temper. His justice was quick and his justice was bloody.
He had a pair of men in the room who stirred and pulled their blades as Nottingham entered, but the pimp waved them away.
‘I thought you’d be here sooner or later, Constable,’ he said. ‘Little birds been singing, have they?’
‘A few words,’ Nottingham conceded, settling on a stool by the table and pouring a mug of small beer.
‘Help yourself, why don’t you, laddie?’ he said wryly. ‘Come to gloat?’
‘Come to warn you,’ the Constable corrected him. ‘What happened, Amos?’
Worthy shook his head slightly. ‘Save your breath, laddie. I’m going to find who did this.’
‘And then?’
‘Make them pay,’ he answered matter-of-factly.
‘Kill them, you mean.’
‘Aye.’ He reached across, tore off part of a loaf and began to eat, ignoring the crumbs that fell on to his old waistcoat, a patchwork of stains and dirt.
‘No,’ Nottingham said.
Worthy raised his eyebrows.‘No?’
‘How much did she take?’
‘Ten guineas.’
It was a sizeable sum, the Constable had to admit.
‘If anyone dies, it’s after a trial.’
The pimp snorted. ‘That’s if you catch them.’
Nottingham said nothing, but kept his gaze on the man. ‘I hear you have some competition, too.’
‘Oh aye? Who would that be, then?’
‘Someone called Hughes. Arrived recently with his girls.’
‘I’ve heard the name,’ Worthy said absently. ‘You know how it happens, Constable. They come and go.’
Forced out or dead, Nottingham thought.
‘One of his lasses was cut the other night.’
‘Shame,’ the pimp said flatly, his eyes blank.
‘I won’t ask if it was your doing.’
There was no response.
‘Whoever did it needs to hear what I’m saying, though,’ the Constable continued. ‘It stops here.’
Worthy raised his eyebrows.
‘Oh aye?’
‘And if you think Hughes is behind this theft, don’t. There’s been a service lay in the city. How did it happen?’
Worthy at least had the grace to lower his head. ‘I took on a new lass last week after the last one left to get wed. There’s a whole house upstairs needs looking after.’
‘Was she called Nan?’
‘Aye. Been around, has she?’
‘I think there’s two of them, her and a man. What did she look like?’
‘Pretty enough,’ he answered. ‘Not too tall, long dark hair, blue eyes, not filled out yet.’
‘How old?’
‘Fourteen, fifteen?’ Worthy shrugged. ‘I didn’t ask. She had a reference.’
‘And you never thought she’d be stupid enough to steal from you.’
The pimp turned, his face dark, his voice quiet and menacing. ‘It’ll be the last time she steals from anyone, Constable.’ He spat on the floor. ‘I have people out looking for her.’
‘Call them off, Amos.’
‘Why?’ he asked. ‘If she stands trial she’ll hang for the ten guineas.’
‘And your way’s better? Find her and kill her?’
‘Aye, laddie, it is. I can’t do anything else. She’s made a laughing stock of me.’
Nottingham understood. If Worthy didn’t catch the girl and take his revenge, others would think he was losing his power and come after him. Hughes was already trying to push his way in, to challenge the man’s power. His own men might start doubting his judgement and sharpening their knives. Worthy lived in a world that had no use for mercy or compassion. But understanding that didn’t mean accepting it. The Constable took a drink.
‘I told you, you’re not the only one she’s done this to. There are two of them, we’ve been looking for them.’
‘Well, you haven’t bloody found them yet, have you?’ His voice was sharp as metal.
‘We will.’
‘Not before I do, laddie.’
‘We’ll see about that, Amos.’ He stood up, brushed the fringe from his forehead and left.
Sedgwick was already back at the jail, putting a prisoner into one of the cells, the man shouting in drunken incoherence.
‘This early?’ Nottingham asked.
‘Left over from last night, more like. He was wandering all over Boar Lane.’ The deputy hung the key back on the hook. Ale was good, being drunk once in a while was fine, but he had no time for public stupidity.
‘Did you find anything out at Jackson’s?’
‘A woman used to come to visit one day a week, right enough. Not always the same day.’
‘Very good.’ The Constable settled back in the chair.
‘She visited with her maid, so the landlady thought everything was proper. Thought it was a relative who cared for him.’
‘Even better. And what about a description?’
‘The woman was young and blonde, tiny little thing according to the landlady. Seemed very respectable, always wore an expensive gown. The maid was just a little older, with dark hair. Got to be Sarah, boss.’
‘Yes,’ Nottingham admitted. ‘But we have something else to think about.’
‘Oh?’ He pursed his lips, waiting.
‘That girl from the servant lay. Her name was Nan, wasn’t it?’
‘Aye.’
‘Well, Nan’s either been very bold or very stupid. She stole ten guineas from Amos Worthy last night.’
Sedgwick’s face broke into a grin and then laughter. ‘Oh, that’s lovely, boss. I could kiss her for that.’
‘You’ll not get a chance if Worthy finds her first,’ the Constable told him seriously. ‘Word’s spread about it. He said he’s going to kill her.’
‘If he does we have him for murder.’
‘And then someone new comes and takes his place, like this Hughes. If he doesn’t find her then people will think he’s lost his power and they’ll be on him like wolves.’ He sighed. ‘He’s the devil we know.’
‘So what do we do?’
‘We find her first,’ Nottingham answered simply. ‘That’s our job. She and whoever’s with her can’t be from around here. They’d never have stolen from Worthy otherwise, that’s just tempting trouble.’
‘We haven’t had any luck so far,’ the deputy pointed out.
‘Then we’re going to have to work harder. I want you on it, John.’
‘Why not Rob? It would be a good start for him.’
The Constable considered the idea, then said, ‘No. You know what you’re doing, and Worthy has his men out looking. It’s going to be quite a while yet before Rob’s ready to go up against them. I’ll keep him with me on the murder. Use some of the night men if you need help. You know what to do if you have a problem with Worthy’s men.’ He paused, thinking. ‘Try the inns first. If they have money the chances are they’ll be spending it. A good room, drink, clothes.’
‘Aye, boss.’
Lister returned soon after, horse dung from the road thick on his shoes, a satisfied smile on his face.
‘Third place I tried,’ he said.
‘Definitely Sarah Godlove?’ Nottingham asked.
‘Yes.’ The smile became a wide grin. ‘She used the same stable every time, that one on Cripplegate, just off
