The Seventh Trumpet by Peter Tremayne Read Free Book Online Page A

‘You say that you found the body this morning?’
    ‘It was exactly as I told you, lady. It was just after first light that I had come down here to find whether my heifer had produced her calf.’
    ‘When were you at this spot before that?’
    ‘As dusk approached last night. The heifer was in the field behind us. I was worried for her as she was overdue with her calf and so I came to look at her.’
    ‘Did you look at this crossing at that time?’
    ‘I did not. However, the body was not here.’
    ‘How do you know that?’
    ‘Because the stream was running freely.’
    ‘I do not understand,’ Eadulf said.
    ‘I was alerted to the body being in the stream by the fact that it was being pushed by the current against those stepping-stones and thereby forming a dam. The water makes a different noise when it is allowed to flow freely. Also, my dog, Cú Faoil, was at his ease when we were here last night, whereas this morning he was nervous and showing signs that something was untoward. His behaviour prompted me to find the body.’
    ‘So there is yet another conundrum,’ breathed Fidelma. ‘The logical conclusion is that this ambassador came here alone in the darkness or with a companion who was his assassin. If they were both on horseback, then the young man was obliged to dismount at the crossing while his companion, still seated on his horse, stabbed him from that superior height. Afterwards, the assassin must have led both horses away without alarming anyone. Not even your dog was awoken during the night, Tóla.’
    ‘If there had been any disturbance, however slight, Cú Faoil would have surely raised an alarm,’ agreed the farmer. ‘There is nothing that escapes his attention.’
    ‘There is another answer to that conundrum.’ It was Eadulf who spoke.
    Fidelma turned to him in slight surprise. ‘Another answer?’
    ‘What if the man was killed elsewhere and then brought in stealth to this place? The body could have been dumped here by someone thinking it was an out-of-the-way spot where it would not be discovered.’
    There was a pause while Fidelma considered this. ‘It is a good point,’ she conceded. ‘But if the murderer brought the body here, thinking it a good hiding-place, surely the stepping-stones across the stream would have warned him that it was not so remote, and that people used the crossing. There are plenty of better places around here to hide a body. And why leave so many clues behind, like his Uí Máil emblem? Why leave part of his wand of office, showing he was an envoy? Indeed, why not just remove all his valuable jewellery, the dagger, sword and so on? In fact, why not strip the body entirely, which would have made the task of identification almost impossible?’
    ‘Of course, if the murder was done here, perhaps the killer left these things on the corpse because they heard someone coming and had to flee,’ Eadulf suggested.
    Fidelma shook her head. ‘If so, why was the body not reported by the person who disturbed the killer?’
    ‘It seems,’ Eadulf reflected, ‘that we are engaging in speculation when we have no information.’
    Fidelma glared at him before noticing the amusement in his features. The corners of her mouth turned down with a wry expression.
    ‘So now we must start in pursuit of information,’ she said in a firm tone. She turned to Tóla. ‘We need trouble you little. Perhaps we can fodder our horses and obtain some refreshment for ourselves when we have finished here? It would help if we could also purchase a linen sheet for use as a racholl – a shroud – for the body. We shall take the corpse to the chapel you spoke of, at Fraigh Dubh and make use of the burial-ground there. We may have to travel all the way to Laigin to establish the identity of this young noble: the body cannot be preserved during such a long journey and must therefore be interred here.’
    ‘You are welcome to what hospitality we can provide,’ Tóla said politely.
    ‘Then we