Murder by Misrule

CHAPTER 30

  "Perhaps it's not a complete disaster," Whitt said.

  No one answered him. Francis and his franklins were walking slowly back toward Chapel Court. He had finally managed to pull Fogg aside, promising that he would explain everything, but not there, not then, and not to everyone. First the body must be carried into shelter and the authorities must be notified.

  The other men, led by the prating Lord Stephen and his honor guard of idiots, accompanied the litter bearing the Fleming's remains to the sacristy. The lawyers bickered about whether the Sheriff of Middlesex or the Queen's Coroner should be notified first.

  Of course, they both should be notified, as nearly simultaneously as could be achieved. The protocols in this area were unclear and tended to revolve around the relative importance of the matter to the queen. Knowing what he knew, Francis intended to dispatch a note to his uncle that very evening.

  They reached his stair. The servants were lighting the lanterns that hung before the doors. The sky was fully black in the east but for twinkling stars. Men were queuing for supper outside the hall, talking animatedly about the body in the field. Many faces turned toward Francis with expectant curiosity.

  He ignored them. All he wanted was to return to the peace of his own chambers and a simple meal beside his own fire.

  But not quite yet.

  "A word, Gentlemen, if you will." He beckoned his pupils to follow him into the relative privacy of his staircase. He pulled open the door and encountered pitch-darkness. He'd forgotten to bring a candle in his earlier haste.

  He felt a long arm reach over his shoulder and turned his head to face directly into the broad shoulders of the privateer's son. For a brief moment, he felt sheltered by a strong body and the warm smell of an active man. He inhaled slowly, savoring the sensation. A man who valued his privacy learned to appreciate rather than pursue.

  Clarady lifted the lantern from its holder and grinned down at him. "We'll light you to your door." He stepped backward, breaking the spell.

  "Thank you." Francis preceded them into the staircase. "You needn't come up; we'll only be a moment."

  Clarady balanced the lantern on the newel post. The slots in the metal wind guard cast shadows in contorted shapes up the stairwell. Francis sat himself on a step about midway up. His pupils stood beneath him in postures of attention. He appreciated the leveling of heights.

  "I fear I was overhasty in concluding our investigations," he said. "I confess, I was too eager to dispose of the matter."

  Whitt said, "We were all glad to reach a conclusion."

  Francis smiled at him, grateful for his willingness to share the blame. "Nevertheless, the decision and the responsibility were mine. Now we must begin afresh. The Fleming's murder cannot be unconnected to those of Tobias Smythson and James Shiveley. Occam's Razor won't allow it."

  "Who's Occam?" Trumpington asked.

  Francis blinked at him then remembered that the boy had not attended university. "Occam's Razor, also known as the lex parsimoniae, states that 'entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.' That is to say, we ought to choose the simplest solution, the one requiring the fewest additional causes or stipulations. In the present matter, it is simpler to assume that one murderer is responsible for all three of the deaths related to Gray's than it is to propose a separate killer for each victim, thereby multiplying the causes or motives."

  Trumpington frowned. "You're saying that if we find three murdered men, we should assume one single murderer. But if we find three horses standing in the yard, we don't assume they were all ridden in by a single rider."

  Whitt clucked his tongue. "That's different."

  "How?" Clarady asked.

  Francis pursed his lips. "No, it's a sound analogy. It shows us that our information is as yet insufficient. If we were able to observe, for example, that two of the horses bore packs instead of saddles, we could comfortably conclude that a single man had brought all three horses into the yard."

  "But if all bore saddles," Trumpington said, "it would be simpler to assume three riders than to concoct a tale whereby one man somehow came into possession of two riderless mounts."

  "True enough," Francis said. "Unfortunately, we have no signs here as easily read as packs and saddles."

  "Are we sure that James Shiveley was murdered?" Whitt asked.

  "I am." Clarady seemed to surprise himself by the assertion. "Begging your pardon, Mr. Bacon, sir. But I think I thought it at the time. Things weren't right. Things were odd."

  Francis wished that someone would teach the man to organize his thoughts before opening his mouth. Then he remembered that was his job now and restrained his impatience. "Elaborate, please, Clarady. What did you notice?"

  "It wasn't anything that was there. It was the things that weren't there."

  "You're talking riddles," Whitt said. "How could you see what wasn't there?"

  "Easily," Trumpington snapped. "Let him talk."

  Clarady gave one short nod. "First, the money. There wasn't enough of it."

  Francis said, "You mentioned that at the time. I see now that I was overhasty in dismissing that fact. It was a clue."

  Clarady shrugged and offered him a tight smile. Francis took the gesture as an acceptance of his oblique apology.

  Francis said, "Shiveley would have laid in sufficient coins to pay the deliverer. Our killer could not resist so tempting a prize. Why waste a good murder?"

  Clarady said, "Then there was the cloak. I remember wondering how Mr. Shiveley managed to trip himself on his own stair. Yes, it was dark, but still, he lived there. He went up and down those steps many times a day. We all thought, well, he must have heard a sound and turned too quickly and tripped on the end of his cloak. And that's what I remembered later: he wasn't wearing one. So he couldn't have tripped on it."

  Trumpington snapped his fingers. "That's right, he wasn't! I remember thinking the same thing and forgetting it in the same moment."

  "I've tripped on my own stairs more often than I care to admit," Francis said.

  "Your mind is occupied with important matters," Whitt said.

  Francis smiled at him. It was comforting to have so understanding an ally. Whitt was too tall and could hardly be described as comely, but his other attributes made up for those superficial failings. "I've never actually fallen to the bottom of the landing."

  "I have." Clarady grinned ruefully. "Granted, I was drunk at the time. But I've never broken my neck nor even come close. I don't think it's that easy. I think maybe —"

  "The killer did it for him." Trumpet twisted his hands and made a cracking sound.

  "Ugly." Francis shuddered. "Also the act of a cold mind. Unlike Smythson's frenzied murderer." He thought for a moment. "It's possible. But your evidence is inconclusive."

  Clarady frowned. He smoothed his moustache, a habit when he was thinking.

  They all fell silent. The cheap tallow candle in the lantern hissed and spat out a gust of muttony smoke. The light in the stairwell flared up and then retreated as the wick sank into the melted fat. Only the slits on Francis's side of the lantern still glowed. The other men were cast into shifting shadows.

  "The keys!" Clarady's outburst echoed up the stairwell. "I keep forgetting the cursed keys."

  "Shiveley's keys, I presume you mean? Were no keys —"

  "They weren't there." Clarady caught himself. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Bacon. But I walked up and down those stairs, searching for something that might have made him trip. I remember the candle and the spill of dried tallow. I would have noticed a bunch of keys. And the chest was unlocked and so was his money box. Nobody leaves their money box unlocked."

  "I was present when the chaplain reported to the bench." Francis reviewed the meeting in his memory. "He listed the items removed from the body, as a matter of course. No keys were mentioned."

  "The killer took the keys." Clarady grinned triumphantly.

  Francis smiled his concession. "Gentlemen, I believe we have sufficient
grounds to conclude that James Shiveley was murdered."

  Trumpington said, "It could have been a thief. The thieves that the Fleming fell out with, as my uncle suggested."

  "I believe we can now dispense with that facile supposition."

  "It wasn't thieves, is what he means," Clarady said.

  "I speak English, thank you," Trumpington retorted. The boy was in an ill humor tonight, indeed. "My point is that we have no reason to assume the Fleming was killed by the same man that killed Shiveley."

  "We do, though," Whitt said. "The letter, remember? In Smythson's handwriting, which we all recognized, warning of the delivery of the pamphlets, which the Fleming was carrying just before he was killed. The letter in the book on Shiveley's desk."

  "A letter we were meant to find without delay," Francis added. "Like the rosary. I now believe both of them were planted to lead us to the desired conclusions without looking too closely at anything else." He shook his head at the stubborn boy. "I'm afraid there's no question that these deaths are related. The letter links them explicitly."

  "It's probably a Spaniard." Clarady practically spat the word. "Or the French papist who wrote that villainous tripe."

  Francis was startled by the abrupt tangent. "I assure you, there are neither Spaniards nor Frenchmen at Gray's Inn. Since we are societies wholly devoted to the study and practice of the English common law, the Inns of Court hold little attraction for the citizens of other nations."

  "It could still be an outsider," Trumpington said. "A Jesuit priest, hiding in someone's chambers."

  Francis clucked his tongue. "Unlikely. Think, Gentlemen! This man knows us. He knew that Smythson was attending the Queen's Day pageant. He saw him leave early. He followed him and killed him in the alley. He knew where Shiveley lived and at what time he went up to bed. He walked with him or waited on the dark stair. He also knew the moment at which the Fleming would arrive in the fields west of the Inn to deliver his sack."

  Whitt nodded. "The killer must have been someone that Shiveley knew. If a stranger had accosted him on the stair, he would have struggled, drawn his knife. Things would have looked very different."

  "Was he out there, do you think?" Clarady asked. "Just now, in the field?"

  That was a cautionary thought. That meant that the murderer-cum-conspirator was now privy to both the fact of Francis's interest in the matter and to the best remaining avenue for investigation.

  "If he was, then he knows we're looking for him." Whitt echoed his thoughts. "He'll get rid of any evidence that could betray him."

  "Then we'll never catch him," Trumpington said.

  "I think we will," Francis said, although he had no grounds for such confidence.

  No, that was wrong; he did have grounds. Excellent grounds. He'd pit his wits against any man in this Society and be certain of the outcome.

  "What can we do now?" Clarady asked.

  "I have to tell the benchers something," Francis said. "Too much was said out there." He considered his strategy while his pupils stood silently, waiting. They'd learned not to interrupt him when he was thinking, which touched him more than he would ever reveal. "Even if one of them is the killer, it is best to address them as a body. There is one benefit: they can order a comprehensive search of chambers."

  "They can't search every room at once," Trumpington said.

  "But they can order everyone into the hall while the search is conducted. It's been done." Francis rolled his eyes at the memory of that chaotic day. "All manner of distracting nonsense will be turned up, but something of use may emerge. More urgently, we must speak with that limner of yours. We must know what, if anything, she saw."

  The lads exchanged a round of glances. They already knew something on this score. Francis felt a prickle of irritation. Why hadn't Whitt kept him apprised?

  Whitt lowered his head and spoke to Clarady, "We have to tell him."

  Clarady pulled Whitt by the sleeve, drawing him deeper into the shadows. "I don't want her involved," he whispered. "Look what happened to the Fleming."

  Whitt whispered back, "She's already involved. Stephen blabbed her name to everyone out there."

  Clarady hissed, "That's why! She's in danger."

  Trumpington moved in behind them. His whisper buzzed with high-pitched sibilants. "She must speak. Her testimony is crucial."

  Their hissing was an affront to the ears. "I can hear you, you know," Francis said. "Darkness is no impediment to sound."

  Clarady drew in a deep breath, exhaled noisily, and nodded at his friends. They grouped themselves again at the foot of the stairs. Francis folded his hands upon his knees, preparatory to the receipt of the disputed information.

  "We went to see her," Whitt said. "Saturday last. Not to ask about Smythson, but because Tom —"

  "I understand that part," Francis said.

  Whitt nodded. "We asked after her at the Dutch Church, as you suggested. That's where we saw the Fleming. Her husband, we were told. We followed him, but he ran and we lost him. So then we went on to the limner's house and spoke with her. She assumed right away that we had come about Smythson. That alone is evidence that she saw something pertinent."

  "It was the day I first saw her," Tom said. "Smythson's murder is why I saw her. Of course she would assume we were there for that. It doesn't signify anything."

  Trumpington said, "She knows something, though."

  Would they never deliver the main thrust? "What, exactly, does she know?"

  Whitt said, "We don't know, exactly. Tom reassured her that Smythson's killer had been identified and that it was all over. No one wanted to upset her." He grinned apologetically. "She really is extraordinarily beautiful. But I was curious if she had seen anything after all. You know, just curious."

  "It remained an open question," Francis suggested.

  "Yes. I wanted to close it. I asked her if she had seen a barrister and she said, 'Are they the ones that wear the velvet welts?' That made me think that yes, she had seen a barrister in that lane. She's an artist. She notices details. Then, as we were leaving, I asked if she had seen a tall, redheaded man. And she replied, 'But he was neither.'"

  Francis smiled. "She saw him."

  "She never said that," Clarady said.

  "She did," Trumpington said. "I was looking right at her, past your shoulder. And she looked perplexed — uncertain — when she said it."

  "I would like to speak with her myself," Francis said. "Bring her to the Antelope Inn tomorrow, if you please. Before dinner. Shall we say ten o'clock?"

  "I'll go now," Clarady said. "She needs protection."

  "You can't go now," Francis said. "It's dark. The city gates will be closed and you have no plausible excuse to offer the guards. I'm sure she's safe enough in her own home." Francis stood and shook his cloak to clear the folds from around his feet. "And she'll be safer still once she's told us what she knows."