The Tainted Relic by The Medieval Murderers

Author:The Medieval Murderers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Baldwin and Simon found a mount for Jonathan and hired horses out to the scene. There was an old woodman there with a good white-and-tan rache, a broad-chested dog with slightly pendulous jowls, but intelligent eyes in a strong face. Always fond of dogs, Baldwin made a fuss of him before turning to the body.

‘You found him here?’ he asked.

‘I’m Hob, from Bishop’s Clyst. I was up here to take down a tree for—’

‘Yes, I am sure,’ Baldwin interrupted quickly. ‘You were up here legitimately. And your hound found this man?’

‘He was there under the furze, and Gaston found him. I was fair sickened to see him.’

Baldwin crouched at the side of the body. There was no doubt about the death. His throat was opened almost to the spine, and the cartilage and vessels had contracted, making the wound gape still more. Jonathan coughed once before remembering his calling and murmuring a lengthy prayer.

‘Do you recognize him?’ Baldwin asked the woodman.

‘No. He’s a stranger to me.’

‘There is little enough to distinguish him,’ Simon said. ‘Brown jack, linen shirt, woollen hose…’

‘His description would be little help, too,’ Baldwin said. ‘He’s moderate height, brown eyes and hair…a little weakly of frame, perhaps. Ach! There’s nothing here to help us find his murderer. If he was local, this description would hardly find him.’

‘If he’s a traveller,’ Simon said, ‘he would have had a pack with him. There’s nothing here, so he was probably robbed.’

Baldwin nodded as he rose to his feet. ‘So all we know is that we have the body of a young man here, his throat cut. He could be a local man, could be a traveller. If he’s a traveller, his belongings have been stolen.’

‘And we know that the trio in the Blue Rache last night had a haul of money and a small box,’ Simon said.

‘So is it a fair assumption that this man was their benefactor? Perhaps,’ Baldwin mused. ‘Along with the man in the hospital.’

Simon had another thought. ‘Interesting that this man had his throat cut.’

‘How do you mean?’ Jonathan asked.

‘Just that this man had his throat expertly slit, while Will and the man in the hospital were both stabbed in the back.’

Baldwin nodded. ‘And a killer will often use the same method of murder. It’s what he grows accustomed to.’

‘You mean that there might be two murderers?’ Jonathan said with sudden alarm.

Baldwin smiled. ‘A man might kill in a number of ways. No, there’s nothing to prove that there is more than one murderer. In any case, a stab in the back is a common wound when the victim has been ambushed,’ he added, suddenly thoughtful.

Simon set his head to one side. ‘There is one other aspect to consider, Baldwin. We were told in the Rache that there was another man who was missing, weren’t we? Could this be Rob’s brother?’

‘Andrew?’ Baldwin glanced at the body again. ‘Andrew was missing last night, as you say, so yes, this could be him. But that means also, perhaps,

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