Peter Tremayne - Our Lady of Darkness

‘Why not?’ snapped Bishop Forbassach from across the hall. ‘That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? He has been compensated.’

Fidelma turned a glinting eye on him.

‘What I wanted from the outset was for the truth to be made known. Veritas vos liberabit is the basis of our law. The truth shall make you free — and until we know the entire truth of this business then this kingdom dwells in darkness and suspicion.’

‘Do you now seek vengeance on our mistakes?’ demanded Forbassach. ‘Gabrán, the slave trader, is dead. That is surely vengeance enough?’

‘It is not that easy,’ replied Fidelma. ‘And while we have heard of Eadulf’s innocence, what of the innocence of Brother Ibar? What of the death of Daig? What of the innocence of Gormgilla and countless young girls whose lives are now beyond recovering? It is not vengeance that is needed to explain these tragedies but the truth.’

‘Are you saying that the death of Gabrán, the man who engineered this evil trade, does not satisfy you, Sister Fidelma?’ It was Abbot Noé who spoke. His tone was measured and it was clear that he shared Bishop Forbassach’s unhappiness with the developing situation.

‘I will be satisfied with the truth,’ she repeated. ‘Have you forgotten the testimony of the young girl Fial? It was not Gabrán who asked her to give the false testimony against Eadulf. He was drunk or knocked unconscious. Nor was it the boatman who was subsequently murdered on the following day. You will remember how Fial described what happened?’

There came a sigh of exasperation from Bishop Forbassach.

‘We do not have to rely on the word of a young murderess.’

Fidelma raised an eyebrow in quickening anger.

Abbot Noé spoke before she could. ‘The girl, Fial, obviously killed Gabrán and it is clear that she did so in a state of great emotional stress.We understand that and no blame is placed on her for it. My friend, Forbassach, does not mean to condemn her; nevertheless, it is the truth. Be content with that, Fidelma.’

‘This morning, before the Chief Brehon, we went through all the testimony that was heard in Coba’s hall,’ Fidelma returned. ‘I thought it was clear then that Fial had not killed Gabrán.’

Bishop Forbassach almost exploded with anger.

‘Another innocent for you to defend?’ he sneered.

Barrán leaned forward in his direction. His voice was flat and assertive.

‘I would advise you to be more considerate with your words and manner of using them, Brehon of Laigin. I remind you that this is my court and the rules of courtesy between those who plead before me apply.’

Fidelma glanced with gratitude towards Barrán.

‘I am willing to answer Forbassach. Indeed, Fial is another innocent — and I am ready to defend all who are innocent of crimes against which they are unjustly accused.’

‘If you are willing to state the truth, you will acknowledge that you only wish to defend Fial because you want to lay the blame on Abbess Fainder for the murder of Gabrán!’ Forbassach had risen angrily to his feet, his face flushed. The abbess, pale, tried to grab at his arm to pull him back to his seat.

‘Bishop Forbassach!’ Barrán’s voice cracked like a whip. ‘I have warned you once before. I shall not warn you again to moderate your behaviour towards a respected dálaigh of the courts.’

‘As a matter of fact,’ intervened Fidelma mildly, ‘I have no wish to accuse the abbess of Gabrán’s murder. It is obvious that she did not carry out that killing. You seem determined to cloud the real issues here, Forbassach.’

Bishop Forbassach dropped back to his seat deflated and abashed. Fidelma continued: ‘The person who killed Gabrán was part of the slave-trade conspiracy and was ordered to do so because Gabrán had become a liability to that conspiracy. His increasingly corrupt behaviour was endangering the whole enterprise. Too many deaths were occurring around Gabrán and bringing unwelcome attention.

‘The rape and murder of a young girl on the abbey quay by Gabrán and the stupid attempt to shift the blame on an innocent passer-by was what led to the subsequent mayhem. The person for whom Gabránworked, the real power behind this evil enterprise, finally came to realise that it was time to dispense with Gabrán’s services — and in a permanent fashion.’

The silence in the hall was absolute. It was some moments before Abbot Noé decided to intervene.

‘Are you claiming that all the deaths are connected?’

‘The murder of the crewman followed in the wake of Gormgilla’s death. Now, what was Fial’s evidence which we listened to again this morning?’

Barrán turned to his scribe.

‘Correct me if the record speaks against me,’ he instructed. ‘As I recall, when she was taken from her confinement by one of the crewmen, in the next cabin she saw Gabrán unconscious either in a state of intoxication or having been rendered unconscious. There was a hooded figure in that ill-lit cabin dressed in the robes of the religious. This was the person who instructed her to identify the Saxon as the same who killed Gormgilla. Do I have it correctly?’

The scribe, who had been referring to some notes before him, muttered, ‘ Verbatim et litteratim et punctatim,’ to confirm that it had been accurately rendered.

Fidelma thanked Barrán for reminding them of the record.

‘The crewman who released Fial was actually the same man who was murdered the next day. I must make some conjectures now but they are threaded together by facts — information that Daig passed on to his wife. I acknowledge that no surviving witnesses can confirm each detail independently. May I do so?’

‘Providing it elucidates the mystery,’ Barrán said, ‘but I will not take conjecture alone as evidence towards convicting any individual.’

‘You do not have to. I would imagine that the crewman, who was, of course, of the same low morals as Gabrán, saw his involvement in the covering up of his captain’s crime as a great chance to make some extra money by blackmailing Gabrán. They had a row in the local inn — the Inn of the Yellow Mountain. The row was witnessed by Lassar, the innkeeper. She also saw Gabrán giving the crewman some money to keep him silent. Gabrán later explained this sum by claiming it was the man’s wages. The sum that was passed was a large one, however — too large for the wages of a boatman.

‘The boatman went off happy with his spoils but he did not realise that Gabrán was no easy target. Gabrán followed the man from the inn,caught up with him down by the quay and killed him. It would have been simple had not Daig been passing in the vicinity at the time. Gabrán had only time to run off and hide before Daig arrived. Daig actually heard his steps receding but chased him in the wrong direction. Daig’s other mistake was not checking the body thoroughly first.

‘When Daig went off chasing shadows, Gabrán returned to the body of his comrade and retrieved his money. He removed the distinctive gold chain that the crewman wore around his neck and returned to the inn where Daig later came to speak with him. I think Daig’s questions may have panicked him. He sought protection for his deed and went off to the abbey to see his employer. He demanded help or threatened to confess everything.

‘I can imagine that this person was not happy with developments. Perhaps the decision for the eventual removal of Gabrán was even made there and then. After all, the whole enterprise was being put in jeopardy by this evil little man.

‘But there was another problem and one which this terrible deed might help to solve. Brother Ibar was also a weak link in the chain. Oh yes,’ she said as a murmur arose, ‘Brother Ibar was part of this trade, but I believe that he was a wholly innocent part of it. He had been ordered to make manacles. He thought that they were shackles for animals. He told Eadulf as much, but he was growing suspicious as to their real purpose. And, of course, Ibar could identify the person who had ordered him to make those manacles. That same person now took the neck chain and money from Gabrán, assuring him of their return if he complied with the scheme.