‘He lives here, Matt. He probably knew exactly what Kelby had ordered – Kelby may even have told him, just to gloat. And Quarrel strikes me as a man of habit, so it would not take a fortune-teller to know that he would haul his keg from his cellar and leave it for his lad to deliver.’
Bartholomew sighed. ‘I do not see Matilde making friends with a murderer.’
‘Perhaps that is why she declined to marry him,’ suggested Michael. ‘She found out what he was really like, and fled Lincoln while she could.’
Bartholomew turned to another matter that had puzzled him. ‘You told de Wetherset that the property recovered from Shirlok – and presented at his trial as evidence of his guilt – went missing immediately afterwards. How did you know that?’
‘How do you not? It was a huge scandal, and the whole county talked about it for weeks after.’
‘I was probably back in Oxford by then. What happened?’
‘The goods disappeared on the day of the trial, although they were not actually missed until the various owners contacted the sheriff some weeks later, demanding to know why they had not been returned. The sheriff had dispatched them on a wagon, but none reached their intended destination. Searches were made, but nothing was ever recovered.’
Bartholomew frowned. ‘When I was looking at Shirlok’s body in the castle bailey, I recall seeing a cart being loaded with the items he had stolen. There was property relating to the other cases that had been heard that day, too. The sheriff wanted it all off his hands as quickly as possible. He ordered the jurors to help with the heavy work, but they objected strenuously, and the only one he actually snagged in the end was de Wetherset – who was furious about it.’
‘So, you saw Shirlok’s ill-gotten gains leave the castle?’
Bartholomew nodded. ‘It was all very chaotic, because a few of the acquitted felons had been kept in gaol until the trial – obviously, the sheriff had not trusted them to appear on their own recognisance. They were being released at the same time, and there was a lot of fuss and noise. It was only when they had all gone that Shirlok made his own bid for freedom.’
‘So, any of these villains could have made off with the property at that point? It was being piled into a wagon under their very noses?’
‘The sheriff drew a line in the mud with his boot, separating the cart from the milling crowd in the bailey, and said he would shoot anyone who crossed it.’
‘Was he serious?’
‘Oh, yes. The jurors’ refusal to help with the loading had put him in a foul mood, and he was a surly man at the best of times. He was itching to vent his temper on someone. Had Miller or anyone else put so much as a toe over his line, he would gladly have loosed an arrow.’
‘So, Miller and his friends could not have taken the hoard, then?’
‘I sincerely doubt it. The sheriff was watching them like a hawk.’
‘Well, someone did – and whoever it was found himself in possession of the Hugh Chalice, as well as a chest of stolen property.’
‘Assuming this cup is the Hugh Chalice, Brother. De Wetherset does not seem to think so.’
‘Perhaps he will change his mind once he sets his “special skills” to work – especially if the bishop is convinced of its sanctity. He will not want to annoy his new prelate.’
Eventually, Bartholomew and Michael reached the top of the hill, where they passed through the gate that led to the Bail – the plateau that housed the minster and the castle. The Church had ensured its property was better defended than its secular counterpart, and its precincts were surrounded by a high, crenellated wall that was relatively new and in good repair. The resulting enclosed area, known as the Cathedral Close, was massive, and contained not only the minster itself, but two churches and a chantry; the chapter house; cloisters; offices for the dean, precentor, treasurer and sacrist; and living accommodation for the canons, Vicars Choral, choristers, and the clerks and scribes who undertook the onerous task of overseeing the largest diocese in the country.
Dominating all was the cathedral. From a distance, its nave and chancel had appeared low, dwarfed by the tower with its soaring spire, but Bartholomew saw this was an illusion, and the main body of the building was actually impressively lofty. He began to walk around the outside, gazing up at the mighty buttresses, the intricately carved pinnacles, and finally the ancient frieze on the splendid west front. Michael went with him, for once voicing no objection to the extra walking.
