows knotted. ‘What do you mean? Will used to live in that road?’

‘Yes. Before the fire. Then him and his wife had a good place up there. But the fire killed his family while he was out drinking. I was quite young then, but that’s what I heard.’

‘What do you want?’

The voice took Baldwin by surprise, and he could see that the coroner was struck the same way. Sir Richard’s head snappedround so quickly, Baldwin half-expected to hear the bones in his neck crack.

In the doorway was a bent figure. It was Will’s wife, Baldwin saw. ‘Mistress, we are looking for Will Skinner. Is he home?’

There was a faint light in her eyes as though she harboured some long-held hope, but as her gaze went from one to the other,the spark faded and she appeared to sag a little. ‘He’s not here. You want him, you go to where he left us that night.’

She walked with immense difficulty. One hand gripped the doorframe to steady her as she gazed at them all, her back so badlydeformed that her head would only have reached Baldwin’s middle chest.

‘He left you?’

‘To burn. Aye. I’m still his wife, but if I had courage I would leave him. He did this to me! I won’t suffer much longer,though. The good Lord will take me away from this vale of sin and horror. And I’ll be glad to leave!’

‘It must be hard to live here when you used to live so close by with all your family,’ Baldwin said. He was trying to soundunderstanding and compassionate, but even to his ears his words sounded empty and cold.

‘Hard?’ She looked up at him from her twisted frame. ‘Hard? You think it’s hard to lose everything? Yes. It’s hard.’

‘Mistress, I meant no offence to you. I was merely …’

‘Hard! Yes, we had a good life before. Will was a merchant and life was good. Yes, it was fine. We had our house, with threelittle children, and plenty of money coming in every day to support them all. Yes, it was good. And then one night my pathetic husband stayed out late to drink with his friends, and we had a fire. It took my children, it took our treasure, and it eventook my body. So now he’s a watchman and I’m the twisted wreck you see today. Burned until all my skin was falling away. Becausewhile my useless prickle of a husband was singing with his friends, I was in the house trying to save my children. But they’reall gone. All gone!’

‘Mistress, we shall leave you. I had no idea you were here. You have my deepest sympathy,’ Baldwin murmured.

Usually his calm and respectful manner would soothe even the most truculent woman, but this evening his words only inflamed Will’s wife.

‘You had no idea I was here? No, almost everyone thinks I’m dead. And they’re right! Yes, I’m dead. I’ve seen what hell is,fine sir. Yes, the devil has visited me once and taken my little sweetings, although he left me to suffer for them. And heleft me my husband, too, so that I might see every day the man who destroyed my life when he wasn’t there to save our children;and that I might make his life as miserable and cheerless as possible with my constant rebukes and sniping. Yes. The devilmade a fine job of me, didn’t he?’

Baldwin could not meet her eye. He turned and left, trying not to listen to the cackling laugh that followed him. ‘So, Keeper,’ the coroner asked as they trudged up South Gate Street, ‘Should we wander up that alley to find Will now?’

Baldwin stopped and glanced back at Will’s house. ‘In Christ’s name, the poor devil has enough already with her in his home. No. We can speak to him later.’

Simon felt only relief to hear that, thinking he could do with some sleep. But when he caught a glimpse of the coroner’s sturdyframe, he began to wonder. He had had experience of ‘quiet’ evenings with the coroner.

At least the drinking was delayed a little when they reached the door of the inn and Rob called to him.

‘I think you’ll be interested in this.’

Exeter City

The alley was quickly darkening now, and Will was ready to return home and gather up his staff and lamp, when he heard the stepsapproaching.

At least now the body was gone. It had been hard, standing here with the corpse and Tom atte Moor in the background, watching,and Tom probably chuckling to himself.

Everyone laughed at him. He knew that. Back some years ago, they’d all been sympathetic as they could be, but then as he grewunable to continue with his normal work, as the demands from his wife increased, the compassion of his friends started todull a little. While the fire was fresh in everyone’s minds, that was one thing. When he went to the tavern after that, hecouldn’t put hand to purse without a drink appearing and a muttered, ‘Sorry to hear about them, Will,’ accompanied by a handon his shoulder. That all changed over time. Margie accosted some people in the street and shouted at them because they hadn’thelped save her wains, and then the tales of her shouting and screaming at others grew more common.