C.J. Sansom - Heartstone

'Yes, that is true.' I looked at Wilf. 'But this matter—if is it anything to do with who started the fire at the foundry, I could not keep it secret.'

'It isn't.' Wilf shook his head vigorously. 'It's about something I found.'

Seckford said, 'It concerns the circumstances in which Wilf found it.'

'Then I will do what I can to advise you.'

Seckford said, 'I heard that for a lawyer to be bound to a client money has to pass.'

'That is not strictly true. I can act pro bono , for the public good.'

'I'd rather money changed hands,' Wilf said firmly. 'In front of Master Seckford.' He reached to the purse at his belt and pulled out a sixpence, an old coin of true silver. 'Is this enough?' he asked.

I hesitated, then reached out and took the coin. 'Yes. There, Wilf, you are my client. By law I may not reveal anything you tell me, to anyone.'

Wilf took a deep breath, then bent to pat the big dog. 'Me and Caesar here, this time of year we go hunting for truffles in the woods. Master Buttress owns the woods now, and everything in them. Though he talks of having them cut down to sell the timber, he's still jealous of his property.'

'You could call what Wilf does poaching,' Seckford said quietly. 'The penalties are severe, and Master Buttress is one to ensure a prosecution. He's a magistrate.'

I said, 'There would need to be evidence.' I looked at Wilf. 'Is there any?'

His eyes bored into mine. 'Yes.' He paused, then continued. 'Two days ago, I took Caesar into the woods. He has a wonderful nose for truffles. I know the foresters' movements, see. I know when they are in another part of the woods.'

'I understand.'

'It's early for truffles yet, and I don't usually go anywhere near the old foundry. It's full of sadness for me, that place. I remember how it was, busy, the mill wheel turning. I hate seeing those ruins—' Wilf broke off, took a swig of beer, then said bitterly, 'But this time I went up there. I'd heard the mill pond had broken through the dam, after the storms of rain and hail in June, but I hadn't wanted to go and see. But you asking about what happened at the foundry, it brought it all back, and I decided to take Caesar that way and take a look at the place.'

'I see.'

Wilf wiped his mouth and went on. 'No one had attended to the mill pond since the fire. Those gates were bound to give way eventually. Well, when I went up there they had: the mill pond had quite drained away, only silt left at the bottom, which with the warmer weather this month has dried and shrunk. It was a strange, sad sight, the empty pond with the ruins by the broken dam. Then Caesar ran out onto the dried mud, began sniffing and digging at something sticking out of it.' He closed his eyes briefly, then continued.

'I called him, but he wouldn't come, he was worrying at what looked like a tree root. In the end I took off my shoes and walked over to get him. The dried mud was only a crust over softer stuff: once I sank in almost to my knees, but I made it over to Caesar. Then I saw what he was worrying at.' The old man paused and took another swig of beer. 'It was an arm, a human arm, all withered but preserved by the silt. There's a whole body down there. So then I came to Master Seckford.'

'Who do you think it was?' I asked urgently.

'I don't know. You couldn't tell.' He fell silent.

Barak said, 'Someone could have fallen in the pond over the years since the foundry went.'

Wilf shook his head. 'It was in the middle of the pond. Someone took that body out there in a boat—there used to be a little rowing boat—and dropped it in.'

I asked, 'Could a swimmer not have drowned in there sometime?'

'The body's clothed, sir. There's what looks like the remains of a doublet sleeve on the arm.'

'Mary help us,' Seckford said. He rose and headed for the buffet.

'No, sir,' I said to him sharply. 'Please, we should stay sober.'

Seckford hesitated and looked longingly at the jug, but made himself come and sit down again. He looked at me. 'Wilf was afraid of reporting it, sir, you see. Because he'd been poaching. His dog had dug up some truffles on the way, and he'd be hard put to explain what he was doing in the woods. That is our problem. And there are footprints in the mud now, going out to where the body is.'

'I see.'

Seckford said carefully, 'What we thought, sir, is that you could say you came back here today to make more enquiries, and got Wilf to agree to take you to the foundry to look at it. Then the dog can find—what it found.' He smiled uneasily.

'You are asking my master to perjure himself,' Barak said.

Seckford met his gaze. 'It may be Wilf's only hope.' He looked at me. 'He would not have gone up there but for your visit. And you, sir, wanted to discover what happened there. Well, finding the body would put you at the centre of any new enquiry. You could tell them what you told us, that you were seeking members of the Fettiplace family for a friend.'

I leaned back, sighing. Again I had set out on an enquiry in good faith, with the aim of helping someone in trouble, and brought more trouble to everyone involved. Yet Seckford, it seemed, still trusted me.

'I'll take you there now, show you,' Wilf said eagerly. 'Then you could say afterwards that you asked me to go there today. You're my only hope,' he added desperately. 'My sons agree.'

I looked at Barak. He shook his head, spread his hands.

'I'll do it,' I told Wilf. 'Take me to the foundry now, show me and we'll pretend we've just found the body.'

Wilf let out a long sigh of relief and smiled at the curate. 'You were right about him, Master Seckford. He'll save me.'

SECKFORD REMAINED behind. I was not sorry, for he would have slowed us down, and I had a horrible anxiety that someone else might find the body in the meantime. I saw the old fellow reach for his jug as we headed for the door. Outside, Wilf pointed to a path which led up into woodland. I was hungry, dusty, my legs tired beyond measure. But this had to be done now.

We followed Wilf into the woods, the dog at his heels. The sky was very dark; it could start raining at any moment.

'What the fuck are we getting into this time?' Barak muttered.

'Something that should have been dealt with a long time ago. But no secret lasts for ever.'

He shook his head. 'This one might have, if that dog hadn't gone digging. You realize there'll be another inquest. You'll be first finder again. Only this time you'll have set that up.'

'I couldn't leave that old man in the briars. But you don't have to come, you don't have to be involved in this.'

'That woman saw us riding together through the town. They'll be asking later who was with you.'

'You are right. I'm sorry.'

'It looks like murder again, doesn't it?'

'Yes, Jack, it does.'

We followed Wilf along an overgrown path between the trees, alongside the large stream that ran through the town. This would have been a pretty scene in other circumstances. 'This stream fed the mill,' Wilf called over his shoulder. 'Here, Caesar!' He called to the dog, which had got a little ahead and seemed impatient. He stopped, running a hand over his bald brown pate. 'I walked this way to work for many years,' he said quietly. 'It was so busy then, carts coming down here with loads of iron. We come to the foundry first, the pond's behind.'

We reached the clearing where the foundry had stood just as heavy drops of rain began to fall. All that was left was a pile of low ruins, jagged remnants of wooden walls, black and burned, festooned with ivy. At one end the smashed remains of a water-wheel leaned against a tall, round structure with rooks' nests on top. The furnace chimney no doubt. Beyond the ruined building I glimpsed a long, rectangular expanse of brown mud, through the centre of which the stream now ran. Large overgrown mounds stood on the banks. 'What are those?' I asked Wilf, pointing.