Gormán moved forward and greeted the leader.

  ‘Welcome to Cashel, Cummasach. I am Gormán, Commander of the Nasc Niadh, Bodyguard to the King.’

  Cummasach glanced down at the warrior, his glance neither friendly nor antagonistic. The ritual of greeting was a formality.

  ‘I thank you for your welcome, warrior of the Golden Collar. I have come, with my Brehon, Furudán, to speak with Colgú.’

  ‘I will have Colgú informed of your arrival, Cummasach. Your escort will be attended to, but who is it that accompanies you as a prisoner?’

  ‘His name is Rudgal and he is, alas, a renegade of my people.’

  Gormán glanced quickly at the indifferent prisoner. ‘Is he…?’

  Cummasach interrupted irritably, ‘You were to inform your King, if you please. It has been a long and tiring ride and I do not wish to tarry longer than can be helped.’

  Gormán remembered protocol and turned quickly to one of his warriors.

  ‘Call the echaire and attend to the horses. Have the warriors conducted to the House of Heroes and offered refreshment.’

  Eadulf stepped forward and said to Gormán: ‘I will inform Colgú.’

  He was aware of the sharp gaze of Cummasach directed at him as he turned and hurried off. As he left, he heard Cummasach telling Gormán that he wanted his prisoner taken to a secure place under guard. Eadulf bumped into Fidelma as he hurried along the corridor to the King’s council chamber.

  ‘I heard there are new arrivals,’ she said breathlessly.

  ‘Cummasach and his Brehon,’ Eadulf informed her. ‘They have a prisoner with them. I think it is one of the men who attacked Egric and his companion on the river. Cummasach has demanded to see your brother.’

  Fidelma’s eyes had grown wider. ‘That is good news. At least one of the attackers has been caught. But why does Cummasach need to see Colgú?’

  ‘We’d best not keep them waiting,’ was all Eadulf said. She accompanied him to her brother’s council chamber. Colgú was inside meeting with Abbot Ségdae and Beccan, the steward. The King looked up in surprise as they entered. Fidelma waited while Eadulf quickly explained the reason for the interruption.

  ‘Cummasach has brought his prisoner here in person?’ The King was puzzled. ‘That is unusual behaviour for a Déisi prince.’

  ‘I believe he must be one of those who attacked my brother and his companion, the Venerable Victricius,’ Eadulf confirmed.

  Colgú turned to Beccan. ‘You had better inform Brehon Aillín that his presence is required, and find Eadulf’s brother, Egric.’ As an aside he said to Eadulf: ‘If this is the man, your brother should be available to identify him. You and Fidelma should stay to hear what this is about.’

  It was almost as if Brehon Aillín were waiting outside the door, for Beccan had hardly left when the elderly judge came in. A few moments passed before there was a tap on the door and Beccan re-entered.

  ‘Cummasach, Prince of the Déisi,’ he began ponderously, only to be interrupted by an impatient Colgú.

  ‘I know, I know. Bring them in.’

  ‘Prince Cummasach and his Brehon, Furudán,’ the steward announced, as they entered, followed by Gormán.

  Eadulf could not help but notice that the greetings between Cummasach and Colgú were fairly stilted. Colgú resumed his chair of office but, while the others stood, a chair was placed for the Prince of the Déisi. The ceremonial drinks were offered and an attendant hurried round dispensing them.

  ‘And now, lord Cummasach?’ prompted Colgú.

  ‘I will let my Brehon tell the story.’ Cummasach made a motion with his hand in the direction of his companion. ‘It will save time.’

  There was silence for a moment until Colgú realised that the Brehon was waiting for his formal permission to speak. He gave it impatiently.

  ‘I heard from the Brehon at Cluain Meala about the attack near Brother Siolán’s chapel on the river. My lord, Cummasach, had been having trouble with a band of wild young men who refused to obey the elders of the clan and ignored the laws of the Brehons. My suspicions immediately fell on these troublemakers, for they had attacked several travellers passing through the mountains of the confluences, even as far as the church of Míodán.’

  ‘Míodán’s church?’ interrupted Fidelma. ‘That lies just south of the Siúr before you reach the harbour of Láirge?’

  ‘That is so, lady,’ Furudán agreed. He evidently knew Fidelma by sight. ‘They attacked a merchant boat coming up the river some time ago. Therefore, when I heard of this attack, I felt it sounded like their work. It so happened that we had information about where they were hiding that very day. They had fled south from the river into their lair in the mountains. My lord Cummasach summoned a score of his warriors and we made our way there, attacking their camp just before dawn.’

  As he paused, Cummasach put in: ‘They were foolish young men. They chose to resist rather than give themselves to justice. They fought and were so determined that two managed to escape but the others fell to my men’s swords.’

  Brehon Furudán added softly, ‘Except one.’

  ‘The one you have brought here as a prisoner?’ Eadulf asked.

  Cummasach glanced at him with a frown.

  Seeing the look, Colgú said immediately: ‘You may speak freely to the husband of my sister, for he has our complete confidence.’

  ‘The prisoner’s name is Rudgal,’ confirmed the Brehon.

  ‘What of the two that escaped?’ asked Eadulf.

  ‘They have not been found. But they cannot hide forever.’

  ‘If their companions fought to the death, why did your prisoner surrender?’ Colgú mused.

  ‘He did not appear to me to be in any apprehension of punishment when I saw him in the courtyard.’ Eadulf could not help making the observation aloud. ‘Yet he certainly seemed the sort who would fight rather than surrender.’

  ‘I congratulate your sister’s husband on having a sharp eye,’ commented Cummasach with a grim smile. ‘Indeed, he would have probably fought on, but seeing that his companions had fled or fallen, he decided to make a bargain.’

  ‘What bargain could he make?’ Fidelma asked.

  ‘We still do not understand completely. He lowered his shield and sword and shouted – truce!’ The word essomon which the Brehon used was one which Eadulf realised meant a cessation of conflict for a moment to speak.

  ‘So I presume the fighting stopped and the young man was taken captive?’ Colgú was clearly eager for the story to end and for his visitors to come to the point.

  ‘Yes, the fighting stopped,’ replied the Brehon gravely. ‘Rudgal told us that he would bargain for his freedom with information that would be of benefit only to the Chief Bishop of the Kingdom.’

  Abbot Ségdae was startled. ‘What would a thief know that is of benefit to me?’

  ‘I can only relate what he said. Furthermore, he said he would only reveal this knowledge if he were taken before Abbot Ségdae and the King. He would speak to no other person.’

  ‘Have you questioned him further?’ asked Colgú.

  ‘We did, but he was firm in his resolve. He did, however, reveal one important fact. He said that he and his companions had been given a cumal each to attack the two foreign religious on the river and kill them. Whatever happened, they were to ensure that the elderly one was killed. As well as money, they were told they could help themselves to the goods that these religious carried.’

  There was a shocked silence. ‘Who would pay them to carry out such a deed?’ whispered Abbot Ségdae.

  ‘That he would not tell us. He said he would reveal this only to you, Abbot Ségdae and the King.’

  ‘You searched the camp of these assassins, I presume?’ Fidelma asked. ‘Did you find any of the objects stolen from the victims?’

  ‘We found a store of coins – several were bright cumals which seemed to support Rudgal’s claim. There were various pieces of booty that they had taken at various times, some of which probably belonged to the religious who were attacked, but there was nothing specific. There were also signs of burned parchment and other materials – perhaps books and other items such as would be carried by religious, but nothing that was truly identifiable.’

  Colgú beat a tattoo on the arm of his chair with his fingers. Then he sighed.

  ‘So let us see what information this man has which he believes will buy him freedom from the punishment for these heinous crimes. Gormán, you and Eadulf will go and fetch this … what is his name?’

  ‘Rudgal, lord,’ Brehon Furudán repeated.

  ‘Then go and bring this Rudgal here and we will listen to what he has to say. If his claim is true – that someone paid for the assassination of these religious visitors to our kingdom – then we must find the culprit at once.’

  ‘Well, friend Eadulf,’ Gormán remarked, as they left the King’s council chamber and made their way down to the courtyard, ‘these are strange times. I have no understanding of what this means.’

  ‘Alas, you are not alone, Gormán,’ muttered Eadulf. Aware that the King had asked for Egric to formally identify the man as one of his attackers he was hoping that his brother had returned to the palace. However, the guard at the gate reported that Egric and Dego were still in the township. The two men crossed the flagstones of the courtyard to the Laochtech, the House of Heroes, which housed the King’s élite bodyguard. Enda was sitting in the anteroom to the barracks with another warrior called Luan. They were playing a board game with the warriors of the Déisi. It was called brandubh, Black Raven, which was popular among the warriors, though less skilful than fidchell, the Wooden Wisdom, at which all nobles aspired to become masters.

  Enda looked up as they entered, and then he and Luan rose in the presence of their commander and Eadulf.

  ‘We’ve come to collect the prisoner,’ Gormán told them.

  ‘He’s in the storehouse at the back. We’ve kept his hands tethered, just in case.’

  ‘No guard outside the barn?’ Gormán asked in surprise.

  Enda smiled complacently. ‘With hands tethered and a bar on the door, what need was there? Anyway, the prisoner doesn’t seem inclined to escape.’

  Gormán nodded and motioned the warriors to reseat themselves and continue their game. ‘We’ll fetch him ourselves.’

  He and Eadulf went around to the back of the building where there was a general storehouse, mainly used for storing weapons and equipment for the warriors. As they approached, Gormán came to an abrupt halt and swore. Eadulf glanced at him in surprise, for profanity was hardly ever used by the young warrior. Gormán pointed.

  ‘Enda may have left his prisoner with hands tethered, but he is so sure of himself that he didn’t bother to put the bar properly in place to secure the door. A slight push and it would swing open. Damn his eyes! He’ll be doing extra guard duty for that omission.’

  Eadulf saw that the heavy wooden bar should have been swung across the double doors, making them impossible to move. Instead, only a fraction of the bar had spanned the division, as if it had been hurriedly slotted into place.

  Gormán pushed it aside and swung open the doors. Inside the storehouse it was gloomy. They stood for a moment at the open doors and heard a soft rhythmic creaking sound, like someone swinging a heavy object on the end of a piece of rope.

  Eadulf was peering into the shadows beyond. Then, as his eyes grew used to the darkness, he exclaimed, ‘Quod avertat Deus! Gormán, get a light in here.’

  Eadulf stood waiting at the door while Gormán ran back to the Laochtech. It was a moment before he returned, bearing a lantern and followed by Enda and Luan, with the latter carrying a second lantern.

  ‘I tell you, the bar was pushed fully into position. It was completely secure,’ Enda was protesting.

  They came to a halt at the entrance behind Eadulf. Gormán and Enda raised their lanterns.

  A body was swinging gently from a rope tied to one of the rafters. The dead man’s feet were only a short distance from the ground, but far enough above it so that there could be no weight resting on it. The position of the rope around the neck, the odd angle of the head, was enough to show that he had been hanged. The body was that of Rudgal.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Eadulf moved quickly and called upon one of his companions to hold the weight of the body while he loosened the rope. Luan put down his lantern, then he and Enda did as requested while Eadulf took a knife to sever the rope. The body was lowered to the floor. Eadulf did not need to examine the corpse to see that Rudgal had choked to death, for the face was blackened and the features distorted. There was something else that caught his attention; something protruding from the corner of the corpse’s mouth. At first Eadulf thought it was his tongue, but when he carefully took it with thumb and forefinger and pulled, he found it was a piece of cloth.

  Enda was peering at the corpse without emotion. ‘So he preferred death to the rule of law?’

  Eadulf glanced up at him cynically. ‘So you think he hanged himself?’

  Enda was puzzled at his response. ‘Isn’t it obvious? No wonder he was calm about being brought here as a prisoner. He knew he would never have to face the consequences of his actions.’

  ‘He was calm because he thought he could bargain for his freedom,’ Eadulf corrected.

  ‘I don’t understand.’ Enda was still baffled.

  Eadulf stood up impatiently. ‘The facts are obvious. Look! His hands, as you saw earlier, are still bound together. So you leave a man tethered in this place and, as you claim, you have secured the doors properly.’

  ‘Doesn’t the fact that the bar was in place, even though it was not done as correctly as it should have been, indicate that no one else was involved in this?’ Gormán felt obliged to defend Enda.

  ‘Are you asking me to believe that a man who has confidence that he can negotiate his way out of this situation resorts to hanging himself? Are you suggesting that a man with hands securely tied can, in the darkness of this place, find a length of rope, fashion a noose, throw the rope over that high beam, place the noose round his neck, tie the other end to that bar across there and … then what? Miraculously levitate himself so that the rope leaves him suspended in the air?’

  ‘If he had tied that end of the rope it would have been secured, then he could have found something to stand on, place the noose round his neck and taken the plunge that ended his life,’ Enda argued.

  ‘So, if that were possible – which it is not – where would he have taken the plunge from? Where is the stool on which to climb or a wooden box? Are you saying that after he had hanged himself, he climbed down and hid them? And he did all this with his hands still tied together?’ Eadulf tried to keep the derision out of his voice

  ‘What conclusion is there, friend Eadulf?’ Gormán asked patiently.

  ‘While we have been speaking with the King, someone came to this shed, removed the bar, stuffed that cloth into Rudgal’s mouth in the form of a gag, took the rope, put it in position and then hauled the victim up, choking him to death. The killer then secured the rope to the bar, and left the body. Perhaps he left in a hurry, for he did not properly secure the bar in its place at the door. Rudgal has been murdered – silenced to prevent him revealing the information with which he planned to barter for his freedom.’

  Gormán was staring at him in amazement. ‘But that means…’

  ‘Yes. It means that someone in the palace is the killer. That same person who killed Brother Cerdic has now killed Rudgal, which proves that there must be a connection.’

  ‘Well, we can eliminate some people from being suspected of the crime,’ Gormán suggested brightly.

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘Well, everyone who was in Colgú’s chamber. They are still there, waiting for us to take Rudgal before them.’

  ‘That still leaves a lot of suspects,’ Eadulf pointed out gloomily. ‘You had better take charge here while I inform Colgú. Question anyone who had business in and around the Laochtech while Rudgal was incarcerated. Someone might have seen or heard something that could lead us to the killer.’

  ‘I’ll do my best, friend Eadulf.’

  Eadulf was not prepared for the reception that he received from Colgú’s Chief Brehon, Aillín, when he reported the death. Everyone had been shocked by the news, but Brehon Aillín stood forward aggressively.

  ‘I should now take over this matter, lord,’ he said stiffly. ‘This is the second murder in your palace within days, and both remain without a resolution. I would argue that this is because I have not been allowed to follow the obvious suspect. I should have been permitted to investigate the killing of Brother Cerdic in the first place. Had I done so, perhaps this second murder would have been prevented.’

  Fidelma’s eyes narrowed dangerously; she already anticipated who the pugnacious Brehon would suggest as ‘the obvious suspect’.

  ‘You have a theory then which connects the murder of Brother Cerdic with this young outlaw?’ Colgú invited, not being as perceptive as his sister in the matter.

  Fidelma could not restrain herself. ‘Yes – speak, Aillín. Share your insight with us and explain how the solution of the first murder might have prevented the second one?’

  Brehon Aillín flushed angrily at her mocking tone. ‘Am I to be questioned by a junior, a dálaigh?’ he demanded.

  ‘I presume you do have an explanation?’ Colgú asked quietly. ‘The investigation into the death of Brother Cerdic has been placed in the hands of my sister who, junior or not, is experienced in such matters. But if you have a theory…?’

  Brehon Aillín drew himself up to his full height and his scowl deepened.