The Angry Boy Chapter 74
"There is no more dangerous menace to civilization than a government of incompetent, corrupt or vile men." – Ludwig von Mises
"I've dismissed about a third of the Watchmen already." Lieutenant Coffee said as she dined with Bredin and Mani. "They were really nothing more than bully-boys who hadn't a clue about the law. I've installed Austin Halmar as my assistant. He's young, but he's got a brain."
Mani looked at her curiously. "I thought you agreed with Bredin that there was already too much nepotism going on here."
"Oh, there is." She agreed. "But Austin has an absolutely burning desire to do the right thing. He's too young to be put in charge alone, but he's smart and has studied the law pretty thoroughly. He's very serious about his responsibilities as heir."
"He's not one of the 'Court Nobles', then?" Mani asked.
"Not at all. He'd be in the guard already if his father would let him."
A trooper approached their table and saluted. "Excuse me, Sirs, but there are two Heralds approaching from the west."
Lacaral had said there were others coming. Bredin wondered who they were.
::Herald Corey and your yearmate Lars.:: Lacaral said. ::They were in the Vineyard Hills circuit, just to the West.::
"How long before they arrive, private?" Lieutenant Coffee asked.
"About half a candlemark, Sir."
Mani explained to Lieutenant Coffee that, in view of the bad situation in Hunberston, the Heralds had decided to make a thorough cleanup.
"How did it get so bad, Mani?" Bredin asked. "I thought most towns got a review every couple of years."
"It's been four years since Hunberston had a Herald come though." The Lieutenant said. "I wasn't here at the time, but my predecessor said the last Herald made a very brief stop."
"Larger towns with their own Magistrates and Lords usually only get visits every two years. It's the towns and villages with no local authorities that need the Heralds most. So we tend to spend little time in places like Hunberston." Mani explained.
"The Herald who came through four years ago had no cases that came to her, so all appeared well." He went on.
"I think Valen was telling people not to 'make waves' even back then." Lieutenant Coffee put in.
"That is no surprise." Mani said. "The Herald wrote in her report that something did not feel quite right. Usually there are at least a few cases brought to us. There was a large bandit raid on the Hardorn border that called her away before she could dig deeper.
"Two years ago, the Herald had to help fight forest fires. There were no serious complaints or irregularities coming out of here, so Hunberston didn't get a review."
"Partly Valen 'discouraging' people again." The lieutenant said. "But Royce Halmar is a good magistrate as well. He really tries hard to get a fair solution. He's well respected."
"So." Bredin said. "Between the Captain covering up problems and the Magistrate being very scrupulous about those problems that aren't covered up, everything looks fine."
Lieutenant Coffee shook her head. "You make it sound like they were colluding. They weren't. They detest one another. Each kept pressing Viscount Gustav to dismiss the other. Gustav simply was too interested in family peace, even at the expense of keeping an incompetent like Valen in his position."
"I've seen that before." Mani said. "Some nobles see their fiefs as nothing more than a source of favors to dispense on their families and friends."
The lieutenant shook her head again. "I don't think Gustav does that consciously. He's just indecisive and easily swayed. Give him a clear direction and he'll do the right thing. He won't try to put Valen back once you are gone."
The trooper interrupted once more to say that the new Heralds were approaching the Guard post. Mani, Bredin and the lieutenant rose and went outside to meet Corey and Lars.
The two were just dismounting in the courtyard of the guard post as Mani and Bredin came out.
Mani and Corey knew each other from their Collegium days. Though Corey had been two years ahead of Mani, they had shared a few classes and had sometimes worked together during the Tedrel Wars.
Lars greeted Bredin enthusiastically and introduced him to Herald Corey. Corey was in his late thirties with black hair. He had a large scar on the right side of his face, otherwise his features were regular on his square face. In turn, Bredin introduced Lars to Herald Mani.
The four Heralds quickly untacked Corey's Viveka and Lars' Cealine. Lieutenant Coffee offered Corey and Lars the use of her sergeants' quarters, but they opted to stay at the White Hart inn rather than displace the sergeants.
The summer sun was still well above the horizon, so Bredin and Mani walked with Lars, Corey and their Companions to the pasture where Lacaral and Caiseal waited.
When Bredin joked that Lacaral was going to be a herd stallion, Viveka and Corey snorted.
There was a mental shudder from Lacaral. ::Don't even suggest that. Mom would have my hide!::
::Mom?:: Bredin queried his Companion.
::Viveka is my dam.:: Lacaral explained.
Bredin glanced at Viveka. The mare snorted again. Her eye glinted with amusement as she stamped a hoof emphatically.
Once the Companions were settled, the four Heralds returned to the Guard post. Taking a corner of the now-empty mess hall, they discussed the case and the situation in Hunberston. Corey agreed with Mani that Bredin should continue to conduct the trial and inquiry into the murders. The other three Herald would take turns holding the Truth Spell on Cartmill. When they were not helping Bredin, the others would be working on whatever the clerks reviewing the Watch post records turned up or feeding the information to Bredin.
Though the next day was Rest Day, they decided not to take a break. The townspeople wanted a resolution and needed to know the fates of their loved ones.
##
By mid-morning, two things had become apparent: Fenir Cartmill did not care enough about his victims to even remember their names and some disappearances had nothing to do with him. The first disgusted Bredin; how could anyone be so callous and cruel? The second terrified him; was there another killer?
"Pinkie Moad disappeared from Alton during Planting Moon last year. Are you sure you weren't there? It's about twelve miles southeast of here." Bredin prompted.
"I was nowhere near Alton last spring. I went with Viscount Halmar to Haven that spring." The blue glow of the Truth Spell did not waver. Bredin glanced at Gustav Halmar, who nodded.
Before Bredin could ask another question, Fenir Cartmill added. "Was she a looker? I might have missed a chance there." Several people shouted angrily. The bailiff cuffed him on the head. Bredin banged his gavel for order.
Bredin asked Cartmill several more questions, checking for ways in which the killer might have been involved in Pinkie Moad's disappearance. Bredin could not make anything fit and the Truth Spell confirmed Cartmill's answers.
Through Lacaral and Cealine, Bredin asked Lars to come over. He conferred briefly with his yearmate, explaining the problem. By the time he had finished conferring with Lars, Cealine arrived at the Guard post. Lars saddled his Companion and headed for Alton.
Bredin continued the gruesome business of matching names to Fenir Cartmill's recollections of his crimes. Cartmill could remember the killings and describe them in horrific detail, but was so indifferent to the victims that their names and faces meant nothing to him. By the end of the day, Bredin had painstakingly identified three more of the murdered women. Unfortunately, he had added two more unexplained disappearances.
At dinner, Bredin talked to Mani and Corey about the ones which did not seem to be due to Cartmill's predations.
"There are always people disappearing without explanation." Herald Corey said. "Sometimes it's sinister, but more often it is simply people running away or getting lost. The last can be tragedy. I've found the bodies of missing people less than a mile from their homes."
Bredin grimaced. "I more or less promised that I would find all of the missing."
Mani arched his eyebrows. "Why did you make a promise when you didn't know the facts?"
Bredin shrank a little. "I assumed that the missing women could all be laid to the actions of Cartmill."
"That little word 'assume' comes back to bite you." Mani said.
"Be fair, Mani." Corey protested. "He had no way of knowing there were so many disappearances."
"We've been asked about missing people in every village since he joined me." Mani countered. "How many have we found?" He looked at Bredin.
Bredin thought quickly. "One." He said. "That girl who ran off to Winefold with her sweetheart."
"And how did we find her?" Mani asked. "Did we use your farsight?"
"Her friend visited us at the waystation and showed us letters." Bredin admitted.
"Why did her friend come to us at the waystation?" Mani asked.
"Because she didn't want to let the missing girl's parents know where she was." Bredin said softly.
"Exactly. So you knew that people sometimes just run away." Mani said. "Why did you think it would be any different here?"
"I'm sorry." Bredin said. "I just didn't think it through."
Mani's expression softened and he sighed. "It's a Greenie mistake. You meant well. Just remember to think before you speak. Even when people want fast answers."
As Mani spoke, Lars finally returned from Alton. The mess orderly put a plate in front of him. Lars picked up a fork and said "Pinkie Moad was not one of Cartmill's victims."
The others allowed him to wolf down his meal before he explained.
"The first thing that I found out was that she took her clothes and some money with her. Actually, she took the family's savings. She'd gone to bed the night before but left sometime in the night. No one actually saw her leave.
"Then I found out she'd been seen with a young man a few times in the days before she left. His description definitely did not match Cartmill." Lars blushed slightly. "I am sure it wasn't Cartmill. I'll get back to that."
"I questioned the other villagers about the young man. They had vague recollections of him going off towards Esterlyn - the next village - just before Pinkie disappeared. Since I had no better lead, I headed in that direction."
Lars blushed again. "I found the spot where she met her swain. A rather prominent oak grove. My hindsight showed me their meeting. Let's just say that the meeting was very intimate."
The others chuckled and Lars went on. "I could See clearly that the young man was not Cartmill. I continued to Esterlyn. I checked with the local priest there. He handfasted them. I saw the record on the register."
Corey whistled. "That was rather loose. Most priests won't wed a couple right off."
Lars shrugged. "Father Papert seemed rather more interested in his wine than his Calling. In any case, I was able to return to Alton and reassured Pinkie Moad's parents that she was not the victim of foul play. I told them she was handfasted but that they'd have to find out anything further for themselves."
"Damn right." Corey said. "Last thing we want to do is get involved in family business."
Mani nodded agreement. "Now that the easy identifications are out of the way, you are going to see more people coming forward with the names of loved ones who are not among Cartmill's victims."
##
Mani's prediction proved correct. The next day, Bredin succeeded in identifying only one more of Cartmill's victims. There were five missing people Bredin could not place among the horrible toll. Under the Truth Spell, Cartmill denied killing them; the Truth Spell confirmed his words. In two of the cases, there were signs that the missing had run off on their own.
In a third case, a friend confessed that he had received letters from the missing girl. He revealed that she was now living in Three Rivers. Bredin confirmed his story under the Truth Spell.
The last two cases involved children less than ten years old. When questioned about them Cartmill exploded angrily "I do not rape or kill children!" The Truth Spell never wavered.
In response to Cartmill's angry outburst, Bredin said. "At least there are some evils too great for you." Bredin wondered at Cartmill's smirk.
At the end of the day, a heartsick Bredin returned to the Guard post. Lacaral waited in the courtyard, fully saddled. Mani stood beside Lacaral, but Caiseal was nowhere to be seen. "Are we going somewhere?" Bredin asked.
::Yes. For a gallop.:: Lacaral replied. ::You need a break from this. If I am wearing a saddle, the townspeople will assume you are 'doing something important' rather than taking time to relax.::
::Shouldn't I be working on the missing?:: Bredin asked.
::You have been working on it non-stop for five days.:: Lacaral said. ::If you don't rest your mind, you are going to go stale. You could miss something important.::
Bredin glanced at Mani. "Go for a good long gallop." His mentor said.
They shot out of the town gate at a gallop. Once out of sight of the town, Lacaral turned off the road. For two glorious candlemarks, they raced along narrow trails through the trees. Rather than leaping streams, Lacaral splashed through them, spraying Bredin with water. Bredin laughed.
At the end of the ride, Lacaral trotted back to the town. Relieved and refreshed, Bredin smiled at the guards as he passed through the gate.
"Something important, Herald?" One of the guards called.
Bredin smiled at him. "Yes, very important."
At dinner that night, the four Heralds discussed the case. There remained two unidentified bodies. Bredin's careful questioning of Cartmill indicated, if he could identify who the victims were, the two would complete the full roster of his crimes in Hunberston. None of them could see any way to find his victims in the south during the Tedrel Wars; Bredin concluded sadly that he could resolve those murders.
Lars said he could go out to the places where Bredin had found the graves. With his hindsight, he might be able to 'See' the victims as they were buried and get images of their faces or something that would identify them.
Herald Corey suggested that Healer Weems could try to match the remains with bits of hair or personal items from the four or five most likely names on the list of the missing. "That's what we would be doing if we'd found the victims before we found the criminal." He said.
The four were still talking when Lieutenant Coffee approached and joined them. "Bad news, I am afraid. Some of my troopers were at the White Hart tonight. People are speculating that Cartmill killed all the missing, including the children. They're saying he found a way to fool the Truth Spell."
Lars cursed the foolishness. Mani said, "I've seen that kind of thing before." Corey agreed with Mani.
"I'm not surprised." Bredin said. For the benefit of Herald Corey and Lieutenant Coffee, he repeated the story of the fantastic speculations that had followed Kensie Poldara's disgrace in the Final Battle.
"Nothing like a rumor and a grudge to make a story grow." Corey said.
##
Before the trial began in the morning, Bredin explained the change in plan to the crowd. He could see nods of agreement. "Good idea." Royce Halmar agreed loudly. No one objected.
With Fenir Cartmill watching from the dock, Bredin called the relatives of missing women forward to draw out details that might be useful.
Sandor Fekete was the third person to come forward. Sandor started to tell how his wife Tilme had disappeared. Bredin blinked in shock as his farsight showed him where Tilme's body lay. Carefully concealing his thoughts, Bredin asked Sandor for details.
In the meantime, Bredin mindspoke Lars, who had already returned from his visit to the gravesites of the unidentified bodies. Bredin asked his yearmate to take some troopers to Roslea, giving him specific instructions where to look. Lars and the troopers went out the north gate unnoticed.
Once Sandor Fekete had run out of words, Bredin blandly asked him to remain for the day, saying he would look more closely into Tilme's disappearance in the afternoon.
By the end of the morning, Bredin had a list of thirteen more missing people, including seven women, two men and four children. Fenir Cartmill denied killing any of them.
Only in the case of Tilme Fekete and one of the men did Bredin get any sense of a body. For the missing man, Bredin had vague indications of remains scattered over a wide area, as though the man had died alone and his body devoured by scavengers.
In the afternoon, Bredin had just completed interviewing the relatives of missing people when Lars and Cealine galloped into the square. Bredin interrupted the hearing to confer with his yearmate.
By pre-arrangement, Herald Corey and two Guardsmen moved in quietly behind Sandor Fekete. Bredin turned away from Lars. He pointed at the man. "Sandor Fekete, I arrest you for the murder of your wife Tilme Fekete."
There were shouts and screams as the Guardsmen seized Sandor.
Bredin returned to the bench. He ordered Sandor be taken to the cells. His trial would begin as soon as the trial of Fenir Cartmill ended.
With no more names to be added to the list, Bredin turned to finding out how Fenir Cartmill had evaded exposure for so long. Two people had come forward saying that they wondered about Cartmill, both had made written reports to Valen Halmar. Sir Prescott and the other clerks could find no trace of the reports in the Watch post.
Fenir Cartmill revealed how he had ingratiated himself with the former Captain, procuring young men who, in return for a position in the Watch, would perform 'favors' for Valen Halmar. Cartmill spoke contemptuously of how he plied Valen Halmar with small gifts and flattery, winning the Captain's trust and confidence.
Valen Halmar had trusted Cartmill, granting the killer access to the Watch station. Cartmill made a show of 'assisting' the Captain on cases unrelated to the murders and 'helping' him with paperwork.
Cartmill gloated over removing reports that might have implicated him. Even before the murder of Becky Sharp caused an outcry, Cartmill had encouraged Valen Halmar to dismiss Dolly Dalrymple's complaints. "Who cares about whores?" He had said and the Captain echoed him.
When there were searches, Cartmill had joined the search parties and assigned himself to the area where he had buried the bodies. He would lead his group on a cursory pass through the area, then take them to an inn, where they would spend the day drinking.
Cartmill fed Valen Halmar fictitious reports that the missing women had been sighted in distant villages and towns 'with another man.'
When Viscount Gustav ordered the Captain to send for a Herald, Cartmill persuaded Valen Halmar to lie to his nephew, saying the Herald refused to come. Cartmill even forged a letter from a Herald for the Captain to take to the Viscount.
Cartmill was contemptuous of his dupe. He referred to Valen Halmar as a 'fat fool' and boasted of deceiving him.
His words enraged the crowd. Bredin thought it for the best that Valen Halmar did not attend the inquiry. The crowd would have torn him apart.
Cartmill's testimony finished and Bredin ended the hearing for the day. Privately, Bredin concluded that the problem was not Cartmill's deceits, but Valen Halmar's indolence and indifference. Had Valen Halmar been at all conscientious, he would have exposed the killer years ago.
Bredin vowed he would never allow himself to leave his job undone.
::Not that you were ever inclined to, Chosen.:: Lacaral said. ::Besides, I wouldn't let you.::
::I have a nag to nag me.:: Bredin teased. Lacaral snorted.
Bredin checked with Lars and Healer Weems. They had already identified one of the two remaining bodies; they thought they would know the name of the other within a candlemark. Bredin welcomed the news. Armed with the information, he should be able to finish the trial of Fenir Cartmill tomorrow.
Lacaral waited at the Guard post again today. Bredin saddled his Companion himself and mounted.
Austin Halmar was waiting in the street, mounted on his horse. "May I ride with you, Herald?" The young lord asked.
Bredin would have preferred to be alone with Lacaral, but agreed.
"Where are you going?" Lord Austin asked.
"I have no destination in mind." Bredin said. "I just wanted to take time to refresh my mind."
"In that case, may I suggest we ride east? There are some fine views out that way."
Bredin agreed and the two trotted out the east gate.
"I hope we won't hold you back." Lord Austin said. "Blood, here, is a fine horse, but he is no match for Lacaral."
Bredin glanced at the stallion. Like Kensie Poldara's horse, Lord Austin's 'Blood' was a liver chestnut. He smiled and told Lord Austin of the coincidence.
Lord Austin laughed. "I'd heard of him. Well, 'steel won't put me to flight'."
Bredin winced at Lord Austin's words. He told the young lord that he had known Kensie Poldara since childhood, when he had actually been Kensie's vassal. Bredin omitted his quarrels with Kensie, saying only that Kensie had proved himself in coming to the Queen's rescue and later in the Guard.
"After his stallion died in battle, Kensie was Chosen by a Companion. Lacaral's brother, in fact."
::A very fair summary.:: Lacaral said.
::It felt odd to praise him.:: Bredin replied.
Lord Austin expressed surprise at the story. "I guess I shouldn't just take other people's word for things." He said.
Lacaral snorted.
"I'd like to join the guard. Papa won't let me." Lord Austin said.
"How old are you, Lord Austin?" Bredin asked.
"I will be seventeen at Midwinter."
"You don't need your father's consent once you are seventeen." Bredin pointed out.
::Chosen! You are meddling!:: Lacaral scolded.
"Papa would kill me!" Austin said.
"Many nobles consider it an obligation." Bredin pointed out.
"Papa has told me stories about his years in the Guard." The young lord said meditatively.
"I can't counsel you to disobey your father." Bredin said.
::'Oh, please don't make me eat that cake!':: Lacaral said sarcastically. Bredin ignored him.
"I'll have to think about it." Lord Austin said. "It would cause a frightful row, but I don't think papa would disinherit me."
::I doubt Viscount Gustav has the spine to do that anyways.:: Lacaral said.
The two returned to Hunberston just before dinner. Bredin met briefly with Lars and Healer Weems, learning that they had now identified the last of the bodies.
##
"Fenir Cartmill, by my Authority as Herald to the Queen and to Valdemar, I find you guilty of the abduction, rape and murder of Laelle Richman. I find you guilty of the abduction, rape and murder…." One by one, Bredin read out the list of the victims, nineteen in total from the Death Warrant prepared by Royce Halmar. "For these crimes, I condemn you to death by hanging."
Bredin signed the Death Warrant. His hand trembled only slightly as he did so. He looked up at Cartmill. "I regret that I do not have the information or the ability to identify those you killed during your time in the Guard in the war. It was a kind of treason to so betray those you were sworn to protect, as it was also a betrayal of your liege lord and his vassals when you killed those under his protection while you were sworn to him."
The crowd cheered and applauded when Bredin finished. Bredin felt a touch of nausea.
Fenir Cartmill sneered. "What? No prayer for the Gods to have mercy on my soul?"
Bredin stared back impassively. "I do not trouble the Gods with prayers I do not believe."
At Bredin's nod, the guards marched Cartmill to the gallows, which had been erected days before.
Cartmill lost his sneer when he saw them. He began to scream and shout, fighting the guards as they wrestled him up the stairs. They placed a hood on his head and bound him hand and foot before positioning him on the trap door. Bredin noted a wet stain spreading down Cartmill's pants as the hangman tightened the noose.
Bredin nodded and the hangman sprang the trap. The crowd screamed as Fenir Cartmill plunged downwards. The rope snapped Fenir Cartmill's neck as it jerked his body to a stop.
[Author's note: Chapters 70 to 74 are dedicated to the missing women of the "Highway of Tears."
No Herald has yet come for them.]