The Relic Murders

One had a crossbow bolt where his nose and mouth had been. Another, face down, also had his throat slashed from ear to ear. Cornelius rushed into the hall. Egremont's followers thronged in after us. Lord Theodosius turned, ordering some of the men to go upstairs. Cornelius came rushing out of the hall, his face ashen.
    "The coffer!' he shouted. 'The clasp is broken off and the Orb is gone!' 'Impossible!' Egremont's face went slack. Kempe glanced quickly at us but Benjamin shook his head. Egremont clapped his hands.
    'Everybody,' he shouted, 'into the hall! You and you.' He pointed to some of his retainers. 'Ride into the city! Tell the Cardinal that the Orb has gone. The ports should be watched, and guards placed on every city gate!'
    For a while confusion reigned as Egremont despatched others on different tasks. We then went into the hall: the steel chest had its lid thrown back, Berkeley's intricate locks had simply been smashed and the lid prised loose. The Orb was gone. We made a thorough search of the house. On every gallery lay a corpse. Most had their throats cut or crossbow quarrels deep in their throats or chests. Jonathan, Cornelius's lieutenant, lay on his bed, eyes staring sightlessly up, his throat one great gaping wound, the blood drenching his jerkin and the sheets beneath.
    Cornelius was beside himself. At Egremont's orders, the front door of the manor was locked and more guards posted at the gatehouse. Kempe, as mystified as the rest, simply sat in the hall staring at the empty chest. He beckoned us across.
    'No,' Benjamin replied before Sir Thomas could even question us. 'No, no, no. We saw nothing amiss.'
    The corpses were all collected and laid out in the parlour, a grisly line of fifteen cadavers. Each had died in the most horrible manner. The coffer was removed from the table, the hall cleared and guards posted outside. Egremont gathered myself, Cornelius, Benjamin and Kempe around the long trestle table. For a while he just sat, rocking himself to and fro.
    'How?' he began in no more than a whisper. 'How could this be done? Cornelius,' he snapped. 'There's no secret entrance or trap door?'
    'None and, before you ask, Lord Theodosius, no shutters open or any sign of disturbance.'
    'Then how in God's name,' Egremont replied, 'did this happen? We have fifteen men here; six royal archers, nine of the most skilled Noctales. None of them would give up their lives easily.'
    'That's what I find strange,' Benjamin intervened. 'Fifteen men were left on guard, yes?' Kempe and Egremont nodded together. 'And there are fifteen corpses laid out in the parlour?' 'I counted them myself,' Kempe replied. 'And no one was allowed in. Nor did we see anyone slip away.'
    'Anyone?' Egremont sneered. 'For heaven's sake, Master Daunbey, it would take more than one man to kill fifteen veterans.'
    We all sat in silence, chilled by his words. Egremont was right. What force, what power, what skilled group of men could despatch fifteen veterans with such ease?
    'I cannot imagine it,' Benjamin spoke up, his eyes closed. 'We have the manor guarded outside and in. Let us say an assassin strikes.' He opened his eyes. 'They might kill two or three but the alarm would be raised: all it would take is one man to cry for help. Some of them had their throats cut, which could happen in their sleep… but a crossbow bolt deep in the face? Loosed so close? They must have at least known what was happening?' He played with the ring on his finger. 'And there's something else,' he added. 'Have you noticed there's no sign of any upset? No furniture in disarray? No marks on the walls? Not a shred of evidence that these fifteen men put up even token resistance.'
    He paused as the door was flung open. One of Kempe's men entered and whispered in Sir Thomas's ear. 'What is it?' Egremont snapped.
    'We have checked the armaments,' Sir Thomas replied. 'The soldiers didn't even use their swords or daggers. The royal archers never put arrow to bow. No soldier used his weapons, with two exceptions.' He glanced across the table at Cornelius. 'Your Noctales each carried a long stabbing dirk, an arbalest and bolts. Yes?' 'Agreed.'
    'One crossbow was used and one dagger: the only weapons employed to kill fifteen men. But where did this assassin come from?' 'The cellar,' Benjamin spoke up.
    'I had it checked immediately,' Egremont retorted. 'Bare and empty as it was when we first arrived.'
    Kempe rubbed his face. 'The King's rage can only be imagined!'
    'It