The Elephants of Norwich

by Edward Marston

  ‘Skalp?’ said Vavasour.

  ‘Olova’s grandson. You must have noticed him when you called there yourself. A big, strong, surly young man who was very protective towards the old woman.’

  ‘I saw no sign of him.’

  ‘Then he must have been hiding somewhere.’

  ‘With cause, by the sound of it,’ said Ralph, trusting in his friend’s judgement. ‘Are you saying that Skalp was guilty of both crimes, Gervase? Theft and murder?’

  ‘I believe so.’

  ‘On his own?’

  ‘Probably. One man would attract less attention.’

  ‘But he didn’t know his way around the lord Richard’s estate.’

  ‘Starculf did,’ said Gervase, ‘and he would have told his accomplice all that he needed to know. He even gave him the duplicate keys to look after until the appointed time. Skalp couldn’t wait. He wanted Hermer too badly.’

  ‘How can you be so sure?’ asked Vavasour.

  Gervase raised a finger. ‘Remember what Starculf told us. He wanted to kill Hermer in the lord Richard’s manor house and leave the body there to shock his old master. The last thing he would’ve done is to drag it across country at night and deposit the corpse so close to the castle. Skalp wasn’t content with upsetting the lord Richard,’ he went on. ‘He wanted to outrage the entire city. That’s why he left the stench of death right there in the middle of it.’

  ‘What about the severed hands?’ said Ralph.

  ‘Did Starculf look like the sort of person to do that?’

  ‘I suppose not.’

  ‘He had no reason. Skalp did. Those were the hands that had defiled Aelfeva.’

  Ralph grimaced. ‘I’m surprised he didn’t cut off the man’s pizzle as well.’

  ‘Skalp made his point strongly enough.’

  ‘Why did he return the hands to the lord Richard?’

  ‘To give him a jolt, Ralph.’

  ‘Just hearing about it jolted me,’ confessed the other.

  ‘Thank heaven I turned away from that world!’ said Vavasour with an upsurge of remorse. ‘I hacked off limbs in my time. I blinded and maimed. In the name of duty, I fought and killed my way right round this country.’

  ‘So did I, my friend. We had no choice.’

  ‘But we did, my lord. We could’ve refused to go on with the slaughter. We could’ve renounced the violence as I’ve now done and tried to atone for it by leading a more spiritual life. We could’ve walked away.’

  ‘Speak for yourself,’ said Ralph. ‘I have a wife to look after and I don’t think she’d appreciate living in a pile of brushwood out on the marshes.’

  ‘Can’t you hear what I’m saying?’ Vavasour reached out to grab his arm. ‘We revile this man Skalp for committing a foul murder yet you and I are just as bad in some ways. We’ve shed blood as well. We’ve sinned.’

  Ralph removed his hand. ‘I’ll make amends for my sins in my own way.’

  ‘And what way is that, my lord?’

  ‘Dispensing justice and rooting out crime.’

  Gervase had gone off into a meditative silence. He came out of it with a smile. ‘Starculf had another accomplice,’ he declared.

  ‘There were three of them?’ said Ralph.

  ‘Only two were party to the murder. The third was an unwitting confederate.’

  ‘Who was he?’

  ‘The person who told Starculf when the lord Richard and his steward would be away from the house. That’s what made possible the theft of the keys and everything turned on that. I can see why Starculf refused to tell us who it was! He wanted to protect her at all costs.’

  ‘Her?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Gervase. ‘It was the lady Adelaide.’

  Mauger Livarot was mortified when he saw the sheriff and his officers approaching with a prisoner. It looked as if his hopes had run aground. If the killer had been caught, the elephants would have been recovered and there was no way that he could wrest them from Roger Bigot and his substantial escort. Livarot and his men waited until the other column reached them.

  ‘Good day, my lord!’ Bigot hailed him. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Helping in the search,’ said Livarot, looking at Starculf. ‘But it seems that we came too late. You’ve caught him without us.’

  ‘It was the lord Ralph who arrested him. We’ve taken charge of him now.’

  ‘Has the villain confessed?’

  ‘No,’ said Bigot, irritably. ‘Starculf claims that he’s innocent of the murder. And the wonder of it is that the lord Ralph and Gervase Bret accept his word. The man is involved somehow and I mean to find out exactly how, but he may not actually have struck down Hermer.’

  ‘What of the other crime?’ said Livarot. ‘The theft of the gold elephants?’

  ‘I stole nothing,’ asserted Starculf.

  Bigot was astringent. ‘Apart from the keys to the lord Richard’s manor house.’

  ‘I’ve never set eyes on these gold elephants.’

  ‘Then where are they?’ prodded Livarot.

  ‘The lord Ralph has gone in search of them,’ said Bigot.

  ‘He knows their whereabouts?’

  ‘Gervase Bret does. He was acting as guide.’

  ‘Which way did they go?’

  ‘They took the road to the Henstead hundred,’ said Bigot, swivelling round to point a finger. ‘A mile or so back.’

  Livarot’s hopes revived. ‘We’ll catch them up and offer our assistance.’

  ‘I think they can manage well enough without you, my lord.’

  ‘We’ve come this far,’ said the other, eager to be off. ‘We might as well ride on a little further. Who knows? We might arrive in time to be of real use.’

  Giving the sheriff no time to reply, he led his men swiftly off down the track.

  Skalp saw them coming. They were half a mile away when he first heard the noise of their harness and the sound of their voices carried on the light wind. One glimpse of them was all that he needed. When he recognised Gervase and saw the men-at-arms with him, he was off at once. Dropping the axe with which he had been splitting a log, he ran to his hut and disappeared inside. The old man who had been helping him to rebuild the other dwelling looked on in dismay as Skalp grabbed his dagger, thrust it into his belt, then reached up into the thatch for something that was wrapped in a piece of animal skin. He darted out of the hut and ran across to his grandmother who had come out to see what was happening.

  ‘Don’t tell them where I am!’ he said.

  ‘Who?’ asked Olova.

  ‘Say that I’ve gone far away.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Goodbye, Grandmother.’

  ‘Skalp!’

  ‘I must go.’

  It was an unceremonious departure. Sprinting down the slight incline, he made for the bushes near the stream and dived behind them. Olova lost sight of him, wondering why he had gone so abruptly and in such a state of fear. Minutes later, Gervase Bret came into view with his companions. Olova folded her arms defiantly.

  ‘You promised that you’d leave me alone!’ she said.

  ‘We’ve not come to see you, Olova,’ he explained, courteously.

  ‘Then why have you brought soldiers with you?’

  ‘We need to speak to Skalp.’

  ‘He’s not here.’

  ‘Then where is he?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  Her eyes betrayed her. Before she could stop herself, she glanced in the direction that Skalp had taken. It was enough of a clue for Ralph Delchard to seize on. ‘He’s making a run for it!’ he cried, kicking his horse into action.

  Jocelyn Vavasour was the first to respond. He gave pursuit with Ralph’s men close behind him. Gervase shot a look of apology at Olova, then joined in the hectic chase.

  Ralph was not going to surrender the pleasure of overhauling a fugitive this time. As soon as he reached the stream, he caught sight of Skalp’s head, bobbing up and down in the distance. Swingin
g his horse round, Ralph galloped along the bank and ducked beneath the overhanging branches of a tree. Skalp vanished into some bushes and reappeared again, running at full pelt. It was all the admission of guilt that Ralph needed. He remembered the mutilated corpse that was brought into the castle. A man responsible for that crime deserved no mercy. As his destrier began to gain on his quarry, Ralph drew his sword.

  Skalp was fast and guileful, dodging round bushes and threading his way through trees, seeking new cover all the time to make pursuit more difficult. Ralph was impervious to pain. As a branch lashed his face or a shrub beat his leg, he simply carried resolutely on. When he drew level with Skalp, he struck him across the back of his neck with the flat of his sword and sent him spinning on the ground. Tumbling uncontrollably, Skalp let go of his cargo and the animal skin rolled down the bank of the stream. Ralph was standing over the man within seconds, breathing heavily and holding the point of his weapon at Skalp’s throat. The prisoner was undaunted.

  ‘Go on!’ he invited, spreading his arms. ‘Kill me!’

  ‘I’ll leave that job to the sheriff,’ said Ralph, sternly. ‘I’m arresting you for the murder of Hermer, steward of the lord Richard.’

  ‘He was an animal. He raped a girl of sixteen.’

  ‘We know all about that, Skalp,’ said Gervase, still astride his horse. ‘But it doesn’t excuse what you did.’

  ‘This is where I found her,’ howled the youth, indicating the stream. ‘Aelfeva drowned herself here. She couldn’t bear to live after what Hermer did to her.’

  Vavasour’s yell made them all look in his direction. Having jumped from his horse, he had retrieved the object that had rolled down the bank. The animal skin was unrolled to reveal two small, shiny gold elephants.

  ‘They’re here!’ he said in triumph. ‘I’ve found them!’

  Skalp was quick to take advantage of the diversion. Rolling away from the sword, he took out his dagger, rose quickly into a kneeling position and plunged the weapon into his own heart. His face contorted with agony and his body twitched for a few seconds until, without a sound, he dropped lifelessly to the grass.

  Cursing himself for his inattention, Ralph sheathed his sword and bent over to examine the corpse. Skalp had found a way to elude justice. He was for ever beyond their reach now. Gervase dismounted and heaved a sigh of regret at what had happened. ‘It’s a pity that the lord Eustace isn’t here,’ he said.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Falling on one’s sword. He would have appreciated that gesture.’

  ‘Would he?’

  ‘That’s the way that noble Romans took their own lives.’

  Ralph was contemptuous. ‘There’s nothing noble about this man, Gervase. He was a ruthless killer. Skalp has cheated us. He got away.’

  ‘I don’t think that his grandmother will see it quite like that.’

  ‘He’s been caught,’ said Vavasour. ‘That’s the main thing. The hunt is finally over. And I fulfilled my pledge to the abbey,’ he continued, holding up the miniature elephants. ‘I’ve recovered their holy treasures. They must be returned immediately.’

  ‘We’ll ride with you,’ said Gervase.

  ‘No,’ replied the other firmly.

  ‘But it’s too dangerous to go alone.’

  ‘No harm will befall me. I’m on my own now. That’s the way I wish it to be. I’m grateful for your help but we must part here. I’m going back to my life as an anchorite.’ He pointed at the corpse. ‘Far away from this kind of thing.’

  Concealing the gold elephants inside his tunic, he mounted his horse and rode off.

  Ralph stood up and watched him go. He had mixed feelings about Jocelyn the Anchorite, but he did not begrudge the man the right to return the treasure he had once brought all the way from Rome. Then he remembered what Gervase had just said.

  ‘We’re going to the abbey as well?’ he asked.

  ‘We have to, Ralph.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘For proof that it was Hermer who stole the elephants in the first place.’

  ‘Does that matter any more?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Gervase. ‘Otherwise, we let the lord Richard off the hook. He sees himself as a victim of crime but I’m certain that he instigated the theft from the abbey. We need evidence of that. Before we go there, however,’ he continued, looking sadly down at the dead man, ‘we’ll have to take Skalp back to his grandmother. I don’t relish the thought of having to explain everything to her.’

  ‘Even Olova can’t condone what this villain did, Gervase.’

  ‘Maybe not, but he was still her grandson. It’s the second suicide in the family. Olova will have to bury someone else in unconsecrated ground.’

  Ralph motioned to two of his men. ‘Pull out his dagger and put the body across the back of my horse.’

  Drogo was tingling with excitement. Having pushed their horses hard, Mauger Livarot and his men had caught a glimpse of the column ahead of them as it reached the circle of huts. Livarot took cover behind some trees with his soldiers and sent his steward to reconnoitre. Drogo was nervous, fearing that the gold elephants would be out of their reach and knowing how vindictive his master would be as result. Making his way along the bank of the stream, he had to dive out of sight when someone came running towards him with a group of riders in pursuit. Drogo saw and heard it all. He could not wait to pass on the good tidings to Livarot. When the dead body was taken away across the back of Ralph’s horse, the steward scurried back to his master, arriving out of breath but smirking happily.

  ‘Well?’ said Livarot.

  ‘I saw them,’ replied Drogo, gulping down air. ‘I saw the gold elephants.’

  ‘Who has them?’

  ‘The lord Jocelyn–though he no longer looks like the man we once knew by that name. And he no longer talks like him either.’

  ‘What did you see?’

  Still panting, Drogo gave a rapid account of the scene he had witnessed.

  Livarot grinned. ‘Jocelyn Vavasour is on his own?’

  ‘Yes, my lord. Riding to the abbey with the gold.’

  ‘One man against all of us?’ said the other. ‘He doesn’t stand a chance.’

  ‘He put the elephants inside his tunic.’

  ‘Then we’ll take them out of there. Mount up, Drogo.’

  ‘Yes, my lord.’

  ‘We’re going to get what we came for,’ said Livarot.

  Olova was overwhelmed with sadness when the body of her grandson was returned to her. Gently and tactfully, Gervase explained what had happened, but even his soft words could not ease a grandmother’s pain. She asked them to lay Skalp inside the hut that he had been rebuilding. Though there was bitterness in her voice, there was also a note of resignation. She looked from Gervase to Ralph with tears welling in her eyes. There was no point in concealment. The truth came out of her between bursts of sobbing.

  ‘I knew that something was wrong,’ she said. ‘Skalp went away for a couple of days. He wouldn’t tell me where he’d been. Now I know.’

  ‘He went to kill Hermer,’ said Gervase.

  ‘He was very quiet when he got back. He threw himself into his work. But something had changed in him. I could sense it.’ She brushed away a tear with, the back of her hand. ‘How did you realise that it was him?’

  ‘We didn’t at first,’ admitted Ralph. ‘We were after a man called Starculf. When we caught him, he protested his innocence so strongly that we were inclined to believe him. That meant we had to look elsewhere. Gervase brought us here.’

  ‘It had to be Skalp,’ said Gervase, simply. ‘He never forgave Hermer for what he did to that young girl. You told me that it was Skalp who found her body. He took his own life close to the same place. In fact, I think he ran there deliberately.’

  Ralph was rueful. ‘I blame myself for letting him stab himself.’

  ‘It wasn’t your fault.’

  ‘It was, Gervase. I caught him. I should have taken his dagger away.’

>   ‘You were distracted. We all were.’

  There was an awkward silence. Olova glanced towards the hut where Skalp lay. ‘He was here, Master Bret,’ she mumbled. ‘Who was?’

  ‘StarGulf. When you came for the second time. Starculf was close by. I didn’t know it at the time, so I wasn’t lying to you. Skalp was hiding him. I only discovered that afterwards.’

  ‘They were accomplices, Olova.’

  ‘In a sense, we all were,’ she said, harshly. ‘We all wanted Hermer dead. But not at this cost. I’ve lost everyone now. My husband, my children and now my grandson. They’ve all gone. What’s to become of me?’

  She went off into another fit of sobbing. Gervase put a consoling arm around her. ‘I’m sorry that it had to end this way,’ he said.

  ‘But it hasn’t ended yet,’ Ralph reminded him. ‘There’s unfinished business.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Leave us,’ said Olova, making an effort to compose herself. ‘Leave us alone to grieve in peace. You’ve done what you had to do. There’s nothing left for you to take from me now. Please go.’

  After muttered farewells, Ralph and Gervase walked slowly back to their horses.

  Jocelyn Vavasour did not become aware of them until he was well on his way. He was far too preoccupied, his mind grappling with the horror of Skalp’s suicide. He could not understand how the precious gifts he had given to the abbey had ended up in the hands of the young Saxon. Still, they had been rescued now. Vavasour could give them back to Abbot Alfwold and return to his solitary existence on the coast. Riding at a steady canter, he covered some distance before he decided to give his tired horse a rest. When they reached an expanse of marshland, he slowed the animal to a gentle trot. It was then that he heard the pummelling of hooves behind him. He swung his horse round, expecting to see Ralph and Gervase coming towards him, but it was a larger troop of men that was approaching. They were a hundred yards away when he recognised Mauger Livarot. The instinct that had saved him from one ambush now warned him of another.

  He looked over his shoulder. The abbey was still a long way off. His horse could never outrun the fresher animals on his tail. Vavasour had no cover to use and no weapon beyond that of prayer. Sitting bolt upright in the saddle, he faced the newcomers without fear. Livarot barked an order and his men drew up in a wide circle around the anchorite.