The House of the Red Slayer

exist. It’s only a question of finding the path in. Sometimes it can be by the smallest chink of light.’ Anselm would then cast a beady eye on Athelstan. ‘Always remember that, young Athelstan. It applies as much in the realm of metaphysics as it does to a day’s ordinary events.’
    Athelstan closed his eyes. ‘I still remember that, Father,’ he murmured. ‘God rest you.’ He arranged his writing tray, marshalled his thoughts and dipped the grey goose quill into the ink, cursing when he found it was cold. He held the pot over the candle to warm it and hastily re-read the memoranda he had written when he was in the Tower. Once the ink was heated he carefully listed his conclusions.
    Primo — despite being well protected, Sir Ralph Whitton had been slain in the North Bastion tower. Sir Ralph had slept behind a locked door to which he held the key, as did the guards outside. The door to the passageway in which the chamber stood was also locked; again the keys were shared with his trusted bodyguard. Yet all these precautions had been brought to nothing. His assassin had apparently entered the chamber by crossing the frozen moat and, using footholds in the Tower wall, had climbed up, unlatched the window, entered and slain Sir Ralph.
    Secundo — the assassin must have known the Tower well to use these footholds, yet why didn’t the clamour of the shutters being opened, not to mention the assassin’s entry into the chamber, arouse Sir Ralph? The buckle from Sir Fulke’s boot had been found on the ice. Was this a clue to the possible murderer?
    Tertio — the young man, Parchmeiner, had been the first person to try and rouse Sir Ralph but the chamber had only been opened by Master Colebrooke the lieutenant. Did Sir Ralph’s second-in- command have a role in this murder?
    Athelstan gazed at what he had written, shook his head and smiled. ‘No, no!’ he whispered. ‘All that must wait.’ Quarto — Mowbray had been killed by a fall from the parapet but how had he slipped? Who had rung the tocsin bell? Who had been absent from Mistress Philippa’s chamber? Only two: Fitzormonde and Colebrooke.
    Again, Athelstan shook his head.
    Quinto — Alderman Horne’s death. Athelstan made a face. No clues there whatsoever.
    Sexto — Fitzormonde’s death? He and Cranston had seen that the bear’s chain could have been clasped more securely, and Fitzormonde was in the habit of staring at the bear. But who had been the assassin who fired the bolt and roused the beast to such a murderous rage?
    Septimo — Sir Ralph and others had died because of their terrible treachery towards Sir Bartholomew Burghgesh. Had Burghgesh died on that ship so many years ago or had he returned to England? The vicar of Woodforde claimed to have seen him, as had the landlord of the ale-house there. Was this the same mysterious person the landlord at the Golden Mitre tavern had also glimpsed? If so, Burghgesh had been seen by at least three people around Advent three years ago, the same time Sir Ralph Whitton had been in such a state of deep distress. But if Burghgesh had survived and returned to England, how and where was he hiding now? One further problem: Sir Ralph’s distress had apparently diminished. Surely this would not have happened if Burghgesh had survived? Sir Ralph would only have taken comfort had he appeared three years ago and died.
    Octavo — whoever had sent the sinister notes to Whitton and the others must have access to the Tower. Did Burghgesh or his son, hidden in the city, send their messages and accomplices into the Tower?
    Nono — who stood to profit from the murders? Colebrooke? He wanted promotion and knew the Tower well. He had been present in the Tower when all three had died. Sir Fulke? He, too, benefited from his brother’s death; his buckle had been found on the ice outside the North Bastion tower. He also knew the Tower well and had been there when the two hospitallers perished. Rastani? A stealthy, subtle man who might have taken his own vow of vengeance against Sir Ralph and his companions. He knew the fortress well and had been present when the hospitallers died.
    Athelstan shook his head. The same applied to Hammond, that rather sinister chaplain. Or was it Mistress Philippa in collusion with her lover? And what about Red Hand, the mad man who perhaps was more sane than he appeared?
    Athelstan looked up and gasped. Red Hand! The hunchbacked albino had mentioned secret dungeons being bricked up,