Susanna Gregory - The Sacred stone

‘He might have done,’ acknowledged Geoffrey. ‘However, you can see from here that the cross is back on the high altar. Perhaps Walter really did just replace it and leave.’

‘Then why did he not raise the alarm when he found Marcus?’ demanded Aidan.

‘Because you would not be able to see a body on the Lady Chapel floor from the high altar,’ explained Geoffrey. ‘And Walter is not stupid, anyway: he is unlikely to commit such a bold murder when he is the obvious suspect.’

Or, he wondered, was that what Walter was hoping everyone would think? That the clever constable would be more subtle in dispatching his enemies? But Marcus was not an enemy — he was a much-valued spy. Of course, Geoffrey thought wryly, he had probably heard Roger’s stentorian announcement, and so knew the monk would no longer be of use to him — worse, that he might be a liability, should Odo decide to write to the King. The knight rubbed his head, not sure what to think.

‘Well, we know the killer is not Odo or Aidan,’ muttered Roger as the two monks began deliberating how best to confront Walter. ‘First, you can see they are shocked. And, second, we saw Marcus enter the church, and they were outside until we came in here.’

‘It is easy to feign horror,’ Geoffrey murmured back. ‘Moreover, both Odo and Aidan disappeared from sight briefly after you announced that Marcus was the spy, and I can see from here that there are another two doors they could have used — one at the back of the building and one at the side.’

‘They would not have had time,’ objected Roger. ‘And they would be drenched in blood.’

But Geoffrey shook his head. ‘You know as well as I do that it takes but a moment to plunge a knife into a kneeling man’s back — and that leaving the weapon in the wound reduces spillage.’

Roger frowned. ‘But this means our suspects for Marcus’s murder are the same as the ones for Leger — Walter and his creatures, and Odo and all his monks. We cannot eliminate anyone.’

‘No,’ agreed Geoffrey. ‘And you can add Cadowan and Nest to the list, too. They also disappeared from sight after you bawled our findings to half of Wales.’

Roger looked indignant. ‘I merely spoke the truth. But which of these villains do you think is the culprit? You have a sharp mind: you must have some theories.’

‘Not really,’ said Geoffrey. ‘However, while all our suspects had the opportunity to dispatch Marcus, they do not all have a motive. I understand why Walter might have done it — and the monks will certainly want to avenge themselves on the spy who has been selling embarrassing secrets to the castle. But Cadowan and Nest?’

‘They are obsessed with getting the sky-stone,’ said Roger. ‘Perhaps they think the spy at the priory is one reason why Ivar is so distrustful. In other words, Marcus’s death will mean everyone likes each other again, and Ivar will relax enough to part with the thing.’

It did not sound very likely, but Geoffrey was acutely aware that there was a lot they did not know about Estrighoiel and its inhabitants. Cadowan and Nest might have a motive that had not yet been uncovered. He winced when there was a particularly loud grumble of thunder. It rattled the glass in the window frames, and the lightning that flashed just before it was enough to turn the twilight gloom into bright daylight.

‘Which of those dogs did it, do you think?’ Aidan was asking Odo, clearly having dismissed Geoffrey’s reasons for why Walter might be innocent. He was fingering a dagger. Monks were not supposed to carry weapons, and Geoffrey wondered where it had come from.

‘Revelle, probably,’ replied Odo bitterly. ‘He will obey any order, no matter how repugnant. Or his stupid friend Pigot. Walter would not have delivered the fatal blow himself. But one thing is clear: we shall not sit back and do nothing while a second monk is murdered.’

‘A monk who was a spy,’ Roger pointed out.

‘But a monk nonetheless,’ said Aidan coldly. ‘Yet some good will come out of this dreadful business: the King will have no choice but to remove Walter from office now.’

Geoffrey stared after him as he stalked away. Having Walter under suspicion of murder would put the priory at a significant advantage, and was yet another reason why the monks should remain on his list of suspects.

While the Benedictines started moving Marcus’s body to an outbuilding for washing, Geoffrey began to feel that the odds of solving the crime were too great, and he seriously considered riding away and telling Hilde that her uncle had been killed by a lunatic who randomly slaughtered monks at their prayers. Unfortunately, she was unlikely to be satisfied with such an answer, and he also knew that the mystery would gnaw at him if he did not stay to solve it.

As they exited the church, Walter returned, this time with a contingent of soldiers as well as his knights, and offered to set them to investigating the latest crime. Odo’s jaw dropped in astonishment at what he declared was mind-boggling audacity, while Cadowan and Nest watched the scene with expressions that were difficult to read. Geoffrey was not sure what to make of any of them.

‘You asked yesterday to examine Leger’s possessions,’ said Aidan, handing Geoffrey a box. ‘He did not have many — he followed our order’s policy of poverty, obedience and chastity.’

The knight was acutely aware that everyone was watching as he began to sort through the chest’s contents. Cadowan and Nest were blank-faced. Odo and his monks were vengeful and angry, although Ivar seemed more distressed than enraged. And the men from the castle were alert and tense; Geoffrey realized uncomfortably that they seemed full of pent-up violence,

He doubted there would be anything useful in Leger’s belongings — not so long after his death, and with the entire priory aware that he had asked to inspect them. There was a spare habit, another plain wooden cross and some letters from Hilde. Odo’s eyebrows drew together in disapproval when he saw them: monks were not supposed to hoard keepsakes.

‘Nothing,’ said Roger in disgust.

Absently, Geoffrey unfolded one or two of the letters, half listening to a tension-loaded discussion between Walter, Odo and Cadowan about who might have committed the second murder. None of them said anything new: Odo thought the suspect hailed from the castle, Walter claimed it was a monk or a townsman, while Cadowan pointed out that the priory and the castle held the most obvious suspects. Tearfully, Ivar announced that he distrusted everyone, and even included Geoffrey and Roger in his accusing glare. The bald declaration silenced the clamour of the others, and so did the growl of thunder that followed it.

A tiny piece of parchment had been hidden in the third letter Geoffrey opened. The spidery writing looked as if it had been penned by the same hand as the desperate letter to Hilde. The knight had no doubt that it was Leger’s. He began to read:

Brother Ivar shared a terrible secret with me today. He told me the location of the sky-stone, which lies at the base of the great oak below the cliffs from which Drogo fell. I urged him to set it on the altar, because it comes from God, but he is afraid. Perhaps it would be best if it stayed hidden, because it brings out evil in good men. I fear for my life now. It is

There was no more, and Geoffrey could only assume that the monk had been interrupted before he could finish. He became aware that people were regarding him expectantly, so he handed the letter to Odo, who read it with narrowed eyes. The prior glared at Ivar.

‘You concealed the sky-stone under a tree?’ he demanded angrily. ‘You stupid fool! Why did you not bring it here, to be safe?’

‘No!’ cried Ivar, blood draining from his face. ‘Leger promised never to reveal my secret — not until we had discussed together what was to be done. He promised!’