"We need to find decisive proof that she was involved in Jon Arryn's death." Catelyn said.
Ned looked at his wife and wondered why she'd decided to share this information with Petyr Baelish, a man who may have been her friend when they were children, but a man who she had not seen in years.
He looked at Baelish and saw something in his eyes. Something that made Ned feel uneasy. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was there.
When Baelish spoke, his tone was questioning. "Why do you think that the Queen had something to do with Jon's death?"
Catelyn looked at him then and Ned sighed, they were in it now, there was no point being coy. "Because we received a letter from Lysa claiming as much. She said that the Lannisters were responsible for his death." Ned said.
Ned noticed the same look enter Baelish's eyes then, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "Did she say why she thought this?" He asked.
"No." Ned said simply. "Do you know why she might say something like this?"
Baelish shook his head. "I did not really socialise with Lysa before she left. She had become very withdrawn before Jon died. But I do know that things were not good between Jon and the Lannisters at court."
"What do you mean?" Ned asked. He wondered why the man had not mentioned this before at that council meeting where Ned had specifically asked this. Maybe it was because Cat was here?
"Jon was trying to reduce their influence and he was trying to find ways to reduce the debt that the crown owed to Tywin Lannister. All things that weren't popular with the Lannister faction at court." Baelish said.
"But would that be enough to have them have him killed?" Catelyn asked. "I do not think so. Tywin Lannister does not strike me as a man who would take unreasonable actions."
"You're right, Cat." Baelish said. Smiling in a way that made Ned's hackles rise.
"So, what?" Ned asked.
"There is more." Baelish said. "Before he died, Jon was meeting a lot with Stannis Baratheon. I do not know what they were talking about, but the rumours were that Stannis was plotting something."
"Stannis Baratheon plotting something?" Catelyn said. "That doesn't sound right."
"Stannis hasn't been at court since Jon died." Ned said. "He's not answered a summons to return. He is not the man I thought he was."
"That makes it sound like Stannis might have had a hand in killing Jon Arryn, not the Queen." Catelyn pointed out.
"There's more." Baelish said. "Before he died, Jon had come to me asking if there was anything odd about the Queen's accounts. Given her treasurer has to submit everything to me for oversight, I had a look through the books again and couldn't find anything unusual. At least in the initial books. But then I went back to the start of her tenure as Queen and found several payments that were made to an establishment here in the city."
"What establishment?" Ned asked, hating how vague the man was being about this.
"An establishment for orphaned boys. The payments were enough to feed, house and clothe one boy. They lasted for six years and then stopped. Only to resume for a brief period after Prince Tommen was born. They stopped after Prince Tommen's third nameday. At around that time, there was another set of payments to a nurse maid named Gyrtha. A nurse maid who was with the Queen from the time she was a child."
"And these payments were all for select times and then stopped?" Ned asked.
"Yes. I brought this to Jon's attention, and he said he would investigate it some more. But a few days' later he fell ill and died." Baelish said.
"And you think the Queen found out and had him killed for it?" Ned asked.
"Yes." Baelish said. "But to prove that you won't find the evidence by charging around like a headless bull. You will need to work with someone who knows how to fade into the shadows and not stand out."
"You mean you." Ned said.
"Yes." Baelish smiling a smile that caused Ned to feel his hackles rise again.
"And what do you get out of this?" Ned asked.
Baelish laughed. "You've truly embraced the cynicism of King's Landing. The only thing I get out of this is to see justice done."
"Fine, where do we start?" Ned asked.
"Well for starters, Cat, you're going to have to return to Winterfell. We can't have the Queen finding out you're here." Baelish said. Catelyn nodded. "And then we look at those accounts and we find out where the places the payments went to are."
"Very well." Ned said. He hoped this would be the right decision.