Michael Jecks - The Malice of Unnatural Death

‘I see. Do you have any idea who could have wanted to see your old companion dead?’ Baldwin enquired after a moment.

‘Ah!’ Newt said. He took a long pull at his ale and wiped his mouth. Speaking thoughtfully, he told them all he could recallfrom that last night when he had wandered drunkenly homewards with James, only to wake the next morning alone, and with abroken head.

‘Do you think James could have done that to you?’ the coroner demanded. ‘He plied you with ale all night and then struck youdown? Hardly credible to me.’

‘Or to me, unless he thought that there was danger ahead. I think he saw someone or something that made him fearful. He struck me to keep me quiet, and perhaps leave me safe, before going on. Or he set me down somewhere safe and someone elseknocked me down.’

‘He was drunk?’ Baldwin shot out.

‘We both were.’

‘Was there blood near you when you woke?’

‘Yes,’ Newt remembered. ‘And on my knife.’

‘Then the riddle is easily explained. The messenger was the target, Master Robinet. You gained your lump when you were knockeddown by an assailant — or two or three — who wanted information from James. I imagine they cut off his fingers while he wasalive in order to prise that information from him. If they wanted to torture him extensively, that would have taken time,and perhaps they had little enough. Still, they got such information as they felt they needed, so they drew a cord about histhroat and killed him. Perhaps in the barn with you, perhaps at the rubbish heap. And then they simply hid him. And therehe might have lain for some while, if a hog hadn’t taken a fancy to his hand.’

‘That is all clear enough. Except, why should the messenger be killed?’ Simon muttered.

‘I think this man has answered that for us already,’ Baldwin said. ‘John of Nottingham was the man Michael said was rentingthat undercroft. And now we hear of a necromancer from Coventry who caused writs to be sent all about the country. Do younot think that perhaps this John could have escaped, only to see the messenger who was carrying messages to have him arrested? What would John do? He paid an accomplice and hunted down the messenger, bringing him to a place where he knew he could overwhelmthe fellow, and when he was sure he had all he needed, he killed James and threw away his body. A callous and barbaric way to treat a Christian corpse.’

‘What of John’s murder today?’

‘I should think that someone who wanted revenge against him must have decided to take action,’ Baldwin said quietly.

‘Me? But I swear, I wouldn’t recognise him if I saw him,’ Robinet said hastily. ‘You must believe me, Sir Baldwin. I had noidea. All I was doing there was watching for the stranger, to see …’

‘Yes?’

‘I wanted to see whether it was the same man I thought I had seen the night James was killed. But from the description, Idon’t see how it could have been. The man I saw was not too tall. But others said the killer was over there at the house.’

‘Well, let us hope he was the killer,’ Coroner Richard grunted heavily. ‘Rather than some poor innocent, eh?’ And he lookedat Newt with a contemplative air.

It was plain enough that he thought Newt had taken the law into his own hands and removed a murderer. And did not disapprove.

Exeter City

Alice saw the crowd outside the house from the top of Stepecote Street, and she glanced at Sarra with a perplexed frown. ‘What isall this? I thought he was released today.’

‘I shall go and ask, mistress, if you want,’ Sarra suggested, and soon she was pushing her way through the mass of people. She could not reach the front of the crowd, but from a vantage point — which was a small wooden crate she found lying in thestreet — she was able to see that there was a beadle standing nervously with a polearm in his hand, surveying the crush withwariness bordering on alarm. Sarra recognised him, but there was no possibility of getting to him and asking what was happening,not with all these people about. However, there was a small, scruffy urchin nearby. She stepped down from the box and walkedup to him.

‘What is happening over there?’

Rob had been happily engaged in studying a pair of pigeons on the roof and wondering whether he could hit one with a stonewhen the young woman prodded him with her foot. He looked her up and down, lifted his eyebrows, shrugged, and snorted to himself.‘What’s in it for me if I tell you?’

‘A smack on your head if you don’t answer sharply,’ Sarra said sweetly. She had two brothers.

He scowled. ‘There’s a wizard lives here — he’s been murdered. Say his head was almost taken off his body.’

Sarra gave him a close look. She only knew of one necromancer in this street. ‘I heard tell he was all right this morning. He had been kept in the gaol overnight and released earlier today — and now he’s dead?’

‘Look over there and you’ll see the beadle guarding the body until the inquest can be held,’ Rob said. He was waiting herefor Busse to reappear. The man had retreated into the house with Langatre a short time ago, and Rob wanted to follow him again. It was growing chilly out here. Even in the midday sun it was cold.

‘Do they know who killed him? Or why?’

‘Nah! You know how people are. The fornicating churls from this roadway are all clucking about like gossips from any other,but they won’t help the coroner for nothing.’

‘Wait there!’ Sarra said, and hurried to her mistress. ‘Langatre priest is dead, my lady,’ she gasped as she reached Lady Alice. ‘Apparently someone murdered him this morning. I saw the beadle there with my own eyes.’

Lady Alice felt as though she had been buffeted by a heavy blow. She rocked on her heels and blinked, momentarily overwhelmedby nausea. There was only one thought in her mind: that her husband had somehow learned about her visits to Langatre and hadtaken his own revenge for her discussions with the magician.

It was no surprise. If a man learned that his barren wife was seeking the aid of a magician, he might well imagine that thelatter could have taken advantage of her. And although she had been the soul of propriety in all their negotiations, she could all too easily comprehend that her husbandmight have flown off the handle at the thought that she had been here to consult a known sorcerer. It must have made him mad.

Unless it was something to do with that little whore Jen.

Alice felt the breath catch in her throat at the thought. What if Jen was in reality her husband’s lover, as the mediocre-mindedlittle hussy had implied? If Matthew was in love with her, he would not want Alice to suddenly conceive, and he would ruthlesslyremove any man who might be able to help her …

No, that was ridiculous. And yet, if he heard that his own wife was consulting a necromancer in order to achieve something,just at the time when he had learned of the attack on Hugh le Despenser, he would want the fact suppressed. And he could beruthless in pursuit of his career, as Alice knew. It was foolish in the extreme of her not to have seen this! So stupid! Forher to see a magician at just this time was asking for trouble. Of course her husband could not possibly condone her visitsto Langatre when his own master, Despenser, would be made so angry by the idea. It was just a matter of bad fortune that shehad decided to come here today to see him, after reading that curious little note.

Be careful! she had read. Your husband knows all our business.

Fortunately she had had the presence of mind to throw the offending thing straight onto the fire, and then, calling for Sarra,had felt a little foolish in leaving so swiftly, but now she felt more than ever vindicated. It was merely a shame that shehad not managed to get here sooner, or that the message had not been sent earlier so that she could have come and protected Langatre from her husband’s men.