‘What is your role in this sorry affair?’ the judge asked.
‘I was asked by His Majesty to assist Mr Lytle in his quest to discover who killed Anne Giles. His Majesty was interested in the affair and knew that the Earl of Shrewsbury had chosen to support Mr Lytle in his efforts. He was intrigued to understand better the Earl of Shrewsbury’s motivations. So he ensured that I was nominated to assist Mr Lytle, whose appointment he did not entirely fathom.’
‘Lytle was appointed by whom?’ The judge tapped a finger on his desk.
‘Mr Lytle was not officially appointed by any. He was informed by his father that Anne Ormonde was related and his father asked the Earl of Shrewsbury for his assistance which he agreed to bestow. That is the official story.’
‘I see,’ the judge mused, ‘this is at odds with the testimony given by Mr William Hill, who testified that he was the only agent employed by Shrewsbury.’
‘That may be true, My Lord. The Earl of Shrewsbury did not employ Mr Lytle. That is, he did not pay him any money for his labours. He merely agreed to support Mr Lytle in his efforts. Though I have to make it known to Your Honour that Mr Lytle’s father was only under the impression that they were related because he was told so by one Robert Burton.’
Burton?
‘Who is Robert Burton?’
‘He is another employee of the Earl of Shrewsbury. He has made written testament of it and delivered it to His Majesty.’
That made sense, at last. The silly old fool had his tail twisted by Shrewsbury. Well — he wasn’t the only one.
‘I see. Mr Attorney General — did you know of this?’
‘No, My Lord, I did not,’ replied my learned colleague quietly. He didn’t look very surprised, though.
‘Very well, let us proceed. The death of Anne Giles.’ He looked around the court again as if to make sure that everyone was listening. ‘Anne Giles was killed by Richard Joyce. Richard Joyce was tried for it and condemned. This is a matter of public record, is it not?’
‘My Lord, it is a matter of public record,’ Dowling bowed his big, grey head. The judge seemed to like his soft Scots accent. It was certainly a soothing noise he made when he spoke. The jury looked like they might go to sleep. ‘However, I think we might reconsider the findings of the court in the light of subsequent events.’
‘Why should we do that?’
‘To explain that fully, My Lord, I must give you my account of those subsequent events. For now I would note only that Joyce himself spoke to us lucidly and categorically denied that he murdered Anne Giles. Furthermore he described the man that did kill Anne Giles as being a big man wearing a thick black cloak, a hat and a scarf.’
‘That is not much of a description,’ snorted the judge.
‘No, My Lord. It is not much of a description, but it is the exact same description that we were given by a slaughterer that saw John Giles thrown off London Bridge.’
‘The court was told that John Giles killed himself by throwing himself from London Bridge. William Hill testified that he saw the marks about the man’s neck.’
Dowling shook his head. ‘No, My Lord. They were my men that recovered John Giles’s body from the river and I can assure the court that there were no marks about his neck. His arms and legs were bound and he was thrown from the Bridge so that he died a most painful death. I have the boatman that found him and several of my own men that will testify it.’
‘I see. Mr Attorney General — what say you of this?’ The judge looked at the Attorney General with a sceptical eye.
The Attorney General stood up. ‘This testimony is at odds with the testimony of Mr William Hill.’ He sat down again. This was going well!
‘Aye, well I know who I believe.’ The judge looked at Dowling with respect. ‘So who did kill Anne Giles and John Giles, Mr Dowling?’
‘Lord Keeling,’ Dowling replied brightly. The judge pulled a face as if to express severe disappointment with a favoured son. ‘Sir, that is too much to credit.’ The court seemed to agree, for everyone started to talk in low, quiet tones and shake their heads. The Attorney General joined in theatrically, tutting loudly and laughing contemptuously. The judge silenced them all with one sweep of his arm.
‘My Lord, this is not a simple affair. I beg your indulgence.’ Dowling bowed, completely unworried, it seemed.
‘Proceed,’ the judge declared, with apparent reservations.
‘It was clear to us that Richard Joyce did not kill Anne Giles and it was clear that he did not kill John Giles — since Joyce was executed before John Giles died. Our attentions turned at that time to Matthew Hewitt.’
‘Why Matthew Hewitt? This is the fellow that Lytle says was being blackmailed by John Giles?’
‘Aye, though it wasn’t any detailed account of what the disagreement was between them that alerted us to it. We spoke to John Giles and he was deeply afraid of Matthew Hewitt and what he might do to him.’
‘William Hill would have us believe that such rumours were nonsense.’ The judge still looked sceptical. The Attorney General muttered and snorted.
‘Aye, but there is a piece of evidence which we did not have at the time, which explains the nature of the disagreement. It was not an ordinary disagreement.’ Dowling looked at me and winked again. I didn’t wink back. I hoped he knew what he was doing.
‘Enlighten us.’ The judge put his chin in his hand, looking curious.
‘After Hewitt was killed I went to his house with some of my men, on Mr Lytle’s instruction.’
‘On what authority?’ the Attorney General stood up and barked.
‘Mr Attorney General, kindly be quiet unless I ask you to speak,’ the judge shouted, furious. The Attorney General sat down angrily and buried his head in his shoulders. ‘Now, Mr Dowling. Upon whose authority?’
‘My apologies, My Lord. I spoke in error. It was Mr Lytle’s suggestion. We entered the house on the authority of His Majesty.’
‘There.’ The judge waved a hand at the Attorney General. ‘Are you satisfied?’
The Attorney General slumped back in his seat.
‘We were looking for some evidence that explained why Matthew Hewitt should have been so distressed by our attentions that he sent two men to kill Mr Lytle.’
The court responded with a series of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. This was the first revelation that did not result in everyone looking at me as if I were Satan’s bag carrier.
‘And why, pray, did Matthew Hewitt send two men to kill Mr Lytle?’
‘We found letters at Hewitt’s house, various documents. Of no great importance of themselves. However, they indicated that Matthew Hewitt had changed his name a few years previously.’
‘Changed his name from what?’ The judge demanded, incredulous. The Attorney General stopped picking at his fingernails and raised his head in interest too.
‘Venner,’ replied Dowling.
Venner! So Matthew Hewitt was Matthew Venner? A relation. Dowling was implying that Hewitt was associated with the Thomas Venner revolt! Then Hewitt was a Fifth Monarchist too, and therein lay his relationship with Keeling. This explained how it was that Keeling had told me that Hewitt had unleashed his dogs upon me. The two of them were connected!
‘You have lost me, Mr Dowling.’ The judge shook his head in confusion. ‘You are looking at me as if you have presented me with a barrel of cream, and I have no idea why.’
‘Lord Keeling was a Baptist, as was William Ormonde. Lord Keeling remained fanatical even after the Restoration whilst Ormonde did not. Keeling backed Venner’s Revolt and Ormonde threatened to expose him. Keeling killed Ormonde’s daughter so that he would remain quiet — for Ormonde has two daughters. However, John Giles had learnt of Hewitt’s involvement, probably through his wife, and was blackmailing him. Keeling killed John Giles to protect Hewitt. Hewitt sent two men to kill Mr Lytle, because he threatened to expose the whole affair anyway.’