by Paul Doherty
‘Ashby’s protecting someone?’
‘Perhaps.’
‘Aveline?’ Cranston asked.
‘But why should she kill her own father?’ Athelstan sighed. ‘We are going to have to choose our moment and ask that lovely lady a few pertinent questions.’
Cranston gripped Athelstan by the shoulder. ‘The whole business stinks like a manure heap at the height of summer. But, come on, let’s see this bloody ship and the mysteries it holds.’
They went down to the quayside steps. Athelstan glimpsed one of his parishioners, Moleskin, an old, wiry man, forever smiling, who boasted he could pull the fastest skiff on the Thames. He waved Athelstan and Cranston over and led them down the slippery steps. Within minutes, arms straining, muscles cracking, he was pulling them out across the choppy, misty Thames, past Dowgate to where the fighting ships were anchored opposite Queen’s hithe. The river mist was still thick, cloying, shifting ghost-like above the river. Occasionally Moleskin pulled in his oars as other skiffs, barges and bumboats plyed their way down-river. Now and again the mist broke and they glimpsed fat-bottomed Hanseatic merchantmen making their way to the Steelyard. Cranston leaned over and gave Moleskin directions. The man grinned, hawked and spat into the river.
‘You just keep your eyes on the river, Sir John.’
Cranston peered over his shoulder. Suddenly the mist shifted. A big cog loomed above them.
‘To the right! No, I mean to your left!’ Cranston shouted.
The oarsman grinned, and skilfully guided his craft under the stern of the ship, on which Cranston glimpsed the name Holy Trinity. Then they came alongside another ship, its timbers painted black, its mast soaring up into the mist as it gently bobbed on the Thames.
‘This is the one!’ Cranston shouted.
Moleskin brought his small craft alongside. He yelled at Sir John to sit down before he put them all in the Thames, then, standing up, shouted, ‘On deck! On deck!’
Athelstan, gazing up, saw a man come to the side, a lantern in his hand.
‘Who’s there?’
‘Sir John Cranston, coroner of the city, and his clerk, Brother Athelstan. Sir Jacob Crawley is expecting us!’
‘About bloody time!’ the voice bawled back.
A piece of netting was thrown over the side of the ship, followed by a strong rope ladder. Moleskin brought the skiff closer in. Sir John grabbed the ladder and heaved himself up as nimble as a monkey. Athelstan followed more gingerly, helped by a smirking Moleskin.
‘Take it carefully, Father,’ the boatman advised. ‘Don’t look down, just take your time.’
Athelstan did, half-closing his eyes. As Sir John lurched over the bulwark the ladder swayed and Athelstan clung on for dear life. He moved upwards, then Cranston’s strong hands lifted him by the arms and dragged him on to the deck rail with as much dignity as a sack of oatmeal. Athelstan unslung his leather bag from around his neck, then lurched as the ship moved. He would have been sent sprawling if Cranston had not held on to his arm.
‘It takes time to get your sea legs,’ Cranston said. ‘But stand with your feet apart, Brother.’
Athelstan obeyed, blinked and stared around. The deck was cluttered with leather buckets, coils of rope, some sacks, balls of iron and two braziers full of spent charcoal. Athelstan glimpsed figures moving about in the mist. He looked to his left, down the deck towards the stern castle, then to his right where the forecastle rose up. A sailor, naked except for a pair of breech clouts, the same man who had first greeted them, studied Athelstan carefully.
‘You must be freezing,’ Athelstan commented. ‘No shirt.’
‘Aye, I am that, Father. But you had best come. Sir Jacob Crawley is fair bursting with anger.’
He led them along the deck and knocked at the door in the stern castle.
‘Piss off!’ a voice shouted.
The sailor shrugged, grinned over his shoulder and opened the door. He ducked as a tankard was thrown at his head.
‘Sir Jacob, Sir John has arrived.’
Cranston, grinning from ear to ear, brushed by the sailor.
‘Jacob Crawley, you dirty old sea dog!’
Athelstan followed cautiously. The cabin smelt musty and sweet. The man who half-rose from his chair at the table to greet Cranston was white-haired, small, lithe, and brown as a berry. He was dressed in a dark blue cloak tied around the middle with a silver belt. A cap of the same colour, with a feather stitched in the brim, lay on the table. Crawley grasped Cranston’s hand, beaming from ear to ear, and poked him gently in the stomach.
‘More of you than before, Sir John?’
Then all the more for the Lady Maude to hang on to when the going gets rough!’
Both men bellowed with laughter. Crawley shook Athelstan’s hand, patting him absent-mindedly on the shoulder. He indicated two empty stools at the table and Cranston and Athelstan joined the men already crammed around it. Crawley introduced them to the others: Philip Cabe, second mate; Dido Coffrey, ship’s clerk; Vincent Minter, ship’s surgeon; and Tostig Peverill, master-at-arms. A motley lot, Athelstan thought, in their sea-stained clothes – lean, hard-faced men with close-cropped hair, weather-beaten faces and unsmiling eyes. They sat, ill at ease, and Athelstan sensed their dislike and impatience at being kept so long.
‘We have been waiting for hours,’ Cabe snapped, his leathery, horsey face full of disapproval.
‘Well, I’m bloody sorry, aren’t I!’ Cranston shouted back. ‘I’ve been bloody busy!’
‘Now, now.’ Crawley clapped his hands like a child. ‘Sir John, some claret?’
Cranston, of course, accepted with alacrity.
‘Father?’
Athelstan smiled and shook his head. He unpacked his writing bag and laid out ink horn, quill and parchment. He stared around the low, crowded cabin, noticing the cot bed in one corner. He felt rather dizzy, especially when the ship moved and creaked as if the whole world was about to roll. Once Cranston had drained his cup, and Crawley had just as quickly refilled it, the king’s admiral of the eastern seas leaned forward and belched.
‘How many years, Sir John?’
‘Sixteen, sixteen years since we chased the French off the seas and now the buggers are back!’
Athelstan moved his arm and nudged Sir John – a reminder that this was business, not some drinking contest between old friends. Cranston coughed.
‘Master Cabe,’ the coroner began, ‘you are now the senior surviving officer of this unhappy ship. I understand Captain Roffel was taken ill and had died by the time the ship dropped anchor in the Thames?’
‘Yes. On the 14th October the captain complained of pains in his belly. He said it was like fire.’
Cranston turned to Minter. ‘Did you examine Roffel?’
‘Yes, I did. I thought it was some form of dysentery – violent cramps, putrid faeces, high fever, sweating.’
‘And what did you prescribe?’
‘I concocted some binding ointment, but nothing worked. By 20th October, Roffel was delirious. He died the night before we sailed up the Thames.’
‘Do you think he was poisoned?’ Athelstan asked.
He studied the ring of faces in the flickering light of the single lantern. Minter’s vinegarish features broke into a crooked smile.
‘Oh yes, Father, he was poisoned. But not,’ he added hastily, ‘as you think. Belly cramps, stomach bile, dysentery, inflammation of the bowels and rectum are common on ships. Rats shit on our food, the water’s brackish and the biscuits have more weevils than flour.’
‘How many people died on this voyage?’
‘Two. The captain and the cook, Scabgut.’
‘What did the latter die of?’
‘He suffered from similar cramps. But there’s usually a death on every voyage – if it’s not the food, then a man falls overboard.’
‘So,’ Cranston intervened, ‘there was nothing suspicious about Roffel’s death?’
‘Nothing whatsoever. Though he
did have his own supply of wine.’
‘But I drank from that as well,’ Coffrey the clerk intervened.
‘In which case,’ the surgeon concluded, ‘Captain Roffel ate and drank nothing we didn’t.’
‘We understand,’ Athelstan said, ‘that Captain Roffel was a hard man?’
‘Like flint,’ Cabe replied. ‘Hard as rock. He had a stone for a heart.’ He smirked. ‘God’s Bright Light! What a name for the devil’s own ship!’ He lifted a hand. ‘Oh, don’t get me wrong, Roffel was successful. We always came back with our holds full of treasure. But we took no prisoners. Roffel always made sure of that.’
‘And Ashby?’
‘No bloody use at all!’ Peverill the master-at-arms snorted. Athelstan caught the jeering note in his voice.
‘A landsman if there ever was one. Sir Henry Ospring always insisted that he joined us for at least part of the voyage. No bloody use, was he?’
A murmur of approval greeted his words.
‘Sick as a dog he was,’ Cabe added. ‘He hated ships and he hated the sea. I think that’s why the old bastard sent him. Captain Roffel was always taunting and making fun of the lad.’
‘And Ashby hated Roffel?’ Cranston asked.
‘No, he didn’t hate him, he despised him. Almost as badly as he did Sir Henry Ospring.’
‘Well, it may come as news to you,’ Cranston said ‘but Ospring’s dead and Ashby’s in flight.’
His words created little surprise and the coroner quickly gathered that both Roffel and his patron Sir Henry Ospring had been hated as iron-hard taskmasters.
‘But Ashby had left the ship before Roffel died?’
‘Yes, he landed at Dover on 19th October. Our holds were full of booty and Sir Henry’s estates lie two miles to the north of the port. Ashby took his master’s portion, a very generous one too, and left.’
‘And Roffel was sickly then?’
‘Yes, he had been for some days, Sir John.’
‘We have questioned Ashby.’ Athelstan ignored Cranston’s warning look. He wanted to shake the hardened contempt of these sailors. They sat as if they couldn’t give a damn about the mysterious death of their captain or the disappearance of three of their shipmates. ‘Ashby maintains that, after you took a small fishing smack which was slipping between French ports, Roffel seemed especially happy. Is this true?’
Athelstan looked around the group. He caught the hooded look in Cabe’s and Coffrey’s eyes; even Peverill seemed a little discomfited – his expression shifted momentarily and his lips tightened. Men who had been sitting at their ease now shuffled their feet. Both Cranston and Crawley sensed the change of mood.
‘What is this, eh?’ the admiral asked. ‘What’s this? A ship?’
‘As the good Father says,’ Cabe replied, measuring his words, ‘the captain was very happy after the taking of the French ship. We found some wine aboard, some very good claret. There’s still some left.’
‘Is that all?’ Athelstan asked.
‘Yes,’ Cabe snapped. ‘Why, should there be more?’
‘Let’s move on.’ Athelstan smiled faintly. The ship dropped anchor two days ago.’
‘Aye.’
‘And what happened then?’
‘Well,’ Peverill intervened. ‘My archers were paid off and given shore leave. We unloaded most of our plunder, what was left after Ospring had taken his portion. Sir Jacob here sent down the wagons.’
‘It’s taken to a warehouse,’ Crawley explained, ‘and guarded until it’s sold. I collect the proceeds. Some goes to the crew, with a large portion for the captain, some to the exchequer. Of course, Sir Henry, if he had been alive, would have received his portion.’
‘Go on,’ Athelstan urged, looking at Cabe.
‘Well, the crew were given shore leave. We began to check the ship for damage done, repairs to be made, stores to be bought.’
‘And Roffel’s body?’
‘Oh, the first mate, Bracklebury, took that ashore at first light – that and the captain’s personal possessions. He handed them over to his widow.’
‘Were there any visitors during the day?’
‘I came on board,’ Crawley replied, ‘for the usual inspection and routine questions.’
‘You were not upset that you’d lost a good captain?’
Crawley shrugged. ‘He wasn’t a good captain, Father. He was a good seaman. Personally, I couldn’t stand him. I know, I know, the man’s dead, God rest him, but I’ll say it now, I did not like him!’
‘Then in the afternoon,’ Cabe quickly picked up the conversation, ‘as is the custom, some whores came on board.’ He looked away sheepishly. ‘You know how it is, Father? Men at sea for some time, especially the young ones, if they don’t get their greens, they desert.’
Cranston coughed. ‘And the whores did their business?’ he asked.
‘No,’ Cabe replied tartly. ‘They stood in the stern and sang carols!’ He caught the warning look in Cranston’s eyes. ‘Of course they did, but we had them off the ship before darkness fell, when most of the crew left.’
‘Were there any other visitors?’
‘Bernicia,’ Minter the surgeon said with a smirk.
‘Who’s she?’
Now even Crawley was smiling.
‘Well, come on man, share the joke!’
‘She’s a whore, Sir John. Well, Roffel’s mistress. A pretty little thing. She has a house in Poultney Lane near the Lion Heart tavern. She didn’t know that Roffel was dead.’
‘And?’
‘When we told her the captain was dead, coffined and sent to his wife, she started blubbing. We let her stay for a while in the captain’s cabin, smacked her bottom and sent her ashore. No more bloody fingers for her.’
‘What do you mean, bloody fingers?’ Cranston asked.
Cabe leaned forward, out of the shadows.
‘When we took ships, Sir John, we were always in a hurry. We boarded them, despatched the crew, grabbed the plunder, sank the ship and left. Roffel always scrutinised every corpse for valuables, particularly rings. If they didn’t come off fast enough, he hacked the fingers off. He thought it was a joke. He used to give the rings, fingers still in them, to Bernicia his doxy.’
Athelstan looked away in disgust. He had heard about the war at sea, bloody and vicious on both sides, but Roffel seemed the devil incarnate. No wonder his wife could hardly be described as the grieving widow.
‘And after Bernicia had left?’ Cranston asked.
‘Everything was done. Bracklebury fixed the watch – himself and two other reliable fellows. We had our purses full of coins, so we took a bumboat and went ashore.’
‘Wasn’t the watch rather small in number?’ Cranston asked.
‘Not really,’ Crawley said. The ships are moored in fine on the Thames. An officer and at least two men should stay on each vessel, one at the stern and one in the bows.’ His eyes fell away.
‘But not really enough?’ Cranston insisted.
This is the devil’s own ship, Sir John,’ Coffrey said. ‘We wanted to get off. Especially after . . .’
‘After what?’ Athelstan asked quietly.
‘Children’s nightmares.’ Crawley laughed. I’ve heard of this.’
‘During the afternoon,’ Cabe explained, ‘when the day began to die and the mist started rolling in, some of the men said the ship was haunted by Roffel’s ghost.’ He shrugged. ‘You know sailors. We’re a superstitious lot. They talked of feeling cold, of an unseen presence, of scrabbling noises from the hold. They put this to the mate, he asked for two volunteers to stay, the rest of us went ashore.’
‘So, after dark,’ Athelstan said, ‘there was only the mate and two of the watch? Did anyone here approach the ship?’
There was a chorus of denials.
‘But we keep in contact,’ Crawley explained. ‘On every hour, when the candle flame reaches the ring, the password is sent along from ship to ship by speaking trumpet. On the half-hour, a shuttered la
ntern on each ship sends three quick flashes of light as a sign that all is well.’
‘So.’ Athelstan stretched. ‘Further up the river you have the Holy Trinity. The watch on that ship would pass the message to the God’s Bright Light. A password on the hour, a lantern flashing every half-hour?’
Crawley nodded.
‘And was this done?’
‘The watch on the Holy Trinity did it.’
‘But did the God’s Bright Light pass it on to the Saint Margaret?’
‘Oh yes,’ Crawley replied. ‘That’s where the mystery comes in. You see, Father, the Holy Trinity is my own ship. I let my men go ashore and I myself commanded the night watch.’
‘And the messages were sent from you?’
Crawley nodded. ‘At five o’clock I sent on the password, through a speaking trumpet. At half-past five the lamp winked three times.’
‘And at six?’
‘Ah, there were no more messages. One of the crew returned with a whore. He found the ship deserted and raised the alarm. He forced the whore to help him and rowed, with her screaming and shouting, over to my ship. I and my two men went aboard. It was like a ghost ship. The cabin was tidy, the decks in order, nothing amiss. The lantern on top of the mast was still burning as was the shuttered lantern in its recess outside the cabin door. No mark of violence, nothing missing.’
‘So’ – Athelstan picked up his quill to make a few more notes – ‘let us say this sailor returned fifteen minutes after the last message was sent and fifteen minutes before the password. According to his story and to yours, Sir Jacob, in that time three able-bodied sailors disappeared from this ship?’
‘It would appear so.’
‘And the ship’s boat wasn’t missing?’
‘No!’ Crawley snapped his fingers. ‘You might as well question the man yourself.’
Cabe went out and returned with the monkey-faced fellow who had first greeted them; he told his story in a strange, sing-song accent and it agreed exactly with what Cranston and Athelstan had already been told.
‘As you approached the ship,’ Athelstan asked, ‘did you notice anything untoward?’
‘No, Father.’
‘And once on deck?’
‘Quiet as a grave.’
Athelstan thanked him and the fellow left.