The Gallows Murders

tavern be levelled to the ground. They were to be hanged on special gibbets constructed on the site.' 'And did they all die?' Benjamin asked.
    That's when the threats were made!' Wormwood snapped. The father and only four of his sons were captured. The eldest, Robert, escaped. Apparently, the night Pelleter and his men ringed the tavern, Robert was away. He returned to find his father and brothers captured.'
    'So, why didn't he swear vengeance against the under-sheriff?' Mallow looked shamefacedly away. The rest of his guild shuffled their feet and stared into their cups. 'Well?' I asked.
    Mallow looked up. To answer your question, the under-sheriff and the other law officers were responsible for taking the gang back to the tavern and making sure lawful execution was carried out.' ‘Yes, yes, I can understand that,' Benjamin replied.
    'Before the tavern was razed,' Mallow continued, ‘We er…' 'Helped yourselves?' Benjamin asked.
    Well, we claimed the prerequisites of our office. Most of the tavern had been looted. What was left we took. Pelleter refused to have anything to do with it.' 'But hangmen always claim their dues,' I insisted.
    'Oh, tell him!' Wormwood snapped. Tell him what really happened!' 'I will,' Snakeroot declared. When you hang a man, Master Daunbey, you can do it fast or do it slow. The Sakkers were an evil, malicious coven. By slipping the knot around the back of their heads, we ensured they strangled slowly. All five of them took a long time dying.' And the under-sheriff allowed this?' I asked.
    Mallow answered. 'Like any law officer, once the ladder was turned and the men were hanged, he and his assistants rode back to London. If you look at the rules, Master Daunbey, the hangmen must attend the bodies until they are dead.' And the threats?' I asked.
    Mallow breathed out a sigh. The executions took place at noon. Three or four hours later, as we prepared to return to London, a mysterious archer began to loose arrows at us from the trees. We concealed ourselves behind the death-cart, then we heard a man shout. He was Robert Sakker and he vowed he would seek vengeance for what we had done. We waited a while, then we left for London.' 'And you've heard nothing of it since?' I asked.
    'A few days later,' Toadflax replied, 'the sheriff of Kent came to inspect the corpses we had gibbeted; he found all five had been removed for secret burial. A note, signed by Robert Sakker, declared vengeance against those responsible for the slow and malingering death of his father and brothers. The note vowed that the perpetrators would suffer just as bitterly.' And was Undershaft part of this?'
    'Oh yes,' Mallow answered. 'Like me, he knew about the Sakker crimes. The women who had been raped, their throats cut. Master Undershaft believed in the notion of "eye for eye and tooth for tooth". He was party to what we did. But nothing happened, even though we received many threats.' He stared round at his companions. ‘We forgot it.'
    'Do you think?' Wormwood interrupted. 'Sakker is behind the deaths of our colleagues?'
    'It's possible,' Benjamin replied. 'He may have come into London to pursue a path of retribution.'
    'But you said that these deaths are linked to the blackmailing letters being sent to the King,' Mallow said.
    Benjamin looked at me and shook his head. 'I believe so, but I have no proof.' He replied. That is a complete mystery.' "What was Robert Sakker like?' I turned to Mallow.
    The chief hangman shook his head. 'I don't know, sir. You'd have to ask Pelleter, the under-sheriff.' 'Do you have anything else to add?' I asked.
    'We've spoken enough,' Mallow replied. He leaned over and pushed a stubby finger into my chest. We've talked to Sir Edward Kemble,' he continued. The constable says you were sent into London to end this villainy, yet you haven't.' He waved round at his companions. ‘We are still being threatened and the letters are still being sent.' His words dropped to a whisper. "You should be careful, Master Shallot; otherwise we may have a meeting of a different sort.'
    I stood up, kicking the stool away, my hand going to the dagger in my belt. Benjamin intervened. He rose, genially thanked Mallow and his companions and, tugging me by the sleeve, took me out of the tavern. 'I could tickle his ribs with my dagger!' I swore.
    Benjamin stopped. 'And that will get us nowhere. I understand your fear, Roger. The King will not forget our future.' He pulled me into a corner of a narrow, dark