The Elephants Of Norwich Part 38

*Of course, Alys.'

*But you know the man responsible, I hear.'

*Vaguely.'

*Ralph said that this Starculf once worked as your falconer.'

*My husband's falconer,' corrected the other with undue sharpness. *I had no dealings with him myself. After he went to the lord Richard's estate, I never saw him. Starculf belongs very much to my past.'

*What drove him to kill and steal, my lady?' asked Alys.

*I haven't the slightest idea.'

*It sounds to me as if you're well rid of the fellow.'

*I am indeed,' said the other, moving gracefully away. *But you'll have to excuse me. I need to speak to the lady Matilda. Goodbye.'

They waved her politely off then traded a puzzled frown. *She was doing it again,' said Golde, turning to watch the departing visitor.

*Doing what?'

*Using us to get information about our husbands. The lady Adelaide wants to know what progress has been made. Now that she knows where Ralph and Gervase are, she'll see what she can find out from the lady Matilda about the sheriff's movements.'

Alys puckered her face. *Why is she so keen to hear about the search?'

*It could just be natural curiosity. On the other hand a'

*Yes?'

*Well, the lady Adelaide is directly involved here,' said Golde, recalling what she had overheard. *Those gold elephants were first offered to her as a wedding gift. Unbeknown to her, of course, they were stolen property but they must have impressed her greatly. They're reputedly works of art. We saw how fond she was of gold when we visited her.'

*The jewellery that she wears is always so striking.'

*Yes,' agreed Golde as the visitor ascended the steps to the keep, *the lady Adelaide likes to glitter. It's important for her to be the centre of attention.'

Alys sighed. *I'm too shy to want that. I prefer the shadows.'

*There's no shadow dark enough to hide the lady Adelaide.'

*Why did she stalk off like that, Golde?'

*Because we caught her on a raw spot.'

*I didn't think that she had any.'

*Neither did I until I mentioned the name of Starculf. Did you notice how quickly her manner changed? And she went out of her way to deny any real acquaintance with him, yet according to Ralph she recommended him to the lord Richard.'

*I found that rather odd as well.'

*There was something even more curious. Not in anything she said, but I saw it clearly in her eyes. The lady Adelaide gave me the impression that she didn't actually want Starculf to be caught.'

Alys was silent. She blinked rapidly as if feeling a spasm of pain.

*What's the trouble?' said Golde. *Are you unwell?'

*No, no. I feel fine.'

It was Ralph Delchard's turn to be slightly baffled. When the long cavalcade reached a fork in the road, Gervase Bret suggested that they break away from the main body in order to continue their inquiries elsewhere. It was no casual suggestion. Ralph knew his friend was not given to wild impulse. If Gervase advised a course of action, a great deal of thought had gone into it. For that reason, Ralph detached himself and his men. While the sheriff took the prisoner back to Norwich castle, the commissioners plunged on into the Henstead hundred. Jocelyn the Anchorite went with them, sensing that Gervase might possibly lead him to the missing treasures.

*Are we to be told where we're going, Gervase?' asked Ralph.

*To search for the killer.'

*We've been doing that all day.'

*No, Ralph. We were looking for Starculf and he didn't commit the murder. In thought, perhapsa"but not in deed.'

*I still have my doubts about him,' said Vavasour. *He's no innocent man.'

*Oh, he's guilty of abetting the murder, that much is clear. But it obviously didn't go as planned. Starculf was saving Hermer for himself when his accomplice stepped in ahead of him.'

*What accomplice?'

*The man for whom he had those duplicate keys made. My guess is that they agreed to work together. Starculf needed someone to watch his back so he found a man who was only too glad to a.s.sist him.'

*And who was that?' pressed Ralph.

*Cast your mind back to that visit Golde and I made.'

*The one to Olova? I'll never forget it,' said the other with a ripe chuckle. *Golde was drenched by that rain. When I first saw her, I thought that she'd fallen into a stream.'

*It was Aelfeva who ended up in the stream, Ralph. He found her.'

*Who?'

*The man we're going to see. Olova told me how heartbroken he was when he saw her dead body floating on the water. That kind of experience would embitter anyone. I can see why Skalp was fired up to attack the steward.'

*Skalp?' said Vavasour.

*Olova's grandson. You must have noticed him when you called there yourself. A big, strong, surly young man who was very protective towards the old woman.'

*I saw no sign of him.'

*Then he must have been hiding somewhere.'

*With cause, by the sound of it,' said Ralph, trusting in his friend's judgement. *Are you saying that Skalp was guilty of both crimes, Gervase? Theft and murder?'

*I believe so.'

*On his own?'

*Probably. One man would attract less attention.'

*But he didn't know his way around the lord Richard's estate.'

*Starculf did,' said Gervase, *and he would have told his accomplice all that he needed to know. He even gave him the duplicate keys to look after until the appointed time. Skalp couldn't wait. He wanted Hermer too badly.'

*How can you be so sure?' asked Vavasour.

Gervase raised a finger. *Remember what Starculf told us. He wanted to kill Hermer in the lord Richard's manor house and leave the body there to shock his old master. The last thing he would've done is to drag it across country at night and deposit the corpse so close to the castle. Skalp wasn't content with upsetting the lord Richard,' he went on. *He wanted to outrage the entire city. That's why he left the stench of death right there in the middle of it.'

*What about the severed hands?' said Ralph.

*Did Starculf look like the sort of person to do that?'

*I suppose not.'

*He had no reason. Skalp did. Those were the hands that had defiled Aelfeva.'

Ralph grimaced. *I'm surprised he didn't cut off the man's pizzle as well.'

*Skalp made his point strongly enough.'

*Why did he return the hands to the lord Richard?'

*To give him a jolt, Ralph.'

*Just hearing about it jolted me,' confessed the other.

*Thank heaven I turned away from that world!' said Vavasour with an upsurge of remorse. *I hacked off limbs in my time. I blinded and maimed. In the name of duty, I fought and killed my way right round this country.'

*So did I, my friend. We had no choice.'

*But we did, my lord. We could've refused to go on with the slaughter. We could've renounced the violence as I've now done and tried to atone for it by leading a more spiritual life. We could've walked away.'

*Speak for yourself,' said Ralph. *I have a wife to look after and I don't think she'd appreciate living in a pile of brushwood out on the marshes.'

*Can't you hear what I'm saying?' Vavasour reached out to grab his arm. *We revile this man Skalp for committing a foul murder yet you and I are just as bad in some ways. We've shed blood as well. We've sinned.'

Ralph removed his hand. *I'll make amends for my sins in my own way.'

*And what way is that, my lord?'

*Dispensing justice and rooting out crime.'

Gervase had gone off into a meditative silence. He came out of it with a smile. *Starculf had another accomplice,' he declared.

*There were three of them?' said Ralph.

*Only two were party to the murder. The third was an unwitting confederate.'

*Who was he?'

*The person who told Starculf when the lord Richard and his steward would be away from the house. That's what made possible the theft of the keys and everything turned on that. I can see why Starculf refused to tell us who it was! He wanted to protect her at all costs.'

*Her?'

*Of course,' said Gervase. *It was the lady Adelaide.'

Mauger Livarot was mortified when he saw the sheriff and his officers approaching with a prisoner. It looked as if his hopes had run aground. If the killer had been caught, the elephants would have been recovered and there was no way that he could wrest them from Roger Bigot and his substantial escort. Livarot and his men waited until the other column reached them.

*Good day, my lord!' Bigot hailed him. *What are you doing here?'

*Helping in the search,' said Livarot, looking at Starculf. *But it seems that we came too late. You've caught him without us.'

*It was the lord Ralph who arrested him. We've taken charge of him now.'

*Has the villain confessed?'

*No,' said Bigot, irritably. *Starculf claims that he's innocent of the murder. And the wonder of it is that the lord Ralph and Gervase Bret accept his word. The man is involved somehow and I mean to find out exactly how, but he may not actually have struck down Hermer.'

*What of the other crime?' said Livarot. *The theft of the gold elephants?'

*I stole nothing,' a.s.serted Starculf.

Bigot was astringent. *Apart from the keys to the lord Richard's manor house.'

*I've never set eyes on these gold elephants.'

*Then where are they?' prodded Livarot.

*The lord Ralph has gone in search of them,' said Bigot.

*He knows their whereabouts?'

*Gervase Bret does. He was acting as guide.'

*Which way did they go?'

*They took the road to the Henstead hundred,' said Bigot, swivelling round to point a finger. *A mile or so back.'

Livarot's hopes revived. *We'll catch them up and offer our a.s.sistance.'

*I think they can manage well enough without you, my lord.'

*We've come this far,' said the other, eager to be off. *We might as well ride on a little further. Who knows? We might arrive in time to be of real use.'

Giving the sheriff no time to reply, he led his men swiftly off down the track.