Doctor Who_ Bunker Soldiers Part 5

The governor indicated that his advisers should be seated.

'Your name?' he queried of the lead soldier.

'Mykola, my lord,' said the man.

'An honest and decent man,' added Yevhen. 'A captain of the guard.'

'Bring the traveller here,' said Dmitri. 'And tell me what happened.'

Mykola stepped forward, his hand on Steven's arm. 'Taras the builder has been murdered. This man killed him.'

'Rubbis.h.!.+' said Steven, indignant. 'I found the body under the rubble I was working through. He'd been dead for quite some time.'

'How do you know when he died?' queried the governor.

'There are signs.'

'Signs?'

'Muscle rigidity, internal organ distension, blood loss if there is a wound.'

Isaac turned slightly to locate the source of this latest comment it was the Doctor, striding calmly into the room.

'With your permission, sir,' the Doctor continued, 'I would like to examine the body of this poor fellow. We may swiftly be able to clear up this unfortunate business.'

'How can we believe what you tell us?' growled Yevhen.

'You will defend your friend, contrive some excuse to make his "innocence" clear!'

Dmitri raised a hand to forestall any invective that might follow. 'We shall make our own judgement on this matter, but we will allow the Doctor to speak. However, first we must establish what happened.' He turned to Steven and his voice became lower, more friendly. 'Steven. Where did you find the body?'

'As I said, right at the bottom of a pile of stones I was asked to sort through. I pulled him out, but he'd been dead for a while.

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if I've been framed.'

'Framed?'

The Doctor smiled. 'My friend merely feels that the body had been left there, and he had been sent to work on that rubble, with the sole purpose of incriminating him. The murderer hopes to remain undetected while Steven is accused of the crime.'

'There is some foul play at work here,' agreed Yevhen.

The Doctor nodded. 'Unless this fellow died of natural causes, and somehow contrived to cover himself in a pile of stone rubble '

'And surely we have the culprit in front of us!' Yevhen continued.

'Oh, do stop talking nonsense,' snapped the Doctor. 'You have no proof that things are not as Steven said that he found the body, and was moments later discovered by one of the soldiers.' He turned to Mykola. 'Did you come across Steven and the body?'

The man nodded.

'Tell us exactly what you saw.'

'I saw Steven crouched over the body of Taras. He had a great rock in his hand. There was blood on the face of the dead man.'

'Of course there was a rock in my hand!' exclaimed Steven. 'I was still pulling the body free.'

'And we must ask ourselves what motive Steven would have for murdering the builder,' said Isaac, his voice of calm authority cutting through the tense atmosphere.

'I have heard it said,' Mykola interjected nervously, 'that Steven and Taras often argued.'

'What? I hardly knew him! We'd never argued about anything.' Isaac could see that Steven was becoming a little frenzied now, irritated and perhaps frightened by the statements being made against him.

The Doctor fixed Mykola with his steely gaze. 'Could you produce a witness to testify to the arguments?'

The soldier shook his head, staring at the floor. 'I have only heard it said.' He spoke as if he was reciting someone else's words.

The Doctor looked at Dmitri. 'I ask you therefore to ignore this hearsay and content yourself with the evidence.'

Yevhen turned to the governor. 'Surely we cannot trust the word of this traveller over the word of one of our citizens?'

Dmitri glanced between the soldier and Steven; one refused to meet his gaze, the other stared back with a level gaze, defiant.

He turned to Yevhen and Isaac. 'What say my advisers on the matter?'

'The man is clearly guilty!' exclaimed Yevhen. 'We owe no obligation to these travellers who refuse to help us!'

'And yet they volunteer to help with the fortification of the church, with the storing of food,' said Isaac.

Yevhen glared at him. 'We would all do wel to remember our circ.u.mstances,' he whispered menacingly, as if for Isaac's benefit alone. 'Is it not possible that these travellers are Tartar spies, intent only on learning of our fortifications, our plans?'

'You have said that about us since we first arrived,' said the Doctor. 'I can a.s.sure you, we are not spies, nor are we friends..

or enemies... of the Mongols.'

Isaac turned his head away from Yevhen. 'In any event, we all know that there are rumours of a Tartar within our city. We should perhaps look elsewhere for their agents.'

The governor addressed Yevhen. 'What do you think we should do?' he asked.

'Execute the murderer,' said Yevhen bluntly.

Dmitri looked at Isaac. The old man was well aware that Yevhen's unblinking gaze had turned in his direction, dark with menace. 'It is your decision, Governor,' he said at length.

Yevhen grinned.

'... but I am mindful of the Doctor's arguments,' Isaac concluded.

Unable to contain himself Yevhen banged the table with his fist, leaping to his feet. 'This Jew offered hospitality to these travellers! He may even be working with them, and the Tartars, to save his own skin!'

'Sit down, adviser Yevhen!' boomed Dmitri. 'This unseemly outburst does you little credit.'

Yevhen looked about the debating chamber, clearly realising he had gone too far. He sat down, his irritation and anger still blazing behind his eyes. 'I am sorry, Governor,' he said through gritted teeth.

Dmitri paused, considering what he had heard. 'It would seem that we do have a murderer in the city. We must not be distracted from our primary task, but if this matter does involve the Tartars it will be well worth our investigation. We shall go with the Doctor to inspect the body.'

'But, my lord...' hissed Yevhen.

Dmitri glanced in his direction. 'Until we are satisfied that Steven is an innocent man, however, he shall be kept in prison.'

He turned to Steven. 'If you are innocent, then I am sorry to have to do this.' His voice hardened. 'But if I consider you guilty, then I will execute you, and your friends, publicly, within the hour.'

Lesia looked anxiously up and down the crowded marketplace. A subdued feeling of excitement reminded her that there was one face she wanted to observe amongst the sea of people going about their work so beautiful a face, so n.o.ble and handsome!

The worried knot in her stomach reminded her that there were many folk she would rather avoid.

Lesia had come to welcome Dodo's presence: in terms of outlook and character they had much in common, and each therefore looked to the other for support and encouragement.

When Dodo was busy with her own business, however, and Lesia found herself on her own, she had instead to dig deep to find her own reserves of fort.i.tude and confidence. Until the death of her mother, Lesia had never even imagined that such reserves existed.

She watched as a leatherworker made delicate repairs to a pair of old shoes. Behind him were suspended a host of leather tankards and bottles; wooden pattens, which were worn over shoes when the ground was muddy, rested on a bench to one side, along with rolls of cattle hide and pieces of goatskin. The skins had been dyed red, yellow, green and formed a bright point of colour against the drab browns of the stall, like an alpine flower furiously growing on a bare mountainside.

The skins symbolised, she supposed, the hope that burned in the midst of despair. She remembered that certain city officials had questioned the validity of continuing to hold the markets while the Tartars carved their way through the countryside towards Kiev, but the feeling was that the people needed something to cling to, a reminder of their lives before the threat from the east. As long as the markets bustled there seemed to be every chance that life would continue as always, and that perhaps even the Mongols would pa.s.s by and leave the people of the city to their business.

'Does my lady require new pattens, new shoes?' asked the leatherworker, looking up from his work.

Lesia shook her head. 'What I have will last.'

He returned to his sewing, disappointed.

'If my lady would only be mine,' came a whisper at her ear, 'I would buy her the finest shoes, the softest stockings, that money could buy.'

She turned to embrace Nahum. 'Why would you do that,'

she queried with a smile, 'when your interest would only be to remove them?'

Nahum's face reddened, but he held her gaze as if drinking from her beauty. 'You suspect me of the basest of motives,' he said. 'But am I wrong?'

Nahum shook his head. 'Good lady, do not force me to answer!'

Lesia kissed him lightly on the lips, 'I know your every action is rooted in love,' she said. 'I consider that n.o.ble, not base.'

The body had been pulled away from the pile of stones and covered in a makes.h.i.+ft shroud. Isaac watched as the Doctor tugged back the cloth and set to work.

'A shame,' the Doctor muttered as he stared at the man's mutilated face and neck.

'Any death is a pity,' agreed Isaac. He squatted at the Doctor's side, watching attentively.

'I meant that the body had been moved though you are right, of course,' said the Doctor. 'But it means it will be more difficult to prove Steven's innocence.' He looked over his shoulder to Dmitri, Yevhen and the small group of soldiers who were keeping a discreet distance.

'The men would have wanted to move the body away from the church itself,' said Isaac.

'Ironic for a building surrounded by, perhaps even built on, corpses,' noted the Doctor.

'And for a religion that tells of a dead man returning to life.'

The Doctor glanced at Isaac. 'I am surprised you show such an interest in a dead body. Doesn't your Law warn of '

'I believe in a G.o.d of the living and the dead,' interrupted Isaac. 'Few around here seem to. You were lucky the governor allowed you to examine the body. I am sure Taras's family will not approve.'

'I am sorry this man has died,' said the Doctor, 'but that does not alter my obligation to the truth.'

Isaac nodded.

'Look here.' The Doctor indicated the man's forehead, brown with dried blood. 'This clearly indicates that death took place quite some time ago. It also masks the fact that the attack was centred around the neck and throat.' He pulled at the man's jerkin. 'And look at these.'

Isaac bent forward. 'They look almost like... needle points.'

There were three or four puncture marks on the man's neck, and another just in front of his ear. Isaac sighed. 'When the people get to hear of this '

'Then perhaps they should not,' said Dmitri, who had suddenly appeared behind them. He bent over a little to see the body. 'Better that they continue to think about the enemy without than any demons within.'

'It is clear Steven is innocent,' said the Doctor. 'I'd say this poor fellow was killed as long as a day ago. None of the wounds are consistent with a human attack, even if the murderer was using a large stone or some such. The bone has not been fractured anywhere. Instead, these puncture marks seem to be the cause of death. The tearing around the throat might have become infected, but would not have killed the man so swiftly. It is a peripheral injury.'

'So who killed Taras?' asked Isaac.

'As I said, nothing human,' said the Doctor, pressing his fingers carefully against one of the pinholes in the man's neck.

He took a tiny twin-p.r.o.nged metal object from his pocket, and slowly worked at the wound. 'Unless you are in the habit of killing people with hypodermic needles...' He withdrew a small white sliver from the man's neck, and held it up triumphantly.

'Made of...' He stared more closely, his brow furrowed. 'Bone?'

'You are saying that Taras was killed by an animal?'

'If you use "animal" to encompa.s.s everything that is not human. . then, yes, an animal is what we should be concentrating on. Not Steven.'

The Doctor got to his feet.

'In any event, look at the man's body it is covered in dust and dirt from the stones where Steven was working. If the soldier is trying to imply that Steven and this man had an argument, which was resolved by Steven clubbing him with a rock...' The Doctor shook his head. 'No, that's simply not what happened.'

'We should double the city guard,' said Dmitri. 'If a beast is trapped within the city walls, then it must be stopped.'

'That may help,' said the Doctor distantly.

'Do you know what manner of creature attacks in this way?'

asked Isaac cautiously.

The Doctor shook his head.

'What is happening to our city?' asked Dmitri. 'What does this attack mean?'