Prioress Eleanor had dark circles under her eyes, and her complexion was almost as gray as her eyes, but determination flashed in them.
The men, who stood with her outside the chapel where her dead father lay, gazed with awe at the force of her authority.
Her brother looked at her with both esteem and sympathy.
Father Eliduc lowered his gaze to avoid giving away any opinion of this daughter of Eve. He had tried to argue against including her in this meeting but failed. Baron Hugh had insisted her opinion be heard, and no one in this company dared to thwart the grim-faced friend of the king.
“Who profits most from Mistress Hawis’ death?” Eleanor’s tone was icy. “She was the first killed, and thus I assume she was most important to the killer.”
“What does the bag of coin-clippings found by Maynard mean?” Thomas spoke since no one else seemed so inclined. “He was the second killed, but the bag surely had significance worth contemplating.”
“Sir Walter was attacked but not killed, nor was anything left by his side.” Eleanor looked around at the assembled men. “What does that suggest?”
“I am convinced that the killer must be in this manor, my lady,” FitzRoald said. “And if it is not the Jewish women, it must be someone attached to the queen’s retinue. King Edward took his men with him before this all began.”
Thomas raised his eyebrows. “One of the ladies who waits upon our queen?”
The sheriff shrugged with evident discomfort at that conclusion.
“The coin-clippings point to a connection with the hanging of the Jews,” Father Eliduc said. “Leaving them by Maynard’s corpse may suggest that he was connected to that event as well.”
Hugh sneered. “And isn’t it convenient that ben David’s surviving family just happened to be here when these deaths occurred and the bag of coin bits was left? Perhaps we are meant to think they are involved when, in fact, they are not.”
Surprised at his words, Eleanor looked up at her brother with a brief smile.
The room fell silent.
Sister Anne appeared at the chapel entryway.
“I shall join you soon for prayer,” Eleanor said, her words softened with melancholy.
The infirmarian gazed at her prioress with concern, then disappeared inside.
Taking a deep breath, the prioress continued. “We currently have two suspects in custody: my nephew and ben David’s family. Please set courtesy aside in this matter for a moment. Do any of you think either guilty and why?”
“In my opinion, neither is a likely killer,” FitzRoald said. “Your nephew claimed to have killed Mistress Hawis because she mocked him, but he could not have murdered Maynard Clayton or attacked Sir Walter. These three are members of the same family. Your nephew had no reason to attack all. As I thought about past violent deaths I have investigated, I realized that multiple murders are usually done by the same person. I believe Richard FitzHugh is innocent of murder.”
“You are less certain than you have been about the guilt of ben David’s mother and daughters?” Thomas might have been pleased, but he carefully hid any hint of his opinion.
FitzRoald bowed his head, then looked at the somber prioress. “I have gone over the evidence once again and considered the wisdom of your logic. Mistress Chera is too old and weak to have strangled, and then hanged Mistress Hawis. The knife that killed Maynard was driven into his back up to the hilt. That requires more strength than an old woman has.” He raised a hand. “Even if she managed to escape from your chambers, my lady, she could not have struck Sir Walter so hard that he was rendered unconscious.”
“Her granddaughters? Might they have committed the crimes alone or with her?” Father Eliduc avoided looking at the prioress. “I ask, not because I am convinced of their guilt, but to hear your opinion.”
FitzRoald shook his head. “The girls are on the verge of womanhood. Is it reasonable to think either could have killed Mistress Hawis, a grown woman, or stabbed Maynard with the strength it took to drive the blade that deep? And how could they have struck Sir Walter with enough force?”
“One might have held Sir Walter’s wife down while the other strangled her, although Mistress Hawis was a strong woman.” Father Eliduc waited for a response, then continued. “Maynard may not have been robust, but it would have taken strength to drive the knife into him that deeply. I agree that the two children were not strong enough.” There was a hint of regret in his voice. “As for the attack on Sir Walter, neither girl has the power of a lad their age, and I doubt a boy could have done the deed either.”
“Lumbard ben David’s family is innocent.” Baron Hugh’s voice trembled with evident anger. “Find your killer amongst those who kill for greed.”
Father Eliduc replied to the baron’s fury with a thin smile.
“I shall add my support of your logic, Father,” Thomas said, “I doubt the girls could have done it between them. Mistress Hawis would have screamed and lashed out while they fumbled about her neck. This strangling indicates swift action, which suggests knowledge of how to kill efficiently and the strength to do so, as does the stabbing death of her brother-in-law. If they could not have committed the first two crimes, they could not have done the third.”
Eleanor looked at each one of the men.
None had further comment.
“Shall we all agree to this summary? Richard and ben David’s family had some reason to kill Mistress Hawis,” Eleanor said. “They were also able to do so because all were free. What motive, however, did any have to attack Maynard and Sir Walter? Richard might have been physically able to commit the crimes, but we believe it unlikely that Mistress Chera and the girls could. He was locked in a cell for the last two attacks. The ben David family was under guard, although the reliability of the watch is suspect. Finally, it seems probable the murders were done by the same person. If the suspects are innocent of one crime, they are probably innocent of all.”
The men muttered agreement, even Hugh who clenched his fist at the mention of his son having motive.
The prioress briefly touched her brother’s arm. “The High Sheriff of Berkshire has just concluded, as do we all, that your son must be found innocent of those crimes.”
Again, the men nodded.
Hugh’s dour expression did not change.
Nor would it, Eleanor decided, until Richard was freed. “Even if we assume that Mistress Chera and the girls could have killed Sir Walter’s wife,” she said, “we have no proof they were outside my chambers when Maynard was stabbed or Sir Walter attacked. They might have slipped out, because the guard was lax, but to assume they left my custody is as erroneous as it might be to say they had not.”
No one spoke.
“I ask you all this. Can any build a logical argument that Mistress Chera and the girls are capable of these crimes, let alone be the perpetrators?”
Each man looked at the others and waited for someone to speak.
“I do not think they did it, my lady,” Thomas finally said.
All but Father Eliduc agreed.
“What is your opinion?” Eleanor asked the priest.
“I do not necessarily disagree,” he replied, “but I believe this violence was born when Sir Walter and his men raided the homes in the Jewish Quarter and arrested the traitors.”
“I am inclined to concur, Father. My wish is to approach this problem by eliminating aspects that have distracted us from the truth and thus hidden it from us.” Eleanor briefly looked behind her at the chapel where she longed to retreat to mourn for her father.
“We must carefully debate further,” Eliduc replied.
Brother Thomas felt his face flush with anger. Had this callous priest forgotten that Baron Adam had just died, his daughter was in mourning, and she was speaking to them only because God had called on her to serve justice?
“Having agreed that my nephew is innocent,” Eleanor said, “why should we not also conclude that Mistress Chera and her granddaughters, although convenient suspects, lack the physical strength to commit the crimes? We have no evidence that they were unconfined for the last two attacks. The case for their guilt is very weak indeed.” She noted the hesitant expressions on the faces of two men. “Concentrating on them may have served only to deflect us from discovering the truth.”
Hugh and Thomas nodded. There was a short, grumbling conversation between Eliduc and the sheriff before the latter said, “We see no reason to disagree, my lady.”
“That leaves us with a suspect who committed an interesting and uncharacteristic crime the night of the raids.” She looked around. “The robber of ben David’s house. The High Sheriff has suggested the murderer is in residence at Woodstock Manor. I agree. Ben David’s house was the only one plundered, which points to a prior knowledge of the raids and locations of targeted houses by the thief.”
“And suggests that there might be a reason that particular house was chosen to rob,” Thomas added.
“Were that person to be discovered, he would be hanged for stealing from the king. That provides a motive for trying to distract us with other feasible suspects,” the prioress replied.
“Or she?” FitzRoald looked uncomfortable.
“Women are small and may slip into places that men cannot. That noted,” she said, “the description given to my brother suggests a man.”
Hugh nodded.
The priest rubbed his hands together, eager to start the task. “If we decide that the robber is a murder suspect and agree with the sheriff that the killer is in Woodstock Manor, shall we now begin to consider the likelihood of guilt for each man in residence here?”
“Including servants?” The sheriff looked around with dismay.
“Forgive me,” Eleanor said, “but we must act swiftly and do not have the time to carefully examine the details of individual circumstances. As I have learned, the queen knows that Death walks the halls here. I am sure you all agree that her safety is our first concern, and others may suffer if this elusive criminal is not captured immediately.”
FitzRoald gasped. “I could not face her or our king if a murderer continued to remain free in Woodstock Manor while she is still weak from childbirth!”
Looking at their expressions after those words from the High Sheriff, the prioress knew that nothing further need be said about the retribution each would suffer if the killer were not caught. “The swiftest way to catch the killer is to set a trap,” Eleanor said, then looked at her monk.” Remember what we did when Father Etienne Davoir was at Tyndal Priory?”
He nodded. It had not been a pleasant experience, but the plan had worked.
“Spread the tale that a witness to the plundering has been discovered and summoned here to identify the perpetrator,” she said to the men. “Make sure that all hear that the witness is expected tonight.” She gestured to FitzRoald. “You shall meet with the man in public and tell him that you have arranged particular rooms so he can rest before you question him further in the morning.”
The sheriff agreed.
Baron Hugh began to beg for his son’s release.
Thomas put a restraining hand on the baron’s arm. “If this is to satisfy any question about his innocence, my lord, then your son, Mistress Chera, and her granddaughters must remain under a vigilant guard until we have a confession from the murderer. To make sure there is no doubt whatsoever, I urge that all four be chained to stone walls until the killer is arrested. I fear that Richard must be moved to the cell with the ben David family since it will be easier to watch one place. The cell under the manor, foul though it is, is a far stronger prison.”
The prioress’ brother looked as if he might strike the monk. Then he shook off Thomas’ hand. “You are right,” he growled, and strode to a window to stare up at the sky.
Eleanor followed after him and spoke quietly with her brother. After a moment, he nodded with enthusiasm and swiftly left the gathering.
“Baron Hugh has gone to bring our witness back to the Manor,” she said with a slight smile. “I did assume we were all agreed to the setting of a trap.”
They all murmured consent.
Prioress Eleanor drew them closer together and explained how she hoped to tempt the prey to the snare.