Satan in St Mary

prosperous. A respected citizen, a member of the Guilds of Goldsmiths. He was not married, had no family except a sister. There is nothing to link him with any secret organization in the city. To all appearances, he was certainly no member or supporter of the Populares party. His relationship with Ralph Crepyn is tenuous. The latter was a man who rose from obscurity to the rank of Alderman in the city. He was a notorious moneylender and gained most of his wealth in the money market. He had sympathies for the dead traitor, Simon de Montfort. He had links with the secret Populares party and even more shadowy ties with the criminal fraternity in the city. It would appear that about midday on the 13th January Crepyn met Duket in Cheapside, sharp words were exchanged, blows struck. Duket, surprisingly for such a placid man, suddenly drew his dagger and, either by luck or mischance, struck Crepyn a mortal blow, driving his dagger deep into the moneylender's throat. He then withdrew the dagger and, before the hue and cry could be raised, fled along Cheapside into the churchyard of Saint Mary Le Bow and managed to grasp the handle of the church and so claim sanctuary. The Rector of the aforesaid church, Roger Bellet, granted him this, leading him up into the sanctuary and the safekeeping of the Blessed Chair The priest, according to law, provided him with a candle, flint, a jug of wine and a penny loaf of bread. The said priest also according to custom, had the church locked by himself on the outside and bolted within by Duket himself
    There was no hue and cry or posse sent to the church as the city law officers had not time to arrange this because of the proximity of Saint Mary Le Bow to the scene of the homicide However, the city Ward did set a guard outside the door of the church not so much to ensure anyone broke in but to ensure that Duket did not attempt to flee by night. The said guard later reported that no one approached the door, nor did they hear any disturbance in the churchyard during the night. They kept their watch until Prime when the Rector came to the church and unlocked it However, he could not open the church nor rouse Duket by shouting or pounding on the door. Accordingly, he and the Watch used a log lying nearby to force the door open. Inside, the scene was as follows. There was no mark of violence or disturbance in the entrance, or nave of the church. In the sanctuary, however, the Blessed Chair had been moved far to the right beneath the large window. There are two of these windows, either side of the sanctuary, each has an iron bar projecting out beside it with a curled hook on the end to hang garlands or sanctuary lamps. On that particular morning, the one on the right bore the dangling corpse of Lawrence Duket.
    It would appear that Duket had gone down to the entrance of the church, taken some disused rope from the bell tower, gone back to the sanctuary and, moving the chair over, hanged himself from the metal bar. The Coroner was called with the Jury of the Ward to examine the corpse. They questioned the guard placed on the church and accepted their statement that no one entered or left the church during the night, nor did they see or hear anything suspicious The Coroner put them on oath that they fulfilled their duties faithfully and conscientiously. I now believe they spoke the truth. The Coroner and Jury also examined the Rector of the church who claims he knows nothing of Duket's death. The Coroner accepted this but I have great doubts about the man Nothing I can prove but a feeling of deep disquiet. Duket had died by strangulation, there was a deep purple ring about his neck caused by the rope and a bruise beneath his left ear caused by the knot in the noose. His body bore no other marks except bruises on the forearm and a shred of linen caught between his teeth. The Coroner noted all this as did I when I exhumed the body from the city ditch.
    The Coroner and Jury also investigated the cause of the quarrel between Duket and Crepyn in Cheapside. They believe it was caused over Jean Duket, Lawrence's sister, whom, it was alleged, had been seduced by Crepyn. I have questioned the aforesaid Jean and I believe the quarrel did not concern her. The Coroner concluded that Duket had been guilty of the unlawful homicide of Ralph Crepyn and had fled for sanctuary to Saint Mary Le Bow where he had committed suicide
    Do I accept such a verdict? If Duket had survived he could have done two things. First,