To Kill or Cure by Susanna Gregory Page A

much attention it generated. We were scheduled
     to use Merton Hall, but so many scholars wanted to listen we had to move to St Mary the Great instead.’
    ‘I remember. My beadles thought you and Lynton were up to no good, because they could not imagine why else so many men would
     be clamouring to hear a debate on such a subject.’
    ‘Is that why they were all standing at the back? To avert trouble? I assumed they were there for the theoretical physics.’
    Michael struggled not to laugh. ‘We are getting away from the point – which is that Lynton held archaic beliefs, and that
     you were his intellectual superior.
Ergo
, you mustprepare yourself for accusations. If he really was murdered, then his academic rivals are the obvious suspects.’
    ‘Then perhaps we should keep the truth about his death quiet until we know who did it.’ Bartholomew took the bloodstained
     missile from his medical bag, and studied it thoughtfully. ‘No one else saw the wound, and I have the bolt here.’
    Michael gaped in horror. ‘You hauled it out in the middle of the street? After I had just quelled a riot, and when Lynton’s
     colleagues were standing around him, bemoaning the tragedy of his death? My God, man! What were you thinking?’
    ‘That it seemed the right thing to do,’ said Bartholomew defensively. ‘The Peterhouse Fellows were distraught, and I did not
     want one to see the bolt and claim Candelby had put it there. If that had happened, you would have had your riot for certain.’
    ‘Why did you not tell me what you had done straight away?’ demanded Michael, unappeased.
    ‘Because I forgot in the race to find Falmeresham. There has been no time for chatting.’
    Michael regarded him with round eyes. ‘Well, please do not do it again. I have more than enough to concern me, without worrying
     about what my Corpse Examiner might be doing behind my back. Do you know how I spent much of last night? Trying to persuade
     Candelby that Lynton did not ride at him on purpose. It was a difficult case to argue, because I could tell from the wreckage
     that Lynton
was
the one at fault. His mare
did
careen into the man’s cart.’
    ‘Perhaps he was already dead at that point.’
    ‘You think he was shot first, and then the horse panicked? It did not happen the other way around – Lynton rode at Candelby
     and was shot as a consequence?’
    ‘Medicine cannot tell you that, Brother. However, Lynton was gentle, and I do not see him using a horse as a weapon with which
     to batter people.’
    Michael was thoughtful. ‘The obvious suspect for Lynton’s murder is Candelby.’
    ‘Why? He did not emerge unscathed from the encounter.’
    ‘Perhaps he did not anticipate the horse bucking in his direction. The rent war has turned him hostile to
all
scholars, and a wealthy one on a fine mare might well have inspired a murderous rage. However, crossbows are unwieldy objects
     – you do not whip one from under your cloak and slip a quick bolt into an enemy. It has to be wound first, and that would
     have attracted attention.’
    Bartholomew showed him the missile. ‘It is a very small arrow, so I suspect it did come from a weapon that was easily concealed.
     However, the murder was committed on a main road in broad daylight, so some degree of stealth was needed, or someone would
     have seen him.’
    Michael inspected it thoughtfully. ‘The Church of St John Zachary has a nice leafy churchyard – an ideal place to lurk with
     a bow.’
    ‘Then Candelby is not your culprit, because he was in a cart with Maud Bowyer when the weapon was discharged.’
    Michael was becoming frustrated. ‘Who, then? One of Lynton’s Peterhouse colleagues?’
    ‘Peterhouse has its squabbles, but none are serious enough to warrant murder.’
    ‘A patient, then? Perhaps he killed one by mistake.’
    Bartholomew considered the suggestion. ‘It is possible. There are so many illnesses that we cannot cure, and bereaved kin
     make for bitter