Hawklike, the blind man swung suddenly around toward the court clerk. Lechner turned to his documents again and replied quietly, “As you know, my wife died three years ago, and she is beyond all suspicion. If that’s what you’re alluding to.”
“And what if we subject the witch to the water test?” suggested the superintendent of the almshouse, Wilhelm Hardenberg. “They did that in Augsburg a few years ago. The witch’s thumbs are tied to her toes and then she’s thrown into the water. If she floats to the surface, it’s because the devil is helping her, and she’s a witch. If she sinks, she’s innocent, but you’re rid of her anyway.”
“Damn it, Hardenberg,” old Augustin yelled. “Are you deaf? The Stechlin woman’s unconscious! She’ll sink like a stone! Who’s going to believe in this water test? Certainly not the Elector’s secretary!”
For the first time, young Jakob Schreevogl spoke now. “Why do you consider it such a bizarre idea, Augustin, that the soldiers might have murdered the children? Several witnesses observed a person leaping out of a window of my house at the time my Clara vanished. The man was wearing a bloodred doublet and a feathered hat, such as soldiers often wear. And he had a limp.”
“The devil!” Berchtholdt the baker started up, crossing himself. So far, it seemed, he had been sleeping off last night’s brandy. “Holy Virgin Mary, help us!”
Some other aldermen murmured quick prayers and crossed themselves.
“You’re just taking the easy way out blaming it all on that devil of yours,” said Jakob Schreevogl amid the general grumbling. “He’s a solution for it all,” he interjected. “But one thing I know for certain!” He rose to his feet and looked around angrily. “My Clara wasn’t abducted by a monster with cloven feet but by a flesh-and-blood human being. The devil wouldn’t be stopped by a locked door, nor does he jump out of windows. He doesn’t wear a cheap soldier’s hat, and he doesn’t meet soldiers in Semer’s inn for a mug of beer.”
“Whatever gives you the idea that the devil frequents my house?” cried burgomaster Semer, jumping up. His face had turned bright red, and beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. “That is an insolent lie, and you’re going to pay for it!”
“The young physician told me. He saw the man who abducted my Clara going up the stairs in your establishment and into one of the conference rooms.” Jakob Schreevogl looked the burgomaster calmly in the eye. “He met someone there. Might that have been you?”
“I’ll shut that Fronwieser up, and you at the same time!” shouted Semer, slamming his fist on the table. “I won’t have my inn reviled in such cock-and-bull stories.”
“Pull yourself together, Karl, and sit down again.” Blind Augustin’s voice was low and yet quite cutting. Stunned, Semer resumed his seat.
“And now tell us,” Matthias Augustin continued. “Is there any truth in these…insinuations?”
Burgomaster Semer rolled his eyes and took a deep swig from his wineglass. He was obviously struggling for words.
“Well, is it true?” the second burgomaster Johann Püchner insisted. And Wilhelm Hardenberg, the superintendent of the almshouse, now turned to the respected landlord of the Stern Inn. “Karl, tell us the truth! Were there meetings of soldiers under your roof?”
There was a general murmuring at the council table. Some members of the outer council on the back benches began talking.
“This is a perfidious lie,” burgomaster Semer finally snapped. Sweat was streaming down his face and into his lace collar. “It’s possible that a few former soldiers were at the Stern. I have no way of checking that. But none of them went upstairs, and they certainly didn’t meet anyone there.”
“Well, that settles it,” Matthias Augustin said. “Let’s therefore turn to more important things again.” His blind eyes turned toward the clerk. “What are you going to do now, Lechner?”
Johann Lechner looked at the undecided faces of the aldermen to his right and his left.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know. Count Sandizell will arrive here tomorrow morning. If the midwife hasn’t talked by then, may God have mercy on us all. I fear…we should pray tonight.”
He rose, packing away his quill and ink. The others rose, too, hesitantly.
“I’ll go now and prepare everything for the count’s arrival. Each of you will have to contribute. And as for the trial of the witch…we can only hope.”
Lechner hurried out without a goodbye. The aldermen, talking animatedly, followed in groups of two and three. Only two patricians remained in the council chamber. They still had some urgent matters to clear up.
Slowly, the devil ran his bony hand over Magdalena’s dress, brushing over her breasts and following the line of her neck up to her slender chin. As he reached her lips, she turned away, rolling her eyes. The devil smiled and pulled her head toward him again. The hangman’s daughter was lying in front of him on the ground, tied up and gagged with a dirty rag. Her eyes flashed angrily at the man above her. The devil blew her a kiss.
“Very well. Very well. Just carry on being fresh, and we’ll both have more fun later on.”
A man appeared in the clearing behind them. He stood there for a moment, cautiously, then cleared his throat. It was the soldier Hans Hohenleitner.
“Braunschweiger, we should get out of here. Christoph was over in the town. People say the count’s going to show up in person tomorrow on account of the witch. Then the place’s going to be crawling with troops. Let’s have some fun with the girl, and then off we go. It’s enough that André is dead.”
“And the treasure? What about the treasure?”
The devil whom they called Braunschweiger turned around. The corners of his mouth were twitching, as if he hadn’t got full control of his face.
“You seem to have forgotten the treasure! Besides, Moneybags still owes us a whole lot of money!”
“To hell with the money. He gave us another twenty-five guilders yesterday for the destroyed building site and the Stadel fire. That’s more than enough. There’s nothing more to be gotten here.”
Christoph Holzapfel, the third soldier, approached them. Long, shaggy black hair hung in his face. Furtively, he glanced at Magdalena, who was lying on the ground, struggling with her shackles. “Hans is right, Braunschweiger. Let’s go. There is no treasure. We’ve searched the entire damned building site, we’ve turned over every single rock, and by tomorrow the count’s men may be combing the forest here.”
“Let’s move on,” Hans Hohenleitner said again. “My head’s more important to me than a handful of guilders. They got André, and that’s not a good sign, may his damned soul rest in peace. But beforehand, let’s have a little fun…” He stooped down to Magdalena. When his pockmarked face appeared right above her mouth, she could smell brandy and beer on his breath. His lips were distorted into a sardonic grin.
“Well, sweetheart, do you feel a little twitching in the loins too?”
Magdalena’s head shot forward. Her forehead hit Hans right on the nose, which exploded like a ripe fruit. Blood spurted forth.
“You damned filthy slut!” Whimpering, the soldier held his nose, then he kicked the girl in the stomach. Magdalena doubled up, trying to choke back the pain. They mustn’t hear her scream. Not yet.
As Hans was about to kick her a second time, the devil restrained him.
“Cut it out. You’re ruining her pretty face. And then we’ll have only half as much fun with her later on, eh? I promise I’ll show you things that are too dirty even for the Prince of Darkness.”
“Braunschweiger, you’re a sick man.” Christoph Holzapfel shook his head in disgust. “All we want is some fun with the girl. I’ve had enough with the bloody mess you left behind in Landsberg.” He turned away. “Just have your fun with her, and then let’s clear out of here.”
Magdalena doubled up, ready for the next blow.
“Not yet,” the devil mumbled. “First let’s get the treasure.”
“Damn it, Braunschweiger!” Hans Hohenleitner
said, holding his bleeding nose. “There is no treasure. Can’t you get that inside your sick head?”
The corners of the devil’s mouth started to twitch again, and his head moved in a wide circle, as if he was trying to release some internal tension.
“Don’t you ever call me…sick again, Hohenleitner. Never again…” His eyes darted from one soldier to the next. “And now I’ll tell you something. We’ll stay here one more night, just one more. You take the girl to a safe place, and I’ll get you the treasure by tomorrow morning. You’ll have ducats coming out of your arse. And then we’ll see to the girl, all of us.”
“One more night?” Hans Hohenleitner asked. The devil nodded.
“And how are you going to find that treasure?”
“Leave that to me. You just take care of the girl.”
Christoph Holzapfel stepped closer again.
“And where are we supposed to hide, huh? The place will be crawling with troops tomorrow.”
The devil smiled.
“I know an absolutely safe place. They won’t find you there. And you’ll have a great view.”
He told them the place. Then he set out for the town. Magdalena bit her lips. Tears were streaming over her cheeks. She struggled to turn her face away from the soldiers. They mustn’t see her cry.
The two men were standing near the building site watching the workmen. Some of the bricklayers and carpenters waved to them. Perhaps they were wondering what business the two men had here, but they didn’t harbor the slightest suspicion. The two men there were respected burghers. Presumably they just wanted to see for themselves how the construction was proceeding.
There wasn’t much left to see of the last day’s damage. The walls of the leper house were being raised again, and there was a new roof truss on the walls of the chapel. Two bailiffs were sitting at the edge of the well in the middle of the clearing, killing time by playing dice. The court clerk had ordered the entire area to be guarded day and night, and his orders had been quite precise, as usual. They had nailed together a wooden shelter for the bailiffs, where they could get cover from the rain. There were lanterns hanging on the outer wall of the shelter, and two halberds were leaning next to them.
“And you have really searched the entire place?” the older man was now asking.
The younger man nodded. “Everything. And several times. I really don’t know where else we could look. But it has to be here somewhere!”
The other man shrugged. “Maybe the old miser was lying. Maybe he was delirious on his deathbed. An old man’s feverish ravings, and we fell for them…”
He groaned loudly and held his side. He had to bend over briefly for the pain to subside. Then he turned to walk away.
“One way or another, the matter is over and done with.”
“Over and done with?” The younger man ran after him, grabbed him by the shoulder, and turned him around. “What do you mean, over and done with? We can still keep looking. I haven’t paid the soldiers in full yet. For just a few more guilders they’ll raze everything to the ground here and root about like hogs. The treasure is somewhere here. I…I can feel it!”
“Damn it, it’s over and done with!” The older man pushed the younger man’s hand off his shoulder almost in disgust. “The area is under surveillance. Besides, you’ve stirred up enough dirt as it is. Lechner knows about your soldiers, and the hangman and that Fronwieser fellow are on your heels. They stick their noses into everything. They even went to see the priest. It’s too much of a risk for us. The matter is over and done with, once and for all!”
“But…” The younger man held him back another time.
Indignantly, the older man shook his head, holding his side once more. He gave a loud groan.
“I have plenty of other things to think about now. Thanks to your soldiers we’ll have the count and his men in this town tomorrow. And presumably we’ll have a big trial, people will be dragged off to the stakes again, and Schongau will go to the dogs. And all because of you, you damned idiot! I’m ashamed. For you and for our family. And now let go of me. I wish to go.”
The older man stomped off, leaving the younger man behind at the building site in the mud. Mud was all over his shiny leather boots, but he wouldn’t give up! He was going to show the others! A wave of anger came over him.
Some of the workmen waved at him, and he waved back, but they couldn’t see his face, which hatred had turned to stone.
CHAPTER
14
MONDAY
APRIL 30, A.D. 1659
TWO O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON
SIMON RAN DOWN THE HENNENGASSE WITH ANNA Maria Kuisl to the Lech Gate and on through the tanners’ quarter. The news that something might have happened to Magdalena spurred him on faster than he had ever run before. Soon he had left the hangman’s wife far behind. His heart was racing, and a metallic taste filled his mouth. In spite of this he didn’t stop until he arrived at the hangman’s house. There it stood, in the most beautiful midday sunshine. Some finches were chirping in the apple trees in the garden, and from far off the calls of the raftsmen could be heard. Otherwise all was quiet. The bench in front of the house was empty, and the front door stood wide open. Under one of the apple trees an empty swing was moving slowly in the wind.
“My God, the children!” Anna Maria Kuisl had caught up with Simon in the meantime. “Not the children too—”
Without finishing her sentence she ran past Simon into the house, and he followed her inside. In the living room they encountered two five-year-old angels of innocence sitting in a pool of milk. Next to them lay a broken pitcher. They were eating honey with their fingers from an earthenware bowl and were covered from head to toe in white dust. Only then did Simon see that the flour barrel had also been toppled over.
“Georg and Barbara, just what are you…”
Anna Maria was about to begin an angry tirade, but the relief at finding the twins unharmed was too great. She couldn’t help laughing out loud. However she quickly got a hold of herself once more.
“Upstairs and into bed with you, you two! I don’t want to see either one of you down here for at least an hour. Just look at what you’ve done!”
Contritely, the twins trotted upstairs. While Anna Maria Kuisl wiped up the milk and swept up the shards and the flour, she told Simon again briefly what had happened.
“I arrived here, and there he was sitting on the bench, as if he had been turned to stone. When I asked him what had happened he only said that Magdalena was gone. That the devil had taken her. The devil, my God.”
She threw the shards carelessly into a corner and pressed one hand to her mouth. Tears ran from her eyes. She had to sit down.
“Simon, tell me, what does it all mean?”
The physician gave her a long look without answering. Thoughts raced through his mind. He wanted to jump up and do something, but he did not know what that might be. Where was Magdalena? Where was the hangman? Did he follow her? Could he perhaps know where the devil had taken his daughter? And what did the man want with the girl?
“I…I can’t tell you exactly,” he murmured finally. “But I think that the man responsible for kidnapping the children has gone off with Magdalena.”
“Oh God!” Anna Maria Kuisl buried her face in her hands. “But why? Why? What does he want from my little girl?”
“I think he wants to blackmail your husband. He wants us to stop pursuing him and leave him alone.”
The hangman’s wife looked up with hope in her eyes. “And if you do what he wants, will he let Magdalena go?”
Simon would have loved to nod, to console her and to tell her that her daughter would come back soon, but he couldn’t. Instead he stood up and walked to the door.
“Will he let her go?” Anna Kuisl’s voice was pleading. She was almost shouting. Simon did not look back.
“I don’t think so. This man is sick and evil. He will kill her unless we find her first.”
He ran through the garden and
back to town. Behind him he could hear the twins beginning to cry. They had been hiding on the stairs and listening. Although they could not have understood anything, they still could sense that something very bad must have happened.
At first Simon wandered aimlessly through the streets of the tanners’ quarter and then down along the river. He had to get his thoughts together, and the Lech’s lazy current helped him do that. There were two possibilities. He needed to either find the hiding place where the devil was holding Magdalena or discover who had given the devil his instructions. Once he knew who that was, he might be able to free Magdalena from her abductor’s clutches—if she was still alive.
Simon shuddered. The possibility that his beloved could already be floating down the river with her throat cut open kept him from thinking of anything else. He could not allow this image to overwhelm him. Besides it made no sense. Magdalena was the devil’s hostage, and he would not be quick to throw away this security.
Simon had no idea where the devil could have hidden Magdalena. But he had a suspicion as to where the children might be who could tell him who the devil’s patron was. They had to be somewhere at the building site. But where exactly?
Damn it, where?
He decided to visit Jakob Schreevogl once more. After all, the property had once belonged to his father. Perhaps he knew about a possible hiding place that Simon and the hangman had not yet found.
A half an hour later he was once more up at the market square. The stalls were noticeably emptier in the early afternoon, as the burghers were done with their shopping. The market women were stowing away the leftover vegetables in baskets or looking after their whining children, who had to remain with them all day at the stand. Wilted lettuce leaves and rotting cabbage were lying on the ground amid horse droppings and oxen dung. Now people were hurrying home. Tomorrow would be the first of May, and for many this holiday was already starting. It was time to prepare for May Day. As in many other Bavarian villages and towns, Schongau would celebrate the beginning of summer tomorrow. This night belonged to lovers. Simon closed his eyes. Actually he had planned to spend May Day with Magdalena. He felt a lump in his throat. The more he thought about it, the more he felt fear creeping up on him.