For the Love of Old Bones - and other stories (Templar Series) by Michael Jecks Read Free Book Online Page A

growing testy.
    'There seems little need. I have told you what I saw, and you know who the killer is.'
    'You have told us that you did not see anyone stab him,' the Bailiff said. 'We still have to see whether anyone might have seen who actually did.'
    'Good God above! I told you about our attackers - what more do you want?'
    'A witness who saw a man shove a knife into your Abbot's back,' he said shortly.
    I could feel the anger twisting my features as I trailed after them toward the sitting monk, and I was forced to pray for patience in the face of what felt like overwhelming provocation.
    Brother Roger was young, only perhaps twenty-two. Looking up with a mild squint against the brightness of the day, he had to keep closing his eyes as we spoke, as though the sun's light was too powerful for him.
    'My friend, these men wish to ask you about the attack last night to find out whether you saw the leader of the outlaws stab ...'
    The knight interrupted me. 'Brother Roger, you were yourself knocked on the head. When did you waken?'
    'This morning. I was unconscious for some hours. And my head!' He winced. 'It was worse than the headache after an evening drinking strong wine!'
    'What do you remember of the attack?'
    ‘I was near the Abbot, and when the first cry came to us, he was on his feet and rushing for the horses, but he was stopped. A group of the felons appeared, and we ran to the Abbot's side to protect him. I was there at his right hand,' he added with a hint of self-consciousness.
    'Did you see anyone stab him?'  
    'No.'
    Brother Charles had approached and now he interrupted. 'I saw him crumple like an axed pig. One moment up and fighting; the next, collapsed in a heap. It was as if he had been struck by a rock.'
    'You are sure of this?' the knight pressed him.
    'Oh, yes,' Charles said emphatically. 'He fell because he was struck on the head.'
    'One of the outlaws could have heaved a stone at him,' the Bailiff said pensively.
    'Perhaps,' Sir Baldwin said. 'Tell me, Brother Roger: the Abbot, was he always a bold man?'
    'Very brave and courageous. He would always leap to the front of any battle. He had been a knight, you see. He was Sir Bertrand de Toulouse before he took Holy Orders.'
    Now Baldwin's brow eased. The frown that had wrinkled his forehead faded. 'So that is why he was so keen to be at the forefront of the fighting!'
    'Yes. He would always go to a fight to protect his own. And, of course, he saw a man attacking Humphrey,' he added with a faintly sneering tone to his voice.
    'Humphrey was sorely pressed?' Bailiff Puttock asked.
    I shot the loathsome Frenchman a look of warning but he met it with sneering complacency. 'No, Bailiff. Abbot Bertrand was a sodomite; he wished to preserve the life of the man he adored.'

    After he had let it out, there was little more for me to say. I walked away and left the knight and his friend still talking to the Frenchman, but l wished to hear no more of their inquiry. If they wanted more, they could come and find me.
    I left the camp, seeking the stream that Roger had apparently discovered. It was a short distance away. Some twenty yards farther up was the corpse of a sheep, and as I drank I saw that it had horns still attached to its skull. As soon as I had drunk my fill, I walked up and pulled them off. They would decorate a walking stick.
    It was relaxing here, listening to the chuckle and gurgle of the water. I rested upon a rock and stared at the water for a time, considering. So much had happened recently: there was the horror of finding that the Abbot wanted our relics, to help him persuade gullible peasants and townspeople to give him more money in exchange for prayers said within the church. The shock of learning that he had made up his mind before the arguments could be put before him. And last there was the terror in Humphrey's eyes when the Abbot had fondled and caressed him after the meeting, promising him wealth and advancement should he agree to share the