‘No,’ said Tulyet, gripping Bartholomew’s arm as he aimed for the coracle again. ‘It is too late. You will only be retrieving corpses, and it is not worth the risk.’
‘The men who swam to the other shore,’ said Bartholomew hoarsely, appalled by what had happened. ‘What about them?’
‘They are soaking wet in a raging blizzard,’ replied Tulyet sombrely. ‘And there is nothing over there but bogs. They will be dead long before morning.’
Chapter 17
Dawn was still some way off, but there was a perceptible lightening of the sky in the east. The wind had dropped, and the snow no longer swirled quite so thickly. Bartholomew peered into the gloom for the towpath. It was hidden under a billowy whiteness. It would not be easy to fight their way along it, and the going would be harder still in the open.
‘Come on,’ he said urgently. ‘It will be light by the time we reach the horses, and then we can ride the rest of the way.’
They stopped at the warehouse, where Bartholomew quickly exchanged his wet clothes for some left by the soldiers – they stank and were full of fleas, but at least they were dry. Then he and Tulyet began to plough along the path towards Quy. To take his mind off their agonisingly slow progress, he considered Cook’s claims about the killer. There were only two suspects left on the original list, and try as he might, Bartholomew could not imagine young Kolvyle intimidating the likes of Inge and Helbye. Which left Hopeman.
Did the Dominican know that Michael might try to usher Suttone in by cheating, so had devised a contingency plan by poisoning the official ring-seal? After all, if the winner died at the election, the stunned University would simply invite the runner-up to take the post instead. And Michael would be killed, too, because the Senior Proctor always wore the ring-seal during the ceremony, until it was presented to the victor.
‘Ask the secret air,’ muttered Tulyet behind him. ‘What does that mean?’
Bartholomew was panting so hard that he could barely hear, and there was an instant when he thought Tulyet had said something else. He stopped walking abruptly and whipped around. ‘Not ask the secret air – ask the secretary! That is what Moleyns mumbled. Cook misheard him – as I misheard you just then.’
‘What secretary? Moleyns did not have one.’
‘But Tynkell did – and he was the first victim.’
‘You think Nicholas is the killer?’ asked Tulyet doubtfully. ‘But he is lame.’
‘A bad leg will not prevent him from sliding a spike into someone’s heart. And although he has no tower keys of his own, he knows where Meadowman’s are kept.’
‘I did not see him among the crowd that clustered around Moleyns,’ mused Tulyet. ‘Although that does not mean he was not there – I could not identify everyone, because most folk had their hoods up. But he cannot be the culprit, Matt. He is such a mouse.’
‘Even mice have teeth. And if it was he who fought Tynkell on the roof, it explains why the spectacle went on for so long – neither were natural warriors.’
‘But why would he do such a thing?’
‘So his lover Thelnetham could be Chancellor. Which is why he killed Lyng, too – the most popular candidate.’
‘Thelnetham is involved, too?’
Bartholomew shook his head. ‘If he were, he would not have withdrawn – he would have battled on, to make the crimes worthwhile.’
‘Then why would Nicholas stab Moleyns?’
‘Because Moleyns knew who killed Tynkell,’ replied Bartholomew triumphantly. Aware that he was wasting time, he began to plod forward again, more determined than ever to reach Cambridge before it was too late. ‘At least, he said he did.’
‘But Moleyns told Cook to “ask the secret air” two days before he was killed. Or are you suggesting he knew in advance that someone would murder him?’
‘Why not? Perhaps the threat to their safety is what he, Tynkell and Lyng discussed in St Mary the Great.’
‘Where Cook met them, too,’ said Tulyet, then added quietly, ‘and where Moleyns was being “guarded” by Helbye.’
It was all beginning to make sense to Bartholomew, and he spoke excitedly. ‘So Nicholas unlocked the tower with Meadowman’s keys, went to the roof to fight Tynkell, then hid in the Chest Room until Michael and I had gone past on the stairs. When the coast was clear, he descended to the church, but he could not leave openly, lest he was seen. So he donned a disguise – a cloak with an embroidered hem.’
‘How do you–’ began Tulyet uncertainly.
‘Cristine had removed her cloak to ring the bells – at Nicholas’s invitation – after which it was stolen. I wager anything you like that it has an embroidered hem, and that Nicholas wore it when he went to ensure that Moleyns kept his silence.’
‘I did not see this “woman” but you did. Could it have been Nicholas?’
Bartholomew nodded. ‘Which means “she” was not a witness running terrified from a murder, but a man fleeing the scene of his crime. I assumed it was female, because it was wearing a lady’s cloak. It was a stupid mistake.’
‘If all this is true, then it means that Nicholas is involved in the thefts – why else would he have talked to Inge and Helbye in the church while the bell was being stolen? Yet he was distraught by its disappearance.’ Tulyet sighed as the answer became clear. ‘What better way to avoid suspicion than pretending to be a victim?’
Bartholomew stopped walking a second time as a terrible thought occurred to him. ‘What do you do to a bell? You ring it! Cook heard the killer say “ring” to Helbye and Inge, and drew his own conclusions, but he was wrong!’
Tulyet frowned. ‘I do not understand–’
‘The killer was not referring to jewellery, but to bells, which will be rung when the new Chancellor is elected. The thieves sawed through the frame to get the treble out, and I thought then that the whole thing looked precarious. Moreover, the trapdoor beneath is flimsy. And who assured us that there is no problem and that everything is safe? Nicholas!’
‘You think that is what he intends to do? Crush his opponents with falling bells?’
‘Yes! When the new Chancellor gives them a tug, they will crash through the ceiling and kill everyone below – him, Michael, Hopeman and all the University’s most senior officials. Then Nicholas will step forward and recommend Thelnetham as the next Chancellor.’
‘But Thelnetham withdrew. He is no longer eligible.’
‘Nicholas will find a way around it – he knows how to manipulate the statutes, especially if Michael is not there to contradict him. And Thelnetham will be the only candidate left of the original five – Hopeman, Suttone and Lyng will be dead, and Godrich has run away.’
Tulyet was still unconvinced. ‘If the bells were that unstable someone would have noticed.’
‘We did notice!’ shouted Bartholomew, beginning to surge forward again. ‘Yesterday, when one slipped, and rang of its own accord. Nicholas cleverly blamed the Devil, and the fanatical Hopeman was quick to agree.’
‘Which explains why Michael did not find anyone when he took Hopeman and Suttone up the tower,’ mused Tulyet. ‘Yet if the frame is so precarious, surely they would have mentioned it yesterday?’
‘They were looking for pranksters, not structural problems. Of course it escaped their attention. Now run! We must warn Michael, because I am not letting Nicholas kill him.’