"The life of the dead is set in the memory of the living."―Marcus Tullius Cicero,Philippics
In the dark courtyard of the guardpost, Bredin went through the exercises of the Iron Monks. Dolly Dalrymple had left him with three more names of women who had disappeared. Two had been street prostitutes, the third had been a girl who worked as a maid for a merchant in the town. She also thought there had been women go missing from the surrounding villages. Under the cold lights of the stars, the slow stretches of the patterns helped him still his racing thoughts.
"Herald! There's someone here wants to meet you."
Bredin turned to face the trooper who had spoken. Beside and slightly behind the trooper stood a trim figure. From the sword at his side and the dim outline of the clothes, Bredin deduced his visitor was highborn.
"How may I help you?" Bredin asked.
"Austin Halmar at your service. May we talk?"
Bredin asked the young lord to come into the guardpost. They went to the lieutenant's office, where she was still working on reports. With Inez Coffee's consent, the two took seats.
"What brings you here, Lord Austin?" Bredin asked.
"I think you have to look beyond the town." The young nobleman began. "I often go for rides in the country and go through the villages of my father's lands."
Bredin nodded.
Lord Austin went on. "I and my friends would stop in the villages for a pint or a meal. A couple of times, villagers approached us, asking for help in finding missing women."
"That could be very important, My Lord. Others have already suggested that Fenir Cartmill's activities were not confined to the town."
Lord Austin's eyes widened. "You knew already?"
"I did not know. I just had suggestions. Also, my instructors told me of the patterns in similar cases in the past. I want to know what you know." Bredin said.
"One case was three years ago. My father had just given me a new stallion for my birthday and I'd taken him for a gallop west of town." Lord Austin's expression reminded Bredin of Kensie Poldara once more. Bredin forced himself not to smile.
"We stopped in one of the villages and a couple came up to me, frantic that their daughter was missing. I heard them out and promised I would have it looked into."
"What did you do then?" Bredin asked.
"I rode straight back to town and told Uncle Valen. He told me not to worry. He said he'd look into it. Said the girl had probably run off to Haven." Austin looked troubled.
"What happened?" Bredin asked.
The young lord sighed. "I don't think he did anything. When I asked again, he told me to leave it in his hands. I passed through the village again a sennight later and saw the couple again. They told me no one had spoken to them."
"What did you do?"
"My friends and I spent the next three days searching the fields and forests around the village. We didn't find anything." Austin Halmar looked bleak.
::He chivvied his friends into helping him. He's a very serious young man.:: Lacaral put in.
"You covered the entire area?" Bredin said.
Austin looked angry. "No we didn't. Uncle Valen found out what we were doing. He came up to the residence and chewed me out in front of father. He said I was interfering. Father ordered me to stop searching."
Bredin sighed. "If it is any consolation to you, Lord Austin, it is likely that the missing daughter was already dead and buried by that time." Austin opened his mouth to protest, but Bredin silenced him with a gesture. "We cannot know that for certain, My Lord, but in all the cases we have questioned Fenir Cartmill about, he has killed his victims within two days. If the missing daughter was one of his victims, it is unlikely she was still alive when you found out."
"We don't know that!" Austin protested.
"True, we don't." Bredin said calmly. "But if word of your search had reached your Great-Uncle, it had certainly reached Fenir Cartmill. He would have killed her immediately once he knew you were looking."
Austin Halmar slumped forward, shaking his head. "They're my people. My father's people, really, but it amounts to the same thing. I have to do what is right by them."
::This young man will become the kind of Lord every nobleman should be.:: Lacaral said.
Bredin agreed privately. "You said there were other cases?" Bredin asked.
Austin looked up. "One other. In a village south of here. Two years ago a barman told me one of his serving wenches had disappeared. She was a war widow. She left behind her little boy, seven years old."
"What happened?"
"I told father that time. He said he'd have Uncle Valen look into it. I made a fuss. I said if my uncle didn't do something, I would." Lord Austin suddenly went pale. "I just remembered something."
"What?"
"Fenir Cartmill was in the room at the time I was arguing with father."
Bredin whistled. "Did anything come of it?"
"I followed up. I kept pestering Uncle Valen until he finally rode down to the village to investigate." Austin looked disgusted.
Bredin raised an eyebrow.
"What do you think he said?" Austin asked rhetorically. "'She found a man and ran off to Haven with him.'" The young lord spat the quote.
"Did you do anything?" Bredin said.
"I tried some discreet questioning. I never found anything." Austin looked bleak.
"What happened to the boy?" Bredin wanted to know.
"An aunt and uncle took him in." There was a bit of pride in the young lord's look. "I made him my ward. I give them an allowance for his care and education. He's bright and, if he lives up to what the local temple tells me, I'll sponsor him to the Artificer's Collegium in Haven."
::If he doesn't look into a pair of blue eyes first.:: Lacaral's mindvoice carried a mischievous tone.
Grateful for a tiny flicker of good in the midst of a tragedy, Bredin smiled. "That is very kind of you Lord Austin." The young man bowed his head to acknowledge the compliment. "However, I must now ask you a question that may offend you. I am sorry, but I must ask if you think your great uncle is in any way involved in these disappearances."
Lieutenant Coffee, who had stayed silent until now, snorted loudly at the question.
Austin Halmar looked disgusted. "My uncle prefers young men. A third of the watchmen in the town owe their positions to performing 'favors' for my uncle. I just can't see him being involved in the abduction of women. He just is not interested. His wife divorced him on the grounds that their marriage was never consummated."
"Who was his wife?" Bredin said.
"My mother." Inez Coffee interrupted.
Bredin flushed with embarrassment.
::You appear to have come down with a case of foot-in-mouth disease.:: Lacaral teased.
The young lord and the lieutenant laughed at Bredin's discomfiture. They reassured him they took no offence as he could not have known.
To cover himself, Bredin asked if Lord Austin had any other information.
"No. That's all I have." Austin said. With a slightly sheepish look he added. "Could I meet your Companion?"
::Tell Lord Austin I would be pleased to meet him.:: Lacaral said.
Bredin passed on Lacaral's invitation and the two young men went to the stable. After introductions, Lord Austin spoke to Lacaral by name. "I wish one of you would Choose me." He said as he stroked Lacaral's neck.
"I am afraid that is up to them." Bredin said carefully. "We just don't know why they Choose us."
Austin sighed. "I know. I know. That's what my cousin told me."
"You had a cousin who was a Herald?" Bredin asked.
"Riker was a third cousin, actually." Austin never took his eyes off Lacaral. "Styron Chose him when I was only four years old. I used to visit her every day when Riker came home from the Collegium. I never doubted Riker when he said she was as smart as a human. I wished and wished for a Companion, but none ever came for me."
::He is a very fine young man. Dutiful, honorable, honest and smart.:: Lacaral said. ::But 'no Gift, no Companion.' He will be an excellent nobleman.::
Gently, Bredin said. "You have duties as your father's heir. I am sure, when the time comes, you will serve honorably."
"That's what everyone says. But I envied Cousin Riker. I cried when I heard he died."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Bredin said.
::Riker and Styron were assigned to guard a group of Tedrel prisoners. The Tedrels broke their parole and murdered them both.:: Lacaral said.
"He was killed by Tedrels he was guarding." Austin's face looked angry. "At least, the Tedrels are gone now."
Austin looked around. "You know, I think we can do better for Lacaral than this ordinary stable." He looked back at Lacaral. "Sir, we had a pasture with a shelter that we reserved for Styron. It is still available. Would that suit you better?"
Lacaral nodded emphatically and pawed the floor.
Austin laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. I will send a man to escort you there in the morning."
Austin said farewell and left the stable. At the guardpost gate, Bredin shook the young lord's hand before he left for the residence.
###
At first light, Bredin went out to the exhumations with a troop of Lieutenant Coffee's men. He identified two more shallow graves before he and Lacaral galloped back to town. As Lord Austin promised, a liveried servant waited to escort Lacaral to the private pasture.
Bredin went to the watch post. Captain Valen was not there – the duty clerk said he would likely appear just before Bredin resumed court. "Even that's early. Captain's usually not here till a candlemark before noon."
Over the clerk's objections, Bredin let himself into the Captain's office. Seating himself at the desk, he picked up a report from one of the untidy piles.
##
"What in the nine hells are you doing in my office?" The red-faced Captain stood in the door.
Bredin had expected Captain Valen's reaction. Deliberately, he took a sip from his cup of kava. "I needed to see if there were any other reports of disappearances." He said calmly.
"You have no right to enter my office." Valen shouted.
"I realize you are busy and have many demands on your time." Bredin said. "I didn't want to disturb you just to fetch a few records."
"You can't just swan in here and take what you want."
Bredin did not point out that, as a Herald, he had the right to enter any office anywhere in Valdemar. Instead he said. "Captain, if I am constantly pestering you for one thing after another, you won't be able to get anything done."
Lacaral snorted mentally. ::He won't get anything done anyways.::
Bredin took another sip to cover his smile. "I had a candlemark before court resumed. Rather than take up your time, I came here for a quick look. I meant no offense, but if you would prefer to do the digging yourself, I can understand your wish."
"What are you after, boy?" Valen eyed Bredin suspiciously.
Bredin ignored the attempt to provoke him. "As you have heard, we have found four more graves that we didn't expect." The news shook the Captain, confirming Bredin's guess that the man hadn't bothered to learn the results of the search. "We need to match them up with old reports. I would be glad if you'd take on the task of locating them. Your knowledge and experience would be invaluable."
::Please. Not so much flattery. I am trying to enjoy this wonderful clover hay.:: Lacaral said.
::Hush. This will be easier if I don't have to fight him.::
The notion of sorting files did not please Captain Valen. He frowned as though thinking. "As you say, I am very busy. How about I give you access after court?"
Bredin smiled. "Why, thank you, Captain. That is most generous of you. I will be in your debt."
::I think I may be ill.::
The temple bell rang. Bredin rose. "Time for court. Thank you again for your assistance." He offered his hand to Valen, who shook it automatically.
##
There was a large crowd around the court. Lieutenant Coffee and her troopers had to clear a path for Bredin. Men and women on both sides called out for Bredin to help find missing daughters, sisters, wives and mothers.
"Word got round to the villages nearby." Lieutenant Coffee explained as the worked their way to the door. "People started arriving at dawn, the courtroom is already packed."
Bredin paused at the door and turned to face the crowd outside. Projecting his voice, he said. "As you have heard, we have already marked four more possible graves. We fear there may be more. I promise you that I will hear every one of you and do everything I can to find your missing loved ones. You have suffered long. It may yet take some time to get answers."
Bredin went into the court and took the bench. He repeated his little speech to those inside, then asked that the doors and the windows be opened so that those outside could hear.
The bailiff brought in Fenir Cartmill. Bredin placed the Truth Spell on him once more. "Have you killed any other women besides those we asked about yesterday?"
The prisoner's grin nauseated Bredin. "Oh, yes. Must be nearly a score of bitches I've snuffed." The bailiff slapped his head.
Bredin silenced the resulting uproar. He began with the names Dolly Dalrymple had given.
Name by name, murder by murder, Bredin built up the terrible list, stretching back to Fenir's return from the Tedrel Wars. Under the Truth Spell, Fenir revealed that his predations had begun during the war. He had used the horrors perpetrated by the Tedrels to cover his own crimes. Once back in Hunberston, Fenir had used his distant relationship to Viscount Halmar to gain a position in the nobleman's personal troops and turned his hunt for victims to the Viscount's demesne.
Viscount Halmar hung his head and shook it from side to side as Fenir spoke. At his side, Austin mirrored his father's posture.
By noon, Bredin had added another half-dozen names to the list of murdered women. Each name drew a general moan from the crowd and a cry of despair the victims' friends and relatives. For each victim, Bredin demanded the location of the body; even when Fenir did not remember where he had hidden the remains, Bredin's farsight showed him where the body lay. Only one of the new names matched to the four graves Bredin had located.
In addition to the location they had found yesterday, Fenir had buried his victims in two other areas. During a brief break in the middle of the morning, Bredin summoned Lieutenant Coffee and Viscount Halmar to the bench. He asked them to send parties out to the new locations. During lunch break, Bredin would ride out with Lacaral to give precise locations for the graves.
The lunch break finally arrived. Bredin released the Truth Spell. The session would resume in two candlemarks. When he emerged from the courthouse, there was a wild cheer from the crowd outside, which now nearly filled the square. On the top step, Bredin met a priest from the local Temple of the Twain, Father Herbert, who had taken on the task of repeating the questions and answers in the courtroom to the crowd outside. Bredin thanked the priest and asked if he would take down the names and home villages of missing persons from those seeking Bredin's help.
Lacaral waited at the foot of the steps. Bredin swung up on his back and they moved slowly forward to the edge of the crowd. Bredin repeatedly reassured them that he was only going out to locate the remains of the missing. He promised he would return for the afternoon session.
Once through the crowd, Lacaral moved into a gallop. In a quarter candlemark, they reached the first of the two new burial sites. Bredin led the waiting troopers to three graves before racing off to the other site.
They returned to Hunberston a half candlemark before the Court resumed. Bredin used the time to have a quick lunch and a short nap.
During the afternoon questioning, Bredin encountered a new problem: Fenir Cartmill simply did not know the names of some of his victims. The killer only remembered snatching the women from nearby villages before raping and murdering them. The pace of the investigation and trial slowed as Bredin painstakingly matched the names of the victims to Fenir Cartmill's recollections.
The crowd grew more frustrated as the flow of information slowed. Bredin could see the signs of anger impatience and anger building in the courtroom and hear the rising murmur of the crowd outside.
By the end of the afternoon session, Bredin had matched only three more names to the list. Though the crowd was still generally supportive as Bredin left the court, some demanded why it was taking so long and others insisted that the killer simply be hanged immediately.
Once again, Bredin and Lacaral hurried out to the exhumation sites to mark graves for the diggers and seek out graves for victims not yet known.
"I am so glad to be away from that court." Bredin said to Lacaral as they headed down the road. "It is exhausting to use the Truth Spell so much."
::Chosen, do not let yourself get a reaction headache. Don't burn yourself out.:: The Companion's mindvoice carried his concern.
"The people want answers. They want them immediately. If it means I have to drain myself, then I have to drain myself." Bredin said. "I can't postpone the inquiry."
::If you drain yourself too much, you won't be able to hold the Truth Spell.:: Lacaral cautioned. ::Then you will be forced to postpone whether you want to or not.::
"I'll try to take it easy." Bredin said. "Besides, galloping about with you helps refresh me."
::Love you.::
::Love you back.::
When Bredin returned to the town two candlemarks later, there was still a large crowd milling in the square. Seeing him approach, they surrounded him, pleading and demanding fast answers.
After promising to do all that he could, Bredin slipped into the guardpost for dinner. A trooper escorted Lacaral to the private paddock.
After dinner, Bredin walked over to the Watch station. He noticed there were still a few people in the square. Bredin let himself into Captain Valen's office once more. He sat and began sorting through the reports.
The sun set while Bredin worked, patiently sorting the reports and putting them into order. His exasperation rose as the state of the Watch post became clear. The investigation of the murdered women was only one example of the lax, shoddy work of Captain Valen Halmar. Bredin sighed. After he finished dealing with Fenir Cartmill, there was a lot more work to do in Hunberston.
After two candlemarks, Bredin heard noise from the square, growing louder by the moment. As he rose to find out the cause, a watchman burst into the office.
"Herald, there's a mob outside. They say they're going to hang Cartmill." The watchman looked terrified.
Bredin hurried to the front of the Watch station. A mob stood outside, demanding that the killer be turned over to them.
::Coming, Chosen!:: Lacaral said as Bredin stepped outside.
'At some point, you are going to face a mob.' Kyril had told Bredin and his yearmates. 'The most important thing to do is remain calm and act like you are in control.'
Bredin stood in the light of the lantern over the door. He noticed that he had carried his cup with him. Deliberately, he took a long sip of kava. "What may I do for you gentlemen and ladies?"
"We want Cartmill." Several voices called out.
"We're going to string him up." Said a large man near the front.
Bredin sat down on the step. He took another sip. "Why?"
"Because he's a killer!" The large man said.
Bredin nodded. "He's been convicted of murder."
"So he should hang!" The man said. The mob behind him shouted agreement.
"The law in Valdemar says that the penalty for murder is death." Bredin agreed. He sipped some more kava.
"So hang him!" Several people shouted.
"Once the proper forms have been observed, he will hang." Bredin said.
"Why wait? We don't need your paperwork." The large man stared angrily at Bredin.
Bredin sipped once more. "Oh, but you do."
The large man looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"
Bredin rolled his shoulders. "No one in Valdemar may be put to death unless a Herald or High Justice has passed sentence and signed a Death Warrant."
"So sign the Death Warrant." The man sneered. "We'll take care of the rest."
"Not until my investigation is complete." Bredin stared at the man.
"To hell with your Death Warrant. We'll hang him now!" The man shouted. The mob agreed.
"Oh? And who are you?" Bredin leaned back against the door. He could see troopers from the guard post hurrying across the square as he spoke.
"None of your business, Herald. Out of the way."
It was the fastest Bredin had ever set the Truth Spell. "It is my business. I asked your name! Tell me your name!" Bredin snapped, using the command voice.
Several in the mob gasped as the blue glow surrounded the leader. A few stepped back slightly. The man's jaw worked as he tried to fight the Truth Spell. "Dornan Loedel." He gasped out finally.
"So, Goodman Loedel, you wish to commit murder."
Still surrounded by the blue glow, Dornan looked outraged. "Killing a killer isn't murder." The Truth Spell wavered.
Bredin took another sip. "You don't seem very sure of that, Dornan Loedel. Under the law, you are wrong. I could tell of a dozen cases where Heralds have hanged men who have taken justice into their own hands. I have no wish to hang you."
Lieutenant Coffee's troopers moved in, forming a wall in front of the Watch station as the chiming of Lacaral's hooves signalled the Companion's arrival. Austin Halmar pushed through the crowd, escorted by several of the Viscount's men. Dornan Loedel slumped his shoulders, acknowledging defeat. The crowd fell silent. A few moved away.
Bredin stood. He took another sip of kava. Raising his voice to carry over the crowd, Bredin said. "The full measure of the laws of Valdemar will be carried out and Fenir Cartmill will pay the penalty for his crimes.
"I still do not know the full measure of those crimes. Until he has revealed that and how he evaded detection for so long, I will not allow him to carry his secrets to his grave."
The crowd began to move away. "And one more thing." They turned back to him. "Until we find the graves of all the missing, until their names and fates are known, until someone speaks for them, they will not have justice. Heralds owe justice not merely to the wicked, but to their victims."
Slowly, the mob dispersed and moved away. Bredin stood silent, watching until the last of them were gone.
"We're going to have to get you a stronger belt." Lieutenant Coffee said.
Bredin looked at her. "What do you mean?"
She grinned at him. "We have to make sure your pants don't fall down with the weight of those balls in them."