Behold a Pale Horse

by Peter Tremayne

  ‘Ignosce mihi – forgive me, Brother Waldipert,’ the elderly religieux said. ‘There was no time to bring you from your shock in any other way, and each moment is precious.’

  Brother Waldipert stood rubbing his cheek and gazing dumbly at Venerable Ionas.

  ‘How came you here?’ continued the elderly cleric.

  ‘I … I came with some accounts for the Father Abbot to approve.’ The words emerged slowly.

  ‘How long ago?’

  ‘A moment or two only. I knocked on the door and then opened it and saw … saw … I don’t know what happened. You hit me. You hit me on the cheek.’

  ‘Brother Waldipert,’ Fidelma intervened. ‘You opened the door and saw the abbot on the floor. Did you see anyone else in the room, someone leaving the room by other means – the window, for example?’

  The cook shook his head. ‘There are no other means. The window is too small for anyone to leave by.’

  There was a noise across the hall and Brother Hnikar appeared. He glanced at them as he hurried into the abbot’s chamber. They saw him go down on his knees beside the body. It was a cursory examination.

  ‘Dead,’ he said. ‘He has had his skull smashed in.’

  Fidelma had the urge to say they did not need his opinion to tell them the obvious, but restrained herself.

  ‘I presume that brass candle-holder would be the weapon.’ She pointed to it.

  Brother Hnikar followed the direction of her hand. ‘I would imagine it was.’

  ‘How long ago did this happen?’

  ‘It is hard to say,’ replied the physician. ‘The blood has dried and the body has stiffened. Perhaps half a day has gone by.’

  ‘Half a day?’ Fidelma was surprised. ‘Are you sure?’

  The man did not deign to answer her but merely responded, ‘Who found him? You?’

  ‘It was Brother Waldipert who discovered the body.’

  Brother Hnikar rose to his feet and regarded the cook for a moment.

  ‘This is a bad business,’ he said, now speaking directly to Venerable Ionas.

  ‘Indeed, it is,’ agreed the elderly scholar. ‘I shall take charge.’

  ‘But we must await the return of Magister Ado before we can appoint a new abbot,’ Brother Hnikar protested.

  ‘I did not say I would take charge as abbot,’ Venerable Ionas replied grimly. ‘I will take charge until Magister Ado returns and then we shall discuss the matter.’

  ‘We need to establish when the abbot was last seen alive,’ Fidelma told them.

  Brother Hnikar regarded her with disapproval. ‘I have to remind you that you are a visitor in this abbey. Distinguished, so I am told. But nevertheless a visitor.’

  Venerable Ionas cleared his throat. ‘Dear Brother Hnikar, our distinguished visitor does have a point. These things need to be done. And, as custom dictates, this night we must lay to rest the remains of our great friend and former abbot. To him we owe a duty to find his murderer.’

  ‘I stand corrected, Venerable Ionas,’ sniffed the apothecary. ‘It was probably some barbarian intent on robbery. Although I would say that the person who has committed this crime will have escaped to the forests long ago. Therefore we need to find Wulfoald and ask that he send his warriors out to track the culprit down.’

  ‘I don’t think it was some robber,’ Fidelma was prompted into saying and then shut her mouth firmly as Brother Hnikar’s lips visibly thinned. However, Venerable Ionas distracted him quickly.

  ‘Time irretrievably passes, my brother. We must seize it if we are to get anywhere. As you have said, Sister Fidelma is a distinguished visitor. She is a lawyer and judge in her own land, and as such she was entrusted by the Holy Father and his adviser and military governor to solve the mystery of the murder of an archbishop at the Lateran Palace.’

  Brother Hnikar made a dismissive motion with his hand. ‘I have already heard about that.’

  ‘Then, as the senior cleric in this community, I tell you this – I am appointing her to make inquiries about the matter. She has my full authority to come and go as she likes and to inquire of whomever she likes.’

  Brother Hnikar was looking shocked. ‘But the Rule …’

  ‘The Rule continues but in no way blocks her authority nor the authority that she holds from me.’

  The apothecary was going to open his mouth again, hesitated and then bowed towards Fidelma.

  ‘Will there be any objection, Sister Fidelma, to my removing the body to prepare it for burial, now we know how he met his death?’ His voice held a thinly veiled sarcasm.

  ‘You may remove the body as you will, but only after I have made an examination of the room. We may know how the abbot met his death but we must also learn why and by whom.’ She turned to Venerable Ionas with a nod of thanks. ‘It seems that Brother Hnikar cannot help us for the moment and we will have a further word with Brother Waldipert later.’

  It was a clear dismissal of both men who then departed, one with a scowl and the other in bemusement, leaving Venerable Ionas and Fidelma alone.

  ‘You will not have long,’ the elderly cleric said with a sigh. ‘Brother Hnikar does not like what I have done and he will be off, even now, to find Brother Wulfila to support him. And when Magister Ado returns …’ He ended with a shrug. ‘Perhaps we had best do what Brother Hnikar suggested and alert some of Wulfoald’s warriors to search the surrounding countryside. The murderer cannot have gone far on foot, and he would be recognised if he left on horseback.’

  ‘That is true enough, if the murderer has even left the abbey. Anyway, Wulfoald is no longer here. And it would be a waste of time searching outside the abbey walls.’

  Venerable Ionas’ eyes widened. ‘Am I to take it that you mean the murderer is still hiding in the abbey?’

  ‘Not hiding,’ replied Fidelma grimly. ‘I think he is known to the community. I believe that I have been led on a false trail. A trail deliberately laid to confuse me.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘The death of Abbot Servillius.’

  ‘I am sorry, I do not follow you.’

  ‘I was so keen on following clues that led me to the abbot. Whoever laid the trail knew that sooner or later I would connect the name Quintus Servillius Caepio with Abbot Servillius. One and one can make two, but sometimes you have to ensure that the two numbers you are given in the first place are accurate.’

  Venerable Ionas looked perplexed. ‘I am still not following your logic, Sister Fidelma, but I will trust you for the time being. You mean that all you told me in my study just now was wrong?’

  ‘Not necessarily wrong,’ she explained quickly. ‘It was the information that I was being carefully fed. Information that someone had painstakingly laid as a trail in such a clever way that I would think I was uncovering it myself. It was laid so as to ensure my curiosity would be roused. Someone removed pages from the books in the library, not because they did not want me to see what was on the pages, but precisely because they knew my curiosity would lead me to find out what was on them.’

  ‘But there was little on those pages apart from the story of Caepio’s lost gold.’

  ‘The gold of Quintus Servillius Caepio,’ corrected Fidelma. ‘Aurum Tolosa.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘You provided the last clue – you told me Servillius was a patronymic. You admitted that the abbot was proud of his ancient patrician roots in this area.’

  Venerable Ionas was frowning thoughtfully. ‘So I gave you this last clue? Yes, I remember telling you about the name …’ A suspicous look suddenly crossed his face. ‘Are you suggesting that I led you on a false trail?’

  ‘It is more complicated than that,’ replied Fidelma. ‘The person behind this would make a great fidchell player.’

  ‘A what?’

  ‘It is a board game played in my country, and its name means “wooden wisdom”. In many ways it is like ludus latrun-culorum, the board game of military tactics that is played here in this country.’

 
; ‘I still find it hard to follow your reasoning.’

  ‘There is a master player, a strategist involved in this matter; he or she has laid out all the pieces so that I have been led into a blind alley. He or she thought that it would take me longer to work things out, but realising that I was shortly to confront the abbot, they also realised it was too soon for their purpose. That is why, I’m afraid, Abbot Servillius had to die. I think he was killed soon after he arrived back in the abbey yesterday.’

  ‘It sounds as though you know the identity of this strategist, as you call him.’

  ‘In my country,’ replied Fidelma, ‘we have a saying: “woe to him whose betrayer sits at his table”.’

  There was the sound of raised voices at the main door and a moment later Magister Ado came hurrying into the hall; behind him was Brother Faro.

  ‘Is it true?’ he demanded, looking at Venerable Ionas. ‘I have just returned from Travo to be greeted by the news that Abbot Servillius is dead – that he has been murdered.’

  ‘News seems to travel quickly,’ Fidelma muttered.

  ‘As far as the abbey gates,’ Magister Ado replied with uncharacteristic sharpness. ‘Brother Wulfila just told me. I met with Brother Faro on the way back. We heard nothing until we arrived here. So it is true?’

  ‘I am afraid it is true, Brother,’ admitted Venerable Ionas. ‘The abbot was beaten to death, his skull crushed.’

  Magister Ado crossed himself swiftly. ‘Deus adjuvat nos,’ he muttered piously. ‘Has the culprit been caught?’

  ‘Alas, no.’

  ‘Is it known who did this?’

  ‘I think so,’ Fidelma replied. ‘And we might lay many deaths at his door.’

  ‘Many deaths?’ queried Magister Ado.

  ‘I think our Hibernian sister means the death of Lady Gunora and others.’

  Magister Ado’s expression was grim. ‘We live in evil times, Fidelma. We are pawns between the ambitions of Grimoald and Perctarit. Abbot Servillius gave sanctuary to Prince Romuald, and once it was known to people like Bishop Britmund, it would have become known to those who hoped to use the prince to attack the father. I suggest Abbot Servillius was murdered in retaliation for giving shelter to the young boy.’

  ‘I do not think so,’ contradicted Fidelma in a quiet voice.

  Venerable Ionas and Magister Ado were both looking at her expectantly.

  ‘You said that you think you know who did this and that he is still in the abbey,’ Venerable Ionas said. ‘Then speak—’

  Outside in the courtyard they heard a wailing sound. It started faintly and became louder, and then it was taken up with other cries, creating a human chorus of fear and anxiety. They were moving to the door when one of the brethren, dishevelled and grubby, burst into the hall.

  ‘The Evil One is at large in the abbey,’ he shouted. ‘Save us! Save us from him!’

  The cries were in Fidelma’s own language. She realised that it was Brother Lonán, the herbalist and gardener, who had come running towards them. She grasped the hysterical man by the collar and almost shook him.

  ‘Control yourself, Brother! There is no evil in this place other than that which is made by men. What ails you? Speak! Speak in the language of the Faith so that these others may understand.’

  The man blinked at the harshness of the words in his own language. Then he stared at her. ‘Death stalks the abbey, Sister. Evil stalks the abbey. We must flee from this accursed place.’ He fell to shivering and weeping, the hysteria unabated.

  ‘What is it?’ demanded Venerable Ionas, before he turned to Brother Wulfila, who had followed the herbalist in, and said sharply: ‘Get outside into the courtyard and stop our brethren from making that awful wailing noise.’

  Fidelma stared at the sobbing man with distaste and then said, still in her own language: ‘You have one more chance to control yourself. If you do not speak, I am told the Rule of Benedict provides punishments for those who refuse to obey.’

  Brother Lonán started back, a look of shock on his face.

  ‘Now,’ she said firmly, ‘know who you are and where you are. Speak in the language of the brethren and tell us what is the matter.’

  The herbalist swallowed nervously. ‘I … I was in the herbarium,’ he began.

  ‘It is dark,’ snapped Magister Ado. ‘What were you doing there at this time?’

  ‘I always go for a walk around the garden during the warm summer evenings. The smell of the herbs and flowers, the scent of the evening garden … well, it is my pleasure.’

  Magister Ado sniffed in disapproval. ‘We are not here for individual pleasures, Brother Lonán, but—’

  ‘Better to hear what has caused him to be in this state, than to lecture him on what is correct behaviour,’ Venerable Ionas intervened reproachfully.

  ‘The moon is already bright and full, as you can see,’ the herbalist went on after some encouragement. ‘I was walking along the path by the olive trees when I heard a growling sound – the sound of a wolf.’

  ‘Wolves often come down into the valley in their hunt for food,’ observed Magister Ado. ‘What was unusual about this? Was this a reason to be afraid and cry like some whimpering child?’

  ‘I am used to wolves prowling at night, Venerable Ado,’ Brother Lonán replied defensively. ‘I know what to do when I encounter them. I threw stones at it and was surprised when it did not run off with the same alacrity that its kind usually display. It seemed that it would dispute with me. Then I threw some heavier stones and shouted and it moved away.’

  ‘And so?’ prompted Fidelma, after he had paused.

  ‘It had been digging by the trees. I moved forward. It was dark and shaded. And then the moon suddenly came out and shone between the branches down on the spot where the animal had been digging. Something pale and white was peering up at me from the soil … God help me!’

  Magister Ado gave a sharp intake of breath in his exasperation.

  ‘Tell us what it was,’ Fidelma said quickly.

  ‘It was the face of Brother Eolann.’

  It was a short time later when Brother Lonán guided the party into the herb garden. Venerable Ionas and Magister Ado walked behind him with Fidelma. Brother Hnikar and Brother Wulfila and Brother Faro, armed with lamps and spades, came next. They were led towards a group of olive trees at the far end of the garden. The herbalist stood back while they edged forward to the spot at which he pointed. There was no doubt that the body had been partially uncovered by the digging of the wolves. The lamps of the party played on the deathly white features of the scriptor Brother Eolann.

  Brother Hnikar bent down and examined the head.

  ‘He can’t have been buried that long. The burial seems shallow, which is a sign of a hurried disposal of the body. No wonder the wolf was able to uncover it. However, the state of the body makes me believe that he, too, like the abbot, has been dead for some time.’

  ‘Any idea how he came by his death?’ asked Fidelma.

  Brother Hnikar stood up and she thought she saw him sneer in the flickering lamplight.

  ‘Not from the blow on the head that he received this morning,’ he replied. ‘I will need to examine the body more carefully. Brother Wulfila and Brother Lonán, dig the body up and bring it to my apothecary.’ He turned to Venerable Ionas and Magister Ado. ‘There is no need for us to remain here. Let us proceed to the apothecary and await the body, and then I shall be able to see if an Evil One is stalking the abbey and what manner of death he is inflicting.’

  The last remark was aimed in a cutting tone at the still shivering Brother Lonán.

  They did not have to wait long in the odour-filled apothecary. Brother Hnikar was not a likeable person but he was certainly a professional as he bent over the body. Almost at once he observed: ‘He was killed by that wound under the hair. It was inflicted by a broad-bladed weapon. If I were given to guessing, it was probably a sword like a gladius.’

  ‘A gladius?’ Fidelma repeated.

  �
�A short, stabbing sword used by the Roman Legions,’ he explained. ‘It is still favoured by some of our warriors these days. I have seen Wulfoald use one.’

  Fidelma frowned. ‘So is it a commonly used weapon?’

  ‘Not that common these days.’ It was Magister Ado who answered her this time. ‘I think warriors on horseback like to use long, slashing swords. It depends on who one is fighting. These short swords are efficient at close quarters, but faced with a charging warrior with a lance or a full-length sword, their use is limited.’

  ‘You cannot tell if he was killed this morning or this evening?’ Fidelma pressed.

  Brother Hnikar actually chuckled. ‘If the day comes when a physician can tell the exact time a body has died, that will be when we shall be able to solve all killings. All we would need is the time when the person died and seize whoever was next to them then. That is a fantasy.’

  ‘I saw him not long before you returned to the abbey, Sister,’ offered Brother Hnikar. ‘I told you so.’

  ‘So he was killed sometime after that.’

  Brother Hnikar shrugged. ‘He was buried after dark, that is all I can say, for the earth has not had any pronounced marking on his clothing or body.’

  ‘Then he must have been in the abbey when I was looking for him,’ Venerable Ionas said. ‘But where was he hiding?’

  ‘Or being hidden,’ added Fidelma. She had been quiet for some time as she pursued a vagrant train of thought. Then she turned suddenly to Magister Ado. ‘Was it Brother Eolann’s idea that you make the journey to Tolosa to negotiate for that book … what was it? The Life of the Blessed Saturnin.’

  Magister Ado was surprised at her memory. ‘It was. Why?’

  ‘Would you have gone otherwise?’

  ‘I would not. The scriptor was quite insistent that that volume must be added to our library, as it would enhance the reputation of our abbey as a great centre of learning. As I had been to Tolosa before, it was felt that I was the best person to negotiate the matter. But how does this connect with the murder of the abbot? How do the two deaths come together?’