Free The Malevolent Comedy by Edward Marston

when his temper was up. I tried to save Hal from any pain and not inflict it.’
    ‘You’d never hurt anyone, George,’ soothed Honeydew.
    ‘The same is true of you, Dick.’
    ‘You’re the kindest two lads in the company,’ said Hoode, giving them an encouraging squeeze. ‘George is a martyr to endure all the teasing that he gets, and Dick is the one apprentice who never stoops to silly mischief. I’d trust my life with either of you.’
    ‘That’s what Hal thought,’ said Dart, tears forming again.
    Honeydew sniffled. ‘And he paid dearly for his mistake.’
    ‘We’ll never be able to forgive ourselves.’
    ‘Hal Bridger will haunt me in my dreams.’
    ‘And so will I, if we have any more of this,’ said Hoode, adopting a sterner tone. ‘Neither of you bears any blame. Youmight just as well blame Saul Hibbert for writing the play, or Lawrence for deciding to commission it, or the landlord for allowing it to be staged here. If you want to find a culprit, there’s a great long line of them to choose from and it includes me.’
    ‘
You
?’ they said in unison.
    ‘Yes.
The Malevolent Comedy
was only bought because I was unable to supply a new play myself. Had my rustic tale been deemed worthy enough, then
that
would have been staged here today, and Hal would still be alive. No, lads,’ Hoode continued. ‘There’s only one true culprit and we must all help to find him.’
    ‘How can we do that?’ asked Dart.
    ‘By keeping your eyes and ears open. If he’s struck once, he may do so again. We must be on our guard.’ The others began to shiver. ‘The search for the villain has already begun. I’ve just spoken with Nick Bracewell, who managed to get the poison identified. We know exactly what killed Hal now. Tomorrow, Nick will try to find the apothecary who mixed the lethal potion.’
    Honeydew was frightened. ‘And you think the killer is still here?’
    ‘It’s a possibility that we must consider.’
    ‘Then none of us is safe!’
    ‘We are, if we stay together, Dick – and take care what we drink.’
    ‘I’ll be afraid to touch a drop of anything.’
    ‘So will I,’ said Dart, querulously.
    Hoode smiled. ‘You’ll drink when you get thirsty enough,’ he said. ‘The main thing is that you absolveyourselves of any blame. Nobody is pointing the finger at you. We understand your fears and want to help you overcome them. The worst is over, lads. Bear up.’
    ‘But the worst is
not
over yet,’ said Honeydew.
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘Hal has a family and they will want to know how he died. They are bound to come looking for George and me.
You
may say that we were not at fault,’ he went on, biting his lip, ‘but his parents may think that we are the murderers. I’m terrified to face them, Edmund.’
    ‘We both are,’ said Dart.
    ‘Then let me put your minds at rest,’ said Hoode, discreetly. ‘Nick spoke to Hal’s father and told him of the tragedy. For personal reasons, the parents will not come anywhere near the Queen’s Head. Shed that anxiety as well, lads. You are safe.’
     
    ‘Disowned his own son?’ asked Anne in a tone of disbelief. ‘Surely not.’
    ‘It is sad but true.’
    ‘Sad and reprehensible, I’d say. What sort of father turns his back on a boy who has been murdered? It’s bad enough if a child dies by natural means, but a calamity when he’s poisoned to death. Do the parents have no hearts?’
    ‘I only spoke with the father,’ said Nicholas, ‘and his heart was made of stone, hewn, I suspect, from some Puritan quarry. Theatre is anathema to him. Left to himself, he’d tear down every playhouse in London. Hal was very brave to defy such a man, braver still to join Westfield’s Men.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘He left a secure trade as a saddler to trust his luck with the most precarious profession in the city. His bravery verges on heroism, Anne. And it cost him his young life.’
    After the rigors of the day, Nicholas was glad to get back to the