‘Tell us what you know about this murdered man,’ Baldwin said, apparently considering the barrels racked at the far end of the room.
Simon told them all he knew about Walwynus, and then spoke about the weapon, and how it had disappeared when he visited the second time.
‘Interesting,’ Baldwin murmured, his eyes narrowed.
‘Could the guard have fallen asleep?’ Roger said. ‘I’ve heard of animals getting up really close to a man to steal a lump of meat. Look at rats. They’ll take food from your hand while you sleep. Maybe a wildcat or wolf took this thing because it smelled of blood?’
‘Roger, please!’ Baldwin scoffed. ‘A balk of timber? You honestly think a wolf would be stupid enough to carry that away when there was an easy meal within reach? No, that cudgel was removed by a human. The question is, was it taken away by the killer, which would be worrying, or was it grabbed by someone else?’
‘That’s what I thought,’ Simon said quickly. If the abbot had suggested that his mind was fogged or stupid, Simon wanted to prove to his two friends that the abbot was wrong. ‘If the killer went back to take it, then he might intend to kill again. A weapon like that is impossible to trace to a particular man.’ He decided not to mention the marks, or Augerus’ words. Perhaps he could raise that later, to impress the abbot.
Coroner Roger stirred and snorted. ‘What if it’s not the murderer?’
‘Why then,’ Simon finished, ‘it might well be someone who knows who the killer is and intends to avenge Wally with the very same weapon that was used to murder him.’
‘There is another possibility, of course,’ Baldwin said mildly.
‘What?’ asked Simon.
‘That the club was taken purely in order to conceal it more effectively. Perhaps there was some way to identify it that you couldn’t see, Simon, and someone took it in order to stop us finding the killer.’
‘So he could himself kill the murderer,’ Simon nodded.
Baldwin shot him a look from narrowed eyes. ‘Perhaps… but perhaps the murderer was well thought of. Maybe this Walwynus was not liked and the miners about him were not distressed by his execution. It is a thought.’
‘I don’t see it would make much sense,’ Simon protested.
‘There is another thing, too,’ Baldwin said. ‘The killer need not have been a man. A woman could wield a morning star as easily as a man.’
‘Surely few women could so devastatingly crush a man’s skull?’
‘No, I daresay you are right. I am merely speculating. But I shall look forward to seeing this corpse again and considering the wounds. I hope it hasn’t disintegrated too badly before we get to it.’
Simon shrugged. Baldwin’s smooth summary of the position had made him feel his own inadequacy compared with the knight’s, reminding him of his incompetence before the abbot. It was a terrible thing to recognise it in himself, this stupidity that could cost him his job.
Baldwin could see that Simon was upset, so he smiled and patted his friend’s arm. It was always the case that Simon felt sick at the sight of a dead body. ‘You do not have to come with us to the inquest if you do not want to,’ he said kindly.
Simon’s eyes hardened, and Baldwin withdrew his hand in surprise at the bailiff’s sharp tone. ‘Why? Don’t you think I can help you? Am I too stupid?’
Baldwin was too astonished to answer immediately. He could see that he had insulted or offended the man, but he had no idea how. When a scruffy messenger appeared, he was glad of the diversion.
‘Sir Baldwin, the abbot wants to see you again, sir. As soon as you can, please.’
‘Yes, of course,’ he said. ‘No need for you two to leave your wine. I shall see you later.’
To his dismay, he saw that his words seemed only to increase Simon’s gloom.
Chapter Sixteen
Hamelin approached the door of his house in Tavistock with dread curling in his belly like a worm. Again, there was no noise, no wailing or weeping, but he stood outside for a moment or two, listening, wondering how Joel, his infant son, fared.
He had been back at the mine since Friday, trying to concentrate on digging and keeping the flow of water at the right level, while Hal busied himself looking for a fresh source of metal. This area was all but mined out, but Hal had a nose for tin, and he said he thought that there was a new spot which others had missed – but if it was there, they had yet to find it. Still, it had taken Hamelin’s mind off his sick son.
Hal had discovered the body of Wally first thing on Monday. He’d gone up there because he was beginning to wonder why there was no sign of a cooking fire or any other evidence of life at Wally’s place; the corpse sent him running back to Hamelin to tell him, and then he took his pony and hurried off to town to inform the authorities, leaving Hamelin to protect the works. In all honesty Hamelin was incapable of concentrating. Hearing that Wally was dead had dulled his mind, and for much of Monday he merely sat and stared at the water running through the wooden leat.
Wally’s death affected him profoundly. It felt as though there was a sign in this, as though, Wally’s life and his son Joel’s were connected. One had died – perhaps the other would live? It was something to cling to.
It had been hard to get anything much done for all that long day. Hal, who had ridden back from Tavistock, stayed over at the corpse’s side to protect it, but when
