to viewing the body?’ I asked.
Samson looked at me suspiciously. ‘View, yes. Examine, no. The coroner will want to see it intact.’ He looked round at the three of us. ‘Well if there’s nothing else, brothers. I will of course report any developments to the convent in full chapter. Walter, stay a moment.’
Now what? Samson waited until the other two had left.
‘I’d like you to go to the abbot-legate,’ he said lowering his voice. ‘See if you can give him something to calm his nerves. He was very close to Brother Fidele. His murder has affected him more than he’s pretending.’
‘He seemed to be coping quite well to me,’ I sniffed. ‘But of course I’ll see what I can do. Do you still want me to go to Ely? I am technically a witness.’
‘Yes, go. There’s no point in your hanging around. There’s bound to be an inquest but that won’t be for a while and I don’t want this Lakenheath business dragging on.’ He leaned back heavily in his chair. ‘This murder is very inconvenient.’
‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘Very annoying.’
He glared at me. ‘I meant coming just now. I need the abbot of Fly to remain focussed on this Lakenheath issue. Naturally I don’t expect him to give priority to our problem after what has happened. But it doesn’t diminish its importance. Tragic as Brother Fidele’s death is we mustn’t lose sight of everything else.’
‘Very well, father.’ I got up to leave.
‘Just before you go,’ he said putting up a hand, ‘perhaps you’d like to tell me why you were asking to view the body.’
I contrived to look guileless. ‘Can a brother not pay his respects to a deceased fellow monk?’
‘Anyone else, yes. But you don’t ask questions about bodies for no reason. What have you noticed about this one?’
In truth I didn’t really know. I shrugged. ‘Probably nothing. I daresay I’ll just say a prayer to Saint Denis and the Virgin and make a small donation to the poor.’
He looked at me sceptically. ‘Well you’ve got until tomorrow. Then I want you in Ely smoothing the ruffled feathers of Bishop Eustace.’ He gave an ironic snort. ‘Ely and Fly.’
‘Father?’
‘Ely and Fly. Have you not noticed how just one letter separates the two names? And not even a complete letter. Just a tick between them.’
I hadn’t noticed.
‘Eels and Flies. Do eels catch flies or do flies catch eels?’ He shuddered and shook his head. ‘I’ll be happy when I’m rid of them both.’
Downstairs I found Jocellus waiting for me.
‘What did Samson want?’
I told him about Eustache and his nerves.
‘I was hoping he might have said something about keeping the market open.’
‘No such luck, I’m afraid. He’ll close the market for the day if only out of respect for the dead man.’
‘As long as it is only for a day. I have merchants on my back needing to offload barrels of fish. And with Easter week coming up.’ He shook his head.
‘I’m sure we’ll settle this before then and things will be back to normal.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
We started to walk together across the great court. I chortled. ‘What about old Jocelin standing up to Eustache like that? Who’d have thought it?’
‘What? Oh yes, divine retribution,’ he nodded.
‘I think he just grew a little tired of the abbot’s constant sniping. Jocelin can be prickly at times. He doesn’t like disruptions to his routines.’
‘It’s this murder. It’s left all of us on edge. Did I hear you say you were going to view the body?’
I nodded. ‘Though I don’t know what I expect to see. It was something Samson said that reminded me, but I’m not sure of what.’
‘Would you like me to come with you? Two heads are often better than one.’
‘No. It might if I knew what I was looking for. But thank you anyway.’
I left Jocellus at the cellarer’s gate and went over to my laboratorium to pick up my herb satchel. Then I made my reluctant way over to the senior
Samson looked at me suspiciously. ‘View, yes. Examine, no. The coroner will want to see it intact.’ He looked round at the three of us. ‘Well if there’s nothing else, brothers. I will of course report any developments to the convent in full chapter. Walter, stay a moment.’
Now what? Samson waited until the other two had left.
‘I’d like you to go to the abbot-legate,’ he said lowering his voice. ‘See if you can give him something to calm his nerves. He was very close to Brother Fidele. His murder has affected him more than he’s pretending.’
‘He seemed to be coping quite well to me,’ I sniffed. ‘But of course I’ll see what I can do. Do you still want me to go to Ely? I am technically a witness.’
‘Yes, go. There’s no point in your hanging around. There’s bound to be an inquest but that won’t be for a while and I don’t want this Lakenheath business dragging on.’ He leaned back heavily in his chair. ‘This murder is very inconvenient.’
‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘Very annoying.’
He glared at me. ‘I meant coming just now. I need the abbot of Fly to remain focussed on this Lakenheath issue. Naturally I don’t expect him to give priority to our problem after what has happened. But it doesn’t diminish its importance. Tragic as Brother Fidele’s death is we mustn’t lose sight of everything else.’
‘Very well, father.’ I got up to leave.
‘Just before you go,’ he said putting up a hand, ‘perhaps you’d like to tell me why you were asking to view the body.’
I contrived to look guileless. ‘Can a brother not pay his respects to a deceased fellow monk?’
‘Anyone else, yes. But you don’t ask questions about bodies for no reason. What have you noticed about this one?’
In truth I didn’t really know. I shrugged. ‘Probably nothing. I daresay I’ll just say a prayer to Saint Denis and the Virgin and make a small donation to the poor.’
He looked at me sceptically. ‘Well you’ve got until tomorrow. Then I want you in Ely smoothing the ruffled feathers of Bishop Eustace.’ He gave an ironic snort. ‘Ely and Fly.’
‘Father?’
‘Ely and Fly. Have you not noticed how just one letter separates the two names? And not even a complete letter. Just a tick between them.’
I hadn’t noticed.
‘Eels and Flies. Do eels catch flies or do flies catch eels?’ He shuddered and shook his head. ‘I’ll be happy when I’m rid of them both.’
Downstairs I found Jocellus waiting for me.
‘What did Samson want?’
I told him about Eustache and his nerves.
‘I was hoping he might have said something about keeping the market open.’
‘No such luck, I’m afraid. He’ll close the market for the day if only out of respect for the dead man.’
‘As long as it is only for a day. I have merchants on my back needing to offload barrels of fish. And with Easter week coming up.’ He shook his head.
‘I’m sure we’ll settle this before then and things will be back to normal.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
We started to walk together across the great court. I chortled. ‘What about old Jocelin standing up to Eustache like that? Who’d have thought it?’
‘What? Oh yes, divine retribution,’ he nodded.
‘I think he just grew a little tired of the abbot’s constant sniping. Jocelin can be prickly at times. He doesn’t like disruptions to his routines.’
‘It’s this murder. It’s left all of us on edge. Did I hear you say you were going to view the body?’
I nodded. ‘Though I don’t know what I expect to see. It was something Samson said that reminded me, but I’m not sure of what.’
‘Would you like me to come with you? Two heads are often better than one.’
‘No. It might if I knew what I was looking for. But thank you anyway.’
I left Jocellus at the cellarer’s gate and went over to my laboratorium to pick up my herb satchel. Then I made my reluctant way over to the senior
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