The Crediton Killings

19

Baldwin grunted, sipped at his water, and then belched volcanically. Peter Clifford threw him an admonishing look.

“Peter, I know. My apologies, but the meal last night was rather rich for my constitution,” the knight said, and burped once more. Grumpily he sat at the table. “Be grateful. It could be the other end.”

“I’m no longer surprised that you were so off-hand about knights and the very concept of chivalry the other night, Sir Baldwin,” the priest admonished him testily.

Baldwin grinned, but soon his features had fixed themselves into a frown of concentration, and the priest sighed. Crediton was an important town for the diocese, bringing in a good income each year, and Peter had wanted to be able to impress the Bishop during his visit. Instead, the conversation invariably revolved around the murders in the town. The plans Peter had set in place to impress had all gone awry: the visit to the hospital, the tour round the recent work on the church, the plans for celebrating St. Boniface’s birth, all were overshadowed by the killings.

Though Exeter was nearby, it was rare for Stapledon to come this way. His business was conducted more often in London, Winchester and York, wherever Parliament met or in the fine homes of other bishops. Stapledon was not by nature a greedy man; he believed in trying to help the souls in his diocese, but Peter knew that the state too often intervened, forcing him to set his religious responsibilities aside and shoulder the burden of civil service.

For many, becoming involved in politics was solely a means of self-advancement, and Peter, being realistic about the motivations of his colleagues in the Church, could see that the Bishop was not averse to extra power and authority, but Stapledon did not have the urge to seek power alone. Much of his efforts were directed toward making the kingdom stable, and to that end he spent weeks in discussions and negotiations, trying to make the King and his enemies see sense.

Peter supposed that, for a man involved in such weighty affairs, the unpleasant, even banal, pair of murders were almost a welcome relief from the petty disputes and arguments which could embroil thousands if the Bishop’s fears were realized. Certainly his interest in the two deaths had been surprising; a wealthy cleric was not usually the kind of man who would show fascination with the dealings and deaths of the poor.

Just then there was a knock at the door, and Peter saw Baldwin spin to face it. When the servant opened it, he was surprised to see the old mercenary, Wat.

Peter made a muttered apology and left the room while Baldwin invited the man to be seated.

Studying him, Baldwin was struck by the demeanor of his visitor. Wat had lost his coldness and truculence and appeared almost meek in the way he entered, his eyes cast demurely downward like a young virgin.

The curtain to the screens rattled, and Baldwin glanced up to see that Simon had entered. Baldwin was pleased to note that his friend appeared fully recovered, and walked in with a steady step, sitting beside the knight.

“You wanted to see us, Wat?” Baldwin asked.

“Yes, sir. I thought you ought to know.”

“Know what?”

The soldier looked up and held Baldwin’s gaze. “My master,” he said simply. “I think he must have killed those women.”

Ignoring the bailiff’s quick intake of breath, Baldwin leaned forward and nodded encouragingly. Wat pulled a grimace, as if any discourse with officers of law was loathsome, but then he began to speak.

“You see, I’ve been with him for longer than most. I know all his ways, and I know how he works. He’s not just an ordinary lord, he’s too used to killing. Far as he’s concerned, the only thing that matters is him. Nothing and nobody else.”

“That’s fine, Wat, but I didn’t realize you were a monk,” said Simon caustically.

The tired old eyes faced him. “I’m not, but when I kill, it’s for a reason. It’s for money or gold or food. It’s not for nothing.”

“Go on, Wat,” Baldwin said quietly.

“Well, sir, like I say, I know him. I’ve been with him so long now, over ten years, that I know some things about him. Has he told you we came through this town before? That young lad, Cole – his brother joined the company then, some five, maybe six years ago, when we were last here. That was when Hector met with Judith.”

Those few words made Baldwin and Simon sit up and listen carefully. “Met Judith? You mean your captain knew her back then?”

“Oh yes! She was a tavern-girl at the time, as young and fresh as a new primrose. Pretty much like that Sarra. He took her on his second night, and she went along to his chamber like it was her bridal bed. Silly cow. Two mornings after I saw her, she was weeping like a child. I don’t know why, but he’d beaten her. She looked like he’d whipped her before he threw her out.”

“Was this at the same inn?” Simon asked.

“Yes, sir. But it was a different owner then.”

Baldwin nodded his head. Paul had taken up the inn a little over four years before. He did not know who had run it until then. “You think he killed Judith?”

“I can’t say. All I know is, Sarra upsets him and she dies. Then he sees Judith again, and she dies.”

“Why should he kill her? It makes no sense.”

“It makes sense to me.”

“Why?”

“She was killed, but her son was left alive, wasn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“Like I said, we were here five or six years ago. How old is the lad?”

Simon stared. “You can’t mean… If she was his son’s mother, he couldn’t kill her, surely! How could any man, especially a knight…”

“Oh, Hector’s not a knight. He was never given his belt and spurs – he took them from a man he killed.”

“Not a knight?” Simon burst out. “Now you’re raving! Of course he is. He must be! No man can bear knightly arms without being able to prove his right.”

“And how do they prove their right, sir?”

“By force of arms…” Simon said, trailing off as he peered with bafflement at the calm soldier before him. “But there is more, surely. Someone could apply to discover where he was knighted, and by whom.”

“Hardly,” said Baldwin, keeping his eyes on Wat. “The man might have died by now. Or Hector could say it was a French knight, or a Teutonic one, who knighted him. Who could tell whether it was true or not?”

Wat nodded. “And right now, with the French trying to weaken the King and take over ever more of his lands, how could a French knight be found to confirm that he had dubbed Hector? He’s safe enough.”

“But that’s outrageous!” Simon exploded. “A man can’t just call himself a knight.”

“Of course he can. Men often do,” Baldwin said mildly.

“Especially in companies like mine,” Wat agreed.

Simon looked from one to the other, disbelief clouding his features, but their calm and factual tones disconcerted him. “All right, but even so, how on earth could someone kill a woman after she had borne him a son?”

Wat’s eyes were lidded as he surveyed the bailiff. “It’s been done before. Sometimes by kings, sometimes by ordinary men.”

“I see.” Baldwin gloomily rested his chin on his palm. “So you think he killed both of them, though you have no idea why.”

Wat moved uncomfortably on his seat. “I think Sarra was trying to win him back. You see she was wearing that tunic… And I know he’d bought it for someone else.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know, just someone in the town.”

“Why do you say that?”

“It was after he’d spent that first night with Sarra, the Monday morning. He left her and went into town. When he came back, he was really happy, laughing and joking. Next day, he bought the tunic. He told me to go and fetch it from the shop, as it was being finished off. He went out again, didn’t get back till afternoon. I think he found Sarra in his room with the new tunic on, and he killed her for wearing it.”

“Just for wearing it?” Simon asked dubiously. “He could kill just for that?”

Wat ignored the interruption. “I reckon he had met a woman while he was out. It was someone he liked, and he bought the tunic for her, ready for seeing her again later.”

“Later?” Baldwin frowned.

“He was out most of the night after his meal. I think he was with her.”

“Who? Judith?” Simon was beginning to flounder.

The look he received was withering. “No. Whoever the third woman was.”

“And who was the third woman?” asked Baldwin, sipping at his water and wincing as he suppressed a fresh belch.

“I don’t know, but I think it was someone he had met when we came through this town last. After he’d thrown Judith out that time, he met another one, and wouldn’t tell us who she was, either.”

“Was he normally so reticent?”

“No.”

“So why do you think he kept her name secret?”

“I’ve got no idea. Maybe she was important, or had powerful friends.”

Baldwin scratched at his head. “And you believe he killed Judith too? Why should he murder her?”

“Oh, I think she must have asked him for money. My captain is not happy to give, as you may have noticed.”

So news of Sir Hector’s attack on Judith had spread, Baldwin noted. He sat back and folded his arms. “Why do you tell us all this now, I wonder. You have known these things for some time. Why come forward now?”

But Wat stood, smiling patiently. “I had no idea he was so dangerous. How can we, his men, rely on someone who can go abroad of a night and murder a woman just because she asked him for charity? Or another because she put on a new tunic he didn’t intend for her? The man is erratic, and we can’t trust to his judgment.”

“So you feel able to accuse him?”

“Oh no, I can’t accuse him, for I did not see him do it, but I felt sure you would want to hear about him.” He smiled at them, then bowed and left.

Outside, he stopped. They had appeared to listen carefully to what he had said, and he only hoped it was enough. He could have cursed Will for his stupid attempt at assassination. There was no need to kill the man! Hector was already finished. This pair of murders was more than enough to seal his fate, whereas if he was murdered, the whole troop could be held up while the Keeper tried to figure out who was responsible. It was stupid to have tried to break in like that. It had taken all Wat’s self-restraint to prevent him punching the wounded man who lay on his blanket whining about the pain from his side, and he had relished the lad’s agony as the old bolt was jerked from his wound, the bright crimson blood flowing in a steady tide down his flank.

Wat grinned to himself and set off back to the inn. His plans were almost complete. He would be surprised if he was not captain within a week.

Simon frowned after him as the mercenary left the room. When they heard the door slam he faced his friend, his perplexity making him sound peevish. “What’s he on about? Does he really think Sir Hector did it, do you reckon?”

“Yes, I believe he is fairly sure that his master did kill the women, but that has very little to do with why he came here.”

“What was he doing here, then?”

“He was forcing us to arrest his master.”

“Baldwin, it may be my head, but I cannot see what you are…”

“Sorry, Simon, I was thinking out loud.” Baldwin smiled at his friend. “I have known such bands of wandering soldiers in the past, when I was in Rome and France, and they have one principle which seems the same for all of the companies: there is an election of a leader. The man in charge is always the strongest, the one most likely to win the money and women for the rest.”

“So Sir Hector is the strongest among them?”

“Was. That, I think, is soon to become his problem. He was the strongest and most ruthless, and because of that his men feared and respected him. Now, though, it would seem that he has sunk in Wat’s estimation. He is prepared to come here and give several hints that his master could be capable of the two killings, and give us motives for them both. Sir Hector should tread carefully when he goes down any quiet streets. He may find someone waiting with a drawn dagger.”

Simon puffed out his cheeks. “What on earth makes a man seek power like that?”

There was a chuckle from behind them. “Are you referring to me?”

“Bishop, of course not! I… My apologies if you thought…” Simon stammered.

“It is my fault for listening without permission. I confess to my sin,” Stapledon chuckled, peering at him shortsightedly. He motioned to Roger to fetch wine, and sat with them, “But you look troubled, my friends. Can I help? Is it something to do with the two men in Exeter?”

“If,” Baldwin said heavily, “I was right, and that’s where they’ve gone. You are partly right, my lord. It is to do with them and their kind.”

“The murders?”

“Yes.” Baldwin sighed. “There seem to be so many men in that little band who could kill, and several who might have been involved, and still worse, now it seems there is some rivalry going on within it, so we have a man come here to denounce his leader.”

“Ah, I see. You are looking for a murderer, and rather than the normal situation where there is a body and a dearth of possible killers, you have been presented with a pair of dead women and an embarrassment of potential murderers. Not to mention,” he mused, “a poor lad who is now without a protector.”

Simon rubbed his eyes. They felt gritty from lack of sleep the night before. “And a robbery.”

“Yes.” Baldwin glanced at Simon. “And now we think that the two mercenaries were the thieves, I suppose we should free young Cole, though we might as well wait until we have had a chance to speak to the other two.”

“Yes. I’d leave Cole there for a little longer. Apart from anything else, he’s safer there from Sir Hector’s men. One or two of them still might try to curry favor by hurting him.”

“If my men do bring Smithson and the other one back from the city, what then?” asked Stapledon. “Will you arrest them for the murder as well as the robbery?”

“I suppose so,” Baldwin said doubtfully

“Could they have killed Judith as well?”

“I can see no reason why they should. What connection could there be between her and them?”

“Is there any need for any connection? Surely men such as these need no excuse to kill?” Stapledon asked.

“There’s always a reason to kill, even if it is simply a fit of anger. I cannot believe that these two men happened to see Judith in the alley and decided to murder her.”

“In that case, look for men who knew her and had a reason.”

“We have one,” Simon said. “Sir Hector.” He explained to the Bishop what they had learned from Wat.

“I see.” Stapledon primly pursed his lip. “I should have thought that would be enough to arrest the man. One woman, lately his lover, has been found dead in his room, and from what you say, wearing a tunic he had purchased especially for another. Then a second woman demands money from him because she has borne him an illegitimate son, and she too dies. It seems more than a coincidence to me.”

“Yes,” Simon agreed, but his eyes were on Baldwin.

The knight sat staring into the middle distance, a twist of his mouth giving him a sardonic smile. Coming to, he stood. “Bishop, you are right. We have to find out who had a link with the two women and stop simply listening to the views of others. That is why we’re being blown with the wind, first taking one man’s word as true, then taking another’s.”

There was an animation about him which suggested to Simon that he had an idea he wanted to test. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, there have been various men coming here and trying to influence us. Now it is time for us to find out what we need, rather than waiting for others to tell us what they want us to know.”

“Fine,” Simon said sarcastically. “And where do we start?”

“First with the people in Judith’s street. But this time, I want to know about her. So far we have been tied up, thinking about all the killers in town, but the people who knew her, and who knew Sarra too, live here, in Crediton. The motive for the murders is here. The theft of the silver was here, the women lived here, the killings were committed here. Surely if we can find a connection between them, all will become clear and we will discover who the murderer is.”

Hugh was not happy about leaving his master to the care and protection of Sir Baldwin and Edgar, but when he saw how tired his mistress looked, he could understand that she would need a rest from her boisterous daughter.

But though Hugh was forced to remain, he made his feelings plain that Simon too should stay behind. There was no point in his leaving, the servant felt, and he watched the three men’s departure with simmering resentment.

It was also impossible for Roger to leave the house. Whenever he left the orphan, the boy set up such a screaming that he had to return. Rollo would not accept anyone else being near him unless Roger was there, a situation which seemed to have been reinforced when the rector had gone to him the night before. The mad, terrified panic had driven the child from his comfortable palliasse, and when Roger had entered, he had found the boy curled in a fearful ball in the corner of the room farthest from the window. As the thunder crackled and boomed, Roger had turned his eyes upward. The storm sounded like ten thousand moorstone slabs being fractured all at once, and he was convinced that the roof must collapse. He was unpleasantly reminded of the walls of Jericho as he listened to the immense power of the storm. Rollo had whimpered, trying to squeeze himself away as Roger went in, but when he squatted nearby, there was a sudden splintering crackle overhead, and the boy had leapt into his lap.

They were soon at the alley where Simon had been attacked, and it took little time for them to find the door on which Hugh had knocked to find Rollo. Baldwin beat upon it and stood back.

It was the mother who opened it. She stood wiping flour from her hands while she surveyed them with the truculence born of poverty. Baldwin noticed that she was tall, and apart from the lines caused by worry and poor diet, would have been handsome. But the vertical slashes at either cheek, the bruises under the eyes and the nervous tic were proof of her mean existence.

“You are the woman who looked after Rollo, Judith’s son, the night before last,” Baldwin said. It was more a statement than a question, and she stopped wiping her hands, suddenly still as she stared at him. He continued gently: “We are trying to find out what happened that night, to seek her murderer. Will you help us?”

Slowly, holding his gaze, she nodded. She had heard screaming, and been too scared to go and find out what had happened. Some from the street had gone, and she had heard them muttering anxiously, talking about a body. That had decided her to remain safe indoors. She had heard footsteps, running away, and the arrival of a company, which Baldwin decided must have been himself and the others. Later there was a terrible sobbing, and, there being no other noise, she had dared to go out.

Rollo had been standing alone, fists clenched, staring at the ground. From what she said, he must have been staring at the spot where his mother had lain. She had brought him home, but had been unable to get a word out of him. He had simply sat and wept silently, starting at every new sound, allowing her to feed him some thickened soup, and gradually he had succumbed to his exhaustion and fallen asleep in her lap.

“I don’t see the man who took him away,” she finished suspiciously, her eyes going from one to another as she looked for Hugh.

“He is with Peter Clifford. Tell us, how well did you know the boy’s mother?”

“Judith? Not well. She was just always around, you know? Poor girl got herself pregnant when she was only eighteen or so, and that was that. The innkeeper, that’s old Dan, before this new one, was a hard man to work for. He tried to make the girls be friendly to the customers, but with Judith, he threw her out. Called her a slut; no better than a Winchester Goose.”

Baldwin nodded. Prostitution was common, for there were few other ways for a woman with no man to look after her to survive. If she had not been fortunate enough to be trained for weaving or embroidery, and could not get a job working as a huckster on the streets, there was no other way to support herself. In London, all the prostitutes were forced to live within Cock Lane, part of the Bishop of Winchester’s lands; he benefited from the rents, and they were commonly known as “Winchester Geese.”

“What did she do then?”

“Lived up to his view,” she said shortly. “Or down to it. Nothing else for her.”

“Did she have any friends? Family?”

“If she had any family, she’d have had a chance, poor girl, but no. Lots of people knew her, but I wouldn’t say she had friends. Only a few of us who used to give her the odd crumb when we had something to spare. For her boy, mainly. Rollo was always hungry; the little fellow never had enough.”

“Are you aware of any enemies she might have had?”

“That bastard who put her where she was, the one at the inn. I hope he rots for what he did to her.”

“Yes, but what about others? Were there many people who seemed to hold a grudge, or bear her ill-will generally?”

She thought a moment. “Several wives. They always had something against Judith; whenever their husbands were late home they’d blame her. Usually it was just that the men had drunk too much and had to sleep it off for a while, or they’d fallen down in the gutter. It wasn’t Judith’s fault.”

“Any in particular?” Baldwin probed.

“I don’t know. Widow Annie, over at New Barton, she has always resented Judith, but that’s because she has a thing with the Constable, and Annie never believed him when he said he was late because of some other reason. Annie was always the jealous sort.”

Baldwin thought of the widow – he had met her a few times – and shook his head. Annie was too respectable to think about murder, though her bitter tongue and taste for gossip and malicious rumors could shock sometimes. “Anyone else?”

“Only…” She stopped and frowned. “Mary Butcher, I suppose. She was always spreading nasty tales about Judith. And you know what they say.”

It was a confident comment, issued with a knowing look and prim wink, but Baldwin was lost. “No, I do not,” he said simply.

“Oh! Well, this captain, the one who did that to Judith – they say he met with Mary too. Seems like it was that close… Could have been Mary, not Judith who was with child.”

“Ah! Really?”