[Master Mercurius 02] - Untrue Till Death by Graham Brack

Author:Graham Brack [Brack, Graham]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 1913518922
Goodreads: 53136015
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2020-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The discovery that Van der Horst had been hanging around near the funeral had been preying on my mind, so I decided to see if I could find him. It was late July, so I would have expected the students to have gone home, in his case to Haarlem, but he was still in Leiden somewhere.

Students who intend to return are able to keep their rooms on, and Van der Horst was in his when I knocked.

‘Master Mercurius! What a pleasant surprise. Please, come in.’

I thanked him and came straight to the point. ‘I have been asked to investigate the circumstances in which mijnheer Van Looy died, and I noticed that you were in Leiden when others have gone home. I wondered if there was a particular reason for this.’

Van der Horst shrugged. ‘I doubt that it bears upon your enquiry, Master, but the reason is simple. I have nowhere else to go. My father and I do not see eye to eye. I will, of course, pay him a short visit during the vacation, but when we are together for any length of time it usually results in high voices and strain.’

‘I am sorry to hear that. We are instructed to honour our fathers and mothers in the Ten Commandments, of course.’

‘Indeed. But we are also told to do no murder, and the temptation would be very great on occasion. I would rather break one commandment than two.’ He smiled wryly. ‘Do I shock you, Master?’

‘Sadden, rather than shock. But I thank you for your honesty.’

‘I hope all men will be honest, Master. The world will be better for it.’

‘Indeed,’ I agreed, though doubting whether I would ever see it come to pass. ‘Are your friends still here?’ I added, largely to make some kind of polite conversation.

‘Molenaar is,’ Van der Horst replied. ‘He is an orphan, and relations with his guardian are strictly formal. As for Terhoeven, he has taken himself off home.’

‘And where is home?’

‘Do you know, I’ve never heard him say. But it must be quite a distance because he set off very early in the morning, I understand.’

Much of our country can be reached in a day if you can find a barge heading that way, but it may mean starting out before dawn.

‘You were at the funeral?’ I enquired.

‘At the back. I thought it improper to insinuate myself into any part of the formal events. I would not have come to the dining hall except that I did not realise it would be used for a private function.’

That explained his presence. It did not explain the smile.

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