Paul Doherty - The House of Crows

‘I know,’ Athelstan intervened. ‘I have been through the poor man’s Book of Hours. He has pictures of them.’

‘Poor man?’ Perline asked. ‘He’s rich, wealthy!’

‘I’ll come to that in a while,’ Athelstan replied.

‘Well, not to make a long tale of it,’ Perline rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand, ‘Sir Francis offered to buy Cranston and I agreed. Oh, it was simple enough. There were cages in the Tower. On Sunday afternoon, when the rest of the soldiers were sleeping or dicing, I put. .’ He look sleepily at the coroner. ‘. . I put the ape in the cage. I loaded it on to a handcart and took it down to a postern gate overlooking the river. I then went back to see the constable,’ Perline shrugged. ‘I asked him for some leave and, well, you know how it is, he agreed. Now there was a skiff with a pole near the gate. Once dusk fell, I put the cage on the skiff and poled across the river to the Southwark side. I hired a cart from the market, covered the cage with an old cloth, and wondered where could I hide it until Harnett came to collect the beast.’

‘And, of course, you remembered the death-house in St Erconwald’s cemetery?’

‘Well, it wasn’t being used, Father. So off we goes. I still kept the cage sheeted, no one saw me. I was even able to go back and collect some scraps from the marketplace: apples, pears and a few bruised plums.’

‘I know you did,’ Athelstan remarked. ‘Cecily the courtesan found them in the cemetery littering some of the graves. I wondered how they had got there.’

‘Well, whatever,’ Perline replied, sniffing. ‘I opened the cage and gave some of the fruit to Cranston.’

‘Stopcalling that bloody ape by my name!’ Sir John bellowed. And, taking his wineskin out, the coroner poured himself a generous draught into the pewter cup which Simplicatas had quickly brought across.

‘I am sorry, Sir John,’ Perline mumbled. ‘Well, for a time, I just sat there and talked to Cranston,’ he continued blithely. ‘He seemed as happy as a pig in muck, chattering away. However, if he had eaten, well, he’d want to shit, wouldn’t he? So I let him out. I thought he’d be safe in the death-house.’

‘Which explains why the place stank like a midden,’ Athelstan declared.

‘I am sorry, Father,’ Perline wailed. ‘Well, I went out to get more of the fruit I’d left on the gravestone. When I came back, the ape had gone. You see, Father, I’d left the door off the latch.’

‘Gone?’ Sir John asked.

Perline snapped his fingers. ‘Just like that, Sir John. One minute the ape was there chattering fit to burst, then he was off. I panicked. I took the cage out and hid it in an alleyway.’

Perline licked his lips. ‘I didn’t know where the ape had gone so I hid here.’

‘And Sunday,’ Athelstan pointed at Simplicatas, ‘is when you appeared, claiming Perline was missing and had been for days.’

‘We were frightened of Harnett,’ Perline wailed. ‘I didn’t want him coming here.’

‘But you met him on Monday evening?’

‘I had to. I told him some lie but he became angry. I explained I couldn’t speak to him in Southwark, people would become suspicious; Moleskin the boatman had already seen us. Harnett bundled me into a skiff and took me across to the steel yard.’ Perline gulped. ‘I told him the truth.’

‘And he was furious?’

‘He was more than that, Father; he accused me of being a thief. Harnett said that if I didn’t produce Cranston. .’ Perline stopped, his fingers sliding to his mouth. ‘I am sorry, Sir John. . He said he’d have me put to the horn as an outlaw. He also gave me a letter, a pass to get into the abbey. He told me to tell him as soon as I found the ape.’

‘Then you came back here,’ Athelstan declared, ‘and hid. Whilst you, Simplicatas, spread the lie as far as you could.’

‘I am sorry, Father.’ The young woman shook her head. ‘But I was terribly a-feared.’ Her voice trembled. ‘Perline could hang; Sir Francis was a hard man.’

‘Perline still might hang!’ Cranston growled. ‘And, if I had my way, that bloody ape next to him!’

Simplicatas threw her head back and wailed, whilst Perline began to shake. Athelstan caught Sir John’s eye.

‘Well, I don’t really mean that,’ the coroner muttered. He patted Simplicatas gently on the shoulder. ‘There, there, girl, don’t weep!’

‘I just thought I’d hide,’ Perline confessed. ‘Wait until Parliament was finished and Harnett had left.’

‘Well, he has left,’ Athelstan interrupted. ‘Last night, someone invited Sir Francis Harnett down to the Pyx chamber at Westminster and took his head clean off his shoulders.’

‘Oh, sweet Lord, mercy!’ Simplicatas cried.

Perline leaned against the table, looking as if he had been hit by a rock.

‘Here, you had best drink this.’ Cranston pushed across his cup of wine.

Perline grasped it and raised it shakily to his lips.

‘You know what they are going to say?’ Athelstan declared. ‘They might claim, Perline, that you double-crossed Sir Francis: that you not only stole one of the king’s animals but, when it escaped and you were unable to keep your side of the bargain, you decided to kill Harnett.

‘But how?’ Perline screeched. He put the cup down on the table, his hands were trembling so much. ‘How could I get into Westminster? It’s closely guarded by soldiers.’

‘You had a special letter,’ Cranston declared.

‘I tore it up and threw it away.’

‘You are also a soldier. You wear the royal livery,’ Athelstan warned. ‘It would be easy to mingle with the rest. Moreover, you are able to carry arms, be it a sword or an axe.’

‘But I never left here,’ Perline groaned. ‘Since Monday I have been hiding in the garret.’

‘Though eating well!’ Athelstan retorted. ‘For a distraught woman, Simplicatas, you purchased a great deal in the marketplace.’

‘I didn’t kill him!’ Perline declared. ‘I never saw, met or heard from Sir Francis since that meeting near the steel yard.’

‘You are sure of that?’ Athelstan asked.

Perline sprang to his feet and walked across to where the cradle stood. He placed his hand on the wooden canopy. ‘I swear,’ he declared flatly. ‘Father, I swear by all that is holy and by the life of my future child that I have spoken the truth!’

His voice trembled and he blinked furiously to keep back the tears. ‘Father, you have got to help me. Sir John, I am sorry.’

‘Please! Please!’ Simplicatas grasped Athelstan’s hand. ‘We meant no harm.’

‘Sit down,’ Athelstan ordered.

Perline obeyed.

‘How much did Sir Francis give you?’

‘Ten pounds sterling, though I have spent one already.’

‘Right.’ Athelstan winked at Cranston. ‘Perline, my boy, you are to take the money down to St Erconwald’s church and seek out Benedicta. You know her?’

Perline nodded quickly.

‘Benedicta will summon Watkin, Pike, Ranulf and Tab the tinker. You will offer each of them one pound for the ape to be recaptured. Now I suspect,’ Athelstan continued, trying to keep his voice flat and avoid Cranston’s eye, ‘that the poor creature is terrified and has not wandered far from St Erconwald’s cemetery: that’s the last place it was fed properly and the last place it saw you. You are to put the cage in the death-house, keeping the door open, and spend another pound on fruit in the market. Nothing rotten, nothing that has been thrown away but good, ripe fruit.’ He pointed a finger at Perline. ‘Are you listening to me?’

The young soldier nodded.

‘You are to sleep in that cemetery, day and night, until that poor creature returns. . and it will!’