J. Tomlin - The Intelligencer

Tam brushed his hand down the close-spaced buttons on the front of his doublet. "My da was close with his coin, aye? Well, except with the woman at the tavern mayhap. And he did nae expect us to dress like lords, aye? Keep to your station, he said. But two weeks past he had these made for me. Said nae to tell my mam yet because she would nae like it." He smiled a little. "She is aye the same. Does nae believe in wasting coin on fripperies."

"Did you ask him why?"

Tam blew out a soft puff of a laugh. "He gave me a cuff on the ear for asking."

"Was there anything particular that happened right before that? Had you had deliveries out of Perth?"

"Aye, the first ships of the season came in with goods. We made a trip from Edinburgh to Stirling to deliver wine and dishes and treacle. And a ship landed with barrels of copper for Doune Castle that we delivered."

Especially in Stirling, there might have been any number of people Blacader could have met with, and Law had to wonder whether this all hadn't started then. "Was there anyone you noticed him doing business out of the ordinary?"

But Tam shook his head, and Law couldn't think of any more questions, so his next step would have to be talking with Una, who had to know more than she had been willing to admit.

The sun was at its midday highest by the time Law finished at the carter's yard, and he went back through Spey Tower Port and turned onto Canal Street. He was several paces toward South Port when he heard Cormac calling to him. He paused for the minstrel to catch up to him and cocked his head in curiosity at why Cormac was looking for him. Cormac unfolded a bundle he was carrying and held out half an oaten bannock and a wedge of crumbly cheese.

"You need to keep your strength up for marching all over Perth," Cormac said.

"Thank you." His mouth was watering, and he hadn't realized how hungry all the walking had made him. He broke off a large chunk of cheese and put it in his mouth. A well-dressed woman being followed by a maidservant sniffed at him for eating on the street. "Had yours already?"

"I'll eat when we return." He patted his flat belly. "It does nae take much to keep me going."

"We?"

"You do nae think you are looking into this business by yourself, do you? You've already taken a beating because I was nae there to keep you out of trouble."

Law snorted. "Aye, I am sure Sir William would have been impressed by you being there."

"You might be surprised. Any road, I am going with you."

Since they were unlikely to have any problems at the tavern, Law popped a piece of the bannock in his mouth and turned back the way he was going. Cormac strode happily alongside him. "What did you learn at the carter's yard? Did they have any idea why someone would have kilt their maister?"

Law glanced around. The street was busy with laborers stopping their work for a midday meal, folks shopping for goods at the lowered windows of the shops. A troop of mounted men clattered past going toward Spey Tower Port, the red lion gleaming on their yellow surcoats. Law watched them from the corner of his eye. "I thought the duke was supposed to leave for Castle Doune."

"Aye." He frowned thoughtfully. "With the king nae here and nae parliament in session, it is odd for him to remain."

"Mayhap he's waiting to meet someone before he leaves. Doune is hardly a far distance." Law lifted his palm in a gesture of indifference.

Soon they were through the South Port. A fresh spring breeze rustled Law's hair and cleared the smells of horse manure, smoke, and privies that were common in every city that he had ever been in. They passed women taking advantage of the change in seasons to work in their gardens or hanging their laundry. They passed a wagon full of bags of fleece, and he could hear bleating from a nearby field. A smith's hammer rang sporadically. A troop of lads kicked a ball made from a sheep's bladder stuffed with dried peas down the road, shouting cheerful insults at each other.

When they reached it, the front door of the tavern was open. Law walked in, followed by Cormac. Una was wiping a table. She straightened, wiped her hands on her apron, and came to meet him. She crossed her arms and regarded him warily. "What do you want? You've nae come for my ale."

"A tankard for my friend and me, any road."

She spoke to a half-grown lad sweeping the floor. "Fetch the duniwassal a tankard and his friend."

Cormac snorted a soft chuckle. "He's nae duniwassal."

She gave Cormac a pointed look. "Aye, but you be." She turned her gaze to Law. "I dinnae ken anything about the body and how it came to be there."

"But you lied and said you did nae ken Neill Blacader. Why was that?"

"I had nae reason to answer questions about him. What he did was nobody's business. If he came here of a night for a drink, why should I tell tales about it?"

"And a drink was all he came for?"

She threw back her head and laughed. "Half the men who come here to drink come for more, or so they think. That does nae mean they get it. I smile at them is all. And let them look down my bosom."

A grin twitched Law's lips. It was true that an alewife did not have to prostitute herself to make a living. "But he did come here of a night."

"Aye, he did often when he was in Perth, but whatever anyone may have telt you, all his coin bought him was ale." She grinned. "I'm nae saying I didn't give him hopes that there might be more, for it kept him coming back."

"So that night he was kilt, he came in, he had a drink, and he left," Law said.

She rubbed her lips with a forefinger, looking thoughtful. "That's what happened, though that night he did nae try to give me a buss, and I dinnae think he even finished his ale. And that was nae like him. He was hardly a man to waste a drink."

"You didn't have an argument with him?"

"Are you accusing me of killing him?"

"No. There is nae way you struck that blow, so I'm sure you are innocent of that. But I need to ken everything that happened that night."

"I was busy. He was here, and then he was gone."

"There were horses in the back. Did you hear them or the men who were riding them?"

She shook her head. "Not a thing, not even a bird call."

He wasn't sure he believed that but decided to let it go for the moment. "What about the lad?" Law pointed his chin toward the lad who was carrying over the tankards.

"He has nothing to add."

"In only a three-minute walk across the field, someone slit his throat. There must have been a reason for that."

Una said, "Most likely he met a thief on the road. There are always a few thieves near a city, waiting to attack travelers. It must have been that."

"But he wasn't on the road."

"Mayhap he needed to relieve himself. A man oft times needs to piss after drinking ale."

The lad handed Cormac a wooden tankard. "It's our best brew," he said. He was a handsome boy, no more than fifteen, wiry but with broad shoulders that probably appealed to all the girls.

Cormac smiled at him. "My thanks." Una glared at the boy, and he hurried back to his sweeping.

Law chuckled and took a sip of the ale. It was fresh and flavored with apple. "It's good." He swirled the ale in his cup. He had no particular reason to doubt that Blacader had not been her lover, but Flat-Face who had been with her at the assize had been eager to see Law blamed for the death.

"Who was the man with you at the assize? The one with the bashed-in nose."

She shrugged. "I never heard his name. You're going to say he was nae here that day, and you're right. Calling him a liar just would have caused more trouble, so I kept my mouth shut. He came in before the assize and said he kent Neill. He offered to walk with me to the assize as I was called in case the lord sheriff wanted me to testify. And he kept saying that since you found the body, you must have kilt Blacader."