Free The Elixir of Death by Bernard Knight Page B

money.' Elphin bent to put the message back on the table as he said his final words. 'The Justiciar says he has sent this warning to the sheriffs of all the western shires, from Cornwall to Dorset, with an admonition for every law officer to be vigilant.'  
    'What do you think of that, John?' asked de Furnellis. 'You have been involved in several brushes with those who adhere to the Prince's cause - mainly involving your dear brother-in-law. '  
    The coroner was silent for a moment as he chewed over the scanty information, then he cleared his throat with one of his non-committal rasps.
    'The Count of Mortain has been quiet lately, as far as I've heard. I had hoped that he had learnt his lesson last year, when the Lionheart came back from captivity and trounced his forces at Tickhill and Nottingham.'  
    'King Richard was too damn lenient with his young brother!' growled Henry. 'He should have locked him up for a few years, as their father did with their mother, Queen Eleanor. Instead, the soft-hearted fellow has now given back most of John's land that was confiscated.'  
    'If he's thinking of new treachery against the King, he'll certainly need money to rebuild support,' mused de Wolfe. 'I wonder what sending agents to the west hopes to achieve in that direction?'  
    'And what's this business about Mohammedans?' demanded de Furnellis.
    A few more minutes' discussion brought them no enlightenment, and with a shrug of dismissal de Wolfe went on to tell the sheriff about the wreck of Thorgils' ship and the murder of its crew. The sheriff listened with interest, but had no suggestions as to who might have perpetrated this strange slaying - nor what could be done about it, without further information.
    Henry, though nominally responsible for keeping law and order in Devon, was a somewhat reluctant enforcer and was more than content to leave the more energetic de Wolfe to deal with suspicious deaths and other crimes of violence. The coroner's remit, vague though it was, covered a whole host of matters, from sudden deaths to rape, from severe assault to fires and from wrecks to catches of the royal fish. In addition he had a wide-ranging obligation to attend to many legal matters, such as preparing evidence for the King's Justices, who came at long and irregular intervals to the city. He also had to attend executions and Ordeals, take confessions from sanctuary seekers and those who turned King's evidence by wishing to 'approve', as well as holding inquests on deaths and finds of treasure trove. It seemed that Henry de Furnellis also wished him to gallop around the county to seek out and arrest wrongdoers, though at least he had assured John that at any time he could call upon Ralph Morin, the castle constable, to turn out with men-at-arms from the garrison for any policing that was necessary.
    When the cider was finished, the overworked de Wolfe left the harassed sheriff to the mercy of his clerks and went back to his chamber, to tell Thomas that he was at last going home to face his wife.

    John rode sedately down to Martin's Lane and delivered Odin to Andrew the farrier, who had stables on the left side of the alley, right opposite the de Wolfe residence, one of several tall, narrow wooden houses. The front was relieved only by a heavy door and a shuttered window at ground level, plain timbers reaching up to the steep roof of wooden shingles.
    Pushing the door open, he entered a small vestibule there, with a sigh of relief, he hung up his cloak and slumped on to a bench to exchange his mud-spattered riding boots for a pair of house shoes. To the right was an inner door into his hall, the main room of the house, but he turned left and went around the side of the building. The vestibule was continuous with a narrow covered passageway which led to the back yard. Here the kitchen shed, the wash hut, the well, the privy and a pigsty competed for space in an area of beaten mud, in which a few chickens pecked around. Plaintive