Edward Marston - The Wildcats of Exeter

As soon as they opened it, they knew it led to the mortuary.

The stench of death was sweetened by the presence of herbs but it still rose up to attack their nostrils. Gervase coughed and Ralph turned his face away for an instant. They then went down some steps towards the flickering candle which had cast the strip of light under the door. The corpse was laid out on a stone slab and covered with a shroud. A crucifix stood at its head and the candle burned in an alcove. Ralph exchanged a glance with Gervase, then held the candle over the corpse. They shivered in the dank atmosphere. After bracing himself, Gervase took hold of the shroud and peeled it back from the face. The shock was severe.

‘God preserve his soul!’ he murmured.

‘Poor wretch!’ said Ralph.

‘Was this Nicholas Picard?’

The sight of such a grotesque visage made them take a step back. Blood had been stemmed, wounds had been bathed and some bandaging had been used but enough was visible to show them what a terrible end the murder victim had met. Skin had been torn from the face, lumps bitten out of it and deep lacerations left in it everywhere. The throat had been cut so viciously that it was surprising the head did not part from the body. Gervase could not bear the sight but Ralph took a more considered inventory. When he had finished, he replaced the shroud over the face.

‘This is the work of a fiend,’ he decided.

‘Who could want to disfigure him like that?’

‘I do not know, Gervase, but we now have even more reason to find the villain. That is not a human face. It is a piece of raw meat. The lord Nicholas looks as if he was attacked by a wild animal.’

‘An animal would not carry the knife which slit his throat like that.’

‘True. That is the work of a man’s hand.’

‘Was there only one attacker?’

‘Saewin the Reeve felt that there had to be more than one. A trained soldier like Nicholas Picard would not easily be overpowered by a single adversary. Unless,’ he said thoughtfully, ‘he was disabled in some way. By drink, maybe, or by fatigue. Yet what could have tired such a healthy man? All he had done was to ride into Exeter on business.’

‘Something must have thrown him off guard.’

‘Why did he not travel with an escort? He had over twenty knights on whom he could call. If the road was perilous, an escort would have been essential. Why did he choose to ride alone?’

‘We may never know, Ralph.’

‘At least we are aware of what we are dealing with here,’ said the other. ‘This was no sudden attack by robbers. They would have killed him, taken his purse and fled. And they would cerainly have stolen his horse as well. My lord sheriff mentioned that it was the returning horse which alerted the lord Nicholas’s household.’

‘What are you saying, Ralph?’

‘This was a cold, deliberate, calculated act of murder. It was not enough to take the man’s life. His face had to be obliterated.’

He replaced the candle in the alcove. ‘That rules out a random attacker, in my view. This was a person or persons who knew Nicholas Picard and lived close enough to the city to observe his movements. I sense a spirit of revenge here, Gervase. Somebody was paying him back for injuries done to them.’

‘No injuries could compare with those we just witnessed.’

‘I agree. This is butchery. However,’ he said, ‘I am glad that my curiosity has been satisfied. The lord sheriff sought to keep this horror from my gaze, but not out of concern for my feelings. I will be interested to learn what his real reason is for shielding me from this murder investigation.’

‘Does he have any clues to follow?’

‘None that he will disclose to us, Gervase.’

‘Why is he so secretive?’

‘That is what I intend to find out.’

‘Will you tell him that we have now viewed the body?’

‘No,’ said Ralph. ‘Certainly not. There is no need for him to know about our early morning visit. Baldwin the Sheriff would disapprove strongly if he realised that we had gone behind his back. This must be kept from him.’

‘That will not be possible,’ said a voice behind them.

They turned to see a figure descending the steps from the vestry.

Joscelin the Steward had overheard their conversation. His duty to his master outweighed the courtesy he was bound to extend to guests.

‘Please leave,’ he said. ‘I wish to lock the door of the mortuary.’

Canon Hubert and Brother Simon were the first of the commissioners to arrive at the shire hall that morning. They found everything in readiness. Saewin the Reeve was there to welcome them and to invite them into the long, low room in which so much of the civic and legal business was conducted. The newcomers were pleased to see that the place had been swept clean, chairs and a table had been set out for them and benches had been procured for the witnesses. Refreshments were laid out on a small table in the corner and Hubert could not resist sampling a honey cake, washed down with a cup of water. Simon touched nothing. He put his satchel on the table and began to unload the sheaves of documents which it contained.

Hubert could feel that the reeve was still hovering in the background.

‘You may leave us now,’ he said over his shoulder.

‘I wish to deliver a message to the lord Ralph.’

‘Leave it with us and we will see it handed to him.’

‘This message came by word of mouth,’ said the reeve. ‘The lady who gave it to me bade me pass it on to the commissioners.

I naturally want to give it to the man who leads you.’

‘We all lead in some senses,’ said Hubert pedantically, facing him. ‘By the same token, we all follow. There is no need for you to linger when you have other business to address. Deliver the message to us and we will give it to the lord Ralph. Will this content you?’

‘I suppose so,’ said the other uncertainly.

‘Who is the lady in question?’

‘Loretta, widow of the late Roger de Marmoutier.’

‘That name is familiar to me. Do you recognise it, Brother Simon?’

‘Yes, Canon Hubert,’ said the scribe. ‘Certain holdings which came into the possession of Nicholas Picard were at one time part of the manor of Roger de Marmoutier.’

‘When he died,’ explained Saewin, ‘the property was left to his son, William, but he, a headstrong young man, was unfortunately killed in a hunting accident. At that point, the land came into the possession of the lord Nicholas. No claim was made by the lady Loretta when your predecessors compiled their returns for the county but she wishes to press her claim now.’

‘Then she may have left it too late,’ said Hubert pompously. ‘I am not sure that we can allow her to enter the contest at this stage.’

‘The abbot of Tavistock has done so,’ Saewin reminded him.

‘That is a different matter.’

‘I do not see how, Canon Hubert. His position is exactly that of the lady Loretta. He waived his right to advance his claim before the first team of commissioners but is ready to come forward now.’

‘And must be heard.’

‘Will you favour the Church over a private individual?’

Hubert blenched. ‘I resent the insinuation behind that question.’

‘No offence was meant,’ said the reeve, raising an appeasing palm. ‘In relaying the message to you, I have done what the lady Loretta instructed. Decisions about who will and who will not come before you are entirely a matter for you and your colleagues.

It is not my place to comment in any way. Please accept my apology.’

‘Very well.’

‘I will detain you from your work no further.’

‘Thank you,’ said Hubert crisply. He waited until the reeve went out of the hall before turning to Simon. ‘Favouring the Church, indeed! The suggestion is gross.’